Peoples Daily Newspaper, Saturday 20, October, 2012

www.peoplesdaily-online.com www.peoplesdaily-online.com

VOL. 2 NO. 12

SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

. . . putting the people first

ZHUL-HAJJ 4 - 5, 1433 AH

N150

JTF arrests Boko Haram Commander in Senator’s house >>Page 5

COVER:

Prospect of hunger

As famine looms >>Pages 9, 10 & 11 SPECIAL REPORT

THE ENTREPRENEUR

INTERVIEW

Kogi Assembly: Why we struck -Hon Gabriel Daudu

Women should spend more on books than makeup-Publisher, Dr Adukwu-Boluoko

Birnin Gwari: How bandits smashed head of vigilante against stones - Mikati

>>Page 2

>>Page 34

>>Page 12

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Interview

Electronic loading system is paying off, now there would be genuine claims Alhaji Lawan Danzaki is the president of the newly established Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP). In this interview with Edwin Olofu in Kano, he gave an insight into the scarcity of petroleum products in some parts of the country and the way forward.

What can you say is the cause of the current scarcity of PMS in some parts of the country? he problems are multifaceted. On one hand, you have cries from major players in the industry over lack of payment of subsidy claims from the PPPRA on products delivered in the country and on the other hand, you have the concern of the PPPRA of lack of genuine delivery of products into the country by marketers. You may wish to recall the recent hues and cries by citizens of the country over the existence of scams in product delivery as occasioned by the probe of the House of Representatives. So, you can see that every organ is trying to avoid running foul in the system which has subsequently brought about this hardship.

What is the way out?

I would love to see a genuine collaboration between the NNPC and the PPPRA, by this I mean we should have a system that would remove beauracratic bottlenecks to help cleanse the system and if possible let the PPPRA adopt the system of the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF).

You see, the management of the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) recently introduced an electronic loading system called AQUILA which has gone a long way in removing payment abuses and hitches, and it has enhanced efficiency in loading and payments of genuine claims.

The system works this way, the PEF now has a chip that is placed on tanker trucks which records proceedings at both loading and discharge points.

When your truck loads, the PEF representative at the loading point will use an instrument to flash the truck loaded which is automatically sent to their computer system recording the name of the marketer, owner of the truck, type of product loaded and its intended destination. On reaching the receiving depot, the representative of the PEF stationed in the receiving depot will come out with another instrument which he will use to flash, signifying the arrival and receipt of the

T

Alhaji Lawan Danzaki

product, the machine will automatically forward the details to their main computer.

The moment this

information is received, it automatically serves as an authority to process payment to the marketer and payment

is processed and received by the marketer or transporter at most by 14 days. This has gone a long way to address the problems inherent and marketers/transporters are happy with the new innovation which also enhances their capacity and removes malpractices.

As a player in the industry can you guarantee this information and mention some of your members that are happy with it?

The information I just gave you is available for every discerning eye to check and verify these claims and I can stake my integrity that it is working perfectly, all things been equal and right, we should be able to bid farewell to the manual loading system by the end of this year. You have companies like A A Rano, AZMAN oil, B A Bello, Alhaji Bature Yahaya ABY, Rimi Holdings, Danlami Petroleum, ASAS Petroleum, M Y Oil, Sharon Transport, Edej’ien Transport to mention but a few who are major players in the petroleum haulage industry which you may wish to verify and indeed everyone that is engaged in the business.

So how will it work with product importation?

It will certainly work, because you just do not wake up from your sleep and decide you want to import product, there are several procedures involved. For example every marketer that claims to import product to the country must have allocation papers authorizing the company to

‘The system works this way, the PEF now has a chip that is placed on tanker trucks which records proceedings at both loading and discharge points.

When your truck loads, the PEF representative at the loading point will use an instrument to flash the truck loaded which is automatically sent to their computer system recording the name of the marketer, owner of the truck, type of product loaded and its intended destination’

import. So if this type of system is in place, it means the PPPRA can record imported product from loading point and on arrival into the country, record every detail of the ship that berths into our shores with products and this in my opinion can drastically reduce abuses.

You are praising the PEF on the AQUILA project, don’t you think the changes are temporary in view of the dynamics of the Industry?

We have been in this business for quite sometimes and we have seen its ups and down, initially we were been paid through cheques which had a lot of problems ranging from lack of confirmation, error in writings etc. We were then given payments manually sometime before the instrument of payment would arrive; the stipulated date of presentation has lapsed. We also had to contend with problems of favoritism during payment. The arrival of the Executive Secretary witnessed changes such as e-payment where funds are directly credited to your account when all conditions are fulfilled and verifications are made. It became a huge gain because it saved transporters and marketers a lot. With the confidence she has been able to create over the period of her tenure, we are convinced that the AQUILA project will work and stand the test of time.

What role do you expect from the DPR in ensuring price compliance?

Thank God the DPR is now up and doing and living up to expectation, you know earlier, they only seal filling stations that run foul of price compliance without attacking the main root of the causes of price arbitrary charges. With the sealing of three major players on the reason of price charges above government approved price in spite of the payment of subsidy by government, it means we are reaching a turning point. The DPR recently sealed MRS, Obat and ASCON oil companies respectively on profiteering charges. Once they can sustain the momentum, Nigerians can be assured of getting petroleum products at Government approved prices.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

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Special Report

Kogi Assembly saga: Why we struck W

h a t actually were the grievances which culminated into the Tuesday removal of the Speaker of the House of Assembly?

We have what we call secondary and primary reasons which led to what happened last Tuesday. We have several secondary reasons but let me take few of them. We have what is called irregularity and criminality in the House. One of such criminalities is legalisation which is the bill on the Liason officers. When the members of the Liason officers were inaugurated, you will recall that despite the fact that the leadership of the House of Assembly participated in appointing their loyalists to these positions, they absolutely denied rest of us, that they had no knowledge. And because of the anger this action generated that time we kept quiet and most of us signed against the establishment of Liason officers.

But later we heard that they had signed the bill without recourse to due process of the House and knowledge of other members of the House. To have taken this course and giving it to governor to append signature for us, it is criminality of the highest order, which had no explanation to the House.

Could that alone have amounted to criminality?

In the House of Assembly, we have a mandatory 181 days we ought to seat before the end of any year, but after the first one year, it has been adjournment.

As I talk to you now the House has being on recess for the last 3 months, because two weeks before sallah we were at home for forty days and immediately we resumed, without any deliberation, the leadership of the Assembly set us on a compulsory oversight function without consultation with other members. The story was all over the place that this Assembly was not ready to work. I do understand that, even in the National Assembly when there is oversight function, the House would seat. In the case of Kogi House of Assembly, budget appraisal is taking the House to adjourn for 40 days. This is unnecessary because we may not achieve the mandatory 181 days. In the House, all of us are equal by the election which brought Mr. A and also brought Mr. B, but in Kogi House of Assembly there is no consultation even though we know there is the executive section, where matters are supposed to be tabled for all of us to take decision. However, few people would arrange and say the House must go on recess, which ordinarily is very

As the crisis which led to the impeachment of the Speaker of Kogi state House of Assembly continues to gain nationwide attention, in this interview with Sam Egwu, the man who presided over the impeachment process, Hon Gabriel Daudu representing Ogori/ Magongo in House raised some major issues. Excerpts.

Hon Gabriel Daudu wrong. The House of Assembly cannot be ruled as if we are in a military regime. The Assembly is the seat of democracy and if democracy is not practiced in the Assembly, then it cannot be sustained.

Remember you said there was insensitivity, how do you react to this?

There is insensitivity. All of us were elected by our people from different constituencies.

We were elected by our people to represent them but we have assumed the position and the people were nothing to us again.

What is important is our concern for our people. If they are in distress, we should be in distress, and if they are rejoicing we should be rejoicing.

In central senatorial district for example, 17 Church worshipers were killed, and the Kogi Assembly has shown no concern. We neither visited the place nor issue a statement to show we have concern for our people. Not too long, after then, soldiers who were on national duty in Okene were killed and their ammunitions were taken away. All of us know what soldiers reprisal attack would mean. If not for the quick intervention of the governor, we all know what could have happened. Unfortunately, our

leader in the House of Assembly is from the central, till date, nothing has been said about it.

Some people have been in the dark about what the Assembly is doing. The action of the hoodlums had led to black days in Okene. One month curfew was declared, and all of us know what happened during the curfew. All other things were paralysed. The Central became a national issue, and the Ebiras were tagged a people who never do well. That is wrong. The issue of the central was being addressed at the National Assembly, but we who were directly concerned did not say anything. Let me tell you, when issues of budget came up, they recalled us; when issue of personal interest comes up they recall us; but when issue that concerned life of the people who elected us came up, we paid no attention as if the people killed were not part of Kogi state.

Again, the flood which has overran two senatorial districts, a whole local government, Ibaji was completely submerged and had to be relocated to Idah.

Many lives were lost; properties were destroyed; and farmlands were washed away. The House of Assembly did not recall the Assembly to take a position on the welfare of the people who

elected us. For us, it is out of insensitivity. It cannot be accepted, it is an abuse to the electorate who voted us into the position where we are.

There was this issue of insubordination which has dominated the air waves in the state?

This is the one we called the primary issue.

It is insubordination to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The President is the number one citizen of this country and the Commander In-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Even the Senate President, if there was need for the President of the Federal Republic to visit Benue state, he must be there.

But there was occurrence which called for several visitations to Kogi state where the Senate President, prominent Nigerians, Ministers, Senators, and other private individuals who had love for Kogi state were here to sympathise with the state over the colossal damage to lives and properties. The President abandoned all the state functions to visit the devastation, but the Kogi House of Assembly, which should be on ground to receive visitors, was nowhere to be found. It is absolutely sad that Kogi Assembly should portray itself without integrity and insubordination to the person of Mr. President. If you find out they will tell you there was a programme in Abuja, but is there any programme that supersedes the visit of the President? This is the primary reason why we said there must be a change, change that the state can move, even if there is agitation from the House of Assembly, it has to be diplomatic. The three arms of government have to work, compliment one another for the progress of the state. I do not see that one arm would dominate for the progress of the state. The state Assembly is not like National Assembly where they have financial autonomy, the state Assembly must give regards to the executive for general progress of the state and its people. If we continue on a logjam we are going to paralyse the whole system and we may not justify the mandate the electorate.

What about these insinuations of highhandedness of the Speaker?

Yes, highhandedness, otherwise, where you need to discuss with your fellow members you discuss, but if you take unilateral decision what do you want others to say?

Have the Progressives ever complained?

Of course, there was this particular issue, which I urged the leaders to apologise to the rest of the members. This issue was the appointment of Liason officers. For instance, the Speaker single handedly choose the Liason officer 11 of Okene, Liason officer 11 of Okehi and Liason officer 11 of Adavi. The Majority leader chose the Liason officer 1 of Ofu and the Deputy Speaker chose the Liason Officer 11 of Dekina. They told us that they were not party to the charade setting tongues wagging against the executive.

Of course, they could not have told us the truth, so we argued in the Speaker's office that day, and we vehemently opposed the decision. There was absolute insincerity and somebody who cannot be trusted cannot lead.

Some lawmakers who signed the impeachment notice, it seemed are denying it, do you see them going to court?

They have every reason to deny. Look, in agitation, once you decide to be part of it and if you cannot get the position you wanted you have every right to say it. Of course, you can play Constitution and that is what is happening. We will challenge them when we get to court if they did not sign. Some of them wanted to be Speaker; while some wanted to be majority leader.This thing is not one day it took a long time. When they did not get the position they wanted they started crying foul where there was none, if they had got the position they solicited, the story would have been different.

Can you tell us those who signed but denying?

We have not reached there yet.

What was the reaction of the people in the central where you went to see the Ohinoyi?

It was tumultuous. If the people were not happy with the new Speaker, it would have been war. The first assignment the team performed was to go to the Church where 17 people were killed. The situation has showed us that the people were long waiting for this moment.

Look, I am from that axis of the state. How can people continue to tag us as people who have nothing doing. An average Ebira person is industrious and hardworking. Let me tell you, the change has come, and has come to stay.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Photo News

Kogi state indigens and members of anti- corruption Network, protesting unlawful impeachment of Kogi State House of Assembly Speaker, at the ministry of Justice, yesterday in Abuja.

L-R: Member committee on vision 2015, Dr. Kabir Kabo Usman, Hon. Commissioner, Economic Planning, Gombe state,Hon. Danladi Mohammed and Commissioner, Budget and Economic Planning, Niger State, Hon. Saidu Idris, during the vision team meeting with minister of National Planning Commission recently in Abuja.

L-R: Office Coordinator, International Federation of Surveyors, Hanne Eister, President, Nigeria Institute of Surveyors, Surv. Stephen Bode Adaaga and the office Manager, International Federation of Surveyors, Louise Frilis-Hansen, during the Pre-Conference press briefing on 2013 international Surveyors conference in Nigeria, yesterday in Abuja.

Photos: Justin Imo-owo

From left, Miss Aishat (bride) and Malam Kazeem Ahmed (groom) during their wedding ceremony in Kaduna recently.

Newly-wed Mr. and Mrs. Septugene S. Umana (middle), pose in a group photograph with their parents shortly after the Holy solemnization of their marriage.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

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News

12 Nigerian pilgrims die in Saudi Arabia —Coordinator

1

2 Nigerians have so far died in Saudi Arabia since the transportation of Nigerians to this year’s pilgrimage began on Sept. 19 Dr. Aliyu Tanko, the Coordinator of the National Hajj Commission in Mecca, confirmed the death of four pilgrims to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Mecca on Thursday.

Tanko said the figure was made up of two pilgrims from Katsina, one each from Sokoto and Ogun, and that they died shortly on arrival in Mecca in the past one week.

He, however, did not give further details, but recalled that eight other pilgrims died earlier in Medina.

Tanko said that the

Vice President Muhammad Namadi Sambo inaugurates 14-man committee on DICON

Diaspora voting possible by 2015 —Jonathan

13 die in fresh Nasarawa crisis P

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

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i n e farmers of Eggon community were brutally murdered when suspected Fulani herdsmen raided the three villages of Angwan Kuje, Angwan Alaku and Angwan Railway Station, all in Giza development area of Nasarawa state.

Four other unidentified bodies were strewn along the Lafia-Markudi road at about 18 km away from the Nasarawa state capital, with two motorbikes burnt to ashes, while a combined team of armed security men were sighted arresting two suspects.

The suspected Fulani marauders, allegedly stormed the three villages late afternoon on Thursday, killing and pillaging before they disappeared into the

surrounding bushes.

“They killed nine people, shot one woman, inflicting machete wounds on another two and raided our homes, taking away our phones and property”, Peter lamented.

Administrator of the area, Adi Giza told journalists in Kadarko that he got signals of the impending crisis early enough to alert the authorities, with Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura responding by dispatching a team of soldiers and mobile men to comb the area but that he was shocked to be informed early yesterday that suspected Fulani herdsmen had struck, killing nine Eggon farmers across three villages.

Our reporter sighted several villagers in communities lining the trouble spot fleeing their residences for fear that the crisis may spill over, with schools in the area hastily closed as

children were being dragged away by frightened parents.

The raid has once again unsettled the prevailing peace existing in the Kadarko area which previously witnessed several skirmishes involving Tiv farmers and Fulani herdsmen. There has been some calm due to the community based conflict resolution strategy initiated by state government.

Peoples Daily Weekend spoke with some residents who expressed the need for the state government to as a matter of urgency provide enough security around Kadarko and environs.

Efforts by our reporter to reach the state police Public Relations Officer, Micheal Ada on the matter proved abortive as the officer said he was driving and could not respond when contacted on phone.

VP inaugurates Presidential Committee on DICON

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

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h e Vice President, Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo has inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON).

Inaugurating the committee yesterday in the State House, Vice President Sambo said the inauguration was the directive of President Goodluck Jonathan to review the operation of the Defence Corporation as it is a crucial aspect of “the development for national capacity for defence hardware and other facilities.”

Arising from the earlier meeting chaired by Mr. President, a Committee was set up to be chaired by the Vice President, to look into the structure, operations

and activities of DICON with particular reference to its effect on military procurement and production of military equipment in Nigeria.

The terms of reference of the Committee are: to review the DICON Act to position it to effectively carry out its regulatory functions to ensure compliance with guidelines in the procurement in the country; to determine ways to encourage private sector participation not just in the activities of DICON but also in the production of military equipment; to propose a sustainable funding framework to enhance the development of defence equipment in Nigeria; to determine ways to encourage ways of patronage of foreign countries; to consider or otherwise the establishment of training institute

Those in the Committee are: the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance; Ministers of Works; Interior; Trade and Investment; Defence; National Planning; Police Affairs; Aviation; Transport; Science and Technology.

Others are DG, DICON; DG, Bureau of Public Procurement; DG, Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission; Commandant, NDA; Rep of National Security Adviser; Reps of all Service Chiefs; Rep of Inspector General of Police; Secretary to the Government of the Federation serves as the Secretariat.

The Committee has four weeks to complete its assignment.

commission’s three clinics in Mecca and those set up by the various state pilgrims boards provide effective medical services to Nigerian pilgrims in Mecca.

He urged pilgrims to always seek medical advice before embarking on pilgrimage and warned them against exposing themselves to the harsh weather.

The coordinator said that of the 81,000 Nigerians that had so far arrived in the holy land, 60,000 were in Mecca and the rest in Medina.

He added that the remaining 14,000 pilgrims of the 95,000 Nigerians performing this year’s pilgrimage were transported to the holy land by tour operators. (NAN)

resident Goodluck Jonathan has hinted that it is still possible for Nigerians in Diaspora to vote in the 2015 general elections.

He made the disclosure during his interaction with Nigerians in Niamey, the capital of Republic of Niger, while attending the 6th session of the High Authority of the Nigeria-Niger Joint Commission for Cooperation.

The President who co-chaired with his host, the Nigerien President, Issoufou Mahamadou, said that the final decision will be made public in the coming year.

Jonathan said he foresees a situation whereby, Nigerians in Diaspora will be able to vote in the presidential and gubernatorial elections in 2015 as a starting point.

Jonathan further disclosed that he has asked the

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to look at the possibilities.

Addressing other concerns raised by Nigerians in Niamey which cut across security challenges, education, roads and power, Jonathan assured that the President that will come after him would not be asked questions bordering on infrastructure.

Throwing more light on Diaspora voting come 2015, Jonathan said though he was not going to give a 100 percent response now as efforts are on to towards realising it said, "I have asked INEC to work towards it by 2015.

"Diaspora voting is realistic even if it will not be possible in all elections at least we will work towards the presidential and governorship elections. But for the parliamentary, because of the complications involved, it may be difficult.".

Nigerians to get proper identification system in 2013

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

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i g e r i a is set to have a proper means of identification through the implementation of a National Identity Management System (NIMS). The NIMS which is currently being implemented by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will enable about 80 percent of Nigerians who lack proper identification to be enrolled and reliably identified.

The Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Barrister Chris Onyemenam who made this known during a stakeholders’ awareness forum in Lagos, noted that the identity management sector was critical to Nigeria’s development.

The DG added that the NIMS

comprises a National Identity Database (also known as a Central Identity Repository or Register, CIDR), a chip-based General MultiPurpose Card (GMPC), and a network of platforms to irrefutably prove or assert the Identity of an individual. According to him, this also includes the harmonisation of all existing identity databases in the public sector, stressing that the most important aspect of the NIMS is that it will provide a universal identification infrastructure for the entire country.

