BusinessDay 25 Nov 2018

BDSUNDAY BUSINESS DAY

‘Inner Light’ still shines at National Museum Lagos

Durotoye, Duke, Sowore, Moghalu believe it is time for the youth to take over power

?? Cadbury post improved export Total, earnings in third quarter 2018

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inside ‘Meruwas’ filling the gap, helping out in ‘clean’ water supply at huge health-cost

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The vision of the church is to liberate mankind, says Apostle Agboli

Vol 1, No. 241 N300

2019 campaign: We need job, good governance, not rhetoric …Nigerians tell politicians

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By Our Reporters

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gainst the backdrop of the launch of their policy documents last week

by President Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Atiku Abubakar, of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), analysts have warned politicians not to pull a wool over the eyes of the Nige-

rian people this time around, through lofty promises.

Buhari had last Sunday launched his campaign policy document, promising to take the country to the ‘Next Level’, whereas Atiku, the following day, said he was going to “get Nigeria working again”.

Although both candidates reeled out good intentions as contained in the documents for the Nigerian citizens if elected into power next

year, analysts have reminded them and other political office seekers that the era of rhetoric may have passed as people are now more interested in seeing tangibles than mere lofty promises that were not meant to be fulfilled ab initio.

The analysts, who spoke to BDSUNDAY, noted that Nigerian politicians have always

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Being a celebrity not fun – Bukunmi, actress p. 28

To win 2019 presidential election, we require a united opposition - Agbakoba

President Muhammadu Buhari discussing with Senator George Akume, a former Benue State governor, during an audience the President granted a delegation of Benue State All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders, at the State House, Abuja, weekend.

Education key element to our quest for industrialisation - Buhari

…As UNIBEN presents 11,832 at convocation p. 30/31

See Fela Durotoye’s Interview in BusinessDay tomorrow

IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has said that education was key element to Nigeria’s quest for industrialisation.

Buhari, represented by Isha’aq

Oloyode, registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), made the remark at the 44th convocation ceremony of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) in Benin-City, Edo State, yesterday.

The President, who said that

there is a serious disconnect between education and industry in Nigeria, noted that the difference between industrialised economy and non-industrialised economy is education.

“We must not fail to realise that

the key elements of the country’s industrialisation is education, as the difference between industrialised and non-industrialised economy is education. As it is in Nigeria today, there is a great disconnect between education and industry. This should not be so,”

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Issue of the Week

Buhari vs Atiku: The contest of ‘policy documents’ Innocent Odoh, Abuja

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he outgoing week could easily be tagged ‘Policy Docu m e n t s ’ We e k following public presentation of the policy documents by presidential candidates of varying political parties and candidates eying the presidential seat in 2019. This development has heightened the campaigns as the Nigerian public has begun to scrutinise the candidates and their parties.

Predictably, the policy documents of the two leading candidates in the 2019 race, President Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) and his main challenger, former Vice President and the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), Atiku Abubakar, have been scrutinised the most according to reactions gathered

by BDSUNDAY. President Buhari had titled his policy document “Next Level” and Atiku Abubakar, titled his “Let’s Get Nigeria Working Again”.

One of the critical areas of concern to Buhari’s plan to improve the situation is job creation. Buhari had said “but even as we lay the foundation for a stable and prosperous nation, we acknowledge there is still much to do. The Next Level of effort focuses on job creation across various sectors.

“From an enlargement of the N-Power programme to investing in technology and creative sector jobs to agriculture and revolutionising access to credit for entrepreneurs and artisans, there is scope for over 15 million new jobs.

“The march away from a mono-economy must continue with our industrialisation plan coming to fore. With specific plans underway to exploit the comparative advantage of the geopolitical zones and different states by developing 6 Industrial Parks and 109 Special Production and Processing Centres (SPPCs) across each senatorial district, our incremental move away from oil dependence is assured.”

Atiku, who unveiled his Policy Document tagged “My Plan to get Nigeria Working Again,” on Monday, noted that it would be anchored on building the “Economy of Our Dream.”

“Our vision is to transform

L-R: Buhari and Atiku

Nigeria into a modern economy that works for its people and capable of taking its rightful place among the top 20 economies of the world. My economic policy will be job-centred, especially for our teeming youth population.”

He added that his vision is on three main planks; “Establishing a strong and effective democratic government that secures our people and provides opportunities for them to realize their full potentials, allows greater autonomy for our federating units, and gives each region of the country a sense of belonging; Reinforcing Nigeria’s Unity by promoting the spirit of co-operation and consensus especially in a society that is as complex and as heterogeneous as Nigeria and Building a strong, resilient and prosperous economy.”

He said that without jobs, Nigerian people cannot afford to feed their families and their children will live in poverty.

“Without jobs, there is crime, drug use and insecurity. Without jobs, where is the hope for a better life? If elected president, I will be pro-active in attracting investments and supporting the 50 million small and mediumscale enterprises across Nigeria for the purpose of doubling the size of our GDP to 900 billion dollars by 2025.”

These investments, he noted will create a minimum of 2. 5 million jobs annually and lift at least 50 million people from poverty in the first 2 years.

“My team and I will also help create jobs by innovating flagship programmes such as the national open apprenticeship

programme through which we shall enhance the capacity of master-craftsmen and women to train one-million new apprentices every year.

“Our national innovation fund and SME venture capital fund initiatives will provide stable and sustainable longterm support to aspiring entrepreneurs,” said.

In one of the too many reactions that trailed the policy documents, public affairs, Majeed Dahiru, told BDSUNDAY on Friday that Buhari’s ‘Next Level’ is nothing but campaign promise while Atiku’s policy document appears to be more of a policy document than a campaign promise.

“Unlike the ‘Next Level’, ‘To get Nigeria Working Again’ has specifics and time line for deliverables on specific areas of the economy. One distinguishing policy document of Atiku is that it has discernible economic agenda while at the same time cutting taxes to the lowest in Africa while also pledging to sign unto the Continental Trade Agreement.

“What Atiku has done is that he has given Centre Right out look, where the private sector and the government will work side by side to push up the economy from the current doldrums that we have found ourselves. The ‘Next Level’ however, is very rich on rhetoric but very poor on policies, it does not tell us the when and how. Atiku has a six-year plan which will run into the tenure of his successor, don’t forget that Atiku will run for only one term,” he said.

On the power generation,

Majeed said: “Whereas the ‘Next Level’ pledged 24 hours’ power supply to Nigerians, the Atiku document pledged to increase power generation capacity to 20,000 megawats.

Don’t forget that power is not measured in hours it is measured in megawatts. So, this is the difference between policy document and campaign promise.”

On corruption, he said: “The current administration has made the world believe that the rule of law is an anathema to anti-corruption. In fact, you will almost conclude that the rule of law and democracy promote corruption going by the anti-corruption rhetoric of this administration. What Atiku is saying is that rule of law if entrenched will tackle corruption, because the rule of law spells out sanctions for corruption practices; if well implemented it will sanitise the system.”

On the question of taxes, Majeed said that when Atiku pledged to lower taxes to the lowest rate in Africa, he did not put the percentage, which means he “wants competiveness because if you cut corporate taxes, it gives indigenous companies enough advantage and lower the cost of production to be able to compete fairly in the price world for continental market with regional rival like China and South Africa for example. He said that will guide the energy of Nigerians away from internal struggle for resources to global competiveness and circular flow of income to feed industries at home, create jobs and feed the economy.

He added that between 1999 and 2007 when Atiku was Vice President, Nigeria witnessed a phenomenal growth in our economy. He said Nigeria’s economy grew from a GDP of less than 0.9, in 1999 to a record 19.5percent in 2004 and an average growth of 6percent throughout that era. He added that Nigeria’s economy attracted over 100 billion dollars in Foreign Direct Investment, reducing the oil and gas sector to just 18percent in the first attempt to really diversify the economy which opened up the economy and created multiple jobs in the financial sector, in the telecoms sector, in agriculture, in construction and real estate.

“Apart from increasing minimum wage from 3,000 to 10,500 the Obasanjo and Atiku government also lifted embargo on public service employment and created new agencies to strengthen institutions which led to massive job creation for Nigerian citizens in the public sector. Atiku has created jobs even in the public sector. Now compare this to Buhari under whom Nigeria has become the poverty capital of the world and who is known to have killed over 11 million jobs. Therefore, Atkiu is better positioned to lead than Buhari,” he said.

The Spokesman of the President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation, Festus Keyamo, was not available to respond to assertions against his principal as he neither picked his calls nor responded to the text message sent to him.

However, elder statesman, Tanko Yakassai, who faulted both candidates on the clarity of their policy documents, was more specific that Atiku’s quest for restructuring remains unclear. Yakassai told BDSUNDAY on Friday that for restructuring to occur, it requires changing the constitution.

He said: “I have been asking questions on this issue of restructuring for many years and I don’t have the answers yet. What will Nigeria be after it is restructured, and what is the blueprint for restructuring?”

He expressed concerns about the fate of the current 36 states and the 774 local government areas even as he asked about the modalities to address the question of the items on the Exclusive and Concurrent lists.

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News

Education key element...

Continued from Page 1 he said.

The president, who highlighted Federal Government and its agencies’ interventions in the funding of tertiary institutions, especially universities subsector, however charged managers of universities to ensure due diligence and probity in the management and disbursement of resources.

He urged that actions should be geared towards promoting quality teaching and purposeful research in the areas of comparative advantage and entrenched academic integrity, eliminate poor attitude to work and stamping out cultism and gangsterism in the nation’s universities.

He emphasised his administration’s determination to work assiduously within the limit of its resources to bring about the desired transformation in the educational sector.

Buhari, however, appealed to well-meaning parents and guardians as well as alumni of the university, to assist the administrators in creating the right atmosphere conducive for scholarship and academic excellence.

He said that was the only way higher institutions can impact positively on the society.

Earlier, Muhammadu Sanusi II, Emir of Kano, the chancellor of the university, commended the present Federal Government for providing the enabling environment for enthronement of peace and uninterrupted academic calendar in the nation’s universities.

Sanusi also commended the government for its sustained interest in the development of the education sector, especially tertiary education.

He however, appealed to the Federal Government to fulfill all its obligations to the universities’ staff unions to forestall future disruption of the academic calendar.

He however, called on parents and guardians to join hands with the university administration in its quest to discourage youths from being used as thugs to rig the 2019 general election for politicians.

According to him, “We are all aware that during the first quarter of next year, elections to various offices will be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). With the benefit of hindsight, we all know that it has become the norm for many politicians, in their desperation to win elections at all cost, to resort to tertiary institutions to

recruit our youths to serve as political thugs.”

“Our youths must not allow themselves to be used in illegal activities that endanger their lives

and the lives of innocent citizens,” he cautioned.

In his address, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Faraday Friday Orumwense, said a total of 11,832

graduates were presented with various degrees and certificates.

Orumwense, said a total of 134 bagged first class, 2,122 bagged second

class upper, 4,864 second class lower, 1,156 third class, one with pass, 240 with PhD, 2,207 masters, 559 with PGD, among others.

L-R: Austin Godwin, advert executive, BusinessDay; Adeola Ajewole, general manager, advert; Joseph Afolayan, a professor and vicechancellor, Anchor University, Lagos (AUL); Zebulon Agomuo, Editor, BDSUNDAY, and Patrick Ijegbai, subscription manager, during the visit of the BusinessDay management team to the vice-chancellor, AUL, Tuesday.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

2019 campaign: We need job...

Continued from Page 1 taken advantage of the gullibility and poor sense of history of most citizens to wreak havoc on them.

Idayat Hassan, director, Centre for Democracy and Development, said the unfulfilled promises by politicians is causing serious apathy, particularly for people at the grassroots who do not have access to “superfluous policy documents”.

Hassan observed that, “it is an election and while parties and their candidates must aspire to win votes, they must also at all points, learn to manage expectation. For instance, President Buhari and his APC, in their 2015 manifesto ‘An Honest Contract with Nigeria’ promised to create three (3) million jobs annually.

“There are no evidences to suggest that this promise was fulfilled. Now, promising to create 15 million jobs to garner votes in the face of daunting economic challenges are completely unrealistic.”

According to her, “One, there is a dwindling revenue base; two, Nigeria still runs a subsidy regime; for instance, the country is still subsidising fuel at about 0.6 percent and our borrowing base is expanding.

As it stands, the proposed N30,000 minimum wage is yet to be fully interrogated to see if Nigeria can afford it or better still sustain it.

“Now, we are talking about 15 million jobs, politiciansneedtobecarefulabout their aspiration; for every plan there must be implementation plans. There are now accountability mechanisms in place to hold them to account but important is the huge harm the unmet promises does to democracy.”

“It dampens people’s morale and the more reason why the demand for democracy is dwindling all over the world. Democracy for the people is about the delivery of public goods and services. The failure to deliver on public goods and services is one reason citizens do not even turn out to vote on election days. It is imperative that politicians manage expectations in

this campaign season,” she further said.

The analysts also noted that it is the grassroots people that determine the outcome of elections in Nigeria and not city dwellers, many of whom, they say, do not go to the polling units on Election Day. A pundit, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “I think these days, Nigerians are more enlightened than before when they were deceived by politicians with sugar-coated tongues. At least, in the last 19 years of return to civil rule, we can trace the voting pattern and what you will find is that the figures are from illiterates who do not know their left or their right. They go to the polling units and vote with that naivety; not knowing what is in it for them. For 19 years, their quality of life has continued to depreciate instead of appreciate despite the number of times they have voted.

So, all I am saying is that the big documents, if it is to make any sense, must address the need of the rural dwellers.

“Unfortunately, these people were neither in Aso Rock last Sunday when the President launched his document, neither did they have iphones and data to follow Alhaji Atiku’s facebook document launch last Monday. All I am saying is that what the people need is good governance that will fetch them jobs, food, good education, security, good roads, and other basic things of life. We have seen many documents since 1999, the question is, where have they taken us?

We must emphasise tangible things, not rhetoric,” the analyst said.

Ol i s a Ag b a k o b a , a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), in an interview with BDSUNDAY said: “Let me remind you that elections are won at the grassroots level. Not in the city; but at the grassroots level where you have about the 80 percent of the voting population. So, the campaign that we are designing is to canvass votes at the grassroots. They don’t know about policy documents; I also do not believe so much

about policy documents because we know what the issues are – jobs, jobs and jobs. So, you can write any amount of policy documents; it is not going to be translated into 300 Nigerian languages; but if you went to the villages and asked the people how do you feel; they don’t need a policy document to know that they don’t feel good; so, the message is to get the votes in; that is number one; to make sure that the votes count, too.”

Festus Adebayo, President, Housing Development Advocacy Network, challenged the electorate to demand from the presidential candidates practical solutions to long-standing issues in the country.

According to Adebayo, “It is imperative for presidentialcandidatestostudyandassess the actual housing needs of the low income earners.

These candidates should also know that for low-income earners to be able to buy or rent houses, the price or rent must be low or subsidised by the government.

“The development of affordable housing can boost

local economic activity through temporary construction related employment and ongoing consumer purchase driven jobs in the local economy. Even more importantly, long after the homes are occupied, the ripple effect from residents of these new units can support new jobs in a wide array of industries including retail, healthcare, and local government.”

Adebayo believes that “This is the time the electorate should demand answers from candidates; the onus is now on the electorate to engage these candidates on different platforms including town hall meetings, debates, and social media to find out how the candidates intend to address the issues of affordable housing.

“It is when these questions are answered satisfactorily, that electorate will know which of the presidential aspirants has a blueprint and a workable plan to make the dream of affordable housing a reality, if and when they eventually secure the ‘top job’ in the land”.

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Akeredolu charges AAUA to improve academic ranking YOMI AYELESO, Akure

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he Governor of Ondo State and Visitor to Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has expressed confidence in the ability of Ajasin Varsity to be one of the leading institutionsinAfrica,evenashecharged the management of the state-owned university not to rest on their oars in placing the institution among the top 10 in the country.

The visitor stated this while speaking at the grand finale of the 8th Convocation Ceremony of the University.

Represented by his Deputy, AgboolaAjayi,thegovernornotedwithjoy thatAAUAhasmovedfromhernumber 31 ranking last year to an enviable position of the 18th best Institution in the lastWebometricrankingofUniversities in Nigeria.

This, he said, points to the consistent backing of the state government, prudent management of available resourcesbytheUniversityManagement

and hard work by the workforce.

In his words, “The government of OndoStateisproudofAdekunleAjasin University, an institution that has become a force to be reckoned with in its 19 years of existence where other universities are struggling to make name.

“It is gratifying that graduates of this University are winning laurels and making waves globally. I would like to charge them to push further so that AAUAwouldbeestablishedasaglobal champion.

“The time is now for everybody, including corporate organisations and wealthy individuals to join hands with government in funding education as government alone cannot fund education.

“While as a government and proprietor to this university, we would contribute and continue to do our best tosustaintheachievementsofthisgreat university, we would like to appeal to stakeholderstoseektotime-testedand creative ways that have been used by world-classuniversitiesanddeploysimilar strategies to build the University.”

Uja Tor Uja, executive secretary, Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), presenting the approved pilgrims’ souvenirs to the President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Supo Ayokunle, when the later paid him a courtesy visit at the Commission’s corporate headquarters in Abuja.

Tearful Abia pensioners report Governor Ikpeazu to monarchs, clergy UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia.

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he Nigeria Union of Pensioners,( NUP) Abia State chapter has appealed to traditional rulers, religious leaders and other well meaning prominent persons in the state “to intervene and ask the governor to do the needful to stop the gradual extermination of Abia State senior citizens.”

Rising from an enlarged meeting, the union viewed the situation as unfortunate, as their mass meeting with the State Governor, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu on 25th September, 2017, produced little or no result, adding that instead of the arrears being reduced, they had doubled since the meeting, which was also at the instance of the governor who was expected to proffer sustainable solutions to the pension payment problem of the state.

In a communiqué signed by Chukwuma Udensi and O.C. Arungwa, chairman and secretary respectively,

the union regretted that since May 28, 2018 when the state governor met with the state executive committee of the union during which the governor personally promised a gradual and eventual clearance of the pension arrears, it was sad to note that he has failed on his promise.

“The governor pledged without any coercion or negotiation in that meeting that he would be paying 3 months of pension arrears in every two months. What had happened since then is neither here nor there as pensioners are yet to have a feel of the governor’s promise.

“The council expressed profound surprise at this act of unusual neglect and lack of concern exhibited by the governor and the Abia State government which he leads, over the sorry plight of pensioners, many of whom are facing serious health challenges, others are bed-ridden, while many others have passed on as a result of frustration, hunger and lack of medical care.”

The communiqué further stated that pensioners were dying on daily

basis as they could not afford to procure the drugs that sustain them The senior citizens also expressed disappointment that Ikpeazu has not kept his promise to offset the arrears being owed them by the government and regretted that the backlog of unpaid pensions have continued to increase.

The union said: “In addition to old arrears, the Ikpeazu administration owes them 14 months’ arrears “from September 2017 to October 2018”.

According to the council, “It is also regrettable that the Abia State UniversityTeachingHospitalPensionershave no pensions since November 2014.

The pensioners also criticized members of the State House of Assembly who approve the budget of the State and “at the end of the year declare that the budget has been fully implemented while pensions budget in that year were not paid”, They expressed their “immense disappointment and lack of confidence in the state commissioners of Finance and Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs for their failure

to advise the Governor appropriately on the proper administration of pensions in the State”.

In its reaction to the allegation by the union, the state government has said that it has come to its notice that some persons were misinforming pensioners that the state government is embarking on pensioners’ verification at a location in the state.

A special announcement made available to newsmen by Meregini Lucky PRO, Abia State Ministry of Information on behalf of the Commissioner for Information, read: “We wish to state that there is no plan to verify Abia pensioners at this time or in the immediate future.

“The current focus of the government is to ensure that pensioners are paid regularly and previous outstanding defrayed within the shortest possible.

“Pensioners are advised to ignore invitations to gather for verification or for any other purpose not expressly approved by the government and/ or the leadership of Nigeria Union of Pensioner”.

World Bank, Ekiti govt move to revive N3.7bn water project RAPHAEL ADEYANJU, Ado-Ekiti

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he World Bank and Ekiti State Government have concluded arrangements to recommence rehabilitation work on Ero Dam, the largest water supply dam in Ekiti State.

According to Khairy Al-Jamal who led the World Bank’s team on the 3rd Urban National Water Sector Reform Project in a meeting with Governor Kayode Fayemi Thursday, the N3.7 billion water project is expected to help the state address its water challenges as well as curb open defecation.

Al-Jamal, who noted that the project would have started in 2014 shortly before Fayemi left office, said the immediate past administration did nothing on the award of the project to a contractor.

He stated that there was no preparation or feasibility study which could have helped the bank forge ahead with its aid for the state on the rehabilitation of the treatment plant at the dam as well as transmission pipes transporting water from Ero Dam via Ifaki-Iworoko to Ado Ekiti and other communities.

Al-Jamal stressed that the World Bank “cannot afford to

stop or slow down on the project” because it is expected to be completed by June 2020; saying that the bank is keen on seeing Ekiti people have access to potable water supply.

He congratulated Governor Fayemi on his re-election; saying that Ekiti people trusted that the governor had the capacity to deliver on his people-oriented programmes.

In his response, Governor Fayemi urged the bank to expedite action on the rehabilitation of the dam, adding that the state government would provide necessary support to the Bank to ensure that the 18-month completion date for

the project is met.

The governor, who noted that water is a major issue in Ekiti State, said Ero dam had underperformed despite having the capacity to supply “the bulk of Ekiti State”.

He said the support of the World Bank on the rehabilitation work would not only help his administration achieve its agenda for the sector but also help in actualising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Fayemi said that if government failed to provide potable water for the teeming population, it would encourage indiscriminate digging of bore holes with attendant negative impact on the environment.

Court dismisses libel suit against APGA, Guardian, Punch, others Victoria Nnakaike, Lokoja

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ogi High Court sitting in Idah has dismissed a Libel suit against the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Guardian, Punch Newspapers and Vintage Press for lacking in merit.

Justice Fola Ajayi on Wednesday in his judgment on the suit filed by suspended Kogi chairman of APGA, Ocholi Ameh alleging defamatory imputations against him, arising from publication of certain statements, failed.

Ajayi said it was clear that from the findings that the claims could not be substantiated as the alleged diversion of fund and anti-party activities upon which the publications were based had been proved to be right.

The defendants, Ben Nweke, APGA, Guardian Newspapers Ltd, Vintage Press Ltd and Punch Newspapers were alleged to have committed the offence sometimes in November 2015.

Ameh had averred that while preparing for the 2015 gubernatorial election, the 1st defendant (Nweke), a card-carrying member of the party and the other defendants had connived and made a libelous publications against him.

The publications, according to him, had alleged that he was suspended from the party for anti-party activities, diversion of funds, absenteeism and other acts inimical to the survival of the party.

He said the publication therefore, portrayed him as “a fraudulent, reckless and an irresponsible person”, adding that all the allegations made against him in the publication were totally false.

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News APC faults Senate investigation of Kwara bye-election James Kwen, Abuja

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he ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted the decision of Senate to investigate last Saturday’s House Representatives byeelection in Kwara State, saying it is an abuse of power.

APC candidate, Raheem Olawuyi won the bye-election for the vacant House of Representatives seat for Ekiti/Irepodun/Isin/OkeEro Federal Constituency in Kwara State with 21,236 votes, defeating the PDP Candidate, Saheed Damilare who scored 18,095 votes.

APC condemned what it described as curious Senate investigation of the byelection which took place in the home state of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

Lanre Issa-Onilu, APC National Publicity Secretary in a Statement in Abuja, said the ruling party also find it curious that other by-election conducted in Katsina and Bauchi States have not received similar attention from

the Senate.

According to him, “The questionable decision by the Senate to investigate the circumstances leading to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loss in the last Saturday’s House of Representatives’ bye-election in Kwara State must be seen for what it is - an abuse of the powers of the legislative arm of government to pursue selfish political ends.

“It is clear that the sweet victory by the APC House of Representatives candidate, Raheem Olawuyi-Ajuloopin in the by-election has hit the overrated federal lawmakers from Kwara State badly.

“The PDP is not pretending to have learnt any lessons from its past antidemocratic practices. The usurpers occupying the Senate leadership seat have no altruistic intentions other than to manipulate state institutions to pursue personal interests and massage battered ego. When has it become the responsibility of the legislative arm of government to constitute itself into an election tribunal?

“They should understand that, like the rest of the coun-

try, Kwara State has seen enough of impunity and misrule represented by the selfserving leaders of the PDP. Turning the Senate into an electoral tribunal only shows Nigerians that the PDP has not changed from its odious practice of compromising the system to promote illusionary ambitions.

“We can only advise the leaders of PDP in Kwara State and elsewhere in the country to get used to losing elections. The Nigerian electorate has tasted the benefits of good governance in the last three and half years of President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government and won’t go back to the PDP’s 16 years of waste and misrule.

“Elections have been won and lost. A new and progressive Kwara State beckons.

Through their votes, the Kwara electorate has spoken clearly on the new political direction in the State. Kwara State has suffered enough of the selfish machinations of a self-appointed leader. The will and wishes of the good people of the state must prevail now, in the 2019 elections and beyond”, he stated.

Tin-Can Customs revenue profile hits N303.5bn in 10months ...intercepts 13 containers of Tramadol, soap, others AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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he Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) TinCan Island Port command said on Friday that it has grown its revenue profile by collecting a total of N303.5 billion in 10 months, January to October, compared to N253 billion generated same period in 2017.

The command also intercepted 13 containers of contraband goods including Tramadol, bleaching soap, bales of used clothing and other unregistered pharmaceutical products with duty paid value (DPV) of over N3.1 billion.

Austin Chidi, deputy comptroller general (DCG) Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, who disclosed this on Friday in Lagos while briefing newsmen, said that the seizure was made out of the command’s increased surveillance on declaration to ascertain improper and untrue declarations by importers and their agents.

According to him, two of the containers had been

handed over to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on 11 and 20 October while one container of Tramadol was handed over to the Nigerian Drug Law EnforcementAgency(NDLEA) on 2 November 2018.

“A container of soap suspected to contain harmful bleaching ingredients and two containers of second hand clothing were seized in line with the provisions of Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) CAP C45, Section 46 and 161.

The Service, he said, wish to reiterate its concern for the health and security of Nigerians. “One would better image the devastating effect on the life of our youths, if this quantity of unwholesome drugs had found its way into the market. Not only will it lead to increase insecurity in the country but will impact negatively on the health of our youths.”

Chidi, who represented the comptroller general of Customs, Hameed Ali, said that the robust collaboration with other stakeholders including the security agen-

cies at the port in the area of information and intelligence sharing, enabled the command to record the stride in both the seizure and revenue collection.

He further revealed that the command has also put some trade facilitation platforms in compliance with the Presidential directive on Ease of Doing Business. He listed them to include onestop treatment area where all alerts are resolved, dispute resolution committee which deals with disagreements from valuation, PAAR and others.

“Tin-Can command has introduced an application of time release studies for the evaluation of the officers to ensure that needless delays are identified and regularised in our quest to achieve 48 hours clearance in line with the Presidential directives,” Chidi said.

Chidi, who commended Musa Mba, area controller and officers of the command for their commitment to the service, said that effective leadership will enabled the command to surpass it revenue target.

L-R: Olu Delano, head, Client Coverage Nigeria, Corporate and Investment Banking, Stanbic IBTC; Wole Adeniyi, executive director, Personal and Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC; Yuefeng Nan, chief financial officer, NTA Star TV Network Ltd, and Remy Osuagwu, head, Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC, at the Stanbic IBTC Africa-China Connect Session, held in Abuja, recently.

Crown Insurance Brokers’ boss greets clients, announces change of head office address

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n line with National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) regulation, the management of Grown Insurance Brokers Ltd, has announced the relocation of its head office.

A statement signed by Felix O. Amadi, managing director/chief executive officer of the company, a copy of which was made available to BDSUNDAY, says that from Saturday, December 1, the company’s head office will move from Eleganza Plaza Apapa to DI MARIA PLAZA, Suite 5, Plot 3012/Block 24, Rabiu Babatunde Tinubu Road, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.

The letter addressed

to the Commissioner of Insurance, National Insurance Commission, Plot 1239 Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, Garki, Abuja, and copied to NCRIB, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria; Nigeria Insurers Association; Insurance Underwriting Companies and Insura n c e Br o k e r s , Am a d i , expressed gratitude to all their clients and customers, urging them to keep faith alive even in the midst of economic challenges the country is passing through.

“While thanking all our clients and customers for the faith they have reposed

in us over the years, we wish to assure them of improved services. Our relocation to a new site is not a threat to our quality offering, but a move to enhance it. We also want to use this opportunity to inform them that they can always reach us as they have always done through our telephones, email and website address that remain unchanged,” Amadi said.

According to him, “Despite the challenging economy in our country at the moment, it is our belief that in a no distant time, we shall get over it. So, I urge our clients and customers to keep faith alive.”

Ahmed commissions Ilorin water project SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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wara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed has commissioned the Ilorin Metropolitan Water Network Project as part of efforts to provide clean and affordable water to the citizenry.

Ahmed at the commissioning ceremony held at Agaka area of Ilorin announced that the project would serve Eastern Reservoir to Oja Oba, Eastern Reservoir to Taiwo Road, Western Reservoir to Sobi, Maraba to A Division, and Baboko Market to Abdulazeez Attah Road.

Others, according to the governor, are Taiwo Isale to St. John Church, Government High School to Abdulazeez Attah Road, Oja Oba to Oloje, Abdulazeez Attah to Taiwo Isale, Basin Road

to Mayode Hotel and Umaru Audi to Jebba Road.

The Governor who acknowledged that the previous administration implemented the first phase of the project which was partly financed under the N17 billion bond facility obtained by the state government in 2009 noted that the network is supplemented with standpipes at 130 different locations across Ilorin Metropolis.

“The Ilorin Water Distribution Network was implemented at the cost of N6.5b, funded partly through the N17b bond, a commercial bank facility and the Kwara State Infrastructure Development Fund (IFK). With today’s commissioning, 48,000 homes located along the following routes will now enjoy clean and affordable water.

“With the completion of this phase, it is safe to say

that we have recorded significant milestones in our effort to ensure that every resident has access to water within a 500-meter radius.

This project also takes us closer to achieving one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) no. 6 which aims to achieve universal access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by the year 2030,” Ahmed disclosed.

The governor assured residents of Ilorin that arrangements are at advanced stages to award the contract for 310km Tertiary Reticulation Network which will expand the Water Supply coverage in Ilorin to 105,000 households.

He maintained that his administration had worked hard to reduce water supply accessibility and availability gaps in the state through infrastructure provision and renewal.

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News PDP to UN: Buhari is militarising our electoral process OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

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he People’s Demo c r a t i c Pa r t y (PDP) has reported President Muhammadu Buhari to the United Nations (UN) over plots by the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to scuttle the conduct of the 2019 general elections, particularly, the presidential poll.

The PDP said there is heightened tension across the country over the manipulations by the Presidency, adding that if the UN and the international community fail to intervene and support a credible, free and fair election, the nation may witness an electoral stillbirth, capable of triggering violence and humanitarian crisis in

Nigeria and the entire subSahara region.

The National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, who led the members of the National Working Committee to receive the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, in his office in Abuja on Friday, alerted the UN Security Council that President Buhari is already compromising the military and other security forces as tools to muscle the electoral process.

“President Buhari is not preparing for elections. He is not prepared for the rigours of any electoral exercise.

Every well-intentioned politician goes out to the street to engage and persuade the people with his or her manifesto and policies, but President Buhari is not ready

to engage anybody in contest of ideas; that is why he is desperate to compromise our military as a measure of limitless powers to rig.

“The world saw how our Service Chiefs participated in President Buhari’s campaign rally. There is no way these Service Chiefs will not be pushed to resort to selfhelp on behalf of President Buhari and his APC in the election. The UN Security Council should note this and intervene to save our democratic process.

“President Buhari has militarised our electoral process. In the July and September governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states respectively, in addition to various bye-elections, military equipment were rolled out to prevent the opposition from voting. Citizens were freely manhandled,

L-R: Sam Onyemelukwe, managing director, Trace West Africa; Dapo Martins, chief marketing officer, Sterling Bank Plc; Abubakar Suleiman, chief executive officer, Sterling Bank Plc; Bright Jaja, chief executive officer, iCreate Africa; Anne Dirkling, director, Sponsorship Partnership, iCreate Africa, during the presentation of iCreate Skill Champions to the media in Lagos.

Atiku support group inaugurated in Abia UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia.

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h e S o u t h - Ea s t zone executive of the United Nigeria for Atiku 2019 has been inaugurated in Umuahia, Abia State, with a call on them to work effectively to actualise Atiku Abubakar’s dream of leading Nigeria come 2019.

Franklin Orji, the SouthEast zonal coordinator of the group, while inaugurating the Abia State executive, urged them to work very hard to mobilise the people, to galvanise support for the PDP presidential standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar and other PDP candidates to ensure total victory at the polls in 2019.

He said Abubakar was ready to steer the ship of the nation to the right direction, going by his

policy document titled ‘My plan to get Nigeria working again’, which include: job creation; building infrastructure; poverty eradication and human capital development and restructuring of the country, among others.

“The United Nigeria for Atiku 2019 is one of the support groups formed to mobilise the masses, to galvanise support, to educate the people of Nigeria to read and see in between the lines and to vote for our principal, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Peter Obi come 2019 Presidential election and also to support all PDP candidates who are vying for various positions,” Orji said.

Stanley Alozie, the Abia State coordinator of the group, in his speech shortly after the inauguration,

expressed the preparedness of the executive to leave their footprints on the sands of time by getting Nigeria to work again.

“In my solitude, I remember with nostalgia what our country used to be and what it is now.

Nigeria is at the brink of its decline caused by the anti-democratic postures of those in power which have consistently threatened the very foundation of our fledgling democracy,” Alozie said.

He described Atiku Abubakar as the light which has come to obscure the darkness “that has encumbered us for a long time”, adding, “we must set our tools right, we must leave no stone unturned in electing Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as president to take our beloved country to the Eldorado”.

arrested and subjugated by security agents, who openly worked for the APC. Today, in Nigeria, the PDP is contesting with security forces and not with the APC. “Also, President Buhari has compromised our Police.

As we speak, the InspectorGeneral of Police has sealed the Akwa-Ibom State House of Assembly and seized an arm of government, just like they did in Benue state in July. Our country has been turned into a police state and there is fear everywhere.

“Similarly, our Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been annexed by the Buhari Presidency. This is the reason it has not been able to conduct any credible election in the last three and half years. Nigerians have lost confidence that INEC as presently constituted can guarantee credible polls in 2019. We, therefore, demand for the resignation of the INEC Chairman, Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu and Amina Zakari, who is a niece of Mr. President.

“Our international partners must therefore insist and encourage a free, fair and credible electoral process. They must also caution against manipulation and other abuses that are capable of truncating our democracy and endangering the lives of Nigerians as a result of a failed electoral process,” Secondus stated.

Earlier, Chambas had urged political stakeholders in the country to follow the rules to ensure a smooth electoral process in the 2019 elections.

Foundation calls for collapse of ECA into Sovereign Wealth Fund OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

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he Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation has called on the Federal Government to collapse the Excess Crude Account and 0.5percent Stabilisation account into the stabilisation account of the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

While condemning the disbursement of funds from stabilisation accounts, the Foundation emphasised the need for increased transparency regarding revenue inflow and outflow from the Federation Accounts.

