Microscope edition 30

DEPRESSION IN TEENS

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HOW TO MIX YOUR COLOUR WITHOUT LOOKING GOOFY!

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Page 22

Handling siblings’ rivalry

THERE WILL BE WAR IF JONATHAN LOSES THE ELECTION? I NEVER SAID THAT Page 5 – MUJAHID ASARI-DOKUBO

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PORT HARCOURT

Port Harcourt’s first freely distributed fortnightly newspaper Feb. 27 - March 13

Vol. 2. No. 30

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Why I want to be

Governor - Tonye Princewill

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Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Life’s Wall

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Editorial We invite you to share with us your most profound thoughts!

Question For Current Edition:

Mandy-I can’t live without (1) writing (2) my eight children (3) meditation (4) laughing (5) my wife Yetunde- things I desires so much are (1) love (2) joy (3) friendship (4) creativity (5) family Esther- those would be (1) my man (2) exercise (3) water (4) sleep (5) health

What are the five things you can’t live without?

R e s p o n s e s Youpele - Five things I wouldn’t be able to live because God is not a thing and that is where without are (1) God (2) Books (3) Water (4) Fam- most people get it all wrong. ily (5) Food.

Izu - Five things for me will be (1) Money (2) E.B - Five things that would be (1) Air (2) Family God (3) Water/Food (4) Family (5) Sex/ Love.

(3) Food (4) Water (5) shelter.

Segun - For me those things would be (1) Work Daniel - That would be (1) My Vision (2) Good (2) Food/ Water (3) Love (4) Family (5) God. friends (3) Love (4) Patience (5) Kindness.

Denis - For me it will be (1) God (2) Money (3) Ene - well for me that would be (1) Sleep (2) Love/ Kisses/ Sex (4) Family (5) Woman.

Food (3) Singing (4) Dancing (5) Reading.

Rose - The five things I sure can’t live without M.J - It would be (1) Air (2) Cloths (3) Life (4) are (1) My Vision (2) My Purpose in life (3) My Money (5) Water.

Dreams (4) Family (5) Life itself.

Seby - For me that would be (1) Mother Mary (2) Gift - Mine would be (1) Acknowledging the God (3) Family (4) My Guardian angels (5) Love. giver of life (2) Praying (3) Reading my bible (4) Money so I can provide myself the essential Gideon - Tricky question but it would be (1) Air things of life (5) God’s guidance and protection (2) Food (3) Water (4) Love (5) Travelling.

Cynthia- the five things I can’t do without are Livingstone - It would be (1) Wisdom (2) (1) family (2) song writing (3) goofing around (4) Knowledge (3) Power (4) Love (5) Money random adventures (5) fishing Emma - Those would be (1) Movies (2) Food James- obviously (1) my guitar (2) love (3) shoes (3) Water (4) Family (5) Sex. (4) wristwatch (5) dreams Tekena - Five things I wouldn’t be able to live Kendell-(1) God (2) make up (3) internet (4) without are (1) Money (2) Food (3) Family (4) hand sanitizer (5) car Children (5) Companion.

Brad- hmm, tough question (1) water (2) radio Joe - The five things I wouldn’t be able to live (3) alcohol (4) shoes (5) friends without; would be (1) Water (2) Food (3) Power (4) Money (5) Communication/ Information sys- Augustus- five things for me would be (1) food tem. I wouldn’t say God like most people would (2) laptop (3) my family (4) music (5) movie

Felix- I can’t live the follow (1) Dinner with my wife (2) My iPhone (3) Drinking water (4) Money (5) Honesty Alexander- (1) prayer (2) my family (3) shopping (4) food (5) dressing Solomon - Can’t live without (1) Food (2) Sleeping (3) Sex (4) Talking (5) Water.

Boma - For me that will be (1) Pride (2) Vision (3) Family (4) Purpose (5) Life.

Precious - Mine for sure will be (1) Friendship (2) Education (3) Bible (4) Music (5) Water.

Blessing - The five things I can’t live without (1) My family (2) My best friend (3) My studies (4) Watching movies (5) My boyfriend.

Rita - The five things are (1) Acknowledging Jesus as lord every living day of my life (2) Prayer ‘is a door opener’ (3) Giving being generous towards the needy (4) Money ‘working hard, earning a living in-order to provide myself the essential things of life (5) God’s guidance, it brings about freedom , peace, happiness.

Sunny - for me it’s quite simple (1) My Mother (2) My Wife (3) My Kids (4) Good and impactful friends (5) The word of God. John - Mine are (1) Family (2) Vision (3) Friends (4) Drive (5) Life.

Tonto - Giving life as it is the five things I can’t live without are (1) Motivation (2) Education (3) Family (4) Purpose in life (5) Food, cause I love to eat.

Linda - Five things for me will be (1) Self- Esteem (2) Vision and Purpose in life (3) Family (4) Education of course (5) Life itself.

Gbenga - My five will be (1) Family because they come first in my life (2) Good education (3) Money cause it is a necessity (4) My Purpose in life (5) The happiness of the people around me at all times.

Question For Next Edition: ???

After being physically abused, what should a Christian wife do first? Call the Police or her Pastor?

Please write on our wall...SMS your thought to 08060917396 or mail: wall@ph-microscope.com.

You can put your name if you want to. We will publish your thoughts in the next edition.

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Is the Labour Party an alternative?

From the way the two big political parties are carrying about, throwing their weight and might in every body’s faces, one may be tempted to think that there are only two political parties in Nigeria. This is not true though. We have close to 60 registered political parties. I know that you know that some of these political parties are just vehicles for collecting Government money. As you know, INEC is expected to give some funds to the political parties; the idea is to prevent money bags from hijacking the polity.

That strategy has never worked as recent political shenanigans have shown that money equals politics. If you don’t have money, you cannot be a successful Nigerian politician.

But anyway, I don’t want to be distracted. There are many political parties in this country than you would imagine. In Rivers state alone, there are about 14 parties presenting candidates for the gubernatorial elections. Yes, 14! Most of them probably didn’t print more than 50 pieces of posters, not to talk of bill boards or massive campaign rallies. But there are 14 candidates contesting to be governor!

Some of them, like the Labour Party, say they have a different campaign strategy, and it doesn’t include mega rallies, show of power and might. They prefer to directly engage the electorate, to canvass for vote door to door, community to community and from town hall to town hall.

same access to their candidates.

We have not received an answer yet, but if we do, they will also be presented. Why I want to be Governor is a series that we want to run to present each of the Rivers gubernatorial candidate to the public. We hope that you enjoy this first series.

POETRY CORNER DEBUTS WITH BARRY NEEDOM

people, and his dreams for Rivers State.

The question on our mouth is this? Is the Labour Party an alternative in Rivers Politics? Does the line-up of candidates, and the party’s manifesto and even the leadership of the party present an alternative for us as a state? Can we trust them with the leadership of this state?

starting from a few years ago, the Liberal Democrat became an alternative voice, and this caused such a disruption to mainline politics and the political parties such that it was down to them to make whichever party they liked the majority party in the UK government. They went with the conservative, and Labour Party in the UK was shut out of government after over a decade in leadership.

On our ‘My Life Page”, we look at the life and achievements of Dr Solomon Fubara, whose accomplished life got an icing onto the cake last July with the Queen of England decorating him with the prestigious medal for the Member of the British Empire.

His award was based on the excellent work he did in helping people start and build their businesses in the UK. I am sure you will be inspired by his story.

We got wind of the campaign strategy of the Labour Party, and we decided to speak to the main characters. Tonye Princewill, Prince of Kalabari kingdom, Engineer, IT Professional, Movie producer, Music Producer, Philanthropist, and Sportsman is running for Governorship on the platform of the Labour party.

He was formerly with PDP, and before then he was a founding member of the AC. The AC has disappeared into the APC now, and he has also since moved away from the PDP after the State PDP gubernatorial primaries. We caught up with him and asked him why he wants to be governor of Rivers state. The interview is a must read.

We decided to dig dip into the Labour Camps trenches and we discovered another scion of Rivers academia. Douglas DodiyiManuel, Son of Chief (Dr) Dodiyi-Manuel, the first Medical Hypnotist in Nigeria and also of Kalabari decent. He is contesting for the seat of the Asaritoru/ Akukutoru federal constituency in the House of Representatives.

He spoke about his dream for his

Have you ever wondered about those who write poems? Do you love writing poems or reading poems? Or perhaps you have never given it a thought that there could still be poets in this day, age and in Port Harcourt for that matter.

Well, there are poets and more so, there are up and coming Poets in the city of Port Harcourt and in Rivers state. In order to promote the field of literary arts, we decided to start a column for Poetry starting from this edition.

We call it the Poetry Corner and it will be primarily authored and coordinated by Barry Needam.

We invite you to ignite your passion for poetry, either the reading or the writing, and if you are a poet, please feel free to send your piece to Barry (the contact email address will be listed on the page).

Tonye Princewill

Labour Party Govornorship Flag-bearer

In the United Kingdom, people think there is only the Conservatives and the Labour Party, but there are also parties like Liberal Democratic Party, The Green Party, the UKIP etc. The truth is that some parties are very small and some are very big. Recently,

We present to you in this edition the voice of some of the flag bearers of the party of the movers and the party to give you an idea of what they stand for. We are not promoting anybody’s interest particularly, as we have asked the main parties for the

"Published by Immenso Media Technologies”

If that does not inspire you, then certainly, the story of how one man started from cleaning houses to cleaning Oil Vessels, Tanks and other heavy duty Oil & Gas equipment should inspire you.

In 1997, Engr Charles Osouha started as a young engineer determined to build a business of his in the Oil and Gas industry.

About a decade later, he said he is just arriving. We feature his company, Prokleen Nigeria Limited on our “My Business Page”.

So grab the copy you are holding right now, take it home and take your time to enjoy this packed edition.

Folarin Banigbe-Philips Publisher/Editor-In-Chief

ISSN: 2408-5871

PH Microscope is a freely distributed fortnightly publication started in June 2013 and dedicated to showcasing PH businesses, organisations and even government. We provide information to people on whats going on around the state. We also offer an affordable and effective advert platform to everyone. We do PR inserts, and help businesses and organisations to connect with their immediate environment.

Even though we have our convictions, and we express these convictions in a generally objective manner, we pride ourselves as being non-partisan and un-affiliated to any brand or organisation. We simply strive to provide an equal platform for opinion sharing, and information dissemination.

Almost everyone will need our services. We represent Rivers state and we are happy to provide more information on how you or your business, ideas, events and whatever else you do can be discovered by more than 2 million Rivers residents.

EDITORIAL TEAM Folarin Banigbe-Philips Publisher Rhoda B. Longjohn PR Executive Franca E. Idemudia ICT/Education Desk Kofi Bartels Political Desk Adeniran Adekola Circulation/Operations Chuma Nnoli Sports Desk Olawale Olaogun Graphics Daguo Ibibo Graphics

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Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Politics by Kofi Bartels

Metro

Keeping It Real Foundation Awards Prizes To Disabled Students way out but a disgrace to ones personality so I encourage you to be someone in life for there is nothing stopping you only you can stop yourself|”.

In a bid to encourage creativity and innovation; promote a culture of perseverance and determination in children with disabilities, the Keeping It Real foundation instituted an annual prize giving/book donation day to award prizes to the best performing students in various classes.

This year’s event, the third in the series, was held at the Special Need School Creek Road Port Harcourt on the 6th of February, 2015.

The Executive Director of KIR Foundation, Mrs. Bitebo Gogo, in her opening speech expressed great joy for the success of the occasion; thanked the principal, teachers and parents for their support. She talked about the remarkable improvements in the school and how vocational training has helped improve the lives of the students despite their disability. She also spoke about the challenges these children face and the role parents ought

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Mrs. Justina Ajafe said parents and teachers should encourage the children in every way possible as this would help boost their self esteem enabling them fit into the society.

Mrs. Justina Ajafe presenting award to one the Handicapped students

to play in the care of these children. For the teachers she had this to say “you can pay a teacher to teach but can’t pay a teacher to care” and she encouraged them to continue to support the children as they have always done.

Other speakers at the occasion were Mr. Fredrick Amakiri (the principal of the school), Mrs. Thompson Rose (principal of UBE), Mr. David Thank God (National Chairman for Youth

Disability), Pastor Dominic Isaac (Head of PTA), Thompson Emmanuel (an ex-student of the school) and a special guest Mrs. Justina Ajafe.

In his speech, Mr. Amakiri said in his 26 years of heading the school only KIR foundation stands out among the different associations and NGO’s. “I lost my sight at age thirteen but with encouragement from my parents I was able to complete my schooling.

Begging for alms is not a

Doctors under threat in Rivers state… one dead, two shot, and another one kidnapped.

Doctors seem to under threat these days from kidnappers and perhaps assassins. Of what do you make of the Rambo style abduction of Dr Sam Opara from his D-Line clinic in the week February 15? Reports said that two other doctors who were with him were fatally shot. Dr Opara’s lifeless body was found on a cassava farm in the Borokiri area a few days after the abduction. It is not known if the abductors were kidnappers since the family said that they were not contacted for ransom payment.

We are not sure if eventually they were told to pay money, but either way, sadly, the doctor’s life was not spared.

And on Wednesday February 25, another doctor, Dr Azubike Okara, was kidnapped at the General Hospital, Emohua in the same Rivers state. Nothing has been heard from him or his abductors since then at least as far as we know.

Speaking through its State Chairman, Dr Furo Green, the president of the Rivers State

branch of the Nigeria Medical Association, in press conference, condemned this mindless attacks and death.

Also, the chief medical Director of the Rivers State Hospitals Management Board, Doctor O.N. Iragunimah said, “Even at war times, medical personnel are spared immediately they are identified. So, in a situation where doctors are shot and kidnapped is the worst that can happen in these periods.

Something has to be done to arrest this situation or many people will die because doctors will go on strike. Doctors will have to run for their dear lives.”

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Mr. David Thank God specially thanked KIR foundation for their support and appealed to the government to make policies that would ensure that every person understands the sign language.

Former student Thompson Emmanuel, advised the student to believe in themselves, to determine to make a difference and to take their studies seriously. He also thanked the teachers for believing and accepting the students for who they are.

es given, some individuals had some positive feedback on how the foundation had impacted their lives. Maria an ex student of the school had this to say “when I was a student here, I thought of how to make a difference in the lives of people like me and this was made possible through Mrs. Bibeto Gogo the founder of the organization. I enrolled for the program; was able to learn many things like bead making, computer training etc. Though I’m deaf, I’m happy that I have achieved so much and encourage you to believe in yourself for no one is a liability” Also, Pastor Dominic Isaac thanked KIR for giving the kids hope and encouraged parents not to abandon their kids but to pay close attention to their needs.

Mrs. Roselyn Thompson concluded the event by thanking every one for being present to make the event a success.

In addition to the speech-

New Born Baby abandoned to his fate!

Feb 25: On this fateful Wednesday morning, residents of Road 6, Elekahia Housing Estate woke up to what would have at that time been assumed to another routine day, but little did they know that a surprise awaited them at them. That morning, a roasted plantain (bole) seller left her house on short walk to the junction of her street to start a daily pursuit of a means living, and what does she find lying wrapped in not so clean wrappers in front of her kiosk? A new born baby, probably a month old was lying in dirty clothes, having been abandoned there overnight but someone who may most probably be his mother.

The woman promptly raised an alarm and passersby and residents began to gather till a medium sized crowd had gathered. According to an eye witness who didn’t want to be identified, no one touched the child all the time he was there.

Another eye witness who wishes to remain anonymous confirmed that he was moved by sympathy to call the Elekahia Police Station, and they came about 30 minutes later to take the baby with them.

It was discovered that the

baby had an upper cleft deformation which has deformed of his face. This condition makes it difficult or impossible for the child to make full use of his mouth and even nose, and the corrective surgery costs a lot of money and time spent in the hospital. This may be why whoever dropped him there did so, as probably they may not be able to afford the medical expenses.

As of when this report is been filed, the police are still in custody of the baby, but it is expected that probably he would have been transferred to the State Motherless Babies Hope in Borokiri, Port Harcourt.

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Trailer Crushes man to death… driver on the run, trailer and taxi burnt to ashes!

A trailer carrying PEPSI products and a commercial vehicle were burnt to ashes yesterday around the slaughter area of Trans Amadi at about 8:30pm. The trailer driver was said to have crushed a certain young man to death. According to an eye witness who is a member of (NURTW), he said the young man who helps to load vehicles from slaughter to Artillery was trying to cross in between vehicles from one side of the road to the other side found himself stuck in between the moving trailer and the taxi. The witness further said “Apparently, the man’s clothes got hooked to the trailer and while the trailer moved, the man lost his footing and rolled under and the trailer crushed him to death on the spot When his colleagues, most of who were around the accident scene, saw what happened, they went after the trailer driver but were unable to get him because he quickly took to his heels. In anger, they members resulted to burning the trailer and the taxi. As at the time of this report, investigation is still going on by the police

THERE WILL BE WAR IF JONATHAN LOSES THE ELECTION? I NEVER SAID THAT – MUJAHID ASARI-DOKUBO KOFI: WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THE SHIFTING OF THE ELECTION BY INEC

ASARI-DOKUBO: I really did not believe that there was any need for the postponement of the elections. I was taken aback because I had networked and reached out to people, we have been on the road and we wanted to heave a sigh of relief that on the 14th of February, it will be victory. But I’ll like to say that nobody has the right to prevent others from voting, nobody has the right to disenfranchise people. About 20 million registered voters have not collected their PVC’s and people are saying that there is nowhere 100% PVC’s have been collected. This is a lie. There is no country that will allow elections to hold, even if one person is disenfranchised. It is a constitutional right of every individual to vote and be voted for and nobody has the right to take that civic duty away.

KOFI: DOES THAT MEAN THAT YOU AGREE WITH THE POSTPONEMENT? ASARI-DOKUBO: No. INEC had not done its job. What would have been done was to allow the temporary voter card, which is valid, to be used for voting. Something that is unknown to the law and is illegal is being introduced. It’s not in the electoral act. Through the back door, evoting has been smuggled. The electoral law does not recognize e-voting, so it is illegal, it is outside the law and it is ultra vires. As far as the law is concerned, what INEC is doing is not constitutional and it’s not in accordance with Nigerian law. It was debated in the National Assembly and the National Assembly rejected e-voting. And anybody introducing it through the back door, it will not stand.

KOFI: DON’T YOU THINK WE HAVE CROSSED THAT BRIDGE? RIGHT NOW PEOPLE HAVE THEIR PERMANENT VOTER CARDS AND THERE IS NO GOING BACK. ASARI-DOKUBO: No, no, no!

There is going back as long as there are people. For instance, how did they distribute the PVC’s in Bornu State where there is a war? The federal government was pretending that there is no war. There is a war. A military man from my community called me today. They went out yesterday to ‘malaga’ and he said they cannot account for 120 men. There is a civil war going on.

KOFI: YOU SAID THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DENIED THAT THERE WAS A WAR. WHO WOULD YOU BLAME? WOULD YOU BLAME PRESIDENT JONATHAN? ASARI-DOKUBO: I blame the Nigerian State for playing the Ostrich. This country is made up of the President, the national assembly, 36 states and Abuja, as well as 774 local governments. The people should be able to say there is a war and the government of Nigeria should declare a full-fledged war. What is happening in Iraq? The government of Iraq is

Our politics editor, Kofi, was able to sit down for an interview with former Niger-Delta militant leader, Alhaju Mujahid Asari Dokubo. He has been in the news lately for certain controversial statements. He sought clarification on these and got Asari’s thoughts on other burning issues.

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ARE PREACHING PEACE AND NON-VIOLENT ELECTIONS AND A PEACE TREATY WAS RECENTLY SIGNED…

not pretending about it. What is happening in Syria? The government of Syria is not pretending about it and playing the Ostrich.

ASARI-DOKUBO: Is Nigeria not a sovereign State? Who is the international community? Is there any election in Britain that Nigeria or any African nation had gone to interfere?

Is there any election in America that we interfered in, that one idiot called John Kerry will be talking down on our people and a nation? We have lost our pride and patriotism and a foreigner is giving us directives. 20 million eligible voters in his country were disenfranchised. I was against the signing of the peace accord, if you read my interviews. There was no basis for it. The President took an oath in the constitution to protect the country. It was a denigration of this country for the President to lower his office and sign a paper brought by people from outside. If Nigeria is really a sovereign country, that ought not to be. These are imperialist lackeys, neo-colonialist lackeys. These are people who are working in their own interest.

KOFI: YOU WERE WITH OTHER FORMER MILITANTS IN YENOGOA RECENTLY AND YOU THREATENED WAR SHOULD PRESIDENT JONATHAN LOSE THE 2015 ELECTIONS. ASARI-DOKUBO: There is no truth to that story. It is concocted.