This he said will help bring a real and recognisable benefit to the government, entire citizenry, and all legal residents in Nigeria.

Barrister Onyemenam then called on all Nigerians to be patient as the project will successfully take-off by the first quarter of 2013.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

News Confusion as inmate dies in police custody

All is well with Lagos pilgrims in Mecca, says commissioner

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

he entire 3,899 pilgrims and officials from Lagos state have arrived Mecca and commenced spiritual supplication as expected.

The last batch of 50 pilgrims from Medina arrived Mecca Wednesday night to join others in performing other necessary Hajj rites pending the movement to Munna and Arafat next week.

The Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture, Hon. Oyinlomo Danmole, who is the state’s Amirul Hajj, disclosed this in Mecca while undertaking a tour of the pilgrims’ abode. He denounced a news report which claimed that Lagos pilgrims are on rampage over accommodation and explained that “about 50 Lagos pilgrims who arrived Mecca from Medina could not access their rooms because their room mates who arrived some days earlier had gone to Haram (The Holy Kaaba) for supplication and taken the room keys with them. As expected, this created apprehension among the 50 pilgrims. The situation was brought under control with the intervention of myself and other officials. Any account of the incident that differs from this is a figment of the writer’s imagination”.

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

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C

o n f l i c t i n g reports are trailing the death of an inmate at the Benue state police headquarters on Thursday.

While police authorities insist that the inmate died as a result of fight that ensued between him and other cell inmates, the inmates said the deceased whose name was given as Terkula Chaka, had bruises all over his head before he was brought into the cell.

Our correspondent gathered that the dead inmate was arrested at the weekend for robbery and locked up in the cell.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ezeala, said the inmate had engaged in a fight with other inmates leading to his going into a coma and subsequently passing out.

Ezeala explained that the other inmates drew the attention of the police when Chaka slumped and he was rushed to the police clinic for first aid treatment and subsequently to the Federal Medical Center, Makurdi, where he eventually gave up the ghost.

He intimated that seven of the inmates have been arrested and would soon be charged to court while investigation was ongoing.

Jonathan hails Gowon at 78

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

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resident Goodluck Jonathan has commended former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) for his unflagging dedication to peace, national unity, good governance and the well-being of all Nigerians.

In a congratulatory letter to General Gowon on the occasion of his 78th birthday, President Jonathan praised him for continuing to “engender bridges of love and harmony across the country” after leaving office many decades ago.

“On behalf of my family, the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I wish to express warm felicitations to you on your 78th birthday anniversary which comes up on Friday, the 19th of October 2012.

“It is gratifying to note that after decades of worthy service to our fatherland, you continue to use your exalted position to engender bridges of love and harmony across the country; unwaveringly pursue the cause of good governance, and work dedicatedly to promote the welfare and well being of all Nigerians.

L-R : Secretary General, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Obong Ikpe Johnny Obong, National President NUT, Comrade Michael Alogba and Minister of State for Education, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, during the Minister's meeting with the Union Members, recently in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

NJC silent over Salami's recall

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

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h e National Judicial Council (NJC), on Thursday, dashed hopes that the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami will return to his position at the appellate court.

The council which suspended Salami last year, refused to take any positive steps in reinstating him immediately in its two-day meeting in Abuja, even when the council had written to President Jonathan recommending Salami’s recall.

A source in the NJC disclosed on Thursday that the meeting which lasted for several hours did not produced any outcome different from the earlier position of the NJC. The NJC said after the meeting that it would be pre

judicial to reinstate him since there are still cases in court against his suspension.

It was gathered that the suits on Salami’s suspension are both pending in the Court of Appeal and a Federal High Court in Abuja, which must be decided one way or the other before the council could further look into it.

It would be recalled that NJC, in a reply to a suit seeking an order of the court to recall Salami said President Jonathan has no power under the 1999 constitution or any other law to recall or reinstate Salami or any other Justices of the Appellate Court.

The council insisted that the power to recall the suspended Justice Salami solely and exclusively belongs to it without any recourse to the direction or authority of any other person

outside the council including the President.

The council also agreed that the continued stay in office by the acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Dalhatu Adamu was illegal and unconstitutional by virtue of section 238(5) of the 1999 constitution.

In specific term, the NJC canvassed that Justice Adamu cannot be re-appointed by President Jonathan after the expiration of the three months in office without the recommendation of the council and that as such the continued stay in office by Adamu be voided.

Eleven human right activists have dragged President Goodluck Jonathan and the NJC to a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking an order of mandamus to compel them to recall Justice Salami from his suspension.

13 percent: Communities want oil and gas derivation board

By Abdulwahab Isa

A

group representing Delta communities agitating self management of the13 percent derivation revenue has advocated the establishment of oil and gas derivation board to be saddled with the responsibility of managing the fund.

Towards this end, Delta state oil producing communities have demanded that an amendment be made in the 1999 Constitution for the funds to be managed by the host oil and gas communities.

In a memorandum submitted by the Delta State Oil and Gas Producing Communities to the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, and signed by representatives of Ijaw, Isoko and Itsekiri ethnic nationalities, the group said the proposed derivation board will be composed by the host communities who would manage the funds received according to the quantum of production of each ethnic nationality.

The group said the 13 percent derivation fund is not part of the states consolidated revenue, a position they posited has been

articulated by the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Elias Mbam, who had stated that a larger part of the money allocated to the beneficiary states is not properly utilised by the state governors.

Instead of utilising the money for what it was meant for, Mbam said the governors commit the funds to developing state capitals which is a negation of the principle of derivation which he said was in fact a form of reparation to host oil communities for the loss of productive agricultural lands due to oil exploration activities.

JTF arrests Boko Haram commander in Senator’s house From Mustapha I. Kwaru, Maiduguri

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p o k e s m a n of the JTF, Lieutenant Col. Sagir Musa in a press statement issued to Journalists in Maiduguri, Friday, said it has arrested a Boko Haram commander, one Shuaibu Mohammed Bama who has been on the list of wanted terrorists group, operating between Bama and Maiduguri in a serving senator’s house along Damboa road, GRA, Maiduguri metropolis.

Though Sagir did not mention the name of the senator, he said the arrest took place on Thursday at about 11am.

He added that “It would be recalled that suspected Boko Haram sect launched multiple attacks at different locations of the JTF troops in Sinimari and Lagos Street of Gwange general area, and that all the attacks were repelled

by JTF”. Sagir claimed.

He noted that consequently a follow up was conducted on Friday, which resulted to shootings and the recovery of two AK47 rifles, 55 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunitions, large quantity of IED materials and a Commander of the sect, one Bakura Kulima a.k.a. Bin Walid was killed during the exchange of fire with troops.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 9

Cover

Prospects of hunger: As famine looms

By Mohammed Kandi, Abubakar Jimoh & Ahmed Abubakar

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n the last three months, Nigerians have witnessed unprecedented heavy rains that have resulted in flooding, claiming dozens of lives and rendering thousands of people homeless with states like Jigawa, Adamawa, Kogi, Anambra, Benue, Lagos, Bayelsa and Delta, the worst hit. The accelerating rate of the disaster has raised concerns for food security among the Nigerians and international community.

Regrettably, no fewer than over 140 people have been reportedly killed so far, while about 10,000 people were rendered homeless. Grossly, the Nigerian Red Cross Society has confirmed that an estimated 130,000 people across the federation have been affected. Yet, the Federal Ministry of Environment has predicted that 16 more states will suffer more torrential flooding, warning people living in such vulnerable areas to evacuate their homes before they are taken

unawares.

Recently, the Managing Director of Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority (UNRBDA), Professor Paul Shaba Marley raised alarm that the flood that is currently ravaging the country could lead to food scarcity next year. He sees the flood as a threat to the national food security programme of the Federal Government because farmlands worth several millions of naira were washed away across the country.

Professor Marley further explained that the volume of water associated with flood is inimical to crop production and that if the water that submerged farmlands did not go down, it would be very difficult to have maximum crop production this year.

Meanwhile, as cases of flood intensify across the country, the National Emergencies Management Agency (NEMA) has raised alarm that about 15 million people in the 11 northern states are food insecure. This establishes strong correlation between hunger and the

rising trend of poverty. Those who are poor lack the basic access to market their goods and they are unable to vary or enrich their diets. Similarly, basic estimates have put the number of hungry people in Nigeria at over 53 million; just less than 30 per cent of the country's total population of roughly 160 million and 52 per cent live under the poverty line.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) also recently reported that about 18.7 million people have faced food and nutrition crises in the Sahel region, which includes a large portion of Nigeria's vast land area, as a result of the impact of natural disasters.

As floods continue to destroy farmlands growing rice, maize and other crops, many Nigerians have advised the Federal Government on the order of immediate importation of food to curtail the imminent food crisis. The Niger-Delta activist and National President of Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative (IPDI), Comrade Austin Ozobo has called for massive importation of food to save

Nigerians, following unexpected rise in food prices in Delta state where a basket of garri now sells for N800; beans N1, 200; and rice N1,400 in riverside communities of Burutu, Bomadi and other parts of the state against the former prices of N500, N800 and N700 respectively.

"There is resultant shortage of food items, which has led to hike in prices of commodities and except the Federal Government embarks on massive importation of basic food items, the situation will be more disturbing," he said.

A similar survey has showed that residents of Yenagoa are facing challenges of feeding their families already. At the Swali Modern Market for example, a local measure of Garri costs N1, 700 against the previous price of N300, just as a 25 kg bag of rice has risen from N9, 500 to N15, 000. The survey showed that a tuber of an average-size yam costs N800

Contd on pages 10&11

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Cover

Prospects of hunger: As famine looms Contd from page 9 instead of N350, while tomatoes and pepper have become scarce commodities with the prices ranging between N300 and N500 against N100 per measure.

The 2013 budget proposes a 10 percent duty plus a 100 percent levy on imported polished rice. Several voices of concern are emerging from all sectors, urging the Federal Government to reconsider increasing the tariffs to a prohibitive level because of the flood has caused to the nation's agricultural production.

A report compiled by a group of journalists in Abuja who toured some of the ravaged areas, has showed concerns over food security at a time the Federal Government is contemplating the implementation of increased tariffs for importation of rice and eventually stopping importation by 2015.

Also, concerns over food security were raised recently by the Minister of Environment, Hadiza Mailafia, who revealed that several thousand farmlands had been destroyed by the ravaging floods across the country.

"The consequences of the floods are that there are huge losses of farmlands, there are likely threats to food security, and we are likely going to have challenges that have to do with the health of the people in some areas".

The Minister of Agriculture and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido had earlier bemoaned the country's massive importation of food which makes it a floodgate for food imports.

They also lamented that a country that can grow different types of rice has no business spending N1billion on rice importation making its total annual import worth N635 billion. This position is a threat to any hope anyone may be having on whether the government will reverse its decision on importation The Federal Government has been questioned for its inadequate planning and improper contingent measure for the nation's agricultural produce prior to the flood. Many Nigerians have attributed the poor performance of the agricultural sector to the inconsistent and unfocused government policies, Although many insurance companies operating in the country have portfolios for agriculture, it has been reported that it is only the Federal Government-owned Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Company (NAIC) that presently provides insurance cover to Nigerian farmers. The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Scheme

President Goodluck Jonathan (NAIS) established to secure all investments in agriculture and provide protection to farmers from the effects of such natural risks.

But the recent death of four farmers in Kogi state who committed suicide as a result of losses incurred during the flood questions the functionality of the Scheme. It was reported that the scheme's performance has been undermined by the unwillingness of conventional insurers to accept agricultural risks, which they considered too risky.

In a report, the Director, Development Finance Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Paul Eluhaiwe has underscored the importance of effective insurance cover for all operatives in the nation's agricultural sector.

He lamented that only about 500,000 farmers in the country had any form of insurance cover that was provided by NAIC, while only about 1.4 per cent of the total bank lending in Nigeria went to the agricultural sector.

The recent revelation by Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa state that over 400,000 hectares of farmlands and 36,000 houses have been swept away by flood disaster that ravaged 18 out of the 27 local governments in the state this year alone should be a cause for concern over imminent food security challenges.

Similar flood disaster in 2010 that ravaged the state also claimed about 90,000 hectares of farmlands and N4.5 billion worth of crops like millet, maize, guinea.

Receiving the Presidential Committee on Flood led by Minister of Environment, Hadiza

Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina Mailafia in Dutse recently, the governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Sule Lamido, said "floods have wreaked havoc in the 18 local governments and displaced persons are either being accommodated by relatives or have taken refuge in public buildings," lamenting that his state is on the verge of being submerged by flood with a total length of 250 kilometers currently under water."

Lamido's concern can easily be understood when we take cognizance of the fact that the economic base of the state is largely characterized by informal sector activities with agriculture as the major economic activity and over 80 percent of the population engaged in subsistence farming and animal husbandry.

When our reporter visited some of the camps where the displaced persons were taking refuge in Ringim, it was a tale of woes and hopelessness as they were not fascinated by the relief provided for them by government and NEMA but their main preoccupation was how they would be able to cope in the months ahead since their crops have been washed away.

One of the victims who spoke to our reporter at the Government Junior Arabic Secondary School in Ringim camp Shuaibu Muhammed bemoaned their plight thus, "How long shall we continue with this condition whereby we will live as refugees with no hope for us and our families in terms of what to fall back on after the farming season?

"Very soon the honeymoon will be over and the Government that has been feeding us will recoil then we will be left without food security. As peasant

farmers, we need the farm and our crops which we usually store up for the rainy day. Now the floods have washed them away and our houses and personal effects are gone. How long can we continue in this life of poverty and penury as refugees in our own native land?"

In a bid to end the yearly embarrassment of waiting for handouts from Government and disaster management agencies he appealed to the three tiers of government to re-settle them permanently in upland areas that will not be prone to floods.

Our men who are farmers are now ideal A 30 year old nursing mother, Yamu Bala while curdling her daughter expressed her frustration thus; "Look at our men who have been fending for the families through farming and other activities are staying idle, it is not because they are lazy, they had actually put up their effort to till the soil and sow the crops, but the floods have harvested the benefit of their labor."

She said if not for a canoe that was nearby which some men used to rescue their children their plight would have been more disastrous. "We the women are worse hit because the greater burden is on us with all these children how can we cope?

How long will the Government continue to provide this food we cook as a community of refugees?"

The Minister of Environment, Hajiya Hadiza Mailafia in her speech assured the Federal Government would liaise with state governments to bringing lasting solution to the plight of the victims.

"We have seen that a lot of farmlands were affected. The

President is very worried, we know it is the effect of climate change but we need to take action to fight against further disaster."

Jigawa awards contract for metre drain To check the menace of flooding, the Jigawa state government said it had awarded contract for the construction of 475 meters drain in the Ringim local government council. The state Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Babandi Ibrahim, pointed out that the project would cost N66 million.

Ibrahim said that the contract was awarded to Triacta Nigeria Limited, adding that the scope of the contract included the construction of embankment, culverts and drain.

He said the state government had also constructed drains and culverts in other flood prone communities across the state to stem environmental degradation.

The state government had also set up a committee to relocate displaced communities in the flood prone areas.

It also embarked on drainage clearing across the 27 local councils as well as sensitizing the communities on dangers of dumping waste on drains Nigeria has over 167m people to feed (NPC) Nigeria's agricultural sector has been consistent and responsible for the nation's over 40 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP), accounting for more than 70 per cent direct or indirect employment, but the sector is perhaps the most neglected, suffering from poor attention from government.

Until recently, the country's

Contd on page 11

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 11

Cover

Prospects of hunger: As famine looms Contd from page 10 agric sector hardly experienced extreme climatic conditions and dredged natural disasters such as flood, drought which is now the case with most countries of the Sub-Saharan Africa.

Besides, Nigeria's agricultural sector obviously has no reasons remain unproductive if the recent release by the National Population Commission (NPC) is anything to go by. The report states that "Nigeria has over 167 million people to feed daily, with an expansive landmass covering 923.771 square kilometres, an estimated arable land mass of about 68 million hectares, abundance of natural forest and rangeland covering 37 million hectares, Nigeria is expected to be the food basket of sub-Saharan Africa."

Apparently, the country is blessed with an agriculture friendly climate, coastal and marine resources of over 960 kilometres of shoreline, expansive rivers and lakes covering 120,000 square kilometres and a large consumer market. But despite her rich natural resource endowment, there has been a gradual decline in the contribution of the agriculture sector to the nation's economy.

However, this shocking statistics has ignited some critical questions left unanswered. One would want to know what hope does this sector, which was once the hub of Nigeria's economy holds for the country's teeming population, what is government doing about the rapid decline of the sector and what should be done to avert the anticipated hunger even in

the face of the current flood challenges that have swept up crops and farmlands in parts of the country?

The devastating floods reportedly wrecked havoc on virtually half of Nigerian states, killing thousands of residents, destroying farmlands and displacing a large number of people across the country. This incident prompted the Federal Government's pronouncement of its plans to release N17.6 billion to the flood affected states.

Hopefully, the disbursement of the N17.6 billion by the Federal Government reaches the right quarters and help farmers and inhabitants of the flooded areas get back to their feet.

Worried by the degree of negative impact of the floods on the country's agriculture, President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) and Chairman, Board of Trustees of the National Agricultural Foundation of Nigeria (NAFN), an NGO, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, told the News Agency of Nigeria last week that, "the importance of agriculture insurance has come to fore with the recent developments."

Adamu advocated for the affected farmers to be greatly assisted to get back into business, stressing that "agricultural insurance would play an important role in achieving the goal just as farmers are at this period, desperate to benefit from such a window."

It would be recalled that the Federal Government had in 1988 instituted the National Agricultural Insurance Corporation, for the purpose of such adversities in agriculture, when farmers would be

overwhelmed by nature and be desperate for help. However, farmers say the corporation has not lived up to expectation in this regard.

Adamu who appealed to the corporation and other insurance companies to ensure the settlement of affected farmers said, "we hope they will sharpen the edges of their performance and other insurance companies will also cushion the situation.

And we do hope that they will be humane because now the issue of insurance will come to the front burner."

"Experience has shown that each time you have this type of situation, people try to capitalise on it in the negative sense to exploit; we hope this will not be the case. We do hope that the national insurance company will advise government as to what can be done," he lamented.

Speaking on how farmers could benefit from agricultural insurance, he said "premiums can deliberately come down; government can decide to subsidise deliberately, because of the very special circumstances that the situation has brought to us.

While the ministry of agriculture has assured that something is being done to avoid food scarcity, it has however come under severe attack from the Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha who expressed discontent with the N81.41 billion proposed as budgetary allocation for the agricultural sector in 2013.

Similarly, Vice President of the Pan African Parliament, Mary Mugyenyi, reportedly called on African governments to

Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala increase budgetary allocations to the agriculture sector by 10 percent, as agreed at the African Union summit held in Maputo in 2004. She said that for Africa to effectively fight crippling poverty and ensure food sufficiency, funding to the Agriculture sector must be increased.

Mugyenyi further urged the Comprehensive Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) to include the Pan African Parliament in implementing the resolutions passed at their forum as most of the members of parliament at the PAP are also legislators in the national parliaments and could aid in achieving the goals set by CAADP in agricultural

development.