The Foundation stated this in Abuja in a communique issued after its roundtable meeting on Savings and Stabilisation Mechanism for Nigeria.

It tasked all tiers of government to meet their financial obligations to the Sovereign Wealth Fund and stressed the need for due process in management of the Excess Crude Account in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Also, it charged government to prioritise investment over consumption even as it called on civil society organisations to develop effective messaging to drive conversations regarding transparency and accountability.

The communiqué, read by media analyst, Jide Ojo, called on civil societies to “Adapt and share content regarding savings and stabilisation frameworks that have worked in other countries.

“Simplify data, statistics, indicators and analysis for Nigerians at the grassroots level to engage.

“Sustain conversations and messaging on savings and stabilisation mechanisms with key advocacy actors, oil and media.

“Create awareness on the importance and benefits of effective stabilisation mechanisms to society at all levels, include traditional and religious leaders in advocacy initiatives, create awareness on the need for proper implementation of the budget, utilise mechanisms deployed by “Not too Young to Run” for effective advocacy campaigns”.

Ea r l i e r, e x p e r t s o n petroleum and energy economics, public policy made recommendations towards the establishment of a savings and stabilisation mechanism for Nigeria.

Presentations included: Nigerian Excess Crude Account: Financial Analysis Report, Media Perspective on Nigeria’s Savings and Stabilisation Mechanisms and Stabilising Nigeria’s Volatile Economy.

MTN Foundation leverages ICT on youth empowerment scheme …Trains 500 youth in Kano SEYI JOHN SALAU

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n continuation of its commitment to empowering Nigerian youth, MTN Foundation recently concluded the second Phase of its ICT and business skills training in Kano, having successfully trained 500 young people in Ibadan in the first Phase of the scheme. The training is an initiative of MTN Foundation, executed in collaboration with its ecosystem partners – KPMG, Oracle, the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), IBM, and the Nigerian Ministry of Communication.

The training align with the objectives and goal of the foundation, to improve individual and communal lives through social investment

projects that nurture people’s inherent abilities, and equip them for the future.

Experts from the ecosystem partners trained 500 students over the course of two days, exposing them to various digital tools that can be maximised for personal growth and business development.

Nonny Ugboma, the executive secretary of the MTN Foundation, said technology holds the key to unlocking the potentials of Nigerian youth. “We are excited about the myriads of possibilities that this training avail the recipients.

Technology is the future and we will continue to search for more creative and ingenious ways to improve the skills of our youth to properly prepare them for this future,” said Ug-

boma.

Ugboma opined that the number of the beneficiaries highlights the importance of the training to the youth population. The participants on their parts thanked MTN Foundation for exposing them to latest innovations in the digital space and empowering them to become successful entrepreneurs in their various fields of endeavour.

Since inception, MTN Foundation, which is the social investment vehicle of MTN Nigeria, has impacted millions of lives through various initiatives across the country such as ‘What Can We Do Together’ campaign; scholarships to students in science and technologyrelated courses and programmes for the visually impaired; as well as promotion of arts and culture.

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News UNESCO proposes establishment of ICT hub in Abuja James Kwen, Abuja

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he United Nat i o n s Ed u c a tional, Scientific Cultural Organization, UNESCO has stressed the need to establish Information and Communication Technology, ICT in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja where youths could come for refresher courses and followup exercises in ICT. Ydo Yao, UNESCO Regional Director for West Africa and Country Representatives for Nigeria stated this when he paid a thank you visit to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello in recognition of the huge success achieved so far in the FCTA/ UNESCO partnered Youth Mobile ICT Bootcamp and Training programme in the Territory.

Yao applauded the unmatched commitment and support the FCT Minister towards human development and youth empowerment programmes in the

Territory and informed him of plans to celebrate 1000 youths who would successfully complete the ICT Training programme embarked upon by the organization in collaboration with the FCT Administration.

He noted that, already results of the efficacy of the training is visible in the positive feedback of the four beneficiaries sent to Kigali, Rwanda for a youth conference, saying the Kigali conference was aimed at showcasing the knowledge gained from the Youth Mobile training.

The Country Representative who requested the support of the FCTA to facilitate a by-in by government for the Nigeria/UNESCO plan of cooperation, explained that a final document for the cooperation has been drafted.

Bello in his response said that the FCT Administration will work with the agency to ensure refresher courses for youths in the FCT already trained by UNESCO under the joint venture programme.

He called on UNESCO to liaise with the Abuja Enterprise Agency (AEA) which has an established system to carter for training and re-training of youths in the FCT and urged UNESCO to identify the youths due for refresher courses from the six area councils, noting that youths identified would however make presentations to AEA to ascertain the target areas for the refresher courses.

The Minister also disclosed that the FCTA was working towards the subsequent marching of the trained youths to employers of labour as this would go a long way in curbing unemployment in the FCT as those not marched immediately would be in the AEA database and queued for matching, subsequently.

He f u r t h e r a s s u r e d UNESCO that FCTA will continue to support UNESCO in all its efforts towards skills acquisition and youth empowerment for the overall development of the Territory.

Foundation emphasises good communication in marriage

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non-governmental organisation, Joyfully Married Foundation (JMF), has appealed to married couples to strengthen their bond of love through ceaseless and honest communication.

The foundation made the appeal at a recent marriage clinic series themed ‘The Essence of Communication in Marriage’ held at LCCI Building, Ikeja, Lagos.

Oluranti Odutola, JMF convener, said it was disheartening that many marriages have had to resort to divorce over issues that could be resolved if communicated properly through the right channels in mar-

riage. She advised married couples to apply every possible mode of communication for better understanding, urging them to always recall beautiful early days to foster love between them.

“Challenges in today’s marriages are different from those of old. Communication is the soul of marriage today and it should be given top priority in the order of importance for both husband and wife,” Odutola said.

Olalekan Oyekan, a marriage coach, said communication in marriage is important to birth understanding between couples and clarity of purpose of the union.

Oyekan affirmed that

breakdown in communication causes quarrels, adding that every marital split is hinged on misunderstanding during communication.

“As blood is in human life, so is communication in marriage. It must be deliberate to clarify the other person and never to pick fault,” Oyekan said. He advised couples to be enduring of each other and avoid assumptionsbased communication.

Biodun Onoyele, directorgeneral, Lagos State Records and Archives Bureau, who participated at the clinic, called on couples to be honest in their communication with each other at all times.

2018: Group rallies support for Atiku/Obi ticket

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group called Vision 1st Samuel 16v1 for Atiku 2019 has endorsed the candidature of Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president and presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi, his running mate.

A statement jointly signed

by Chidi Richards, president of the organisation and John Okeke, Legal adviser, said that Atiku and Obi were God’s chosen candidates for the 2019 general election, and would “occupy the seat of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come May 29. 2919”.

The group also urged Lagosians to vote for Jimi Agbaje for Lagos State governorship seat.

According to the organisation, “As an independent group that has assessed the current administration in the country, we have come to a clear realisation that this is far from the democracy we yearned for; we are very far from democracy under President Buhari administration and for us the government is a failure. It has been three-and-half years of locusts.”

The group is worried and concerned about the high level of suffering, poverty, wanton killing of innocent Nigerians, kidnapping, unemployment, job losses in the country, and believe that the Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi Presidency will redress all of that.

The organisation with of-

fices in the 36 states of the federation, and the FCT has likened the Nigeria situation to the biblical history of Israelites during the reign of Prophet Samuel when the people and elders of Israel came to Prophet Samuel and demanded for a king.

“We believed that our country is worst now under a government that preached ‘change’ in 2015, but has failed to deliver in all her promises. So we call on Nigerians to vote for Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi ticket come 2019. We believe that the Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi ticket will bring back unity, reconnect the country back to the international business community, as both men are masters in wealth creation,” it said.

Peterside congratulates Ki-tack Lim on his second term

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he Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside, has congratulated the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Ki-tack Lim, on his re-election as head of the specialised United Nations body.

Dakuku, who is also the chairman of the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA), said in a congratulatory message on Friday that Lim’s re-election by a unanimous vote was an affirmation of the memberstates’ confidence in him.

The NIMASA Director-

General said: “What his second term means is stability in execution of the significant growth path of the maritime industry globally and more space for and attention to developing nations.”

“I congratulate and wish you well in the second phase of your work as Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for the next four years. Your emergence by a unanimous vote of the 40 member-states on the IMO ruling council is a significant confirmation of the huge confidence reposed in your work, strength, and character,” he further said.

According to Peterside, “I trust that this vote is symptomatic of the massive reservoir of support behind you as you steer the ship of the global maritime body towards successful implementation of the six-year strategic plan (2018-2023) produced on your watch. The plan, focusing on smart and eco-friendly shipping, as well as strategy for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from shipping, will make for safer use of the world’s maritime resources.”

On the development of the African maritime sector, Peterside said, “it is our hope that the African maritime industry will continue to grow and glow in your tenure.

Guinness, FRSC kick off 2018 ember months safety campaign

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uinness Nigeria Plc. and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have flagged off the 2018 ember months ‘Responsible Drinking Awareness Campaign’, a special road safety programme to curb recklessness on the roads during the last quarter of the year through to the Christmas/ New Year festive season.

Both organizations have consolidated this partnership over the years, culminating in the yearly “ember months” programme, during which

motorists and the public in general are enlightened about the dangers of drink-driving, especially during the last quarter of the year when celebrations, festivities and human and vehicular traffic tend to be at their peak. Guinness also donated Breathalyser kits, a device to test if motorists are driving under the influence of alcohol, to FRSC at the event.

The flag-off ceremony, which took place at Ramat Park in Benin, Edo State, was attended by Road Transport Employers Association (RTEAN), National Union

of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), officers and men of the FRSC, Guinness Benin leadership team, among others.

Everest Oghonim, packaging manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc., said at the event that Guinness Nigeria Plc has over the years maintained its leadership position in creating awareness about responsible drinking through various programmes and partnerships with different stakeholder groups, customers, consumers and employees.

Osun launches 10-year development plan BAMIGBOLA BOLADALE-NIYI, Osogbo

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L-R: Lana Odutola, managing director 1, Joyfully Married Foundation (JMF); Oluranti Odutola, convener, JMF; Olalekan Oyekan, a marriage coach, and Folabo Adebanjo, member, JMF, at JMF marriage clinic themed ‘The Essence of Communication in Marriage’, held in Lagos, recently.

utgoing Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has launched 10-year development plan for the state.

The development plan which covers years 2019 to 2028, was projected by the outgoing governor some days to the handover of governorship seat to the incoming governor, Gboyega

Oyetola.

Speaking at the ceremony, the governor rated highly his administration’s initiatives to develop economic potentials of the state.

According to him, from all indications, Osun’s economy has been on the rise in the last eight years and berated People’s Democratic Party (PDP), for reducing governance to payment of salary to civil servants in the state only.

He said the development plan is a well-thought out roadmap that, if well ad-

opted, will take the state to greater heights.

Describing the plan as a guide and blueprint to the rapid development of Osun and stressed that it has always been his determination to have a development plan for Osun like other leading states of the federation.

He commended all stakeholders involved in putting together the plan, expressing his optimism that Osun will be better with the document in the hands of the incoming administration.

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PhotoSplash

L-R: Olatomiwa Akande, external communications manager, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited; Ekuma Eze, country CSR manager, Nigerian Bottling Company Limited; Cecilia Ezeilo, deputy governor, Enugu State, and Daniel Ashiriba, plant manager (Enugu), Nigerian Bottling Company Limited, during the opening ceremony of the 3-day NBC

L-R: Cliff Shiridzinodya, deputy general manager, Southern Sun Ikoyi; Akindele Akinsanya, 1st place winner Male category; Mark Loxley, general manager, Southern Sun Ikoyi, and Ernest Orji, director, Southern Sun Ikoyi, at the 2018 Annual Southern Sun Ikoyi Golf tournament at Lakowe Golf Course and Resort Lakes

Youth Empowered Workshop in Enugu recently.

Mike Okonkwo (m), the Presiding Bishop of the Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) welcoming, Mathew Ashimolowo, the senior pastor of KICC London at the 2018 Kingdom Life World Conference (KLWC) while Peace Okonkwo looks in admiration.

L-R: Amaju Pinnick, president, Nigerian Football Federation (NFF); Ifeanyi Okowa, governor, Delta State, presenting the 2018 Nigerian Sports Award (NSA) Footballer of the Year Award to Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ Stand-In Captain, Ahmed Musa at the Nigeria - Uganda International friendly football match recently.

L-R: Andrew Torre, Regional President, Visa CEMEA; Ahmad Ahmad, President of the Confederation of African L-R: Evelyn Akhator, D’Tigress captain, receiving the award as Sportswoman of the Year from , Sola Sobowale, Nol-

Football (CAF); and Kemi Okusanya, Group Country Manager, Visa West Africa; at the signing of the Visa and CAF

lywood actress, at the 2018 Nigerian Sports Award ceremony held in Lagos.

Partnership in Accra, Ghana, for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

L-R: Precious Minimah, Analyst, Go-To-Market, Youth Segment, MTN Nigeria; Lanre Tajudeen Ajibade , dean, student affairs, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, and Femi Adesina , analyst, youth segment, MTN Nigeria, during the MTN Pulse Campus Invasion, UNILORIN, Ilorin, Kwara State, recently.

L-R: Ozioma Ubabukoh I.T Consultant, Akaoma Onyeonoru; CSR Executive, MultiChoice Nigeria and Emma Okonji; Senior I.T Correspondent Thisday Newspaper at the 2018 adjudication of DStv Eutelsat Star Awards in Lagos

Sunday 25 November 2018

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Lagos has spent N15bn on school infrastructure - Ambode ….says more to be done in LASU increase accessibility and improve security for students in the institution, as the demand for higher education continues to grow.

“Reflecting on these investments, I must acknowledge it has been the privilege of this administration to build on the works of visionaries who came before us; and to be given the opportunity to raise the mark higher as we look ahead to a bright future for our state and country,” said Ambode.

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Stories by JOSHUA BASSEY

overnor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode says his administration in the last three years plus has spent over N15 billion on the provision of infrastructure in schools aimed at creating a conducive learning environment.

Ambode spoke at the inauguration of an ultra modern lecture theatre donated to the Lagos State University (LASU) by businessman and philanthropist, Remi Makanjuola, to mark his 70th birthday.

The governor also assured that while efforts were being made to deliver some of the major projects initiated by his administration, those left would be completed by a government that would succeed his.

Ambode, who suffered a defeat in the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2018 primaries, would be leaving office on May 29, 2019.

He said the N15billion was invested in revamping infrastructure in schools across the state, adding that 3,400 primary and secondary teachers were employed to improve the teacher to student ratio as well as quality of learning in schools.

According to him, beyond the infrastructure upgrade, his administration equally developed innovative solutions to bridge

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd left); Aderemi Makanjuola (middle) chairman, Caverton Group; his wife (left); Olanrewaju Fagbohun (2nd right); vice chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), and Adebayo Ninalowo (right), pro-chancellor and chairman, Governing Council of LASU, during the official commissioning of a lecture theatre donated by Makanjuola to LASU.

gaps in the educational system, and to reposition the state for a technology-driven future.

He listed the new technology deployed to include ReadySetWork and CodeLagos initiatives, noting that while 34,000 students have graduated from the former, the latter is geared towards teaching one million Lagos residents to code.

“At the grassroots level, faced with the realisation that about 3 million Lagos residents could not read or write in any language, we commissioned Eko Nke Koo (Lagos Is Learning), an initiative

LASCOPA cautions consumers on yuletide purchases

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agos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) has called on consumers to pay closer attention to commodity information especially consumable products, before making purchases particularly as the yuletide season draws near.

The general manager of LASCOPA, Kemi Olugbode, made the call while briefing on the activities of the agency.

She noted that the yuletide season is usually characterised with a lot of buying and selling with several business individual from outside Lagos State coming into different parts of the state for trading activities in view of the huge market available in Lagos.

According to her, checking the products properly before buying, would help consumer determine the wholesomeness of the products and drastically reduce the purchases of harmful consumable goods

Speaking further, she said that the agency has reinforced its monitoring and enforcement exercise within the state to ensure that unwholesome products are not displayed or sold to consumers.

The agency has also intensified efforts in the area of consumer education so as enable consumers to be aware of their rights and the structure that the state government has put in place to help them seek redress on infringement of their right.

LASCOPA has been addressing consumers’ complaints and has successfully resolved over 90 percent of the issues brought to its attention through the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

She said that the doors of the agency were opened to receive complaints and help consumers address the grievances they may have with product manufacturers, distributors or retailers.

aimed at raising the literacy rate in Lagos State from its current 87% to 95%.

Through Eko Nke Koo, the Lagos State Agency for Mass Education increased the number of adult literacy centres across the state from 532 centres in 2016, to 782 as at January 2018.

He said: “We have also recorded improvement in enrolment and retention rates of learners in the programme. In 2017, 98% of enrolled learners graduated from the programme,” said the governor.

He said in LASU, his administration has carried out notable

projects targeted at ensuring the institution remains academically competitive, financially viable, and most importantly, conducive for learning.

He said the state in 2017 carried out major infrastructure development and road works to give the school a face-lift befitting of its status as a university while also benefited from a significant increase in subvention to assist in ensuring smooth running of the school.

He said he had also approved the development of a 6,000 bed hostel which according to him, will

The governor, who added that more would be done in LASU, said: “We are already doing senate building here, we are doing students arcade and we are also doing the library. I hope I will be able to complete and finish them but if I am unable to complete them, I speak on behalf of SanwoOlu that he will finish and also do the staff school.

“We are not campaigning yet but truly that is the spirit of the kind of governance that we bring to Lagos; that is the spirit that we really want to see and then we should be able to show leadership in all spheres of life that we find ourselves.”

The governor commended Makanjuola for donating the lecture hall, saying the gesture would forever be remembered by generations.

“It has also been a true privilege and honour to work alongside collaborators - whether large scale organisations or well-meaning

I-G deploys new AIG to zone 2, Lagos

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he Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has approved the deployment of Lawal Shehu, as the new Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), zone 2, Onikan, Lagos.

Spokesperson of the zone, Dolapo Badmos, said Shehu resumed duty at zone 2 command, Onikan, Lagos, on Thursday.

The new AIG took over from AIG Adamu Ibrahim, who had retired from the force.

Shehu, an indigene of Katsina State, was born on December 24, 1960, and joined the Nigeria Police Force as cadet ASP in 1988.

He has worked with the force in various capacities. Prior to his promotion to the rank of Assistant

Inspector-General of Police, he worked in Bauchi and Nassarawa States as Commissioner of Police.

On his promotion to the rank of AIG, he was deployed to head the police border patrol unit, and later moved to the criminal and intelligence department, force headquarters, Abuja.

‘Lagos is gateway to prosperity for Nigerians’

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agos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has said the state is the gateway for honest business men and women to invest and make good return on their investments.

Governor Ambode stated this during the 2018 national convention of the Full Gospel Business Men Fellowship (FGBMF), Nigeria, which last week at the Police College, Ikeja, saying that the state presents diverse opportunities for investors.

“Our state has been a gateway to prosperity for many and many more still come here in pursuit of their dreams.

“We continue to pray that as

more people come in search of genuine, honest business, God will crown their efforts with success and they will reap bountiful harvests from their labour.”

The theme of the convention was “an open door”, which Ambode said was in conformity with the mantra that Lagos is open for business. “The theme of this convention further strengthens this thinking. It seems to me that we have been building a Lagos which will be an open door to success, an open door to prosperity and an open door for all who believe and fear God to experience His love, mercy and favour.

“Before a door can open, proper

foundation must have been laid.

Our state remains a good example of where doors can open for members of this great fellowship,” Ambode said.

The national president of the fellowship, Ifeanyi Odedo commended the state government’s effort in the provision of infrastructure and in tackling poverty.

According to Odedo, “the policy thrust of the state government might not be seen physically, especially the one that has to do with poverty alleviation, such that we have to do with economic growth that has been sustainable through this massive infrastructural development and renewal.

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Perspective

Sunday 25 November 2018

Interrogating Atiku’s policy plan Garba Umar

J

ust like every other seasonal activity, it is predictable that the 2019 election cycle will dawn. What was not predictable, perhaps until recently, are the characters whose faces will be the emblem of this particular political season. In terms of the configuration of the political parties that will jostle for votes, there isn’t much difference from what was in 2015, as the two leading political parties remain the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) - safe for the fact that this time around, the erstwhile opposition party is now the ruling party.

And, this time around, President Muhammadu Buhari is the incumbent and he’s being challenged chiefly by the candidate of the opposition PDP, former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar. There is motley of other political parties with candidates also campaigning for president.

However, if popular opinion amongst Nigerians is anything to go by, the 2019 election will be won and lost on the merit of the plan of action that each of the presidential candidates is able to articulate to the electorate.

Perhaps, this is the thinking in the camp of Atiku Abubakar, the PDP candidate who recently announced the kick-start of his campaign with the launch of his policy document. The document, which is a compendium of proposals on action plan of the former Vice President if he is elected president, was unveiled on Monday after a live social media interaction with Nigerians.

A press release from the campaign organisation of the PDP presidential candidate had quoted that “The intention (of the Atiku Campaign Organisation) is to take (its) policy directly to Nigerians and to register the belief of Atiku Abubakar that it will take the collective efforts of every Nigerian to rebuild the country.

That is why (they) want Nigerians to access the policy directly and ultimately take ownership of it.”

A review of the document shows that the policy covers a wide area of concern including jobs creation, infrastructure development, agriculture, restructuring, youth and women development, technological innovation, education, healthcare, security and foreign affairs.

The entire compendium is tied around the JOBS acronym of Atiku’s presidential cam-

Atiku paign, which essentially entails employment generation, creating opportunity for all-inclusive prosperity, being united and security. The plan supports the encouragement of the private sector to create employment through an initiative called National Entrepreneurship Development and Job Creation Programme.

It also provides specific finance and strategic support for job creation in the entertainment industry; transformation of the culture and tourism sectors into one of the big earners of foreign exchange and job creation and review of corporate tax rates and capital gains tax in order to lower transaction costs in the capital market.

Under infrastructure, the policy proposes by increased investments in road and rail construction, water supply and sanitation, power and oil refining; reforming the power sector with goal of producing 20,000 megawatts by 2030 and 50,000MW by 2050; create Special Infrastructure Office to help speed construction and implementation; using private sector, establish an Infrastructure Debt Fund (IDF) with an initial funding of US$20b, mobilizing domestic and international private resources to finance and deliver large projects across all sectors of the economy; build small re-

fineries in the northern parts of the country, increase oil refining and oil products from under 0.5percent to 2percent of GDP; construct up to 5,000km of modern railways through privatisation, PPPs, and public investments; more than double investment funding from 15percent to 35percent of GDP in addition to licensing of mini-grids, including solar as solutions for power generation.

On infrastructure, the policy seeks for an ambitious increase of the nation’s stock of infrastructure from $150bn to approximately $600billion (contrary to the $90billion being reported in a section of the me-

dia), which will require a commitment to invest a minimum of $35billion annually for the next five years. However, funding for infrastructure development will not come from public budgets only. Government will incentivise the private sector to set up an Infrastructure Development Fund with an initial funding (privately mobilised) of $20billion while many more projects will be birthed via PPPs In agriculture, the policy suggests the construction of farm to market roads; improved farming with modernisation and mechanisation of small-scale agriculture; transforming agricultural sector into a viable enterprise creat-

The intention (of the Atiku Campaign Organisation) is to take (its) policy directly to Nigerians and to register the belief of Atiku Abubakar that it will take the collective efforts of every Nigerian to rebuild the country. That is why (they) want Nigerians to access the policy directly and ultimately take ownership of it

ing rural wealth and farmer prosperity; investment in local agric-processing clusters by offering concessional financing, tax breaks and seed funds and reviewing import duty on machinery and equipment for agricultural processing and for export production.

Perhaps the most ambitious component of the policy is on the knotty issue of restructuring. Under the Atiku’s plan, within the first hundred days of his administration, his government will put in place a National Committee for the Devolution of Powers.

There is also a plan to mobilise the legislature to effect constitutional amendments to allow greater powers to states and local governments. Relocating the Niger Delta Ministry from Abuja to the Niger Delta making it closer to stakeholders and beneficiaries.

There is also a recommendation for an increase in the number of government appointments made to young people and women to 40 per cent. It also targets youth, including graduates, early school leavers, and the massive numbers of uneducated youth not in schools for employment or training and provision of microfinance and financing schemes specifically targeted at youth and women.

The education plan of the PDP presidential candidate includes the development of an all-inclusive nationwide educational system with focus on young girls and special needs students.

There is also a provision for the utilization of technical colleges and vocational schools to produce skills and competencies for innovation and idea creation. Also, the development and promotion of science and technical education to create skills for the new economy.

On a general note, the Atiku policy document dubbed the ‘Peoples Policy’ appears robust and well articulated. It is however expected that policy experts within and outside the country will begin to interrogate the policy which, according to the PDP presidential candidate, had taken 18 months of rigorous brainstorming to incubate, on its merits and demerits. But beyond the narratives that will trail the review of the policy document is that its very existence has set the ball rolling for an issue based campaign in the 2019 election season and that is a very welcome development. .Dr Umar wrote from Abuja and can be reached via ugpella04@gmail.com

Sunday 25 November 2018

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BDSUNDAY 13

Feature

Amid criticisms, Okowa showers $50,000 on Super Eagles … Ex-President Obasanjo defends governor on sports development

G

MERCY ENOCH, Asaba overnor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has gone ahead to shower $50,000 on the Super Eagles team in redemption of his pledge of $25,000 per goal scored by the team in the African cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match against the Bafana Bafana Football Club of South Africa.

Though the match ended 1-1 draw, Governor Okowa gave the team $50,000 for two goals, saying, “We will fulfill our promise with what we saw, not with what was announced by the referee”.

The governor redeemed his promise notwithstanding opposition by a section of Deltans including the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

They had condemned Okowaled administration for committing the state funds to complete the construction of the Stephen Keshi Stadium that had remained uncompleted for years despite gulping millions of naira.

The Jones Erue-led APC in the state strongly kicked against Okowa’s promise of $25,000 to the Super Eagles as well as the state government’s sponsoring the camping of the team in Asaba.

The party hinged its argument on the fact that Delta State under Governor Okowa is among the state governments that are objecting to the payment of N30,000 minimum wage to civil servants.

The party in a statement made available to BDSUNDAY wondered why a governor that is kicking against N30,000 minimum wage to workers, deemed it fit to spend “whopping $25,000 (N10,000,000) on Super Eagles.”

While describing such as a misplaced priority, APC then told Governor Okowa to pay the Nigerian team from his pocket rather than from state coffers.

The governor had shortly before the Super Eagles ‘departure to South Africa, promised the Nigerian team of the $25,000 should they win and qualify for the AFCON, a championship billed for Cameroun next year. He also promised that the state would host them on their arrival to Asaba after defeating their opponent in South Africa.

The team left Asaba Thursday, November 15 via the newly upgraded Asaba International Airport and by Sunday, November 18, they were back to Asaba having ended up with 1-1 draw in the match.

On Tuesday evening, November 20, at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, The Super Eagles had a friendly match with the Cranes of Uganda where both teams put in their best to score goals but each ended up with zero goal, a development that seemed to have demoralised the huge crowd of fans and supporters, including thousands of Deltans who filled the 23,000-capacity stadium to the brim during the match.

At a state banquet later that evening, in honour of the Super

Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State Governor (right) presenting a gift to the Nigeria Super Eagles Captain, Ahmed Musa, during a Dinner Party in honor of the Nigeria Super Eagles, at Banquet Hall, Government House Asaba.

Pic by JIBUNOR SAMUEL.

Eagles at Government House, Asaba, Governor Okowa disclosed that though the match in South Africa ended 1-1, he saw the Super Eagles scoring more than one goal.

“As a state government, we did made a promise that we will give 25, 000 dollars per goal in the AFCON qualifying match in South Africa; in my mind, I know we scored two goals, not one goal, because the second goal was wrongly disallowed, so, we will fulfill our promise with what we saw, not with what was announced by the referee,” the governor said.

He disclosed that the camping of the Super Eagles in Asaba was a blessing in several ways: “We are very happy that you left for South Africa from Asaba because you enabled us to witness the first international flight from the Asaba International Airport; I am truly excited this evening that we are hosting our dear Super Eagles as a state government and the Ugandan Team that earlier played with the Super Eagles at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, we truly enjoyed ourselves because the two teams played good football.”

“It was good to host the Super Eagles, they have been with us for some days now and I believe that the people, Deltans and Ni-

gerians in general, are excited; though, they drew the match with the Cranes of Uganda, both team played good game and it was gladdening to know that both team have also, qualified for the African Cup of Nations,” he explained that the coming of the Super Eagles to Asaba greatly gave a boost to socio-economic life of Deltans.

He stated that his administration would continue to invest in the development of sports and sporting activities and noted that Principal’s Cup and the Headmaster’s Cup football championship were designed to encourage the development of football in secondary and primary schools in the state.

Okowa congratulated the Super Eagles for qualifying for AFCON, assuring that his administration would continue to support the Pinnick Amaju-led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to succeed.

President of NFF, Amaju, had in his speech, thanked Governor Okowa for his support to the Super Eagles, stating that the team had qualified for the 2019 edition of AFCON. “We should thank Governor Okowa for not just chesting out for NFF but, giving us everything we need to qualify for AFCON; I am a very proud Deltan; we have

come to Delta, we have seen and we can testify that things are okay; Your Excellency, we want to thank you; in March, 2019, the Super Eagles will come back to Delta State to play with another international team, please, continue to support the Super Eagles.”

Captain of the Super Eagles, Ahmed Musa on behalf of members of the Super Eagles, thanked Governor Okowa and the people of Delta State for their support for the Super Eagles. “We will love to come back here again and on behalf of my team mates, we say thank you,” he said, expressing confidence that Governor Okowa will be re-elected in 2019 to enable him join the Super Eagles as Special Guest of Honour at AFCON in Cameroon.

High point of the event which saw renowned Nigerian born musicians and comedians performing was the presentation of a Super Eagles jersey signed by all the members of the team to Governor Okowa.

The governor in turn, presented the money he promised the team for every goal scored to the Captain of the Super Eagles, Ahmed Musa.

Obasanjo defends Okowa Ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo had on Monday, November

19, kicked against Okowa’s critics over his committing funds to the construction of the stadium. Obasanjo in defence of the governor said the sporting activities at the stadium would boost the state’s economy, amongst other things.

The ex-president who spoke while officially commissioning the Stadium, after he had commissioned some road projects executed by the Okowa administration, said Delta State would continue with its winning streaks in sporting activities.

Obasanajo posited that the stadium would provide avenue for people to exercise. “Whoever you are, whatever age you are, you must exercise, you must be fit”, he said.

He urged Governor Okowa to add hostel facilities in the stadium for people to live in and have opportunities of training round the clock to enable them become future world champions.

He explained thus, “We must catch them young, we have the facilities, we have to recruit those who will win, train them from young age; build a hostel where you will put people that you will train day and night and they will be going to school from the stadium and in whatever sports, Delta State will be the best.”

The ex-president who laid the foundation stone of the stadium during James Ibori administration 16 years ago, declared: “I was here (as the president) to perform the ground breaking ceremony of the stadium, I am here to commission it and I will be here again to see the hostel,” Okowa is called Road Master because of the over 317 roads he embarked upon. Obasanjo said “Okowa is also a Stadium Master and because of the work he has done, he is also the Bulldozer.”

Governor Okowa had thanked the former President for commissioning projects in the state, attributing the success stories of his administration to the handiwork of God. “Beyond entertainment and sports tourism, we must try and grow the local economy and this stadium is one of the ways of growing the local economy, for every sporting activities that take place in the stadium, a lot of socio-economic activities are witnessed,” he said.

“The fact that the Super Eagles trained here, an international flight took off from Asaba to Johannesburg, by the grace of God, we will work with private concessional to make Asaba airport truly international airport to grow our economy”, Okowa added.

Conclusion Tickets for entering the 23,000 capacity stadium was sold at N1,000 for popular side and N2,000 for VIPs yet many with their tickets were seen standing because there were no more vacant seats. Apart from the numerous benefits the state stand to gain from the stadium and sporting activities, analysts see proceeds from the tickets alone helping the state government recoup money spent and not be at huge loss as alleged by critics.

14 BDSUNDAY

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Sunday 25 November 2018

Feature We’re going to promote tourism, through sports - Nwosu

Mazi Jude Nnamdi Nwosu, managing director, Crunchies Fried Chicken, a foremost fast food chain, in the South-East/SouthSouth regions of Nigeria was recently elected president of the prestigious ‘Aba Sports Club 1926’, making him the 64th president of the club. In this interview with GODFREY OFURUM, he spoke on his vision for the club and business. Excerpts: How does it feel being elected president of the prestigious Aba Sports Club 1926? t feels wonderful, it feels great, and it feels beautiful, because this is an elite club. Aba Sports Club represents the goodness of Abia State. It represents what Abia State can offer, it represents the industrialists of Nigeria, and it represents businessmen of great repute.

As a President of Aba Sports Club, you are leading a group of people that are tremendously endowed with strength of purpose; people, who are tremendously endowed with making a difference wherever they are and this is why I am grateful to God that gave me the opportunity to lead these extreme wonderful people.

What are you bringing on board as the new president of the club?

We noticed some infrastructural deficiencies before we came on board and what we have done is to tackle them, one at a time.

By the end of my presidency, we would have made Aba Sports Club, the foremost Club in the SouthEast. And my vision is to make Aba Sports Club, the best Sports Club in Nigeria.

Let me say for example that under my watch, we will take the Golf section of Aba Sports Club to greater heights. It will be a place where the PGA tour will come to.

As we speak, we have gotten companies, especially in the South-East/ South-South regions, to sponsor our Golf tournaments.

This will promote tourism. By bringing these Golfers to come and play Golf in Aba Sports Club, the multiplier effect of bringing these golfers to play in Aba is unquantifiable. Hotels will be booked, things will be sold in Aba and it will reengineer economic activities in the commercial city.

Currently, we have an annual Amateur Golf Tournament, sponsored by the Nigerian Breweries plc and Governor Okezie Ikpeazu Open Tournament, that also attract armature golfers from all over the country. However, part of my vision is to also attract professional golf tournaments in Aba. The Professional Golf Association of Nigeria will soon be in Aba, to inspect our Golf facilities and after that, if we pass the interview, definitely, Aba Sports Club golf course, will get approval to host professional Golf tournaments.

How will you use your position, as the President of Aba Sports Club, to touch the lives of Aba residents?

We have a social responsibility to our community, which is Aba. And also what our corporate members the corporate members do in their individual companies is also a manifestation of what we preach at the Club.

I

Mazi Jude Nnamdi Nwosu We believe that we are our brothers’ keeper wherever we find ourselves. And through that, we do a lot of charity work. Sometimes too, we organise talk-shops, where we bring in people from outside, to educate the Aba community on issues that are of interest to them, to further develop Abia State.

We intend to organise a town hall meeting to find lasting solution to the lack of succession in our businesses. We are going to invite experts to talk to us on succession plan in our establishments, to find lasting solution to dearth of succession in Igbo businesses.

We have men and women, who do business in this area, but when they die, they will have nobody to succeed them, and that becomes the end of the business. This issue is concerns entrepreneurs in Aba, not just only members of the Aba Sports Club and so it will be community focused.