Over 4,000 persons met, not in Government house but at Bayelsa banquet hall. The Bayelsa state governor was invited by those of us who were in the patriotic struggle for the liberation of the Niger-delta. This is not the first time a government official of that status has been invited.

On several occasions, when I was president of Ijaw Youth Council, the governor of Rivers State, the Governor of Delta State, and the former Governor of Akwa-Ibom State had all been invited to attend functions of Ijaw Youth Council.

KOFI: ALHAJI, DID YOU DECLARE THAT THERE WILL BE WAR IN NIGERIA IF PRESIDENT JONATHAN LOSES THE ELECTION? ASARI-DOKUBO: Our statements are there. You can go to my Facebook page and watch the clip. There was nothing. Tompolo spoke in Ijaw, so I don’t know who translated it. He never said there will be war. Look, we don’t have any worry as to whether President Goodluck will win. I have always repeated that Goodluck has already won the election and we do not have a tradition of pre and postelection violence. Those who carry out pre and post-election violence, they know themselves, and they should not ascribe that to us. What we are saying is that if the attack on Goodluck Jonathan continues, we will respond disproportionately.

Goodluck Jonathan was stoned in Bauchi, he was stoned in Buhari’s home, Katsina. Buhari came to Bayelsa. He stepped on the sacred soil of the Ijaw people, walked and abused Goodluck Jonathan. We protected him and he left. Nothing happened to him, nobody shouted at him. They should have done everything possible to give that same protection to Goodluck Jonathan.

KOFI: AND WHO IS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THE PRESIDENT? ASARI-DOKUBO: They should be able to call their people to order.

If people, parents, traditional rulers, and politicians are not able to call their people to order, if the President had reacted and had used brute force and had told his security aides to shoot, the headline would have been ‘Goodluck orders massacre of northern youths in Katsina’.

KOFI: WE HEARD THAT THE SSS INVITED YOU OVER IN-

FLAMATORY STATEMENTS. HOW TRUE IS THAT? ASARI-DOKUBO: The SSS has always invited me. I have been detained 73 times. They asked me to come to the SSS office, I went there and I told them that as long as others make statements and carry out attacks, you can’t gag me. As long as somebody says he will be on the streets. If he comes on the street we will meet him on the street.

KOFI: DON’T YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE OVER-REACTING ON THE ISSUE BEARING IN MIND THAT THE PDP GOVERNOR OF THE STATE IN QUESTION SAID THOSE WHO DID THE STONING WERE HIRED BY PDP MEMBERS ASARI-DOKUBO: I am not a PDP member. The PDP people are northerners and they stoned an Ijaw man who is the President. That’s my business. Whether they are PDP, APC or Labour Party isn’t my problem. When Buhari came to Bayelsa, there were APC members, there were PDP members, there were Labour Party mebers and they did not stone him. So when he goes to Katsina or Bauchi, they should also guarantee that PDP or whoever does not stone our man. You travelled round the Niger-Delta and nobody stoned you. We also have the right to stone you, but we restrained ourselves. We don’t want to reduce ourselves to their own level. Since they cannot not come above the level of the beast, to live with human beings, and they continue to do it. I am not a PDP member, I have never been a PDP member. I am closer to the APC because I was a leading member of the ACN. Maybe I will never be a PDP member because ideologically, I cannot fit into PDP. A lot of people tried to talk me into joining the PDP, but I said no. Ideologically, I believe that the way Nigeria is, it’s not properly structured. The people should have the right to decide whether they are Nigerians or not. It was APC who believed that the people have the right, through a sovereign national conference, to decide who they want to be. Ideologically, I am closer to elements in the APC, not the ‘efulefu’s’ that just got into the APC. KOFI: HOW WOULD YOU AND OTHER EX-MILITANTS REACT IF PRESIDENT JONATHAN

LOSES THE ELECTION? ASARI-DOKUBO: President Jonathan has already won the election.

KOFI: HYPOTHETICALLY SPEAKING, IF HE LOSES, WHAT WILL BE YOUR REACTION? ASARI-DOKUBO: Hypothetically speaking, Goodluck Jonathan will not lose the election. I have never averred my thought to Jonathan losing the election. If you keep all the people who have ruled Nigeria from 1956 till date, Goodluck Jonathan has surpassed all of them in terms of performance. His performance is there for all to see, and the man he’s contesting against was a military dictator and he left no legacy.

KOFI: YOU ARE QUOTED AS SAYING THAT “NO VOTE, NONE OF THE VOTES IN THE NIGER-DELTA WILL ESCAPE. THERE WILL BE ONE LINE AND THERE WILL BE ONLY ONE THUMBPRINTING ON THE 14TH OF FEBRUARY. ANYBODY WHO COMES TO PRINT ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT, MAY GOD SAVE HIM.” ASARI-DOKUBO: We will not allow anybody who wants to circumvent and take away the hard-earned voice of our people. Hitherto, we had no voice. Anybody who had enjoyed the heroic sacrifice of Isaac Boro, Ken Saro-Wiwa and other patriotic combatants and wants to sacrifice it for whatever reason, we will not allow him. That person is a traitor to the cause of our people and we will not accept it. if the Bauchi State Governor comes out to say that PDP people stoned the President, when he knows that he’s lying because he wants power to return back to the gambari’s and somebody is here who wants us to go back into Egypt and back into slavery, it is not going to be possible. You saw when Goodluck Jonathan came here (Port Harcourt), by 5am people left their towns and villages and they came. In Bayelsa, from Mbiama junction, the people came out on their own, not a hired crowd. For us, the sacrifices that we have made cannot be traded-off by Judas. We will not allow Judas to trade away our sacrifices.

KOFI: YOU SEEM TO BE ISSUING THREATS OF VIOLENCE. SEVERAL BODIES INCLUDING

Today, I listened to Senator Mamora, a very brilliant Senator and one of Nigeria’s finest. He confirmed our fears that APC are the sponsors of Boko Haram on television. He said that local government elections were conducted in Borno State and APC won in all the local governments and all the wards. Elections were conducted In Yobe State and APC won in all the wards. No banger sounded. The question we asked is, this is in contradiction to what Shetima, the governor of Borno State is saying. Shetima said about 19 local government areas out of twenty-something local government areas in the state are in the hands of book haram. How did APC conduct the election in Bornu State?

They went into agreement with book haram and book haram stayed away, and they conducted the election.

Now, APC is demanding for election to go on. In Rivers State, 63% have collected their PVC’s. in Bornu, 82% have collected their PVC’s. So, when the PVC’s came, book haram withdrew and they started sharing the cards.

KOFI: DO YOU THINK THAT INEC IS BIASED IN ANY WAY? ASARI-DOKUBO: From the body language of Jega, it clearly shows that he has taken sides. How can anybody say that 20 million people should go to hell, they should not vote in an election. How many people are going to vote? It’s so callous. That I have my PVC, should someone also not have theirs to vote? My wife contested House of Representatives election. She has been coming from Cotonou back and forth, looking for her permanent voter card and she can’t find it.

KOFI: SO YOU’RE SAYING THAT THERE WILL BE PEACE NO MATTER WHO WINS THE ELECTION? ASARI-DOKUBO: Goodluck will win the election.

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Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Fashion and Style

Poetry Corner “For a man to be a poet, he must be either in love or miserable”

By BARRY NEEDOM

HOW TO MIX YOUR COLOUR WITHOUT LOOKING GOOFY!

Merith Benedict

W

LORD BYRON

elcome to Poetry Corner. February, as we all know is a month of Valentine – a month of love.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always perseveres. Love never fails”.

This sums up the characteristics of true love. And above all, God is love. If God so loved us, it is expected of us to love Him back, love ourselves, love one another, love whatever we do and love our dear country.

Poetry Corner would therefore be very glad to be part of the Valentine season.

In this regard, we shall dedicate most of the poems to the theme of the season – love.

So far, we have mentioned Poet, Poetry and Poem. One would be tempted to ask, because he would want to know, who a Poet is, what is Poetry and what is a Poem? A Poet could be viewed as a creator, while Poetry is the creation by the

Do you have trouble blending the right colours? Try playing with colours and see which suits you!

Fashion is like art, you should know how to combine colours to fit the audience. You definitely do not want to look disoriented, do you? Colour combination should not be overlooked when creating a wardrobe. Well-chosen colours are details that can either make or break the outfit. Very nice clothing with the wrong colour combination will make you look bland and boring or loud and foolish. There are three things to consider when choosing your colours.

•

colours that complement your skin

•

Your fashion style

•

And also the event.

Colours are sometimes magical; we instinctively respond to them with feelings. The way you dress boosts your confidence, and also affects your audience (those you come in contact with). When we talk about skin tones, colours are usually divided into warm and cool categories. Warm skin tones have a yellow undertone while cool skin tones have pinkish undertones, and even though your skin grows lighter depending on how tan you are, your skin tone will still remain constant.

and teak are advisable as they suit everyone across the board. There are also neutral colours which are white, black and grey that blend with every other colour, they also complement all skin tones.

Tricks to Dressing in Brilliant Colours

Tips to Dressing in a Brilliant Colour Combo

The Concept of True Colour sense

HOW DO I LOVE YOU BARRY NEEDOM How do I love you? Let me count the ways, I love you to the depth and breadth and height, My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight, For the ends of being and idea grace.

I love you to the level of everyday’s, Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight, I love you freely, as Men strive for Right; I love you purely, as they turn from praise.

If you have not decided the colours that work for you, here are some tips to consider when dressing;

FASHION HOUSE LISTINGS

Just recently, a Professor of Poetry, Professor Niyi Osundare was the sole recipient of the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) award and it goes with a cash value of Ten Million naira (N10M).

Other notable but renowned Poets in this part of the world are: Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, late Professor Chinua Achebe, late Ken Saro-Wiwa, Professor Gabriel Okara, Professor J.P. Clarke, Dr. Captain Elechi Amadi and a host of others including the young upcoming ones.

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Please, keep a date with us for the next edition, We promise to make this corner interactive, so we could get your feedback, comments, suggestions and your poems for publication.

Mubik Boutique: Shop 312, Omasere Plaza, Rumuomasi Road, Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Remember, the star poem of the month shall be recognized and rewarded. Please, forward your poems, comments, suggestions to: barinyima@yahoo.com or call or sms: 09051876309

Emiitest Ventures Limited: 1B, Rumuola Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State

TO A YOUNG GIRL AT VALENTINE

LOVE IS…

Eln’i’s boutique: 22, Ohiamini Road, Rumuola, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

HUMPHREY OGU

WILLIAM B. YEATS

…Not jewelry or bread – Servants of commerce Nor flowers that fades Nor sun that sets Nor expression, speech buttered with lies

Igc Ventures: Shop 31, Mile 3 Motor Park, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

My dear, my dear, I know More than another, What makes your heart beat so; Not even your mother, Can know it as I know, Who broke my heart for her, When the wild thought, That she denies, And has forgot, Set all her blood astir, And glittered in her eyes.

But a sea That never dries But flowers and flows A field that grows and grows And lives and lives Like Asphodel Oh that virgin bliss feeling Forever green Love is

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When checking your outfit in the mirror, take time to look at your skin and see how it looks.

Take a snapshot of yourself in different coloured fabrics and review them. It’s easier that way than standing in the mirror.

You can also share the snapshots with friends!

Try out different colours and see how they fit. Be careful the number of colours you mix. Wearing three or four colours at once can create an incredible look, mix five or more colours you’ll look like a rainbow explosion.

Mixing colours is vital when it comes to fashion. I’m not referring to someone who looks like a victim of an unfortunate paint accident but how your colour combo should complement your skin. Do you have favourite colours- colours that you love? Do you have colours that make you feel good? Or do you dislike some colours? When it comes to colour blocking, don’t just limit yourself to your wardrobe or favourite colours, except you are certain those are the colours that suit you. Sometimes it might be difficult to find the best colour combo to wear. Colors like bright red, pale pink, dark purple

Again, how does Poetry impact our lives positively and what are the uses of Poetry.

Just as Lord Byron had rightly stated in the above quotation, poem could be used to express our love, gratitude, admiration towards God. It could be used to express our love and emotions to our dear ones.

It could also be used to demonstrate our love for our passions and to our country.

Furthermore, poem could be used to correct and expose injustices, vices in the society. It could be used to express anger, sadness, bitterness, frustrations etc.

Writing poems could make us earn a living. In Britain, for example, the Monarch appoints “Poet Laureate” to write poems for important occasions and guess what follows – fame and fortune.

PORT HARCOURT

Pick a day of window shopping or perhaps wardrobe check, to settle on some colour choices over the mirror.

The colour of the make-up you wear also matters because your eyes make the biggest statement on your face.

It has to complement what you are putting on and also match with your skin tone. Your eye pencil, eye shadow and lip stick must complement each other too. So focus on using colours that pop on your eyelids. You don’t want to make a mess of a well-tailored and well sort out colouring of clothing by drawing attention to a clown looking face. One major factor to consider when dressing is your base colour (the colour at the background of your colour combo), then you can fix up colours to complement it, even your make up. Your make up colour also reflects your intensity.

Simply put , a Poet is a creative or imaginative writer of poems. Poem, as the work of Poet, is a piece of creative or imaginative writing in verse. Then, Poetry which is not only a field of study but also a human endeavour has come of age. By definition, from a very distinctive school of thought stipulates that “ Poetry is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language – such as phonaesthetic, sound symbolism, and metre – to evoke meanings in addition to or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning. Standard definition you would like to say. Well, in our subsequent editions, we shall historically, x-ray poetry deeper.

I love you with a passion put to use, In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith, I love you with a love I seem to lose with my lost saint, I love you with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life and, if choose, I shall but love you better after death.

In dressing, each garment design must be sleek, current and well fitted also, colour combo must be successful.

Sometimes we see people wear some certain colour combinations and we feel it sits well on them, so we decide to try it out but what works on someone else’s tone may not work on another. Essentially, there is balance between colouring and the colours you wear. If the colour you wear is too bright for your skin it takes away the attention from your face. Neither bright nor too dull, they have a right level of coolness to suit your skin.

The Make-up on Your Face Also Matters

creator and Poem is the work done by the creator through the creation.

Through poem, we could express our culture.

Wear natural make-up on colour blocked outfit.

Abigail Fashion And Design: 1, Location Road, Rumuola, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Promise Boutique: Okrika Avenue, Eleme, Rivers State.

Smart Collections: 40, Mbodo Road, Alu, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Chimiral signature Amazing Grace plaza, 102 Woji road , O’Baron Clothing Factory Block 3. Flat 2 circular Road, Elekahia Housing Estate Stive Outfit 18 Rumuola Road, PH Cceee Concept 39 Rumuakalagbor/Elekahia Link road, Port Harcourt

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Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Health Nuggets

By Victoria Sideso

HONEY:

THE DELICIOUS LIQUID GOLD a humectant, which means it attracts and retains moisture, making it an ideal addition to moisturisers, shampoos, scrubs and conditioners. Along with its antimicrobial properties, honey makes a wonderful addition to homemade personal care products.

Honey is a great aid in relieving morning sickness.

Honey can help treat minor acne by attacking the bacteria that causes outbreak while moisturising the skin to aid rejuvenation.

Raw honey may lower total cholesterol while increasing HDL (good) cholesterol.

Honey acts as a sedative and is very useful in bed wetting disorders.

Calcium absorption and haemoglobin count can be increased by raw honey to prevent anaemia.

Raw honey can be used as a medication for issues related to male impotence and female infertility.

Honey is an excellent alternative for sugar in baking and cooking.

Honey is a popular liquid food that has been around for a very long time. It has been used as a sweetener and for treatment of certain ailments for years. This blend of sugar, trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins and amino acids is unlike any other sweetener. It takes a lot of bees to produce 1 pound of honey and the production is in stages. It starts with the bees visiting flowers and consuming nectar which is stored in its extra stomach where it mixes with enzymes and regurgitated into another bee’s mouth. This process is repeated until the nectar becomes partially digested and is then deposited into a honeycomb. There are more than 300 kinds of honey, each with a unique colour and flavour that is dependent upon the nectar source. Lighter coloured honey, such as those made from orange blossoms, tend to be milder in flavour while darker coloured honey, like those made from wild flowers; tend to have a more robust flavour. The antioxidant content of different types of honey can vary up to 20-fold. Darker honeys are known to be better than lighter ones.

Many of the commercial varieties we find lined in our grocery store shelves have been so processed that many(if not all) of the beneficial enzymes, nutrients and antioxidants have been completely destroyed. In order to get the benefits of honey, we must only consume raw or unpasteurized honey.

KEY NUTRIENTS

and proper sleep is the best recipe for boundless energy, but if you’re looking for a quick energy boost, such as before or after a workout, honey can suffice.

Honey is packed, full of many essential vitamins and minerals. These include vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and vitamin C. It also contains potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, manganese, sulphur, zinc, phosphate etc.

Honey reduces allergy symptoms. Locally produced honey introduces a small amount of allergen into your system which can activate your immune system and overtime build up your natural immunity against it.

BENEFITS OF HONEY Honey makes excellent cough medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO) lists honey as a demulcent, which is a substance that relieves irritation in your mouth by forming a protective film.

Honey helps boost your energy. A healthy whole-food diet

IF YOU ARE FROM KWARA STATE, PLEASE READ THIS!!!

9

Honey can be used to treat wounds. Honey has antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidants contents that make it ideal for treating wounds and infections.

Honey improves your scalp. Honey diluted with warm water was shown to significantly improve seborrheic dermatitis which is a scalp condition that causes dandruff and itching.

Honey is used for preparing body care products. Honey is

A group called “Progressive Kwara” which is non-political, but development oriented is calling upon all citizens of Kwara state living in Rivers state to join this group to work with the government of the day in Kwara state to nurture ideas and provide constructive feedback to the Government.

We know that living in Riv-

ers state makes us very far from home, and individually, our voices may not be heard.

We have thus decided that as a group, we are able to harmonize our individual efforts and get the ear of the government.

So we encourage you to register by sending an email with your details (name, town of origin, LGA, age, occupa-

Honey is an excellent source of antioxidants. It does not only have full spectrum of vitamins and minerals but also contains the flavonoid pinocembrin which is unique to honey. It supports and promotes healthy enzyme activity.

Slows aging. Part of the aging process is related to the slow depletion of enzymes in the body. Raw honey helps slow the depletion of enzymes through the ingestion of amylase. It can restore damaged skin to give a softer and younger look.

PRECAUTIONS Honey has many good attributes but it is also high in fructose, averaging around 53percent. Each teaspoon full of honey contains nearly 4 grams of fructose which means it can exacerbate pre-existing insulin resistance and wreck havoc in your body if consumed in excess. Keep in mind that if you have insulin resistance (i.e. If you are taking drugs for high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes or if you are overweight) you’d be better off avoiding all sweeteners, including honey.

If you’re healthy, eating raw honey in moderation could provide many of the benefits listed above.

Honey may also contain Clostridium botulinum spores and toxins that can cause infant botulism. As such, it is recommended that children under the age of one should not consume honey because their intestinal tract is not mature enough to inhibit the growth of this bacterium.

Remember, too much of a good thing is bad, so indulge in honey with moderation and get the best of this natural and delicious liquid gold.

For questions or comments, send a mail to Victoria@allerrands.com. You can also reach us on twitter @AllErrandsPHC.

tion, phone number and addresses) to the email below:

For more information please contact

Progressivekwara@immenso-media.com

THE COORDINATOR PROGRESSIVE KWARA C/O PORT HARCOURT MICROSCOPE 25, TRANS AMADI IND LAYOUT RUMUOBIAKANI, PORT HARCOURT

This is a temporary address as we are at the moment building our website and will have email accounts, twitter handle and Facebook page published very soon.

08122518442 progressivekwara@immensomedia.com

My Life Solomon Fubara: Honoured by a grateful Queen on behalf of a grateful nation!

Many Nigerians live and work abroad for most or all of their lives but they never really become prominent. Rather they mostly remain a silhouette all their lives, framing more accomplished people. Not so for Nigerian-born Dr Solomon Fubara. He has made a mark in the society he found himself, and has shown that anyone can achieve prominence leading to recognition. In July 2014, the Queen awarded him the MBE (Member of the British Empire) for his work with diaspora entrepreneurs. He is one of the few Nigerians to have been so honoured by a foreign nation.

How did he do it, what did he do? Who is this man? We sat with him to unravel this man, and we welcome you to read our exclusive interview with Dr Solomon Fubara, MBA, PhD (MBE) PHM: You have lived most of your life in the United Kingdom. When did you live this country?