No cause for alarm-FG The Federal Government and its agents have however disagreed with the experts who feared the worst and predicted a serious famine soon.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has assured Nigerians that despite the farm losses caused by the widespread flood disaster, Nigeria shall not have a food crisis or famine.

"I want to assure all Nigerians that we have already put in place a flood recovery food production plan to support the farmers in the flood affected areas. As the flood water recedes, we will embark on flood research and food production intervention.

We shall not have a food crisis or famine. We have already secured 100 metric tonnes of seeds of extra early maturing varieties of maize which matures in sixty days to plan 5,500 hectares of farm lands in the affected areas. This will allow affected farmers to have a crop and feed themselves quickly before the next planting season.

This will produce 11,000 metric tonnes of maize. This will be complemented with an additional 500,000 tonnes to be produced under irrigation in the dry season," he said.

Adesina also expressed optimism that planting materials for cassava and yam would also be made available and that government was making accessible food, from the strategic grain reserves, to the affected states.

He said: "The sector appears geared to witness accelerated growth due to renewed public investment and a strong private sector involvement. The sector's growth will inevitably produce employment for the country's teeming unemployed youths."

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Interview

Birnin Gwari: How bandits smashed head of vigilante between two stones The massacre of about 25 persons in a Mosque last Sunday, at Dogon Dawa village in Birnin-Gwari local government area of Kaduna state, has continued to generate a lot of controversy, especially concerning the motive and the identity of those who carried out the act. Whatever may be the circumstances, a prominent indigene of Dogon Dawa and former People's Democratic Party governorship aspirant, Alhaji Shuaibu Idris Mikati, who also lost five relations during the attack, told Agaju Madugba about the historical background of criminal activities in the Birnin-Gwari axis.

H

o w do you react to the massacre of people in your

village?

Criminals have always operated in the area to the extent that at a point, Sokoto and Zamfara states organised a raid and they enlisted the help of this gentleman called Ali Kwara who is good at fighting armed robbers, and because they enlisted his help in combined attack by the police, the army and the vigilante, they killed some of the robbers. After that raid, a significant number of them crossed to the border town of Zamfara state, a very thick forest border. This issue happened about seven months ago, and of course, the villagers reported to the authorities. There are police posts, police stations, area police offices in some of these locations. So, even if the villagers did not report, intelligence gathering should have picked up this but nothing happened and gradually these bandits became lords in those communities. They go about freely and openly with their guns, they go to local markets where they sit down, place their guns by their sides, buy local delicacy like fura da nono and cooked corn food and they eat and drink. The villagers see them and it is like a seemingly understanding between the villagers and these new comers. They do not attack the villagers, they do not rob the villagers, but of course, people can't face them because of the kind of power they have. Subsequently, they started robbing on the road along Birnin Gwari/Funtua road, Birnin Gwari/Zaria road. So, obviously it is a very lucrative route and enclave for the bandits.

And Operation Yaki (Kaduna state security outfit) is aware of this. It is absolutely wrong for those in authority to say that they do not know. The bandits did not stop at mounting road blocks; they started raiding some of the villages. But since the villagers are defenseless and it appears that the security agencies are not ready to come to their aid, they decided to organise themselves into a vigilante to protect themselves.

They caught about five armed robbers, they took them to BirninGwari, they were detained, and after some days they were granted bail by the judge. These armed robbers threatened the life of the leader of the vigilante, that they will definitely kill him. The vigilante leader called me to seek my advice, and I told him to write a formal complaint but he is not

Alhaji Shuaibu Idris Mikati that educated to write a formal complaint, so, again, I had to hire a lawyer. I paid the lawyer from my pocket, we wrote a petition and the petition was delivered to the office of the Commissioner of Police in Kaduna. The petition was duly acknowledged. The vigilante leader alerted the police that his life was in danger; that the bandits were planning to eliminate him.

The Commissioner of Police got a copy of the petition, and everybody knew about it. This was about three months ago now, just before the Ramadan. It was the former Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Jingiri, long before the current Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Adenaike, resumed office. And again, the district Head of Kudendam, Kaiga mai Zazzau, Malam Nuhu wrote a letter, requesting that there is need to have a police division around that area because in terms of population, big economic activities and protection of lives and property, there is need to have a police station. I took up the challenge and I personally wrote a letter to the Inspector General of Police and I copied the AIG in charge in this zone based in Abuja and the Commissioner of Police, drawing the attention that from Birnin-Gwari up to Zaria, there is only one divisional police office and that is the one in Zaria. But in terms of manning capacity, police cannot man these areas.

Meanwhile, these bandits were becoming stronger. They have

almost seven settlements, just on the axis of a small river between Zamfara and Kaduna state. These bandits slaughter on the average, a cow daily to feed themselves.

There is no market day that these bandits would not come to sell cows stolen from the people, apart from the usual raid and killing of villagers. Just before the Ramadan when they raided Dogo Dawa the second time, they killed my nephew.

Of course, like I did say, every little effort that needed to be done to let the authorities know was done. In fairness, although I have direct and unimpeded access to the Governor. I never for once discussed this matter one on one with him. If there was any failure on my part, it was probably that the issue of having a divisional police office in Dogo Dawa was not something I needed to talk to him about since it may not be within his area of authority. There was a police post but about two months ago, the police post was closed and I would not know why it was closed but information reaching us was that the police men and women manning the post usually connived with the armed robbers.

And information said the armed robbers raided the police post and carted away arms and ammunition. This is what happened.

What do you have to say about the latest attack?

The incident of last Sunday happened at about 5 am when residents of the community were

trooping to the Mosque. The robbers arrived, headed straight to the house of the head of the vigilante group. About 10 of the robbers went into the house, the rest surrounded the house.

Obviously somebody who knows the place led them. He was about going to the Mosque and they started shooting at him but he was lucky as he escaped the shooting. They tried to use cutlass on him but it was not possible. They shouted at him that they would kill him and he told them that by the special grace of God, they would not be able to kill him. They later captured him, put his head between two stones, and smashed the head.

Tell us about the late head of vigilante?

He was former District Head and became the head of the vigilante group. One of the mistakes he made which I think we later realised was that his boys went to a neighbouring village of Kuyello and caught five armed robbers who were taken to Dogo Dawa for questioning. The police area commander in Kuyello insisted that those robbers should not be arrested. But the leader of the vigilante kicked against it, saying the robbers must be questioned.

The police commander tried to free them but could not but the robbers succeeded in keeping their phones with the police commander.

The Area Commander, one Mr. E Sheref, on arriving Dogo

Dawa, started threatening the leader of the vigilante that he would see what would happen to him.

Just a week before that, they sent a threat that they were going to attack Dogo Dawa, there were about 150 vigilante men that guarded Dogo Dawa for almost 10 days, every night they guarded the village until their strength waned and this fateful day they were not on duty and about 70 robbers came into the village and caused the havoc. On their way to the house of the leader of the vigilante, they met my nephew, and they shot him twice on the chest, matcheted his head and he bled to death. Out of the 24 villagers killed, five of them are my blood relations. And I know all the persons who were killed. In the last three to five months, I have spent not less than N2.5 million either supporting the vigilante group by way and means of hiring a lawyer to do one thing or the other as well as feeding the group to defend the village and so many assistance that I have been giving. There is need to have a police divisional command that needs to be adequately staffed and armed because these bandits have seen milk and honey in those communities.

There is a thick forest between Kaduna border with Zamfara state and in that forest there are over 1000 armed bandits with sophisticated weapons and the vigilante cannot dislodge them.

So, there is need for the military and the police force to go and dislodge them. Unless and otherwise we dislodge them, peace will elude that part of the state and that part of Nigeria. After the killing, the robbers started firing their machine guns into the air, saying, where are the men in this town, they said they are men, where are they, let them come out. So, on their way out of the village, they met some Muslims praying in the Mosque, some had finished the prayer, and were coming out of the Mosque but some were still in the Mosque. One of the robbers said kill them, but another one said no, they are just from the Mosque, do not kill them.

But they went into the Mosque killed everybody inside and outside the Mosque. They made sure that the injured were properly killed. So, it was few injured victims who were taken to hospitals in Birnin-Gwari, Zaria and other medical centres in the area. They blocked all the entrances to the village.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 13

Politics

Expectations, suspense as Ondo decides today

Gov Olusegun Mimiko From Ayodele Samuel, Akure

A

m i d s t tension, fear and expectation, indigenes and residents of Ondo state will today decide who governs them for another four years.

In what is described as historic in state since the creation of the state, It’s a ‘judgement day’ for the three leading contenders- incumbent Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Labour Party (LP), Chief Olusola Oke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and legal icon Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)- after months of campaigns and exchange of verbal warfare.

Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Akin Orebiyi who spoke at a press conference at Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Akure yesterday said that INEC is fully prepared for today's election.

He said that all the sensitive materials have been distributed across all local government areas of the state to ensure their early arrival to the 3007 polling units across the state.

He also said that about 8,000 permanent and ad-hoc staff members of INEC will also take part in the election, assuring that the election management body has done everything possible to ensure smooth, free and fair governorship election.

“13 political parties will take part in the election that will be conducted at 3007 polling units in 203 wards across the 18 local governments in the state, we have at least 3 ad-hoc staff in every polling units.”

The supervising commissioner of police for the election who was deployed

Chief Olusola Oke from Rivers state, Mohammed Indabawa said about 11,000 security personnel have also been deployed to every corners of the state to ensure a hitch-free election.

He said the security personnel include men of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Mobile Police and Regular Police, while three commissioners of police are also on ground to oversee the 3 Senatorial districts in the state.

Also 6 armoured tanks have also been deployed to the flash points which include Owo, Ilaje, Okitipupa and Ondo town.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on its part has also deployed 7,000 personnel to ensure smooth, free and fair process in the election.

The Commandant General of the Corps, Ade Abolurin said the officers who were drawn from the neighbouring states were carefully drafted for this election to ensure that all necessary security apparatus of the corps are put into action before, during and after the

Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) election.

He said they are available to ensure that all previous experiences of kidnapping of candidates, INEC officials and electoral materials, snatching of ballot boxes and other electoral vices does not occur this time.

While urging indigenes to be peaceful and calm during the process, Abolurin said his officers will be deployed to sensitive areas of possible contention such as polling booths, collation centers, INEC state offices and annexes, vital transport routes and routes of all returning officers from their collection centers and other potential hotspots.

Meanwhile, members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who are to serve as INEC Ad-hoc staff are grumbling over what they describe as “short change” by NYSC officials in the state.

Corps members who spoke to our correspondent at INEC office yesterday, said neither the NYSC nor INEC had confirmed the amount they are going to be paid after the election.

“

How do we even determine who a “trouble maker is? Is shooting the trouble makers the last resort in crime prevention during a tense political situation like the type at hand in Ondo state?

Also more than 400 journalists across the country had arrived Akure for the election, while about 29 groups of election observers have been accredited to monitor the poll across the 18 local government of the state.

However Dr. Olapade Agoro National Chairman/former Presidential Candidate, National Action Council (NAC) has condemned the shoot at sight other Major General Mohammed Abubakar gave the General Officer Commanding 2nd Division Nigerian Army.

Agoro in a statement yesterday in Akure described the order as “a criminal incitement to violence and distasteful abuse of fundamental human rights.”

“How is one therefore sure the GOC was not in Akure to carry out a premeditated instruction to eliminate opponents of the Federal Government’s candidate in the guise of being “trouble makers.”

How do we even determine who a “trouble maker is? Is shooting the trouble makers the last resort in crime prevention during a tense political situation like the type at hand in Ondo state?

Taking the security challenges in the nation into serious consideration, “It becomes apt for one to point out that in a true democracy the need for military deployment during elections becomes an ugly development loathed and condemnable. It brings home the fact that ours is a gun running democracy, a distasteful abuse of fundamental human rights.

The shoot the troublemakers order given by the GOC is no doubt sadistic incitement to violence unwanted and never to be permitted in a true democracy.”

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Busy Body

The Sole Administrator in conflict with his fiefdom I

t is Busy Body’s belief that complementing government’s effort to make the society a better place for all is the civic responsibility of all responsible citizens, which explains why responsible leaders go out of their way to encourage their citizens to do all they could to lessen the ever burgeoning burden on government, which it alone simply can’t shoulder to the satisfaction of all. This is why those citizens of means establish private schools, hospitals, etc, so that those who can afford can patronise, and the more magnanimous establish charitable organisations to assist the less privileged. But then not all leaders are responsible enough to wish well for their people and conduct themselves accordingly. On the top of the heap of such leaders are some of our sole administrators in the states (apologies to General TY Danjuma, who owns the copyright to this phrase describing governors) who subordinate the collective interest of their people to their ego.

The recent antics of one sole administrator from a north western state have caught the attention of Busy Body. This sole administrator, who is serving his second term in office has become so power drunk that nobody dares to so much as give alms to beggars in his state without attributing the gesture to the lord of the manor, otherwise the benefactor is deemed as an enemy who must be dealt with accordingly.

Matters are made worst if the benefactor is perceived to entertain any political ambition on the platform of the ruling party without the blessing of the state’s first citizen.

This is why two ambitious Abuja based indigenes of that state, who are allegedly readying themselves to succeed the governor, are not having it easy in their efforts to do the good citizen bit. They cannot assist flood victims, they cannot repair cemeteries, they cannot repair mosques and they cannot render any form of assistance in the open without drawing the wrath of the governor. Any time they attempt to do any of those things, police and or thugs would be sent to stop or disrupt the event.

The excuse always is that it is government’s responsibility to do that which the good Samaritans are trying to do. Of the two, one is more vulnerable.

A directorate level staff of a very powerful federal ministry, who is allegedly doing the bidding of a very powerful Abuja office holder, the vulnerable staff has suffered so many arrests in the state at the behest of the governor for doing nothing more than complementing the government in areas where his humble means can allow. On many occasions, where he was not arrested, thugs were sent after him simply for being the philanthropist with a cause. And there are so many scars on his body and vandalised vehicles for his troubles.

The other enemy is however more fortunate because he is at the moment beyond the thuggerish reach of the sole administrator. He is the head of money spinning federal agency who moves everywhere with a retinue of heavily armed subordinates as his minders. No thugs dare come to within miles of him. Besides, he is so endowed with the wherewithal to counter any

hostile moves against him.

Ironically, the sole administrator is rumoured to be angling for Aso Rock Villa, come 2015. His body language and other gestures support this assertion as he has all of a sudden become very free with the state’s resources reaching out to national chieftains of the ruling PDP in cash and kind. Although it is rumoured that his real target is the number two spot, still nobody has harassed him for his 2015 ambition.

The sole administrator sees himself as the most original human being in the state, which is why he doesn’t suffer opposition from any quarter easily, and his swagger and mien suggest so.

And to think that he got anointed in the first place by playing human mule and punching bag to the then First Family’s spoilt youngest brat who also enjoyed using visitors’ cheeks to massage his palms in the presence of his parents.

The sole administrator was so obsequious in the way that he ridiculously reduced himself to the play toy of the kid that he did not fool the father, and he once told him off in public. However he succeeded beyond his imagination with the

state’s then First Lady who insisted that he must be anointed heir apparent.

In the end she got her way, and as they say, the rest is history. But not in the way the former leading lady in the state envisaged because now that he has been the Lord of the Manor for the past five years, his poor benefactor is now rumoured to be his numero uno enemy. But if it is any consolation to the poor lady, the sole administrator sees himself as the best thing to happen to the state since its creation some half and two decades to date. Mismanagement and all notwithstanding.

For instance, Busy Body has it on good authority that whenever it pleases the sole administrator to graciously release money to the local government caretaker committee chairmen in his fiefdom for moving the areas forward, they are afterward each directed, verbally of course, to return the equivalent of 30% of the amount in either US dollar or UK pound sterling for which no receipts are given or even acknowledged in any way. And the entire state, so-called elite and all, is loudly complaining with mouth shut.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 15

Issues

Achebe: Starving policy was meant to eliminate us, says Eze Udeogwu C a n you give us an overview of the welfare of Ndi-Igbos in Karu Local Government Council?

In the Local Government Council, we don't have any problem different from what others are facing in the country today, and as leader of the NdiIgbo in this place I can say everything pertaining to the welfare of my people is normal.

How is the relationship between Ndi-Igbos and the host community?

The relationship is very cordial here. We are given free hand and freedom to live in the community. At a time an Igbo man was elected as a Councilor in the Council. So we don't have any problem with the people here.

What is your take on the involvement of your people in indiscriminate acquisition and development of lands in the Council without recourse to due process?

Land in Karu LGC is a lucrative business given its proximity to Abuja. And most often than not, anything that is lucrative people tend to embrace and explore it without proper thought and analysis; and at the end they end there is a problem because they don't see the need to properly negotiate and investigate the authenticity of lands before making payments.

Land is a very risky business, and thus anyone venturing into it must verify the authenticity of any land before buying it.

Have you received any complain pertaining to land dispute from your people?

Yes, there are many of them who have decried land related issues. They come to me complaining and lamenting their predicaments often.

Sometimes they go to court, and sometimes we settle some of the matters outside the court..

As argument of where the next president of the country come from continues; what do you foresee for the Ndi-Igbos in 2015?

If they are talking about rotation at the centre, of course, the Igboman is qualified to occupy the seat of the number one citizen in the country, because he has the right to aspire to the position. And if you're talking about politics, I think the average Igboman understands that he can't do it alone as other people that make up the entity Nigeria also play pivotal role in whoever becomes what in the society. However, what I'm saying is that when we are talking about leadership in

Eze (Amb) Longinus Udeogwu, The Eze Udo 1, Karu Local Government Council, of Nasarawa state, is the traditional ruler of Ndi-Igbo resident across different villages and towns within the Local Government Area in the state. In this interview with Stanley Onyekwere, he believes the adaptation of starvation policy by then Nigerian government, was a strategy against the Biafarans during the civil war, beyond weakening the people it was conceived to eliminate Igbos from the planet earth had the war persisted. He also spoke on other national issues. Excerpts:

Eze (Amb) Longinus Udeogwu the country, the focus should be on good leadership and otherwise.

Even if the leadership of the nation is from one family, it shouldn't matter as far as it is leading well. For me I think I have problem with the argument about which zone should produce what and so on.

If we are talking of Nigeria being one nation, there is no need of debating the issue of how leaders would emerge on the basis of ethnicity and religion. If one region can lead very well, we would be okay.

In your opinion, what is the problem of leadership in this country?

If everyone is more concerned about their ethnic and religious inclination rather than talking on the basis of being Nigerians first before any other thing; how do we expect to have good leadership?

Nigerians are only saying I belong to this and that group and not I belong to Nigeria first.

You ask a Nigerian who are you? He or she would say; I'm an Igbo, I'm a Hausa, I'm a Yoruba or any other ethnic group as the case may be. But if we are talking about Nigeria;

nobody would say I'm a Nigerian first. This is what makes people to agitate for selfish political rights for their tribal or ethnic relevance, not minding how effective such leadership as byproduct of such agitation would be. And this has been the bane of our underdevelopment. So, it is only when recognize that we are first Nigerians, that we would be able device a method on how to move the country forward.

Talking about moving the country forward, to what extend do you think corruption can hinder her progress?