Your firm just introduced a new outlet called Roots. What is Roots all about?

Roots is a high end restaurant and what we have done is to bring nature back to the fast food industry. Roots, is a different restaurant where you are in tune with nature.

We now often hear about diabetics and other diseases, so what we are trying to do in Roots is to feed people with the right food, reduce the prevalence of heart related diseases. So, Roots restaurant was actually envisioned to provide excellent healthy food to our teaming customers.

Roots have opened in Umuahia and Enugu. Our essence every time is combination of doing the right things, making customers happy, creating employment and driving business in such a manner that is consistent with best business practices.

People are of the opinion that you may not be able to combine your business and the running of the Club. What’s your take on it?

What we have done in the last four months, when we took over, is what most past President’s did in two-years. Let me start by saying that we have attracted a brand new 150kva generating set, valued at over N9 million from Abia State Governor,Okezie Ikpeazu. We have asphalted the whole Golf parking lot at a cost of over N9 million. We have re-roofed most of the buildings in Aba Sports Club. So, in the past four months, we have done quite a lot and we have been able to live up to our administrative and financial obligations, as at and when due.

Good time management, decision making and planning are the hallmarks of a good leader. You don’t have to seat at a place and wait from morning till night to provide excellent leadership. We have 12 members in the management team and part of my job is to enable my management committee members to be proficient in their area of competences and by so doing, we have been able to come together to achieve result beyond measure.

So, I have the time. If I am able to run my business, I will also be able

to run Aba Sport Club.

How have you been able to sustain Crunchies, despite the enormous challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the country?

What we have done is to be consistent with our original plan. Our original plan is not about money, but building a business that not only will endure, but will outlive us. And if that is our mantra, then money is not the essence. We have been able to look at the market, studied the market and found out what the customers want. And in some cases, we’ve cut down our prices to ensure that we provide excellent service to our customers.

It is not all about money, it is about our relationship with our customers. We’ve been able to build a solid relationship with our customers; we’ve been able to build a very solid one that works.

We’ve been able to make them feel as if they are stakeholders in our business and that is the way we see them.

Apart from providing good food, which Crunchies is known for, our facilities, provide ambiance for family recreation.

Crunchies has continued to expand, despite the economic crunch. What is the secret?

It is our policy to continue to expand, because for every outlet that we open, we reduce unemployment and we are happy doing this, even against all odds.

Our philosophy in Crunchies is not only to provide good food for people, but also to provide employment and inspire others to take a cue from us and make Nigeria a better place.

We decided to do something different, to expand our scope in different States, as it is usual with us.

“It is to show our confidence in the economy of those cities and also to show how grateful we are to our customers, who in the past years have supported our businesses in those areas, to say thank you and thereby bring our outlets closer to their doorsteps, to provide better service and quality products to our numerous customers.

The intent of our expansion programme is to show our confidence in the economies of these areas, to remove from unemployment line, the young ones, who have just graduated from college and while we are doing that, also we mentor other businesses that they can invest in.

As a fast food chain of great repute, we will continue to provide excellent service and quality products to our numerous customers.

If you look at our slogan, which says ‘Taste the Difference’ and with the introduction of ‘Crunchies Plus’, we have created a new slogan that says ‘Step it up’.

What we have done is to provide excellent service and better quality

products and wider range of products to our numerous customers.

Before now, we were doing the normal fast food business of rice and chicken and all that, but right now we have added the Chinese variation, because we have found out that in most areas where we play that customers will always ask for simple things as ‘Spring Roll’, Chinese Rice and so on.

How has the Fast food industry fared and how will you rate government’s support to sustain businesses in the country?

Thisisagoodquestion,Imustsay.

The Government has supported us, through policies that ensure that we provide our services under a healthy environment. Let me explain that, due to the constant monitoring of what we do, as a food company, the Government, through its agencies like the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has put us on our toes, to ensure that we provide our services according to the rules and laws that guide our industry.

Talk about water, our water is tested; talk about food, our food is tested, they ensure that our workers are regularly tested for all kinds of health related issues, to ensure that what we are doing is in compliance with the rules that establish our industry.

If you look at the issue of Lassa fever, it is spreading, because rats are running over all the place, if the government is not monitoring our environment, through its relevant agencies that monitor establishments like ours, I’m sure we would’ve been in more trouble than we are today.

To that extent, government is playing their role. However, we urge government to do more, because the cost of generating our own energy, providing our own water, cuts our investable funds, because if we are to save these funds, we will be able to open more branches and for each branch you open, it is about 50 to 70 people that you will be employing.

Therefore, we urge the government to do more, by providing some of these much needed amenities that will help us do more. If we do more, we pay more taxes to Government, the Government will have more money to provide infrastructure to the people.

What will you like to be remembered for, when you round-off your tenure, as the President of Aba Sports Club?

When the history of Aba Sports Club will be told, I’m sure that the chapter that will say something about Jude Nwosu, will be that of excellence.

His profile Jude Nwosu, who holds the title of ‘Ugwu Aro of Arochukwu Ancient Kingdom’ in Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State, is an astute businessman and philanthropist.

He holds a Bachelor of Science and Masters Degree (MBA) in management, obtained from Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. He worked for McDonalds and Churches, fast food chains before returning to Nigeria.

He is married and the marriage is blessed with children. He is a devout and practising Christian, whose watchword is “Love” for one another.

Sunday 25 November 2018

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Feature With N2.2bn investment, Ringardas gives bitumen processing a boost Adeola Ajakaiye, Abuja

N

igeria`s aspiration for an improved road infrastructure has received a boost, with the commissioning of a N2.2 billion Bitumen Storage Plant by a French-owned CompanyRingardas Nigeria Limited (RNL).

The new bitumen storage plant built by the Company, described by Industry experts as one of the biggest in Africa, was commissioned by the Minister of Power, Work, and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, last Thursday.

The Minister, who was represented at the occasion by a director in the Ministry, Engr.

FunshoAdebiyi, said establishment of the plant as a significant milestone in Nigeria`s bid to having good road network.

The Plant, which is situated in Kwali area of the Federal Capital, Abuja, is said to have been built from the N5.8 billion new capital injected into the company by its French owner–RUBIS Energie, in the last three years.

In his welcome address at the occasion, Jean–Jacques Jung, managing director of RNL, said his company`s investment in the plant was a mark of its commitment to Nigeria`s Economic Development.

Jean-Jacques said building the plant was the first major investment made by the company since it was acquired by RUBIS ENERGIE in 2015.

He noted that for the company to be able to make such investment, despite the huge challenges it experienced in 2015 and 2016 operational year, was a thing of joy.

“In spite of these challenges, Ringardas has remained resilient, and with the support of its shareholders, particularly, RUBIS ENERGIE, which was able to inject additional new capital which amounted to about 200percent above its initial holding in the company.

“In order to overcome the challenges, the company embarked on a restructuring which led to the reduction of its expatriate workers from 46 to 6. The company has also been able to contribute to the government’s efforts to create employment by providing jobs to over 460 permanent employees, 98percent of which are Nigerian.

“This is in addition to the 107 local suppliers that were engaged to supply materials and other forms of services during

Christian Cochet, CEO, Rubis Energie; Jean-Jacques JUNG, MD, Ringardas Nigeria Limited; Funsho Adebiyi, director of works, North West, MPW&H; Jerome Pasquier, French Ambassador to Nigeria; Olivier Nechad, chairman, Ringardas Nigeria Limited, and Olayinka Olatunbosun, HR director, Ringardas Nigeria Limited.

the period that the plant was being constructed,” he stated.

Jean-Jacques noted with delight that the entry of the company into the bitumen business in Nigeria has revolutionised the supply of the product in the country, pointing out that prior to this time, road construction projects were regularly interrupted due to shortage of bitumen in the country.

“It is on record that despite the challenges posed by the prevailing economic situation in Nigeria in 2015 and 2016, both management of Ringardas and its shareholders ensured that the bitumen supply was not adversely affected.

In other words, the supply of bitumen to road contractors never ebbed, thanks to the unabated support of our parent company.

“Ringardas was able to do this by establishing storage terminals in all the geo-political zones in the country from where bitumen was being made available to all contractors with ease. Thus, making the product readily available all over Nigeria for road construction projects.

“The company also put in place a fleet of customized trucks that deliver hot bitumen, ready to be used on delivery, to road contractors at construction sites all over the country.

The innovations introduced by the company eliminated the need to re-heat bitumen supplied by the company before use, thereby saving time and energy hitherto expended by the contractors in heating the product before use,” he said.

Accoring to him, “In doing

these, we did not compromise the global best practices which we are known for, and we are prepared to continue with the good will of our Company in a manner that is socially responsible and commanding respect for its integrity”.

Giving an insight into the nature of activities of the company, Olivier Nechad, chairman of the company, said RNL also known as ASCA is owned by a

In order to overcome the challenges, the company embarked on a restructuring which led to the reduction of its expatriate workers from 46 to 6. The company has also been able to contribute to the government’s efforts to create employment by providing jobs to over 460 permanent employees, 98percent of which are Nigerian

French Group- RUBIS Energie, and is primarily involved in the business of importation, storage, marketing and distribution of bitumen, as well as, bituminous products and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) across Nigeria.

In his address also at the occasion, Christian Cochet, chief executive officer (CEO), RUBIS Energie, said his company is delighted with the construction of the storage facility, as it is in line with its global corporate vision of getting bitumen from places where they are available to areas of need.

“RUBIS is an established, French based international private limited company founded in 1990, who specialized in the downstream petroleum and chemicals sector, operating bulk liquid storage facilities (for petroleum products and chemicals) through our subsidiary, RUBIS Terminal and distribute fuels through our subsidiary, RUBIS Energie.

“Since 2000, RUBIS has expanded its presence across three regions, (Africa, Europe and the Caribbean) through direct investments and acquisitions. The Group has enjoyed strong, regular growth since 2000, driven by organic growth, new sites and acquisitions, while also constantly improving its productivity “ I n 2 0 1 5 , w e a c q u i re d Ringardas together with its sister companies in Belgium, Senegal and Togo. The intention behind acquisition of Ringardas is to further build on the success of Ringardas in Nigeria by deploying its wealth

of know-how, experience and resources towards improving the successes Ringardas has achieved in Nigeria over the years,” Cochet said.

He commended the management and staff of RNL for their zeal and commitment to the quick execution of the project geared at aiding road development in the country.

Delivering his address, French new Ambassador in Nigeria, Jerome Pasquier, who represented his country at the occasion, also expressed delight at the commissioning of the Plant, promising that his country would continue to encourage more French companies to invest in Nigeria.

Ambassador Jerome said that the continued flow of French investment into Nigeria was an indication of the warm relationship existing between the two countries, which he is out to promote.

The Ambassador said he was happy that the company was able to create jobs for Nigerians at this material time and used the occasion to encourage more Nigerian companies to take advantage of French technical expertise in growing their businesses.

Addressing the gathering, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Nigeria`s Minister of Power, Works and Housing, represented by director of works, in charge of South-West Zone of the country, Funsho Adebiyi, described the opening of the plant as a milestone in Nigeria`s road development.

Fashola, who highlighted some of the recent efforts being made by the Buhari administration to address the issue of infrastructural deficit being experienced across the country, said government was ready to collaborate with the company in making bitumen readily available.

In addition, the Minister disclosed that the establishment of the plant has helpedto create a local platform for testing quality of bitumen being imported into the country.

While commending the company for the establishing the plant, he however, urged the management of the company to start looking at the opportunity of sourcing the company`s bitumen requirement locally.

The highlight of the commissioning ceremony was the cutting of the Ribbon done by the representative of the Ministry, after which a guided tour of the plant by the guests was conducted, as well as the cutting of a cake to mark the occasion.

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Feature

‘Meruwas’ filling the gap, helping out in ‘clean’ water supply at huge health-cost …In a country where provision of potable water is a rocket science for government

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DESMOND OKON

he atmosphere was lit with a golden glow as the sun’s strength faded into a cool, breezy evening when Lola, a resident of Ogudu, came out of her house with a faded brown wrapper wrapped around her chest to pick up her own delivery of a 25 Litre keg of water from a man pushing a cart of kegs who stopped in front of her house.

Lola had just bought water with which to bathe to enable her get ready for the Sunday night outing.

For a long time in her community, they’ve had no access to clean water.

“There is no clean water here”, said Lola, who by now had finished dressing up, clad in a black top on a blue denim Jeans and is all set to set out. “In this place, there is no water, and it’s been like that for a long time.

So, most people here buy water because the water we have here is not clean, and it’s not good for anything”, she added.

As Lola rightly said, she is not alone in this predicament, others within her surroundings are too. So is Mary, a resident of Akinyemi,Alapere, Agoyi Ketu Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.

Mary and her neighbours are no strangers to buying water for their daily chores, including washing of cars. BDSUNDAY found that the well in their compound, which is a major source of water in Akinyemi, is unclean, too dirty to be used for anything.

“We buy water in this place because the water we have is not clean. Maybe, it’s because of the water level.” Mary said, trying to guess why the water in their well is so brown.

But a few northern and Niger Republic youths have taken it upon themselves to bridge the gap to help residents of Alapereand Ogudu communities, and indeed, of many other parts of the state, access clean water. These youths earn a living therefrom They are called ‘Meruwa’, a Hausa term for men who sell water from door to door.

Somewhere in Majekolagbe Street, with shops lined up on both sides directly facing oneanother, sits a shop dealing in bread and egg.

This shop, obviously owned by one of the Northerners popularly called “our brother” is where most of theMeruwascome to unwind after the day’s work, and Silas, one of the northern men providing residents with clean water, is not an exception.

Silas, from Nasarawa, told BDSUNDAY that he ventured into selling water three years ago, in order to make a living, feed his two wives and 10 children. “I don’t have money”, Silas said, after a delivery in the blistering sun, and looking wet from

his own sweat.

“So, I sell water to make money.

Out of the little money I make, I send to my wives in Nasarawa” he said, chewing on a loaf of bread and complementing it with a BIG Cola soft drink.

“I sell to anyone who needs my water. Both containers go for 50 to 80”, he further said.

Although Silas said he makes about 600 to 1000 daily, he lamented that delivering water to clients is stressful, as the market is dwindling.

“There is no money in the business because some residents have water in their houses. The business is tough. In four months, you can’t get up to 20, 000, and when you want to go back home, there’s no money. If I find something else to do, I’ll quit this business,” he said.

But Silas is not the only one who knows how to exploit humanity’s needs to improve his fortunes. NuruMa’andoes too.Also, employed as a security worker for a resident in Majekolagbe, Ma’an picked up his Garuwas two years

ago, when he came to Lagos in search of greener pastures, leaving behind his two wives, seven children, and his farm in Jigawa State.

The Garuwas are metallic cylindrically shaped buckets used to fetch water. A rope is tied to the handles and further tied to both ends of a stick, and carried on their shoulders to areas of need.

“I started selling water two years ago. I sell to those who are having a tough time getting access to clean water. Two of my Garuwas go for 50 to 100. I make up to 600 a day,” he told BDSUNDAY. “But it’s not lucrative anymore because not everyone buys water. Some have boreholes in their homes,” he adds.

How they operate There are two groups in the Meruwa merchandise. Those that use the garuwa, and those that push cart. Mazu belongs to the former.

Mazu who has spent two years in the ‘industry’ said he went into the business for the same reason as others.

Every morning, Mazu, who hails from Jigawa State, slips on his work clothes –a sky blue T-shirt which has “Here To Help You” written boldly behind it, and a pair of greyblack short jean trousers. He picks up his garuwa, hangs it on his shoulders, and sets out in search of water for his customers, some of whom may have placed orders.

Sometimes alone, or joined by his friends, Mazu goes to houses with boreholes where he buys water and resells to his clients. “I buy in the two garuwa for 20 and sell at 100,” he said, with a suspicious look in his face.

This routine is the basic operation of the two groups of Meruwa, the difference, however, is that those who push carts earn more.

But while others complained of the stress involved, and the body aches they experience in the process of distributing water on their shoulders, Mazu seems to be doing fine, BDSUNDAY was informed.

“Since I started, business has been good. There hasn’t been any problem so far, and I get up to 1000 a day,” he said. Asked if he gets body pains as a result of carrying the garuwa to different areas in Alapere, “carrying it on my shoulders is not a problem. I am strong,” he replied with air of confidence that debased his colleague who stood by listening.

Although these meruwas try to fill a huge gap created by the inability of government at all levels to provide pipe-borne water for the citizens, the source of the water they distribute sometimes create health hazards for the consumers.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on World Water Day celebrated this year, said 69 million Nigerians do not have access to safe water and 19 million have to walk long distances to get water.

The recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2016/17, also indicated that about 40 percent of households do not have access to clean water sources.

Though, Nigeria has made significant progress in developing policies and strategies for water supply and sanitation service delivery, translating these into action has been a major challenge. UNICEF further reports on its website that about 70 million people, out of a population of 171 million, lacked access to safe drinking water, and over 110 million lacked access to improved sanitation in 2013. Open defecation rates, at 28.5 percent pose grave public health risks.

According to UNICEF, every year, an estimated 124,000 children under the age of five die because of diarrhoea, mainly due to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. Lack of adequate water and sanitation are also major causes of other diseases, including respiratory infection and

under-nutrition.

The facts show that Nigeria may likely not achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 6 which stipulates that countries must achieve universal and equitable access to potable water for all, and access to adequate sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation by 2030.

So, UNICEF suggested that $8 billion needs to be invested annually in providing potable water in Nigeria, if the country must achieve Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

But while Nigerians are still expecting the government to leverage on this piece of advice, Mazu and his colleagues are ignorantly helping to solve a major problem that concerns the world, and the inscription on his blue shirt –‘Here to help you’- is where the message lies.

The Car wash: Meruwa’s business hub At a car wash in Ori-Oke, Ogudu, is another place you will find the water dealers. As observed, no car has been seen undergoing washing at this car wash for a while. This is where the cart pushers group in the Meruwa business come to get their supplies. Coupled with the trees providing shade, this spot serves as first, a business hub, and a resting place for the Meruwas who are often seen in droves buying water and resting under a tree, mostly after a delivery.

Here, sitting under a tree conversing with a colleague is a tall, slim, and dark Niger Republic-born youth. He’s wearing a gold-tinted hair and goatee, and a brown-patterned top on a black trouser. Looking at him, you could tell he is different. More so, he speaks clearer and seems sounder than the rest. At least, his fashion sense says it all.

Abubakar’s quest for a better life drove him to Lagos in 2016. Having worked as a security personnel, and a bricklayer, the former gold dealer in Niger Republic, as he told BDSUNDAY, who later became broke, got into the water business to enable him build financial capacity.

“I started this year since I came to Lagos. The work is fine, but sometimes you won’t have customers.

It’s just like a market. If it rains, we don’t have customers because they get water from the rain. Some have boreholes and they only buy from us when their machines are bad,” he told BDSUNDAY. Abubakar’s cart can take up to 14 of the twenty-five litre yellow kegs. A conversation with BDSUNDAY reveals that he covers the entire area in Ogudu depending on where he is needed, and extends to Alapere.

“I sell based on the distance of a customer’s house, and it’s between 50 and 180. I make about 3,000 to 5,000 daily. Before now, when only a few of us were in the business, I

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Feature Fury in A/Ibom as principal flogs corps member

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ANIEFIOKUDONQUAK, Uyo

get up to 10, 000 daily. But now, a lot of people have joined the business,” he said.

“A lot of people drink my water, if they don’t have pure water (sachet water)” he said, sensing it is a big deal in a community that lacks clean water. “I drink it too”, he adds.

On the other hand, just three months old into the trade, Yahaya, from Borno State, is not too happy with the business…just like Ma’an.

“I buy a 25-litre keg at 50, and sometimes, 30. About what I make a day, I can’t really say because sometimes when I come out to begin work, I don’t have much customers. So, I can’t say,” he said, refusing to speak further.

Welcome to Church Street Moving from Akinyemi to Ketu, a signpost standing on the left side of the road reads “Church Street”, directing pedestrians and commuters alike to the entrance found on the right side of the road. This is another community in dire need of clean water. But the population of Meruwas seemed to be small, and BDSUNDAY soon found the reason for this.

At the entrance of the community, one Meruwa was spotted with his garuwa, looking for water as usual, and found where to buy.

Just about a minute’s walk from the gate. “There,” he said, pointing to a turn on the left leading to another street, when asked where he buys water.

But deep inside this community, what seemed to be a hunt for water was the case. It was around 9: am, and everyone was busy.

The entire street, about three minutes’ walk from the entrance to the spot this reporter stood, was flooded with people (some in groups, others using a tricycle (kekeNapep in local parlance) holding containers of different shapes, sizes and colours, and going in and out of houses to fetch water. It was quite difficult talking to a resident, but luckily, a woman with a big blue plastic basin on her head came through.

“We buy water here. We don’t have clean water”, she said trying to catch her breath. She said the

situation has been so for years, but refused to speak further and directed this reporter to the chairman of Church Street and environs, oneAlhajiSarkaMemud.

The situation here Opposite Memud’s house, another group of residents thronged, fetching water in giant bowls.

“Years back”, he began, “we’ve been using the public water. But suddenly, everything went off.

Though some areas are still having it till today, but the pressure (forcing water from the public utility to the area) is not up to expectation.

If the pressure can be okay, then there won’t be water problem in all these communities. The pressure is not enough. Some streets have water, but they are using a pumping machine to pump it. But in areas like this, we don’t have.

“We’ve been reporting the matter to the government, because the public water is from the government and is treated. As it is now, it’s no more working,” Memud said.

To survive, he said that the community has been making efforts to make boreholes, and dig wells. “They buy pure water to drink”, he said, complaining also that some people within the community sell water that is got from the government.

In Church Street, there are philanthropic residents who give water to the needy free of charge.

There are also others who commercialise their boreholes. Hence, everyone in the community engages actively in the search for water depending on the proximity, and as such, has little need for Meruwas. This explains why the population of Meruwas operating within the community is small.

But that does not mean their impact has not been felt. “The aboki people selling water have been helpful in solving our water problem. I don’t buy from them, but some of my tenants do”, Memud said.

“Though we don’t drink the water, the Meruwapeople have been helping us get clean water”, Mary agreed.

he uproar over the flogging of a female corps member has yet to settle. That singular act of a school principal who showed his ‘strict disciplinarian nature” when he flogged a female corps member has been greeted with indignation.

It all began when Friday Udoka, the principal of a technical college in Abak, Akwa Ibom State flogged a youth corps member who is doing her primary assignment in the school. He seriously trashed her with a cane!

Olaitan Adeola Kolawole, the female corps member, had obliged her colleague who was indisposed and had asked that she should write her name in the attendance register of the school on that fateful day.

It was on Friday, October 19, 2018, the day Udoka will never forget in a hurry. Kolawole had written the name of her friend, Dolapo Victoria because her friend was absent. Being the beginning of the weekend, Victoria may have had other things going on in her mind.

Udoka, a “no nonsense” principal who has only three years before his retirement, flogged Kolawole for daring to write the name of her friend when she knew her friend was not present and dragged her outside the classroom in front of the students.

Thanks to the internet and the availability of smart phones, what the school principal thought was done in a remote community outside Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State suddenly became the topic of discussion as the video clip of the flogging went viral.

As the action of the school principal became a hot topic of debate and discussion, it caught the attention of both the official of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) in the state and that of the state ministry of education. Udoka was immediately summoned and asked to defend himself for not only flogging the corps member but inflicting bodily harm.

“No man is perfect, I have not flogged a corps member before.

I am very sorry for using a cane on her. Adeola, I am very sorry for what happened.

“When I went back home, I felt bad for flogging a woman. It is not true that I dragged her out of my office and flogged her before the students. This is a man that behaves like a father but I don’t know what happened that I behaved rudely with you.

Please forgive me.

“The mistake will not repeat itself. Whatever is the cost of your treatment, I will bear it,” Udoka begged.

… Rights groups raise alarm

L-R: Olaitan Adeola Kolawole receiving a cash of N50,000 from Victor Inoka, Akwa Ibom State commissioner for education.

Although Kolawole has since reluctantly accepted the apology, saying she has no reason not to accept the apology of an elder, she explained that her parents had wanted to take up the matter further.

“For an elder to apologise for his mistake, I forgive him. I accept his apology. My parents wanted to take up the matter but I will talk to them not to pursue the case as they wanted.’’

As the matter got to the attention of the Akwa Ibom State ministry of education, the commissioner, Victor Inoka, hurriedly convened a reconciliation meeting with officials of the NYSC, the school principal and Kolawole.

“I am the Commissioner for Education in the state; I know that corps members are so dear to the heart of the government that is why I personally invited the principal to apologise for the action. Therefore, on behalf of the state government, I apologise for the action. We take the welfare of corps members seriously,” Inoka said.

Though state coordinator of NYSC, Amusu Julius said he has written an official report on the incidence to the NYSC directorate but had to withdraw the letter because the Commissioner of Education asked that a reconciliation meeting be arranged between the parties involved, he said he has withdrawn all the corps members posted to the school until the issue was resolved. And tongues are still waging over the matter.

“I had promised to report the matter to the appropriate authority but while I was doing the letter, the principal and the commissioner came to my office this morning.

“I have called the head of the directorate of my headquarters to brief him on the matter.

I decided to withdraw all of you from that school as a first step to ensure your security. Adeola has accepted the apology of the

principal,” he said.

The commissioner for education reportedly donated a cash of N50, 000 to Kolowale for treatment of the injury she suffered while being flogged by the school principal.

But rights groups in the state are not having any of it. Israel Ekanem is the coordinator, Coalition of Eastern NGOs (CENGOS) in Akwa Ibom State with a focus on Sexual and GenderBased Violence.

According to him, any form of violence against anybody is a violation of the person’s human rights saying that victims are bound to experience some form of trauma in life. He described Gender-Based Violence (GBV) as one of the worst violations of human rights and frowned at the use of cane by the school principal on Kolawole.

“This issue should have been handled administratively, there was no need for the use of cane and it was absolutely unnecessary for her to be flogged,” he said. “We condemn the action of the school principal and wish to reiterate that GBV has no place in a modern society,’’ Ekanem said.

Head of the corps members in the college, Ogo Okechukwu Joshua, who said he was happy the issue has been resolved, requested that a Vice Principal be assigned to oversee the affairs of the corps members.

“I am happy the case has ended. I am happy that the principal has apologised. The corps members do not have a staff room; let an office be made available for them if they are going back there. A vice principal should be assigned to the corps members,” he pleaded.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in 1979. It is the primary convention pertaining to women and it came into force in 1981.

Nigeria signed the convention in

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Sunday 25 November 2018

TheWorshippers The vision of the church is to liberate mankind, says Apostle Agboli …Holds Bethel Victory Convention 2018

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postle Joseph Agboli of The Victorious Army Ministries International, Lagos, has called on Christians across the country to key in to the vision of the church, which he said was to help liberate mankind from the bondage of sin.

Speaking at the press conference for the forthcoming Bethel Victory Convention 2018, tagged ‘Fulfilling your Glorious Destiny’, held at the church headquarters in Lagos, Agboli said Bethel Victory Convention is the period the church uses to raise up altars for the fulfilment of glorious destiny of the worshippers.

Agboli, who stated that God has a purpose for individual, also charged Christians on the need to give to the less-privileged by way of sharing whatever they have.

“We help you activate your destiny with the word of God through the Bethel Victory Convention,” he said.

Blessings Agboli, wife and senior pastor of the

Apostle Joseph Agboli

church, in a statement said leadership is a collective responsibility. She stated that the convention will help

set Nigeria on the right path of progress and success, as the country inches towards 2019.

According to her, the convention will help usher the people of God into 2019. She stated that the congregation will be expectant of all round fulfillment; urging politicians to focus on issue-based campaign in the forthcoming general election.

A mega rally was held yesterday across Lagos to kick-start the week-long convention, which will commence with an open session on Tuesday 27 November, morning glory encounter, evening word/miracle, a special praise night by 10pm on Friday, 30 November, and will be rounded off with a thanksgiving service on Sunday 2 December by 9 am.

The 2018 Bethel Victory Convention will feature other ministers like Apostle Joshua Talena; Apostle Tim Gbasha; Apostle Paul Odola and Apostle Ryan Lestrange for the word impartation.

While Tim Godfrey; Praise Machine; Tope Alabi; Laolu Gbenjo; Woli Agba and Kelvin Sapp will lead the worshippers in songs and worship.

God will intervene for Nigerians in 2019 - Udofia

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s Nigeria prepares for the forthcoming 2019 general election, the Primate of African Church Worldwide, the Most Rev. Emmanuel Udofia has expressed deep conviction that God will intervene for Nigerians in 2019 as those that delight in trouble

Most Rev. Emmanuel Udofia

and confusion would be restrained by the power of God. Udofia stated this at the prayer summit organised by Akwa Ibom Clergy Forum (AICLEF) recently held in Lagos, noting that lots of surprises await greedy and self-centered politicians in 2019 general election.

The primate of the African Church Worldwide spoke on the ‘Efficacy of prayer in times like these,” declaring that the current governor of his home state, Udom Emmanuel is the person God has destined to lead the state and it is essential to support him with prayers.

He however, called on Christians across the nation to intensify their prayer efforts for the well-being of the nation and not to despair on the face of some sad developments in the country.

“The churches need to intensify their prayer efforts and they should not be discouraged because God works in a mysterious way.

I am assuring Nigerians that God will turn every negative thing around for the nation to her favour,” he said.

The primate, who noted that the success or failure of the forthcoming 2019 general election depends on the role of INEC, warned the commission on the dangers of compromising on its role in the conduct of the polls.

Udofia opined that God will hold the electoral body responsible for any nega-

tive action and reaction by Nigerians as a result of its bias decisions at the polls.

“The politicians must play the game according to set rules in order not to overheat the polity thereby creating chaotic situation capable of throwing the country into trouble during or after the elections,” he stated.

He primate who was the guest speaker at the summit, described Akwa Ibom state governor, Udom Emmanuel, as God’s mandate for the state, stressing that it behooves on the Christian community both at home and in Diaspora to pray steadfastly for his success and the well-being of the state.

He noted that it was unnecessary to start a blame game and apportion fault at the moment, but to pray that God should not allow the state to suffer yet another crisis that was witnessed in some parts of the state.

Micheal Ekpenyong, the Akwa Ibom liaison officer, commended AICLEF the initiative of the prayer conference, noting that the theme was quite apt taking into cognisance this period in the nation’s life.

Cleric urges FG to ease Nigerians sufferings

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he president of the Knowledge of God Evangelical Minist r i e s ( KO G E M ) Ibadan, South West Nigeria, Peter Ola Aremu, has called on the Federal Government alongside state governors to proffer immediate solutions to the pains and agonies being faced by the masses in Nigeria.

Aremu, who stated this in the church auditorium in a recent state of the nation address noted that “Nigerians are facing hard times; we now hear unpalatable news of terror, anguish, sadness, kidnapping, bare-faced wickedness and of hopelessness, such that frustration is written on the faces of many people; there are dashed hope, thus, it has become clear to many people that there is no solution from man, but only solution to the numerous hardships facing mankind, is in the Almighty”.

The evangelist opined that there is no doubt that most Nigerians are passing through tough times, enduring much pains and sufferings. According to him, a lot of people

lack electricity to power their homes, while high cost of food stuffs, joblessness, high poverty incidence and hunger have overbearing and negative multiplier effects on the people’s livelihood.

“Government should make some moves to salvage the situations and ensure that the nation is healed. Many people who placed their trust and hope in earthly authorities have had their hopes dashed, and the numerous hardship and challenges that the world are experiencing today, are the fulfilments of the Scriptures.

“Nigerians should not dwell in hopelessness to the point of seeking solutions to their problems in wrong quarters, as the situation demands divine intervention; also we need not shed innocent blood in our desire to make it in life”.

Aremu however, called on Nigerians to always respect constituted authorities rather than wishing them evil, and should trust in God for the country to overcome its socio-political, economic and spiritual challenges.

Divine Mercy Baptist Church marks 10 years of God’s goodness

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he entire congregation and ministers of Divine Mercy Baptist Church are today celebrating ten years of God’s goodness with a thanksgiving service. The special thanksgiving service is anchored by Rev. Simon Adewuyi Ishola, the deputy president Administration, of the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary (NBTS), Ogbomosho.

The celebration, which started on Wednesday with a prayer section (Praying for Greater Glory) had Reverend S.A. Ajibade and B. Quadri in attendance to pray with the church. On Friday, the congregation was entertained to a drama piece by Life Gate

Drama Evangelical Christian Ministry, and special hymns tagged ‘Singing unto His Glory’ led by Lady Evangelist Folake Daramola and DBMC Voices.

Femi Popoola, the pastor in charge of the church said, the core values of a church that focuses on greater glory must be sound preaching of the word, separation from the world, evangelism and missions.

According to him, it is in keeping to the foregoing that we can really prove that such church is indeed focusing on greater glory. “A lot of churches today have lost their bearing with Christ and have attracted some other glory (the worldly glory).

Prophet Femi Otusanya consecrated as bishop

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rophet Olufemi Otusanya of the True Covenant Church of God (TCCG), Ikorodu, popularly referred to as ‘Omo Majemu’ that is the covenant child, has been consecrated as bishop by the college of bishops in Nigeria and the Diaspora.

The recent consecration, which took place at the TCCG church auditorium, was a defining moment for the accountant-turnedpreacher of the word, who has now been elevated to the enviable status of bishopric.

Femi Otusanya, while speaking on his investiture, said he was overwhelmed by the honour done to him via his

new status in Christendom, promising never to let those who deemed him fit for the office down, based on his avowed covenant with God. Since he went into fulltime ministry out 10 years ago, the covenant child has been a veritable instrument in the hand of God, providing succour for the less privileged.

He has also serve as bridge for those seeking the face of God for one spiritual need or the other. Aside his calling as an evangelist and preacher of the gospel, Otusanya is also a motivational speaker, composer, singer, dancer, actor, producer, director, talking drummer, instrumentalist, youth leader, visionary and a philanthropist.

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On regulatory body language – Nigerian government and corporate entities

Publisher/CEO

Frank Aigbogun editor Zebulon Agomuo DEPUTY EDITOR John Osadolor, Abuja assistant EDITOR Chuks Oluigbo NEWS EDITOR Patrick Atuanya EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DIGITAL SERVICES Oghenevwoke Ighure GENERAL MANAGER, ADVERT Adeola Ajewole ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude FINANCE MANAGER Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Patrick Ijegbai CIRCULATION MANAGER John Okpaire DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Linda Ochugbua GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

Sunday 25 November 2018

Mark Amaza Amaza is a communications strategist and public commentator.

O

ne of the unique perks of the governance practices entrenched in most democracies is the relative ease with which most observers are able to watch the body language of public institutions. The effect of monitoring regulatory body language only on key political, social and economic actors is crucial in understanding the often unseen but important drivers of economic growth and social change.

Take the situation with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the country’s biggest telecom provider, MTN. The CBN had alleged in August 2016 that MTN and four banks – Standard Chartered Plc, Citigroup Inc, Stanbic IBTC Plc, and Diamond Bank – illegally repatriated $8.1 billion from the country and asked that the company should return it. The regulator also imposed a $16 million fine on the four banks, which it has already debited.

Cue in the predictable backlash from foreign investors, much of the political elite, even some foreign government representatives and most informed economic observ-

ers. The bank, evidently realising the unintended consequences of its actions, has sought to institute some form of damage control.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele admitted as much when he told reporters in London last month that “this is not a matter that should have blown so openly”, a comment that lies at the core of the main issue of this whole drama and needs to be examined in some detail.