DR FUBARA: I left Nigeria in 1983. Prior to that I was surveyor with the Ministry of Lands and Survey and then with a private surveying firm. I was involved with in lot of survey works in Port Harcourt, and outside including various Ijaw areas now part of Bayelsa. As a young man the job was interesting and the money was good, and in 1981, when I joined the surveying firm money was even greater. However in 1983, I was sent to Germany for further training in Hydrographic surveying, It was at this point that I decided, perhaps I have had enough of surveying and I decided to resign my appointment from Germany and change my career to management and business. So I left Germany for UK in 1983.

PHM: What made you decide to stay back in the UK after your education?

FUBARA: I went to the UK because I was convinced that the educational standards of the UK was better than most of the other countries. I could have stayed in Germany, but the issue of language before further studies was no incentive at the time. On getting to the UK, I registered with the University of Bath for a diploma programme in Management, and then proceed to complete a post graduate diploma in Business Administration with the University of Wales, Cardiff, where I also completed my Master degree in Business Administration MBA specialising on Small Business development. At that point, I considered returning to Nigeria, but in the process got married and anticipating a better life decided to stay on in the UK. Moreover, I anticipated acquiring better skills and knowledge over time and be in better position to bring back my skills to Nigeria, Britain being regarded as one of the most developed economy. At the time what I didn’t foresaw was the impending obstacles that I may be faced with despite better and recognised qualifications obtained within the parameters of the Kingdom.

However, after several obstacles in the job market I eventually excelled to the heights of recognisable status. My advice to other persons in similar situation will be that, qualifications may be very good to obtain, but in the UK, pervious experiences, skills and knowledge already acquired to the job being applied for is key to success not your qualifications which may be regarded as good, but secondary. At one point I was so disillusioned and got fed up with the system, but I never returned to my country Nigeria – but it all paid very good dividends in the end. An interesting story was that, my frustration at the time took me into a PUB, where I met a middle class

white man who took interest in me and started a conversation. Perhaps, he saw the frustration in my eyes and asked me where I originated from.

When I told him I have just finished a world acclaimed MBA without a job and that I was from Nigeria, I noticed him smile, and he bought me a pint of larger and said “My friend all you need is one lucky break” That statement remained with me till date as I frequently reminds myself of the saying, and draw not only comfort but braveness from it. Only but few weeks later that statement became a reality as my first appointment came through head hunting from a company I had no prior knowledge of. And that was the lucky break referred to and thence forth it was all glory – attaining my first job as Business Development Director, to chief Executive officer and finally to Managing Director/Chief Executive a position I excelled for well over 10 years sharing my knowledge, skills, experiences wider in European countries, the Caribbean and North Africa.

PHM: Tell us about your PHD. At what point did you decide to take further studies DR FUBARA: It all came from the interest in my jobs. Being a Business expert, the interest arose through interactions with business people and business apparatuses. Initially in 1993, my company had a collaborative ventures with the then Bristol Polytechnic now University of West of England. The collaboration at the time was that, then two agencies would go into partnership in providing for the business sector in Bristol, and that, being a qualified personnel with an MBA, the Polytechnic would allow me to undertake a Research Methodology leading to an M.Phil. and leading to a PhD. I completed the six months research methodology course and took a break for about a year, before searching for funding through the Banks on sponsorship basis to complete the PhD degree since discipline was about researching into the pitfalls of Small and medium firms belonging to Black and Minority citizens and based in the south west of England. Barclays and NATWEST Bank became interested in the research and agreed to fund the undertakings. I did the programme part time whilst remaining in my high profile jobs. I had the various tools available to me and it was most interesting. Outcomes of my research are still in the public domain for use and practise in the sector of business development.

PHM: At some point, you became a managing director of a company in the UK. How did you climb the career ladder in the UK to become a Managing Director recalling that you said that at that time, racism was still a big issue?

DR FUBARA: My first job as a [Training Coordinator] gave me a lucky break and opened up a

lot of avenues. After that job, I worked as a Business Development Director with a company in Bristol, then as a Marketing Manager in London with Peckham and Camberwell county council. I didn’t like London and my family was still in Bath, and I didn’t like to stay in London so I started looking for work back in Bath and Bristol. At the time I saw an Advert for a chief Executive position with Hampshire Business Development Agency Ltd in Southampton about 80 miles from Bristol. During this time, I have been able to acquire working skills and experiences in my field of speciality and wasn’t at all surprised when the telephone call came after the interviews that I was the chosen one. It’ was a small company of about 30 employees but the span of responsibilities is spread across other European countries such as Spain, Germany, France and Poland. A job that exposes me to top other executives, MPs, and politicians. It was a very high profile job, and I remained in it for about two years, when again I was headhunted by a company in Bristol the Centre for Employment and Enterprise Development (CEED) with charitable status and a limited liability company. At the time, the company wanted me to undertake a baseline survey of enterprise development within Bristol and recommend implementation strategies. A very lucrative consultancy work, which I cannot refuse even though it was time bound. One could imagine forgoing a full time chief Executive position with a time bound consultancy. But I did, and never regretted it till date. On completion, they wanted me to come to Bristol to set up the enterprise development initiative, and implement my recommendations. The package was good and I liked Bristol. It took me sometime to decide whether to go or not, but in the end I resigned from the company in Southampton and went back to Bristol. Several years later I became the MD/CEO of that company, a position I held for almost 10 years. The job took me all over the world, and was splendidly satisfying. A position that brought my profile far and wide and with associated household names.

A job which took me to seat in the Late Col. Gadhafi’s camp with the late Col, discussing the problems of the African diasporians in the UK, and how well they could be potential assets to their countries. It was immediately after I met with him that the uprising ensued that eventually killed took his life. The point of the meeting with him was that he was actually looking at African Diaspora in the UK and Europe to move back to their countries to help develop their countries

and he was quite ready to fund the whole initiative, and I was one of the few selected to diagnose the problems and design implementation package/s. I have also been to the Caribbean on various business trips through this job and met with the world best. It a job that placed my name within the highest accolade in the UK, and eventually to the arena of the Royal family, the Queen of England.

PHM: You were awarded the Most Merited Member of the British Empire by the Queen of England. This is a very big award. What was the citation and how did you feel when you learnt that you were being awarded that honour?

DR FUBARA: All came as a big surprise to me and my family. The Most Merited Member of the British Empire doesn’t come easy, and does not come quick, but purely on merit and recognition and excel in your chosen field. There is nothing else as high or higher to achieve more so as a Black man living in the United Kingdom. The whole award is based on one’s contributions, in services and my contributions were based in business, employment, and training throughout the south west of England. Moreover, the awardee is secretly chosen by the people and from the people, including business operators, higher institutions, communities, public agencies, private businesses, almost all echelon of various parameters. Although as individual I have contributed much to British society, but I never expected an honour from the QUEEN. That tells the story – and how much people appreciated and recognised my contributions so as to nominate me. On monetary terms, it is unequitable being recognised and honoured by the QUEEN OF ENGLAND. I never expected that one day I will be a recipient of the award/honour. I was only doing my job, I got paid for it, and I enjoyed it and that was it for me. Unbeknown to me, people were watching, and when I left CEED in 2008, I became a private consultant in my field, of business development, project management and evaluations and assisting organisations and companies in their bids for further development and expansion. However, one glorious day in November 2013, a letter came through the post. The envelope was unique, and when I saw the Code of Arms on the envelope, detailed to be from the House of Commons, what first came to my mind was that I was being called for Jury service. But I opened the letter and realised it was from the British Prime Minister, David Cameron. I read the letter with amazement to see that my name

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Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Vox Populi

My Life suggested to be put forward as a man who had done a lot for communities in the aspect of business, training and employment, and that establishments and corporations have put my name forward for an award by the Queen, and that the Prime Minister request to know if he could forward my name to the Queen of England. In the meantime, he the Prime Minister also requested me that at time, the matter was confidential, and that I should not mention it to anybody. There was an attachment slip to the letter that I was meant to complete and send back. So I did exactly that, and for about two weeks, I did not even mention it to my wife! I kept the letter secret, and it was very difficult not to tell her during those two weeks, but I was obeying the command and the instructions of the letter from the PM. However, weeks later I couldn’t hold the pressure and confided in my wife and told her the story in strict confidence. Both of us kept the secret for further weeks when in one day, the official letter from the QUEEN was specially delivered, with all of the paraphernalia following it. My wife was initially shocked that I could keep such secret for the length of time, but I was obeying orders anyway. Then I gave her the letter to read and she could not believe it.

The happiness was so much, emotions ran highest and tears of joy and jubilations followed. ON the 18th July 2014, I was invited by the QUEEN to the WINDSOR CASTLE, with my wife and two sons as guests to Her Majesty the QUEEN to receive my Honours.

When we walked into the palace, one of the guards said to me, “Welcome sir, do you know who is giving you the awards today?” I said “No”. He said “it’s the Queen” herself, what a lucky man, he said.

There were about 200 other awardees, but I was the only Black on that schedule. Of course, there were a lot of rules and protocols. You cannot take pictures there, pictures were taken by already mounted cameras and you can request for your own pictures after the event. So I met with the Queen, and she put the medal on my chest and asked me how I managed to do all that I did to warrant the honour, and I told her a short story. I told her it was commitment and hard work and the mindset of having people at heart. Having said that I gave a little bow and shook her hand, and gave a little bow again, and proceeded further. Such a melancholy and serene environment – with full respect and honour worth more than million pounds. The guards will then usher you back to the place where you are given a man size certificate authenticated by Her Majesty the QUEEN and sealed with the Royal emblem and logos. It was great, and I felt quite proud for myself and family and Nigeria. From that moment, my whole world has been open to the British Press and I became a celebrity overnight. The reality and the truth was that people in positions felt that I made positive contributions into the society and deserves a recognition and they are those who put my name forward. I thank them all.

PHM: There is a myth about how the Queen shakes people’s hands. As someone who has shook hands with the Queen, can you describe your experience? Does she push people back somehow with her hands after she has shaken their hands?

DR FUBARA: Yes, Before you meet with the Queen, you are given a series of induction on how you comport yourself around her and how you shake hands with the Queen.

You will told specific things you will do, and things you cannot do in her presence or indeed with her, how you walk, where you walk through, how you turn at angles and how you walk towards the queen, where you stop.

When you have stopped in her pres-

11

ence upon calling your name, you then take another three short steps towards her, the QUEEN already standing.

The Queen will then offer her hand for you to shake. And you do so, with utmost gentility and then you take a step back again. Then the ceremonial medal is brought to the QUEEN then you take one step forward again, and take another bow, she then puts the medal on your chest and then you step back again. After that, you then go forward one step again, and at that time, she will ask you some questions; how you managed to achieve all the things said in your citation. You then answer her and then you move back, and you exit and you go.

PHM: Some people have said that when she shakes your hand, she pushes it away somehow. Is this true?

DR FUBARA: It’s not push as in hard push. You may not even notice it the way she does it. She will normally exit her hand but it’s not through force. It’s a soft handshake, and she then pulls back. In fact, and you will notice that your time is up, (laughs), so you go no further.

PHM: In practical terms, what does an MBE portend for the recipient? Is there a monetary value to it?

DR FUBARA: That is the question that many ask me. One of my best friends who work with the UN heard that I had the award. He called and congratulated me, and afterwards said “boy, what is the package”? I said “what package” He said money with the MBE. The truth is that, it does not come with money, but fame and recognition.

The MBE has no financial package whatsoever. It does not come with any money. You don’t receive one penny from the government for the award. People find it difficult to believe, but is the truth. It comes with fame, and status in the society and further afield.

forte. That is where my interests lies, making people attain good quality of life, training people to aspire to bigger things, that is my speciality. I hope that God wiling I will have the platform to do it.

PHM: Between a private enterprise and a government platform, which one will allow you the opportunity to do what you want to do?

DR FUBARA: If I were to come back to Nigeria to set up a private enterprise, it means that I will be charging for my expertise, and the question goes how many people of grassroots level will be able to afford my intellectual charges?

This would mean that the inroads I can make, and what I am able to achieve will be quite limited because I will be charging for my services. If I look at it from a personal point of view, and personal sustainability bias, then maybe it makes simple sense. But this isn’t the way I would like to prime it. Money is good to get, but the aspect of making some body’s life worthwhile is greater than the monetary aspect, and for that mind-set, I can only be able to do it with a government platform. So I am saying to the Rivers State government now and beyond that I have done it all and over in the United Kingdom and I could do it here. The history, the platform, the system, the structures, the templates are all there to be verified.

PHM: In the hierarchy of awards, where is the MBE? Can you move from the MBE to get a higher award level?

PHM: You have spent about 32 years in the UK. Are you thinking of coming back to Nigeria to settle?

DR FUBARA: Certainly so, as a Nigerian, I have spent a lot of my youthful years in the UK and made a very positive contributions there, but I must say that at every time, I have this intention that one day I will return to my country and do the same thing. So irrespective of the number of years I have spent in the UK, now I am saying to myself that it is time for me to return to my country and do exactly or even far more contributions to my country, Nigeria. I have started making the plans. I know that I have a lot to contribute to my country and to the people. People and capacity development and people empowerment is my

PHM: Take electricity which is supposed to be the forte of the Federal Government, how do you think Rivers state should intervene to at least ensure constant power to its own citizens. Do you think that government of rivers state?

DR FUBARA: Well, as you rightly said, the electricity is the forte of the Federal Government, but should also be a concern for state government. Businesses that operates in Rivers State pay taxes to the state government, so the state itself has a stake, and thus they have a responsibility to setup and normalise certain things, even though electricity is the responsibility of the federal government, I cannot see how the Rivers State government cannot come to some form of arrangements with the FG to provide constant power to its own citizens and businesses, there could be some sort of private/public sector partnerships.

It is left to the awarded to make the best use of it in society past, present and future. A life time recognition that remain even after one’s lifetime. Since the Honour I have invited to various places of high acclaim locally in the United Kingdom and far and wide within the Commonwealth of Nations.

DR FUBARA: There are four categories of the knighthood; the CBE, KBE, OBE, MBE. There are people who are awarded with the highest status such as the CBE or the KBE, and could use the title SIR. For the OBE or the MBE, you cannot use the title “Sir”. Over the years, your name could still go forward, to Her Majesty the QUEEN for higher Honours, and it may not be impossible that, Dr Fubara would become a SIR one day.

there has been progress in some areas i.e. there are few road networks that have been built, but the city itself has deteriorated from what I knew it to be. Port Harcourt is the only big city in Rivers state and one would have expected that as a state, by now, the last few governments would have invested in other key towns around the state to bring those towns into the status of a city, but that has not been the case in Rivers. Port Harcourt itself has not improved in most aspects. In a commercial city road networks and road connectivity are a major commercial boost – that is absent in PHM where the traffic build up continues from morning till night. You can imagine that for a business person going from one place to another in Port Harcourt, is a nightmare and how could businesses operate in such atmosphere?

This is a key problem in PH. The other aspect is the issue of power. The lack of even near constant supply of electricity kills business. Businesses operate on very low power supply perhaps only for few hours in a day, and you can imagine how that creates problems for business owners. Again, most things have not really changed much from what I know, and that is why this coming election will be quite significant to rivers state and Nigeria as a whole.

Dr Fubara with the Queen

You may google my name, and you see it all, even more. This is the reason why, I would like to make the transfer of my technology into my country Nigeria, more so with Rivers State. There is no other way to do it better than this way. Not many people can afford to pay me 500 pounds a day as consultancy fee, and especially grassroots young people – this is where the various arms of government come into play. When the time is tight I will set the scene with the various apparatus of government and leverage in my expertise.

PHM: How has Rivers state fared in this past administration?

Well, I have not been in the country for quite a while, and therefore my perception of rivers state and what I know about it in the past few years would have been what I have read in the papers either electronic or print. Now and again, I come into Port Harcourt.

I knew how Port Harcourt was then and in the way I see it now, I know that

PHM: All through your life, what is that one thing that carried you through the peaks and valleys of life?

Dr FUBARA: I am in my 60s, and I can say two things carry me on and forward: Determination and Confidence. I am very confident person, and I am a very determined person as well.

If I put my mind to something, I will achieve it. In this case, I will say I am a people’s person, someone who wants others to achieve their potentials in life and be happy with such contributions. I have been in several situations in the UK, where people of all status approach me and thank me for the support and changes made to their lives. You cannot buy those things as they are never sold – you could only make it happen. I am someone who makes things happen and achieve record and positive milestones. On the streets of Bristol and other people stop and pay homage for my support and assistance; I would like such been replicated in Rivers State and Nigeria respectively.

PHM: Can you tell us about your family DR FUBARA: I am married, with a very pretty wife and have 5 great children and 6 grandchildren from my daughter, and two elder sons. The LORD blessed me all around I should say. Say Amen to that, Folarin.

PHM: What is your outlook to life?

DR FUBARA: I am not a person who aspire to making million and millions of pounds or naira. I have seen and come across money in my previous jobs and consultancies. But Money does not motivate me insofar as I have the much to offset things life requires.

I am looking forward and in anticipation, when the day shall come for me to be able to provide and empower people in Nigeria. Do all over all that I have been able to do and achieve in the UK. I like making money for others, whilst they are able to sustain their quality of lives and be happy. I want to develop the youths in Rivers State in enterprise, business, training, employment and capacity building through sustained initiatives, whilst taking proper care of my family, children and grandchildren and even more, the Almighty permitting. I value making people happy, empowering people, building them up, especially young ones because I know that if you do that, you never know where you will find yourself the next day.

PHM: A lot of people will be reading, and there will some youth who is just starting life at the age that you went to the UK. What will be one word you have for youth within the age bracket of 25-32 years of age who are just looking to starting life DR FUBARA: Well, throughout my working life in Europe, I dealt with young people from 18-35. I have helped them to build themselves. A man who have made a lot of contributions to the life of young people, and others, and my word of advice to them will be “I know young people have lots of aspirations and some would wish to achieve even without much hard work, but the issue is that to get to that level of accolade or achievement, there are sacrifices that has to be made.

There is nothing that comes easy in life, whether you want to be in business or education. Even in marriages, nothing comes easy, but commitment is key to any achievement and the focus of what it is that you are aspiring to is always key. So young people, I know, have loads and loads of priorities and they have a lot of alternatives in case something they are pursuing does not work. But as good as it is to have a few alternatives, focus is key in the primary thing you want to do. So whatever you want to achieve, if only you can focus, you will get to a height that you want to achieve, even beyond your dreams, only if you focus.

Footnote Dr Fubara is also the sole founder and Secretary General of Savannah Development Foundation in Bristol.

A registered charity providing business, enterprise, employment, training and capacity building and empowerment of young people. Google svannahfoundation.co.uk. Dr Fubara is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and Chartered Institute of Management, and Small Federation of Enterprise Development Initiative [SFEDI]. Dr Fubara is also a Rotarian, with Membership with the Bristol South Rotary club, Bristol, UK.

Dr Solomon Fubara MBE can be contacted on +447961888864, +441179516560 or solomonfubara@ yahoo.com; Solomon@savannahfoundation.co.uk.

DO YOU AGREE WITH THE GOVERNMENT ON THE POSTPONEMENT OF THE ELECTION AND WHY? OKAFOR: (32) I’m in support of anything Jonathan’s administration is doing, be it postponement of the election etc.

tension a little and give the military a plan B on how to tackle security issues.

ALHJ SULE :( 52) I’m a Nigerian and I believe in free and fair election. The government postponing the election was a bad move. I feel something is wrong somewhere. GEJ should conquer his fear and get serious. I wouldn’t be surprised if after six weeks, they say we need more time.

ALICE: (27) I agree with the government on the postponement because it will give the political parties more time to campaign effectively.

JUDE: (30) I agree because of security reasons.

SADIQ: (25) I disagree with the government on the postponement because it shows lack of capacity on the part of the government to conduct credible election.

PASTOR RAYMOND(46) I’m a pastor and I don’t get involved in issues related to politics but I think our votes should count, so if the postponement of the election was to do some shady deals, I ‘m not in support.

FAVOUR: (19) Yes, I agree with the government because I think they have good reasons to do it.

CLEVER: (24) When you have a president that is too soft in acting and has fear in him, what do you expect? I’m not in total support of the decision; by now we would have known who will be president.

GEORGE: (26) Yes, I agree because it gave us the opportunity to celebrate valentine.

FEMI: (37) Yes, I’m indifferent to the change of the date because I’m more concerned in how to pay my children’s school fees.

MR. ADEBAYO: (42) I love the idea of the postponement because there was tension already. When you listen to the news, you will know political violence has already started happening, talk more of if the election held earlier on.

ROSE: (27) I believe they have ulterior motives to that effect which will favor PDP. JACOB: (40) Yes, if it will make GEJ to have an edge, I’m up for it. I want him to win the election and shame his critics.