Yes, there is corruption in the country. The corruption started during the military era, and continued in the civil rule. This is because the military system was not effective in checkmating corruption in the system but only focused on instilling discipline in the system. What the military wants is if things are going in accordance to their decree nothing is going wrong. But with the return of civilians at the helms of affairs in the country, some of these civilians

in position of authorities were used by the military to perpetrate corruption in the past. So, that corruption they (civilians) inherited in the past is still with us, and it has become a monster.

Recently Professor Chinua Achebe, a renowned writer in his latest work made some serious revelations concerning the Nigerian civil war, which attracted widespread criticisms from Nigerians especially those from South Western part of the country. What's your own take?

I have not got the full gist of what Achebe said in his book but the issue of fighting the Igbo people with starvation and hunger was there. I am an Igbo man and I experienced it, we were starved during the war. When a government put economic embargo against a people, what do you think it is doing? Of course, starving them. And after the war our attempt to retrieve our monies from the bank was met with stringent and unfair policy; we were given only 20 pounds even if you had billions in the bank prior to the war. Is it fair? So if Achebe is saying that, he is right about the issue. If not that the Igbo person is uniquely created by God to withstand and overcome life changes, we could have perished and been eliminated from this planet earth.

How do you see the ongoing Constitutional review process, in which the legislators said there are no go areas?

I don't know why we want to amend the Constitution and some people are saying there are no go areas. The question should be the area you are concerned with, what is the problem with it? As we are in Nigeria, and as

a free born of Nigeria, let's say you are an Igbo living in Plateau, or a Hausa in Yoruba land, or Yoruba in Igboland; and you are not recognised as an indigene of the place simply because you or your parents are not from the area. Meanwhile a man takes his pregnant wife to America or Europe to deliver the baby; and the baby assumes the full citizenship rights of the place. For instance, I have been residing in Karu for over 50 years now yet I'm not regarded as an indigene of this place; but I have lived all my life in here.

So, if as citizen of this country, you are not regarded as an indigene of where you are living or have lived all your life I wonder how our country will be able to unify.

Another is the agitation for state creation. As a people, we started creating states in confusion when the country's leadership in the past thought that by creating states, the Igbo could be weakened. This is because when states were actually created, it was done to ensure that the then Eastern region was divided so that they would not be one body, to fight the war. But now every section is divided into states. Why not give attention to peoples' demand for more states?

Looking at the prevailing insecurity in the country, what would you suggest as a way out of the situation?

The issue of security is a very key factor to the progress of the nation. There is no nation walloping in insecurity that would progress. For instance, in Karu, because of the relative stability in the state, the society is making progress, which we cannot be sure of in the atmosphere of insecurity.

This brings in mind the issue of agitation for and against state police. To me, I would ask why not recruit our unemployed graduates roaming the streets into the existing police system, instead of talking about establishing state police system. Why not find a way of integrating these people into Nigeria police, and post them to villages and towns in the local and state governments so that they can make adequate representation, which is security wise.

“

And after the war our attempt to retrieve our monies from the bank was met with stringent and unfair policy; we were given only 20 pounds even if you had billions in the bank prior to the war.

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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Tourism

Gurara, for lovers of nature

Gurara Falls

L

o v e r s of nature can never have enough of the inexhaustible natural endowments on the landscape of Nigeria from North to South and from East back to the West. Everywhere you turn lots and lots of tourist sites graciously await your warm embrace, making the country the most blessed of all nations in terms of tourism destinations.

The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, is noted for being a tourist site of its own with the beautiful hills and valleys that make up the contours of the city. In Abuja's city centre and its environs alone one can comfortably visit well over 30 tourist sites and architectural wonders and places of interest. On the outskirts of the city, the zuma rock stands magnificently along the Kaduna express way in Madalla on the boundary between Abuja and Niger state.

The Gurara Falls, Abuja is one of the famous tourist spots of the region. Known for its serene and tranquil surroundings, the Gurara Falls in Abuja is toured by nature lovers from various parts of the world. While on your tour to Gurara Falls,

you can also enjoy nature walks. Picnic lovers can also take full advantage of the spot of Gurara Falls which is ideal for leisure.

Various picnic groups visit the Gurara Falls, Abuja for merriment all round the year. In the Gurara Falls, Abuja you can also revive your ears with sweet chirping of the birds.

The Gurara Falls is a large tributary of the Niger River and is in full spate at the rainy season periods of the year. In January however, the falls are a trickle and you can swim in clear pools at the bottom.

This wonderful waterfall is best described as Nigeria's premier falls. It is simply amazing, small streams diverts from the main Gurara river running softly around rocks on top of the cliff, converging from score tributaries in the narrow rugged pass and dashing out from the cliff with a gushing power. The water shines under the sun as beautiful as fireworks.

Niger State is located in the North Central region of Nigeria and was formed out of the defunct North Western Nigeria in 1976. The state is made up of the old Nupe and Kotangora Kingdoms, Abuja (now

Suleja) Zauzau Kinggdom. The three principal cultural/ethnic groups of the state are the Nupe, the Hausa and the Gwari while there are also the Abishiwa, the Ayadi, the Bassa, the Bauchi, the Dukawa and the Dibo tribes among others.

Are you planning for a leisure tour? Visit the Gurara Falls, Abuja to feel nature close

to you. From there, come to Abuja for a tranquil vacation with family and friends.

Abuja is toured by huge bulk of tourists from various parts of the world. The peaceful planned city of Abuja boasts of large number of tourist attractions. Among Abuja's tourist attractions, the Gurara Falls is worth paying a visit.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Weekend

PAGE 17

Cocktail FASHION

>> Page 24

Adama Ndiaye’s style without borders KANNYWOOD

It’s time to start introducing new faces -Producer >> Page 24

>> Page 32

Plantain sauce with beef

CUISINE

>> Page 28

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 18

Relationship If you have any relationship story you want to share with our esteem readers, please send to the above address. Let's share your love story.

7 Types of women every man should date

Heart Matterz With A'isha Biola Raji E-mail: rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com Phone: 08082071393

I'm in a long distance relationship, I want to marry him but don't know how to propose

W

e met at his brother's wedding, he immediately developed interest in me and since he returned to the states, we have been having a very good interaction.

The relationship started five months ago, no hitches, no quarrel.

Recently, I've been thinking; I am seriously in love and I think he is in love with me too so there is no harm if we both get married.

He has not broached the subject yet so I am wondering if I should propose to him. Please advise me, is it a wise decision because I'm of what his reaction might be?

- Juliet

M

e n , you should know the goal is to have a woman you can love, cherish, hold, and make your wife.

Of course there is no guarantee of a good woman, but these should be used as a foundational guide of what she can look like emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and personality-wise.

Here are 7 types of women every man should date: 1. Submission to God - If a woman is submitted and passionate about living for God, she will be the same to you.

There is something special about a woman who truly serves God. 2. Selfless woman - A selfless woman will understand the importance of working together, sharing, devotion, and commitment for the right reasons. Her motives will be to help make life a little better for you. She will understand that dying for you doesn't mean she

does not love herself.

3.

Simple and low maintenance woman - A low maintenance woman tends to be focused on the truly important things in life. She is non-clingy, very rational, and supportive. She won't care about how much money you have or don't have. She will like you for who you are and is not looking for what you can do for her. She accepts you freely because she is comfortable with who she is. She is more about becoming a better woman than just appearing to be a good woman.

4. Woman who can truly be your best friend Friendship before love is always best before a serious relationship.

5. Emotionally stable This type of woman understands God gave her emotions and instincts to give man balance. She understands emotions are never used as a decision making tool, because

“

A woman who will still entertain men and give out her number to other men is not serious about a courtship that would lead to marriage and it speaks volumes about her character

emotions can lead you outside the will of God. The devil drives us off a cliff using emotions and God gently leads us with wisdom.

6. Loyal and patient woman - She is with you through the good and the bad.

She's there if you're rich; she's there if you're poor (if you have 2 kobo, 2 naira, or 2 million makes no difference). She is right there cheering you on and helping you to be great. She will not be looking for other men, because all of her attention is with you. She will uplift, support and encourage you.

7.

Woman with character - This should go without saying, but I will add this (and this type should really be the first thing you consider for any woman). She must be a woman of good character. Without character, it will be difficult to even build a strong friendship.

Character is what we do when other people are not looking, but God always knows what we are doing e.g. A woman who will still entertain men and give out her number to other men is not serious about a courtship that would lead to marriage and it speaks volumes about her character. How she will honor and respect the relationship as you grow together when you are not around speaks volumes about her character.

Life and Style

How do I make him happy?

I

am emotionally damaged! I cannot make my fiancé happy anymore. The worst thing is I always hurt him. Now, I am avoiding him so I won't hurt him anymore and to avoid fight.

I told him that we both need space, space for him to have a break from all the stress and pain that I have caused him, and space for me to change my unpleasant attitude, to be able to control and discipline myself, have emotions and feelings for him. I love him so much and I know he loves me too and this is why I feel so bad about how I treat him so bad and I feel so terrible for being so selfish. I don't know what to do anymore. I feel so broken, empty, lonely and UNHAPPY! I'm so tired of thinking and crying. I want to quit the relationship but my heart and brain tells me not to. I want to change, I want to live my life again the way I was yesterday; happy and so loving. I want myself back. I want to make my fiancé happy again; I want to love our relationship again. I want to love myself again...but I DON"T KNOW HOW! - Talatu

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Beauty Tips Top 7 makeup color and application tips for dark skin beauties A f r i c a n and dark skin beauties often have makeup and skin care issues unique to only them. Dark skin or ethnic skin cosmetics tips and information are often challenging to find. After all, dark skinned ladies require a very unique set of makeup rules to help them get the look they desire. Most of the light skinned makeup rules, just won't apply!

Use these makeup tips and techniques for dark skin beauties to help you learn how to look the best you can!

Choose foundation color or shade wisely: When it comes to brown or dark skin, it's important to choose an oil-free foundation that is actually a bit lighter in tint than your skin's tone. This will allow a natural highlight to your skin and give you a nice glow.

Use powder: If your skin is dark, using powder is a must.

Choose a loose powder with a sheer quality. This will help your skin look fresh, without looking oily or shiny.

Always wear sunscreen: Many dark skin ladies don't think about wearing sunscreen every day, because they don't usually get sunburnt to remind them of the immediate need.

However, it's very important not only to prevent wrinkles and sun damage to your skin, but also to prevent skin cancer. Even if you don't tan or get burnt, be sure you wear a daily sunscreen.

All about the eyes: Some women find it challenging to find eye shadow colors that will allow them to get smoky looks or that blend nicely with their complexion. However, if you use dark browns, prunes, copper or burgundies, you can easily get a dramatic look without looking over the top. Try to find a compact with several of these colors in it, so you can experiment with various shades to find the best one. Just be sure to avoid any iridescent colors on your entire eyelid. If you want a little shimmer in tone, simply use translucent powder over the lid for a slight glow.

Cheeks need color too: When it comes to dark skin and cheek color, it's best to try to contour with blush shades of cocoa, dark peach, cinnamon or dusty pink. Always add a little blush, then examine yourself in natural light before you go back to add more. It's much easier to add more than lighten it if you've gone overboard.

However, if you do go overboard on accident, simply use powder

or foundation to help tone down your mistake.

Choosing a flattering lip color: There are many different colors of lipstick that look wonderful on dark skinned ladies, if you want to play it safe, consider using shades of berry or plum, however, for a little more dramatic edge, you can easily get away with beiges, golds, soft pinks, nudes, coffee, chocolate or wines. Just be sure to stay far away from any color with orange or an orange tint in it.

Don't forget to moisturize: Although many dark skinned ladies struggle with oily skin, moisturizing is still very important. In fact, if you don't drink enough water or moisturize properly, your skin will produce even more oil. So, use a light moisturizer that is oilfree every morning and evening after you've cleansed your face.

In addition, be sure you're drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water every day to ensure your skin and body stays hydrated.

PAGE 19

PAGE 20

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Learning Book Review

With Augustine Aminu 07038749120 julius2001_a@yahoo.com

Vultures of Fortune

T

h e r e are times when I have followed literary wisdom from the western sage that to be a good poet one must write and think like William Shakespeare or John Milton.

The works of poets who are "good" or even "great", I used to reason, must be popular and historical. This logic also applies to African writers and brings to the forefront several reasons why Vultures of Fortune should be of interest to any reader of serious poetry.

To understand Vultures of Fortune is to understand a normal man's protestation against the injustice that he sees all around him and in his native country. I believe Vultures of Fortune, as its name reveals, is a book that explores the nature of betrayal and vain promises men love to make to their fellow human beings. When a vulture feeds on a carcass it did not kill, it is in fact reaping where it did not sow.

In essence, this sums up the story of the activities undertaken by greedy multinational oil companies in Niger-Delta, an oil rich region in Nigeria where most of the country's wealth comes from.

The Niger-Delta has produced many talented writers who have sought to voice out her pangs through poetry. The world would recall the late Ken Saro Wiwa, an activist in the early '90s from Ogoni land, the ethnic village of the Ogonis in Niger-Delta, who tried to use poetry and oratory to raise awareness about the plight of the NigerDelta people. The passionate Saro Wiwa was later put on trial and hung for treason against the Nigerian government. Wherever and whenever there is injustice, there will be profiteers and charlatans; Pious Okoro makes this keen observation in Vultures of Fortune.

In my estimation, Vultures of Fortune is not just a collection of short poems but a poetic work filled with protestation in the midst of injustice perpetuated by cunning and crooked human beings. How one man obtains his riches may be more hidden than meets the ordinary human eye. Racial and ethnic discrimination seems in the 21st century fabulous to the denier of such unless he or she has encountered one personally.

A leech, like an opportunist,

operates like a vulture. Okoro does well to depict foreign oil exploiters as people "who lay golden eggs in distant lands where their nest are built."

In the poem "Before Oloibiri", the unlucky village where oil was first discovered, Okoro in Vultures of Fortune metaphorically describes the multinational oil companies and its key ally, the Nigerian government, as having abandoned the village, its people, its concern and welfare "like a harlot after the exploits." Though Niger Delta is a now a veritable oil mine, Okoro notes that it formerly was a place "where mosquitoes once guarded bravely from desecration."

Now if you have ever experienced the loss of a close friend or a relative, you should find Okoro's poem written for a late childhood friend, Chinedu Isiodu, very poignant. In "The Way of Man" Okoro states that in life there is a "shrouded mystery mortals would always face."

I do not believe a real mad person is one who has been declared as such by a mental institution, be it public or private. So who are the real mad men of today? In "And we Call them Mad Men", Okoro illustrates how garbage searchers, naĂŻve fellows who fall victim to the opportunists or vultures, and poor fellows who could barely provide shelter for themselves are all mad men.

When you have to prove that you are an American or

a soul brother, then you know that racism and stereotypes often go hand in hand.

Though I am a natural born American with an accent and I am "African looking"-so I have been told - I can share the sentiment of Okoro in the poem "I, too, I am a brother" when you have to prove yourself to someone or a group of people that you are no different than they are.

Therefore I can boldly say that "I, too I am a brother" and no less an American than a second generation Irish or German American. Okoro protests: "I plead to be heard I, too am a brother The one, who was spared The sea experience But made it to the land." blind" exploitative business overtures cannot assuage the pains of the Niger-Delta, the privileged Nigerian who lives as an expatriate in the west or the privileged "oil expatriate" or better still the privileged Westerner who indirectly benefits from the region through oil purchase and technical mechanical support, should have some compassion and even guilt to help out the poor of the poorest who live there. There has been no time in which we need too much doing as opposed to too much saying about the injustice and poverty we see all around us than in the 21st century. May God help us and give us wisdom.

Source: everythingliterature

Ways to resolve complications of your iPad

H

e l p f u l ways to trobleshoot and fix issues of your iPad are the following: cleaning up the iPad display, removing any item between the iPad and also hands, restarting the power of your iPad, restoring the gadget from its backup, and fixing the unit's factory default.

The iPad is among the most hugely-bought devices this past couple of years. This is because it could give a lot of things to its consumer.

Even though this unit is as amazing as it seems, it isn't immune to problems.

Before you begin to fret a lot about a particular trouble in your iPad, read this post to learn a few ways to solve iPad problems alone.

Clean the iPad display Have a dry piece of fabric which is clean and also lint-free. Then, dip it into a bucket that has sufficient amounts of water to soak the cloth c o m p l e t e l y .

Alternatively, you can even simply place the whole piece of cloth under flowing water. Next, wring out the cloth, in order that it just becomes a little bit damp. Then, wipe the display screen of the iPad thoroughly using the wet fabric. Then, get a dry piece of lint-free cloth, and utilize this to clean the display of the iPad dry.

Remove any item between the iPad and also hands If you are using gloves, take these off before starting to make use of the display screen of the iPad. Clean your hands with water and soap to remove dirt or any kind of substance that may stick, scratch and ruin your iPad and its display screen.

Completely dry your hands, so the display won't have any issue detecting the tips of your own fingers, and it would be simple for you to proceed

to the locations you want to go while you attempt to solve the iPad problems. If you should utilize lotion each time you clean both hands, you should wait for the hands to become totally dry before starting utilizing the unit. In case the unit has a difficult time picking up the motions of your own fingertips, you should take off any safety cover on the screen. If the issue that was once bugging the unit is resolved by the elimination of the safety cover, then, you must refrain from putting the cover back on your iPad. Alternatively, you can even try utilizing a new and different type of protective cover to determine if it doesn't affect the functionality of the device.

Restart the power of the iPad Identify the power key on the device's upper right edge. Press this down till the "power off" message will show up on the monitor's upper-left part.

The message will show up in a red-colored slider, in which you will place your finger and slide it to the right in order to switch off the power of the unit. Wait for the device to shut off after a couple of seconds. If the device doesn't turn off, push the power button down for approximately 10

seconds to force shut down.

After that, turn the gadget back on again by pressing the same switch, and type in the gadget's password if asked. Determine if the problems of the gadget are resolved after this process.

Fix the device from its backup Connect the iPad to your personal computer through its USB cable, and then open the iTunes website. Look for the "devices" category and right click your own iPad's name. Click the "Restore from back up" and "Restore" control keys sequentially.

Your unit's features will then be brought back to the features it once had the last moment you'd iTunes synced with your iPad. Restore the device's factory default Navigate to the menu of your iPad then tap "Settings" then "General".

Look for the symbol "Reset" and click on it. Then, locate "Erase All Content and also Settings" and tap it. Tap again "Erase", so the restoration process of the default factory settings of the gadget can begin.

In case you have to restore the unit's factory default configurations, it is vital that you create duplicates of important documents or as much of it as possible. You should also have all your contacts copied to your SIM card.

PAGE 21

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Healthy Living

What you do not know about yogurt Yogurt's got power-boosting protein and bone-building calcium. It can also help you lose weight and fend off a cold. Here's the scoop on what it can do as well as how much you should eat.

By Amanda Pressner

1

. Yogurt can give you flat abs.

Eat 18 ounces a day and you can drop a jeans size. People who ate that much in conjunction with cutting their total calories, lost 22 percent more weight and 81 percent more bellyfat than dieters who skipped the snack, according to research from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. They also retained one-third more calorie-torching lean muscle mass, which can help you maintain weight loss. "Fat around your waistproduces the hormone cortisol, which tells your body to accumulate even more belly flab," says nutrition professor and lead study author Michael Zemel, PhD. When you eat yogurt, the calcium signals your fat cells to pump out less cortisol, making it easier for you to drop pounds, while the amino acids help burn fat.