There are aspects of the MTN regulatory morass that appear choreographed in ways that do not suggest an independent regulator appraising the situation with detachment and dispatch. The bank’s posturing has had a tinge of retribution. At its core, the allegations about improper Certificates of Capital Importation (CCIs), if true, might be an indicator at a wider, systemic procedural compromise but the regulator has been silent about the integrity of its processes, just as it was silent in 2009 when the issue was first flagged with it.

In addition, the needless public dragging of one of the largest private sector employers in the country, particularly how the story broke, was the stuff of high-level political mudslinging. Over the course of this event, the CBN has appeared to behave in ways that increasingly appear to be the product of a script written by interested political elements with designs on getting a piece of the action of one of the country’s big companies. For this top 1 percent of the elite, the side effects of this regulatory inquisition, whether the whittling of

investor confidence or the possible economic sabotage it may wreak, are immaterial; the only thing that matters is their interest.

It, therefore, did not come as a surprise when ex-British Secretary of State, Priti Patel, in a recent op-ed for City A.M, urged foreign investors to stay away from Nigeria. In her words, “The Nigerian government has continued to flout international law and convention, and it refuses to respect the various court decisions. Investors must consider this long-running scandal and weigh this obstinacy against Nigeria’s mishandled economic potential.”

There is another crucial question that MTN’s travails raise about Nigeria’s regulatory climate, away from the obvious political undertone – the apparent divide between regulators and oversight bodies.

In November 2017, Nigeria’s upper legislative house approved a report exonerating the company from accusations that it illegally repatriated $14 billion out of the country. The Senate, instead, indicted the CBN for granting extensions and exemptions to financial regulations, opening the door to potential “sharp practices by commercial banks”. What did the CBN do in the wake of the report? Nothing, it would appear.

Now, media reports cite some unnamed senators as alleging that the Muhammadu Buhari administration and the CBN have perfected arrangements to go easy on MTN “through the back door”.

According to these senators, the executive is acting unilaterally

without recourse to the Senate, which had earlier investigated and cleared MTN on this matter. This argument, while clearly another front in the political back and forth between the executive and legislature, does have some merit.

During the Senate investigation, it was the CBN’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions that MTN did not breach any law with how it issued its CCIs, a fact the company has incorporated in its legal defence. It was, in fact, the bank’s testimony that persuaded the senators to exonerate the bank.

It is not far-fetched, thus, to imagine the surprise and chagrin of the Senate that the CBN not only ignored the conclusion of its investigation but then proceeded in August 2018 to fine MTN’s bankers, tried to penalise the company and confuse foreign investors and most Nigerians in the process, only to attempt to retrace its steps.

In a narrow sense, these new developments can be seen as the Senate’s attempt at imposing its supervisory constitutional powers over a federal regulatory agency that seem, at times, like a pantomime playing to the orchestra; at other times, too independent for its own good. With the bank set to liberalise the regulatory environment to allow telcos to offer mobile banking services to Nigeria’s huge unbanked market, the time has never been more appropriate to ensure that the supervisors are themselves properly supervised.

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Dick Kramer - Chairman Imo Itsueli Mohammed Hayatudeen Afolabi Oladele Vincent Maduka Keith Richards Opeyemi Agbaje Amina Oyagbola Bolanle Onagoruwa Fola Laoye Chuka Mordi Mezuo Nwuneli Charles Anudu Tunji Adegbesan Eyo Ekpo

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BDLife Sunday 25 November 2018

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LIFE&LIVING

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BDSUNDAY 21

An evening with the Olugbodis: The secret of our togetherness

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Life&Living

‘Good upbringing, secret of ou It was a cool Tuesday evening in a cozy atmosphere provided by their posh office in a corner of Ikeja GRA, Lagos. And there they gathered, The Olugbodi Family, each with a radiant face exuding fulfillment and contentment. One could almost touch the camaraderie that define peace and love in a family of eight sturdy men and one chubby woman. In no time, this conversation with ZEBULON AGOMUO & CHUKA UROKO begins, snaking through their growing up, family upbringing, parental influence, the secret of their togetherness, among other interesting and enlightening narratives. Excerpts:

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What is it that must have kept you together as a family even as old and established people? ur parents are responsible for our staying together because growing up there was no favouritism for any particular child. It has always been a structure of one family in terms of respect and authority.

You find that some of us have just one year difference in our ages, but you talk to that person who is just one or two years older as if you have 10 years apart because you have to show respect. Again, everybody commends respect because of the kind of personality he/ she represents.Respect goes down the line from whoever is the oldest.

Ours has been a close-knit family right from the outset. I, being the first born, I grew up to know our parents, both of whom are still alive, as very respectful and humble people. Our father retired as a Central Bank worker and I followed him to Port Harcourt while Tunji was in Lagos. Most of my younger brothers were born in Lagos.

All these years, we have not had any form of rivalry; everybody developed his own talent in education and attitude. I never knew I would join our father at CBN, because as the first born he wanted me to be a medical doctor. Eventually, I found myself as a HR practitioner; I am now retired and trying to join my brothers in business.

This kind of question arose some time ago when there was a crisis in our home town and took time to reflect on it and I discovered that it was a tradition, not just about our parents and grandparents on both side. Our paternal grandfather had two wives. I stayed with them a while when I was in secondary school. I never saw them fight nor the wives quarrel or discriminate among their children. Everybody did the same thing together. Every Christmas, we would all gather in our grandfather’s compound.

We looked forward to such gathering every Christmas and these are some of the values of unity and togetherness they inculcated in us right from childhood. Among us everybody has his own role such that there are advisers and mentors and you know who to talk to when you want to.

What was growing up like under what seems very strict parents who could impact this discipline we see in you as individuals and as a family?

The discipline we see could be traced to our parents, especially to our mother. She is quite strict. When we were growing up, I used to look at some of our mates and reasoned that they were lucky to have the kind of parents they had.

Our mother was such that whenever she was travelling, she would give house chores that you would never finish. So, there was no room for you go out playing pranks. Some of these things actually shaped what we turned out to be because there is virtually nothing you will say you cannot do. As a man, you can also function in the kitchen.

We did not have that luxury of being pampered, but here we are today, disciplined and respectful and this we carried beyond the home.

What is seen in us could actually be traced to our parents and the discipline they inculcated in us.

There are three things that our parents taught us that I am beginning to realise they are important to mental growth. The first one is acceptance of responsibility and our mother used house chores to teach us this. House chores were given to us depending on your age. As early as age 2-3, you already have a responsibility and you graduate from one level of responsibility to another as you grow older. We kept to this.

Another one is ability to delay gratification.

On Fridays, as you are returning from school, you have to wash your school uniform, show it to her and you can go back to wash those clothes for as many times as she is not satisfied with what you have done. And don’t allow her to stay by you when you are doing the washing because your case would be worse, On Saturday, you iron the clothes by yourself. So, by Sunday, you are already set for school. Even on Saturdays when you are supposed to wake up late, she would wake you up early enough to start doing something.

The third thing we learnt from her is attitude of problem-solving which for me formed the basis for each of us having entrepreneurial spirit.

She and our father actually thought us to face situations. Our father particularly, would ask you to ‘use your initiative’. Our mother would tell you not to run away from responsibilities, but to face

it and these actually helped us.

AkintomiAkinyemiOlugbogi (contributed from US via Skype) The lessons I learnt from our parents are many. Our father, for instance, would tell you that no matter how brilliant you are, show up your character. Till today, in both private and public practice, that has been with me. I remember many times in office when we have meetings and question comes up in terms of patience, I would tell my staff members to show your character. That means that in life, you should be humble and show positive character. This has helped in many situations.

Concerning our mother, doing laundry with her taught us some lessons because she would tell you that it was not the soap that washes the clothes, but how much you grind the clothes.

When we were growing up, we realised that as a trader in Tejuosho market, she was fearless and was notthe kind of woman that would cringe when challenges come. She would always use words for effect and also for advantage. She has many wise sayings that I still remember. Even though we had house helps, our mother never believed in using other people’s children to train her own children. Personally, I learnt a lot from our parents and also from my siblings.

Several times in the course of this conversation, we have heard you people talk, quote the Bible and even say ‘Praise the Lord’ which

show the moral aspect of your upbringing and a home built on Christ. How religious were/ are your parents and how did this impact on your up-bringing?

When we were growing up, we had Baptist background and our father tried to make us do devotion in the night and in the morning. Interestingly, what has kept all of going is the fact that we know Christ. We are not religious, but all know Christ. It was our brother Dapo that brought Christ into the home and infected every one. Some of us were tough and mischievous and because these one accepted Christ, every other person followed.

The Bible says, ‘can two walk together unless they be agreed’, meaning that we all have the spirit of Christ in us. One of us is a Deacon in Baptist; another is an Elder in another church.

Everybody attends different churches. We are not all in one denomination but the common denominator is Christ. This is what keeps everybody going and guides everything we do in life.

Added to moral values we got growing up is now having the spirit of Christ in us. This keeps us going.Our parents taught us with their own lives. Whenever I hear the word ‘integrity’, the first thing that strikes my mind is our father. He taught us ‘integrity’ and ‘initiative’ because he would always ask us to ‘use your initiative’. If you want to get anything done and you are stuck, he would always ask you to go back and use your

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ur togetherness’ initiative. He also taught how not to drive. If you must drive, don’t run on speed and if you have to enter a pothole, go dead, enter it and come out.

This is why every vehicle he used is re-usable almost to the second generation of his children.

In fact, our parents were teaching us with their lives. Looking at us, people usually think we were born with silver spoon in our mouth, but we were not. We were born rather with wooden spoons, if there is anything like that, in our mouth. We used to think that we were the most unfortunate children around because most parents took their children on holidays outside the country. Well, we also we went on holiday but to our village. So, when we went back to school and everybody is talking about winter and summer, you would be talking about harmattan and your body is white.

Our parents taught us too not to compare yourself with other people. Live your own life and run your own race. These are some of the things we learnt from them. We also learnt resilience from our parents, especially our mother.

She has tried any trade you could imagine. Our entrepreneurial spirit actually came from her.

We believe, like she also does, no matter how many times you fall, keep rising and going on.

We have all had our shares of challenges; they still come, but something tells us that challenges come so that we can be promoted.

One of the reasons we all agreed to do this is, sincerely speaking, God has been good to us and we feel that we should use our story to inspire other people. This is not about blowing own trumpet, but telling people that no matter how bad it is, still keep your head on your neck.

Today, we are all university graduates and some of the people we looked up to when we were growing up, never went this far. We had it rough when we were growing up. We believe in the Biblical saying that ‘though your beginning was small, yet, your latter end would greatly increase’. So, what matters is how the end will be.

It is pertinent for me to emphasise that we are not religious. But because we already had so much integrity and our coming up was quite moralistic, it was almost a deterrent for us coming to know Jesus. Our father was such that you would never see him sitting down with a bottle of beer because he wanted to relax after a day’s work. We have copied a lot from him. He was not the womanizing type, either.

It is important for us to know that everybody in Nigeria is religious and moralistic. But that is not the important thing. What is important instead is that you must know Christ and accept him as your personal Lord and saviour.

(MoromokeGbonjubola- the only female) Talking about upbringing, religion and church, I know that at 76, our mother is still very active in the church as Sunday School teacher.

She is not just a Sunday School teacher but also a born-again Christian which is very important and strikes me as a woman.

Now that I have my family, I realise what our mother faced bringing us up. We have had our challenges and whenever challenges come, she would go down in prayers. I am already facing my own challenges as a mother too and I would always ask myself what would a mother do when faced with challenges? I look up to my mother for solution for situations that are challenging. And I know that what she would always do is to pray. My children will always tell you, ‘grandma can pray’ and that is the truth because she is always praying or studying the Bible.

These are some of the virtues I have imbibed from her and I want to believe that everything boils down to your parents and what you learn from them. My father was always talking about integrity.

I know of three sensitive things that

people fear to discuss freely and these are politics, money and religion. We have talked extensively about religion here and it seems everybody is on the same page there. But as a family, between politics and money, where do you disagree most?

Let’s talk about money. There is a certain orientation on how you use money. I make bold to say that for the majority of us, the way we see money is that it is a gift that you can send on an errand. It is not an end in itself. What I mean is that there are other priorities before money.

Money is good because it gives you access to certain things but you need to understand that access to money is a privilege that you need to use wisely. So, if you talk about daily living and needs, there are some people who chase money because they want to be seen to have arrived or to be seen to be rich or to have acquired wealth.

But the truth is that for anybody who has good Christian orientation, the purpose of money is that it has to be seen as a catalyst to help get things done. Part of this is the self-fulfillment of the basic things that ensure minimal comfort for yourself. In itself, money never gives you satisfaction. When you look at the contravening variables that we have in society today, you see that the more people pursue money, the more insatiable and desperate they get until they realise that they hardly have enough. When you start from that fundamental position that you can never have enough, it will change the way you see and use money. That can only from a mind that understands the essence of Christ.

This is why some people say they are happy yet they say they are depressed. How can you be happy and yet depressed? How can you say you are living the best of life travelling to London today, tomorrow Paris and the next day it is Rome, yet you don’t have the kind of satisfaction that you are supposed to have. There is an innate fulfillment that only Christ can give and when you look at the sum total of all that has been said today, number one is that unless your life is rooted in Christ, there is no way that intrinsic life fulfillment can be achieved. Your life only has meaning only when you serve other people. One interesting thing is that I have never had my back to the wall and God did not make provision for me. I have come to realise that if God does not make out the way, I will just be running on my own.

I think that the reason people steal money is because they have a sense of insecurity. I don’t have that kind of sense because I feel fulfilled.

The Bible tells us that we should not worry ourselves about tomorrow because tomorrow will take care of itself. What people don’t always understand is that you can never run out of money but you can run out of cash. Money is not the same thing as cash.

I often disagree with people who always say they want to start a business but they have no money. I will ask such people about their integrity ratio because that is what people will invest in. Many people will invest in you, not because they expect returns. But because they trust in you; they feel happy that they have put their money in someone who will use it wisely.

When you talk about politics, that is an interesting thing. Man is a political animal and that is why it is difficult for anybody to say he is not involved in politics. Even within this family, there is politics. But when you talk about politics, you talk about accommodation. You should also come from the point of view that your life only has meaning when you use it in the service of others. That again, for me, is what politics means.

I have a lot of friends who are in politics and I respect them. I also pity those of them who think that politics is where you can make all

the money. I see them really make the money and also see them lose the money. I have a lot more peace than many of them because I don’t owe anybody. Even from business perspective, I don’t borrow from banks because I can’t stand their interest rate.

So, when you look at politics, you ask yourself, how do you frame your essence so that you can be relevant within the community in which you live. We should always be thinking of reciprocal things that we all have to do especially in a society where we need to be responsible for others.

People talk about government all the time.

The truth is that government is not structured to work and to manage resources, but it is structured to facilitate the people in the private sector to manage resources. So, when we throw all these things back to the government, we will only end up replicating our roles. This is why I say to people they should impact on their community, no matter the number of people you can bring together, be it in education or what have you and that is where your own politics becomes relevant.

People usually come to me and ask why am I not in politics I will tell them I am already in politics. But I am not going to spend hundreds of millions of naira to be in position for just four years. This is because I can in position for as long as time permits because I can draw my relevance from the things that I can control, not because I have political power.

But don’t get me wrong, political power is important when you want to get certain things.

You also need to be close to those who have political powerto be able to influence those things you want to get done. But it has to be for common good. As a politician, you have certain kind of resources to make the kind of impact that you desire to make. You need to be consistent for continuity. If you don’t do it consistently, your impact may be affected. When you are

• Jonny Tunde Olugbodi, principal consultant, First Divine Swivel Training 7 Development Ltd. • Joshua Olatunji Olugbodi, EVC Verdant Zeal Group; chairman BYTOL Group; chairman, BCI, TBI, Epicentre Group.

• Alexander Kolawole Olugbogi, CEO, Background Check International (BCI Ltd).

• Oladapo Olumuyiwa Olugbodi, CEO, Arrowshots Solutions UK. • Akinyinka Gbolahan Olugbodi, CEO, Team Building International (TBI) Ltd. • Akintomi Akinyemi Olugbodi, Medical Director, Prime Pain, USA) • Oyeniran Roy Olugbodi, CEO, Strange Creatives Audio-Visuals.

8. Oluwaseun Akintoye Olugbodi, DMD, BCI Ltd. • Moromoke Gbonjubola OlugbodiAdebo, CEO, Epicentre Group

consistent in what you are doing, your impact will resonate.

From family perspective, we don’t discuss what political party anybody belongs to. Everybody airs his/her views on any political issue according to his/her convictions. We believe that we don’t have to be detached from the crowd; we need to be part of it so that we can elevate the conversation. And because we stand aloof, we leave the discussion to charlatans, that is the reason for the kind of results that we get.

Not everybody is cut out for political office, but we need to join the conversation so that we can elevate the level of discourse.

We believe that politics is about interests.

Those interests are never permanent;they evolve and are also tied to what one wants to pursue at any point in time. The only time you can make the world to be at peace is when you do not take your views from the prism of politics.

If you do, you will just be limiting the kind of camaraderie you can enjoy not even within the family alone, but also among friends and the wider society as well.

Now you were brought up together as brothers and sisters, but somewhere along the line, some people started coming into your fold in the name of wives or brothers-in-law. How have you been able to get those wives to buy into the bond or unity that has always defined you as a family?

I use this type of experience a lot as a team development expert when I discuss about team development. What happens when new people join a team, when loyalty, affinity and all that, have to be shared. You see, when we were bachelors, I could go to the house of any us, and say hey, what do you have in there to eat? I would go to the kitchen and cook, but now that we are all married, you can’t just walk into the kitchen of your brother’s wife and begin to cook.

I think what has helped us– all of us- is that we recognised that things have changed and then give appropriate respect to our wives. Again, we recognised that there must be compromise and tolerance. We ensured we managed the situation very well when our wives began to come.

We ensured that we avoided anything that could bring friction, that could degenerate into conflict and then to crisis for us to begin to turn against one another. I think what really helped us also was that value we had maintained that we will stay together no matter whatever happens. It was not as if everything was rosy, no; but that spirit of forgiveness has always been there. We have wonderful brother-in-law and sisters-inlaw that along the line they recognised that there is a very strong bond existing among these guys.

We also really recognise our boundaries, what we should do and what we should not do.

(MoromokeGbonjubola) My sisters-in-law understand us very well.

They saw how many we are and entered our family with open mind. They did not go into marriage with the mindset that it may work or it may not work, that unfortunately, is the mindset the new generation ladies have and that is why we are seeing increasing cases marriage crashes. As an events planner; I plan weddings and people spend a lot on wedding ceremonies. The main focus now is the very day of the wedding; they spend millions of naira and they don’t care what happens after that day. Nobody is talking to them about the real marriage. So, because they are not prepared for marriage, they do not know how to deal with in-laws. My husband for instance, prepared for marriage because coming into a family with eight boys is enough to scare someone, but he meant to be part of the family.

Again, you need to understand individuals’ differences and relate with them accordingly and that has also helped our unity as a family.

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Sunday 25 November 2018

Life&Living Why the business of personal shopping is booming

Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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few years ago, one would have thought that the idea of hiring and paying someone else to go shopping on your behalf is kind of strange. This is because a lot of people have some sense of fulfillment by going out for a treat, buying things that they like. It seemed like only top Hollywood celebrities needed personal shoppers, as they were often too busy to go out shopping or probably trying to avoid paparazzi photos of them splashed on tabloid.

Nowadays’, it is either that a lot more people are very busy, or lazy, or super rich and just can’t be bothered with walking in and out of shops looking for what they want, because the business of ‘Personal Shopping’ is booming world over.

When life feels overwhelming, many women grab their purse and head for the mall for some retail therapy. But while Olaronke Shotubo of Wani- aiki personal shopping, also views shopping as a hobby, she gets paid for it. Starting her business on social on media when the art of personal shopping wasn’t very popular in Nigeria, Olaronke sent broadcast messages on blackberry messenger advertising her services and then finally opened an Instagram handle for Wani aiki.

“I have always loved shopping and helping people find that elusive item

was a thrill for me. A while back, my friend suggested that I turn it into a business which I did. So many people would rather not go through the stress of searching everywhere for items they need and the whole idea of personal shopping is to find that item that the client can’t have easy access to,” she said.

Talking about her experience as a UK based personal shopper who caters to the luxury shopping needs of Nigerian clients, Olaronke said; “It would surprise you to know that

a lot of Nigerians who can afford it would rather pay for someone to get their shopping needs sorted out for them. Women who are regarded as shopping lovers are now mainly career oriented. Many of them spend so much time in the office or managing their business and kids that they hardly have time to shop for clothes, bags, shoes or even makeup.”

“I have had a variety of customers in the past six months of establishing Wani aiki personal shopping online, from 1 person buying only a single item to a shop owner buying in bulk.

Getting to know the customer is essential. I do a little bit of image consulting as well, by getting to know the client’s style, favorite colour, body shape, height an essential information that can help in picking out items that might be favourable to them.” she said.

“I once had a client who insisted that I get someone to model the outfits so that she could see how they might look on her. I also give advice on ways the items can be worn or accessorized to give the client a better outlook,” she added.

We have read in several articles about how retail therapy is the best cure for depression, bad mood, frustration and even heart break. Many women claim to love shopping and www.notsoboringlife.com ranks shopping as the 15th most popular hobby in the world, leading cycling,

travelling, swimming and surprisingly leading sleeping which came in at number 17. However, research has shown that there are loads of people who hate shopping, especially men.

A new study suggests that a significant percentage of women find shopping too stressful and tasking.

A group of young women once said that shopping can be quite depressing as it makes them worry about the imperfections of their figure. Women can be quite conservative and so asking for help from surly shop attendants who are never really keen to help can be a daunting task.

Some women are embarrassed about trying things on in a commercial changing room that is purposely made uncomfortable and hot in order to get you out of the room for the next customer as soon as possible.

Some have also complained about the mirrors in the changing rooms, which are usually positioned in a way that makes your body look bigger or unflattering. Also, some women have admitted that they are always reluctant to pay a fortune for clothes or fashion items that will soon be out of vogue.

All in all, a trip to the stores is a pretty depressing prospect, say market analysts Mintel.

According to the Daily Mail, “only 29 per cent of women actually admit to enjoying going out to buy something to wear.

40 per cent say stores need to provide a wider range of sizes to fit real women, rather than teenagers and anorexics.”

Luckily for us in this generation, we have personal shoppers to take away the stress. With the introduction of online shopping in the 20th century, people claim to have becoming lazier, just sitting in the comfort of their homes, in front of a computer, shopping for all sorts and getting them delivered to their doorstep.

However, with the introduction of personal shopping, even more people have become lazy. It’s not enough just to have money, but the height of luxury is for you to pay someone else to spend it for you by getting you everything you demand while you just chill, getting rid of the hassle involved in looking through a hundred websites just to find what you want.

Shopping isn’t just a passion for some, it is a business, and that is why today, we have different types of personal shoppers who spend time shopping on behalf of clients on a percentage based charge.

Their focus is usually on anything that the web can provide. An online personal shopper is typically freelance however some are employed by websites that offer online shopping advice. Online personal shopping services typically begin with a request or question from the client about the item, product or service that they are looking for. After the online personal shopper has located the item or items according to the client’s needs, the customer is notified and then purchase arrangements and payments will be discussed before delivery.

Global personal shoppers’ job is to spend time searching items on behalf of clients from online shops or Local Retail stores that don’t ship internationally and/or don’t accept payment methods internationally available.

And a global personal shopper ships purchased items to an international address on behalf of clients. A global personal shopper works for corporate and provides service through websites or at international shopping center such as international airports.

A global personal shopper focuses not only on fashion items but also wide range of items in several categories including music, books, home and kitchen, home appliance, beauty & health.

Vlisco’s bubble wax is back, pulsating with different colours and designs Ifeoma Okeke

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very bubble is unique, every centimetre is different, every piece of fabric has its own fingerprint. This is the nature of Vlisco’s ancient craft process of authentic wax printing that Bubble Wax celebrates. With its exuberance, Bubble Wax encourages creative expression.

Bubbles are the natural beauty marks of Vlisco’s wax printing pro-

cess and are featured front and centre on this new product.

Bubble wax zooms in on the iconic Wax Hollandais, featuring the bubbles and create a camouflage effect. Together with the ton sur ton colours this fabric makes tailoring effortless, allowing numerous mix and match combinations. A perfect fabric for revamping the traditional men’s suit.

The original Bubble Wax design features the bubbling effect all over

the fabric in bright new colours. Burgundy, purple and turquoise are now added to multiply the possibilities of combinations.

For this season Bubble Wax also comes in two new designs.

Like a hybrid between camouflage, digital and animal print, the Bubble Wax zig-zag pattern is perfect to give classic garments an avant-garde twist.

For the second design, the bubbling effect fades in and out and cre-

ates diffused wavy lines. The pattern is highly organic and full of movement and can be used to construct fresh and dynamic looks.

Vlisco’s look book photos show the organic bubbles contrasted with sleek tailored lines in men’s wear. A kaleidoscope of garments, shapes and shades give classic looks an avant-garde twist.

For this season Vlisco inspires the contemporary man to transform the Bubble Wax fabric into his own

distinctly expressive creation.

Vlisco’s heritage is quite unlike any other. Since 1846, the brand has created unique textiles influencing the fashion landscape in West and Central Africa.

These fabrics reflect true Dutch craftsmanship and are still known as ‘Hollandais’, from the French word for ‘Dutch’. Vlisco creates authentic Dutch Wax fabrics recognisable for their unique design, colours and wax craquelé.

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Bolatito Adebola Mobile: 08053859391, email - iambolatito@gmail.com twitter - @iambolatito

Access Bank’s Herbert Wigwe, H giving New Life to children

Nigeria’s Silent Billionaire, Bode Akindele and his Top Achievements

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he saying that it takes a strong man to be a father and even a stronger man to be a grieving father; the act of being a good father starts with his ever presence at the mercies of his children. Perhaps one of the fledgeling NGOs to reckon with in recent times is the HOW Foundation; which was formed a few years back as the brainchild of effervescent Herbert Wigwe, MD/CEO of Access Bank Nig. Plc. The national and futuristic global organization, since inception, has been sharing the same passion and drives around malaria, prostate cancer and youth development with leadership and mentorship programmes, initiating various seminars and workshops

aimed at providing youths with support to push them closer to achieving greatness in their careers choices. Speaking from personal experience, he enthuses that we all grew up in interest circumstances, it was at a time that there was unity, it was a time when children from diverse cultures came

together, went to same schools, and we learnt how to tolerate each other, and lived together as one. The mercurial banker, Herbert Wigwe, enjoys being in the company of children, kids particularly, whom he uses to serve as a leisure provider in his spare time.

And this has always been

what amazes many in their midst. Herbert is a miracleworking banker and the Banking guru is not just an efficient administrator but a seasoned leader. This is why he is continually revered and celebrated among his ilk and contemporaries. He understands the rudiments of the business landscape enough to tame the odds and he has been doing just that. As a chief executive, particularly one dealing with intense pressures, Wigwe relies on many things, perspective and context; and strategic counsel and courage of conviction. However, chief among them is loyalty, which he guards jealously.

He wears his badge of temperance and humility in the shape of a subtly hued bow-tie thus affirming that he is a gentleman.

Oba Akinruntan inches gracefully to 10 Years on the throne

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hen he became the monarch of his town nine years ago, he was all celebrated. Little wonder, on November 10, 2018, all roads led to the Royal Palace of the kingdom of Ùgbò, in Ilaje Local Government of Ondo State, the residence of His Imperial Majesty Oba (Dr.) Frederick Enitiolorunda Obateru Akinruntan, C.O.N, the Olugbo of Ugboland, as he marks the ninth anniversary of his elevation to paramount rulership. The sleepy town of Ilaje in the riverine Ondo town welcomed the throng of politicians, captains of industry, royal fathers and super celebrities, who stormed the venue to rejoice with the flamboyant monarch, who doubles as the

head honcho of the popular Obat Petroleum.

Amidst the fanfare and guaranteed Naira rain on the day, Oba Akinruntan also used the occasion to dazzle the guests with his giant strides since ascending the throne of his forefathers. Indeed since his coronation amidst some struggles, he has gradually transformed Ugboland from a crisis-infested kingdom to

an idyll. He started a foundation that caters for indigent Ilaje citizens at the primary, secondary, tertiary academic levels, to include the very brilliant ones at postgraduate level. There was also a routine of medical checks and a whole host of other community-oriented initiatives that have collectively left his people dancing to the merry tunes of progress. Being someone that does things in no half measures, he is determined to make the occasion linger in the minds of his guests who are already accustomed to high-class events, just as he gets set to mark his decade on the throne. Going by the previous antecedents of the man who is renowned for his philanthropic activities at the grassroots level, imported wines and assorted delicacies, not to mention high-class musical performances, will be the order of the day.

Archers boss, Victor Adeoye Omole Clocks 50

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henoneisdoing well in his job,hemakes bold to celebrate milestonesin his life. Golden Jubilees are moments of glory and they are worth celebrating, especially in these days of average mortality of those under 40.

That conceptualization, is perhaps, most apt when defining the life and times of Victor Adeoye Omole who turns 50 on November 29 this year.

The insightful, prudent and industrious

Omole is an investor of several business interests and owner of Archers Group, whose first emergence into the business 27 years ago establishing Archers Gas with interest in LPG Cooking gas, before expanding to Archers Gas, Oxygen with industrial plants in Lagos, Ilesha and Akure.

His clientele cuts across multinational companies, vintage industries and hospitals. A visit to his Lagos office will provide anyone with an eye-popping insight

into his gas and oxygen industry in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos state. One is likely to find a motley business activity of crowd of persons high and low, young and old he welcomes with open arms and open mind as well as those he has known all his life and has studiously refused to discard now that he has risen to the top. His Archers View Court, Accra, Ghana, is a one-stop holiday in for tourists across the world. The Court is a luxury apartment for a long and short stay, offering luxury at affordable rates.

e has glittering accomplishments in the business world, but he does not make any noise about it. Chief Bode Akindele is one of the oldest Nigerian business magnates and genuine billionaires. Apart from being a longtime successful business magnate, he is also known as the Parakoyi of Ibadanland. His vast wealth and successful empire are known across Africa, Europe and America, as well as his philanthropic and generous nature. His mother late Alhaja Rabiatu Adedigba was a wellknown wealthy and successful trader and opinion leader in the ancient city of Ibadan, who set Chief Akindele on the path of success being raised by a strong and successful woman before she passed on in 1976. Chief Akindele made his first major venture into the business about 25 years ago in Sweden where he bought a Swedish match manufacturing company which he later shut down and gained full control of the match world market, making him the controller of over one-third of the world match market being one of his top three achievements today. He owns one of the biggest indigenous conglomerates in Nigeria

known as Modondola Group of companies which operates across various sectors such as manufacturing, real estate, maritime, and agriculture, making it among the list of his top biggest achievements.

Chief Akindele also owns Fairegate Group a top international company worth billions of pound sterling, dealing in real estate and property and headquartered in Bond Street, London in the United Kingdom. The billionaire business magnate is currently worth an estimated $1.2 billion and stands as one of Nigeria’s foremost respected billionaires and richest men of all time.

Kayode Alfred standing out gradually with Aristocrat

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ne outfit which has r e main e d in the consciousness of those who love to look good always and dapper is the upwardly-mobile Kayode Alfred-owned Aristocrat Clothings. The outfit, in less than two years of its launching out, has made a unique statement through its rare appurtenances of an assemblage of imported fabrics and materials, to make good its products and services for quality and prompt delivery.

Readily, Aristocrat boasts of unequalled international materials in the fashion industry that will continue to attract those who love statements in fashion; and that is what Aristocrat is out to establish in the volatile fashion business. A cursory look at what Kayode Alfred has done with his outfit will convince you that this effervescent and industrious upwardly mobile guy has up his sleeves will wow you, and one can’t say for now where he is taking the industry to with Aristocrat, because he doesn’t want to reveal the secret of his business acumen. He will however soon unveil why Aristocrat is now the Mecca of elites in the corporate world, who now swarm his modest outfit.

No wonder, industry leaders now look up to Aristocrat to give them his unique selling point, USP, which Kayode is

keeping close to his heart.

Having established himself as an excellent designer of bespoke metropolitan and native couture, Kayode Olanshile-Alfred is making an ambitious foray into the competitive world of designer shirt-making, casuals for men and women, Kaftan, snapback caps, and the traditional Yoruba Agbada outfit.

He says his designs readily tell the world who you are.

It’s a symbol of class and sophistication of the individual.

Thus, via Aristocrat, Kayode Olanshile-Alfred seeks to personify the classic traditions of superior quality, variety and customer service.

With Aristocrat designs, Olanshile-Alfred seeks to liberate men and women from the straight-jacket of traditional tailoring and introduce them to the pleasures of casual chic.

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Sunday 25 November 2018

Arts

‘Inner Light’ still shines at National Museum Lagos OBINNA EMELIKE

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he weekend is here again with lots of activities to keep you entertained.

If you are a lover of the arts, particularly visual art, you need to visit the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, to see Inner Light, an exhibition of the works of Oseloka Osadebe, one of surviving students of the famous Zaria Art Society.

The exhibition, which is being presented to the public

by SMO Contemporary Art is Oseloka Osadebe’s first retrospective exhibition of 85 paintings, sketches, drawings, and one sculpture, and representing a remarkable collection of works spanning over 50 years of artistic practice.

Osadebe left Nigeria in the early 1960’s and is the last rebel to come home, sharing works created over a lifetime of experimental practice.

The exhibition traces his artistic journey from growing up in the bustling city of Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria, in the 1930s and 1940s, to studying in Zaria, northern Nigeria from 1958 to 1962 alongside other greats like Uche Okeke, Demas Nwoko, Yusuf Grillo, and Bruce Ono-

brakpeya, to eventually leaving Nigeria on a scholarship to pursue graduate studies in the United States of America followed by years teaching in America as a professor of theatre.

Osadebe’s electric body of work ranges from ab-

straction to realism, exploring broad themes of culture, self-actualization, spirituality and identity.

His years of teaching theatre lend a unique perspective to his works.

“The occasion of Oseloka Osadebe’s first one-

person exhibition in Nigeria in more than 50 years is a remarkable event that will no doubt fill in one more of the many gaps in the modern Nigerian art historical scholarship,” Chika OkekeAgulu, a leading international scholar of African Art and Professor at Princeton University, said. “Osadebe’s artistic journey has indeed been a lone one. From the young artist who with his art society peers at the dawn of political independence in 1958 announced their commitment to a formal language informed by indigenous traditions, to an early career in the United States, during which he explored modes of abstraction first developed by the historical avant-garde, and finally to the mature artist who found renewed interest in realism, his evolution is quite remarkable”, Okeke-Agulu further said.

“We are delighted to be part of the homecoming of Oseloka Osadebe, and present this important body of work at the National Museum because of its historic importance for Nigeria and the world,” said Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, the exhibition curator and founder, SMO Contemporary Art. SMO Contemporary Art is proud to present In-

ner Light, a retrospective exhibition of rare works by Prof Oseoloka Osadebe, a member of the famous Zaria Art Society, popularly called the Zaria Rebels, who are the founding fathers of contemporary art in Nigeria.