STEVE WAYA :( 31) No, GEJ and his cabal are only playing with the intelligence of Nigerians. FG has no justification to dictate policies to INEC, we are not kids to sweet mouth us.

Our eyes are now wide open to see that a wise man does more of action than speech. He had better not interfere with the functions of INEC in order for people not to take laws into their own hands. I don’t support their ill-fated postponement.

ONOME: (24) Yes I agree because it will enable the military tackle the issue of boko haram well and enable the people in affected areas like Borno cast their votes.

EMEKA :( 30) No, I don’t agree because I think the government have plans to use this period to re-strategize for their own benefit in the election.

DAVID :( 22) I’m not in support because I believe that “what will be will be”. The destined candidate for that seat will win.

CHUKWUMA: (38) I don’t agree to that because I strongly feel it’s politically influenced, the government wants to buy more time and I’m afraid for Mr. President VICTOR :( 22) Yes, I do because the issue of insecurity should be put into consideration before the election. I would advise the government to deploy the military, police and all security personnel to every polling unit in the country. This is not to create fear to the electorate, but to cub all forms of misconduct.

DECLAN: (32) Yes, their reason might seem like an excuse to us but I most tell you that it is in our best interest.

BARRISTER SAMSON LUGA :( 40) I don’t agree because it was needless and a failure to the democratic process. the day. We all know that there is no way this election will be free and fair.

IBINABO :( 45) I think the postponement of the election was a good decision because not everyone have their PVC. So shifting the date will give people more time to get their PVC. KINGSLEY :( 24) Well, with Boko haram’s threats to disrupt the election, I believe it’s safe for them to extend it to enable the military fight the insurgence issue.

JANET:(27) Though it seems logical for the election to be postponed due to security lapses in the north-east, at the same time six weeks is not enough to fight Boko Haram.

Boko Haram for over three years now, is it in six weeks you will achieve that? They should stop using us as tools and say something reasonable.

MRS. GLORY (42) I ‘m in total support of the government because how can you be a president of a nation and you sense that you are going to be cheated and allow it? The northerners have almost 80% of PVC collected and the southerners have about 30-50%. So you can see the hand writing on the wall.

ERNEST: (27) I feel the postponement of the election was because pressure was high.

NKEM: (19) I’m not in support of the postponement because I feel the government is too afraid to lose the election.

BALAGU JONBAZ :( 20) I agree with the postponement of election because I want the PVC to be evenly distributed so that people will be able to vote with their heart and make possible change they need.

OLADIMEJI OJO:(37) Yeah, I support the postponement because it was clear that INEC was not ready for the polls and again the security problem posed by Boko Haram in northern Nigeria. If all these are addressed, the election should take place on scheduled.

ENGR. TIJANI BUHARI :( 45) any way the government thinks he can deceive us, all I know is Buhari must win period.

CHINEDU :( 30) seriously I don’t even know if it’s for good or not but I think it’s a good idea as it would help to boost security.

OPUDA SOTONWARI :( 22) Yes I agree because it will enable many people to collect their PVC and the recapturing of about 11 communities in Bornu state. These are good developments

BATOM: (30) I agree with the government because I think it will give them more time to prepare well for a free and fair election.

MRS. JANE MADU (42) Yes, every Nigerian should have the opportunity to cast their votes not only the northerners.

JOSEPHINE GABRIEL :( 29) for me I see no need, but all I know is that they want to rig the election.

JOSHUA :( 20) I think the election was postponed for personal reasons. Who else can armtwist INEC to postpone the election if not the President?

PAUL BASSEY :( 40) I disagree with the government because it shows they are not serious about the election.

MAXWELL :( 21) No, I disagree with the government because I feel GEJ is already on the losing side.

DAKORU :( 26) In a country like Nigeria, where corruption and violence is the order of

MUSA YAKUBU:( 38) I disagree with the government because if you have not defeated

ISIOMA :( 20) for security reasons, I think it was the best thing at the moment. It will calm

KING PEVER :( 27)I wasn’t in support of it because the reason was not cogent . How can the security chiefs tell us that they can tackle Boko Haram in six weeks? What happened the past years?

NGOZI :( 31) Though INEC said the postponement was for security reasons but I think something is fishy. If the security chiefs can’t provide security all these while, is it within six weeks they can do it?

OBINNA :( 22) I think postponing the election is the best thing to do. Pressure is on the high side. I ‘m in support of it as it would help calm people down a little.

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Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

POLITICS

POLITICS we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere in Rivers state if you don’t take care of that just like what Lagos State has done. So you see that jobs solve many things and if you have a job creation agenda, that agenda will ultimately drive the development of the state.

WHY I WANT TO BE GOVERNOR

PHM: Every government promises jobs, so what are you going to do differently in job creation?

- PRINCE TONYE PRINCEWILL

T

onye Princewill, Prince of Kalabari kingdom, Petroleum Engineer, IT Professional, Movie Producer, Music Producer, Philanthropist, and Sportsman is running for Governorship on the platform of the Labour party. He was formerly with PDP, and before then he was a founding member of the AC and their gubernatorial candidate in 2007. The AC has disappeared into the APC now, and he has also since moved away from the PDP after the State PDP gubernatorial primaries. We caught up with him and asked him why he wants to be governor of Rivers state. The interview is a must read.

PHM: A lot of people consider you an enigma or even a maverick. Who will Tonye Princewill describe himself as?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: Well I think the best way to describe my person is that I’m just a “conviction politician”.

I don’t like politics very much. My background is in Petroleum Engineering and Information Technology, but I believe politics as it is played now is too far away from the people. I also don’t like complaining, but if we go by the statement “politics is too important to be left for politicians”, I think we will make improvements to the polity.

Unfortunately, many people who could change the way politics is run are either afraid or are too busy making money but none of those classifications apply to me. I’m involved in politics simply because of conviction, and I’m determined to change politics. I don’t know how, I don’t know if it’s possible, but I refuse to accept politics the way it currently is and since I refuse to accept it the way it is, I have opted to put my hat in the ring.

I’m giving the people a choice so they now can choose between continuing with politics as usual or opt for a different type of politics. Nigerians and even Rivers people don’t have excuses anymore, they can’t say “why are the politicians behaving this way?” and not do anything about it. Here I am, a politician who is saying “it can be done differently”. Let’s look at APC for instance; APC was PDP, then new PDP, now they are APC. So in Rivers State PDP is APC, APC is PDP. If you truly want a different type of politics you wouldn’t be voting for them and if you are not voting for them, I think the next best option is to vote Labour party, and that is the kind of choice I want people to have.

If I wasn’t so convinced about the need for options I won’t bother. I’m in the Labour Party, I’m on a different platform and I believe that it’s the only real option that would give Rivers State a different type of politics.

PHM: I have two questions to ask from what you said. As a former PDP member, did you believe that PDP was different while you were with them? Or is it when you left the party that you realized they are different?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: One of the things that people know me for is that I am fairly out spoken, no matter

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whose ox is gored. If you look at it, you can’t remove me from APC because the foundation of APC is AC and I was the governorship candidate for AC, so you can say I was in AC, APC and PDP. Even when I was in AC and then PDP, I had always been known for maintaining that “why is it that a political party does not have an ideology?” Whenever people in AC tried to suggest that they have an ideology, I remind them of the fact that I was the governorship candidate of the party and I know there is no ideology. So if anybody can talk about APC or AC and PDP, I’m one of the people that can. I have the locus to criticize because I know the internal workings of both parties. So both AC and PDP don’t have ideologies. They are simply there to field the strongest.

It’s about strength and not ideology.

It was only Atiku Abubakar that answered the question once because I criticized the elders. I said “how could you create parties and don’t have ideology?” He said to me, “Tonye, we built this party simply because we wanted to get rid of the military”. We didn’t have an ideology then, we just wanted a party that would be strong enough to root out the military and we got all the boys together to fight the military”. So of course, when the military was no longer there to fight, they ended up fighting themselves.

He is the only person that has really explained to me how come political parties were created without any sense of ideology. Now that AC has become APC, they had the perfect opportunity to define an ideology and ask everybody who is joining them to subscribe to the ideology. That would have distinguished them but they lost the opportunity. Labour party has an ideology and of course it is built on freedom movement, it is masses oriented, and it is the only party whose logo has human beings in it. The others are inanimate, with an umbrella, broom, chicken, cutlass all sort of objects as their logo. I don’t need to tell you the party that has some sense of what is important; father, mother and son. So to me I think it’s a good party. Surprisingly I joined and found out that they have very similar ideologies with mine and I always wanted a party that is masses oriented and I was surprised that in addition to free health and education, they also talk about transport and housing which I feel are important as well. Everybody talks about health and education, but

these guys talk about transport and housing and the need for government to invest in housing. So ideology wise, I ‘m in the right place. I have said it; win or lose; I will stay in Labour party and build it. At some point, even if they don’t realize it now, (but I believe they do), but at some point, Rivers people will know that these are the people that can help them make the change. So I have always complained about things, not just because now they didn’t give me the ticket in PDP. What would have happened if they had given me the ticket is that as the leader of the party in the state I would have corrected all these things. As you know, in Nigeria, leaders sometimes lead too much that they even rule, but I felt that being the PDP candidate, I could transform the party. Amaechi transformed the PDP when he became governor, but of course all that is now lost to political ambition.

PHM: Labour party has been there all along, why was it that you didn’t find them at that time; it was now you just discovered them?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: Well I left AC to PDP simply because I wanted to support the current governor (Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi). I don’t feel leaving it for AC to LP or other party would do that, I just wanted to support his government. I felt he was doing well and I tried to encourage him.

Most people would testify that I was almost like an outsider. I never got involved in the day to day activities but let’s face it, If a party cannot see a need to define it’s ideology we are already on two different pages. I remember when I mentioned that PDP did not have an ideology, the then state party chairman (G.U. Ake) said, “Don’t mind Tonye! He just joined us.

What does he know?” So gives you an idea of the kind of person I am. Even if I’m criticizing myself, I just like to say the truth as it is.

PHM: To the average Rivers person the question would be, “Why do you want to be governor?”

TONYE PRINCEWILL: There is really no big deal. You find governors who are high up there, acting like they are God. There is really no big deal.

I think that if we are successful, we would be able to give people hope that politics can actually work for the people and that politicians are not necessarily the people that they have

been seeing. A lot of people want to get involved in politics, and they will be able to look at us as role models for the kind of politicians they want.

Most self-respecting parents would not want their children to get involved in politics as it is now and by so doing; they actually deny people many good leaders because many people who could lead will not even bother.

I believe that if we become the ruling party and I become the governor, we would be able to create a new sense of leadership that politics can truly work.

Many people say “you are a good man but they don’t allow good people like you to win”, what we need to show people is that it’s not about them allowing us, but it’s us taking it. We are not asking the politicians for their permission. Unfortunately people have become too humbled that they don’t even realize their strength. The first part of our job is to show people that they count, and that they matter.

The second part is that there is a lot of poverty and sadness in the land.

But I’m convinced that if we are given the opportunity to lead or govern in Rivers state, we would be able to demonstrate how easy it is to make people smile. It is not rocket science whether it’s in education, transport or housing.

I want to be able to transform Rivers State in the real sense of the word in a very short space of time. I know what to do; I know how to do it; I won’t say it’s a piece of cake because that is almost sounding arrogant but it’s really not that hard to govern properly.

Rivers people, Nigerians, don’t ask for too much. Some of them even say the leaders can steal, but they just want you to do something for them to see. You can’t try that in any developed country; that the ruler is allowed to steal. So the people are not asking for much, they just want leadership. I want to provide leadership and give people the opportunity to see that Nigerian leaders can actually deliver. It’s not going to be easy but one thing I have demonstrated from my experience in politics is that I shouldn’t be underestimated. Whether it’s to play politics or whether it’s to do governance, I know what to do. I am able to talk to the business community, I am able to talk to the market women, I don’t have a challenge in that regard.

So I think that if I’m given the opportunity I would show people how fairly easy governance is.

PHM: In this election you have come

with a single manifesto, jobs!

TONYE PRINCEWILL: Yeah, It is not even a manifesto because we have discovered that manifestos don’t manifest, so we have opted for the word roadmap and in my opinion, it’s small and simple; nothing bogus or verbose.

Why did we go this route? People come and promise many things but they don’t deliver. I believe if I can focus on jobs, it’s such a powerful issue for Rivers people. It actually ends up resolving so many other issues. First I didn’t put my roadmap together from sitting in the house, I went round the whole state to ask people very basic questions such as “what do you think about this government? Are you happy about his performance? In which areas are they not doing well? What would you like to see as the priority areas?” So in asking these questions in the various communities we ended up with what you might call a baseline survey and that baseline survey basically tells us about what Rivers people want. Surprisingly they don’t want the same things in every local government. Priorities are different, but we are able to conclude that the major minus for everybody is unemployment, so I think we should start from that; it’s too common with everybody.

Your children can’t go to school, the youth can’t get jobs, and they begin to think hard work doesn’t pay. What’s the point of getting a degree if there is nothing to do after it? In the first place, does everyone have to get a degree? What’s wrong with other professional qualifications and vocational training? As you know, my background was in Petroleum Engineering then I went into IT and Project Management. What it took me to move into this area was just a few months training. Why don’t we give people a few months training sponsored by the government so that they can get jobs? Job creation takes care of education and security because you can’t bring in the private sector if the place is not secure. If you are a job creation government, you would have to take care of security in the state. You also have to take care of non-indigenes because they are going to be the main stay of the business community. If you truly want investment in the state, people have to be relaxed, comfortable just like in other cities like New York, London, and other cities in the US. You find that it is the foreigners that helped to build those cities, and

TONYE PRINCEWILL: I am glad you asked this question. I can take you down to the specific initiative that would increase the number of jobs, but let me just add a slight embellishment to it. I have said it here that you need to create the environment for business to thrive. Basically it’s not government that creates the jobs; it’s the business community that creates the jobs, that’s the big difference between me and others. The others would just employ and that’s not the kind of job I want to create.

I’m thinking of a scheme where the business community and the government would jointly employ. When I say jointly employ. I’m talking about interns, for example in IT type of jobs, where they will be playing an understudy role within the establishment and perhaps the company then takes them on after an initial period of training. Instead of paying you 50,000 or 60,000 or whatever it is you are normally paid as your first salary, we would pay these people slightly less but the government will split the cost, some of those cost would come from the government and some from the business. By sharing those cost we get those people into the working environment faster and make them more employable. This will also work for those people who have been out of employment for a long time, as the scheme will make you more employable.

But the whole emphasis is to move away from what you might call traditional employment models where the government just gives people jobs and pay them; that’s not sustainable. What we are talking about is a job where at least the individual can sit back and say I’m doing something meaningful.

We need to also make it absolutely clear that anybody who has money needs to explain where the money is coming from. It’s not like we would go and start probing people and start saying where did you get your money and what are you doing with your money? We will make it a culture, “don’t just take money from people and say thank you, ask yourself; this money this person is giving me, where is he getting it from? If a civil servant or a commissioner is throwing money around it means that there is something wrong, it means it’s your money they are throwing around, so we need to start asking questions”.

The only way you can do that is to lead by example. Unfortunately we have had leadership that can’t change that trend. I have never had a political appointment before, and it was not because I was not offered. I have been offered a political office before, just that I did not want it. I have been offered a ministerial position before. When I decided to work with Amaechi, I refused to take any appointment. So in spite of not having an appointment I have been able to touch people’s lives. Now I’m using my own money from my own business to touch people’s lives. That’s the way it should be. You shouldn’t be using government money to do that and where you have somebody who has led by example; it becomes easier for him to tell other people to stop. But if

your hands are dirty, you can’t go and start telling people to stop because they will say “Oga, look at what you have been doing too”. The inability to lead by example I think is a strong negative and we need to create a society where you make people understand that hard work pays. There was a billboard I had running some time ago and the message is “free food dey run bele! Find something to do, work for your money”. I think it was the most unpopular billboard I have ever done because it was telling people the hard truth that they don’t like to hear.

But it’s true; find something to do to earn a living. Many will say I want to work but there is no work. Our job is to make sure that you don’t have an excuse. We wouldn’t be able to solve everything overnight but we would create the environment where people will say instead of investing my money in Dubai, I will invest it in Rivers state.

It’s likely going to be the safest state in Nigeria and we will make it a ring of steel so that nothing can come in or go out without our notice, and if you have committed a crime we would hunt you down. We have to have a carrot and stick approach to give the people an opportunity to work but where they don’t work and choose to go about what you might call the negative way of life, you show them that there are consequences.

PHM: That would make you Mr. unpopular.

TONYE PRINCEWILL: consequences?

For the

PHM; Yes TONYE PRINCEWILL: My father used to show me that there are consequences for every action. We need to be stern and we also need to be firm. I think that a popular politician in the UK (Tony Blair) who incidentally was a Labour Party Prime Minister said it quite aptly that “you have to be tough on crime and also the causes of crime”, so it’s not just about flogging the bad boys, it’s also about telling them that I understand why you are doing this and therefore you need to be given an opportunity to turn a new leaf.

When (Governor) Amaechi called all militants criminals in 2007, I disagreed with him and it was our first major argument. I said the politicians armed these boys and used them and abused them, so who is the criminal?

The politicians that gave them the guns or the boys? You can even argue that both of them are! But the point is that the blame game needs to stop, we need to look for a solution, but you can only make this kind of statement when you know that you have not armed boys, but have actually been part and parcel of the process to point them in a new direction. I have done it. My example was in 2003, during the Buguma crisis, I had to calm the boys down. Even the man that ushered you up here was one of the militants. He was actually the armorer; that means the one that kept the guns. His people where actually shooting at what you might call the palace boys; now those are the boys who were working with my father. Now he is working with me, but if it were to be a traditional politician, it would have been me arming one group to finish up the other group. I didn’t do that, instead I got both groups to lay down their arms and focus on what you might call positive ways out of the crisis. That’s the kind of leadership that we need, so if you can confront all these people and show them that there is a better way and they would take it because sometimes what they are doing produces a

mere N10,000 or N20,000 for them, and it’s not what they need. What we are giving them now is a livelihood so that they can live.

But as somebody said, people like me would spoil the game for politicians.

Standard politicians, when they hear about me, they say “Ha If this one enters government we are finished because he would now open up the place and it would no longer be business as usual. He will empower those people that know book, and those people that have wisdom, so the rest of us, how are we going to survive?” So of course they would find every possible means to make life difficult for me but my own is just to keep pushing until something happens. Believe me that one day some people might just wake up and say let’s vote for this guy, so that’s my hope.

PHM: How confident are you and how close do you think you are to getting to the heart and mind of people?

Also what would you say qualifies you to hold this position?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: Well I think I would answer your second question first. I have looked at the array

hope that it will continue.

PHM: Ok, a few questions about politics and we will move on to something else. Recently you said in one of the newspapers that Barrister Nyesom Wike will make PDP lose in Rivers State. After that time 15 of the 16 aspirants or there about who were to contest against him have been persuaded to work with him in a fence mending initiative. Considering the strength of these people, would you still say that his candidacy will still make the PDP lose if they would lose?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: Yes I believe PDP will lose the election and it is my firm belief that the only way that he can win an election in Rivers is to rig it and if there is anybody that they should not bother rigging election against, it is myself because I won’t let them get away with I and I’m convinced that they have made a very big blunder. I stand by my statement that PDP will lose in Rivers State because of Wike and the choice of Wike.

If you also look at the aspirants lined up against him in the PDP, one of the key issues those aspirants had was how many votes they could muster so

The only way Wike can win an election is through foul means, and that I think everybody knows that. After my 2007 experience, I know exactly what to expect and how to expect it and what to do about it so I’m the wrong person to rig an election against; it will just be a big mistake. of candidates, and I don’t want to be disrespectful to them and I think they all have their strength as well as weaknesses. I think if you are looking for somebody to straighten the state out and move it forward, I don’t know if you can find anybody better than me.

In terms of knowing what to do, how to do it and having the political will to do it. That’s the reason why I think I’m qualified and in fact I find many people saying to me “you are the best by far, but because of the Nigerian factor we don’t know if they will let you win as if someone needs to give me permission to win”. That’s the mentality of most Nigerians. They think we are helpless to destiny.