2. Most brands of yogurt contain good-for-you bacteria.

Yogurt has probiotics, beneficial bugs that live in your digestive tract and help crowd out harmful microorganisms that can cause intestinal infections. (Only a very small number of companies put yogurt through a postpasteurization process that kills off all bacteria.)

But many varieties now also contain special strains of probiotics meant to help regulate your digestion or strengthen your immune system. The research on them isn't conclusive, however. "If you suffer from a particular health problem, like bloating or diarrhea, it's worth trying one of these products for a couple of weeks to see if it helps," says FITNESS advisory board member Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD. Otherwise, save a few dollars and stick to conventional brands.

3. Yogurt is loaded with vitamins.

One serving is a significant source of potassium, phosphorous, riboflavin, iodine, zinc, and vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid). Yogurt also contains B12, which maintains red blood cells and helps keep your nervous system functioning properly.

"Vitamin B12 is found mostly in animal products, such as chicken and fish, so strict vegetarians can easily fall short," says Jackie Newgent, RD, a FITNESS advisory board member and author of Big

Green Cookbook. Eating more yogurts can help close the nutrient gap: An eight-ounce serving contains 1.4 micrograms of the vitamin, about 60 percent of what adult women need daily.

4. A cup of yogurt a day can help you recover faster after a workout.

With the right ratio of protein to carbohydrates, yogurt, particularly highprotein Greek yogurt, makes an excellent post-sweat-session snack. "The perfect time to grab a container is within 60 minutes of exercise," says Keri Gans, RD, a nutritionist in New York City. The protein provides the amino acids your muscles need to repair themselves, Gans explains, and the carbohydrates replace your muscles' energy stores, which are depleted after a hard workout. It's a bonus if you drink a bottle of water along with it: The protein in yogurt may also help increase the amount of water absorbed by the intestines, improving hydration.

5. Not all yogurts are equal when it comes to calcium and vitamin D. Since it naturally contains calcium, you'd think the amount would be the same no matter which yogurt you pick.

Wrong. "The levels can vary widely from brand to brand, so you really need to check the label," Newgent says. How much is in a container depends on processing. For instance, fruit yogurt tends to have less calcium than plain because the sugar and fruit take up precious space in the container.

"Vitamin D isn't naturally in yogurt, but because it helps boost calcium absorption, most companies add it," Newgent explains.

6. Yogurt may prevent high blood pressure.

Every day 70 percent of us consume more than twice the recommended amount of salt; over time that can lead to hypertension and kidney and heart disease. The potassium in yogurt, almost 600 milligrams per eight ounces, may help flush some of the excess sodium out of your body.

In fact, adults in a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition who ate the most low-fat dairy two or more servings daily, were 54 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than those who ate the least.

7. A daily serving of yogurt keeps colds away.

Dig into four ounces each day and you may find yourself sniffle-free in the months ahead, according to a study at the University of Vienna.

Women eating this amount had much stronger and more active T cells, which battle illness and infection, than they did before they started consuming it. "The healthy bacteria in yogurt help send signals to the immune-boosting cells in your body to power up and fight off harmful bugs," says lead study author Alexa Meyer, PhD, a nutrition researcher at the university. Allergy sufferers, who typically have low levels of certain T cells, may also find relief by adding yogurt to their diets. In a study in the Journal of Nutrition, people who ate seven ounces a day had fewer symptoms than those who opted for none at all.

8. Yogurt can help your smile.

Despite its sugar content, yogurt doesn't cause cavities.

When scientists at Marmara University in Turkey tested low-fat, light, and fruit flavors, they found that none of them eroded tooth enamel, the main cause of decay. The lactic acid in yogurt appears to give your

gums protection as well. People who eat at least two ounces a day have a 60 percent lower risk of acquiring severe periodontal disease than those who skip it.

9. Raw doesn't mean better.

Virtually all the yogurt in your grocery store has been pasteurized, that is, exposed to high temperatures to kill any harmful pathogens. Raw-dairy fans claim that unpasteurized milk, yogurt, and cheese are better for you because they contain more health-boosting bacteria, but pasteurization doesn't destroy beneficial probiotics, Newgent explains.

Plus, studies show that those who eat raw yogurt don't have stronger immune or digestive systems than people who stick to the pasteurized stuff. And raw-dairy products carry a risk of food poisoning. "E. coli and salmonella are two of the pathogens that can lurk in these foods and end up in your body," Nugent says.

10. Yogurt is a highprotein food.

Yogurt can be an excellent source of protein, but "one variety may contain more than double the protein of

another," Blatner says. Greek yogurt, which is strained to make it thicker, has up to 20 grams of protein per container; traditional yogurt may have as few as five grams. If you're eating it for the protein, look for brands that provide at least eight to 10 grams per serving.

Source: www.fitnesssmagazine.com

“

The healthy bacteria in yogurt help send signals to the immuneboosting cells in your body to power up and fight off harmful bugs

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

With Aunty A'isha

PAGE 23

rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com 08082071393.

Sights and sounds Who is Barrack Obama?

SHOR T ST OR Y SHORT STOR ORY

A

Now

B

arack Hussein Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

His mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas, where her father worked on oil rigs during the Great Depression. Barack Obama’s father, Barack Obama Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. Obama Sr. grew up herding goats in Africa and eventually earning a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya and pursue his dreams of college in Hawaii.

While studying at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, Obama Sr. met fellow student Ann Dunham, and they married on February 2, 1961. Barack was born six months later.

Obama did not did grow with his father as a child. When Obama was still a baby, Obama Sr. relocated to Massachusetts to attend Harvard University, pursuing a Ph.D. Barack’s parents officially separated several months later and ultimately divorced in March 1964, when their son was 2. In 1965, Obama Sr. returned to Kenya.

In 1965, Dunham married another man from Indonesia. A year later, the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, where Barack’s halfsister, Maya Soetoro was. At the age of 10, Barack was sent back to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents. His mother and sister later joined them. While living with his grandparents, Obama enrolled in the esteemed Punahou Academy, excelling in basketball and graduating with academic honors in 1979.

Obama struggled with the absence of his father, who he saw only once more after his parents divorced, when Obama Sr. visited Hawaii for a short time in 1971.

Obama Sr. later died on November 24, 1982 after involving in two fatal accidents when Obama was 21 years old.

After high school Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science.

After working in the business sector for two years, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked on the South Side as a community organizer for low-income residents in the Roseland and the Altgeld Gardens communities.

He visited relatives in Kenya, which included an emotional visit to the graves of his biological father and paternal grandfather.

Obama returned from Kenya and entered Harvard Law School in 1988. The next year, he met Michelle Robinson, an associate at the Chicago law firm. October 3, 1992, he and Michelle were married.

They moved to Kenwood, on Chicago’s South Side, and welcomed two daughters several years later: Malia (born 1998) and Sasha (born 2001).

Presently, Obama is the President of United State of America and he is currently running for re-election.

Mouse’s bad day

mouse was having a very bad time. She could find no food at all. She looked here and there, but there was no food, and she grew very thin.

At last the mouse found a basket, full of corn. There was a small hole in the basket, and she crept in. She could just get through the hole.

Then she began to eat the corn.

Being very hungry, she ate a great deal, and went on eating and eating.

She had grown very fat before she felt that she had had enough.

When the mouse tried to climb out of the basket, she could not. She was too fat to pass through the hole. “ How shall I climb out?” said the mouse. “Oh, how shall I climb out?”

Just then a rat came along, and he heard the mouse.

“Mouse,” said the rat, “if you want to climb out of the basket, you must wait till you have grown as thin as you were when you went in.”

DO YOU AGREE? A rat can last longer without water than a camel.

Berlin in World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks or it will digest itself.

If one places a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion, it will instantly go mad and sting itself to death.

The dot over the letter “i” is called a tittle.

Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to s-l-o-w film down

Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with orange, purple and silver.

Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space because passing wind in a spacesuit damages them.

The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on

The original name for butterfly was flutterby.

The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player for automobiles.

At that time, the most known player on the market was Victrola, so they called themselves Motorola.

By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you cannot sink into quicksand.

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave!

By Deborah

CAR TOON OF THE WEEK CART

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 22

With Aunty A'isha

rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com 08082071393.

AFRICAN TALES

The lost heir

MODEL OF THE WEEK

A

very long time ago in a little village here in Nigeria, there was a king who had three wives but no children. He needed a male heir to succeed him on the throne and he was worried. He decided to seek help from the Ifa priest as he was growing old and time was short. The Ifa priest came to the palace with his divinity board and cowries with which he consulted the oracle for a solution to the king’s dilemma.

The oracle revealed that the king would have one son but did not reveal which of the wives would bear the son. The oracle revealed that each would get pregnant after eating from a potion the priest would prepare.

The Ifa priest returned with a pot of stew into which he had mixed the potion for the three wives to share. The two older wives however were often wicked to the youngest wife, so they decided to keep the pot of stew for themselves. They believed that if the youngest wife did not eat from the stew, then they could be sure that she was not bearing the only son.

When the youngest wife discovered the empty pot of stew, she started to cry for she had lost the opportunity to bear a child. In desperation, she scraped the pot with her fingers, licking every bit of leftover stew she could get.

Very soon, the two senior wives were spotting rounded bellies. And surprisingly, the third wife too started to exhibit a little bulge.

All three wives were pregnant. Time passed and the two senior wives delivered their babies. They both had daughters.

They started paying attention to the third wife, worried that she might have a son. When she was ready

Baby Rohimat Adeshewa Eniayo Abanise

ACTIVITIES

to give birth to her baby, the two senior wives were in attendance to help with the delivery.

As soon as she gave birth, the baby boy was immediately taken away and replaced by a stone. The two senior wives quickly raised alarm for they were shocked by what they had just delivered – a stone! The stone-mother soon became an outcast as the king sent her

away from the palace and nobody in the village would have anything to do with her.

In the meantime, the baby boy had been wrapped in cotton cloth and taken into the forest where he was abandoned under a tree. A medicine man who lived deep in the forest and was out gathering herbs found him and took him home where he raised him into a fine gentleman. - To be continued.

CREA TIVITY CREATIVITY

How to make your beaded pen and pencil wraps

By Sherri Osborn Follow these simple directions, decorate a pencil using wire and beads. Make them in your favorite colors, your school colors, and many other designs!

What you need: ·Pen or Pencil ·Craft Wire ·Alphabet and Regular Beads (4mm worked well) ·Wire Cutters ·Needle Nose Pliers What to do: Cut about a piece of wire about 4 to 6 inches. You can

change this depending on the design you want to make. Use the needle nose pliers and bend down the tip of one end of the wire.

String beads onto wire to spell out a name or special word (I spelt love). Once you have your beads all on the wire, clip off any extra wire leaving just enough to bend over the end so the beads stay in place.

Now all you do is wrap the wire into a tight spiral around the pen or pencil.

Name and add colour to the image below using any colour pencil of your choice. Show your work to your teacher or parents for correction. Cheers!

PAGE 24

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Kannywood

Muhammad T. Muhammad is a seasoned actor and producer with movies like “Zuciya da So” and “Daushe”. In this interview with Nasir Mu’azu Isa, he talks about the challenges of the film industry, his suggestions and the relationship between Nollywood and Kannywood.

I

Muhammad T. Muhammad

Abuja. After saving enough money I got back into the industry with plans to produce movies.

Is it true that Hausa movie producers don’t pay their artists well?

There are few producers like that but majority of them are not like that. If a producer invites an actor or actress to partake in a movie, especially those that are not based in the location of the shoot, of course the producer has to take care of their needs.

There are producers who invite their friends to take part in their movie, for such instances even if the producers are willing to pay for your services as a friend you would not want them to spend money on you. But I personally don’t work like that no matter the relationship between us if I invite

you for a movie; I try to give you something.

Lack of professionalism has been decried severally; don’t you think this contributes to the problems of the industry?

Yes, it is one of the issues in the industry but it also depends on the kind of producer you are working with. There is the problem of not doing things the way they are supposed to be done and that will definitely affect the success or lack of it. There is also the problem of people just waking up one morning and becoming producers without any knowledge or skill in movie making. There is also the problem of directors who prefer to use seasoned actors and actresses rather than introduce new faces. I personally believe

Nollywood

Entertainment

It’s time to start introducing new faces-Producer How long have you been a movie producer? t’s been five years now since I started producing movies.

What is the difference between a producer and a director?

Well, there is a lot of difference, but there are actually two types of producers, the executive producer which is what I am, who is financially responsible for everything and owns the finished work. He pays and invites everybody both the creative and the technical teams.

Then there is the production producer who is like the shadow of the Executive producer and is like the middle man between the executive producer and the rest of the production team. The production producer takes care of the production issues such as the artist, the technical people, post production and also serves as the representative of the Executive producer. In most cases, the production team and the artiste know more of the production producer than the executive producer. A director is the one who interprets the script from words on paper to action and emotions. His job is to ensure the actors do what they are supposed to do and also interpret the script they are given well.

How many films have you produced so far?

I have produced three movies; those are the films that I own such as “Zuciya da So” and “Daushe”.

How do you get funding for your movies?

There are some producers who are already into different businesses which they use to finance their movies while some of us go into the movie industry and as a new artist, most producers and directors will not really bother about you and it’s up to you to find your footing. I realized that in such a circumstance I’ll just be used and then end up with nothing so I withdrew from the industry but not completely and got a job in

PAGE 25

that when an actor does not deliver it is the fault of the director who has not been able to interpret the role an actor has been given.

Why is it that Kannywood movies don’t have the same impact and exposure like Nollywood?

We are getting there gradually and it’s not in everything that they are ahead of us, in some areas they are ahead such as the support they get from people within their community and marketers which we don’t have.

In our case, it is some of the marketers that will sabotage your work. There are large numbers of southern marketers who will actually pay for a movie before the production is finished, in such instances they are willing to invest their money without even seeing the finished work because they are sure their investment will yield profit. Our marketers basically don’t do anything, they only distribute because you are the one who will do everything including mass production of the movie. Even when you do all that getting your money from the marketers becomes a problem. Now our organization is making sure that these sorts of things don’t happen anymore.

How long do you think it will take Kannywood to attain the level of Nollywood or even surpass it?

I can’t give you a specific time frame but I can tell you they are getting scared of us. Nowadays you find that they invite some of our actors and actresses to take part in their movies. The reason why I can’t give a time frame also is because of the massive support they receive from investors which we don’t have. We don’t have a single investor that we can point at while they have many and they also have good connections. We also follow the same process they use to produce films but it seems they have better equipments. We also have the full support of the police

especially if you want to shoot around their work place as long as you have a permit they won’t bother you.

How do you mass produce your movies?

That is another area of concern for us because all the mass production companies are based in Lagos. You send your master tape to them and they will either send someone to you or they contact via phone.

Why is it that you can’t do it here in the north?

It is one of our major problems in the industry; so far nobody has been interested in starting one in the north. A lot of people still see what we do as a hobby and nothing to be taken seriously, to us this is a profession like any other but majority of our supporters view it as a joke. The mass production of the movies is a huge business with good profit margins, example is, and I think ten thousand copies are close to three hundred thousand naira but nobody has shown any interest. Another challenge is the fact that you have to go on a waiting list which sometimes can be up to a month or more because they are the only ones who do it, so you are at their mercy, which has huge implications for you as a producer.

What is your advice to the people of the industry and your viewers?

I would like to advice my colleagues to look at introducing new actors and actresses because we have just few well known actors and actresses and that, as far as I’m concerned is not the best for the industry. It is also a reflection of what the viewers want, they also contribute in the lack of introducing new talents because they are the people who will say “if this actor or actress is not in this movie I would not watch it” and producers would rather use the known faces in other to make back their money. I believe it is part of the duty of a producer to ensure the introduction of new actors and actresses and get the viewers to gradually accept them.

New Nigeria museum fetes late Afrobeat singer Fela

F

ELA LIVES,” reads the Gothic-lettered tattoo on the back of one of the sons of the legendary Afrobeat singer from Nigeria. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti died 15 years ago but his name seems to be mentioned more now than ever.

Radio stations across Africa’s most populous nation continue to play his trumpet-and-saxophoneinfused songs, the girlish cries of his female backup singers ringing out of tinny speakers in crowded buses. Leaders he linked in songs to corruption remain close to the levers of power in this oil-rich but poverty-stricken country. He’s a legend among unemployed gang members and academics alike and was the subject of a smash Broadway musical produced by some of the biggest celebrities in the U.S. Now, the family house where his remains lie has become a government-endorsed museum

that offers a look inside his life, as well as the challenges still facing Nigeria years after his death.

“Fela’s been dead for 15 years and unfortunately, we’re still where we are. It’s probably longer than he anticipated.”

Fela created Afrobeat in the late 1960s, mixing the rhythm of jazz, the catchiness of pop music and traditions of African mysticism into 10-minute-long songs riffing on politics and sex in a nation only recently freed from colonialism.

He embraced the idea of panAfrican leadership and openly criticized the military rulers who revolved in and out of power in Nigeria when others had been cowed into silence.

Many in Nigeria, at times a very religious and conservative nation, shied away from Fela over his heavily publicized sexual appetite and marijuana use. His escapades became the fodder for endless and titillating newspaper headlines, including marrying more than 20 women at the same time, living in a free-sex commune and smoking massive spliffs during performances.

The military and police, never amused, conducted raid after raid on his home, which he declared the Kalakuta Republic. In one such assault, soldiers so severely beat Fela’s mother, an activist in her

own right that she later died of her injuries.

While Fela’s son Femi Kuti performs at The New Afrika Shrine, which is in honor of his father’s former performance space, family and friends wanted a formal place to honor the musician. They decided to remodel the family home, which sits on a narrow street in Lagos’ sprawling Ikeja neighborhood near the city’s international airport.

The Kalakuta Museum includes a wall holding Fela’s shoes, photographs of him and his family, murals and album art. It also features his room as he left it at the time of his death, with VHS tapes, a giant inflatable globe and racks of clothes hanging above a simple twin bed. Pillows and a sheet lay nearby, a remembrance of how he slept on the floor, weakened as AIDS slowly killed him, Ghariokwu said.

On Monday, which would have been Fela’s 74th birthday, his sons

Seun and Femi and daughter Yeni celebrated the opening of the museum, which will include a boutique hotel and a rooftop lounge and concert space. The opening comes during Felabration, an annual week of concerts put on by his children to honor their father’s musical legacy.

Lagos state government provided $250,000 for remodeling the home into a museum, Lawson said. Yet Femi Kuti made a point to say the family will continue to say whatever it feels like saying.

“We are not a family that is supporting the government, because of what my father stood for,” he said. But he applauded local officials for “being brave enough to be identified with the name that many people fear and shy away from.”

But Fela’s now-grown children laughed and smiled, shouted and waved as they walked past portraits showing them as infants with unlined faces. By the end, they rushed down several flights of stairs, champagne flutes in hand, laughing and calling out: “Soldiers coming!”

Below, their father’s crypt sat just in front of the museum. A green bottle of schnapps lay on the tomb’s steps, as if someone awaited his company for one more drink.

I

Director Charles Novia ‘destroys’ Tonto Dike

have restrained myself for a couple of years from commenting on Tonto Dike’s career after my last comments about her role in the soft porn movie she acted in two years back, were badly taken by her and she went on twitter to hurl infantile insults on my person with expletives and uncomplimentary remarks.