There are reasons to visit the National Museum Onikan to see the exhibition.

First, it offers opportunity to meet Osadebe who doubles as a member of the famous Zaria Art Society, popularly

called the Zaria Rebels, and one of the founding fathers of contemporary art in Nigeria.

Secondly, on display at the exhibition are historically significant works spanning over 50 years.

The exhibition is sponsored by Access Bank, Deutsche Bank, The Wheatbaker, Louis Gunrtum wines and the Lagos State Government. It opened to the public on Monday October 22 and runs until December 7, 2018.

Habari, Nigeria’s largest music platform, goes live

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eadingAfricanfinancial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank plc, has announced the launch of Habari, Nigeria’s largest platform for music, shopping, lifestyle content and more. Unveiled on November 23, 2018 at a special event attended by renowned personalities in the entertainment, media and technology sectors, Habari offers users direct access to the largest catalogue of local and foreign music online, a seamless shopping experience and an exciting way to connect with friends, amongst other features.

Built around the everyday lives of customers, Habari is the first mobile platform in Nigeria created by a financial institution that focuses on enabling people’s needs and lifestyles rather than providing a limited bouquet of regular banking products. The mobile application is open and free for all to download,

does not require mobile banking details and offers a wide range of services, all of which are accessible to anyone regardless of where

they choose to bank. Habari is also very simple to use and is designed with a clean user interface, as well as, a seamless navigation experience

that ensures everything, from the music to listen to, to the bills to pay, are just two clicks away.

Among the exciting ser-

vices available on Habari are; catalogue of local and foreign music, the largest ever in Nigeria, carefully curated videos that range from short engaging self-help kits to captivating full-length movies, and books that cut across all literary genres. Habari also offers an end-to-end shopping experience that allows users buy goods and services directly from over 10,000 small businesses. On Habari users can also shake their phones to find and connect with friends, split bills, transfer and receive funds, as well as, pay for utilities, subscriptions and other services.

Commenting on the launch of Habari, Segun Agbaje, managing director/ CEO, Guaranty Trust Bank plc, said; “By reimagining the role of banking and driving innovation in how we serve customers, we have built a platform that is less about us as bank and more about our customers

and everything they need to enable their lifestyle.”

He further stated that “Habari is not a mobile banking application; it is the start of our journey towards building a platform that connects our customers to everything that they need, and which continues to evolve with their lifestyle. We are excited about this journey and we are confident that our customers will see in Habari a simple, smart and exciting digital experience that adds value to their lives, every day.”

GTBank has consistently played a leading role in Africa’s banking industry. The GTBank brand is regarded by industry watchers as one of the best run financial institutions across its subsidiary countries and serves as a role model within the financial service industry due to its bias for world class corporate governance standards, excellent service, quality and innovation.

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Arts Nigeria seeks cultural diplomacy with INAC … India excites visitors

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or the first time, Nigeria hosted the world at the 2018 edition of the International Arts and Crafts Expo (INAC) organised by the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) in Abuja recently.

Beyond the successful hosting of the event, the country took advantage of the gathering of over 20 countries from across the world to boost cultural diplomacy with the knowledge that culture, arts and tourism are not only sources of revenue but also vehicles to improve bilateral relations among nations.

In line with the understanding, Segun Runsewe, director general, NCAC, said in his address at the flag off of the art expo on November 19, 2018 that INAC will signal a new beginning through cultural diplomacy aimed at entrenching peace and prosperity in the country.

While the hosting of INAC is a feat by the Runsewe-led NCAC, the director general noted that the Council under his watch will sustain the drive of changing Nigeria’s narratives through the promotion of culture and arts.

Also concerned on the need to sustain the move for the changing of Nigeria’s

narrative through culture and arts, Sam Nda Isaiah, publisher, Leadership Newspaper and special guest of honour at the international art expo, noted that there is urgent need for concerted effort by government at all levels to support, encourage investment and harnessing of the potential in the culture

and arts sector, especially now there is heightened call for the diversification of the economy away from its crude oil base.

Meanwhile, India, one of the participating countries at the cultural expo, thrilled the audience at its special day with breathtaking performances reminiscent of

Bollywood productions.

The Asian country thrilled the guests at the expo on November 22, 2018, a day set aside to celebrate everything that makes the country unique and special.

The day featured scintillating Haryana renditions accompanied with local percussion in a delightful and

colourful mix of music and dance.

From the instructive lectures on India national conditions, the enthralling music and dance displays to the sumptuous cuisine aimed at provoking the taste buds, India successfully reignited a nostalgic feeling among many in attendance who had

hitherto participated through cathode-ray television.

Delivering his address on the occasion, B.N. Reddy, Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, commended the director-general NCAC for efforts at organising the international event, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria with focus on the promotion of arts and culture.

Going down the memory lane, the High Commissioner noted that Nigeria and India have had bilateral relationship since India established a diplomatic house in Lagos in 1958.

The envoy cited more common grounds between the two countries saying that that India’s Bollywood and Nigeria’s Nollywood share common ties and for a long time have enjoyed top status in the global movie industry.

He said that his country was excited to participate at INAC, which according to him, provided a platform to demonstrate India’s handicrafts, cuisines, fashion and hospitality.

On behalf of Nigerians, Runsewe commended India and her people for honouring the invitation to participate in the INAC 2018 and the opportunity to exchange with other countries in culture, arts and others.

his intention to be close to his home-grown fans and these two shows will seal the love affair. Each show will have a lineup of supporting stars that includes artistes from Wizkid’s Starboy label imprint. Wizkid Exclusive VIP Experience is scheduled to hold on December 19, 2018.

Nigerian music stars will unite at urban music show on December 21, 2018 in Lagos.

Urban Musical Festival returns to Lagos this year with a band and the biggest artistes in the Nigerian music scene. The festival is planned to have the most compelling stage with world-class visual aesthetics. The Urban Music Festival is a cross genre show that matches pop music with hjp pop, electronic and afrobeat blending them with a cool visual experience and an infusion of high octane energy for attendees. The show is scheduled to hold at the Eko Atlantic City grounds.

Afrobeat Festival is launching in Nigeria this year mainly because Nigerian music is cur-

rently enjoying global acclaim with an attractive mainstream appeal. Several Nigerian artistes are at the forefront of the genre, perfectly blending it with subtle appeal. Several Nigerian artistes are at the curate eclectic performances from the artistes pushing their music boundaries and showcase them in Lagos. The event is scheduled to hold on December 22, 2018 at the Eko Atlantic City with a lineup of incredible artistes.

Africa’s biggest award ceremony, the Sound City MVP Awards returns to Lagos, Nigeria on January 5, 2019 with an exciting lineup of the biggest music stars and talents from the continent. The award ceremony, now in its third year, will showcase the best African talents, reward the most hardworking talents and excite a global audience of about 50 million eyeballs across the world in her typical fashion; from unleashing greatness to boosting artistes’ platform, MVP returns with the strongest message of Africa Is Now

Xchange set for six mega shows across Nigeria

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change, a consortium of spectacular event promoters are coming together to create international worldclass shows and experiences that will see event goers, artistes and fans gather in the most prestigious event venues in Nigeria. Aside staging professional headlined shows, Xchange will also create two thematic festivals, Afrobeat Festival and Urban Music Festival in Lagos.

African singer, song writer and recording artiste, Asa, teams up with fashion and style brand, Spice TV for the inaugural launch of Spice Lifestyle Honours. The event will pay homage to African fashion icons and brands while honouring the best within the fashion and lifestyle space on the continent. Asa, with several albums including beautiful imperfection, Bed of Stone and her self-titled debut album will give a powerful performance with her powerful performance from her newly released album

during the award ceremony and gala night with the backing of her orchestra. The event is scheduled to hold on December 5, 2018 at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko

Hotels, Lagos.

International superstar and African sensation, Wizkid will headline two important shows this December, “Wizkid made in Lagos” Shutdown

and Wizkid Exclusive VIP Experience. Wizkid made in Lagos and Shutdown will hold at the 5,000 capacity Eko Hoteld Convention Centre.

Wizkid has actively declared

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Bliss with Nonye Ben-Nwankwo

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Sunday 25 November 2018

Email: chiwuagwu@yahoo.com Phone number (sms only) 08057511893

Being a celebrity not fun – Bukunmi, actress A ctress, Bukunmi Oluwasina has said being a celebrity has its downside and most times, not fun.

In a recent chat with Bliss on the phone, the popular actress said being famous takes away her freedom.

“It is not fun being famous. It takes away your freedom. I like my freedom. There is a part of happiness that comes with freedom and when that is taken, I feel incomplete. There are so many places I would want to go, I would even want to stroll around or even be on a bike. But people will see you and will read meaning into it. I may even want to buy a dress, even though cheap, I know it will suit me. But because I am a celeb and people might have seen me wear expensive designer stuff at some point, as such I would not buy such again.

People expect so much from celebs. The only good aspect of it is that you are being honoured and people want to identify with you.”

But even at that, Bukunmi said most people don’t understand that celebs have moods as well.

“They don’t expect you to be in a bad mood. I have to pretend to be in a good mood all the time.

When I see people, I have to smile. People call me midnight just to tell me, ‘I am your fan’. Now I have to be nice to such people. Anyway, I still thank God. If you don’t ‘blow’, you will be the person begging God that He should make you ‘blow’.”

And with the general negative perception most Nigerians have about actress and linking them with promiscuity, Bukunmi said not every actress in the industry is wayward.

“Whoever goes to the market and steals, when caught, he shouldn’t say he stole because he was hungry. The truth is that such a person had penchant to steal in him. Some people do things when they have the opportunity. Whoever comes into acting and becomes promiscuous had the tendency of being such even before. The profession doesn’t change people. The people bring out their traits when they get into the profession.

“Even if you are a doctor or a lawyer, you will still be promiscuous in your line of work if it is in you. Every profession has its dirty side but it is just that we are in the limelight and people get to know about our stories fast.”

No matter the negative perception though, the actress said she is not ready to quit any time soon because she has passion for what she does.

“There is difference between doing something for the money, fame or because you have the passion. I grew up wanting to be an actress. I even used to be a dancer but I had to drop a lot of things on the line to concentrate on this. I love what I do.

I see it as having fun and getting paid. But at times, I get carried away with all I am doing that I even

forget to even eat or call friends.”

Indeed, the actress has so many things on her hands as she is also a singer and a poet. She explained that her music even came before she delved into acting.

“I started music before acting. I used to write poems. I knew I would go into music but I wasn’t ready for it then. So I did a song for my school, Obafemi Awolowo University back then and people heard it and they started asking me if I really sing. After that, other artistes in school started featuring me.

“I shot my first movie and it had a music part. I did the sound track for the movie. The movie did well and so, other people started calling me to do their sound tracks for them. Now I get calls for movies and sound tracks as well.

Talking about marriage, the actress said it is not on her to-do list at the moment.

“Everything has to do with time. But for me, I think it is all about work for me now. I have so many things to do but I know it will happen. Marriage is not on my to-do list for now.”

Igodye inspired me to be a comedian – Vitamin D

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udding comedian and MC, Deji Oyelode, said his colleague, Igodye was actually the main reason he became a comedian.

Interestingly, Vitamin D, as he is popularly called, said he has yet to get the opportunity to meet with Igodye but he has followed the comedian’s success story over the years.

“I didn’t get into comedy because there was no other alternative. Right from time, I would say this has been my passion. I fell in love with somebody and that person changed my life. It was actually Igodye. I used to watch his comedy many years ago. I have never even met him but I watched him and I said I would want to be a comedian,” he said.

But being a comedian has had its ups and downs the young lad said. However, he also admitted the profession has opened a lot of doors for him.

“I am not up there yet but at least, I am getting there. The only

challenge that has not made me up there yet is that people are always asking for free jobs. They want you to host their event and expect you to be grateful for that

and they don’t give you anything, forgetting I have a family I take care of.”

And now that he is gradually getting popular, Vitamin D said it took a while before his mother had to accept his job.

“My dad is late and my mum is not all that educated. But then, she was against this profession.

I wasn’t being paid at all back then. I would go for events and I would come back with N1,000.

She would abuse me and tell me to go and get a better job. I would always encourage her and tell her that all the stars she sees started from somewhere.

“But then, one day, I had an interview with a national newspaper in Nigeria and that was when my mum’s heart changed.

She was stunned seeing me in the newspaper. I had even anchored big events before then but she still didn’t value my job until after that interview which she read in the newspaper. She made sure she showed everybody that her son appeared in the newspaper.”

COSON rejects APC, PDP presidential manifestos

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ow that major political parties in Nigeria have kicked off their campaigns, some organisations are not happy with the parties’ manifestos.

One of such organisation is Copyright Society of Nigeria and it has come out publicly to reject the presidential manifestos of the presidential candidates of both the APC, President Muhammadu Buhari and that of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar.

Rising from a meeting of its Board held at the COSON House last week, COSON said that after reading both the #NextLevelNG manifesto of the APC and #TheAtikuPlan manifesto of the PDP, it was shocked that none of the candidates appeared to have a plan to grow or develop the immense talent that exist in the Nigerian

creative industry such as music, movies, theatre, fashion, content etc an area in which the Nigerian nation has significant comparative advantage and the youth have tremendous flair for.

COSON has announced that the organisation is inviting serious politicians to the COSON Arena to come and educate stakeholders in the creative industry on the concrete plans that they have to deploy the assets that the country has in this creative direction.

Speaking on the decision, COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji said: “We are no longer going to stand on the sidelines.

This is the era of the knowledge and creative economy and we will do whatever is necessary to make sure that our country is not just an onlooker in this new world but a key partaker and serious player, starting from 2019. We mean business.”

Friends, colleagues mourn Tosyn Bucknor

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ince the demise of popular On Air Personality, Tosyn Bucknor was announced, so many of her friends and colleagues have expressed shock at her passing.

And then, most of them have taken to their social media handles to eulogise and pay tributes to the young lady who died few days ago.

In her remarks, OAP, Toolz expressed her sadness over Tosyn’s death. She posted, “Such horrible, horrible news.

Don’t even know what to say.

It feels so unreal saying #RIPTosyn. May God comfort and strengthen your husband and family during this sad period!”

Actress, Kate Henshaw also expressed her grief saying,

“There was never a dull moment with you. Always lively, funny, witty, smart, intelligent... So glad my last memory of you was our time on air on the Good Citizen show at Inspiration FM. Laughter, fun all the way that night...

Go show them up in Heaven how you roll! Rest on dear sis. You will be missed indeed by your family and friends.”

And Peter of the defunct PSquare group said the young OAP would be missed. In his post he said, “My dear Tosyn REST IN PEACE! We will surely miss you.

Still can’t believe.”

Until her death, Tosyn, 37, was a member of staff of Inspiration FM and she reportedly died due to complication from sickle cell anemia.

Sunday 25 November 2018

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Politics Akwa Ibom and the economic evolution through industrialisation Anthony Nlebem

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ndustrialisation is the process by which an economy moves from primarily agrarian production to mass-produced, technologically advanced goods and services. This phase is characterised by exponential leaps in productivity, shifts from rural to urban labor, and increased standards of living. By typical measurements, such as income per capita or labor productivity, industrialisation can be considered the most important economic development in human history.

Economic historian Deirdre McCloskey, writing in the Cambridge University Press in 2004, argued that industrialisation was “certainly the most important event in the history of humanity since the domestication of animals and plants, perhaps the most important since the invention of language.” Not all historians agree with the spark that ignited the Industrial Revolution. Most economists point to the changes in legal and cultural foundations in Great Britain that allowed free trade and gave entrepreneurs, the room and incentives to take risks, innovate, and profit.

Having given a background information of the pivotal role industrialisation plays in any economy, it is pertinent that I bring to fore, the improvements that Governor Udom Emmanuel has brought to Akwa Ibom State.

Before Udom Emmanuel came

into office on May 29 2015, Akwa Ibom was rated as one of the states with the highest income inequality peaking at over 0.54 for the self-employed (predominantly farmers), and 0.44 for the employed-salary paid/wage earners, (UNDP, 2012).

Akwa Ibom was also mentioned as the third state with the highest poverty rate of 27.1percent within the south-south zone after Cross River State (31.2percent) and Bayelsa state (32.5percent), (UNDP, 2012) Eugene (2012) and World Bank (2010). National Bureau of Statistics (201) reported that Akwa Ibom State has the second highest unemployment rate of over 25.8percent after Delta state in the south-south zone, but leads other states in the zone in terms of income generating opportunities.

Adebayo (2002) and Batchelder (2010) showed that, income volatility exists in some rural and urban areas.

Akwa Ibom State was also classified as a predominantly civil service state with the government being the major engine of growth.

The main economic activities of the people are fishing (for riverine and coastal dwellers), farming (mostly for upland dwellers), trading, artisanship and white-collar services.

The robust public sector employed a significant proportion of the states labour force, and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$11,179million pre-Udom era.

Thus the task before Emmanuel Udom was beyond words but to design an economic framework

Emmanuel

that would positively turnaround the realities of the state for growth through a well structured industrialisation drive spread across all major sectors of the State’s economy. He made the promise on his inauguration when in his speech he said, “I have plans to transform the economy of our state through industrialisation and sustained public-private sector initiative, thereby opening up opportunities for growth and improved living standards”.

To get by with his commitment, He ensured the provision of the much-needed legal protections against political and regulatory risks through the state House of Assembly for investors and placed premium importance on peace and security; to keep investors’

confidence high in the state as safe for investment.

In discussing industrialisation in Akwa Ibom, there are identifiable projects executed or ongoing towards the much talked about industrial revolution. There are some projects completed and operational, some are ongoing while some were refurbished/ resuscitated and now operational.

The Electric Digital Metering Solutions Manufacturing Factory, Syringe Manufacturing Factory (Largest in Africa), and Pencil Factory & Toothpick factory are examples of projects under the industrialisation agenda which have been completed and are operating at optimal capacities.

It is worthy of note that the syringe company has the capacity to

produce a billion a year. While the Electric Digital Metering Solutions Manufacturing Factory will ensure electricity companies bill Nigerians accurately. Recently, the Port Harcourt Power Holding Electricity Distribution (PHED) and some others in the Niger Delta region ordered over one million meters from the company.

The Flour Mills and Coconut Refinery, Ibom Deep Seaport, Ibom Industrial Park/Jetty, Plastic Manufacturing Factory and Fertilizer Blending Factory, and construction of 33 Cassava Micro-processing mills are all ongoing projects in the economic diversification agenda of the Governor.

Lastly, the resuscitation of Peacock Paint Industry and refurbishing of Cassava Processing Factories located at Ikot Okudom, Eket LGA; Nung Udoe, Ibesikpo/Asutan LGA and Ikot Ekang in Abak LGA which was leased to private operators for the production of high quality garri, odorless foofoo and cassava flour are examples of revived factories which were once in a comatose state and made operational.

The expected impact of the industrialisation embarked upon

by Emmanuel Udom is evident in every projected and present economic variables.

The National Bureau of Statistics rated has listed Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Oyo, Rivers states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as the most investors-friendly destinations in the country in the first quarter of 2017.

2019: Apprehension heightens over police conducts Zebulon Agomuo

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f the 2019 general election will be credible, free and fair, the Nigeria Police and other security agencies in the country will determine it.

Already there is a growing apprehension that the security agencies may have already become partisan and as a result their unbiased stance may not be possible.

Observers point to their roles in the July gubernatorial election in Ekiti State, where it was alleged that they did not only intimidate members and supporters of the opposition, but allegedly physically assaulted the then sitting governor, Ayodele Fayose.

The actions and inactions of the security agents in the September governorship election in Osun State also left many people guessing if they were card-carrying members of the ruling party.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja a few days ago, the Civil Society Election Situation Room, represented by Clement Nwankwo, raised concerns over police conducts.

“We have repeatedly made the point that the security services as recognised in the 2015 Amendment to the Electoral Act. That Electoral Act subjects the security, the police to the command and control of INEC in election purposes.

We are very, very worried about

the very prominent role that the security services are playing on our elections in a way that sometimes truncate INEC’s own arrangement and operational handling not the elections. And as we go into 2018, the credibility of the 2019 elections will be determined by largely by the activities of the security services, if they don’t pull back from partisanship,” Nwankwo, who also is the executive director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), said.

According to him, “We are very worried about partisanship in the security services. We do not believe that the President has given support to the security services to operate in a way that raises grave concern about their partisanship. So, we are calling on the police to pull back from what is very obvious indication of partisanship ahead of 2019 elections. If they don’t, the credibility of what all of us have been working on, whether it is INEC, the civil society and every other stakeholder in the election, will be in question.”

Oby Ezekwesili, presidential candidate of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) has also doubted the capacity of the police and other security arms of being just and fair in their duties during the elections. Ezekwesili was disappointed at the presence of all the service chiefs last Sunday, at the President Muhammadu Buhari’s presentation of his policy document, ‘NEXT LEVEL’.

A statement by Hope 2019, Ezekwesili’s presidential campaign

organisation, during the week, said that the presence of security chiefs at the event was similar to cases in previous administrations, stressing that such incident could help in compromising agents and officers of security parastatals in the country.

The statement urged Nigerians to henceforth resist such actions.

According to her, “We are confident in the ability of suffering Nigerian masses to stop the shenanigans of enemies of true democracy. A lot of Nigerians have commented on the likelihood that the retention of the service chiefs

by President Muhammadu Buhari is part of a well-oiled plot to rig the 2019 election.

“However, as a mass-oriented purposeful political grouping, we can only continue to mobilise citizens towards the exercise of their franchise and civic responsibility,” a statement from Hope 2019 read.

Olisa Agbakoba, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and chairman of the 3rd Force political parties, also told journalists in Lagos Tuesday that he had no confidence in the security agents in relation to their roles in the coming election.

“Can you believe that the service chiefs with their entire medal-beaded chests appeared at President Buhari’s declaration last Sunday?

How do I have confidence in them during the elections?

The very men who should be the arbiters, appearing at the press briefing of the President, that is

very dangerous and worrying. So, the time is still open for Nigerian institutions- Army, Police, INEC- to conduct for us free and fair elections,” Agbakoba said.

Although the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had days before the November 17 date for the commencement of Campaign in line with the INEC timetable, warned commissioners of police in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) against partisanship during the forth-coming elections, analysts alleged that the I-G was merely playing to the gallery.

Speaking with BusinessDay, Anthony Muo, a tutor in a private institution, said that the InspectorGeneral of Police was just fulfilling all righteousness.

“The I-G is just doing his job. Sending out warning and making threats.

But we know what has happened in recent times at elections; the question is, how many policemen were punished for the alleged abuses that transpired in Ekiti and Osun in recent times? It is common knowledge that the 2019 is going to be hot and anything is possible, even from those who have the constitutional right to protect lives and property.

The IG warning is in order, but nobody should go to bed on that,” Muo said.

A pundit, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “abuse of security agents” by government in power is usual in many African countries. The analyst noted that the People’s Democratic Party

(PDP) walked that path when it presided over power for 16 years in the country.

“Honestly, I should not expect anybody from the PDP to raise a voice against the partisan position of security agencies because we saw how PDP also used the agents at elections. In the whole African continent, governments tend to abuse such institutions and here in Nigeria, it has always been the case.

Unless there is a clear-cut demarcation between government and such institutions we shall continue to grapple with such unfortunate situations,” the analyst, who pleaded anonymity, said.

Observers have also said that President Buhari may have preplanned for the 2019 and how to rig the elections through the security when he decided to employ all his security chiefs from his part of the country.

In a recent interview with BusinessDay, Ayo Opadokun, a prodemocracy activist and former secretary of National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), said: “Come to think of it, how will that happen when you have a Nigerian security council where the president who presides over is from Katsina; the director of state security is from Katsina, and you also now have the newly appointed director-general of National Intelligence Agency also from Katsina. With all these, how can other people from other parts of the country be assured that they are safe?”

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Politics To win 2019 presidential election, we OlisaAgbakoba, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), is also chairman of 3rd Force Parties and co-founder of National Intervention Movement (NIM). At an media event he hosted in Lagos, Agbakoba spoke on the state of the nation; highlighting among other things, the urgent need to institute a National Order; the current unfortunate socio-economic and political situation in the country; why the incumbent administration must be voted out of office in 2019, the role of the Third (3rd) Force in enthroning a new government and the plan by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) to come out with a consensus candidate sometime in January next year. ZEBULON AGOMUO, Editor, was there. Excerpts:

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ampaign has begun in earnest, where are we on alliances? Are we still expecting coalitions and consensus as we draw closer to the elections?

There are four political trends. Two are obvious, which is the PDP and the APC. There are 91 political parties in the country today, what are they doing? But don’t forget that there is something called the CUPP- the Coalition of the United Political Parties and all, except three belong to it. ObyEzekwesili does not.

Sowore does not and Kingsley Moghalu. So, there is Ezekwesili, Sowore and Moghalu (in one group) making three, then the CUPP, four.Interestingly, all the parties are there except APC, Ezekwesili, Moghalu and Sowore.

We clearly understand that to win the forthcoming election, we require a united opposition. So, all the parties are simply presenting their presidential candidates. Some like Atiku, have presented their manifestos; but

by January, the (CUPP) will formalise its own consensus candidate. It may not be Atiku; it is possible; it may be Atiku; but the person who will win it, is the person who shows what I like to call the ‘heavy lifting’.He must be able to show that he can get the work done. So, personally, I am pro-Atiku because I think he has the heavy-lighting.But I will not pre-empt anything by saying that others should not go.

We are all united in a mantra, in a swan-song around our campaign; that is, ‘Anybody but Buhari’; that is the campaign mantra, ‘Anybody but Buhari’.

We are making sure that the four locust years – from 2015 to 2019 – will never repeat itself in Nigeria.

This has been the worst government in the Nigerian history; unemployment rate at 20 million; youth unemployment is so high;inflation is raging at about 18 percent.

Borrowing requirements and interest rates is at about 28 percent; nothing is working; and I am sure you know that. So, we need to do something to reclaim our country.

That’s the message. The clear message is that we can only do that in a united opposition party which we now have.

Obasanjo’s own is ADC. I am affiliated with the People’s Trust and all of these come under the umbrella of Third (3rd) Force. That is the resolve of the campaign to ensure that we carry ourselves forward.

Some presidential candidates are presenting their policy documents; some observers say that Nigerians have seen too many of them without them taking the country anywhere. What is your take here?

For instance, in the 3rdForce political parties that I chair, we have 6,720 canvassers.

Let me remind that elections are won at the grassroots level. Not in the city; but at the grassroots level where you have about the 80 percent of the voting population.So, the campaign that we are designing is to canvass votes at the grassroots. They don’t know about policy documents; I also do not believe so much about policy documents because we know what the issues are – jobs, jobs and jobs. So, you can write any amount of policy documents; it is not going to be translated into 300 Nigerian languages; but if you went

to the villages and asked the people how do you feel; they don’t need a policy document to know that they don’t feel good; so, the message is to get the votes in; that is number one; to make sure that the votes count, too.

A lot hasbeen said since the public presentation by President Muhammadu Buhari of the ‘Next Level’ policy document. How would you describe it?

I can tell you the level. If you go to a hotel; you go to the lift; the lift is on ground floor.

The porter will ask you, ‘which level?’ He will assume you are going up, so he will say, ‘one or two?’ But, this next level is going down; basement; that’s what it is. The level is taking us to the basement of the hotel, but I want to be on the 10th floor. So, the ‘Next Level’ document is a non-starter; a failed document.

I hope Nigerians will see it.

How peaceful do you envisage the elections to be? Or put in a different way; do you see a resistance on the part of the incumbent administration to accept defeat in 2019 if the election does not favour it?

Clearly, we are seeing a rapacious determination on the part of this government to potentially rig the election and/or refuse to leave if beaten.We are stirring a potential legitimacy crisis next year.President Buhari isn’t President Jonathan, Jonathan left quietly and peacefully. I still hope that those around President Buhari will say to him, ‘you have lost, go’.

On the other hand, if President Buhari wins the election in a fair, credible, transparent election, then that’s what the people say.

The people are the final arbiters. What we want is credibility. But can you believe that

the service chiefs with their entire medalbeaded chests appeared at President Buhari’s declaration last Sunday? How do I have confidence in them during the elections?

The very men who should be the arbiters, appearing at the press briefing of the President, that is very dangerous and worrying. So, the time is still open for Nigerian institutionsArmy, Police, INEC- to conduct for us free and fair elections.

But in order to win this election, we’ve got to say something. And I am happy that the 3rdForce has played a very strong role in introducing, for the first time, in a long time, issue-driven election; and that’s what comes out of the media briefings that I have been having.A lot of them went into the formation of the 3rdForce.

When we started 3rdForce; I remember one of the things we said was that we needed to aggregate numbers. And I am happy that we have done that; we have made an impact but we need to, then, win the election. If the elections were to hold today, the winner would be Atiku, distant second would be Buhari; third would be the 3rd Force. That’s my reading of the election as at today. So, our challenge is to close the gap. I don’t pretend we are behind; but I feel we can close the gap. We are working in three states – when I say state, I don’t mean Anambra State, I mean aggregate of states. What they call the swing states (it can go anywhere). Then you have the battle grounds (the North West, north east and south west) are the battle grounds; then you have the safe states. We want to increase our canvassers to about ten thousand; we are working in all of these states. So, if we increase our canvassers to ten thousand,

then we will be virtually at every polling unit. But we have to canvass with something.

What is the way forward for Nigeria according to 3rd Force projections?

We have broken our issues into three broad campaign issues – Political governance, economic governance and administrative governance. Mark you, anyone who tells you that it is going to be business as usual doesn’t want Nigeria to change.

If you are looking for transformational leadership, then there’s going to be a root and branch reform of how we do business.

The first thing is labour. Labour is in fight with the Federal Government over a unified minimum wage. Some states can pay N60,000; Lagos State can do that. My state, Anambra, cannot do N60,000; It can do N30,000 or N40,000. Some can’t even do N18,000. The truth also is that in some states, the cost of living (COLA), Michael Imodu used it; I don’t understand why today’s Labour leaders are not using it – cost of living adjustment (COLA) meaning that in Zamfara when I went there some time ago as president of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) I remember that N50 could fetch you food.

Food is cheap in the North generally. So, you can’t say that a person who works in Lagos should get the same amount of money with the man who is in Gusau.

The way to resolve this is through restructuring; this centralised system doesn’t work. Why for instance, should a high court judge in Lagos get the same pay as a high court judge in Asaba when they are living in different social conditions? So, the first thing on the table is to restructure Nigeria.

We will do that in two levels. The constitution re-

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Politics require a united opposition - Agbakoba quires that two third of the 36 states and the Federal Government and the National Assembly participate in the restructuring.

That may entail a difficult task, but there are things that can be done immediately called administrative restructuring so that the Federal Government can make statutory transfer to the states. Things that the Federal Government is doing – you see ChibuikeAmaechi moving up and down everywhere; you see Fasholaeverywhere but they have commissioners of work; the Federal Government can make those budgets because under the constitution,Federal Government does roads; but if they budget a particular road and it is touching two states, say – Lagos and Oyo – you call the governors and give them the money.

So, you begin to free yourself from the ‘wahala’ of a big federation. These are the two top things we need to do; and we think if we do these things we see substantial changes.

You are all witnesses to the fact that Nigeria is in chaos; - fighting, herdsmen, killings; kidnapping; rapes, disunity; murders, Boko Haram, etc.

If you don’t resolve disunity, we are going nowhere.

Historically, it is called the International Order. Order means, a stable system of things; so, when the Europeans were fighting their religious wars 30-year old war; 100-year war; 50-year war – they met in German state of Westphalia and passed a treaty and agreed ‘peace’. After that came the Vienna League of Nations. Then when the Americans and Russians began to challenge themselves with nuclear weapon, they created MAD – Mutual Assured Destruction, which is the current international order, so that the Americans would not throw a missile into Russia because of the MAD. We have to erect one. So, National Order process is part of the restructuring. Federal character in a sense has not really worked. We need a National Order formulated after MAD. Many people in Nigeria feel cheated. I feel cheated as an Igboman; that’s why I am happy to see Peter Obi back in the process.Since 1979, Igbo man has never been in the equation. Why should I be happy? I wouldnot be happy. I am sure we all have our various grievances.Those from Benue are not happy either; they have been killing their people. There is fighting everywhere. No political party seems to know the importance of a National Order. The big political parties appear not to have any plan about National Order; it is not mentioned by Atiku and it is not mentioned by Buhari; but it is the cardinal framework of a policy of 3rdForce parties. We are going to make a bold statement on the return to old values. You give a man N2billion to produce something for his people he chops all the money and nothing happens to him.

That can’t be fair. So, we are going to introduce National Order. So, our political governance is to say, ‘Eh, we are tired of this madness.If we go on with this madness, we can’t get to anywhere’.

If you go to Ghana; you cannot compare them with Nigeria. We are like people on fire. It is like they put a bazooka under our asses; and it blows up and we all go mad; crazy. Drunken men cannot rule Nigeria; drunken men can’t be good followers.

Ours is to make sure that National Order and restructuring are the priority. We need to recall how Nigeria was.

We have a programme called Economic Governance. Under this we have three main plans. The first is to look at our macro-economic framework.

If the Central Bank is fixing MPR at 14 percent and the banks are lending at 20 percent, there will be no business; nobody is going to survive. So, we are going to ensure that the lending rate comes down to single digit. We will not put money in TSA because that is a very silly idea.

You go and packed money saying you don’t want it to be stolen. We will tell a bank, if you want to use our money, 5 percent we lend to you. If you don’t want to use it; you leave it.

We are going to use the banks because they are the best vehicle to circulate money.

That’s what happens everywhere in the world.

The three critical policies of Economic Governance are Monetary, Fiscal and Trade. Under monetary, we emphasise rates reduction, especially lending to single digit to encourage business growth. Borrow-

ing at 20percent is crazy.On fiscal, we expand money supply to meet expenditure and other needs –without which government cannot fund its money requirements. An expansionary fiscal policy is the only way Nigeria will grow at a GDP of 10percent per annum.This also involves trade; this entails using import substitution to encourage local industries and apply trade tariffs e.g. Fly Nigeria Act, Cabotage and Review Trade Agreements, including bilateral trade agreements e.g. BASA. The notion of fair trade is vital to protect our industries and help them grow.There’s what we call national treatment. This simply means putting Nigeria first in everything just like Donald Trump is doing.

The issue of Economic Governance is vital as macroeconomic management can see 50 million Nigerians out of poverty in 48 months.

Good macroeconomic management willexpand the economy, create jobs and build up the power sector and infrastructure etc. and diversify the economy.

The priority of economic governance is to diversify the economy and make it less dependent on imports. Nigeria has long depended on crude oil as if it is the only hydrocarbon to the utter neglect of gas. The economy heavily relies on oil revenue and is vulnerable to price shocks in oil and the associated risk to national stability. The most recent volatility in oil prices suggests that we must start to diversify our revenue income streams by developing non-oil tradable sectors.

A clear strategy, model and plan for economic diversification both horizontally and vertically is necessary. Horizontal diversification should explore new opportunities in the same oil and gas sector. There are at least thirty-six value added products to be explored in the extraction of crude oil. Vertical diversification means a shift from the oil and gas sector to other sectors, agriculture, services, maritime, aviation/space, manufacturing, health, sports, etc.

Pursuing economic diversification will make the economy less vulnerable to the boom and bust cycles of oil and natural gas prices.

A model we can follow is the United Arab Emirate that has successfully diverted out of oil into new revenue sources.