Going to your first question, I think I would say that is where my own vote comes from (from the people), that is my confidence. My chances of victory are simply that if I’m the best of the candidates then can somebody please explain to me why people will not vote for me. You mentioned something earlier; you said that people have not heard much about me. You are right because media is a very huge expense and I don’t have the kind of money these political office holders have and surely even if I did, it would have been hard earned money and I wouldn’t be spending it the way they spend it. So that leaves me in a position where I have no choice but to use the meagre resources I have to get my message across. Media is expensive and you don’t talk to the media for free so I think yours is unique. I think that if I can get my message across to a lot of people, I think they would vote for me. The media has not carried it before because we don’t have the resources, so if I have the resources and the story and the message went very wide, the chances are that we would win the election. So I have a job to do which is getting more messages out. I think a lot of people have confirmed to me that in the recent weeks, our message has started to go out and I

as a group of 15 put together, there is no doubt that they have a lot of influence, but I still think that it’s more symbolic than anything else. You also already said fence was mended so to speak and I think you just hit the nail on the head, it’s so to speak, it may not necessarily be mended, some of them may just be opting for what you might call a safe landing and I doubt that many of them have any love for him. In fact, if you look at the aspirants and those that spoke about him before all these happened, mine was probably the calmest voice. I didn’t call for his disqualification. In fact I said he can run, but he should just level the playing field a little bit, and let’s see what will happen, but in the end we didn’t even find a playing field talk less of a level one. I was determined that he should run and we would beat him, so I never had that animosity towards him but the others were fairly ferocious and I think he should wonder that if they were that ferocious and now suddenly quiet, is it genuine silence?

I don’t want to say much on it again, I think the elections and its results will be clear and would be available for us to see. The only way Wike can win an election is through foul means, and that I think everybody knows that.

After my 2007 experience, I know exactly what to expect and how to expect it and what to do about it so I’m the wrong person to rig an election against; it will just be a big mistake.

PHM: You worked with the Amaechi government, at least, from the outside, how do you rate his government in terms of achievements?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: 2 over 10 in the second term but in the first term I will rate him 6 over 10.

PHM: So in the average you give him 4 over 10…

TONYE PRINCEWILL: I think he

has been unnecessarily distracted.

He had a few good programs that he kicked off then and I have to be honest that he did a few good things.

Our standard for governance has to move away from mediocrity to a few good things to performance. I still think that in Nigeria, our standard is too low where a governor does what he is expected to do and everybody claps. I think what you want to see is a governor do the extra ordinary, and I think it’s possible. So my standards are a lot higher than most people’s, sometimes my comments may be seen as unfair, but it’s not personal. Just like I said earlier, Amaechi in his second tenure is too distracted and for no good reason. Some people score him higher than 6 in his first term. He is my friend, but I will still score him 6 out of 10. For now, in reality, I don’t think those people who said that the fight or quarrel between the Governor and the President should never had happened are being fair. I think the fight and the quarrel was bound to happen but I felt that the way it was managed was bad. People quarrel; friends quarrel; even siblings quarrel, but the way you manage it has to be representative of who you are. As a governor of a state, it’s not just about your ego or your personality or your feelings, you are actually carrying the feelings of the whole state and therefore you must take actions that are in the interests of the state. Even commissioners under his government were saying that the political battle has now affected government and one of them used the phrase that “Government has come to a standstill”. This was in one of the final meetings with him and when he came back into the room I asked them to repeat it in front of him and they could not. Unfortunately the style of leadership and style of followership we have is such that people are afraid of the governor. I am not as you can tell, so irrespective of whose ox is gored we need to tell people the truth and that’s the kind of government I would like to run, where people can tell me this is what it is, I think it comes from exposure and also comes from conviction. If you are determined to get it right, you would want people to tell you immediately you start getting it wrong.

I think if Rivers people wake up and give us the opportunity to lead them, I just hope that they do, I’m optimistic that they will, and we would be there to make sure that they don’t have an excuse.

PHM: Talking about Governor Amaechi, recently he was on air saying some ‘not too patronizing’ things about you. Would you say you fell out with him at some point? What is your relationship with him at the moment?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: I don’t know. I think there is a tendency to box things, but maybe it’s the way I’m built, I don’t get offended easily. Like I said, I’m a conviction politician. If I feel what I’m doing is right, I‘m quite comfortable with whatever is thrown at me. I simply criticized him for the sale of our assets and I said it wasn’t transparent and immediately I made that statement, there was a rebuttal statement made by the commissioner of finance that was too shallow a response. I’m convinced he did not personally author that statement because the person I know him to be and with the professional background he has.

Anyway, within hours of him issuing that statement, I responded and I said ok, first of all they said I have executed contracts and I said please just name the contracts that I executed so that Rivers people will know. I also went on to ask many basic questions like; were assets sold? Yes or no and

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Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

POLITICS if they were sold, who were they sold to? How much were they sold for?

Was it publicly advertised? And of course the final question, where is the money? As I speak to you now, almost two months after, nobody is responding and I would have thought this is the perfect atmosphere for the media to criticize or question government.

Let’s even assume that I could be seen as bias so forget me, let’s not listen to want I’m saying. The media should say, “Let’s investigate it for ourselves”.

Assets were sold and I put it to them that assets were sold without due process and I have also put it to them that not only that they were sold without due process but at a fraction of the street value. These are very weighty allegations and I thought that some people from the media would pick up on it and ask the people in question to respond. Even after asking the questions publicly, they have not been able to respond to the simple question; were assets sold? Who were they sold to? How much were they sold for? Were there any public advertising of the sales? Having sold it, where is the money? Till today, they can’t answer it. So if I made those statements and Amaechi then said something that you said is not too patronizing, frankly speaking I think the egg is not on my face but on his. It’s not my money but Rivers people’s money. If it was my money and he did it and he was still rubbing it on my face, I will take offense but if rivers people want to know who is transparent, I think that those questions and the absence of an answer says it all.

PHM: But with the way government is and governance is what avenue exists for Rivers people to ask this question?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: Well these are very basic questions. I mean just as you are interviewing me, if I‘m a government official so I could answer those questions, then I should.

However, most of the media is compromised so they can’t ask these questions. If they ask the questions, maybe they lose government patronage or maybe their publishers would not publish it. You also have civil society organizations who could also ask those questions and I think you have rivers people too. Many people have said to me that those questions and the response you gave to the commissioner of finance is just an indication of how governance should be. I don’t know how anybody could get away with that kind of thing. But I believe people are watching both the general public both in Rivers state and even across Nigeria. (Governor) Amaechi has been a little quiet recently. He himself must ask himself whether he has done himself justice, and I don’t think the answers to those questions can ever be yes. Clearly there was fraud. His government has sold power assets, sold Hotel Olympia and couple of other things, and none of these sales has been done in a way you can call transparent and it’s unfortunate.

Well you know we are not contesting against Amaechi, so for me it’s a distraction. I have said all I have to say about the issue and people can make their own choice when it comes. We have a new government coming in after him. He is constitutionally bound to leave and so we have to ask ourselves whether we want to continue as usual or whether we want to do something different. I think for somebody like me to be criticizing them like this, you would know that me I can’t go there tomorrow and do what he has done. I don’t know how I can show my face anywhere if I do the same thing they have done, so I have to conduct myself in a manner that is befitting of the kind of government

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POLITICS that I think we should have. I know how to play politics. I don’t have to be a pastor or a saint but there are certain things that you just can’t do and I’m happy that we setting an example.

PHM: Let’s talk about the federal government in the past four years. What’s your frank assessment on the performance of the government of GEJ? TONYE PRINCEWILL: I think I would say six over ten. Many people complain about the federal government of Nigeria and I can’t blame them because there are a lot of things they could do differently. Where I have a challenge is in the area of managing expectations. I really don’t understand how people do their own thing.

I watched Obasanjo government and that of Yaradua government but I’m sorry, none of them filled me with any confidence. Suddenly Jonathan shows

breeding corruption, so I said instead of removing the subsidy, let’s catch the people, pin them down and deal with them. But if we want to be fair, I remember Bamanga Tukur’s son was one of those people arrested and detained. Under Yaradua and Obasanjo, there is no how the PDP’s chairman’s son would be detained! It’s not possible! I just think that Jonathan is not getting a fair wrap; especially when you consider the police, EFCC, ICPC and the judges who want him to perform the role of the legislature and the role of the judiciary all at once. All these other institutions have their own roles too.

PHM: Yeah, but the buck stopped on his table…

TONYE PRINCEWILL: Everybody has a role to play and you know there is no doubt that he can do more but we all can do more, we all should do

I said to Amaechi, I said, “the president himself needs help. Some of the people around him are not good and you and I recognize that”. Surely the solution should not be to further isolate him, because if you further isolate him those people who are not good become even more relevant. up and I don’t know what people were expecting, maybe they were expecting the whole thing to change and everything to improve, but I wasn’t. In fact I didn’t expect very much from him because I just felt he didn’t have the capacity to do what I felt needed to be done. So when most people are disappointed, or some people are disappointed, I can’t speak in numbers because I don’t know the facts.

However, I can speak for myself; I’m not as disappointed as some people who actually screamed his name off the roof top. In every single area of government that I can think of, he has performed better than his predecessor even in security and I say that with all sense of responsibility.

People say Boko Haram; Obasanjo didn’t have to deal with Boko Haram but if he had, he would probably have leveled most of the communities there and he would still have had no result.

In fact he would have better helped the recruitment of Boko Haram. Jonathan has been more incisive, more clinical about his approach. Under Obasanjo and Yaradua, we had in Niger Delta known criminals; you know what they look like, yet they couldn’t catch them. Now, you have Jonathan dealing with people you don’t know. It could be the man next door polishing your shoes, it could be anybody and we are expecting him to do what even the British could not do with the IRA, what the Spanish could not do with ETA; you know, the list goes on.

I can defend Jonathan a lot better than I see some people defending him and I’m quite convinced more than ever before. In spite of his distractions he has done not bad. Could he have done better? Of course! Look at me; I’m a victim of poor internal democracy in the PDP. I would love to have seen him handle the issue of internal democracy better. I never expected Jonathan to leave his high horse and come down and win the ticket for PDP for me, so as much as I would have love to see internal democracy within PDP, it’s not really something that I’m losing sleep over but there are areas I would like to have seen done different. Corruption; I would like to have seen more heads roll. I was one of those people who was against subsidy removal and one of the reason given for the removal was that it was

more and like I said to Amaechi, I said the president himself needs help.

Some of the people around him are not good and you and I recognize that. Surely the solution should not be to isolate him, because if you further isolate him those people who are not good become even more relevant. So in basic strategy we are going about it the wrong way and we need to compete with those people for his attention. He needs to know that he has friends in us. If you are a good person then you should be saying to yourself “let me help this guy!”

When they are trying to block you, you wave at him and say ”I dey here! I wan help you, but dis people no gree oh”. So I think it’s unfortunate that people who could easily make positive contributions to this government are opting not to, and I don’t understand why, because is it Buhari that is going to deal with corruption? I don’t understand where that thought comes from; if the foundation of his government which is made up of the governors are doing things like what I have just mentioned then you know it will be an uphill task. Amaechi could have been his vice president! So if people are deceived into thinking that APC is change they shouldn’t drag me along with it. I think Jonathan finishing his four years is constitutionally legal, so what you end up with if you vote for him now is another 4 years of what you currently have. If APC gets in, you have eight years of what I think is enormous so it’s not even an option as far as I am concerned.

PHM: The elections have been postponed; there was a lot of angst about it. What is your view about it?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: Good. I think it’s a welcome development on a selfish note, because now I have more than a month of free air to prepare which is exactly what I need so to that I said yes. But I have to look beyond my personal interest to what is in the country’s best interest and I think I can find couple of nuggets there.

Once we have a further deepening of our democracy where we have much more participation simply because I think a distribution rate of 60% or thereabout on average is just too little.

If we can do better, that would help us increase the participation so to that

extent, it’s helpful. Any true democrat would like to increase participation and that is what this postponement would provide. Also as Jega has said the security situation is such that if you don’t do something about it then the ad-hoc staffs are at high risk. They didn’t want that to happen.

I also felt that there was something fishy and I’m not in the corridors of power so I don’t know for sure. But the way APC protested reminds me of Shakespeare when he said “thou protested too much”. APC really wanted this election on Feb 14. Why were they so troubled? There was almost an evangelical approach to it, they wanted this election done and that just leads me to believe that something was detected, but so far nobody is telling us and they (APC) didn’t want it to be disrupted. I have been around the corridors of power in this state long enough to know that some things that are said publicly are not really the truth. For instance, I also articulated that Amaechi and Wike are working together so call me a conspiracy theorist but I believe that something in what is happening hasn’t been told to us. So I think between Jega, APC and the government, something isn’t quite right. I can’t put my finger on it. I just felt that APC’s protests were too loud.

Elections were postponed in 2011 and the reason for this postponement is not unreasonable, so why are you desperate? I mean it’s not going to make a huge difference.

PHM: Do you think that they feel they have the upper hand now?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: But what is the upper hand? I mean your propaganda machinery will surely keep working. I just think it suggests something, and maybe I’m too sensitive.

But I just think anybody that doesn’t see that something is there is missing too much. It’s obvious that there is something, I don’t know what it is but the way they protested is just straight out of Shakespeare. It’s like somebody telling you ‘no, no, don’t open my door!’ when this is a room that you normally walk into. Now if there is something inside that room and the person is hiding it, the person’s protest will be significantly more than if there isn’t anything? Now sometimes when you hear those protests, you will actually be forced to open the door and check. I don’t know if people are not noticing the way they protested the shifting of the election. A lot of time, we see the civil society organization come out to protest things in the name of “we are civil society” whereas they are sponsored. If you watched the TV today, you will see there are people that protest at the INEC office that Jega should not be removed so add one and one together, there is something going on.

PHM: I want to ask you about the local government area. If you were governor and have a choice of what to do, would you keep the local government tied to you as a state executive or will you give them the autonomy if it wasn’t constitutionally bound?

MR. TONYE PRINCEWILL: Well, I think the constitutional conference looked at it as well and it was heavily debated. We got to understand that I am a potential governor and so if you look at it from my opinion then I will be looking at it from the opinion of someone who is likely to assume the office. Now if I am a common citizen and I don’t mean it in any derogatory manner, but if am a citizen in the state without political authority, I would be worried that the governor in place would be using it as a subsidiary of his government, but since I am po-

tentially occupying that space I don’t see it that way. I see it as I would be governor and these are local governments that would be working under me and I would be very uncomfortable with the autonomy that you are referring to because I do not intend to use it in the manner others have been using it. I intend it to be vibrant spheres of government and so just as I would like to be operating a government that works, I would like to see a local government that also works. The autonomy doesn’t necessarily mean that it can’t be corrupt or it cannot be misused. If you have good governors, you can have good local government, and if you have bad governors you can have a bad local government. So if you have local government autonomy and you throw up the chances of good and bad, it could apply to any local government and at the time you are a governor, you can’t check the terrible local government because that authority has been removed from you.

So in my position, I guess you can’t get a truly independent opinion, mine would be biased. As a governor who intends to run a good government I would love to be responsible for that tier of the state, and also I will like to raise my hand up and say my own local government will perform.

PHM: Let’s talk grassroots sports for example In the eighties, Rivers State easily produced almost half of the national team then, but lately we have lost that glorious position. What would you do differently in terms of grassroots sports development?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: For someone who has a son who is a major athlete and who is no 1 in ranking in triple jump in the UK, it is very annoying for me to see my own son climbing up the ranks in the UK, knowing there is little I can give the poor young guy, if I bring him to this place. I have seen it personally and have watched them in the UK. They start young and they also have a first class coaching system. For me these are what quickly cry for attention in Rivers state. We don’t have sports in schools, we don’t have good coaches simply because we can’t pay them or we don’t think it is important. As a governor who is interested in creating employment, I always think that if I am going to give someone employment, it doesn’t have to be a suit and tie job. So I am thinking about job creation in the form of giving people things they can do quickly and build a life on.

Just as I do with entertainment; I am a music and movie producer, I will like to do the same in sports. We will promote sports. We will engage people in sports. I always remember when the state was very hot in 2004-2005 leading up to the 2007 elections; one place you could go to was the Polo club.

A sport is an outlet for people and a lot of people who could otherwise have been involved in violence were engaged in sports.We have to look at all areas of sports, not just football or athletics, we need to look at other areas of sports, so it’s important that we go back and look at these areas, but unfortunately not all politicians understand or appreciate what sports can do. The Mikel Obi of this world, Joseph Yobo etc. are industries in their own right. You and I know that we have the talent in this country but it’s not nurtured and there are several reasons. The state government should do its best inorder promote them for leagues outside this country. It’s amazing what could be done if a government can say that “I have a target to turn out 10 Mikel Obi in the next 4 years” They can literarily go into the clubs and actually promote their players, but most government don’t think

it’s their problem. Well I do, because if I have 4 Joseph Yobos in my state, I know what I will do, So I strongly believe that the new NFF chairman seems to be doing a couple of good things in the area of training coaches.

He is bringing them up to international standards. We know what to do there, but we have to win an election first, otherwise it’s just theory.

PHM: How are you going to fund your government? We are coming from 114USD per barrel to less than 50USD? How will youmanage the economy of this state?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: There are a couple of areas to look at. We need to recognize that the reduction in crude oil price is a big problem, and I cannot overemphasize that. We are even talking about it going lower. The FG has come with different scenarios for the different possible price regimes.

We however have not done that in the state and we need to plan for the various scenarios.

We have some challenges with the Federal Government. First the reduced oil price should have reduced the pump price of petrol. It has reduced by ten naira, but that is not proportionate to the percentage reduction of crude oil prices. So obviously the ten naira reduction did not translate to any reduction in transport fares of the people.

In addition, I believe that this reduced oil price should be translating into some things on the ground.

The value of our currency has been reduced and this will affect importation, as prices of imported products tend to be higher. As a state governor, there is not very much you can do about the cost of certain things in the importation area.

You also know of course that a reduction in the price of crude means less money available for the government to spend, I think that as a governor, you need to know that my reduced income will mean that I have to put a priority on my spending. You have to now come up with spending priorities.

Why it is good to have a one point agenda is that you can quickly say this or that is not a priority because it doesn’t fit into the primary area of creating jobs and creating environment for business. This will make you more efficient in your spending.

I think that all previous governments have been very wasteful. I was driving with someone (name withheld) one day and he saw a project had previously been executed for 23 billion and he shook his head and said, “what a waste!” Now not executing that project means 23 billion that could be more efficiently used. So you need to talk about efficient spending. Immediately you see your income reduced, you need to think of efficiency in spending.

This is just one example. We are building secondary school in the state right now. Many of these secondary schools are not functioning or have never even been used. No students are in them. Each of those schools are built with about 5billion naira each and there about 12 of them. As of the time I stopped monitoring what the government was doing, they were about 12 of them. I don’t want to say its wastage, but when you think about efficient spending, maybe you don’t need to build all of them at the same time, all now lying fallow. We can’t keep putting water in a basket; inefficient spending is like pouring water into a basket. Pouring more water is not going to solve the problem.

So what I think is that there may be a silver lining even in this cloud be-

cause it means that government will become meaner, leaner and more efficient. And if you are a politician with big stomach who has been stealing money, you cannot adjust to this near reality. You just think that this is business as usual; sharing for the boys.

So you come in and by the time you finish sharing, you find out that there is nothing left to do government. This is a critical time for us and it brings the point home to us; Now, we must be careful not to bring the wrong people into governance.

Then we talk about increased revenue.

Can we continue to rely on federal allocation? The answer is no. In this state, we get about 6 billion per month and that is going to be dropping with this oil price drop. Where can we get additional revenue? This is turning us to internally generated revenue (IGR).

Our IGR is currently about 6 billion even with our inefficient collection mechanism. If we can improve our collection mechanism, we can hit 10 billion. But even with 10billion, we need to improve the environment for business. This city is called Port Harcourt because of a port that is now moribund. Many people say that the NPA should be held responsible for that, and I agree, but as a governor of the state, you have a stake in ensuring that the port functions to it capacity and you can achieve that if you are not building a new political party, or not pursuing a presidential ambition.

In pursuing the port agenda, you can increase the IGR from that point to 10 billion or even 20billion. That is the kind of governor that you need.

I know what to do; I know how to do it. I can attract the private investment that can make this place thrive.

We get the federal government to do what they need do, and as a state government you do what you have to do.

Why should people still import things into Nigeria through Lagos and take ground transport to Aba or Onitsha?

It beats me! But they won’t use Port Harcourt because currently there are so many things that are in place now that makes it unattractive for them to use it, from the depth of the water, to the pricing differentials, to the double taxation and corruption. Between the Ports and leaving Port Harcourt city, the trucks will be severally stopped for one thing or the other. All these issues will prevent us from making Rivers state an attractive place for investors unless we can solve them. We have the answers, and all we just need from the people is to hear us and if they hear us, then they can give us the opportunity to do what we have promised.

PHM: Why is it that Labour Party seems to misread their candidates?