My reaction to such then was just a dignified silence. After all, I had already spoken on her stunted talent as an up and coming actress and further comments on her incensed tweets were unnecessary.

I listened to Miss Dike’s two singles and my initial speechlessness morphed to a nagging laughter and then subsided into a befuddled anguish.

I’m a music label owner (November Records) and have produced and Executive Produced acts like Majek Fashek, Terry tha Rapman, Zubby Enebeli etc.

I know much about music and the slant of commercial music.

But after listening to Miss Dike’s songs, I’m inclined to align with the majorly negative comments about them on cyberspace.

Ah-ah! Whoever produced her knew she has a bad voice for singing and masked our listening torture with the Autotune effect.

But even the Autotune rejected any attempt to make a bad voice worse. Her anguished tremolos would have been better reserved for a horror movie sound effect than an attempt at joining the

revered profession of music.

If Omotola got away with her last two terrible attempts at singing, it was because Omotola is a fantastic actress and her fans could forgive her musical failings after backtracking her body of work in Nollywood. With Tonto, I can’t say much either for her acting depth.

She’s a one-dimensional actress

in my opinion, who mistakes notoriety for fame. She needs more training in acting and this I say with all sense of professionalism as a movie Director. She might achieve greater heights in acting if she trains more. But she has no heights to achieve in singing. Only a downward plunge, the stuff bad endings in movies are made of.

Fadeyi Oloro crushed by Aregbesola’s convoy at ACN rally

Y

oruba actor Ojo Arowosafe aka Fadeyi Olori is currently in a critical health state in hospital after he was allegedly crushed and wounded by Osun State Governor Aregbesola’s convoy on Monday October 15, 2012 right after a rally organized by ACN (Action Congress Of Nigeria) in Ondo state Nigeria.

We learnt Aregbesola’s convoy hit the veteran actor as the Governor was leaving the ACN rally in Akure on Monday.

Fadeyi Oloro who was paid to express support for Rotimi Akeredolu was seriously wounded during the accident.

As at the time of this report, Fadeyi Oloro is still in a critical health state in an hospital in Akure.

He needs your prayers and support at this critical moment.

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Hollywood/Bollywood Affleck film throws light on role in Iran crisis

A

c t o r -director Ben Affleck's latest movie tells the incredible story of Hollywood's role in an attempt to get a group of US diplomats out of Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis.

Argo, Affleck's third film, Behind the camera, is set against the backdrop of the Iranian revolution and the international standoff in which 52 Americans were held in Tehran for more than a year.

The subject matter has clear topical resonance: the hostage crisis helped eject Jimmy Carter from the White House, and President Barack Obama, battling for re-election, is now facing pressure over attacks on US missions abroad.

But the 40-year-old Hollywood star says it was never his intention for the film - produced by George Clooney and out this weekend in North America, less than four weeks before the November 6 election to be caught up in politics.

"It was always important to us to let the movie not be politicized. We tried to make it very factual, fact-based, because it was coming up before the election in the US, when a lot of things get politicized," he said.

The real-life story which was classified for years, and only became public in 1997 - starts with the US embassy in Tehran being seized by revolutionaries, who went on to hold 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

The Democratic Carter's

mishandling of the crisis led to his defeat by Republican Ronald Reagan the following year.

As the mission was stormed, a handful of diplomats managed to escape through a secret exit and took refuge in the Canadian embassy. They were out of Iranian hands, but the next question was how to get them out of the country.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer Tony Mendez proposed a solution, which at first seemed farfetched, but was eventually accepted.

The idea was to mount a fictitious Hollywood science fiction movie production, ask Tehran for visas to scout for filming locations - and then get the diplomats out of the country disguised as film crew members.

"When I saw the script, I couldn't believe how good it was," Affleck told reporters, presenting the movie in Beverly Hills ahead of its release.

"What struck me almost right away was that we had this thriller, and in equal measure this kind of comic Hollywood satire and this really sort of intricate reallife CIA spy story, all based on truth." Affleck plays Mendez, a real-life former spy who was heavily involved in the movie's production and even makes a brief appearance on screen.

"It was really inspiring to meet Tony. He was steeped in this movie. It was Tony's story, Tony's point of view," said Affleck.

"He wanted to meet me

at this old famous CIA bar in (Washington district) Georgetown, and he was telling me that it was where (CIA double agent) Aldrich Ames passed names of the American agents in Russia to his Russian handlers.

"When he told me that, it kind of sank in all of a sudden - this was real, this was a real story about a real guy who worked in a real world where real lives were at stake." Argo maintains a delicate balance of tone as it depicts the Iranian revolution and the violent embassy scenes while also showing how a Hollywood production is put together.

Affleck stressed the importance of historical accuracy.

"Naturally we wanted to be careful and judicious about presenting the facts and also stand firmly behind that, and say that this is an examination of this part of the world," he said.

"Just because this part of the world is undergoing tumult, doesn't mean you stop examining it or talking about it. I think that would be a bad thing."

Brandy: I Had Given Up on Love Before 'Two Eleven'

I

t 's been four years since Brandy's last R&B album, but in that time, the Grammy winner has had plenty of time to reflect on her career and find unwavering confidence as a performer and human being.

Brandy's upcoming LP, Two Eleven, has special significance beyond ending the singer's hiatus. The title represents an important date in her life -- February 11. It's on that day that Brandy was born, but it also marks the day her mentor, Whitney Houston, died.

"She was my idol. She meant everything to me.

She was the first person that kind of gave me that picture of how I wanted to see myself," Brandy said. "The passing of her on my birthday just solidifies a bond between us that, first of all, would never be broken, but it's just also I feel

like I have a responsibility to her."

The album features songwriting by Frank Ocean, Rico Love, Mario Winans and Sean Garrett.

The latter worked on the newest single from the album, Wildest Dreams, which tells her personal story of past relationships and how she's gotten to the happy place where she is now with boyfriend Ryan Press.

"I had given up on love for a long time," Brandy said. "I was able to find it again and I was able to sing about it with the song that Sean wrote -- inspired by the story that I told him."

Actress Kareena Kapoor to embrace Islam

O

n e of the frontranking actresses of Indian cine world named 'Bollywood' and member of famous Kapoor Family, Kareena Kapoor alias Bebo has decided to change her religion after she ties the knot with Saif Ali Khan, actor and member of Pataudi Nawab family in India. According to sources inside Kapoor family, most of the members of the Bollywood actress are showing anger at Kareena's decision to convert to Islam, as Saif Ali Khan has been pursuing her to follow the path of his mother Sharmila Tagore, who embraced Islam after marrying Saif Ali Khan's father and changed her name to Begum Ayesha Sultana.

Saif Ali Khan married actress Amrita Singh in October 1991 and after thirteen years of marriage and two children (son Ibrahim Ali Khan and daughter Sara Ali Khan), the couple divorced in 2004. The children live with their mother. Khan spent his childhood in a Muslim atmosphere, reading the Qur’an, with his grandmother Sajida Sultan, Begum of Bhopal, being the centre of his religious education. Khan says that "Religion played a major role in my upbringing." Khan also states that his family is "cool or rather massively openminded about religious matters." For example, he acknowledges that his daughter though born into a Muslim family; however he states that he will not decide her religion for her.

Saif Ali Khan's current girlfriend Kareena Kapoor was born into a family where her parents, Randhir Kapoor and

Babita, and elder sister Karisma were actors; she faced the media spotlight at a young age but did not make her acting debut until the 2000 film ‘Refugee’.

Her melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham - became India's highest-grossing film in the overseas market in 2001, and is one of her greatest commercial successes to date.

After receiving negative reviews for a series of repetitive roles, Kapoor accepted more demanding parts to avoid being typecast and was recognized by critics for displaying greater versatility as an actress. Her portrayal of a sex worker in Chameli (2004) proved to be the turning point in her career, and she was later noted for her performances in the critically acclaimed films Dev (2004) and Omkara (2006). She went on to play the lead female role in the Imtiaz Ali-directed romantic comedy Jab We Met (2007, for which she received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress) and the drama 3 Idiots (2009, the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time).

Most of the members of Kareena Kapoor's family though are excited about her marrying actor Saif Ali Khan,

the Nawab of Pataudi and a billionaire owning number of business conglomerates; they are unwilling to see her leave Hinduism and embrace Islam.

Kareena Kapoor's mother, actress Babita, who is one of the strongest supporters of Kareena's decision to marry Saif Ali Khan, is also arguing the issue of her religious conversion. But inner circle of Kareena Kapoor are alerting her about consequences in her cine career, if she would abandon Hinduism, which would hurt the religious emotions of millions of her Hindu fans around India and the world. Additionally, after the marriage, Kareena Kapoor will complete necessary legal formalities for changing her name from Kareena Kapoor to Kareena Khan, which shall be used in all of her legal documents, without giving any details about the reason behind changing of the name.

Kareena Kapoor reportedly is preparing to become a good housewife, after marrying Saif Ali Khan. She even had been telling her inner circle of isolating her from acting, similarly as the former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai.

Mumbai Film Fest 2012 to kick start from October 18

T

h e countdown to the city's most anticipated film festival has begun.

From October 18 to 25, movie buffs in the city will be treated to a line-up of about 230 acclaimed films with special segments dedicated to French, Italian, Afghan and Indian cinema as well as silent films accompanied by a live orchestra.

The buzz around the festival got more exciting with the announcement of opening film, Silver Linings Playbook that stars Hollywood A-listers Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert de Niro and our very own Anupam Kher. This David O Russell (Three Kings director) film has been adapted from Matthew Quick's book of the same. The crowdpleasing comedy won the BlackBerry People's Choice Award at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in September.

At the helm of the Mumbai Film Fest is MAMI (Mumbai Academy of Moving Image), a body headed by filmmaker Shyam Benegal, and comprising directors Yash Chopra, Karan Johar, Sudhir Mishra, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Anurag Kashyap, apart from top Bollywood actors like Shabana Azmi and Farhan Akhtar.

The most-watch films are Amour (Palme d'Or winner at Cannes 2012 and Austria's

official entry to the Oscars); French-Belgian film Rust and Bone (by two-time Cannes winner Jaques Audiard, and Best Film winner at the 2012 Cabourg Romantic Film Festival); Beyond The Hills (a masterpiece by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, who won Best Screenplay at Cannes while the lead actresses shared Best Actress honours); Blancanieves by director Pablo Berger is Spain's official entry to the Oscars while ace Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza presents riveting drama film Captive (nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear at the Berlin Film Festival); Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire fame stars alongside James Franco in Cherry, a coming-of-age story that takes a peek into San Francisco's porn scene.

Prominent Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami takes another trip abroad to explore the depths of unrequited desire in the Japanese language drama, Like Someone in Love. Credited as one of the founding fathers of French New Wave and still creating cinematic magic at the ripe age of 90 with his latest film You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet is veteran French-German filmmaker Alain Resnais.

Italian cinematic genius Bernardo Bertolucci's latest film Me and You (Io e Te) is also in the line-up.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 27

Homes

Repair cracks in brick or concrete block

U

n l e s s there's a serious structural problem, wide, top-to-bottom cracks in brick or concrete-block walls are easy to fill. And there's no need to be obsessed with perfection. Work through the broken bricks instead of trying to replace them.

Tools: -safety goggles -cold chisel -sledgehammer -brick chisel -wire brush -garden hose -mixing bucket and stir stick -small sharp trowel -wide board to cover crack -2 × 4 prop -large funnel -rubber tubing to fit over funnel end -mortar jointer or thin metal rod -paintbrush Materials: -mortar mix -Portland cement -hydrated lime -sand -scrap corrugated cardboard -mortar coloring -duct tape -exterior paint or cement paint -solvent for paint Time: about three to four hours for cleaning and initial filling; additional time depending on extent of damage Wearing safety goggles, begin by cleaning all crumbling brick and mortar from the crack with a cold chisel and sledgehammer. Where the crack runs through a brick or a concrete block, use a brick chisel, angled into the crack, to widen and undercut the break. Enlarge the crack to a consistent width and clean the inside of the crack to its full depth, or as far in as you can reach. Wire-brush the crack, inside and out, to remove debris, then flush it thoroughly with water from a garden hose. Cracks that affect only a single layer of brick can be filled with mortar.

Mix a small amount of mortar according to the directions on the package. Spread a little mortar on a scrap of corrugated

cardboard, where it will dry quickly and reveal its true color.

Add mortar coloring to the mortar as necessary to match the old mortar, experimenting with the cardboard as you add coloring. When the dried test batch matches the old mortar, mix enough mortar to fill the crack and add coloring in the tested proportion. Spray the crack thoroughly with the garden hose. Fill the crack with mortar using a small, sharp trowel to force the mortar into the full depth of the crack. Treat the crack as one long joint, filling cleaned-out joints and the gaps in broken bricks or concrete block evenly all along the crack. When the crack is solidly packed with mortar, finish the surface with a jointer and the trowel. Match the old joints where the crack follows a joint: trowel the mortar to match the surface where the

mended surface is block or brick.

Let the crack cure thoroughly for at least 1 week. Spray the patched area lightly with the garden hose several times a day during the curing period. When the crack is very wide and deep, fill it with a thin grout mixture. Wearing safety goggles, chisel out, wirebrush, and flush the crack with water to clean it thoroughly. Mix a small amount of filler, using 1 part Portland cement, one part hydrated lime, and 6 parts sand.

Mix the dry materials and add water slowly to form a thin, easily pourable grout. Add mortar coloring, testing the mixture on a scrap of corrugated cardboard, to match the color of the old mortar; then mix a bucketful of grout in the same proportions. While working quickly, spray the inside of the crack lightly to dampen it. Mask the lower third of the crack with

duct tape set flat over the opening. Set a wide board flat against the wall to hold the tape in place, and wedge it firmly upright with a 2 × 4.

Use a wide-mouthed funnel and a length of rubber tubing to fill the crack; you'll need a helper for this. Push one end of the tubing over the narrow end of the funnel and set the open end into the crack. Hold the end of the tubing at least halfway into the crack and as near the bottom as you can reach over the board wedged against the wall. Pour grout slowly into the funnel to fill the bottom of the crack. Then remove the tubing from the crack. Rinse the funnel, the tubing, and the bucket thoroughly.

Let the partially filled crack set for about 1 day. Then remove the board and the duct tape from the crack. Use a mortar jointer --

or thin metal rod bent to form a handle -- and a trowel to finish the crack, matching both joint and brick or concrete block textures. Then fill the crack further.

Mix a bucketful of grout in the same proportions as before.

Working quickly, spray the crack lightly with a garden hose.

Mask the crack with duct tape and wedge the board back into place against the wall. Using the wide-mouthed funnel, pour the grout into the crack as before. Let it dry for 1 day and remove the mask; finish the grout to match joints and brick or block.

Repeat the filling and finishing process daily, section by section, until the entire crack has been filled. Be sure to mix and color the grout in the same proportion each time. Let the grout cure thoroughly for at least a week after the final application of grout. Spray the patched area lightly with the garden hose several times a day during the curing period.

Finish either mortar-filled or grout-filled cracks by painting the patch to match the surrounding wall. For a painted wall, touch up the newly filled and cured crack with the same exterior paint used on the wall.

To hide the crack in a brick wall, use cement paint the same color as the bricks. Thin the paint and apply it carefully to the crack where it passes through bricks; repeat as necessary until the colour is correct. ehow.com

PAGE 28

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Cuisine

Pots & Pans

Plantain sauce with beef

With Hajiya Ramatu Usman Dorayi

Watermelon juice Watermelon juice Ingredients: -1/4 watermelon -5-10 mint leaves -1 juicer or a blender and coffee filter Wash and scrub the watermelon well to remove any pesticides, dirt, germs etc. on the outside of the rind. You can use soap as long as you can rinse it off well enough.

Slice the watermelon so that you have 1/4 to juice (including the rind).

Remove some of the flesh leaving approximately 2 inches of pink flesh from the rind.

Slice the larger 1/4 section into long 1 inch strips.

Use a juice machine to blend the watermelon and mint leaves into paste. Add ice.

If you have a blender, chop the longer strips into smaller chunks and blend the watermelon and mint.

Filter the smooth paste through the coffee filter.

Add ice.

There are some surprising health benefits from watermelon juice especially when used for juicing and made with the rind. It turns out this sweet and juicy treat is loaded with a compound that increases the flow of blood.

Plantains are a starchy, un-sweet variety of banana that are inedible raw but highly nutritional Ingredients: 250ml water 750g beef cut into 1cm dice 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 3 tablespoon cooking oil 2 onions, thinly sliced 2 tomatoes, chopped 1 tablespoon tomato paste 250ml coconut milk 1 bay leaf 4 plantains, peeled and sliced Mode of preparation: Boil 250ml water in a large pan or metal casserole then add the meat, salt, black pepper, curry powder and pepper. While the meat is cooking add the oil to a pan

and fry the onions for a few minutes, until just softened then add the tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for at least five minutes, reducing the heat. Finally add the coconut milk and bay leaf. Cover and leave to simmer.

Add the plantains to the meat and cook for ten minutes until the meat is done and the plantains are tender. Now combine the meat and plantains with the fried onion mixture. Stir and cook for two minutes before adjusting the seasoning to taste.

Serve with rice, beans or yam.

PAGE 29

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Womanhood

Moral values: It all starts from the cradle M

o r a l i t y is the herdinstinct in the individual, according to author, Friedrich Nietzsche.

Morality is more like fuel that keeps the wheels of life moving.

It gives a correct direction to our lives so that we can enjoy a life of prosperity and happiness.

As young children, the grandparents are epitomes of moral instructors. By telling stories of moral values, they inculcated good values in the youth. But now, the tradition of extended families has almost taken the back seat from the big cities.

So the responsibilities of parents and teachers have multiplied.

Once Swami Vivekananda, the great Indian saint quoted, "We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one's own feet".

The home is the first social community for children. Lack of supportive and sound environment in the family life may impact greatly the psychology of kids. With the rapid growth of post modern culture, the moral values are degrading. It has become a

great concern for all in the soceity as a decline in the moral values of the citizen means a decline in the personal image of a country.

The duty of inculcating moral into the young naturally falls on the shoulders of parents especially the mothers who, because they spend more time with the children, are expected to be their primary role models worthy of emulation. Teaching moral values doesn't mean restricting your child from doing their favorite task. But it's a way of teaching them the rule of nature and life. Values are the desirable principles in someone's character that society considers worthwhile.

Friendliness and courage are values.

In today's world where violent crimes and other negative vices appear to hold sway, the issue of morals can never be over flogged. Morals work with the judgment of values as they emerge in actions. Parents can teach morals to the young ones from day one. Promptness is a value; therefore, it is morally wrong to be late to work. It is not that children become aware of these values by their own; they need

Teach them to save for contentment to avoid crime

adult guidance on every walk of their lives. Mothers and other early caregivers of the child should develop a sense of belongingness with the child so that the human traits can be shown in the child in a later life.

A bond of trust with the elders of the family helps the child to develop these traits.

The quality of relationship the children have with their parents greatly affects the way children develop morally.