On the financial services sector, we have observed thatbanks have abused the public trust as financial intermediaries. The Financial Services Sector (FSS) is the oxygen and life blood of a strong economy but it has to be supported by strong independent institutions. We have weak institutions in the FSS. This has made the economy weak; a new strong FSS is sine qua non for growth and development. A strong FSS enables banks to provide credit not just to a few but to all Nigerians. Nigerian banks are mostly money lenders and traders. Banking regulations have failed to supervise them. As a result the economy is starved of badly needed credit.

The proper role of banks is to lend money to the well over 100 million potential Nigerian customers. Now, only the privileged few get bank credit. If regulation forces banks to lend as banks and not just money lenders that they are, there will be massive jobs expansion. As I have said earlier, banks are the life and blood of the economy. But the Nigerian economy is anemic because banks are not lending. But it is not sufficient to blame the banks. Fiscal policy has to be right to stimulate the banks to act as banks and not money lenders.

There are three vital missing links in the FSS. The first is that there is no fiscal credit policy that assures cash flow into the system to the benefit of Nigerians who are consumers of goods and services. If there are no consumers, goods and services will remain unsold and investors are discouraged as there are no markets.

The second major institutional gap is the absence of a National Credit Guarantee Agency that should support viable business propos-

als. When viable business proposals are guaranteed, the economy gets stimulated and expanded and that gets converted to goods and services that are sold on to consumers.

The third institutional need is a Development Bank to lend to vital sectors of the economy.

The CBN intervention Fund Policy must stop.

The CBN is best suited to formulate monetary policy. The Development Bank should take over intervention lending from CBN. If these three missing links are plugged the rate of expansion of the economy is to be imagined. It was this formula that helped China bring out 500 million of its population from extreme poverty. There are many other ways to strengthen the FSS and fiscal policy but this is beyond the purview of this short memo. Last but most important is to introduce banking legislation and unbundle the CBN. Then we have administrative governance.

There is the need for a lean and efficient public service.It is not sustainable for 5 million Federal Public Servants to gulp N1.9 trillion when Federal Government makes only N1.2 million.Oil Subsidy must go; there must be the implementation of the Oronsonye Report; downsizing of government, and government must get out of business to downsize government and increase efficiency.

Sometime ago you said that you had a discussion with former president Obasanjo on the possibility of power shift in 2019; now do you see that happening, and if you are in support of any candidate that is not within the youth bracket; would you have achieved the power shift?

No; I would not have achieved that; but are

you suggesting that power shift is the only thing? Are you saying that if we just give a 35-year old man president, Nigeria will be good? No; I am looking for who can run the country; that’s my own. I used that to kick off a debate and I am happy that it has produced something because without that I wouldn’t even be here. It was on the basis of that discussion that Obasanjo said to me, why not do this and that; then I remembered all that I have been doing. I just collected all of my media briefings, like all these notes, called a few guys and we went. Yes, I would like to have a 25-year old president, if he is competent. But I would not like to have a 25-year old president merely because he is 25 years. So, nothing is exact, and that power shift is within certain context.

What is your own candid assessment of the President Buhari administration in the last three--and-half years?

The problem with President Buhari has been a certain lethargy; a certain monarchial rule; a certain distant president; not engaged; far; very remote. You don’t see him; you only see his ministers talking.

Don’t you see what Trump does? He is always engaged.Well, I don’t know what you think about President Buhari; but personally, for me, I don’t think he has done enough for me. That’s point one.

Point two; if you look at his three cardinal programmes- I can give him a grudging pass mark on security; at least, Boko Haram went down a bit; but can I give him any mark on anti-corruption? No. Can I give any mark on economy? Absolutely no.

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Politics

Durotoye, Duke, Sowore, Moghalu believe it is time for the youth to take over power

I

INIOBONG IWOK n recent times, there has been increased agitation for more opportunity for young Nigerians in governance of the country, this agitation has been fuelled by rising number of youths occupying elective positions in some western countries, such as France, Canada and several others.

The recent signing into law of the #NotTooYoungTo Run” bill

by President Muhammadu Buhari raised the optimism among young Nigerians of more opportunity for them to participate in the political process.

As the 2019 general election approaches, despite obvious challenges that stack against them, a number of the young people have thrown their hats into the ring. Below are profiles of five of the young Presidential candidates seeking to occupy the nation’s number one position, and their chances.

Omoyele Sowore Omoyele was the first among the young Presidential candidates to declare his intention to contest for the nation’s top position.

He was a former student union leader of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) before journalism took him abroad.

Known for his activism and pro-democracy campaign; he is the founder of popular online news medium; Sahara reporters and convener of ‘Take It Back’ Movement.

Speaking recently about his priorities if elected President of Nigeria, Sowore, promised to create jobs, while berating the Muhammadu Buhari administration for its failed economic policies.

He said: “In my first day as a president, I’ll turn Nigeria into a construction site. I have created jobs before. Since Buhari became president, his cows haven’t multiplied. He has had 150 cows since.

“If you ask Nigerians about the economic plans of Buhari, they’ll point to the British accent of the finance minister. How does accent create jobs?”

He further criticised those who say activists like him could not govern the country and were only good in opposition.

Sowore is respected for his vibrancy, intelligence and good understanding of the economy.

But his recent comment that marijuana should be legalised in the country was highly criticised by political observers who accused him of not having sufficient understanding the peculiarity of the country.

Sowore may have the support

Fela Durotoye of young Nigerians and the educated elite, but pundits believe he is in the Presidential race just to increase his popularity.

He is not seen as a threat to the two leading candidates in the election, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and incumbent Muham-

Donald Duke

madu Buhari of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) because he lacks the political base across the country to challenge for such position.

Fela Durotoye Durotoye emerged the candidate of Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) in a primary of the party

held at the Nicon Luxury hotel, Abuja.

The event witnessed large turnout from all the delegates who came from various parts of the country to partake in the party’s first presidential primaries.

Durotoye emerged after the last standing presidential aspirant of the party, Gbenga Olawepo Hasim, announced his withdrawal from the race hours to the primaries.

But before then, he had emerged as the consensus candidate of Presidential Aspirants Coming Together (PACT), defeating Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressive Party (YPP).

Speaking recently on his plans and programmes if elected President of the country, Durotoye, promised to give priority to the education sector and engage professionals in various field into his cabinet.

“My cabinet will consist of experts with proven track records who will manage ministries, not people who are rewarded with political favours. Every goal and milestone of each ministry and agencies will be galvanised towards our most important goal, which is becoming the world’s most desirable nation. For example, the Ministry of Education, we will have a clear goal; which is to be the first choice for Nigerians to educate their children and the preferred destination for foreign universities to set up their campuses in Africa by December 31, 2025.

“This decision alone will drive us to reinvest in our education system, retrain our teachers, revise our curriculum, and retrain our students to not only be employees but employers in a globally competitive labour market is to clearly define who a Nigerian is. For too long, we’ve been told we are fraudsters, cheats and rule breakers.

“That’s not who we are. The Ministry of National Orientation is such an important vehicle in clearly defining and (allows me to say), indoctrinating Nigerians the right kind of values and behaviours that describe us as new Nigerians. That’s a clear example of what I will do differently when given the opportunity to serve as President”.

Durotoye also, the Chief Executive Officer of the GEMSTONE Group, a leadership development institution with a distinct mandate to raise a Generation of leaders that are Empowered, Motivated and Stirred to Operate with Natural Excellence (GEMSTONE).

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science with Economics, as well as a Master’s degree in Business Adminis-

My cabinet will consist of experts with proven track records who will manage ministries, not people who are rewarded with political favours tration (M.B.A) and a Master of Philosophy Degree (M.Phil) in Strategic Management, all from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife. He is also an Alumnus of the Kennedy School of Government of the prestigious Harvard University in the United States as well as an alumnus of The Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

Durotoye is a high professional mobilizer who is popular among the youths, a life coach who has inspired thousands of youths across the world with his teaching.

He was a former student leader while in the university, but his entrance into the Presidential race is still a surprise to pundits.

Prior to now, he was not known to have associated with any political party or occupy any public office.

He is not seen as a serious candidate and lacked the political structure or grassroots support to pose threat to the leading candidates in the Presidential election.

Kingsley Moghalu Moghalu is the presidential candidate of the Young Progressive Party (YPP).

He emerged after a delegates’ election at the party’s first national convention and presidential primaries in Abuja after obtaining 243 votes from 253 accredited delegates to beat his only opponent, Donald Igwegbu, who stepped down for him.

Igwegbu had said he took the decision not because he was not qualified to contest in 2019 but because Moghalu shared the same vision with him.

He called on party members and his supporters to support Moghalu, urging other politicians to emulate his spirit of sportsmanship.

Moghalu is a former Deputy Continues on page 34

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Politics

Durotoye, Duke, Sowore, Moghalu believe it is time for the youth to take over power Continued fro page 32 Governor of Nigeria’s apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN).

Speaking after his victory at the party’s primaries, Moghalu said Nigeria needed a leader of international repute, not politicians that had failed the country.

“More than ever before, Nigeria needs to be driven by a vision, informed by a worldview that determines everything else.

“Up till about 40 years ago, China was viewed as a basket case; overpopulated, unproductive and ruined economically by policies of the decades prior to that.

“Today, they snap their fingers and nearly every single African Head of state shows up in China with their hands out, eager for Chinese largesse. That’s what a country driven by a worldview can achieve,” he said.

Moghalu is viewed as a progressive who is a strong advocate of restructuring of the country.

Speaking recently in his keynote address at the 6th annual conference of the Nigerian Political Science Association, Southeast chapter at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, he said the current structure of the country which was called a Federal Republic was rather unitary in practice.

He blamed the incursion of the military into politics for the nation’s loop-sided structure, stressing that the current system which concentrates power at the centre was defective, unjust and favouring certain parts of the country which is in power, against a region that contributes the major wealth for the sustenance of the country.

“The only form of government that can create national unity and cohesion, and enable Nigeria achieve the promise of its dynamic peoples is true federalism.

“Such a government requires a fundamental overhaul of the 1999 constitution presently in force to achieve national unity and cohesion as well as the development of part of the federal state at their own pace.

“Nigeria is today is called a Federal Republic but in a reality is

It is high time Nigerians begun to project people with the technical know-how to take the country to the Promised Land

a unitary state. This reality is the result of military intervention in our polity through the first coup in 1966”.

He is perhaps one of the most intelligent among the Presidential candidates in next year’s election, having served in several capacities in the public and private sector both within and outside the country.

There was so much expectation from him among Nigerians, when he declared his intention to contest for the nation’s top position. However, his decision to contest under the YPP was criticised because the party was relatively unknown and was not visible across the country.

Pundits have also doubted if he would be able to translate his success in the boardroom to elective position, considering the complex nature of the country.

Moghalu’s decision to go into an election with PACT, which produced Fela Durotoye as its consensus Presidential candidate, in which he refused to accept the result of the election was seen as a sign of his inexperience and political naivety.

In spite of his sound knowledge of the economy, pundits say he may unlikely make a remarkable impact in the election, because he is contesting under a political platform that is not popular and has no structure across the country.

Donald Duke Donald Duke governed Nigeria’s Southern state of Cross River, between 1999-2007 on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He however, recently defected from the PDP to pursue his Presidential ambition under Social Democratic Party (SDP).

He was adjudged to have transformed the fortunes of the state, which was largely a civil service state before he assumed office, establishing several landmarks projects among which was the Tinapa free trade zone which turned the state into a tourism destination.

Duke has been a consistent critics of the current structure of the country, and had on different forum advocated for an urgent restructuring of the country and a shift in mantle of leadership to the younger generation.

The 56-year-old Donald Duke polled 812 votes to defeat his close rival, former minister of information, Jerry Gani, who polled 611 votes at the party’s national Convention, held at the old parade ground, Abuja.

Speaking recently, Duke said that he had the qualification to rule the country, urging Nigerians to give people with the technical know-how a chance.

“I am entitled to run for the presidency of this country.

Only on right circumstances I will aspire for it. I don’t shy away from responsibility; I will aspire for presidency of this country. I have what it takes to be president of this country.

Kingsley Moghalu “It is high time Nigerians begun to project people with the technical know-how to take the country to the Promised Land”, he said.

“What divides us is inadequacy and wants, because in the face of this survival of the fittest comes in, which ought not to be so because there is more than enough for everyone. This is what good governance is all about and that is what I stand for,” he further said.

Donald Duke has shown over the years that he is one of the young Nigerians who understand the challenges of the country and on several forums proffer

Omoyele Sowore

solutions to them.

Duke is relatively some measure of popularity in the Southsouth and South-eastern part of the country.

However, political observers are of the opinion that his chances of emerging President after next year’s election was slim, it is believed that it is still the turn of the north to complete their tenure, hence, he may lack the support across the country to realise his ambition.

Eunice Atuejide Atuejide is the presidential candidate of the National Interest Party (NIP), a party she founded and was the first na-

tional chairman.

NIP is said to have been designed to function predominantly online, and is regarded as the world’s first virtual political party.

NIP adopts the centrist progressive ideology and is neither leftist nor rightist. The party balances social conservative values with economic liberalism, thereby striking a balance between liberal ideologies supporting social justice.

Atuejide, a legal practitioner, is a 39-year old mother of five children, who hails from Enugu State, and a legal practitioner.

Speaking recently on her Presidential ambition, she said she believed the country was ready for a female President, stressing that she had always nursed the ambition to rule the country.

“I have always wanted to be the President of Nigeria. That is the ambition I have always had, even as a seven-year-old child.

I have always told my mum, my husband and my children that I want to be President. So, starting at the level I did was because, over the years, I have developed myself for that office and I have a very good chance of winning it.

“I didn’t develop myself to contest a lower position. It will be unfair for me, my character and my true self to start from somewhere beneath the presidency just because of what people would say. And now that the opportunity has come, it will be unwise to go for anything less”.

She revealed her 32-point agenda to fix the country, promising to focus on education, security, health and economy.

“We will focus on the economy so we can have jobs. In terms of power, we will make efforts to review those policies that make it difficult for Nigerians to enjoy power. We will make it possible for any company that has the capacity to combine generation, transmission and distribution to do so,” she said.

“In terms of education, we are looking at sanitising our higher institutions and we are looking at improving our vocational education system so that people who don’t want to go to school as academia, especially those who do not have the capacity to go, have a place designed for them, instead of bringing down cut-off mark”.

Until the registration of her party and her declaration to contest next year’s election, Atuejide was relatively unknown in the political scene in the country.

But analysts have applauded her courage to contest for the nation’s top job, especially in a political system largely dominated and controlled by the male.

She is not expected to pose any threat to the two leading candidates, however, her entrance into the presidential race is seen by analysts as a plus to women, they argued that it would further help in deepening democracy in the country and also help in advancing the course of women.

Sunday 25 November 2018

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Politics South East has benefited more in Buhari administration than it did in 16 years of PDP – Umohinyang T

2019: Ondo APC denies engaging in anti-party activities YOMI AYELESO, Akure

Emmanuel Umohinyang, social commentator and political analyst, is the convener, Re-elect Buhari Movement (RBM). In this interview, speaks on contemporary national issues. He says that the South East has benefited more from the current administration than it did in the 16 years of governance under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), expressing the optimism that President Muhammadu Buhari will get a second term despite massive opposition to his bid. Excerpts:

W

hat is your reaction to the allegation by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that APC is harboring corrupt elements?

Naturally, CAN is the umbrella body for all Christians and they are there not only to protect the interest of Christians, but also to provide leadership when the affairs of the country is being threatened.

CAN is a noble organisation, but I am afraid, one may not be able to say the same judging by its activities in the recent past. The way the organisation is being run and managed, the characters that have taken over the organisation have left some of us, Christians, with much doubt. It’s not a bad thing if a noble organisation like CAN raises concern on any issue that affects the common man on the street, but my worry is: where was this CAN during the days of the locusts; where was the CAN during the last administration? Where was this CAN when billions of dollars was looted from the country? Where was CAN when humongous amount of money was shared by the elite, money meant for the prosecution of the war against Boko Haram in the North-East? If not for the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari, we would not have known how humongous amounts of money developed wings and flew out of our coffers. Where was this CAN? CAN was not making any reference to the government.

It looks to me that CAN will always come out to speak only when it is convenient for them to, not when it is necessary. I was taken aback when CAN made that wild allegation that the political party of the President was a safe haven for the corrupt politicians. I don’t think CAN, with recent developments, still enjoy good support of the people they represent.

A lot of Christians, including myself, have completely lost faith in CAN as an organisation because as clergy men, they are duty bound to say the truth to any government

Umohinyang no matter who is there. I think Christians should watch and not be misled. We should know when people are representing our interest and when people are representing their personal interest.

Don’t you think the damning allegation may affect the President’s electoral fortunes in 2019?

I have said before that our democracy is growing and the country is dynamic and I have equally said we are not running a democracy where people are called to the village square to share kola nut, and begin to apportion who takes what. The country is governed by rules and the people are discerning, especially during election periods. You will recall that around this time in 2014, it was reported that about N9billion was released by that administration to some clergy men under CAN umbrella, and that the money was shared somewhere in Lagos. I remember a renowned clergy warning those who collected the money to return same. I stand to be corrected. CAN never came out with any position on that issue; so the people know where to cast their votes, whether Christians, Muslims or Traditional worshippers. If

CAN were mute under the last administration where corruption had developed legs and worn clothes, walking around the country, how come they are now talking under a president that has showed zero tolerance for corruption?

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed major economic policies of the current administration as unworkable; what are your thoughts?

I have listened to Atiku Abubakar recently. I have also heard him propose what I will call voodoo economics. He said he is going to take the risk of allowing inflation in our economy to woo foreign investors.

As funny as Atiku’s economic magic may look, I think Atiku is trying to take Nigeria back to Zimbabwe of the recent past, where a loaf of bread was sold for Ten Thousand Zimbabwean Dollars. Atiku should know that such an economy seriously affects the poor. From what he is proposing, it shows Atiku is only concerned about the elite. Atiku is trying to take us back to where the miracle of survival was only in the hands of a few. Buhari’s government has come in to break the walls between the rich and the poor, but what Atiku is proposing is to take Nigeria back to the

era where we ate the crumbs from the master’s table, and the people will not allow that in 2019. I also heard him say he is going to allow the Niger– Delta take control of their resources. Atiku cannot deceive Nigerians with his ridiculous promises because it was under the watchful eyes of Atiku that the people of the South-South took the issue up to the level of the Supreme Court to fight for 13 percent derivation. He also talked about disobedience to court orders. Under the administration he was VP, the allocation of Lagos State was withheld for months even after the Supreme Court judgment ordering them to pay the money to Lagos State under former Governor Bola Tinubu.

So, Atiku is not qualified morally to talk about disobedience to court orders because he was an active player in a government that relied more on the rule of the thumb. I think he is only showing desperation as a man desperate to come into power not for the benefit of the people but for themselves.

Don’t you see his recent endorsement in the SouthEast as a plus for his aspiration?

If endorsement wins election, former President Goodluck Jonathan would have won re-election in 2015 because during that era, we saw how humongous amount of money was used to acquire endorsements. Endorsement does not win votes; it’s the people, with their PVCs who will determine the President of Nigeria in 2019. What happened in the South-East, the Enugu declaration, is not unexpected. We are going to see more of it in the coming days, especially with the kick-off of the campaigns.

That endorsement will count for nothing because under this administration, the government has done so much for the people of the Southeast. The people will not allow themselves to be used again by the so-called leaders. Development wise, this government has done more for the people of the South-East compared to the sixteen years of the PDP.

he Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State led by Ade Adetimehin has expressed concerns over a statement credited to some members of the party in the state accusing the state executive of engaging in anti-party activities, and also calling for its dissolution.

It will be recalled that a group of party members had called for the dissolution of the Ade Adetimehin-led state executives over what they described as antiparty activities.

They accused the state excos of sponsoring Action Alliance (AA) ahead of the 2019 general election.

In a statement issued by Alex Kalejaye, the state publicity secretary, the party said the state chapter was busy with winning strategies that would make all APC candidates, including President Muhammadu Buhari emerge victorious in the state.

“The State Chairman of the party, Ade Adetimehin, is a true democrat and a party man to the core, who is endowed with rich history of enviable stability in his political history and ideology.

His loyalty to the party and its national leadership is without blemish, considering his political records from Second Republic to 1999, till date.

“We feel obliged to say, in no ambiguous terms that members of the state executive have never, and will never contemplate anti-party in APC that holds so much hope for us, individually and collectively as a country,” it said.

According to the party, “The leader of the party and governor of the state, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, can never compromise the fortune and development of the state and the party for whatever consideration.

“Our priority in the last few months has been how to unite the party, appease aggrieved members and aspirants so that we can collectively deliver the state for our dear party during the general election next year.

“It was also comical that the Alli Olanusi-led group claims that the state executive of the party is funding opposition party, this is unfounded, strange and far from the reality on ground.

“While we are reluctant to conclude that their action was triggered by the need to position themselves for patronage during the general election, we urge the National Working Committee to discountenance the agitation.”

The state executives of the party therefore, appealed to all gladiators within the party to lower personal ego and grievances in the interest of the party.

They assured the readiness of the APC Executive led by Adetimehin to continue to work hard to ensure unity of members and bring all aggrieved leaders and chieftains together for the overall interest of our the party.

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Sunday 25 November 2018

Politics Fireworks in Rivers over electoral violence as speakers disagree on role of the army Ignatius Chukwu

A

platform to examine the role of journalists in promoting non-violent elections in Rivers State turned tense, following disagreements over the purported role of the army in carrying ballot boxes and rigging elections.

The disagreement exploded the moment the former president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), the lawyer, Ledum Mitee, declared that the situation is now too bad, with soldiers getting involved in electoral violence and rigging.

Mitee seemed to stir a hornets’ nest when he said a top political appointee visited him a few weeks back, escorted by seven truckloads of soldiers.

The army representative thundered back, saying it was not possible, emphasising that ‘solders’ do not guard civilians, no matter how highly placed. As the matter hung in the balance, the Rivers State Commissioner of Information, another lawyer, Emma Okah, supported the notion that soldiers are involved in the unwholesome act and gave telling testimony.

Mitee: “I saw a man with a bullet in his chest which he got from electoral violence, trying to carry ballot box for a paymaster. After all, the news headlines he got, his master left him and would later not even take his calls. All he needed was N3million to extract the bullet, but nobody has looked his direction, to this day.

“Just N3m kept the bullet in his chest. He has now joined the campaign against electoral violence because he now sees there is no future in it. He has realised that when something goes wrong, you are on your own. He now advises youths not to take the bullet for politicians. It is not worth it”, he laments.

“This is part of the reasons why we formed the Initiative for Credible Election, an NGO, to press against youth violence in elections. We found that youths armed by politicians during elections do not return the guns after election. They rather keep them and become a threat to all of us.”

He said the role of the media is clear. “There is a new menace in electoral violence. The security agencies have a role and the media have a big role.” He said violence starts before elections.

“Violent language starts the process and it incites the populace and the supporters. Statements like; ‘We will crush the opposi-

Amaechi

tion.’ When you use such violent words, what do you want the youths to understand?”

He urged journalists to see how violence is encouraged; regretting that even when the INEC issued a report after the PH Constituency-3 by-elections earlier this year and said security agents and INEC officials caused violence, nothing has happened so far. Use and abuse of security agents in elections is too bad.

“We even see political appointees escorted by soldiers. One top political leader visited me last week with seven truckloads of soldiers. I even asked him if that was needed, just to visit me?”

On credible elections, he said, “if public security agents (soldiers or police) are now with your opponent helping him, you may be forced to seek self-help.

It is intimidating to the opponent.

That is how violent confrontations start.”

For journalists, he said; “Show what led to the violence. Alert I N EC a n d s ec urit y a gent s through your stories on violence.

The Electoral Act makes only the INEC chief the one to deploy soldiers, not IGP and this is only for the distribution of electoral materials.

He tasked the media to make life difficult for those who govern, not to ease it, else, it would amount to being complicit. “You are not mere recorders of history.

Stories must not be on the surface, let them go deep to uncover the reasons for the violence.”

He said INEC faces violent actions of thugs. “Unauthorised security operatives doing evil is a

Wike

rampant scenario. The army and police would say those were not their men. Some persons act outside the police commissioner in a state. Also, report good things that happen and so encourage others.

Army: The representatives of the Army, especially the Army Public Relations Officer, Aminu Ilyasu, said the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) is clearly non-partisan. He rather said small arms are circulating everywhere and there have been two seizures at Onne sea port of containers of uniforms.

He said: “Soldiers are not to come near polling stations and the Chief of Army Staff has made it abundantly clear what the role of the army at elections is; just to protect the areas, not to touch ballot boxes. We leave the polling stations to other security agencies. The army is apolitical and there are announced sanctions on anyone who goes against it. The rule is, stay away from politics or retire.

“The story of seven vans of soldiers escorting a politician is surprising because the rules are clear. Look, soldiers do not guard civilians. He gave out numbers with which to contact the Army in the event of such sighting of soldiers doing things outside the law, but warned that some persons now put uniforms on them.

Emma Okah: Commissioner of Information In his submission, the Commissioner said: “The Police in Rivers State is hell bent on rigging elections for the APC. Allow a

Mitee

contestant to fail elections, next time, they would find out what made them fail and work harder.

No nation makes progress the way we are going. Often, the APC says PDP did bad in the past too, but must APC also do it?

“INEC, look, when you ask us to behave, we do not take you seriously anymore. The problem facing Nigeria about elections is huge. More evil will happen ahead, based on the things we hear and see every day. Let us collectively begin to build a true nation, let’s make sacrifices. Let us do something well for once.

He told the story of a soldier who acted well at elections and was rather punished with transfer to Degema if not Borrno State. “The only enterprise going on now seems to be election; we move from election to election; what about industries, agriculture, etc?

“The problem we have is the failure of leadership at all levels to what is right.

“Others said soldiers are compounding things at elections.

Nigeria is in trouble. Soldiers are sharing uniforms with those who sew them. They are busy chasing ballot boxes instead of chasing thugs and their guns. Integrity of soldiers is important.”

Chapel chairman, Ernest Chinwo: The chairman of the Federated Correspondents Chapel of the NUJ, Enerst Chinwo, said lections have come again and threats and violence are back. “The people are suffering it but journalists are targeted too. There is need to brainstorm on how to protect

journalists.”

NUJ chairman: Stanley Job: “Stop promoting perpetrators of violence; always condemn them. Assault of journalists, especially in Rivers State is getting more frequent; we have instances. We need a safe environment to operate.

Government must not gag journalists. INEC should allow journalists to operate. The press in Rivers State must be security conscious. If things won’t stop Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) won’t stop either. The media must help out by factual reporting.”

Chairman: Chika Onuegbu: Former TUC head in the state, Chika Onuegbu, a resource fellow in oil and gas economy, seemed to moderate and tone down the anxiety and clashes.

He said journalists must highlight the good that agencies and personnel are doing too to encourage them. “Report and follow up, so that the oppressors will know that the matter will not end soon, just like the Khassoggi issue. “Commercialisation makes reporting press releases to have upper hand, thereby playing into the hands of governments and groups. Journalists are now vulnerable to corruption due to cost issue. There is poor training and remuneration plus poor equipment.”

Conclusion: Journalists must prove that they are not just mere independent recorders of history.

Striving to be neutral is even bad because it makes the offender to hide.

Sunday 25 November 2018

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Interview ‘Without prayers, Nigeria would have sunken deeper into hopelessness’

Ruth Iwunze, associate pastor, Love Base Assembly, Lagos is a woman who is passionate about the plight of widows in the society and that was perhaps the idea behind her setting up Tabbitha Foundation some years back. Through the organisation, she had embarked on projects aimed at empowering the needy widows in society. In this interview with Ngozi Okpalakunne recently, she relived her encounter with the Lord and her ordeal for 17 years as a childless woman before she gave birth to a set of twins last year. Iwunze, who is also into importation of furniture and other household items, also spoke on women political participation and other issues affecting the nation.

I

t is common to hear people say they were called of God, so, how did you encounter God?

I became a believer of the gospel of Jesus Christ in 1994 at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, actually it was during a Holy Ghost service. Something led me to the camp, before then l was a mere Christian, but after my participation in that service after my university education, l became a fire brand for the Lord. I recalled at that Holy Ghost service, it was the General Overseer of the Redeemed Church that ministered.

I actually became a pastor in Redeemed before l got married to my mentor, friend and bishop, who is the General Overseer of Love Based Assembly.

As a minister of the gospel, what do you consider the most challenging issue in your life and ministry?

The world of God said that in all things we should give God the glory. And God is never late in any situation. Also what God did not give you, you do not need such thing. My childlessness for a pe-

riod of 17 years was indeed a huge challenge in my life and ministry, but l held on to God because before l got married, l had a revelation, in that revelation, l attended a Holy Ghost service and the G.O of Redeemed Christian Church of God asked those who are looking up to God for children to come out for prayers and l found myself in the midst of women who came out for that prayer. While the prayer lasted in that revelation, the man of God told me that God would bless me with a set of twins. When l woke up, l narrated what l saw to my mother, but l asked myself, ‘does it mean l will stay so long before having children?’ When l got married and there was no child l remembered the revelation and l was convinced that God will bring it to past and it eventually came to fulfillment. I am happy and grateful to God who has promised and fulfilled his promise. Today, l am a mother of children, a boy and girl; it was not easy, 17 years is not 17 days; l cry at times asking God when he would remember me, especially when l see other believers getting married and giving birth nine months after their

Ruth Iwunze wedding. Today, l am marking my fifth birthday; my mouth is filled with joy and gladness and l own it all to Jesus.

The increased rate of divorce in society has been linked to infertility among couples; what is your take on that?

Childlessness in a marriage relationship should not be a major cause of separation. This is

basically because children are blessing from God and He is the only one that gives children. It is not in the power of the man or woman to give children. So, they should trust the Lord and believe that He is able to do all things. Men particularly should be patient; they are the ones that are always in a hurry when it comes to such issue; it ought not to be so. I thank God for my husband who was always there for me throughout the period of my childlessness; he encouraged me; any hospital l am going to, he will go with me.

What are your views about the state of our country, Nigeria?

There is poverty, hunger and high rate of unemployment in the country. A lot of money has been embezzled and the one recovered is not seen. This money should have been used to build industries so as to tackle the high rate of unemployment in the country.

There are millions of graduates who are jobless and these are children that parents spent a lot of money to train in the universities, now they are done with their studies and the National Youth

Service exercise and there is no employment. Government, both at federal and state levels, should create jobs for the unemployed.

On the other hand, when you look at what is happening in the country, you will see the finger of God. He will surely deliver this country from the hand of the devil. If not for the prayers of the children of God, l do not know where the country would have been today, so we all should continue to pray and l know God will answer and turn the situation of this country around for good.

In your own assessment, do you think women are ready to participate effectively in politics come 2019 general election?

I think they are ready. I believe in women participation in politics and l am sure they will participate more in the forth-coming election than previous elections. But, at the same time, women should be encouraged to seek elective positions and those who are not qualified to be voted for should cast their votes on election days.

They should endeavour to collect their PVCs now and vote for appropriate candidates.

Youths planning to go to Europe illegally must have a rethink – Returnee migrant Christian Eiguedo is the coordinator of Lagos chapter of the Greater Returnees (a body that consists of repatriated migrants, especially Libya returnees) in this interview with JONATHAN ADEROJU, spoke on his experience in foreign land, dangers of illegal migration, among other related issues. Excerpts:

M

ay we know you better sir?

My name is Christian Eiguedo; I am from Edo State, Esan south east Local Government Area. I am also the coordinator of Greater Returnees Lagos State chapter.

Tell us about the Greater Returnees group?

We are a body that has come together to advocate against illegal migration and human trafficking and also the reintegration of returnees, and we comprise all the returnees around the world, especially Libya returnees.

Can you tell us when this group was founded and by who?

It was founded in the year 2016 by Nosa Stanley Okondia, who presently resides in Edo State.

Can you share with us some of the experiences you had in Libya?

My experience in Libya was so miserable and devastating; the experience is not something I wish to say every time but in this case I will just have to say a little so that my fellow youths will know what I passed through, crossing the hot deserts for a whole week without food or water, most of my friends then died along the way, even when we were arrested and put in prison there was no good, no water for us; we had to drink water from the toilet just to survive; most of our female colleagues were sexually abused and even the guys too were sexually molested. This experience is not what I will wish for even my enemy. When you fall sick you only hope to God not to die because no medication will be administered to you.

What was the reason that made you and your other colleagues want to leave Ni-

geria for Europe in the first place?

The problem is that we all thought that leaving the country with the hardship therein, that there would be greener pastures for us there. In Nigeria today, even a graduate finds it very difficult to get a decent job after all the years in school and serving our fatherland. All this grows into frustration that propels the hunger to find a greener pasture somewhere else even if it means going into another country illegally.

But thank God today we have learnt our lesson; if we want to actually leave, we must go through the right procedure.

What exactly is the vision of the group- Greater Returnees?

As you know we that are returnees have been there and we have experienced so many mishaps, so we decided to come together to say no to

illegal migration and also human trafficking in Nigeria and Africa at large.

How do you intend to push this vision forward?

Well, lately, we have had successful stories even when there are no agencies coming up to work with us yet, for example the Edo State Broadcasting Service has given us a platform every Monday by 3pm to go live, to sensitise youths and the general public against illegal migration. And we hope that other humanitarian agencies will see the work we are doing and key into it too. In fact, the media is doing a good work for us helping us reach a wider range of audience. We actually wish to have a centre where we can begin to teach many of the unemployed returnees some skills to enable them stand on their feet.

What is your advice to youths who are still considering going to Europe, illegally?

Christian Eiguedo

The truth is that there are so many who have made up their mind that no matter what anyone says they must go, but I hope that they can see this message and have a change of mind; the journey they are about to embark on is very dangerous and might end their lives. So I advise them to please go through the right procedure in going into another country.

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Sunday 25 November 2018

Interview

I

t is now exactly one year you assumed office as the General Manager of ABSEDA. May we know some of the achievements you have recorded?

Let me start with the place you are now. We were not here in the year 2017, we were in a rented apartment but now, we are in our permanent site, which we erected between November last year and now.

Secondly, workers’ welfare has also received a very great push with the refund of staff pension fund, that was earlier on tampered with by the previous administrations. I think we have returned and refunded it to the welfare unit.

In the area of salary payment, today, we are one year in office and by the grace of God, we have paid thirteen months salaries.

Internal staff training has been on and a lot of welfare packages for our staff, which we may not mention here. So, you can see for yourself, that our staff are happy and healthy; merely looking at my staff, you can see that if they are not very comfortable, at least they are happy like any other average civil servant in Nigeria.

The raw material upon which we deal is land, because as the name entails - Abia State Estate Development Agency- we don’t develop estates on air or in water.

We develop estates on land and previously, before we came in, land had been a major constraint, a major problem for this agency but to the glory of God, today, we have succeeded in acquiring, parcellating and allocating some areas to our beneficiaries like Amuzukwu Housing Estate, Umuderevo Housing Estate, Ohiya-Amaudara Housing Estate and many more that are still undergoing parcellation process.

Before now also, a lot of people had been carrying allocation papers about without corresponding land to show for their allocation papers, but to the glory of God also, we have done a lot of replacements, placing them on ground, those allocations that didn’t have corresponding plots of land to show for, can now boast of plots of land.