You said you want to help build the Labour party. How will you prevent people from using and dumping the party in the future?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: I think it is not a doubt that if you are in a small party, the big parties will constantly want you to come and join them if you have the position of power and authority. There is no doubt that the PDP would have thrown all sorts of incentives to Mimiko. I just need to remind myself that it is really not about benefits but about Nigeria. Until you can develop parties that have ideologies, this will continue to happen. I always said when I was in PDP that I had to have a reason to move from PDP. Amaechi wanted me to move to APC with them and a lot of incentives were thrown my way, but I told them I had to have a reason; the reason has to be ideological and not about money or benefits. I told APC that even if they give me the ticket, I will not move because I can’t join them to start fighting the president

because I don’t believe the president should be fought, so a selfish and overzealous party like APC will not work for me. There were three people named as Amaechi’s successor. Magnus Abe, Dakuku Peterside and Tonye Princewill.

In anticipation or hope that I will be the chosen one, I could have gone to APC but that would have been the wrong ticket for me as it demanded the president should be fought which I disagreed with. It’s not that the president is doing anything for me; I just don’t think he should be fought. So on that principle alone I will refuse to take the APC ticket but people are not that principled because of the ticket, they will go the APC route. Even after PDP denied me the ticket, they called me from APC to come and take the senatorial ticket, and said maybe after Dakuku, we will come to your senatorial district and give you the governor’s

inefficient spending is like pouring water into a basket. Pouring more water is not going to solve the problem slot, but I refused. I am not that type of person that will leave a party for flimsy stuff that is why going back to PDP after the election is impossible.

Why am I going? Just like I left AC and didn’t go back, I told Amaechi, I can’t leave just like that. I introduced him to Tinubu. He was on the track for the vice presidential ticket and they took it away from him and gave it to Osinbajo. I want to create something new though It may take me one year, two years or even ten but I want the traditional politicians to know that we are a new breed of people who don’t do things in the old ways anymore. I can’t speak for anybody else.

The people that left have their reasons for doing so, but for myself I can tell you categorically that I have no business leaving the Labour party. And I can tell you that if Labour party disappoints me, I will just pack my bags and go and sit down in my house because all this moving back and forth is making me dizzy. Every time I move, I have to have a good reason and I don’t think I can see any good reason right now to move away from the Labour Party.

PHM: You moved from Petroleum Engineering to IT and then Project Management. How have you manage to be successful in doing different things?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: I think it has a lot to do with commitment whether in career or even in my politics. As you know I am a movie producer, music producer, project manager, etc. When looking at all I have achieved, you will see that in my very short life, my experiences have been quite deep. But I think the main thing is that I always like to give myself options. If a man is beating his wife, and his wife is pretty and attractive enough, she will look for options. She doesn’t have to continue to allow him to beat her. So it’s the same thing for me, if Petroleum Engineering is not taking care of me, I can do IT, Project Management, politics or I can answer Prince and go and sit down in my father’s kingdom and look for how to survive. I like to give myself options because when you give yourself options, you can speak freely. One other reason I speak freely now is that Amaechi does not feed me

and he has not brought me from the gutter and raised me to this point if that had been my story, it might have been difficult for me to speak. Look at Amaechi, many people said that Odili brought him from nothing and even if he wanted to say something about Odili, it may be difficult for him to speak freely. Now, I think he has dumped his former godfather, but I don’t think he is comfortable doing so. In my case, Amaechi is not my godfather. I ran for election against him in 2007. He was a candidate as I was a candidate, until he was removed before the election. Atiku did not sponsor me. I remember the day of the election, they sent some money, may be 5000USD or so, some ridiculous figure which I rejected. So if I decide to support Amaechi there is nothing they can do. Again in 2015, I am funding my own campaign, selling things that I have to fund the campaign which is solely for the benefit of the people of the state. I like to give myself choices, and I treat each choice as if it is the only one that exists so as a politician I give that choice the best; as a petroleum engineer I also give it the best. The idea is to always put yourself in a position so that if tomorrow, that is the only thing you have, you can still work on it.

PHM: At 46, what do you wish you had done differently?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: Well I would love to have studied law at some point. I really think that the law is very important, although I can’t see myself at this stage going back to study law but I really wanted to at some point. In Nigeria, I am a little confused of the way we practice as the courts seems to contradict themselves all the time. One is tempted to think that the judgment you get is dependent on who is listening, but I still would have loved to study law because I think it is a profession that encompasses life generally and it would have been nice to know it a bit more. However, the difficulty of party politics has been uncomfortable but I am glad to do it since it is by choice. I don’t have to do it, but as I said, “politics is too important to be left to politicians”. Everything else about my life, I am happy with.

PHM: How important is family to you?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: I consider family very important. Family is ultimately a therapy. Other people take tablets. For me, a discussion with my wife is a therapy; I am quite attached to my family. When you look at the state of our country, we had agreed that we can’t be at peace if things are the way they are. My wife is a very understanding person. She knows the risks but she also knows that this is something Tonye has to do. She is not a materialistic person and her needs are very limited just like me. So we find it very comfortable to pursue other people’s needs, and that is what we are doing. We have three kids and that’s it, hopefully.

PHM: What about your love for cars?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: I love cars in my former life; I used to enjoy myself a lot. I will never forget the day that I came home; played the answering machine and my mother had died.

You know it’s not the kind of way that you want to be told that your mother had died. It’s like receiving a text message that your mother has died? You don’t know how it happened and all that; you just hear that your mother had passed away. That was when I now realized that what was important in life is not all these material things.

At that time it happened, I was ask-

ing myself, surely I should have been in touch, I should have spoken to her before that day, but I was busy enjoying myself. That was when I changed my perspective and realized that those things are secondary. That was what I guess led me to Nigeria because I was out of the country when that happened, I ended up coming back for the funeral and Nigeria had changed in about nine years. I suddenly realized that I needed to get back in one shape or form. There was a time I thought I needed to get back because of business, I never thought of politics then. But my mother’s passing was what brought me back and gave me a sense of what was important. I think the whole purpose for me had been the realization that material things are not that important.

Having said that, there was a period in time after 2007 when politics calmed down a bit and I was no longer heavily involved. I had taken the position never to run for office again but somewhere I picked up the interest in the finer things of life again, but then that was short-lived because I recently sold my car to finance this election. When I was telling my wife, she wasn’t even surprised, because she knows that when I am committed to something, I will do whatever it takes. I find that I don’t miss the car; in fact I find it to actually be unnecessary. My life in London has a fantastic quality and it is quite different from my life in Nigeria. People ask me why I left all that to come to Nigeria and I say “because I want others to have the same quality of life in Nigeria as I had in London”.

So for me, a lot of material things are complete distractions. I have not gone to the UK for 8 months till about a month before the elections were shifted. Now I am probably not going back till after the elections. So what is the car doing there when I need money to run an election?

So for me, all those finer things are good, but what is the point of having them when people are for example looking for money to treat their children and a car of that value is parked in the garage? Again, the government that should ordinarily be doing this is so distracted at the moment; workers are not being paid; pensioners are not being paid. There’s too much poverty in the land. If you are a leader who is sensitive, you will not be comfortable flaunting wealth.

That’s why for me, I will see the private jet the first day I take office. It will be a public sale, because there is no reason why the governor needs a private jet. If you want to fly, fly like everybody else but if you have to fly a private plane, you can hire one, or ask your friend to give you for free (assuming you have friends that have one). The money for the sale will be used for something symbolic and also effective.

PHM: What is the message you have for the people as we go to the polls?

TONYE PRINCEWILL: Choose leaders your children can look up to.

For too long, we have settled for mediocrity. It is better to be respected than to be feared. Let us realize that with the economy being the way it is, we have a choice to determine if we are moving forward for the next 50 years or going backwards the next 50 years. I think the choice is a stark one, but I believe any right thinking Rivers person knows what to do. We must get a leader who will bring APC, PDP together rather than one who will pull Rivers people further apart.

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Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

My Business

Teen’s Crib

My Business

DEPRESSION IN TEENS

INTERVIEW

THE EASIEST WAY TO MAKE MONEY IS TO START A CLEANING BUSINESS… Prokleen CEO situation in the oil and gas sector, we are usually directly hit.

PHM: Is taxation also a challenge in an environment like yours?

(ENGR) STEVE OSUOHA: It’s quite terrible because we have equipment, cars and other things that needs to be moved to our different locations, but the different levels of tax can’t permit that. I must say that it’s quite unfortunate that when you pay your tax, you don’t know where it goes to. Many people come with different receipts asking you to pay or they shut down your company. If I am to suggest, I would like the issue of taxation to be in two levels namely; the Federal and State levels so that all these illegal means of collecting money from companies will be checked.

(Engr). Steve Osuoha PHM: Let the public know you sir. What are your names?

(ENGR). STEVE OSUOHA: My name is Engr. Steve Nwabuike Osuoha. I’m from Owerri Nkworji in Nkwerre LGA of Imo State. I’m an engineer by profession and I’m married with five kids.

PHM: What does Prokleen do?

(ENGR).STEVE OSUOHA: Prokleen is a name I got when I graduated from the university in 1996, then I went for youth service in 1997. I’m a bit of an entrepreneur by nature so I didn’t want to work for anybody, I wanted to be on my own but I did not know how to go about it, So I took one of the easiest ways to make money which is to start a cleaning business. As an engineer, I love things to do with offshore and rig jobs but it was a huge task to start at that level, so I decided to start with what we know in Nigeria as corporate cleaning. I was trained by a company in Lagos called Tecnokleen, which is a household name in cleaning business in Lagos. But my idea was not to stay in that field; my idea was to go to the industrial cleaning aspect of the business, but the resources were not there. As God would have it, I woke up one day and the name Prokleen came to me. I told myself I love this name, so I decided to register the company with that name. I met one of my uncles (Engr. Chris Iheme) who is a former manager with Agip, who helped me to facilitate that. We started maintaining banks, corporate organizations and we began to expand. We started competing with Tecnokleen as well as Olakleen, who are majorly based in Lagos. Along the line, I saw that it was a bit too hard to compete with these already established cleaning companies, so I went into industrial cleaning of Tanks, oil pipelines and other related jobs that has to do with the oil and gas field. I went for training in Germany under a company that is into such jobs and I became their representative in Nigeria around 2004/05.

PHM: So basically your customers are from the oil and gas sector?

(ENGR).STEVE OSUOHA: Yes, and I am the president and founder of Tank cleaners and Hydro-blasting Association of Nigeria (TCHAN). I saw that there was a vacuum in professionalism as regards Tank cleaning and Hydro blasting in the oil and gas sector, which I felt needs to be filled. I have foreign partners in the United States that are into such and are willing to help in creating awareness in that regards. We have had cases of accidents where some people lost their lives. So we want to put a stop to that.

PHM: As an organization, apart from the fact that you made mention of the problem of lack of standardization, what are the other challenges you face under this environment?

(ENGR). STEVE OSUOHA: In the tank cleaning and hydro blasting business, equipment are quite expensive. You also look at the training; almost all our workers are sent abroad for training and you know that the cost of doing that is on the high side. So because of the high cost, we want to bring these trainings into our country. We also train offshore personnel in these areas because we keep having requests for it. Another challenge we also have in the business environment is the output with expense to the sustenance in the sector for the oil majors. We are contractors in the oil and gas sector, therefore when there is a wrong

PHM: Where are you taking Prokleen to next?

(ENGR) STEVE OSUOHA: Well Prokleen is like a household name in the oil and gas sector. We want to be the first when you think of tank cleaning, test wind, calibrations, pipeline integrity and hydro blasting because these are the basic tools in the oil and gas sector. You can’t do without tank cleaning and hydro blasting. So far I think we are the best presently in Nigeria. In addition to that, we are also expanding to other areas such as; play top laying. We are the exclusive representative of play top in Nigeria.

PHM: For a layman, what does hydro blasting mean?

(ENGR).STEVE OSUOHA: Hydro blasting is a system or a process whereby you use water which is ‘ hydro’ to remove defects in a steel or metal vessel in order to keep the surface clean and make it ready for use.

PHM: As a business man, how has the economy affected your business?

(ENGR).STEVE OSUOHA: Well, it is quite unfortunate because the PIB bill is still not approved in the National Assembly.

If the PIB bill has been passed into law, it would be better, but they have been playing politics about it. I would give credit to the regulators of the oil and gas industry, they have given individuals and companies the confidence to invest more in that sector. Unlike before, it is now more difficult for a foreign company solely and directly take part in the sector because now they realize that before you do that you must have a relationship with a Nigerian company due to the local content law. I’m saying this because I am in the industry and I know what is happening. The fear most investors have now about Nigeria breaking soon is affecting us, so I urge the government to be more stable in the policies around the economy as well as the political environment.

PHM: How should the government react, especially the government of Rivers state to stabilize her economy?

(ENGR) STEVE OSUOHA: It is very simple. The structure of this country is defective. Every state should be a country of its own in the sense that each state should use what she has to develop herself rather than waiting for a call from Abuja. We need true federalism to keep things going in the country. The era of feeding bottle federalism should be a thing of the past in order for this country to grow.

PHM: How do you think as a nation we can tackle unemployment?

(ENGR) STEVE OSUOHA: When I first graduated, I worked as an operational manager under a company who is a contractor for Shell. I looked at the person I was working for and I told myself that I want to be like this man. So the first question that came to my mind after that was, how do I go about being on my own? So I said I want to operate a business that is related to the Oil and Gas sector but I don’t have the money to start.

So I started cleaning people’s houses and from there I moved to cleaning banks and the rest by the grace of God is history.

As for a way to tackle unemployment in Nigeria, first we have to understand that the educational sector is not helping matters.

The youths do not get training on entrepreneurship where they can think of what to do for themselves and out of the box. The psychology of the youths should be, to be on their own, when they do that, you will see ideas rolling in. Secondly let the govern-

17

ment provide uninterrupted power supply to the people. Once we have power supply at least for some years, be rest assured that the unemployment rate will go down drastically. This will create a lot of job opportunities for the youth to indulge in and achieve their desired objectives.

PHM: What advice do you have for graduates in Nigeria?

(ENGR) STEVE OSUOHA: Think inwards and establish yourself first because your parents have invested so much money on you, now it’s time to take charge of your life. So if they don’t start to think fast, they wouldn’t make their parents proud, rather their parents would feel they wasted money. Another problem a graduate in Nigeria has is pride. Outside of this country, many Nigerians wash plates, sweep roads, do some unusual jobs, but here in Nigeria, how many graduates have you seen sweeping roads or selling recharge cards. Another advice I want to give to youth is that they must have a culture of saving with a focus in mind for using that saving as a start-up capital for a business venture.

PHM: What do you think about the postponement of the election by INEC? (ENGR).STEVE OSUOHA: For me the postponement of the election should have been earlier than now. There was a thinking going round that the INEC chairman wants to help APC in rigging the election. As of two to three months ago, I read in a national paper that Maiduguri has almost 70% to 80% of the PVC’s collected. The question that came to my mind was how possible is that? Remember that it is a place where there is a fear of bomb explosions, so how come they have more cards than people in the South-East and South-South where the average collection of PVC’s is 30% to 50%. Therefore the postponement is a blessing because it is illegal to disenfranchise 30% of registered electorate.

PHM: Do you blame INEC for that?

(ENGR) STEVE OSUOHA: Definitely I blame INEC for that. INEC is not telling us the truth. As a matter of fact, I’m not so much into politics and I am not backing anyone. All I want is good governance. The system of distribution is the cause of the problem for the postponement of the election as well as the security problems from Boko Haram.

PHM: What was your early stage in life like?

(ENGR) STEVE OSUOHA: I grew up partly in the north because my father was a police officer. I schooled in GMMC Yola (General Murtala Mohammed College) after which I came back to the south and completed my secondary school at Marist comprehensive academy Uturu when my father was transferred.

I had my first degree from the Federal University of Technology Owerri. I came from a family of five and I am the second son and third child in the family. I’m married with five kids and my wife is from Awka in Anambra State. The early stage of my life was all around discipline the background of my family. My parents never spared the cane on me certainly because I am on the stubborn side, but it really shaped my life and helped make me become what I am today.

PHM: What was your experience of the North while growing up?

(ENGR) STEVE OSUOHA: Well it was ok but we were mostly living in fear because you can’t be sure when there would be crisis. I was there when the Maitasine crisis broke out, we had to house a lot of Ibos in our house for over a week feeding them.

It’s not as if crisis don’t happen in other parts of the country, but the truth is that when it happens in the north, whatever the cause is , it quickly degenerate into an ethnic or religious riot.

That made my mother to encourage my dad to relocate back to the east. He was transferred around 1985 to the East, leaving along some of his investments, he never had any regrets doing that because we are all alive now to tell the story. I believe the north needs better orientation politically and religiously to improve their region forward otherwise it will affect its growth due to instability in the area.

“Every man has his secret sorrow which the world knows not and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.”

Depression is a major issue that a lot of teenager’s battle with these days and it has deprived many of their happiness, selfesteem and hope for tomorrow. We live in a society that sees mental illness as a sign of weakness and believes physical illness is more acceptable. Consequently, rather than open up and be honest about their problems, most teenagers keep it to themselves and withdraw from their loved ones, thinking that’s the only way out.

What actually is Depression?

Depression is a common personality disorder; a feeling of sadness that prevents teens from living a normal life. If left untreated or unmanaged, it could lead to other problems such as relating to academics, drug abuse, health issues and many others.

Most of the time, depression is caused by family issues a teenager face that he is unable to surmount or that he is afraid to share. These may arise from feelings of frustrations when teenagers are from strict homes where they are never allowed to voice out opinions about choices that affect them. These teens feel that their parents, in the course of trying to be good disciplinarians, stifle them or are overbearing to them.

Some parents believe that locking their kids up, refusing them to visit friends and places are the best ways of protecting their

children but research has shown that many teens groomed in strict homes turn out to be wayward due to the fact that they want to taste freedom at the first opportunity.

Research has also shown that teenagers who experience rejection by parents, harsh physical treatment and sexual abuse have double the chances of being depressed. In Nigeria, most teenagers live with Aunties, Uncles, and Step Parents, and are often beaten, maltreated and sometimes sexually abused. There is a story of a boy, Kelvin, who lost his eye sight when his Aunt, while flogging him, hit him in the eyes because she said he took too long to get her water to drink.

FACTORS THAT LEAD TO DEPRESSION PRESSURE FROM PARENTS: Parents put pressure on their kids when it comes to their academics, friends and career choices. In academics, the standard given to teens by their parents is usually a bit on the high side and when they fail to meet those standards, they begin to lose confidence in themselves.

PEER PRESSURE/ LOW SELF- ESTEEM:: Evry teen wants to be like their peers; peer pressure is one basic issue teens tend to face these days among their peers in school and around their environment as well. It’s normal to make friends but problem arises when you can’t live without friends and they end up leading you into making decisions that you end up regretting later on in life.

WORD SEARCH PUZZLE T A L K T H E R A P Y Q P

G Q Y D S R V F S J B S S

D W I F R X N G H K W R Y

I E O H E S I C R E X E C

L J P G Q L Z X N G H Y H

X W E R H G K F D U I A O

L M V M E N T A L Q M R T

C D S G H S G D R H B P H

Q S J J H F S C D D V M E

WORDS Talk therapy, Psychotherapy, Prayers, Exercise, Teenager, Disorder, Depression, Sleep,Drugs,Mental.

W P A M N V H I Y Q B I R

M E R K Y J S Q O S Z D A

D E B X H O T R E N J M P

R L F K R S G F E W L D Y

U S A D Y Z F R W Y H F G

G C E X F B F W I Y O P M

S R L T E E N A G E R H V

Most teens who long for acceptance either at home, school and the society end up mixing with the wrong crowd; are being lured into inappropriate behaviours such as bullying, gossiping and other immoral acts; all as a result of them having a low self-esteem and no one to talk to them about it. There are many cases of teens that have gone the extra mile just to fit in. Like in schools these days, there are female /male clique that ruled each classes, and they determined who you talk to, quarrel and play with, if you are not part of the group you feel left out.

How can teenagers be helped to overcome depression?

1) Opening up about issues that burden teenagers’ is usually very hard, it is advisable to seek help from a therapist or speak to their parents about it. There is a saying that “a problem shared, is a problem solved”.

2) Parents should listen to their kids and avoid criticizing every word they say as it may discourage them from speaking out about their problems.

3) Schools should have guidance counsellors who actually have the ability to identify children who are burdened and also with the sensitivity to help them to solve their problem.

QUOTE

A MAN IS A PRODUCT OF HIS THOUGHTS, WHAT HE THINKS, HE BECOMES -Mohandas Gandhi

TEEN POEM The little mistakes of our past that hunts us to the last

We can’t share them with anyone because they’ll never understand So we keep them in our hearts while they torture and make us sad

at its outcome.