During dialogues generated by parents' use of induction, parents also can help stimulate children's moral development by the use of questioning within an emotional supportive context. For example, mothers can ask children why they think that their behavior led another child to cry, helping children come to the answer themselves. How parents can do this depends on the child's level of development; parents

need to be cognizant of what children can understand and adjust their language accordingly.

The teachers in school can also input moral values into kids. A nation having citizens who are healthy, patriotic, honest and sincere, that nation can ensure a secure future to all its citizens. The inclusion of moral education in the schools has become more important these days. There are different ways by which schools can morally upgrade the kids, like telling stories, preaching and group discussions. Parents should ensure they enrol their children and wards in schools where a combination of effective teaching and sound moral methods are the order of the day on the school curricula.

Children are by nature pure, sincere, and eager to learn. If the schools and colleges impart the moral character building

values effectively, the purity of the students can be maintained and enhanced. articlesbase.com

“

Teaching moral values doesn't mean restricting your child from doing their favorite task. But it's a way of teaching them the rule of nature and life.

PAGE 30

Archives

Mrs Ransome-Kuti receiving the first Nigerian Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa around 1961.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Do you have old pictures for memories?

Send them to julius2001_a@yahoo.com

Musediku Adeniji-Adele (Oba of Lagos 1949-1964) introducing his chiefs to Queen Elizabeth II, on her visit to Nigeria in 1956

Katsina WTC (Women Teachers’ College students) dancing in the 60s.

The Queen's College Yaba, Class of 1965

Dr. M. Okpara, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Solomon Lar, Jim, Melford Okilo, Aper Aku, Prof.

Kenneth Dike

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 31

Leisure WORD SEARCH

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

With Augustine Aminu

A Real Lagos Child

Find the words about household chores, listed below, in the word search grid. Circle each letter one by one. Each letter of the household chores word search grid may be used in more than one word

Household Chores Word Search Puzzle C H O R E

C Y C L

L

E H O L

D D C G N I

E

H O D I

S

H E S

A R E O S

A

T C M A L L

E R C D C

E

O R B V K

E

R Y Y R D N U A L G O A O

D

S

A M R E A S A E

U P

F

T O O P

N U O C E P

I

O B E

I

O I

D E

E F

O E D D A W R S

G

H

C N H

E

D V I

R E T

S

P

G O C Y N R T

Y A R R E A A B

H K O R E

P

K M

N H O R E

T

N G U S O

A R E B

I

O A

W H L

M A F

O

R

L

I

N U R

S

N E

M D U N S

P

I

L E

I

T

S

U E

R L

D E

T

M E

E T

T A B L

O R B

T A S

S

C

A S

O A

N

N N S

O

E

K

CLEAN BATHROOM COOK DISHES DUST FILE GARBAGE GROCERIES IRON LAUNDRY MAKE BEDS MOPPING MOWING PAY BILLS RAKE RECYCLING SET TABLE SWEEP TIDY VACUUM WIPE COUNTER

QUOTES One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

—Plato It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.

—Mahatma Gandhi Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers.

—Aristotle Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated.

—Will Rogers Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.

—Alexander Hamilton

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Proverbs and wise sayings The animal that is careful lives long in the forest.

No one says a child should not be leprous if only he/she can stay alone in the forest.

A motherless child shouldn't allow his/ her back to develop sore.

The crowing of the cockerel brings misery to the sluggard.

The cockerel shows being an elder by keeping the time but spoils it by defecating in the pen.

Before stone a bird, you should put yourself in its position.

The crouching of a tiger is not out of cowardice, it is only looking for what to eat.

The child that accuses his/her father of not grinding pepper right wants to hear about wha sent his mother away from his/her father's house.

The task master only teaches one to be strong.

Twenty children cannot play together for twenty years.

CARTOON

PAGE 32

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

F Adama Ndiaye’s style without borders

By Miriam Humbe

A

dama Amanda Ndiaye is a Senegalese fashion designer.

She also goes by the name Adama Paris, which is also the name of the label she owns and operates. Her pieces, which are manufactured in Morocco, can be found internationally, including in New York City, Tokyo, London and Paris. Born in Kinshasa, Zaire, to Senegalese parents, and then raised in Europe, where her parents were diplomats, she left a banking career in Europe to pursue fashion design in her native country. Her designs are inspired by cities and globalism. In an interview with Vogue Italia, she stated, “Much of my inspiration come from the big cities... My aim was and still is sharing with all modern women one fashion without borders.

Here’s showcasing Adama’s designs which featured in Paris earlier this month.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 33

Business

U.S. Speaker Saul Garlick

U.S. Speaker Saul Garlick encourages Nigerian youth to become successful entrepreneurs.

Pioneering securities market jurisprudence

By Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

T

o the best knowledge of this writer, the likelihood that Dr. Nnenna Adaeze Orji, the Executive Chairman of Nigeria’s Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) had ever met Sally M. Abel, Partner, Fenwick & West LLP of the Silicon Valley California is very slim. This is, even though, both of them are distinctively successful lawyers in their chosen fields of specializations in the legal practice. I was amazed by the similarities of the answers these outstanding women gave to questions revolving around their legacies or their proudest professional achievements.

I was going through the list of outstanding women lawyers compiled by the authoritative publishers and ranking agency of the legal professions, Chambers and Partners, when I came across an entry for Sally M. Abel. She was asked what her proudest professional achievement is and why? Hear her answer: “My proudest professional achievement has been building the firm’s trademark practice from nothing into a highly diverse, world class, internationally recognized team, managing portfolios and enhancing the brands of a number of the most cutting-edge technology, life science and new media companies on the planet...”

Last week ,Theophilus Abba, editor of Sunday Trust, threw a similar question to our own Dr. Nnenna, who will be clocking ten years as the Chief Judge of the IST, come December 2012; “what legacy are you leaving behind”?

And, she answered: “The legacy is making this place an institution in the capital market, developing the Nigeria’s securities law; because there was none before, no codified or comprehensive information as a field of law. So my team and I have been able to establish comprehensive facts about security law. We have been able to evolve the needed jurisprudence on securities market.

We have volumes of law reports and cases.”

Great minds think alike! Both women are institution builders; building their respective organizations from nothing! Both, equally, have accomplished their goals. The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, goes the sayings. The two are, without doubt, happy lots.

Dr. Nnenna Orji came to the Investment

and Securities Tribunal (IST) as the pioneer Chairman, a position equivalent to that of Chief Judge of this specialized court in 2002. She came to meet a barren land, so to speak. Her appointment letter, the experiences she garnered back at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Legal Department and the team she will put together were the only initial tools she had to build, almost from ground zero, a magnificent institution that hitherto did not exist in the country.

Ten years after, a glorious institution is now in place, adjudicating various types of investments and securities civil cases. But more significantly there are now body of laws, cases and precedence to refer to jurisprudence on securities market has evolved, which hitherto did not exist.

When the IST took off Dr. Orji, recalled in an interview with Sunday Trust, “we didn’t start up with [the] luxury [of spacious court houses].

We had no building at all; we had no office at all to start with. We didn’t even have a rented office”.

But today, ten years down the road, IST operates comfortably from its own buildings in its Head Office in Abuja, and in four of its five zonal offices in the country. The challenges of office accommodation and initial funding were, in retrospect, minor challenges in the face of daunting challenge of establishing the tribunal not knowing “what it will become and how it will be” to use Dr. Orji’s words.

The fact that the IST is now a reality, a vital part of the capital market and exerting the desired impact is no mean achievement for the pioneer chairman of a novel institution - the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.

From its commencement hearing in February 2003 over the controversial Bonkolans Investments Limited share scam, the tribunal has handled over 350 cases to date. Of this number, 170 have been handled to their logical conclusions. This was made possible because of the wide spread of the tribunal offices.

Apart from its Abuja Head Office, the tribunal has opened zonal offices with courtrooms in Lagos, Kano, Enugu and Port Harcourt and through collaboration with State judiciaries; it has offices/courts in Awka and Yenagoa.

In monetary terms the Tribunal has resolved, as at 2011, contested cases worth over

N350 billion. Only fifteen out of over 350 cases resolved by the Tribunal have been appealed to the Court of Appeal. One case has gone to the Supreme Court and was decided in favour of IST. Dr. Orji did not lose sight of the place of knowledge and capacity building as a requisite for world class performance of the IST. To achieve this she initiated collaborative exchange programmes with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (USSEC), the National Judicial College, Nevada USA; the New Jersey Superior Court, Essex Vicinage, the Financial Services and Market Tribunal (FSMT), UK amongst others.

The premium she gave to the development of the jurisprudence of capital market laws has its roots in her years at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Dr. (Mrs.) Orji joined the SEC in 1984 as a Senior Legal Officer and Head of the Legal Division. In the 18 years she spent at the SEC, from 1984 – 2002, she developed the Legal Division into an efficient and effective Department. Through her legal knowledge of the securities law, she transformed the SEC into a strong regulatory institution that promotes sanity and entrenches the rule of law in the capital market.

Little did she know, back then, that she was laying a foundation of a greater institution to come —the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST). What she was doing back then was giving her whole self to the task before her. And, perhaps, that was the secret formula of her successes.

At the SEC, she devoted her first years to reviewing the securities laws of Nigeria and proposed a comprehensive restructuring of the existing legal framework. She crafted the 1988 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Act which replaced the deficient 1979 SEC Act. In fact, the 1988 SEC Act laid the foundation of the modern day SEC. She was instrumental to the introduction of formal registration of capital market instruments and operators as a prerequisite to engaging in capital market transactions.

This innovation strengthened the rule of law, and promoted investors’ confidence in the Nigerian capital market. She supported this initiative with the publication of legal and educational brochures on the various areas of

securities laws and the regulations issued by the Commission. And most importantly, the SEC Law Report she started was the first successful attempt at developing capital market jurisprudence.

In a sustained effort to entrench the Rule of Law in the market process, she advised the Commission to establish the SEC Administrative Hearing Committee (AHC), which was later changed to Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC). Through this mechanism, the Commission institutionalized enforcement of sanctions in line with due process of the law.

When the Odife Panel on the restructuring of the Nigerian Capital Market recommended a new Investments and Securities Act, (ISA), Dr. Orji was on the team set up by the Ministry of Finance to finalize the draft law. Her knowledge and experience of the subject was brought to bear in the production of the Investments and Securities Act of 1999.

One of the innovations included in the ISA 1999 by the Odife Panel was the Investments and Securities Tribunal, (IST), a specialized court that would resolve capital market disputes speedily with the required professionalism and excellence. And when the IST was established in 2002 no one was more qualified to head it than its architect of sort— Dr. Nnenna Orji.

The US educated economist and lawyer, Dr. Orji, proved the truism in the saying that the inventor requires more time, but his/her work is more valuable. It is not how much we do, but how well we do it that determines worth. She has proven too, that skill is power; a power which belongs to talent, devotion and endurance.

In the final analysis, the jurisprudence of capital (securities) market law has so highly been developed in the last ten years that precedents can now be found easily in our law books. Both local and foreign investors can now predict the outcome of any transactional dispute based on previous adjudications by the Tribunal. Today, the certainty and the predictability that flow from the Tribunal’s existence and activities results in sustained investors’ confidence in our capital market.

- Bashir Ibrahim Hassan, a Business Development Executive, writes from Abuja (bash7474@gmail.com).

PAGE 34

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

The Entrepreneur Women should spend more money on books than makeup- Publisher Dr Mrs. Sally Adukwu-Boluoko is publisher of ‘Women of Influence’ magazine. She advised women to stop complaining of discrimination in the society. They should also invest their money wisely by concentrating on buying books rather than makeup. Stanley Onyekwere reports: Opinion on the 2012 African Business School (ABS) 2012 combined awards, convocation/ matriculation and hall of fame ceremony t is a very well organized event. The ABS has a good vision of developing professionals for best practice in management. It is getting a lot of professionals together for networking purposes. They chunk out and discuss ideas that can prosper develop and progress the society.

Ways the ABS can help the country tackle the endemic problem of corruption Corruption isn’t a Nigerian thing as it has now become a global phenomenon.

It is however stopping us from developing as a nation. In fighting it, education is the first place to start; thus, this is where we should begin to address the issue of corruption because it is through education that we can impact values on people. When people value themselves and know what they want to be and are confident, that without even working and eating they would not engage in corruption.This is because they would want to be accountable to themselves first, and not misbehave because somebody must have given them money or promised them one thing or the other.

Corrupt people are those who are easily enslaved and influenced negatively to do wrong things. It means that you can always buy them over to your side. And if a man buys your conscience, he has bought your whole being; thereby you become like a robot subject to the control by the person who had acquired you for whatever selfish reasons because it is the man’s money that is moving the person to do things. When we consider the education sector and people get good education, then they would have balanced personality traits, and the person would have value for himself or herself. With this, if any person wants to do something, then the person would go ahead and that is because he or she believes in it and not because of corruption. So, if we get it right in education, we will get it right in the larger society.

Advice on how go about getting it right in the education sector That is what ABS is doing now in the education sector. The school is after excellence in management and best practice in whatever profession one can think of in the world. Like the pro chancellor said pertaining to giving certificates to representatives of some awardees who were absent at the award ceremony, that if any of anyone does not come in person the school won’t give the person the rope. So there is quality assurance. So if you don’t deserve it then

I

Dr Mrs. Sally Adukwu-Boluoko you don’t deserve same treatment with those who deserve it. From the citation of the calibre of persons who were inducted as fellows of the institute, it is only clear that ABS is committed to promoting excellence. There was none of them who don’t deserve it. But if it was in some other climes in Nigeria, because of corruption they will use money and buy the ABS fellows for themselves, thereby making it an all comers affair. And if it was like that, you won’t see me identify with the school.

Talking of challenges facing Nigerian women, especially in the political environment No woman should be having any challenge any more because the glass ceiling has been broken. Today, Malawi, Liberia and Sierra lone are being ruled by women. So, who is preventing anybody from being what he or she wants to be in Nigeria if we are disciplined enough. There is no any

‘No woman should be having any challenge any more because the glass ceiling has been broken. Today, Malawi, Liberia and Sierra lone are being ruled by women. So, who is preventing anybody from being what he or she wants to be in Nigeria if we are disciplined enough’

obstruction against our women, only by being focused and consistent in doing our trade well that we will get there. There are stories of women selling vegetables, and training her children from the basic up to university level of education. As a women, if you can stop buying only make ups and fashion magazine, and begin to read the books the men are reading, go to where they are going to look for what they are looking for, you will get everything men get . That is we must stop buying those things that would not add any value to our knowledge and save money for profitable investment. In politics, some political parties tell women not to pay for their nomination forms when the male folk are buying for the same. That’s to say women seeking political power should collect parties nomination forms for free. So, who is the one holding us from achieving our goals in life?

Therefore, the challenges you are talking about was before when tradition held us down; when as young woman you are given out in marriage at early stage of your life without your consent. But now, if a woman chose to be married very early or late with or without going through university, no one would stop her. Today, there are women who got married at later stage of their lives after attaining PHD, in this country including the northern part of the country; and these women are in higher positions of authorities in the country. So those ones who are saying something is holding them down just refused to see what is happening. Then, as a woman if you refused to do something or copy, you can’t say it is a challenge. If people are changing, why can’t we as women change, because if they can leave the tradition that their forefathers laid for them to follow, which prohibited them from accepting some of these things, why can’t we? So now, these people are saying no, we will give it a try and learn new things that are good for our well being.

Therefore anybody who is still having a challenge with some of the hitherto impediments against us in this modern age and time, is doing so at their own peril. May the person’s family refused to do the right thing, which is what others are doing, because even families in the core north are now producing great women of influence in the society.

What she intends to achieve with the women magazine she publishes The magazine is meant to point out that women have focus and zeal to learn.

Although we are not competing with the male folks, because God didn’t create us to compete with our men but to be assist them. So if women learn and become strong and focused, then we can be good helpers to men.

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

OUR MISSION “To be the market place of ideas and the leading player in the industry by putting the people first, upholding the truth, maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards while delivering value to our stakeholders”

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

CHAIRMAN MALAM WADA MAIDA, OON, FNGE DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RUFA’I IBRAHIM EDITOR, DAILY ABDULAZEEZ ABDULLAHI

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ALI M. ALI

HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING HUSSAINI ABDULRAHMAN, CNA

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Kanti Bello and nemesis Re: Sovereign wealth fund

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h e recent declaration of former senate chief whip, senator Kanti Bello to dump the ruling Peoples Democratic Party for the opposition party, Congress Progressive Party, is a culmination of the series of frustration that the former lawmaker has suffered as a result of his loss of re-election bid in the last year general election. For clarity and benefit of those that may not be familiar with the background of the incident, there is a need to throw more light on the subject.

Kanti Bello was senator representing Katsina North senatorial district on the platform of the PDP between 2007 - May 2011. He re-contested for the same position on the platform of the PDP during the last year general election in which he lost to the CPC senatorial candidate, Senator Abdul Umar Yandoma according to the result announced by the INEC. Having been dissatisfied with the result, Katsina state governor, Ibrahim Shehu Shema assembled a legal team on behalf of senator Kanti and all the PDP National Assembly candidates in the said election.

In the case of senator Kanti, the ground of the petition by the legal team was based on two grounds; that the first respondent, Senator Abdul Yandoma was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election; and the second ground is that Yandoma was at the time of the election not qualified to contest as he was not sponsored by a political party at the election. On 28th of September 2011, the National Assembly election Tribunal sitting in Katsina, delivered its judgement and declared that as at the time of conducting the National Assembly election, Yandoma was not the senatorial candidate of CPC based on the subsisting court of Appeal judgement of 20th April 2011, which held that Yandoma was not a candidate of CPC. The Tribunal based on this reason nullified the election and ordered INEC to conduct a bye election within 60 days.

However, Senator Yandoma appealed against the ruling of the appellate court at the Kaduna division of court of Appeal.

But in a twist of event, the Court of Appeal in its judgement on 16th November overturned the decision of the election petition tribunal. The court held that the issue of qualification to contest an election is a pre election matter and that election tribunal has no jurisdiction to delve into it.

WRITE TO US Peoples Daily Weekend welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed to: The Editor, Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja.

Email: letters@peoplesdaily-online.com The core of the issue at hand is that Senator Kanti Bello having been dissatisfied with the court of Appeal decision, and his inability to prove further in seeking judicial redress due to the fact that court of Appeal is the highest judicial organ in matter related to National Assembly election based on the provisions of the 2010 Electoral Act as amended, petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan, and then Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, and also the national leadership of PDP for their intervention over the judgement of the court of Appeal which was not favourable to him.

The absurdity in the whole saga is that senator Kanti Bello was the senate chief Whip between 2007 and May 2011. Despite the fact that he was the PDP senatorial candidate in 2011 National Assembly election, he refused to identify himself with the campaign programme of President Goodluck Jonathan, including his state governor, Ibrahim Shema’s gubernatorial campaign.

For the same man to later beg President Jonathan to desperately intervene over his senatorial ambition shows how confused Nigeria politicians can be.

My findings also revealed that up till the time the National Assembly election Petition Tribunal in Katsina delivered its ruling that nullified the CPC candidate, Senator Yandoma's election, and ordered for a bye election, Senator Kanti never identified with his state governor, Ibrahim Shema who assembled the legal team and equally paid for their services in defending Kanti's case at the Tribunal. It was the same team financed by the same source that proceeded to the court of Appeal to defend Kanti against the petition of Senator Yandoma. There is no moral justification for someone to be fighting to reap where he did not sow. All along, Senator Kanti pretended as if he did not have interest but

as soon as the Court of Appeal overturned the judgement of the appellate court, his desperation for political power became public knowledge. It is high level of irresponsibility for Kanti to seek the intervention of the same people he never recognised and associated himself with.