We have done a lot of replacements; we have replaced over 130 plots for beneficiaries who have been carrying allocation papers about. We still intend to do more as soon as we conclude parcellation in the ones we are carrying about.

We have done a lot of imagelaundering for the agency because the name was not very palatable in the ears of people in the state and environs, but today, I think they are happy doing business and doing anything with the agency because they are sure with what they are doing. They are getting positive results from it.

In the area of conflict resolution, before we came on board we had a lot of court cases hanging on the shoulders of the agency, with our alternative conflict resolution approach, we have been able to resolve a lot of them out of the law court, because we found out that most

Our modest achievement is not magic but sheer determination – ABSEDA DG Okechukwu Ndukwe is the general manager of Abia State Estate Development Agency (ABSEDA). In this interview with UDOKA AGWU in Umuahia, he spoke on some of the achievements so far recorded by him since he assumed office one year ago, some of challenges facing the agency and his assessment of Ikpeazu’s administration. Excerpts: of them are just things we can settle with one or two meetings.

So, we have done that and a lot have been settled out of court.

Most of our abandoned estates have been reopened and revived and people are there and development processes are ongoing in those estates. So, in a nutshell, we have turned the agency from a near moribund state to a very active and lively state in the past one year by the grace of God. What magic did you apply to achieve these within one year in office?

It is not magic, it is a matter of looking inwards and being determined in what you have come to do and then set goals for yourself. You cannot be giving lands to people to build upon and you that give the land

is in a rented apartment, even if people want to do business with you and hear that you are in a rented apartment, they will not do business with you. So, that was why we tackled it headlong, looking inwards, using what we have to get what we want.

Land is a very powerful instrument that anyone can use to either negotiate for whatever you want or otherwise. So here, there was no magic we did, we only looked inwards when we came here and found out that the agency after all has certain things that could be used to get this edifice done, and that was what we did.

We didn’t go and start looking for a contractor to come and start charging billions of naira to build this place. We had to do it by ourselves. We go to where bricklayers usually assemble and

negotiate with them, we met the carpenters, negotiate with them, then go to the timber market and negotiate for the wood, tiles, zinc and everything we want. We did not send somebody to go and negotiate for us, to avoid the issue of overblown prize.

Our reason is simple, one, to make name, to tell the world that we have come to deliver for whatever we do today wait for us tomorrow. So, that is just the magic if you say so, but I know it is not a magic.

What are the challenges being faced by your Agency?

Fu n d s ! Li k e e v e r y o t h e r government and government agencies, money is always the problem for you to carry out most of your activities. But, I still commend the efforts of our executive governor, Victor

Okezie Ikpeazu who has been very supportive to us, helping us to overcome some of our shortcomings. So fund has been the major one. Other problems we have been facing, are with most communities, our donor communities. Some will say yes, some will say no, some youths will make this demand, another one will make the other demand.

That is, the donor community problems have been one of the problems and by the grace of God we have been tackling them and we have been excelling.

The workers here have been co-operating, there have not been any problem, just fund and community problems.

What is your assessment of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration?

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu in the last three years has done well. The other day I was travelling through Ururuka Road to Aba, I found out that a lot of roads there have been tarred, like Umuobiakwa to OnichaNgwa to Owoahiafor has been tarred. That road has been in bad shape since Adam, but now it has been tarred by our dear governor and many more roads too have had a facelift.

People will say, it is because the roads are in his area. Ok, look at the quality of work being done around Aba Road, Umuahia, look at Port Harcourt Road, look at the one he did at Faulks Road to Ariaria. You see, one thing is, doing a thing and doing it well and not just doing two million roads without doing any of them well.

Look at the quality of these roads, look at the drainages constructed. Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is doing well. Look at the area of Agriculture; look in the area of youth empowerment. The man has done well, notwithstanding that he spent two years in court, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu would have come out to tell the people that after all he spent two years in court, but look at the good works he has done. Look at the training of the youth, taking Abia youths to China to train them on how to produce shoes that will be of international standard.

I know in his second tenure, he will do marvelously well, because I believe there will be little or no court cases after the election, because I believe his victory will be acceptable by everyone this time around.

What would you like to be be remembered for after leaving office?

My good works! Like I said earlier, what you do today, you wait for the reward tomorrow.

So, I will like to be remembered for my good works, just like this edifice you are seeing here.

Generations yet unborn will come and see that it is me, after 27 years of the existence of this agency in Abia, it had been in a rented apartment and I came within one year and insisted that we must have our own. This agency was under lock and key when I came one year ago, by the grace of God, the agency you see is lively and active now.

Sunday 25 November 2018

C002D5556

BDSUNDAY 39

Inspirations Giving that pleases God Pastor I.S James 2 Tim.1:7

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woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “GIVE me a drink.” For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to him, “How is it that you being a Jew, ask a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” John 4:7- 10.

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, But water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give SEED to the SOWER and BREAD to the EATER. Isaiah 55:10 For if I do this WILLINGLY, I have a reward…

1 Corinthians 9:17 Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who GIVES it WILLINGLY with his heart you shall take My offering - Exodus 25:2 Take from among you an offering to the Lord.

Whoever is of a WILLING heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze - Exodus 35:5 Then the leaders of the father’s houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king’s work, offered WILLINGLY. Then the people rejoiced, for they had OFFERED WILLINGLY, because with a loyal HEART they had OFFERED WILLINGLY to the Lord; and king David also rejoiced greatly.

But who am I, and who are my people that we should be able to offer so WILLINGLY as this?

I know also my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have WILLINGLY OFFERED all these things; and now with joy I have seen your people, who are present here to OFFER WILLINGLY to you - 1 Chronicles 29:6, 9, 14, 17 The Samaritan lady did not have the identity of the person who asked her for a drink. Just as the rich man (who didn’t care for Lazarus while he was alive and lying at his gate Luke 16:19- 31) did not realize that Lazarus was God’s extended arm. The same goes for the priest and Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Unfortunately, like them, many of us shrink back from taking up what you’d call ‘divinely-offered opportunities.’ We give all kinds of excuses. For example, “I don’t have time,” “You know how living in Lagos

can be,” etc. The unpredictability of life to the extent that you are here now, and are gone the next minute is reason enough for us to avoid the snare of giving excuses, especially in response to God’s request for our time, talent and money.

I want you to esteem highly God’s invitation to you to give of your time and talent. Zaccheaus was overjoyed when Jesus said he was coming to his house.

You belong to the privileged who have become partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. And don’t forget that whenever God makes such demands of you it is because He wants to bless you.

He wants to give you SEED and BREAD. What’s the difference between seed and bread? One is for sowing while the other is for eating. These two elements are always in God’s gifts to you. This is the generosity of God. He is always beyond and above measure. If you gave him a cup of water he doesn’t give you just a cup of water in return. He ensures that what he gives you can quench your thirst, and those of others. This is always the case except when man interferes with God’s process; when a recipient of God’s generosity eats both the bread and the seed. Anytime you buy an orange, you buy the fruit and the seed. You eat the fruit, but throw away, or sow the seed. God ensures that you have more fruits to eat after you must have finished the first. But you know man, when he became involved in agriculture; he started making seedless grapes, for example.

A quick glance at most of the above passages reveals the quality of WILLING-

The sad arrest

REV. Yomi Kasali

@rev.yomikasali

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was shocked the other day when I saw firsthand how cardiac happens.

I was having an interview with a young man in his mid-thirties; it all began very well and we were 15 minutes into the session when I noticed his speech was slower than earlier, I thought he was probably short of words and did not have answers to the questions anymore.

Then I noticed his hands were not as firm as before because he could not hand me some documents easily from his bag which was on the table, my colleague noticed the same thing and quickly scribble a note to me with the words, ‘he has a stroke...’ thinking I probably did not know what was very obvious to both of us. So I stopped

him immediately and told her, ‘no he is having a cardiac arrest or stroke...’, we quickly called for a few people to help us while I immediately went into prayers for him.

He was rushed to the nearest hospital and you know what they would say... ‘no money ...no treatment’, so we sent some money to them and days after, I learnt that he passed on. My heart sank and soul saddened because that was very unfortunate indeed, a young charismatic man just left Mother Earth like that under such circumstances that could have been averted. The Lord thereafter Inspired me with a scripture for all my readers.

‘Ans take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be over charged with surfeiting, and drunkeness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unaware.’ - Luke 21:34.

I want to warn my readers today with the above verse of scriptures to please TAKE HEED to THEMSELVES in the following ways so that their hearts will not be over charged (Take too much). The heart of man is not made to take too much and too little, we must understand when we are putting too much load on the heart to take and it can break down and crash like a computer hard drive.

WAYS TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEART Worry Less: Many people take too

much on themselves about the future; what they will eat, wear and things like that. The Problem is that they Pile Pressure on The Heart by worrying because worrying seldom solves problems.

Exercise And Walk Daily: We need to learn to take 10 thousand steps daily.

You should ensure you exercise your body as scriptures commands (1 Tim. 4 v 8). Our hearts are meant to pump blood and circulate the same for our bodies and this is one of the most effective ways of doing that.

Check Your Blood Pressure Weekly: I was told that the young man had his blood pressure very high by the time they got him to the hospital, they were supposed to immediately crash it or bring it low but the nurses and doctors

NESS in the giving of many who have gone before us. This is one quality that must characterize our giving if we want to please the Lord with it.

When God invites you to give, he wants to see a willing attitude. Not one that comes as a result of compulsion.

Another dimension of a willing offering is that it is offered spontaneously; on the spur of the moment. Let this spontaneity characterize your offerings from now.

Adopt the ‘fastness’ of Peter when it comes to giving. Recall that he was quick to leave the boat when the Lord bid him come. He walked on water subsequently.

He became the only human with such a record.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of having willing hearts as we give of ourselves to the Lord. Let me remind you that the Lord has been involved in the building of three tabernacles THE TABERNACLES OF MOSES, SOLOMON’S, AND THE CHURCH. The church is currently his primary preoccupation. He is collaborating with members of the body of Christ to conform them to the image of His Son Jesus.

Those of us who are co-laborers with him in this regard would do well to apply this key ingredient to our life. May God help us. Amen

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

were too concerned about their fees than the life of the young man. Check your blood pressure weekly please.

Laugh More And Deliberately: One of the most important ways of managing your heart is by ‘laughing’ Deliberately and more often, make sure you relax with friends, watch comedies, hang out with soft music, etc. Our Christianity as preached and practiced for some time makes believers that laugh look unserious but I totally share a different view.

Watch What You Eat: I understand there are some food that are not good for the heart. Kindly see doctors or nutritionists for advice. it is not my forte and I am also struggling in this area but my wife is an expert when it comes to food.

Do Not Compare Yourself And Compete With Others: The Bible Says those who compare themselves are not wise hence please make sure you do not Compare and Compete with people that have different purposes in life. You should only learn from those you have similar callings with and not be envious of their successes.

I hope you have been Inspired on how to keep your heart under check and do not pressure it or overcharge it.

Be safe and keep fit.

Shalom.

Rev. Yomi Kasali is Senior Pastor, Foundation of Truth Assembly (FOTA), Surulere, Lagos

40 BDSUNDAY

Sunday 25 November 2018

C002D5556

SundayBusiness Procurement activity value chain and corrupt practices

Procurement and Supply Chain With Gob-Agundu Uche Imaculata, Brach chair (CIPS), Nigeria

Paschal Egwim ……… continued from last week

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he common assumption is that corruption only occurs during the tender stage in a contract or project. This is not correct as significant corruption can actually take place at any stage in the contract or project life cycle.

Here are some common examples; Project selection stage Unnecessary project: A sevenlane express highway into a very small and remote city is selected because it leads to a government official’s home town.

White elephant project: An Airport project is selected, which is far in excess of the country’s or a Government’s requirements and ability to fund, just because the government Minister or Chief Executive responsible for approving the project has been bribed by the intended contractor, or owns the property where it will be constructed or owns or intends to buy a private Jet which he intends to be landing there.

Pr o j e c t p l a n n i n g / d e s i g n approvals stage The project owner bribes a government official to obtain planning permission, or to obtain approval for a design, which does not meet relevant building regulations – so many examples of collapsed buildings in different parts of the country.

Design specification stage In designing or specifying an engineered piece of equipment, rather than prepare a functional fitfor-purpose design or specification, a contractor bribes the design engineer to specify a product or design with which only the preferred contractor or OEM can comply, thus enabling contractor or OEM win the bid with an over inflated contract price. In a single source contract, where there is no competition, the selected contractor deliberately submits an over sophisticated design at a very high cost which will result in greater profit for the contractor. A Procurement official bribes the design engineer to

specify a supplier company which is secretly owned by the official.

A design contractor pays bribe to the project engineer to conceal any design defects. In preparing a work scope or bill of quantities, an engineer over-specifies or increases the scope of work in the tender document knowing that a lesser scope is actually required to deliver the works and then shares the Real scope with a preferred contractor who tenders for the real scope at a reduced price and wins the contract while other bidders who quoted for the tendered scope have overpriced the works.

Tendering stage Appointmentofapreferredsingle source contractor on preferential terms-No competition Bid rigging: Collusion by bidders to agree which contractor wins a tender; the bid list contains different companies owned and operated by the same directors i.e. contractor bidding against himself; contractors agree with their colleagues to bid for a project but with no intention of winning the job; Bidders agree on loser’s fee whereby the agreed winner pays the bid costs or an agreed sum to the losers; a group of vendors collude to fix a minimum price for materials supplied; companies on the bidders list are owned by the procurement official or his/her colleagues or relatives etc.

Technical prequalification: Evaluation criteria not made clear to bidders upfront; evaluation criteria intentionally designed and tailored

to favour a preferred contractor and to disqualify other bidders; all technical & capability evaluation requirements not disclosed to all bidders in the tender document Financial/commercial bid evaluation: Contractor bribes procurement officer to change his bid, or change his rates and prices after tender has been opened; the procurement officer introduces new technical or capability criteria to disqualify the lowest bidder after financial/commercial bids have been opened. All technical and capability issues MUST be determined at the pre qualification stage prior to the opening of financial/commercial bids. After commercial bids have been opened, you cannot turn around to disqualify a contractor who had scaled through the technical and capability test based on some new and undisclosed technical or capability criteria.

Project/contract execution stage Contractor mobilisation: Contractor bribes project supervisor and removes from site, good quality equipment after they have been inspectedandpremobilisedandthen replaces them with reconditioned, sub standard and/or insufficient number of equipment; contractor deploys a lower rated, low cost equipment rather than a highly rated, highly priced equipment quoted at the tender stage e.g. contractor brings to site a 3 ton crane instead of the 7 ton crane quoted, or brings a 500 ton Barge instead of the quoted

1000 ton Barge and still charges the same rates as quoted in the original tender. Contractor bribes project engineer to approve and issue certificate for defective or incomplete works or to approve fraudulent claims. Contractor bribes project supervisor to falsify equipment availability records by marking equipment as available when it is indeed not on site. Project sponsor bribes project engineer not to approve contractor’s payment and claims. Project engineer demands bribe to certify work done and monies due to contractor.

Project sponsor dishonestly delays payment of contractor invoice and claims.

Equipment delivery and storage Supplier bribes inspection agent to issue conformance certificates and test certificates for sub standard equipment. Supplier presents false OEM source documents and brings in reconditioned equipment from an unapproved source. Supplier submits quotation and genuine documents from approved OEM but ends up supplying used or poor quality equipment from elsewhere.

Egwim FCIPS is a leading Supply Chain Management Professional and a Fellow of the premier Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Management. He was until 2014, the Lead Procurement Consultant at the Bureau of Public Procurement. He’s currently the CEO/Lead Procurement & SCM Consultant at Amaryllis Consulting, a firm of Procurement and Supply Chain Analysts.

...To be continued

Features that make Samsung Galaxy Note 9 a game-changer Adebola Adebayo

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amsung’s Galaxy Note 9 has hit the Nigerian market and it is everything we imagined it to be and lots more. The exquisite device is packed with exciting, and innovative features as well as aesthetically appealing modifications making the smartphone a stunning device.

The Galaxy Note line has established a reputation as the first to offer a big screen, first with multi-window software for running two apps side by side and also the first to introduce a curved edge screen.

Powered by game changing technology set to revolutionalise the functionalities of a phablet such as the state-of-the-art S Pen and an integrated intelligent camera, Samsung Galaxy Note9 packs a punch so strong, it’s relevance to the brand’s ever evolving consumers cannot be denied.

Let’s take a look at some of the exciting features…

Infinite display The large immersive screen always sets the Note series apart, pushing the display boundary that gives customers more space. The

Galaxy Note 9 features a 6.4-inch screen, making it the biggest screen ever on a Note device yet its narrow body makes it comfortable to hold in one hand. With edge-to-edge, almost bezelless, all-screen Super AMOLED technology, combined with a resolution of 2,960 x 1,440, all the typical characteristics featured in previous Samsung phones such as vibrant colors, high contrast, and inky dark blacks are incredibly sharp. The Note 9’s display is absolutely gorgeous with a screen fantastic for all kinds of use such as watching YouTube videos, playing games, casual web browsing, and boosting productivity. Finally, the vibrant-looking, high-resolution OLED screen produces “smooth, crisp” images, the display is easy to read outdoors, thanks to its bright screen and minimal reflective glare.

Smooth multitasking The Galaxy Note 9 extended screen is perfect for multitasking. Users can multitask seamlessly while watching a video; just open your favorite IM app along with the video player using Multi Window and text with the full keyboard without having to hide your video.

While the Multi Window re-

sizes the whole app window, the Snap Window feature will display only the selected area so you can refer to it while you are doing any other task. This is an absolutely fun feature.

The S Pen-Your new best friend Another thrilling feature is the S Pen which replicates the ease, accuracy, and size of a real pen, allowing for a natural drawing and writing experience. The fine and precise 0.7 mm tip allows users draw and write with accuracy. With the Live Message feature, users can draw emojis, make animated GIFs or write handwritten messages on photos, making every message a special one. Users can also select a section of a video and share with friends using the S Pen’s Smart Select feature.

Bluetooth enabled, the S Pen has been transformed

to give users the ultimate control by harnessing the power of Bluetooth technology, acting as a remote for your Galaxy Note9. Users can snap photos, change slides, and pause YouTube videos with a press of the button. Charging the S Pen is as simple as sliding it back into the Galaxy Note9 to get another 30 minutes of power in just 40 seconds. With the S Pen’s remote camera feature, users can say a big bye to rushing to beat the self-timer or straining their arms and struggling to take a selfie or an epic wefie.

Screen off memo, the Galaxy Note 9 is instantly turned into an intelligent notepad by just popping out the S Pen to activate the Screen off memo without unlocking your phone. In a colour that matches the stylus, write whatever comes to mind anytime, like a to-do list or notes to self which can be pinned to the Always On Display or found in the Samsung Notes. This is super exciting as users can capture and share their thoughts with ease.

The S Pen also translates full sentences in foreign languages, depending on the country and region by just hovering the S Pen above the selected words.

The revolutionary intelligent camera Stunning shots-The Note 9 features a Dual Aperture lens that intelligently adapts to the surrounding light like the human eye — choosing between two f-stop modes.

While F1.5 mode brings in light to brighten up super low light shots, F2.4 mode helps make sure pictures come out crisp and clear.

Dual lens camera-Two lenses, infinite possibilitiesUsers can take beautiful, crisp, sharp photos with Galaxy Note9’s dual 12MP camera with 2x optical zoom. The telephoto lens and wide-angle lens harmonize to shoot the whole scene even when zoomed in. And with dual Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), photos come out sharp, even if the camera is a little shaky, allowing users capture what others can’t.

Live Focus for low lightPortraits that shine all nightCreate dazzling portraits even in the dark using the Live Focus feature on the rear camera. This feature allows users put the spotlight on friends and family by blurring out the background.

Galaxy Note9’s camera detects low light and takes multiple shots, blending them together for pin-sharp

photos.

Flaw Detection-goodbye to bad photos-Eradicate closed eyes and blurry photos with Galaxy Note9’s Flaw Detection feature which intelligently detects blinks, blurs, smudged lenses, and excessive backlighting, notifies users who can then adjust and reshoot.

Smart right?

Front camera-selfies like no other-Rethink how you shoot selfies with the innovative Bluetooth enabled S Pen. A press of the button is all it takes — even from almost 10 metres away.

Galaxy Note9’s 8MP front camera intelligently detects faces to make sure they’re in focus making snapping a great shot really simple.

IP68 certification for dust and water resistance Similar to the Note 8, the Note 9 and its S Pen are IP68 certified for dust and water.

Thanks to this feature which protects the device from immersion in up to 1.5m of fresh water for 30 minutes, users can capture memories at pool parties or out on the beach with loved ones or quickly jot down thoughts or ideas on a wet screen without interruptions. When wet, the device stops charging automatically to prevent short circuits.

Sunday 25 November 2018

C002D5556

BDSUNDAY 41

SundayBusiness Food & Beverages With Ayo Oyoze Baje

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t was the Afrobeat icon, Fela Anikulapo Kuti (of blessed memory) who promised that should he be elected as Nigeria’s president, he would kick-start a policy to encourage all adult Nigerians to go back to the farm. Well, as history played out he did not live long enough to see his dreams come into fruition.

It is gratifying to note however, that increasing emphasis has been placed by the past and current administrations towards Nigeria’s economic diversification from oil.

Agriculture and the modern one at that would actively attract and engage the physical and intellectual resources of our youth would also act as one of the most viable options to oil.

Nonetheless, there are several literate Nigerians taking up the gauntlet and adding a good dose

Spiritonomics

Debo Atiba

www.spiritonomics.org

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he Lord Jesus already told us that, in this life we would face trials and tribulations but we should be of good cheer, we should be excited for He has overcome the world. At face value, one may wonder what is this all about. But in the real sense of it, what He said were actually words of truth that are apt for us in this season and time. However instead of holding unto this truth, many slip into worrying. There is no better time for truth about WORRY to be driven into our minds other than now.

The obvious events in the business world are a clear interpretation of the times we are in. Naira is being beaten blue-black, policies being unstable as ever, mass retrenchment happening everywhere. All these events leave in its trails worry, anxiety, stress and depression.

Many have assumed that Jesus’s words are merely for adulation and have no practical application for their crisis. However God is not a clown, when He says it, He means it.

It is either Jesus’s words are true or

What Xtralarge Farms bring to the table of creativity to channel their money, energy and time into technologically-driven farming.

Amongst these are the brains behind Xtralarge Farms with the office located at Iyana Iyesi, Ota, Ogun State. With a virile Vision to: ‘Raising a generation of passionate farmers’, its mission is to feed the entire continent of Africa with food items that are of high international quality and boast of the muchneeded nutritional attributes.

Its vast spectrum of operations run across crop and animal farming, agric investments, food production, land sales for farming and residential purposes Others include training programs, farm start- ups and management and general agricultural practices.

Quite unique is the fact that the investor owns the land for life!

Indeed, at Xtralarge farms one can make a foray into farming without necessarily getting involved in the day-to-day processes.

For instance, its Smart Farmers Package promises 20 per cent profit on investment every six months. To begin with, one could obtain a cell (1 plot), a Slot ( 1 acre) or a colony that occupies 1 acre of land. With N100,000 cost of investment on one cell, N300,000 for one Slot or N1 million for a colony, the investor would smile to the bank every half a year with fore stated profits.

These costs of investment take good care of land lease, farm management and maintenance, procurement of seedling as well as the preparation of land for farming. Others include irrigation charges, wages and salaries for

manual labour, transportation and marketing cost of the harvested produce.

Furthermore, the Super Farmers Package of N100, 000 per allocation involves farming that takes a much longer period of 24 months or two years for harvest to take place but a 100 per cent interest is promised. These include animal husbandry such as the rearing of snails, turkey, poultry and grass cutters. On the side of agronomy are the planting and management of plantains and cassava. Interestingly again, Xtralarge Farms takes care of the entire farming process while the investor gets on with his core business concerns.

For forward-looking investors, who know the long running benefits in agriculture, Xtralarge Farms also promises a return on investment of N80,000 for N382,000; N400,000 profit on N1.91 million and N800,000 on N3.82million for its Special Project on catfish farming, every five months!

Not done, the agro-company has a School of Practical Agriculture where students are extensively trained in crops farming including vegetables, as well as that of fish, snails and poultry. Others are farm produce processing, risk management, farm consultancy, marketing and sales. And equally inspiring is the invitation of schools for excursion where the students would be exposed to the huge potentials and prospects latent in agriculture; all waiting to be tapped.

In fact, what drew the attention of this writer to Xtralarge Farms was the display of the well-processed

Power of worry not. In this current season, children are also participating in the worry parties in many homes. As they see situations change and their parents complaining, they also join them.

Worry has become many people’s nature and so they think it’s irresponsible not to worry. Does WORRY have power? Yes it does, for if it does not we would not have many people either in the hospital or in the sanatorium. Can WORRY be overcome? Yes it can, if not Jesus would not have told us of it ahead of time and given us the antidote.

The truth is that this is the end time weapon of the devil to ensure that we do not fulfil the purpose of God in our lives. Satan uses the worry strategy to take over what is ours. Every time we permit WORRY, we give room to the enemy to take our goods. WORRY is a proof of our lack of trust in the ability of God. In fact we undermine God’s abiding presence when we accommodate worry. What do we do when reasons for WORRY come at us like a flood, and we seem not to have any control over it? In the fight against worry, recognition of its intent is our first defense in preventing it from destabilizing us. The intention of worry is to disarm us of ever putting up a fight against it. It appears as though we are helpless in the face of it. Worry comes with negative pictures of doom and end up stealing our JOY and PEACE. The bible says that the JOY of the Lord is our strength.

How do you fight when you have lost your strength? When you are not at Peace, you lose your coordi-

nation. How do you strategize to win when you are not coordinated?

Now that we know that worry has power. We also know that we are the ones that empower worrying by yielding to it. However how do we really resist those strong thoughts and emotions? Worries are negative thoughts and so we need to replace them with the right thoughts. We must lay hold on the WORD of the Master, believe and speak them. Refusing to allow the picture of the eventual outcome be that of loss. Replace the outcome in your mind with picture of God’s divine intervention in that matter.

If the worry is so loud in your mind, then get some place where you can speak God’s word to yourself. It requires deliberate steps to overcome these lies in our mind. And God’s word would always give you victory if you stick with it. In the same vein we perceive the WORD of the devil to have power, even much more we must see the WORD of God as being more powerful than the suggestions of lies of hell. You must never forget in your sojourn on earth, the power that worry has was given to it by you and I. This implies that we can take it back. As we gain momentum into the New Year, every power must be deprived of worry, every imagination must be brought to the feet of the WORD of Jesus, otherwise we lose out in life. The WORD of God must be celebrated above the lies of worry.

Ensure you do all that it takes to keep worry away from you, and as you do so remain blessed.

and packaged Wonder Meal at the Meet the Farmers Conference held in Lagos back in September.

Why is it called that unique name?

As attested to by renowned nutritionists Wonder Meal is a tasty treat of its own when it comes to its health-giving qualities to the consumers. Made as a unique blend of local rice and plantain flour, it comes in the category of a ‘swallow food’ that keeps one light even if one has consumed a large portion of it.

Nutritionally, it is high in fibre content which aids bowel movement, effective against constipation. Since the food is not retained in an undigested form for long in the belly it is good for those who want to watch their weight.

Possessing appreciable amounts of calcium, equivalent to that in milk and magnesium, this meal guarantees strong bones and is effective against osteoporosis, which is the weakening of bones, especially for people in old age. It is also beneficial to children for their mental acuity.

Rich in vital vitamins such as A, B6 and C, consumers would be delighted with clear vision, better glowing skin complexion and reduction of anaemeic conditions as well as d boosts the body’s immunity against diseases.

Wondermeal when taken along with dark-green vegetables soup is credited to increase libido, more so because of its purity in preparation.

Made in its natural form there are no chemical additives aside the minerals and vitamins. There are no preservatives, sweeteners, flavours or colouring agents. All these make

it safe for human consumption.

These are the factors that have increased the patronage for its products such as Xtralarge fine gari, palm oil, catfish, ofada rice, brown rice, beans, chicken and natural honey.

In all honesty, Nigeria needs a move away from the focus on white collar jobs for young graduates.

There should be a determined drive towards engaging many of them in various aspects of farming. To do this, nothing stops universities from encouraging their undergraduates to venture in either agronomy or animal husbandry, even if it is on a medium or small scale while in school.

Nothing should stop a well articulated plan between governments, related agencies, such as the National Directorate of Employment, NDE, research institutes, and the private sector from adopting what Xtralarge Farms has brought to Nigeria’s Food Security table.

If, for instance, there are integratedfarmsofthisnatureunder the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in all the six geo-political zones Nigerians would soon reap from their immense benefits. Crude oil resources are time- bound but agricultural potentials and practices are self -sustaining and longer lasting.

Baje is Nigerian first Food Technologist in the media ayobaje@yahoo.co.uk; 08057971776

Glo boosts customer experience, unveils ultramodern Gloworld outlets

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n its bid to enrich customer’s experience and consolidate its position as a pacesetter in the Nigerian telecommunication industry, national telecoms company, Globacom, on Saturday opened a brand new Gloworld outlet on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos.

Strategically located on plot 95 of the ever-busy Allen Avenue, the commercial nerve-centre of Ikeja, the new sales outlet, an architectural masterpiece, is specially packaged to ensure seamless customer services operation and quick turnaround time.

Speaking while commissioning the complex, Lagos State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Hakeem Popoola Fahm, congratulated Globacom for opening a state-of-the-art customer service centre in Ikeja Business District, adding that the company had from onset led the way with innovative product and services.

Fahm stated that Globacom’s outstanding commitment to the development of the nation’s telecommunication industry was highly commendable. In his speech at the occasion, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Globacom, Michael Toluhi, stated that the Allen Gloworld shop is the first in a new generation of exquisitely designed contact centres, tailor-made for Glo’s customers whom the company hold in very high esteem.

Toluhi explained that “we are

bringing our products and services to Allen Avenue, which for a long time has been the melting pot for go-to business ventures in Ikeja.’’

He described the new shop as an archetypal customer service and sales shop designed to offer Globacom’s products and services to subscribers in a well-equipped and highly conducive ambience, adding that “this will soon be replicated in several locations across the country.” Toluhi said that “Our desire to always avail our customers the best services is why we were the first to deploy the 4G LTE service nationwide to facilitate business, personal and social life through fast and reliable internet.”

He assured customers of unique customer service experience in a world class environment where issues would be resolved promptly and in a most professional manner, adding that customers would get their favourite top-of-the-range smartphones and gadgets without the stress of travelling to the Island.

Dignitaries at the event included the Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Gbolahan Lawal; Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as 2Baba; Managing Director, Ibile Holdings, Ganiyu Hussein; Ovation Publisher, Bashorun Dele Momodu; Director of Lagos State Traffic Management Agency, Ayodele Abimbola, as well as Ganiyu Lasisi of Polaris Bank.

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BrandsOnSunday SPOTLIGHTING BRAND VALUE

Online trading expanding in Nigeria Daniel Obi takes a look at how Nigeria’s big market, internet penetration, convenience and trust are fueling expansion of e-commerce in the country as a new player, WePay berths.

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ith about 170 million population, Nigeria is a big market that is hard to ignore.

In spite of some socio-political and economic challenges, the market has continued to attract new players in various sectors.

One of the sectors that is presently catching investors’ attention is Online trading which is the activity of buying or selling products online through electronic means.

Online business appears to be on the increase in recent time, after initial reluctance by consumers to embrace it. Online trading was not quickly embraced as the culture of traditional brick and mortar shop system was deep among Nigerians.

Really, the recent upturn in the e-commerce business were partly informed by Mobile phone and internet penetration in Nigeria. Data from Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC states that the number of subscribers grew astronomically in 2017 resulting in 84 per cent penetration from 53 per cent in 2016 for both features and smart phones. Also relative low cost of phones and sales of second smart phones also assisted to pave way for more Nigerians to own devices.

Additionally, convenience of the consumers, trust on the business and internet penetration are other factors that are fuelling the growth of online trading. As at last year, Nigeria’s e-commerce sector, with rising internet penetration was estimated at just $13 billion and this could grow further as number of active mobile phone lines in the country will continue to rise.

Entry of another Online player In addition to some online trading brands, big and small, already playing in Nigeria’s ecommerce space, the sector early in the week attracted another player. WePay, from the stable of BODC Trading and Investment Company Limited was said to have berthed in the market with the promise to tackle challenges faced by Nigerians consumers in the online business. At the unveiling of the brand in Lagos,

L-R: Fashe Abayomi, GM, operations, WePay; Ravi Narain, GM technical, WePay; Martina Medac, chief client services, WePay, and Akin Kehinde, managing consultant, WePay, at the launch of WePay in Lagos...recently

WePay promoters promised to offer great services to Nigeria’s online shoppers on its platform.

The company’s Managing Consultant, Akin Kehinde, in his welcome remarks, in a report, stated that the focus of the company is to empower digitalisation in Nigeria with special focus on financial inclusion through flexible payment solutions. He stated that ‘Wepay’ as a platform would offer a wide range of products including the latest of the mobile devices available at cash or credit term payment option driven by a robust credit check technology.

While pointing out that the brand was focused on driving the best customer experience leveraging after sales and support as their expertise in the industry, he pointed out that the platform was poised at offering unmatchable sales deals and amazing after-sales services to customers to ensure that they have the best customer experience.

He said: “We pride ourselves as a platform that offers a wide range of products including the latest of the mobile devices available

at cash or credit term payment option driven by a robust credit check technology. It is our focus on driving the best customer experience leveraging our strengths in the after sales and support in the industry. As a matter of fact, the purchase of a mobile device from our platform marks the beginning of a rewarding journey with us,” he said in the report.

“Our platform will offer the customers extended warranties of three to six months beyond the manufacturer’s warranty, screen protection insurance, opportunities for device upgrade as well as trade-in programs,” He stated that the Wepay ecommerce platform was created to deliver to Nigerians the same world-class services their counterparts in the developed countries of the world enjoy in the area of online shopping. “We are bringing to Nigeria and Nigerians the same quality services that their contemporaries in most developed countries of the world have been enjoying for years,” the Managing Consultant stated.

Also speaking on possible

challenges that could come with logistics, the company’s Chief Client Services, Martina Medac in the report explained that the platform offers for various pickup locations or the option to and have these devices delivered to them at their various locations nationwide within the shortest time possible. According to her, this is necessary to address some of the frustration expressed by shoppers of e-commerce in the area of logistics where it takes forever for customers to receive the products they ordered and paid for.

On cybercrime and security, General Manager, Technical, Ravi Narain, said Wepay operates international standards that would ensure several measures towards security & cybercrime issues.

Apart from multilevel authentication, he also revealed that its system will keep data encrypted, secure and safe.

Speaking on the new thing the company was bringing into the table, its General Manager, Operations, Abayomi Fashe, said the brand’s USP is driven by its slogan “Smarter way to Shop”.

African Movies Channel to deepen content production of African movies with launch of AMCOP

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frican Movie Channel (AMC) is set to deepen content sourcing and production with the launch AMC Original Productions (AMCOP), an initiative that set the movie channel into the development and production of its own movies and TV Series.