Driven with fear and grief, we cling to the unexpected for relief Hoping for better days ahead but are only abashed at what we see

When we raise our voice to shout, they remind us of who we are

And then the realization of things begin to unveil the truth about the dirty secret we had concealed

And the guilt in our hearts makes a wreck in our lives causing us to be a frightened

In the end, we only wish we had told someone and saved ourselves of this madness.

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Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Relationship

Property Classified

Please Help!

Heart2Heart

By Ayodeji Faleye

ayductdejiro@gmail.com 07034636125, 08079694583

I am a 23 years old lady dating a 30 years old guy. I am deeply in love with him but the problem is, he is arrogant! He talks anyhow and he’s so full of himself.

When he proposed to me, I agreed and we both told our parents. We were busy planning our future when he suddenly changed and became arrogant towards me, always making excuses to not spend time with me and I’m beginning to feel I am pushing him. My gut tells me he’s cheating because of the way he behaves; I am now considering not going ahead with this marriage.

In fact I have started distancing myself from him. I no longer call him nor text him and strangely he has also kept quiet too. Should I tolerate him, maybe he will change or am I just wasting my time? Should I move on?

R E S P O N S E S Debby - I sense a very long sad life ahead. Back out!

Agnes - Protect yourself dear, clearly this is destroying you emotionally and you can’t allow that.

He has changed his mind about marrying you so like you said,” you’ve already started to act on that”.....don’t ever allow him in your life again.

Titilayo - Uhmm… just be patient he may soon change for better because they are all the same.

Winnie – I advise you to quit that relationship before it will be too late.

Lucy - First of all, I want to tell you that you made a good decision in distancing yourself from him especially now that you know he has no plans of changing Joan - I beg you in God’s name, run for your life because he’s no longer interested in marrying you. Besides if you think he’s behaving in an arrogant way, break up and move on with your life.

Rather than waste your time on someone you are not sure would change when you marry him . Change comes from within and unless he decides to change you can never change him. Pride comes before a fall. Pray to God to direct you.

Ok? Chioma - Move on; don’t tie yourself down to someone who doesn’t want you.

Esther - Good of you, just keep avoiding him, you deserve a better person.

Jackson - You are still young my sister, keep on distancing yourself, your future is still bright, don’t marry him or you will cry everyday of your life.

NEW!!!

MATCH MAKING CORNER!!!

Michael - The question is can you bear his arrogance for the rest of your life? If no, let him go.

Alice - I guess you should move on dear.

Dorathy - No, don’t waste your time; if he loves you he knows where to find you.

Peter - Dear, when it comes to marital aspect, I would advise that you put God first before taking any other step.

Lovelyn – Be careful!

This man of yours does not have feelings, he is emotionally abusing you and I suggest you leave him peacefully before he does the worst thing to you.

Veronica - Marriage is not a contract my dear, follow your heart, but if you choose to tolerate that behavior now do not be surprised when the worst comes tomorrow. And mind you, it is the man you are going to spend the rest of your life with we are talking about here.

Dorcas - Commit everything to God and if he is yours he will definitely come around, but don’t go after him.

Ann - Just let him be, what’s the use of trying to give someone your attention when he won’t do the same. I would advise you ignore him and stop suffering yourself ?

Sandra - It clearly shows he’s no longer interested in you, follow your guts and I am sure you’ll never regret it at the end...

Marriage is a lifetime journey and there’s no turning back after you’ve already agreed! Two cannot walk together except they agree, obviously the relationship will suffer.

Name: Prince Emmanuel Age: 29yrs Origin: Abia Location: PH

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EXPERT ADVICE

Favour - He is not the man for you. A man, who changed all of a sudden, has something going on so keep away, there is a good man out there who will love and respect you for who you are.

Jennifer – Tolerate and you will end up being miserable for the rest of your life. Listen to your gut; don’t marry him if you’re not sure. I suggest you guys seek counseling to assist in your issues.

Jude - Be thankful that God made him reveal his behavior before you make a serious commitment and get married to him...get out while you still can.

Sonia - Just move on, you will one day find real happiness. God is with you.

Sally - What an egocentric man! Just let him go and move on!

Jack - What if your guts are wrong? Well, there is nowhere you mentioned trying to talk to him about it, basically all you wrote here is based on an assumption. Find out what might be the problem.

Lizzy - Listen to your instinct, you’re still too young, don’t commit yourself to something that’s going to frustrate you in the future, pray to God to show you the way.

Kate – It’s clear he is no longer interested in you.

If he was he would have made the effort to communicate with you, but he didn’t know how to tell you....move on and accept the situation.

Note: It’s strictly for serious minded people

I need a lady that have the fear of God, not too fat or short, working class or graduate

Hello my dear sister, I want to congratulate you for not allowing feelings and emotions to kill your instincts. The very essence of courtship is for two lovers to discover themselves, to see whether they are really compatible and fit to enter into marriage together. Once one of them realizes there will be chaos if they marry each other, they should go ahead and break up, if not, there will be trouble at the long run.

The truth is that his heart is not with you right now, because according to you, he suddenly changed and became arrogant towards you. This means he was not like that before now, so the question is ‘what has happened?’ I will advise you give him a break for now and don’t give your mind a chance to panic as to whether you’ll lose him or not. You did well by distancing yourself, use that chance to make yourself happy, strong and build trust in yourself.

Focus on your career, rather than on him and sooner than you expect, things will fall in place. If he is yours he will come back for you and if not there is another man for you out there.

I have a dilemma. My ex-husband claims he wants another chance with me. Our problems began when I noticed how verbally abusive and emotionally unavailable he was. This soon escalated to physical abuse. At some point I became pregnant but around the same time, I discovered that he had been seeing a former girlfriend since the start of our marriage. He asked me to get an abortion and I refused, only for him to kick me out of the house & moved his mistress in (just as he promised her). Many days he would call me to curse me and put me down. When I got proof that he was living with the other woman, my soul ripped apart. Even after that, I gave him another chance out of wanting him to be a part of the pregnancy. Instead, he never showed interest and he wasn’t at the hospital at all during the baby’s birth or to tend to our son while I recovered. I filed for divorce and he became devastated.

Soon after, he claimed he was turning over a new leave and giving his life to Christ. I believed him and went back. Weeks later he began contacting the former mistress and had lunch with her. Then he became physically aggressive again with our child in his arms. Every time I would escape, I would get coaxed back into a relationship with him. The final straw was when he threw me out the car 100 miles away from our home and left with our 9 month old son. He kept our son away from me for 2 months without offering me any contact with my child or visitation. Through divorce proceedings, I got my son back. He called me a week after and began to beg for another chance. He has made some kind gestures like buying me flowers but what do you suggest I do - love him or leave him?

Do you want to go into a serious relationship and you’ve got nobody around you? Send the information below and other things you are looking out for to the email or phone numbers above. We will publish it and you perhaps will find your match here!

You: Age, Origin, Occupation, Location, Complexion Match: Age, Origin, Occupation, Location, Complexion

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In our ongoing effort to bring information to the people of Rivers State, we are starting a property classifieds page in this edition.

The information may be scanty, but we are sure that in the next edition, there will be more information for you on house for rent and even houses and land to buy. We will also occasionally bring you information on property that will be you a world of good.

Please watch this space!]

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PORT HARCOURT SALES DESRIPTION: LOCATION: TITLE: PRICE:

A story building on 3 plots of land (Mummy B road) GRA Junction. C. Of O N150 Million

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Warehouse & admin, block measuring 2740.316 sqm sitting land measuring 6515.82sqm situate.

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4 Bedroom Duplex On 2 Plot Of Land Presidential Estate C. Of. O N130 Million

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four (4) plot of land fenced Airport Road Deed of conveyance N7 Million

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1 Blocks Of 6 Nos. 3 Bedroom Flat Stadium Road.

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20

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Politics

Politics

INTERVIEW

We need more reformed and enlightened Kalabari youth - Mr. Douglas Waserite Dodiyi-Manuel

D

ouglas Waserite DodiyiManuel is the son of Chief (Dr). I. DodiyiManuel (MD, DTBC), the first Medical Hypnotist in Nigeria.

He is thus a scion of one of the members of the Kalabari elites. He is contesting for the Akulga/Asalga Federal Constituency seat in the Federal House of Representatives.

With palpable passion, he spoke about his dreams for his people and his dreams for Rivers State.

PHM: For the records, what’s your name sir?

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYIMANUEL: My name is Douglas Waserite Dodiyi-Manuel. I am contesting for the House of Representatives seat for Akulga/Asalga Federal Constituency on the platform of Labour Party.

PHM: Why did you choose Labour Party?

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYIMANUEL: Well, in the first place how did I come about contesting for an election? I have never been a politician but I came about contesting because as one of the leaders of the Nigerian community in South Africa, a lot of people encouraged me to serve Nigeria in an elective position. This is ordinarily reflective of my zeal, but the electioneering culture and amoral politics of Nigeria had formidable factors of discouragement. Then some time ago, I got a call from a friend of mine who happens to be a Pastor. He told me to give it a trial and run for an office, I told him I don’t want to go there and waste my time and money, but he insisted, saying that everybody cannot be wrong, and that he believes that an electioneering process that will entail my educative politicking will not only be of re-orientational effect, but could possibly usher an era of issue based political altercation.

I agree that political campaign is also a source of education in the 21st century, and the ideal of politics places demand on your sense of leadership and responsibility to society. At this point, it was no longer an option; I was in for it, but then very much subject to my wife’s opinion, permission, and my mother’s blessing – which I obtained immediately. However, I still had some reservations on the grounds that politics exposes one to all kinds of characters, so on a trip overseas, while in a ponderous mode in the plane, I got overwhelmed by the aura of my father, and his name that sound is ancient drum beats (ene fingi-ya bre, ejina kuro-a bre, egini gini biri suwoe….) played out in my subconscious. It was then obvious that I am a very concentrated Kalabari man with attendant noble obligation. So while in London, I called Tonye Princewill and I told him I was interested, not in the Senate but rather a seat in the House of Representatives. This is because Akulga and Asalga were homogeneously Kalabari, and I feel the need to immediately focus on Kalabari.

The House of Representatives because it

21

streamlines my activities to two Kalabari LGA’s.

I preferred this because on an immediate basis, being a Senator will put me in a position where the Senatorial District’s heterogeneity would pose an immediate challenge on my personal need to develop the dream that is Kalabari – the glory of our Fathers. I am absolutely detribalized, but very well conscious of the Kalabari challenge – as Chief Nyesom Wike said; “is there a man in Kalabari land that is capable of winning election?”.

PHM: Why did you choose the Labour Party?

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYIMANUEL: I chose the Labour Party because I am passionate about protection of jobs. Impunity reigns in Nigeria! Nigeria is one of the places where your wife can tell you that she has a bad dream about your secretary and the next day your secretary loses her job! Look, it is one thing to create jobs, and another thing to set up a system that protects jobs. It is important to note that without job protection, there can never be Dignity in Labour. I am very passionate about legislations generally, because the Rule of Law as a politico-administrative phenomenon prohibits the arbitrary exercise of Public Powers. You don’t get up and do anything unless such an action is pursuant to an empowering Act. On the same basis, I am also very passionate about government functionality, as I am about Employment Equity.

A quick example could be a scenario where you see a tall beautiful lady applying for a job of a secretary, and also you have a cripple or physically challenged person applying for the same position. You are likely to give the tall lady the opportunity while the cripple at best is given transport fare to go back. Employment Equity that I want to introduce would demand that both of them be given equal opportunity to exhibit their abilities as the job warrants, and this must be done with unique observation of the limitations of the physically challenged. By this, she is no longer disadvantaged. I attended an SDN/ACTIONAID program in Novotel, Port Harcourt, I was emotionally broken when a physically challenged attendee disclosed that owing to his disability, and he has never seen the inside of a Bank. I insist that Nigeria is for all of us, and these people must have and enjoy their fair share of the society.

PHM: Does the Labour party manifesto make provision for these areas of your passion?

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYI-

MANUEL: In a broad sense yes. But my approach is a bit narrow. This means that I’m a bit crux-attentive – giving issues unique and immediate attention. For example, the remuneration of an employee should not be at the whims of the employer. We should be anticipative of a social-economy that is developed enough to make compel employers to guarantee employees remuneration. This could easily be descriptive of a system where employment is bankable. This is simply how society evolves – in tandem and recognition of our unique circumstances – Nigerians are whimsical by nature. The employer-employee contract may require bank endorsement in recognition of the employer’s level of productivity and earnings, on which basis a given number of employments could be guaranteed. Thus the status of the employee becomes bankable. That is the dimension of social economics that I am looking at. The tenets and manifesto of the Labour aligns with our priorities. I’m not party crazy.

I’m more patriotic than partisan. For me, PDM could do, same as Accord or APGA or any of these parties such as SDP, PPA UDP, etc, other than PDP and APC. Because these so-called big parties have demonstrated a cultural disregard of the Law. In fact, the Labour Party is a throw up of the actual Labour (Nigerian Labour Congress). It aligns with my own principle. and it makes me feel like I am in the right place, at least until proven otherwise, because we are in Nigeria, things can be really dynamic. So that was how I found myself in the Labour Party.

PHM: What makes you think you have a chance under the platform of Labour Party? Because most people see other parties apart from PDP and APC as not having a chance.

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYIMANUEL: Whenever I talk about social development, my friends and associates will tell me that these people (the big parties and their depraved ideology) are in the majority. Now why is Nigeria the way it is? I tell people that most Nigerians are argumentative upon ignorance – they know nothing but argue everything.

Why would anyone think in that dimension?

First and foremost, it is indicative of a lack of trust in the electioneering process. This is the first time in the history of our country that our votes will count. Votes have never counted before now because these big powers have made it so. So that is where that worldview and consideration that if the party is not very strong, their candidates may not get the chance and all that.

But they forget that if votes count, then no one

can guarantee any politician a second vote apart from his own, except that person wants to rig the election. We have an un-informed public and this is one of our fundamental problems in this country. An uninformed public acts based on hearsay and based on impression. About two weeks ago at an event in Hotel Presidential, I met the APC governorship candidate and told him in course of my question, that that was the first time he was really campaigning – as the Tonye Princewill intellectual challenge engaged him at that dimension, and the event was characterized by tangentiality of intellectual assault. He was surprised, but the truth is that an electioneering campaign is a source of education for the electorate – as by this; electoral decisions are rational and informed. What they have been doing is to gather people in a place and abuse their opponents, and then take them to another place, and abuse yet again the opponent – vice versa. Our politicians live in the past. They get people from all sorts of places into a center and call it a rally. They think people need to see a crowd to have the impression that they are grassroots mobilizers. But a grassroots mobilizer will go into the community one on one, to restaurants, to market places and talk to people, finding out what they want or need, telling them what he will do, and how he will go about doing it, while his volunteers do the same. This is what Tonye Princewill is doing and this is what I am doing, and people who listen to him wonder if this sort of man will be given a chance by “the powers that be” ‘presumptively’. In any case, I have the confidence that with the PVC people’s votes will count, and we are about the people. We have no godfather or godmother, we have god people.

Secondly, I try hard to inform as many people as I can. My campaign has been issues based, informative and educative so when you see people around me politically, it’s not because I have given them money, but because there has been an exchange of ideas that have developed them, and strengthened their convictions about me and my ideas. We live our manifesto; it is written on our hearts and revealed in our passion. We are business men; we have generated employment; we know about businesses and we are passionate about employment generation.

This can only be done by business development.

Definitely not by encumbering the Civil Service like our dear governor has done, and sadly, it is also the modus oparandi that Hon. Dakuku Peterside vowed to use – this is not good news, and so must be discouraged through the ballots.

PHM: You mentioned impressionism earlier on. Do you think that the elective populaces are

ready for election that is not based on impressionism?

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYI-MANUEL: Well, perception is everything and it is a social phenomenon. We understand that the public is uninformed and probably gullible, and so they are targeting that very public. We are not feeding on the mass impression that says “we have followership, so come and join us” rather we are capitalizing on our person to person interaction with these people. For example, I would prefer to talk to five people one on one with bottles of malt or coke rather than singing in a 200,000 capacity stadium. I want each and every one to have a close contact with me so as to know what I truly stand for. Throwing money to the public wouldn’t give the people the chance to know what you actually stand for. The other day in Abonnema, a crowd of people were gathered talking about me and a lady walked in, and finding the crowd, she asked what they were discussing. When she was told they were talking about me, she wanted to declare drinks for every one there, about 60-80 of them.

She said to them, this is the man for the future. They told her they were discussing serious matters and they don’t want drinks, so she said, take peanuts then. The fact of the matter is that people are convinced and their eyes opened when we get opportunity to talk to them one on one.

I am a true born Kalabari. I have a pedigree that is rich. My father was the first Medical Hypnotist in Nigeria; I come from a lineage creamed with illustrious Kalabari intelligentsia. When I get nostalgic of my childhood, as my father and his contemporaries, my uncles relayed the legacy of their intimidating credentials to the next generation, and the national notoriety and eminence of this cluster of Small Island populated with people of engendered dignity – I begin to wonder what went wrong??

Because today, we have found ourselves in an era that describes Kalabaris as militants, and surprisingly as laughably, the antisocial scourge seems to be a new inglorious source of arrogance.. These are the issues that we need to fix. We need to get the Kalabari youth reprogrammed and redirected from mainstream career politics, to Education, Industry and Historical Pride. I didn’t come here to play politics of business as usual. I am happy with what I have and with my family. My coming here has to be for a reason that is altruistic.

Otherwise, why would I leave my family and my business for an island that could easily be insignificant from a global spectrum? But we can still be significant if we take ourselves seriously as a people. We can bring people from being in a state of nature where they live for the day to become leaders and crafters of destiny in their own right.

PHM: Could you not have done this without being into politics?

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYI-MANUEL: I could, but the point is this, we are acculturated to asking people questions like “what have you done for us?” I want my people to know that you can only ask that question to those you have given responsibility. I have struggled and made whatever I have today and I am under no responsibility to answer to anybody. But people are acculturated to asking questions they have no right asking.

On the other hand, I want whatever I do to be within the precinct of administrative protocol or government protocol. So these activities and initiatives will be within the administrative function of the legislation, just like we have the law making functions of the executive in the form of Subordinate Legislations which include Executive Policies and Regulations. The Judiciary also has a law making function in judicial judgments. By being in the house, I have the opportunity that is more legitimate and more robust. I intend to work with the Bank of Industries to source for and guarantee Industrial Loans to develop businesses – I call it Acumen Funding. We want to go into fish farming, poultry farming, and production of chopsticks for export for the Asian Market, palm produce etc. All these are aligned with initiatives that focus on production.

The State Executive could easily have achieved more than this, but believe me, they simply don’t understand how it works. In order for the State Government to achieve this, there are certain circumstances that by default demands synergy between the various spheres of government, especially the National and State Government – the degree of cooperation and administrative synthesis describes cooperative, which is interdependence and collective responsibility. Gov. Amaechi and president Jonathan can fight in WrestleMania for all I care, but that should not affect the corporate relationship between Rivers State and the Federal Government. I keep asking this salient question; where is the Greater Port Harcourt City?

It is noteworthy that other than Johannesburg, other major economic cities of the world are also Ports.

This is emblematic of the unique place and demand of industry in City Development. Cities cannot develop without Industries, and Industries cannot develop without Human Capital.

It is only in this part of the world where you see ineptitude so prevalent and people still praise the inept on the basis of sheer shame. You spend billions building a stadium without a functional sport industry. Sports, Information, Health, and Justice are all industry. These people simply don’t understand. They have found themselves in positions of power without knowing what to do with it, and all they do is just to blow sirens and scare humbled citizens after stealing their mandate in a shameful manner.

This is what they understand. There is a reason why Florida, Venice, Amsterdam, Pretoria, and even a country like Canada are the way they are, and there is also a reason while Port Harcourt, Bori, Obio- Akpor are the way they are.

The answer is simple, Ingenuity, Creativity and Productivity on the one hand, and ineptitude and foolishness on the other hand.

PHM: Let’s assess your opposition.

Who are you competing with?

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYI-MANUEL: I am competing with Dawari George of the APC; Boma Goodhead of the PDP and Okorosa of the PPA. These are normally fine gentlemen and lady, but here we are not talking about gentility, but we are talking about public administration, about representation, legislation, and oversight over the executive. You can’t give what you don’t

have.

I have seen Dawari George’s four years, and I insist that it is not the best that we can have. I refuse to settle for less, because I can do better. I have a better plan. I could not have been there for four years and have insecurity so prevalent. At what point did Dawari tell his people, “you gave me this mandate and this is where I’m taking you to?”. These people didn’t get power from the people so they are not accountable to the people.

They got power from a godfather, and so they are accountable to the godfather. They don’t care about the people. When you take decisions at the National Assembly and you come back and tell your people that this is an issue that came up and these are some actions I took, you are in a way educating them, and getting them involve in National Politics through your representation, and that is what representative Democracy is about.

PHM: There is a feeling that the Labour Party only surfaces during the

I am a true born Kalabari. I have a pedigree that is rich. elections. How has Labour party carried this educational orientation that you are so passionate about to the people or is your own personal campaign?

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYI-MANUEL: Hmmm….

First and foremost, the Labour party does not come up only during election; rather it is person that has been taken advantage of the Labour Party.

Adams Oshiomole (of Edo State) who came in under the platform of Labour party is now in APC based on what they describe as political considerations. Segun Mimiko (of Ondo State) was twice delivered by LP, but today he is in PDP. So LP has always been there to consider people but these people are the wrong people. They are too blind to lead the way and I despise them! That’s why things are going bad. Look at a few people who have an understanding of what needs to be done and see their achievements, for example Akinwumi Adeshina in the Ministry of Agriculture. If the Jonathan’s Campaign Train gather their crowd and allow a man like Akinwumi who has plans to make Nigeria an agricultural hub to talk; or Olusegun Aganga who will make you understand the looming industrialization opportunities, or Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who has done well in the financial sector of the country, I can tell you that he (GEJ) will not be struggling today. But he has a ridiculous worldview that allows these urchins, militants, propagandists, and all kinds of people without honour, and who do not believe in the interest of the public thrive and leave the public disinformed rather than informed. The Minister of Information for example has not put any mechanism in place to re-orientate the public, but even if he claims he has, then whatever that was has failed.

PHM: What will you and other members of Labour party do to forestall these moves of people to the party for reasons other than developmental?

And I’m prepared to start now.

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYI-MANUEL: First and foremost, I don’t believe in party supremacy. My party has endorsed GEJ, but I have not. I’m closely watching things. I am after educating and informing the people around me who are also of Labour party. I need the Labour party to be more ideologically driven than is generally prevalent in Nigeria. If am elected, I would work with my party to build an ideological core for my Constituency. So when you talk about Labour Party in Akulga/ Asalga Federal Constituency, you are talking about an ideological core.

Ideology is a sociologically dynamic, and develops like Law. That is what I intend to do with the Labour party.

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYI-MANUEL: Well personally speaking, it is to my advantage because I have a lot more time to interact with people. But let me speak outside of my personal advantage; when I look at the election postponement, all that cuts across my mind is that it is important for the government to be seen as being fair, being decent and being honest, so I’m not in total support of it. I see a strategy to remove Attahiru jega. So if I support GEJ or not, or my party supports it or not, it’s secondary to the dignity of the electoral process.

If Jega is removed and someone else comes in, the person might say this PVC is this and that, while don’t we use the TVC and then you have massive rigging. As a leader I expect so much from the President. To whom much is given, much is expected. The bible says that the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. May I add, even his presidency.

PHM: In an economy of $50 per barrel, what should the government be doing?

MR. DOUGLAS Waserite DODIYIMANUEL: I don’t want to talk about Oil, that’s why I have not mentioned it. I have talked about the Human Capital Development of the people; I have talked about working with Banks to source for and guarantee Industrial Loans; I have talked about developing industries; I have talked about chopsticks export; fish farming; fashion industries etc. I intend to look at our traditional fashion and give it a global interpretation.

What we wear in Kalabari land has Portuguese origin. So I will work to re-ignite that Portuguese origin to show the world how western fashion has been influenced by the third world tradition, culture and fashion.

We will set up exhibitions and expose our fashion designers. I have no business with Oil, that’s why I didn’t mention it. It is un-productive; that’s why the language they know is bring the oil money, take it, share and chop.

They would tell you they are doing projects which we don’t see. Cities develop consequent upon economic activities. You don’t just get up as a government and say you are building cities. I’m going to invest in the people. I’m taking it to an international dimension and I am already working on it.

So I am tasking my people to give me the mandate to lead. People ask if when, I’m elected if they can see me. I tell them you only see me when I come to address the community or if you have something important that would benefit the Constituency or you are my friend or relative. I don’t intend staying there for long. I will build libraries and ICT centers. I will work with all network providers to make sure the internet is alive and stable. I will give them a community-wide advertisement opportunity.

I will seek for some form of subsidized internet tariff. I will have a center like a cinema hall where people go and watch CNN, Crime Investigation Channels – viewing centers. If you see how crimes are investigated, you ask yourself “do we have a police”? I will set up institutions by the grace of God blessing my vision; a college of comparative and constitutional law, where people will be given diploma in constitutional law. I’m also looking at medical research centers that would have pharmaceutical dimension on which basis pharmaceutical industry can develop.

This is a high and lofty vision that demands ingenuity and creativity.

Someone has to start somewhere.

PHM: What are your view and the view of the Labour party about the election postponement?

PHM: Why should someone consider you as someone that they should vote for?

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYI-MANUEL: When I was growing up, one thing I realized is that my father and my uncles appreciated the fact that we are a third world country. They embraced western education and civilization. They came back and garnished our tradition with western civilization – this is why Kalabari is quintessential. So my people became very educated. Also, I have been inculcated in a functional society, I have lived in a functional society, I have seen the way it operates and I realized that we are an abnormal society. I’m not a typical Nigerian politician. So having me there is going to be a positive change because I don’t have the orientation of those already there. I am exposed to functionality. I’m coming with the mind set to simply deliver. I don’t have godfathers; I don’t have these primordial political sentiments. I simply know what to do and I will do it and my people will develop. When you look at the candidates the PDP and the APC are bringing for the various political positions, you will see that these people can’t run a kiosk, not to talk of running a state, local government or a constituency. So it is in the interest of my people to vote for me because I stand for change and progress.

PHM: Tell us about yourself ?

MR. DOUGLAS WASERITE DODIYI-MANUEL: Douglas Wasirete Dodiyi-Manuel is the son of late Chief (Dr) Douglas Ikiriko Dodiyi-Manuel. I am married to Lettie Noko Dodiyi-Manuel and I have two sons. I am a child of God and I’m passionate about my people. I am a man that has come to lead my people in the path of development and enlightenment. I need to set my people free by the power of God, by my vision, revelation, and enlightenment and by my education. I am poised to source for oversea scholarship for the youths. I will send a deluge of Kalabari youths abroad for education and for exposure. By the time they come back, we will start having a new breed of Kalabari youths.

The above vision is contingent on serious ingenuity, because our funds are just so little, and our needs demand brains.

22

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Feb. 27 - March 13 Vol. 2 No. 30

Faith and Religion

23

Sports

By Chuma Nnoli chumality@yahoo.com

Pacquiao starts training ahead of Mayweather fight

Pogba worth 100 million Euros

Handling siblings’ rivalry

Y

our sibling is your brother or sister of the same parents. The family affords children the opportunity to grow together under the control, supervision and nurture of their parents. The atmosphere and environment created for growth either encourages friendship or rivalry among the children. It should be the vision of every parent to nurture their kids in such a way that they grow to find friendship in one another. However, some siblings rivalry cannot be avoided because it is age appropriate and it is part of growing up. How this is handled by the parents and the children involved really matters.

What is siblings rivalry? What are the causes? How can it be handled to bring about cordiality and friendliness among siblings.

Siblings rivalry is simply the jealousy, competition, fighting, misunderstanding and conflict among brothers and sisters. It is a major cause of concern for many parents. It can be very frustrating and stressful for parents. However, if it is well handled it provides a teaching moment for kids as they grow.

Causes of sibling rivalry

Many things can trigger rivalry among siblings. Starting from a desire to gain attention to jealousy/ comparison of one another’s skills, performance and talents, the ground is prepare for inter personal conflicts among siblings.

1. Individualism: each child wants to display his interest, abilities and uniqueness.

2. Craving for attention: when a child feels neglected and unattended to, he fights to gain the attention through picking on his siblings.

3. Boredom and not gainfully engaged: out of boredom, children can become disturbing and destructive.

4. Watching violent films or cartoons: this can sow the seed of fighting and practising some violent skills they watch in films on each other.

5. The child’s developmental stage and maturity: some causes of rivalry among siblings are just age-appropriate and will disappear with maturity.

6. Stress and conflict in parents’ life: The stress in the life of parents may not allow the parents to spend enough time and adequate attention to their children. This automatically make children to be on their own for too long to manage each other or one another, thus leading to rivalry.

7. Faulty parenting: when children are raised with faulty parenting skills, sibling rivalry is inevitable. A child brought up in an atmosphere of favouritism, comparison, unhealthy competition ,and harsh discipline with emotional abuse will be fraught with jealousy, and will resort to rivalry.

Handling siblings rivalry

Parents should have a vision to make their children friends to each other as they grow under their roof. It is not going to be automatic: That they are siblings does not mean they will be friends. Parents have to have the vision and work at it to make it a reality. It is a great parental achievement that your children are friends long after they no longer live under your roof. This friendship seed has to be sown while they are young. The right atmosphere of love and wise parental skills have to be used to achieve this. Here are some tips parents can use in handling siblings rivalry and helping their children to get along very well.

1. Don’t play favorites among your children. No favouritism.

No partiality.

Try not to compare your children to one another. For example, don’t say things like, “Your brother gets good grades in math—why can’t you?”

Let each child be who they are.

2. Enjoy each of your children’s individual talents and successes. Show appreciation for who your child is, not what he does. When a child feels valuable merely for his performance, he will feel the need to prove his worth. Instead, praise your child for his God-given traits such as compassion or a tender heart. By fostering their self-esteem, children can learn to respect themselves and others.

Set your kids up to cooperate rather than compete. Don’t pitch them against one another.

3. Pay attention to the time of day or other patterns in when conflicts usually occur. What could be responsible for the conflict?

4. Teach your kids positive ways to get attention from each other. Show them how to approach another child and ask them to play, and to share their belongings and toys.

5. Being fair is very important, but it is not the same as being equal. Older and younger children may have different privileges due to their age, but if children understand that this

inequality is because one child is older or has more responsibilities, they will see this as fair. Even if you did try to treat your children equally, there will still be times when they feel as if they’re not getting a fair share of attention, discipline, or responsiveness from you. Expect this and be prepared to explain the decisions you have made. Reassure your kids that you do your best to meet each of their unique needs.

6. Plan family activities that are fun for everyone. If your kids have good experiences together, it acts as a buffer when they come into conflict. It’s easier to work it out with someone you share warm memories with.

Make sure each child has enough time and space of their own. Kids need chances to do their own thing, play with their own friends without their sibling, and to have their space and property protected.

7. Teach your grown up kids the art of good communication and inter personal skills. Help your kids develop the skills to work out their conflicts on their own. Teach them how to compromise, respect one another, divide things fairly, etc. If you give them the tools, eventually they will have the confidence that they can work it out themselves. Teach conflict resolution skills during calm times.

Model good conflict resolution skills for your kids when interacting with them and with other family members.Teach mutual respect. Do not allow your children to insult one another. Words are extremely powerful, and ugly comments can damage deeply.

8. Dangerous fights need to be stopped immediately. Separate the children. When they have calmed down, talk about what happened and make it very clear that no violence is ever allowed.

If your children are physically violent with each other on a regular basis, and/or one child is always the victim, is frightened of the brother/sister, and doesn’t fight back, you are dealing with sibling abuse. You should seek immediate professional help and guidance.

If you have a question or need counseling or you want to respond to this write up, you can write to us via our email address or send a text or use Facebook.

Tel: 08063247337, 08023649812, 08054033211.

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The agent for Paul Pogba believes that his client will leave Juventus within 18 months and could even be sold in the summer.

But Pogba’s agent has warned that the midfielder will only be available for a fee in excess of £80million.

‘If Paul leaves Juventus, it is for the absolute top. If it does not happen this year, it will be next year,’ said Mino Raiola, who also looks after Mario Balotelli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

‘Paul is at the same level economically as the other big stars and has a similar reputation, so he could stay for another year.

‘But Paul is the only major star who is available at the end of the season. If you cannot take Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Zlatan Ibrahimovic, you can only go for Paul.

‘If someone wants him, the market situation could see him go for more than €100m.” He added.

Manny Pacquiao is taking the biggest fight of his career against undefeated Floyd Mayweather in his stride, and claims he will treat it like any other fight.

Boxing fans have been waiting for years for the match between the two men, considered the best “pound-for-pound” fighters of their generation.

After years of squabbling and negotiations, the two boxers finally announced on Friday that they would be facing off in a fight that will unify the world welterweight crowns on May 2 in

Las Vegas.

Pacquiao, who had already started light training for the fight weeks ago, said: “This is just like any other fight I had before.

“I’ve been in this kind of situation many times in my previous fights. It doesn’t scare me.”

Mayweather has been made the favourite for the bout by bookmakers at odds of around 1/3, but Pacquiao added: “I love being the underdog. It even motivates me to train hard and go for the crown.”

School sports still a priority for me: Rivers Sports Commissioner Rivers state sports commissioner Honourable Fred Igwe says development of School sports remains an important part of his ministry’s agenda of building sporting talents in the state. Hon. Igwe however noted that his ministry doesn’t have full powers to do that alone but have to liaise with the ministry of education to get it right. Reacting to a question from PH Microscope’s Chuma Nnoli on why the state did not compete in the last National School Sports Festival (NSSF) in Benue state, the commissioner revealed that the sports ministry is currently trying to iron out some issues with its education counterparts on who will fully bear the task of sponsoring school sports, and when that’s sorted out such situation would not repeat itself. “There’s something about the school sports that we are trying to arrange. You know school sports is an education thing, ministry of sports just comes to assist, now under me we are trying to streamline which ministry should handle it, sports or education, so by the time we finish with that there’ll be no problem about it.” The Commissioner said.

Team Rivers finished in the top 5 when the championship was hosted in Port Harcourt in January 2013 but did not take part in the last edition in Benue State in December 2014

Ayegbeni to retire in England

Former Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and Nigeria striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni says he is enjoying life at Reading and hopes to end his career in England.The 32-year-old, who has a total of 114 league goals across spells at five English clubs, joined the Championship club on transfer deadline day until the end of the season.

He came off the bench to score his first goal for Reading and secured an FA Cup fifth-round victory at Derby on Valentine’s Day. Despite his FA Cup heroics, Yakubu says it is the way people at the club have helped him settle back into life in England that delights him most.

“Since I came here I’ve loved every moment and all the people here are fantastic,” Yakubu told BBC Sport.

Yaya Toure to stay at Man City “forever”: Agent Wayne Rooney talks up teammates for top four challenge

Wayne Rooney has urged his Manchester United team-mates to embark on another unbeaten run to ensure they do not miss out on a ticket to the Champions League.

United suffered only their second defeat in 16 league games on Saturday when Swansea completed their first-ever double over the Old Trafford side with a 2-1 win at the Liberty Stadium.

United skipper Rooney has called for an instant response at home to Sunderland next weekend, telling MUTV: “We need to hit back next week.

“There are still a lot of games to go and we have to bounce back from this quickly, go on another good run and try to keep us in a good position to finish in that top four.

Yaya Toure’s agent Dimitry Seluk claims the midfielder is happy at Manchester City and would like to “stay for life.” at the club. Seluk had said in May last year that Toure was considering leaving City after the club failed to wish him a happy birthday, and the midfielder then said on Twitter: “Everything Dimitry said is true.”

Toure also raised doubts over his long-term future in an interview with CNN last month, and The Sun on Sunday has claimed City are considering cashing in on the 31-year-old Ivory Coast international this summer as they target Juventus star Paul Pogba. However, Seluk told the Mirror that former Monaco and Barcelona star Toure wants a new contract at the Etihad Stadium and could even seek another role at the club once he calls time on his playing career.

Sports

Restore kick-boxing to NSF: Federation president

Know?

Did you

Solomon Carter Fuller, the first Black Psychiatrist in USA was born and raised in Liberia?

Ghana’s ruling party (NDC-National Democratic Party) and Nigeria’s ruling party (PDP-People Democratic Party) both have an umbrella as their symbol?

McLaren Driver Fernando Alonso is safe despite Crash Fernando Alonso has escaped injury following his accident during pre-season Formula 1 testing at Barcelona over the weekend. The McLaren driver apparently hit a wall at the Circuit de Catalunya circuit at lunchtime on Sunday on the exit of the 150 mph Turn Three, but the BBC reported that he was “OK and conscious”.

Reports say he had been airlifted to hospital

from the circuit’s medical centre, but it was just a precautionary measure after the crash. He drove for Ferrari last season but has rejoined McLaren in the belief that their new partnership with Honda can provide him with the scope to claim a third world title. The Spaniard won the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship title in 2005 and 2006 and at the time was the youngest double World Drivers’ Champion.

Abia State, Nigeria built Smart Mall in the world and the largest

“We are still having dialogue with the Sports Commission, with the sports minister that kick-boxing should be included in the National Sports Festival.” He added.

Mall in Africa. It costs N50 billion to build?

Green to build on previous successes in Rivers FA

Some women in Rido, Kaduna State, Nigeria protested on February 19, 2015 over their husbands’ weakness in bed, threatening to divorce?

first President was the Uncle of the second President. The second President’s son is Equatorial Guinea’s Vice President?

Celestine Babayaro is the youngest player

“Currently we are not happy that kick-boxing being one of the international sports, olympic sports is not part of the national sports festival.” Mr Bassey told PH Microscope.

He however revealed that discussion are still taking place with the National Sports Commission(NSC) and sports minister to overturn the decision and have the Sports Fully reinstated in the festival.

has the first purpose-

Equatorial Guinea’s

President of the Nigeria Kick-Boxing Federation Victor Bassey has expressed displeasure at the removal of the sport as a scoring event in the next National Sports Festival. The festival which is the biggest sporting event in the country is expected to take place in Calabar in April and reports have emerged that kickboxing will not be scored, meaning no matter how much success a state has in it, it can’t help the state’s quest of toping the medal table.

Sharks FC planning to start GLO NPFL season with a bang Sharks FC of Port Harcourt are hoping to start the 2014/2015 Glo Nigeria Professional Football league season on a high in their quest for a continental ticket come the end of the campaign. Chief Coach of the side Daboere Dokubu revealed this to PH Microscope while reacting to the Match day 1 Draw for the new season that will see his side face Sunshine Stars of Akure in Port Harcourt. The coach explained that in football a good start most times helps in leading towards a good finish for clubs, so for Sharks winning the first match will be priority. “The 1st match is a must win match, you know the foundation of everything determines how it would finish, so if we start well we’ll finish well, so for this 1st match we’ll put everything we have to make sure that we

execute the match properly, psyche up the players, put in our best and go home with the maximum 3 points at stake.” He said. The new Nigerian league season is billed to kick off on March 7 and the draw ceremony for the opening day fixtures took place in Abuja on the 18th of February. Other games to watch out for on Day 1 of hostilities Include Dolphins playing at home against Kwara United, Enyimba Hosting Akwa United and Champions Kano Pillars starting their title defence away to Heartland FC. Elsewhere it would be Gabros FC versus Warri Wolves, El Kanemi Warriors locking horns with Nasarawa United, Bayelsa United entertaining Lobi Stars, Giwa FC facing Abia Warriors and FC Taraba trading tackles with Rangers.

Re-elected Rivers State Football Association Chairman Christopher Green has expressed his desire to build on the successes recorded in his previous 8 years in office. The long standing football administrator on Thursday February 19 beat off competition from veteran sports journalist China Acheru to retain his seat by fourteen votes to two. Mr Green speaking to PH Microscope said top on his plans would be to make sure the programs of the FA are well articulated and run smoothly, admitting that he can not do it alone, but would need the support of every other member of the executive board including even his opponent Mr Acheru. “I’ve also invited him to come on board with me to work, it can not be done by me alone but what we’ll try to do is making sure we make it worthwhile while it last” he said.

The Nigeria Football Federation disciplinary committee chairman also stressed the need to try and get sponsors to fund their planned grassroot tournaments. “we must be able to run our programs, and if we are able to woo sponsors by the grace of God, we’ll continue with other things like the local league and see how we’ll be able to galvanize the youths and get them properly prepared, remove them from those vices that are inimical to the society and make them useful to themselves. “ he added.

Apart from the Chairmanship seat, 8 other positions were filled in the executive board of the football association. Chief Omineokuma Kile was elected as vice chairman, with Amonibia Amonibia, Solomon Igbanibo, Kingsley Woke and Adum Chinanu all elected as members, other members are Chief Jacob Nkpa, Chukwumerije Nwuche and Martins Giadom.

to appear in the UEFA Champions League at 16 years,87 days old.

He appeared for Anderlecht in 1994?

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