African Movie Channel is already well known for its superb Nollywood movies and compelling content catalogue. Over the years, through its three channels – African

Movie Channel (AMC), AMC Series and Nolly Africa, maintaining an international presence. “With this launch, AMCOP takes film making to a whole new level, demonstrating its dedication and passion for excellent African storytelling by home-grown talent,” said Yinka Mayungbo, the co-founder of AMC. Mayungbo opined that, “It is to illustrate the launch of AMCOP; it is an initiative that we started silently about a year ago with production of our first TV series Asunder. We

started this journey earlier in the year by commissioning and coproducing movies.

“It takes our content production division to a new level; it is our first foray into film making and one is proud to be part of the African film making exhibition landscape.

Before now we buy other people’s movies – reject other people’s movies; but it’s about time we step into the plate and see what film making can actually do,” he said.

AMC already enjoys longstand-

ing partnerships with Nigerian producers and is leveraging on this with the launch of AMCOP, which will see no less than 20 exclusivelyowned movies added to its library before the end of 2018. AMC is working with filmmakers who understand the most important aspects of storytelling. “We cannot do it alone, so we decided to partner with some well known and established film-makers. What you see today is the end product of the start of our journey,” stated Mayungbo.

How “33” Export is deepening friendship through consumer engagement

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33’ Export Lager Beer, a premium quality lager beer that was launched into the Nigerian market in 1979 has evolved beyond being a brand with the normal customer- brand exchanges to a brand that truly cares about deepening the bonds of friendship between its consumers.

Theimportanceof having friends and spending quality time with them cannot be over-emphasized as research has shown that people with a wide network of friends have less tension, suffer from less stress, and live longer.

With this knowledge, “33” Export lager beer initiated the Friendship Experience party and ‘City of Friends’ events in an effort to provide unique friendship experiences while also creating opportunities for consumers to bond, party and create memorable moments.

The Friendship experience party which has been on for a couple of years at various cities within the country has served as an avenue for friends and lovers of the brand to come together to have fun as consumers were treated to music, rib-cracking jokes by top comedians and various fun engaging games including Jenga and Connect Four in which consumers get a chance to win exciting prizes.

The exciting positive atmosphere created during the Friendship experience parties leaves an enjoyable memory on the mind of everyone who attends which further strengthens the friendship tie between them.

“33” Export lager beer recognizes the importance of friendship in the lives of its consumers which in turn stimulated the Friendship experience party initiative. This is used to reaffirm the brand’s commitment to providing excellent and memorable experiences that allows friends and communities from all over the country to connect, build stronger bonds and share memorable moments.

“33” Export is a beer which prides itself in celebrating real friendship with the yearly celebration which takes place in different cities across the Nigeria The other signature event created by the brand, “City of Friends”, was conceived to commemorate the United Nations’ World Friendship Day which is aligned with the brand’s theme of strengthening friendship bonds.

The “City of Friends” parties also served as a platform for the brand to help promote love and friendship within Nigeria while also creating beautiful memories in the process. The event also featured top entertainers in the country including the likes of Kiss Daniel, Simi, Small Doctor, Phyno, Harrysong, Mc Gordons, and Mc Shakara among others.

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EquityMarket Total, Cadbury post improved export earnings in third quarter 2018 TELIAT SULE

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otal Nigeria and Cadb u r y Ni g e r i a h a v e topped the Nigerian companies that recorded significant improvement in their export earnings for the third quarter ended September 2018, the analysis of their sales by geographical locations has shown.

Total Nigeria earned N703.42 million from export by the end of the third quarter 2018, representing 81 percent increase over N389.41 million it made in similar period in 2017. Domestic sales, which stood at N226.21 billion by the end of the third quarter, witnessed a marginal increase of 2 percent

over N220.81 billion realised in similar period in 2017.

Cadbury Nigeria, with N4.04 billion revenue from export, grew the sale of its products outside Nigeria by 75 percent during the period compared with N2.31 billion made as at the end of the third quarter in 2017. Cadbury’s domestic sales, following the same trend as Total’s, rose by just 3.9 percent from N22.06 billion in 2017 to N22.92 billion in 2018. The company also recorded 11 percent growth rates in its total sales from N24.37 billion in 2017 to N26.95 billion in 2018.

“The rising unemployment with the resultant effects on household spending is having serious impact on the consumption of beverages in Nigeria”, an analyst who did not

want his name in print said.

Nestle Nigeria, the nation’s indisputable food and beverages market leader, recoded 39 percent growth in export sales from N1.89 billion as at September 2017 to N2.63 billion by the end of September 2018. Domestic sales rose by 9 percent from N183.35 billion in 2017 to N200.5 billion in September 2018.

Further analysis shows that Cadbury Nigeria lost 1 percent of its domestic market share as it fell from 11 percent in 2017 to 10 percent by the end of the third quarter of this year.

On the contrary, Nestle increased its domestic market share by 1 percent from 89 percent last year to 90 percent this year.

Interestingly, Cadbury Nigeria made significant gains in the export market. It increased its export market share from 55 percent last year to 61 percent this year. On the contrary, Nestle lost part of its foreign market share which fell to 39 percent from 45 percent last year.

Okomu Oil’s foreign sales declined by 8 percent during the period as it fell to N2.04 billion in September 2018 down from N2.21 billion in similar period last year. But domestic sales rose slightly by 2 percent from N14.37 billion in 2017 to N14.64 billion in 2018.

Beta Glass saw its export reduce by 2 percent from N789.24 million in Q3 2017 to N775.71 million in Q3 2018. However, domestic sales increased by 31 percent from N14.08 billion in 2017 to N18.41 billion in

UAC appoints Odunsi as a non-executive director

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he board of UAC Nigeria Plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Bolaji Adekunle Odunsi as a nonexecutive director. He replaces Olufunke Ighodaro who recently resigned from the board to take up an executive role in South Africa.

Odunsi is a financier with over 25 years of international investment experience in a variety of industry sectors, including manufacturing ,security, services to oil and gas dis-

tribution.

He has significant board experience in Europe and the USA, with a focus on implementing transformational change encompassing systems and controls, team enhancement, financial and regulatory reporting and business analysis to drive value creation. He was a co-founder of Stirling Square Capital Partners, a leading midmarket European private equity firm and prior to that, a partner of Compass Partners and BC Partners.

Before joining BC Partners, he worked as a member of the mergers and acquisitions team at Enskilda Securities in London. His prior experience includes Touche Ross & Co, and engineering consultancy at Mott, Hay and Anderson.

Odunsi is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, and holds an undergraduate BSc in civil engineering and a diploma n Philosophy from the University of London.

UBA Nominees reduces stake in Ikeja Hotel

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BA Nominees Limited, which hitherto controlled 25.89 percent shareholding in Ikeja Hotel Plc, has sold out its stake in the company.

The management of Ikeja Hotel stated this in the notification sent to all the stakeholders.

Pursuant to Rule 17.10 of the Rulebook of the Nigerian Stock Exchange [The Exchange], Ikeja Hotel Pie (the Company) wishes to bring to the attention of the investing public,

that we recently became aware of publications in various online media outlets of the possible departure of a key investor; due to a significant purchase of 279,110,328 shares valued at N572 million which was allegedly sold at a price of N2.05.

We confirm that on November 16, 2018, one of the company’s majority shareholders, OMA Investments Ltd, purchased 279,104,878 shares (Two Hundred and Seventy Nine Million, One Hundred and

Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy-Eight Shares) of Ikeja Hotel Plc from UBA Nominees Ltd-Trading.

With the consummation of this transaction, OMA Investments ‘Ltd’s total shareholdings in Ikeja Hotel Plc is now 538,109,194 shares representing 25.89 percent. Also, the resultant shareholdings of UBA Nominees Ltd, the selling shareholder in Ikeja Hotel Plc, now amount to zero shares.

Q3 2018.

On the whole, the combined export revenue of the six firms covered in this analysis rose by 34 percent from N7.61 billion as at the end of

third quarter 2017 to N10.20 billion in similar period in 2018. But domestic sales was nearly flat at 3 percent from N522.94 in 2017 to N538.44 billion in 2018.

11 Plc relaunches aviation fuel business

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1 Plc is pleased to announce it has recommenced the sale and marketing of aviation jet fuel (ATK) at the Muritala Mohammed International Airport and General Aviation Terminal (GAT-Domestic), in collaboration with Air BP. The company’s aviation business which has been inactive for the past five years is being revitalised in the wake of the construction of a new 20 million litre aviation jet fuel tank, laying of new ATK pipelines linking the company’s facility at Apapa with the Apapa jetty.

Speaking on the development, Adetunji Oyebanji, MD/CEO, 11

Plc said: “We are delighted with the relaunch and our collaboration with Air BP. Air BP is one of the world’s largest suppliers of aviation fuel products and services. We are leveraging their innovative technical support and risk management expertise to provide the best inclass aviation fuel services to airline customers”.

The company, under its new management, continues to take huge strides in the Nigerian oil and gas downstream sector in keeping with its strategic investment drive geared towards repositioning for maximum output and improving the company’s growth and earning potential.

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Sunday 25 November 2018

Travel

A day in the desert While the desert is generally assumed to be lifeless, an expedition on this part of the earth that hardly receives rain is full of excitement, writes OBINNA EMELIKE.

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oing by his smart dressing and sustained smiles, he looks like a young banker who is after a prestige customer. Yes, Mohammed Rafigue considers all his clients prestigious and has to express it while picking them from their various hotels for their packaged tours on the desert.

The courteousness is part of his training and also to set his clients (who are often first time visitors) in the mood for wonderful indulgence in the supposedly lifeless Arab desert.

“My name is Mohammed Rafique, I am 36 years old from Bangladesh, I am your tour guide and driver today”, he explains while driving the Toyota Land Cruiser GXR V6 SUV along the seven-lane Sheik Zayed Road in Dubai to the desert.

With divided attention between his driving and chatting with his passengers, he asks, “Who among you have experienced bungee jumping or skydiving”. The passengers did not respond for lack of such adrenalin-packed experiences. Thrilled by the expected response he explains: “We are going for a mind-blowing ride on sand dunes in the desert that will make you feel the pulse and life in the dry desert”.

After a 52-minute drive from Downtown Dubai, the SUV veers off the highway to a rough terrain that leads to an endless stretch of sand dunes in the desert. On getting out of the SUV, one discovers over 18 SUVs with at least five tourists each waiting to explore the desert. Some visitors

The Falcon display

were already taking pictures before being allowed to do so because of the excitement of being in the desert for the first time.

“Welcome to Orient Tours and Safari”, an elderly man says in Arabic, while Rafique interprets in English. As the elderly man reads the safety rules, the drivers use the automated pressure pump to reduce pressure of each the four tyres of the SUV to 70 psi to ensure they do not get off the vehicle while bashing the desert sand dunes at between 100 to 300 feet.

Moments later, Rafique leads the way, driving mad on the sand dunes with crazy stunts and raising fast spreading dust that keep spreading

as other SUVs speed off.

Like the pilot, he warns passengers to wear the seat belts. But after driving about 200 meters into the desert and increasing to 40 kilometers, the recommended speed, the

vehicle tosses forceful forward and backwards while maneuvering the resisting desert sand dunes. The experience is better felt that explained as the violent maneuvering keeps the heart panting, the

Sand dune bashing

Sand dune bashing at the desert safari

The Belly Dancer

mind skipping and the whole body shrinking.

When Rafique climbs a 250feet sand dune the passengers shout for safety, calling on him to stop. Sooner, he starts again, but diverts their attention by telling them to see a bird or an object so that he can climb a higher sand dune.

But the shouting for the driver confirms the passengers are having fun and also encourages him to accelerate further and Rafique is happy with the shouting and keeps accelerating further. An attempt to drink water sees one throwing the water can in one corner of the vehicle because of the undulating movement of the vehicle on

the sand dunes. On sighting that, Rafique says, “Guys do nothing but enjoy this ride before it ends”.

Moments later Rafique stops, other drivers join and the desert is littered with Toyota Land Cruiser, its riders and tourists.

While many were catching their breath, others take once in a lifetime pictures as the SUVs set for the Camel Camp with over 18 camels. At the camp, Bobby, the tour guide, explains the mystery behind the animal, how it sustained life on the desert, why the Emiratis value them more than money in the bank among other tales.

As Bobby finishes his tales, Hassan and Jala turn the attention of the visitors to their falcon. They send the bird on errands; give commands, which it obeys and other exciting drills.

Yet, more excitement awaits the visitors at the Orient Tours camp in the desert. The camp features modern relaxation facilities including an open theatre, open bar and dining, restroom, DJ among others.

On getting to the camp (much later in the evening) the visitors best of Arab menu amid soft music by the DJ, enthralling fireworks performance by the fireman, and ultimately, the belly dance, which climaxes the whole desert safari experience.

Watching the lady perform the belly dance, one forgets he is the desert because of the delightful manner she goes about the dance.

While driving back to the town, Rafique asks if we wish to come back. Of course, everyone wants to repeat the experience because it is truly enthralling and on the edge of the desert.

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BDSUNDAY 45

Travel

Best destinations to spend Christmas Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE

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s Christmas draws near, families are already looking to visit lovely destinations without having to break the bank.

December is an alluring time to travel in search of much-needed warmth. There is something of an air of extravagance to the idea of being abroad for Christmas. Of course, you tend to pay a premium for holidays in the festive period – but with the Caribbean slowly coming out of its hurricane season and into full swing, this is a cost worth considering.

The following destination offers just exciting features for holiday makers.

Auckland New Zealand’s biggest city is the king of the country’s North Island – a busy metropolis which stands in contradiction to the idea that the place which framed the film ver-

sions of The Lord of the Rings is little more than rolling hills and bucolic countryside. Visitors can watch rugby icons the All Blacks at Eden

Park, try a spot of fine dining amid the chic restaurants of Viaduct Basin – or take the ferry to Waiheke Island for wonderful wineries.

Fuerteventura The second largest of the Canary Islands (after Tenerife) only dangles a leg below the 20C mark in the coldest weeks of January, but is otherwise a haven for sunshine at any time of year. Corralejo, at Fuerteventura’s northern tip, is one of the accommodation hubs, home to a splendid beach which gazes at the neighbouring islet of Lobos. But there is rugged scenery too – not least the protected expanse of the Parque Rural de Betancuria.

Cape Town South Africa may seem a farflung choice on any quest for accessible winter sun, but Cape Town earns convenience points for the lack of time difference (GMT+2) to the UK, and its refusal to dip below 20C during the European winter.

Throw in its beauty, Table Mountain rising – along with the prettiness of the Cape Peninsula (the beaches of Camps Bay, Oceanside towns like Muizenberg and Fish Hoek) – and you have a winning hand.

Orlando The concept of “starting to look

a lot like Christmas” takes a twist in Florida, where Santa has to steer his sleigh through heat that rarely drops below 20C. The festive season takes a particular spin in Orlando, where the main theme parks – not least Disney World and Universal Orlando – do their best to impersonate a “real” winter via acarnival of artificial snow, repentant Scrooges, talking mice, boy wizards and general merriment.

Melbourne If you are prepared to make the journey to reach it, Melbourne proves to be a glorious haven of summer at just the time Europe is lost to wind and rain. Temperatures, cooled by sea breezes, hover at around 24C. The city has plenty of attractions, the waterside area of St Kilda among them – but also excels as a launch-pad for a road-trip, whether out into the wine lands of the Yarra Valley, or along the winding curves of the Great Ocean Road.

Oman The United Arab Emirates’ neighbour enjoys the same mid-Twenties warmth during the European winter as Abu Dhabi and Dubai – while projecting more of an air of refinement

than the latter. Muscat certainly sees itself as an artistic city – home to an ornate opera house, plus the contemporary paintings at Ghalya’s Museum of Modern Art. But for many visitors, it is all about the beaches - with the hotels of Zighy Bay providing chic welcome.

Cancun It is easy to look at the recent

back-story of the Yucatan Peninsula – at the founding of Cancun as a purpose-built holiday zone in 1970 – and assume that all is concrete hotels and a dearth of soul. In reality, Mexico’s Caribbean edge is blessed with some wonderful five-star properties, while the Mayan sites dotted onto the landscape – notably Chichen Itza and Uxmal – are a grand reminder that this region has long been a desirable location.

Perth The fabled capital of Western Australia sizzles as Europe shivers – from 25C perfection and 10 hours of sun per day in November, through to a heat blitz in the high Twenties Celsius as December, January and February click into gear.

Perth is a wonderful city for relaxed afternoons (or sessions of surfing; this is an active city) on the likes of

Cottesloe Beach and Scarborough Beach – or an excellent starting point for journeys further afield.

Jamaica The Caribbean’s third biggest island has long been a familiar option for British tourists, with the resort areas of Montego Bay and Ocho Rios illuminating the north coast in a sweep of elegant resorts – and Negril, in the west, staring at the sunset from Seven Mile Beach.

As with most Caribbean countries, temperatures hover in the upper Twenties, while December-April brings dry days in the wake of hurricane season (June-November).

Singapore Sometimes dismissed as a stopoff point on a longer journey, this fascinating city-state is far more than a place to change planes.

Singapore sings of the old British

colonial days in the iconic courtyard of the Raffles Hotel (where a Singapore Sling cocktail is essential) – but shouts loudly about its vibrant 21st century feel in the futuristic flora of its Gardens by the Bay, and the shopping malls which gleam on the long retail avenue of Orchard Road.

Stakeholders back FAAN on passenger tax review

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he proposed increment for the Passengers Service Charge (PSC) by Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has received endorsement from three aviation unions in the country.

FAAN has proposed an upward review of the current PSC which was last done eight years ago. The new PSC regime is expected to take effect from January 2019.

The PSC is collected by the airlines upon purchase of tickets and is paid to FAAN upon completion of the flight.

The charges are used to cover the cost of maintaining common areas in the passenger terminals, providing passenger information, maintaining security and ensuring that customers can use the airport in comfort and with confidence.

The last time PSC was increased was in 2011, eight years ago, when the local currency was more than twice the current value and cost of operation was far lower than what obtains currently.

Emeka Njoku, the general secretary of National Union of Pensioners (NUP) said that the review was over due in view of the the various

projects being executed by the agency.

Njoku stated that acquisition and maintenance of current infrastructure at airports across the country was becoming increasingly difficulty stressing that the only way to survive was for FAAN to adjust upwards its charges to reflect the current value and cost of operation.

Njoku called for the full commercialisation of FAAN to increase revenue points without any inter-

ference from any quarters in order to enable it render better service to the public.

He disclosed that lack of funds was slowing down activities of the organisation saying that there were a lot of wage bills, maintenance of airports and pensions.

“Equipment are becoming obsolete and they need replacement, this can only be done with funds which is not readily available” He remarked that airport con-

cession was not the solution in FAAN but that the organisation should be allowed to get loan from the bank to develop airports across the country for better service.

Abdulrasaq Saidu, the National secretary of Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) said the running cost has increased and there was nothing wrong in moving with the trend of events as it will enable FAAN meet up with their quest of providing qualitative service Saidu said the increment was justified after eight years of the last review stressing that things have changed in the last eight years.

Saidu noted that inflation through these years has drastically affected the cost of doing business, “Airlines and other airport users have reviewed their charges severally within these period”.

According to him, “We have four new terminals built to international standards, the PSC tariff fixed eight years ago, will not be suitable for these new terminals owing to new technology, maintenance and other related costs”.

He emphasised that passenger traffic has grown by more than 65

percent between 2011 and 2019.

The effect of this increased traffic on the airport facilities , needed to be taken into consideration. But expressed doubt that passengers traffic might drop if the PSC upward review was too high.

Saidu noted that airlines might also be forced to increase airfare if the PSC was raised too high.

He however appealed to passengers not to panic over the move as air travel remained the safest “The urgent need to begin repayment of the 500million dollars China EXIM loan and the 100million dollars DMO facility counterpart funding used in building the new terminals.”

Ben Nnabue, the national president of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) said getting safety and efficiency are expensive to maintain and to do that he said FAAN must adjust its charges to survive.

“Safety and efficiency are expensive, for FAAN to maintain airport facilities to world class standard, there is need to increase their charges. Most of the fittings in that airports are imported FAAN have increased in their cost.”

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Sunday 25 November 2018

THINGS TO DO IN LAGOS It is another Sunday Funday and as always, I have somewhere for you to be at! Here are a few events happening today that will thrill you:

As the year is drawing to an end, there are quite a number of events for you to attend, so you can be sure that your weekends are about to get really busy and entertaining.

Below are a few things for you to do today!

The Fashion Souk.

ELOY AWARDS will be happening at Lagos Continental Hotel and will be starting at 5pm. Admission is based on registration.

I AM BRAND NIGERIA AWARDS/GALA NIGHT happening at Lagos Oriental Hotel on Sunday 25th November 2018 And if you don’t want to do any of these things, just go to the movies to watch KING OF BOYS!

Sunday 25 November 2018

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BDSUNDAY 47

Sports Akinsanya, Babalakin emerge winners at Southern Sun Ikoyi Golf Tourney

Woods, Mickelson face off in $9m golf prize money

Stories By Anthony Nlebem

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kindele Akinsanya, Udom Udoh and Remi Olukoya left spectators in awe with their tenacity as they emerged winners placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the men’s category of this year’s Southern Sun Ikoyi golf tournament that took place at the Lakowe Lakes and Golf Resorts in Lagos.

Leading the ladies category, Idowu Babalakin, Buday Chantal and Rita Okafor also ensured that spectators were left thrilled with excitement as they displayed spectacular show of competitiveness and sportsmanship to come tops in their category in the tournament that had 80 golfers in attendance.

The 18-hole tourney, which employed foursome format of play with the best three scores per hole counting, was the seventh edition of the annual tournament and was graced by business associates, friends of the hotel, sponsors, golfers and invited guests who networked with pleasure as they enjoyed the tournament with a gamut of other activities.

At the post tournament prize- giving event, winners were also announced in various competitive categories during the course of the tournament which included nearest to the pin and longest drive hole for both male and female with various mouthwatering prizes ensuring that the

T Cross section of winners at the 2018 Annual Southern Sun Ikoyi Golf Tournament held at Lakowe Lakes and Golf Resorts.

winners will enjoy the best culinary experience Southern Sun Ikoyi has to offer.

Speaking at the prize giving ceremony, Mark Loxley, General Manager, Southern Sun Ikoyi, commended the athletes, sponsors, guests and the media for taking out time to participate at the tournament despite the long drive and their busy schedules, showing their commitment and consistent support to the hotel during the course of the year.

“We have had tremendous support from our tournament sponsors again this year as more partners came on board to identify with our laudable cause. Southern Sun Ikoyi’s business partners are second to none and are always very generous in supporting this event.” Loxley noted He further stated, “This event is in line with our

annual Corporate Social Responsibility philosophy of giving back generously to the society that has supported our business and help us grow. It aims at bringing our corporate clients and guest together to end the year in grandeur through the game of golf which is renowned for its style, class and social wellbeing.”

Also speaking at the prize giving ceremony, the Deputy General Manager o f So uthern Sun Ikoyi and athlete, Cl i f f Sh i r i d z i n o d y a , commended the level of sportsmanship showcased at this year’s edition of the annual golf tournament.

“I have notice great improvement in the quality of participation and level of play, it is a great honour to compete with colleagues and friends within the industry through the gentle-

man’s game of golf as it is also my hope to join the podium in future tournaments” he concluded.

As the event came to a close, guests and participants were gifted with various specials including Cable TVs, business and economy class tickets to various international travel destinations courtesy of the various tournaments’ corporate sponsors.

Sponsors for this year’s tournament include; EKEDC, DHL, Zenith Bank, Legacy Automobiles, Glenmorangie, Soulcomms, SO&U Ltd, GTBank, RwandAir, Air Namibia, KLM, Kenya Airways, Diamond Bank, Distell, South African Airways, DISTELL, Diageo, PZ Cussons, Heineken, Kwese’ TV, Aviators travel and Tours, IBEDC, The Wine Rack, GDN, African Sports tourism Week, The Lansdown Ibru heights and Fareast Mercantile Co Ltd.

Obaseki hails 17-year-old Georgia Oboh on first pro golf title win

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he Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has hailed 17-yearold golf prodigy, Georgia Oboh, on her triumph in the Cote d’Ivoire Open title, her first professional trophy.

The governor, in a statement congratulated Oboh for showing once again the unwavering Edo spirit and talent, which for years have distinguished Edo people across the globe.

According to the governor, “I am delighted to learn of Oboh’s victory in the Cote d’Ivoire Open title. This brings me much joy, not just because she is an indigene of the state, but also because I am an avid golfer and promoter of the sport.

“She has shown once

again that Edo people excel exceeding well when given the opportunity to fully express themselves.

She serves as a role model to many young people out there, and goes to prove that much can be achieved when one is determined.”

Noting that the state government is committed to sports development, he said, “We are very keen on unleashing the potential in youths in sports. We had our golden years in sports in the past as the old Bendel State. We are committed

to reviving this aspect of our state, which is why we are investing in youth development. Already we are making appreciable progress with the promotion of Bendel Insurance to the topflight division.”

“With Oboh’s success in sports, and the growing activities at the Golf Section of the Benin Golf Club, we will be grooming more young people in sports. This much we assure her and the teeming youths interested in the game,” he added.

Oboh, who hails from Edo State, finished the tournament with scores of 74, 78, 85, 78, winning the tournament by three shots ahead of Senegal’s Oumy Dieye and Madagascar’s Leslie Grandet of the Sunshine Ladies’ tour.

i g e r Wo o d s a n d Phil Mickelson will swing away in a head-to-head competition dubbed “The Match” in Las Vegas , with an added bonus of side bets for charity to spice up the 18-hole event between the longtime rivals. The legendary pair, who have combined for 18 major titles, will compete in golf’s first pay-per-view event and $9 million in prize money.

Th e Ma t c h w i l l b e held at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. For viewers at home, drone camera footage will be provided as well real-time trajectories and flight paths for each shot.

Woods, who won the Tour Championship in September 2018 looks to ride momentum into the high-stakes contest against Mickelson.

“I’ve always enjoyed knowing the fact I was going up against Phil over these years because I

knew he was going to be tough,” Woods said in a Tuesday news conference with Mickelson.

“He’s going to pull off shots no one’s ever seen before and I’d have to figure out a way to somehow get the job done.”

A golf heavyweight in his own right, Mickelson praised his opponent, citing previous instances in collegiate and professional levels where Woods has broken his records or beaten him. While $9 million is on the line, this is all about “bragging rights” for Lefty.

“It’s great to win the $9 million, I just don’t want to lose to him,” he s a i d p l a y f u l l y. “ Ev e r y time I see Woods, I want to be able to rub it in.”

Another feature of this match will be the side bets. Both have already committed to $200,000 for the first shot. The money will go to the winner’s chosen charity.

Djokovic tops Nadal and Federer as ATP top earner

N

ovak Djokovic leads the 2018 ATP Prize Money Players’ List.

The Serb earned $12.6 million out of 16 tournaments played. Djokovic earned $3.8 million from US Open win and $2.6 from Wimbledon victory, which is more than $6 million combined.

Djokovic now has a $122.400,000 career prize money. Rafael Nadal completed just once a hard-court tournament, the Rogers Cup in Toronto, but he won five titles overall: just in Toronto, and then on clay in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, French Open.

Nadal earned $8.6 prize money in 2018, behind just Djokovic. Alexander Zverev brought home $7.7 million, thanks to four titles (Munich, Madrid, Washington and ATP Finals) and 58 match wins overall. The triumph in London last week was worth $2.7 million.

Roger Federer follows as fourth with $7.6 million, including $2.92 from his 20th Grand Slam title at

the Australian Open. Juan Martin del Potro ended his season in October at the Rolex Shanghai Masters due to a knee injury, but he can still be happy having earned $5.9 million.

Between Acapulco and Indian Wells (where he won the title in both tournaments) and Miami (reached semifinals), del Potro earned more than $2 million. Commenting on his 2018 season, Federer said: ‘I am having actually a pretty good season physically, as well, won another slam, got back to world No1.

BDSUNDAY

NEW YOU CAN TRUST

I

Sunday 25 November 2018

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Garlands for Atiku at 72

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ver the past few weeks, Atiku Abubakar has become the man whom Nigerians and others around the world recognise as the leading opponent in next year’s presidential election, the man to beat President Muhammadu Buhari in the polls and rescue Nigeria from the clutches of a heartless cabal.

But, to many of us who have known him over the past years, he is much more than what the campaign media teams or the global newspaper headlines can ever portray effectively, no matter how well meaning they might be. And I speak as someone who has experienced on a personal basis, the fullness of who Atiku Abubakar is and what he represents, which have nothing to do with whether or not the cameras are rolling or whether a microphone is thrust in his face, or whether there is an election to be won. I’d like to share some of those personal experiences with you and the world as Atiku celebrates his 72nd birthday on November 25, the same day that he is being elevated from the title of Turaki Adamawa to Waziri Adamawa, in a ceremony taking place in his hometown of Yola.

Atiku Abubakar’s rags to riches story has been in the public domain, especially since his days as Nigeria’s Vice President. Much has been told and written about his rise from herds boy to headsman; of the boy who hardly knew his father before his demise; who sold firewood, herded cattle for wealthy neighbours, receiving payment in the form of grains which his family subsisted on. At the age of 15, he had saved enough to buy his mother a mud house.

Of course, he went on to acquire an education, occupy senior positions in the civil service, launch groundbreaking businesses, even before he was elected as Vice President in 1999. The trajectory of his life shows clearly that hard work pays. But, there is still so much missing from these popular stories.

I was employed in Atiku’s media office in 2010.

In 2015, I stepped into the daunting role of head of the Atiku Media Office, thus becoming Atiku’s spokesperson and one of his most visible staff. At first, I expected this to be nothing more than a job that came with heavy responsibilities, which I determined to dispatch with excellence and without reproach. But, before long, Atiku began to show me that I was more to him than just someone on his payroll. He showed me what it was like to work for a boss who cared for human beings, who was interested in the rise and comfort of those below

In all my life, especially since the civil war, I have never been this worried for our nation

him, who considered their issues as his own issues.

I didn’t tell Atiku when my parents were ill but he found out and phoned me to find out how they were doing. Each time he saw me, he first asked details about my family’s welfare before he raised any pending or urgent work matters. Whenever I did anything he approved of, he expressed deep gratitude as if I had done him a personal favour, when I was merely doing my job. Anyone who has worked in our country knows how widely this differs from the typical Nigerian boss.

Atiku constantly reminded me to ensure that his media office reflected who he is, meaning that I should accommodate the rainbow colours of our national diversity. In the past few years, the media office’s staff has comprised and still comprises people from the south-east, south-south, southwest, north-central, north-west, and the north-east.

Anybody who doubts this can research the names of past and present staff on the roll of the office. During Atiku’s 70th birthday two years ago, the AMO staff were determined to get him a gift. But then, what do you buy for a man who pays your salary, who buys you rams during Sallah and bags of rice during Christmas, who can afford everything that you can

Paul Ibe Mazi Paul Ibe is Media Adviser to His Excellency Atiku Abubakar

afford? Still, we were determined to seize the opportunity to express our profound gratitude to the best boss that one can ask for. In the end, we settled on a painting of his portrait. He grinned from ear to ear when we presented it to him. A plaque we also presented to him currently occupies pride of place in his living room. He didn’t disdain our humble gift of love.

Long before he declared his intention to contest for the 2019 elections and before he was overwhelmingly elected to represent the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku shared profound thoughts with me about his concern for Nigeria. Despite being from northern Nigeria, he was worried by President Buhari’s lopsided appointments. He was alarmed at the rise of the Boko Haram insurgency, despite the government’s loud proclamations that the group had been defeated. He was embarrassed by the series of gaffes President Buhari made each time he stood on the world stage, especially one that disdained his wife and women in general. He found it incredible that the government appeared more bent on finding a variety of excuses for the farmer-herdsmen clashes than they were about bringing the carnage to an end. When I arrived to attend a meeting with him sometime last year and noticed Atiku looking sad and sorrowful, I asked him if all was well. “In all my life, especially since the civil war, I have never been this worried for our nation,” he replied. The period under reference was the era of quit notices and counter quit notices.

Being right there in Port Harcourt to watch Atiku receive the resounding support of the PDP brought to me a joy that transcends my position in his team. Knowing that he will have the opportunity to effect his humanity and hard work on a national scale is evidence to me that God definitely has Nigeria on his mind. My prayer is that Atiku’s elevation as Waziri and the celebration that will attend his official turbaning on Sunday will be a sign of the good things to come when he eventually mounts the saddle as President of Nigeria in 2019. May the celebrations of Sunday, November 25, be a snapshot of the future that millions of Nigerians from the North, South, East and West are currently looking forward to, as they support Atiku Abubakar to ‘Get Nigeria Working Again’.

Quick Takes

Off the Cuff

The Police macabre dance in Akwa Ibom

U

ntil Friday, November 23, the men of the Nigeria Police led siege to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly for three days in what many analysts have described as a dangerous and worrisome development.

An assortment of 500 personnel drawn from the Department of State Services (DSS), the police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps had barricaded the entrance to the Assembly complex on Wednesday, November 21, 2018 after the All Progressives Congress (APC) youths protested the sack, by a Federal High Court, of a House member, Idongesit Ituen, who represents Itu State Constituency.

Trouble was said to have started when during the sitting of the House on Monday, November 19, Onofiok Luke, the speaker, declared vacant the seats of four other APC lawmakers who had defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The situation was made worse when the five lawmakers decided to unilaterally elect as speaker, one of the affected lawmakers,

Nse Ntuen, with the intention of taking over the leadership of the Assembly. The recognition of the new speaker by the APC apparatchik was said to have exacerbated the crisis.

The intervention of the security agencies in the crisis, which ordinarily should have been commendable, was mired in controversy and bad politics. The police, whose major assignment in society is to protect lives and property, have continued to draw criticism from the public by virtue of lack of transparency they bring to bear on their job.

In July, shortly after Governor Samuel Ortom defected from the APC to the PDP, police invaded the state House of Assembly to allegedly help the APC lawmakers take effective control over the house and possibly impeach the governor. That unfortunate episode attracted a welter of criticism from within and outside the country.

So, when the police made the latest move on the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, it was easy for people to scream foul, and allege that part of the plot was to forcefully attempt to take over the control of the legislative assembly and impeach the state governor, Udom Emmanuel before the

governorship election in which he is seeking a return to power in the state.

Those who have raised their voices in condemnation of the police occupation of the Assembly complex have also established a trend of what appears an intimidation of the opposition. They recalled that shortly after Ortom left the APC, and shortly the police siege to the Benue State Assembly, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) was let loose against the governor. The same episode is playing out in Akwa Ibom.

Observers allege that the purpose of the police intimidation is to ultimately take over the two states by hook or crook.

Since the decampment in August of Godwin Akpabio, a former governor of the state, from the PDP to the APC and his resignation of his position as Minority Leader, Akwa Ibom State has not known peace.

Observers have called on the security services to play by the rules and as much as possible take apolitical role in their dealing with all the political parties as Nigeria goes for the general election next year.

$2.5bn This is the amount of money said to be spent overseas on the maintenance of the presidential fleet, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian police, and by the Nigerian airlines.

The bull’s eye

A statement attributed to Vladimir Putin, Russian president, saying that ‘Africa is a cemetery for Africans’ is clearly on point.

“When an African becomes rich, his bank accounts are in Switzerland. He travels to France for medical treatment.

He invests in Germany. He buys from Dubai. He consumes Chinese. He prays in Rome or Mecca. His children study in Europe. He travels to Canada, USA, Europe for tourism. If he dies, he will be buried in his native country of Africa. Africa is just a cemetery for Africans. How could a cemetery be developed?

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