It is on record that prior to 2007 general elections, Kanti that was a senator representing Katsina north on the platform of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) made spirited effort to frustrate the presidential ambition of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari who hails from the same senatorial zone with him, despite the fact that the duo belonged to the same party then. Because of the gubernatorial ambition of Kanti, and which was opposed by the leadership of the party, Kanti a serving senator with lots of resources at his disposal hijacked the machinery of the ANPP at the state level, using the state chairman of the party, Nafiu Dandagoro, to announce the suspension of Buhari as a member of the party in a world press conference. That singular incidence was the genesis of the problem that befell the political ambition of Buhari in ANPP.

It is a known fact that apart from ego which Kanti used to display publicly, in his constituency, he is a political light weight. He does not accord anybody respect, hence, the people of the area decided never to accord him any respect and recognition. Despite the fact that Governor Shema flagged off senator Kanti's senatorial campaign in Daura before the last year general election, Kanti in his characteristic manner, of always believing that he does not need the support of anybody, refused to join the Governor throughout his gubernatorial campaign.

That the same Governor went ahead to fight for Kanti's senatorial seat through the judicial process further shows the humane disposition of Governor Shema in contrast to Kanti as an ingrate.

This is a lesson for politicians in the category of Kanti Bello that like political power. And also those that want others to serve them without willingness to serve others, that whatsoever a man sows that he will reap and that a tree does not make a forest. There is no individual that can run a show alone by thinking others do not matter. The same system of politics that Kanti has played over a period of years that worked for him because people did not understand him then, is now the same politics of leader to all, follower to none, that is making him to fall from grace to grass. Now that he has returned to his vomit with his membership of CPC, to associate with people that he always despised, confirms that Kanti's style of politics is disgraceful and shameful.

Usman Bello writes from Daura local government, Katsina- State

“

It is on record that prior to 2007 general elections, Kanti that was a senator representing Katsina north on the platform of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) made spirited effort to frustrate the presidential ambition of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari who hails from the same senatorial zone with him, despite the fact that the duo belonged to the same party then.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 37

Opinion The Allu tragedy: Pitfalls of flawed vigilante justice

By Andrew Obinna Onyearu

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n Friday 5 October 2012, the Allu Community in Rivers state acquired for itself the dubious distinction in Nigeria’s history of playing host to one of the most brutal examples of butchery that this country has experienced. It is now common knowledge that some of the villagers, in large numbers, killed 4 students of the University of Port Harcourt allegedly for stealing phones and lap tops from an off campus hostel of the institution. In a sustained attack that lasted several hours involving a large number of participants, 4 young men lost their lives in circumstances that were indescribably horrific.

Most Nigerians who became aware of this incident disseminated by the social media were first dumbfounded into shock which was soon replaced by the intensity of anger and bitterness. The revulsion showed as Nigerians, in one voice, collectively rejected its occurrence and raised the profile of its disgust such that the usually docile enforcement authorities swung, unpredictably quickly, into action.

This is the most recent in a series of outrageous, jungle-justice type of vigilante law enforcement, the likes of which Nigeria has not seen since the 1980’s predemocracy periods when armed robberies pervaded every state in the country. In those times, for those with slightly longer memories, Nigerians sometimes resorted to self-help, ostensibly to cleanse a society overwhelmed by the ease with which armed and violent robberies occurred, often resulting in the mindless demise of innocent people and, even worse, remaining both unchecked and undetected in huge proportions. This happened largely out of a sense of exasperation given the failings, at the time of the law enforcement agencies in arresting violent crime that was spiraling out of control in geometric proportions.

Putting aside any historical anecdotes, what happened in Allu represents a most savage, shocking and incomprehensible

By Bobson Gbinije

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he Urhobo people are inexorably obsessed with matters concerning their custom and tradition. They hold on to their tradition with tenacity notwithstanding the present level civilisation in the country. The Urhobos believe that death is a continuation of life in a different realm.

Among the Urhobo people, it is believed that nobody dies a natural death under the age of sixty years. Such deaths must have been caused by witches and wizards, etc. Hence, the recourse to look for the cause of the death of such a person. It is the oracle that determines the type of traditional burial the person gets.

However, under normal circumstances, if a young person dies with or without children, it is a sad story and does not attract too much fanfare. But when an elderly man, chief, king, or queen dies it is given all the trappings of traditional grandeur.

In most parts of Urhobo land, the elderly or a wealthy elderly man of note is given complete traditional burial rites within (7) seven days, fourteen days or twenty-one days burial ceremonies. This entails the formal interment after death or after several weeks in the mortuary.

Then the family of the elderly man or woman now sits down to fine- tune the burial logistics. In some cases, the burial is combined with Christian wake keep

response to a situation in which the perpetrators, bystanders and any other type of participants stood woefully, legally, morally and spiritually guilty of the most profane kind of ill conceived and misguided assumption of the duty to enforce justice.

Whatever concocted criminal persuasion convinced the participants to act as they did, the real facts have demonstrated that these conclusions were scandalously wrong, morbidly distorted and driven by nothing other than a vampire-like, undisguised – and misplaced – thirst for blood. As it was, it has now been established that the deceased’s antecedents were anything other than that their assailants twisted minds thought they were, making this situation even more indigestible.

Sliced anyway, there is no rationale that can support this action and Nigeria, in one voice, roundly deprecated this tragedy whilst commiserating with the families of the deceased.

Unfortunately, ours is a society where high levels of violence has led to the consideration, in some quarters, of self help violence as a sort of response to high crime.

Security structures in the country have, over the years, failed to provide the peace and serenity that should positively influence a better appreciation of the balance between crime and punishment. The sustained prevalence of increasing crimes of violence against innocent Nigerians compounded by poor protection by the law enforcement agencies; poor medical facilities for postincident treatment and non-existent postincident support all combine to imbue Nigerians with a high sense of anxiety.

This belief, heightened by limited crime detection encouragement, has made Nigerians less receptive to the traditional methods of crime solving such that many consider that the actual process lets more criminals escape than are penalized. Many consider that the path to criminal justice is slow, riddled with corruption and, thus, entirely ineffectual in combating crime.

This, sadly, is supported by visible evidence, unfortunately borne out even by

the fact that this incident ran such a long course without disruption even by law enforcement agencies as it is understood to have lasted over four hours!

For all that is said, Nigerians of the sort that participated in this lynching are in the considerable minority. That this exists at all is a depressing acknowledgment that this warped minority retain the capacity to cause the kind of enduring mayhem which serves as a continuous reminder of the need for leadership to ceaselessly prioritize and pursue the security of its citizens as a sine qua non to its governance obligations Whatever lack of confidence we have in the capacity of our security paraphernalia to offer us protection from crime, this very depressing incident will remain a painful reminder of exactly why many countries have abolished the death penalty.

Digressing slightly, the penalty of death for criminal activity has its roots in both historical and religious antiquity but its benefit in the punishment value chain has so diminished that there now is, in many parts of the world, no sustainable justification for its continued retention, even for the most gruesome crimes.

Nate Sullivan aptly summarises the actual current situation in the western world. Challenging the appropriateness of the death penalty, he observes that “…while most cultures of the world have historically used capital punishment, many countries, particularly western and democratic ones, have moved, or are moving, away from the application of this punishment.

The 1950 European Convention on Human Rights recommended that the death penalty be abolished in European nations or restricted to times of war. This has been ratified within European Union member countries over the following decades, so that capital punishment is now no longer practised in Europe. The United Kingdom abolished the death penalty for virtually all offenses in 1969 (although it still remained an available sentence for treason until 1998).

In December 2007, the United Nations

General Assembly approved a moratorium on the death penalty, which calls for a worldwide suspension (not necessarily abolition) of capital punishment. The moratorium is not binding, but established an international consensus against the death penalty.

In the United States, moratorium was placed on executions by the Supreme Court in 1972, not because capital punishment itself was ruled unconstitutional, but because of perceived procedural flaws.

Executions resumed in 1976 after these were “ironed out.” The death penalty is largely an issue left for American states rather than the Federal Government.”

Most commonly, in the US, the death as a penalty is challenged as a violation of the Eighth Amendment, which says that the U.S. cannot use “cruel and unusual” punishment.

Opponents of the death penalty point out that there is a possibility of wrongly executing an innocent man. Of course, there is a possibility of wrongly sending an innocent man to prison, or wrongly fining an innocent man, but they contend that because of the finality and severity of the death penalty, the consequences of wrongly executing an innocent person are much more wrong.

On that day at Allu, the deceased were not even afforded audience not to mention opportunity to offer an explanation. As it turned out, they did nothing wrong.

Therein lies the flaw in this most crude form of jungle justice. If there is a more compelling case for the exclusion of self-help vigilante justice, such an example does not exist in our country.

Where do we go from here? Justice will and should take its course. Those responsible must be quickly and completely apprehended, tried and punished within the laws of the land though they, themselves, would stand guilty of the most heinous crime of impunity. But profit from a social order they refused to uphold.

Onyearu can be reached through aokonyearu@googlemail.com

Archaic burial pattern in Urhoboland and then on to traditional rites.

Depending on the family, the Agberen (effigy) is carried. This symbolizes the completeness of traditional honour to the deceased, etc.

The families of the deceased have their traditional roles to play. In most cases, the eldest son is given specific roles to play. The elders are called upon to pour and offer prayers to the ancestors (Erhiwin) and to shrines where the deceased worshipped. It could be any of these: Onerungberun, Ayelala, Eni, Eshu, Ogun, Erirhie, Aguarode-Ogbu, Aguarode-Ogidigan, Olokun, Amenojigbe, Ekpenakpewen, Oreshugbo, Aigbiroko Daderhie,etc. It is then capped with traditional gun salute (Ekurusu) as a mark of honour. There are other clandestine rituals which cannot be discussed here.

However, the traditional burial rites in most Urhobo areas are virtually the same with slight variations in different kingdoms making up the Urhobo nation. The issue is the culture of waste associated to the ceremonies.

We have seen corpses lined and decorated with beads and gold rings.

Some buy caskets lined with gold rings.

A decent burial is the crowning glory of a worthy life. But must we Urhobos kill the living to bury the dead? All types

of demonic levies are stamped on children who may even be unemployed.

As soon as an Urhobo man or woman dies, the family is thrown into jubilation because an opportunity for social recklessness has been opened.

Each member or each gate is asked to pay some money and they go on to erect temporary brothels euphemistically called family booths or canopies.

Members of each gate or the general family go into a competition of “my mercedes is bigger than yours.”

Some go to money lenders for loans, whilst some sell their properties to enable them massage their egos and give a so called good account of themselves during the burial ceremonies.

During the burial, expensive clothes, drinks and dance groups are flaunted.

Women, both married and single move, dance, talk and sing. It is, however, instructive to note that in most families when the deceased was alive nobody cared to assist him or her. There is a family that did one of the most wasteful burials in Sapele.

It is on record that the deceased suffered from diabetes, but nobody could afford to buy him his dose of insulin.

Another case in Ughelli was that of a Chief who suffered from stroke. He defecated and urinated on his bed. None of his

children could assist. He died out of frustration. But as soon as he died all the children and their friends arranged an expensive burial for him. Why can’t we care for the living?

Virtually every Urhobo man or woman belongs to one social club or the other. The aims and objectives of such clubs are mainly to assist its members during burials. The clubs have extended their tentacles to the churches. During burials, the groups from the churches are placed side by side with the social clubs, old boys and girls associations, town or village unions, etc.

As soon as you mention developmental projects to these ones they develop cold feet and the donor fatigue syndrome.

Their greatest love is for this meaningless waste. Sometimes they use these burials as political campaign ground and for snatching other people’s wives. Burial has become a major industry in Urhoboland. The media is also involved.

These senseless burials have become the greatest catalyst of corruption and moral decadence, because everybody wants cursed monies for frivolous extravaganzas. We know of people who have become financially insolvent and bankrupt because of these burials.

- Gbinije can be reached through ofunemma@yahoo.com

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Interview

Teaching children how to give will reduce poverty —Jummai Ahmadu The challenge of providing for widows and orphans cannot be handled by government alone. Corporate bodies and individuals must rise up to the occasion by meeting their needs. The Principal Admin Officer and Co-head of the Press Unit in the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Mrs. Jummai Ahmadu indicates, in this interview with Miriam Humbe and spoke on the efforts of her pet-project; Help Line Foundation in community service, a course which earned her an NYSC Honours Awards and automatic employment.

W

hat actually endeared you to government, to bestow on you such award?

It was the community development programme I was doing then. I was visiting Abuja Children's Home, and would organise some youth corpers to go to prisons to hold awareness campaigns for prisoners. I went to Jikwoyi village to do some kind of environmental sanitation so my Co-ordinator said I should keep up the good work and see what NYSC would award me based on what I had done. During our Passing out Parade, they announced us as the award winners. FCT Administration, as its tradition, decided to give us automatic employment. That was how I started.

What is so special about Jummai Ahmadu?

I wouldn't say there is anything apart from the fact that I have a heart for the less privileged. In my own little way, I assist the poor especially the widows and children orphaned by HIV/AIDS through my foundation; Help Line Foundation for the needy, Abuja.

What is the foundation all about?

It is my own small way of reaching out to people through the support of my husband, close families and friends who believe in what I am doing and each time I call upon them, they are always there to assist me to offer some gifts to the widows and orphans; we have some children under our scholarship scheme. It is a foundation for widows, about 30 of them; we empower them with various gifts.

The rate of poverty is high. What efforts are you making towards accommodating more than just 30 persons?

No, they are more than 30.

These are just the ones we could identify that are resourceful; because some of these women, in as much as they don't have money, they may not really be enterprising. Some of them do rely on hand-outs, but the ones that are doing businesses that we are seeing are these 30. But there are more. This weekend, we are planning to organise a fun fair for them at the Millennium Park.

Here again, we are going to be identifying some more widows.

During the fun fair organised last year, we did what we call 'Little Miss Charity'. We are going to have a second edition during this year's fun fair.

Mrs. Jummai Ahmadu Can you explain further on that?

Little Miss Charity is our own way of trying to imbibe the culture of care to the young ones that are coming up. Our last year's Little Miss Charity was for children about 10 years of age, and they already know what it means to share. If you have a loaf of bread, you can share with somebody who does not have. For example, if you are in a public school and the child sitting next to you does not have food; you can share your food with him or her.

We want to see how we can catch them young so that if the future Nigerians who are the youths of today know the importance of giving, at least the level of poverty will reduce. Some people have so much and it takes just a little to be able to change the life of somebody. You don't know how your five naira or ten naira can go a long way to affect the life of someone. The Little Miss Charity from time to time, gives alms to the needy. That is the idea. I also have a charity shop in Kuje and we are going to clear everything in the shop this Saturday. We will use the proceeds to empower the widows and this time, we are paying school fees for children of the less privilege.

There are many widows in this country. In your opinion, is government doing enough to cater for their needs?

Government may not really be doing enough but we have so many non-governmental organisations that claim to be assisting widows. I believe that they [NGOs] are not doing much because government cannot do everything for us. Thank God that President Jonathan said in next year's budget, certain percentage is going to be allocated to women empowerment. We are hoping that they will identify widows and empower them, particularly in the areas of farming and small scale industries, because they are very vulnerable.

Talking of widows bring to the fore the question of gender equality. Are women being treated well in government circles?

Now, I will say yes, compared to what it used to be in the past. If you look at the FCT for example, women are well represented here. So if what is happening in the FCT can be replicated in other parts of the country; states and local governments, women will do well and by extension, the country will fare better, because they are better managers when given the opportunity.

Tell us about your journey into matrimony. How did you meet your husband?

That was a long time ago. I met him when I was in my first year in the University, which is

almost 20 years ago because we courted for 10 years before we got married.

How was the courtship like?

It was rough. It was very rough, even though I wouldn't say it is completely smooth now but I thank God for where we are today.

At what point did you both decide to tie the knot?

I left him in Jos where I schooled and came to Abuja for the Youth Service. He went to Equatorial Guinea for a Technical Aid programme and returned to Abuja and got employed by the FCT. He is a Medical Doctor. Two years to his staying in Abuja, he said we should go ahead and do the wedding. And that was it.

There are so many orphans in the country today; most of them occasioned by HIV/AIDS and as a result of maternal mortality. Do you think our health sector is handling the issues well?

Our health sector has its challenges because the ratio of doctor to patients is very poor.

Government need to do more to employ more hands in the health sector especially doctors, because am not sure the ratio is about 150 patients. You can see that the doctors are putting in their best but the population is so large that we can hardly feel the impact.

The floods have ravaged some parts of the nation with women and children being the most hit. As people, do we do the right thing at the right time?

We don't. I remembered NIMET campaigned that there would be flood and those living in the lower lines should do what they needed to do but most did not. We don't make hay while the sun is still there because we lack discipline. That is what caused the problem. I foresee a lot of problems next year like food shortages and women and children are going to be more affected. The money government has allocated, I don't know how they are going to manage it to make the desired impact.

What is your advice generally on this issue?

Whenever government say there is going to be a disaster, we should do everything possible within our means to see how we can reduce the impact.

Government should have machinery on ground like the agency that announced that there was going to be flood. I believe that they should have made adequate arrangements so that we don't start looking for the funds to assist those people. They should have made contingency arrangements.

The Nigeria we are hoping to build is one that will get to a state where we have contingency arrangements for anything that is going to happen so that our people do not suffer like they are suffering now due to flood.

“

That was a long time ago. I met him when I was in my first year in the University, which is almost 20 years ago because we courted for 10 years before we got married.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 39

International

Man's scalp looks like brain

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his man’s deep skin folds that resemble the surface of the brain are the result of a rare condition called cutis verticis gyrata.

The strange folds and furrows covering a Brazilian man’s entire scalp was neither a funky new look nor a hipster trend. Rather the 21-yearold’s bizarre looking scalp with its deep skin folds in a pattern said to resemble the surface of the brain is a sign of a rare medical condition known as cutis verticis gyrata.

In this week’s New England Journal of Medicine, two Brazilian doctors describe this young man’s case and share a

picture of its odd appearance.

When he was 19, the skin on his scalp started to change. It grew thicker, forming many soft, spongy ridges and narrow ruts.

Even his hair had an unusual configuration. It was normal in the furrows but sparser over the folds as is common for this strange scalp condition. No doubt, visits to the barber shop as well as washing his squishy scalp and combing his hair were peculiar experiences.

Despite the extent of his scalp affected, “the patient did not have the habit of covering his head,” with a hat, for

instance, says Dr. Karen Schons a dermatologist at the Hospital Universitario de Santa Maria, who examined the patient and co-authored the case study. In fact, the case study reports that “the condition did not bother him cosmetically.”

Cutis verticis gyrata occurs much more commonly in men, and it typically develops not long after puberty occurs.

Doctors aren’t sure exactly what causes the scalp changes that led to its weird appearance.

In this Brazilian man’s case, no one else in his family had the condition, and he did

not have any symptoms because of it. He was intellectually impaired and had performed poorly in school, but this was not linked with the skin folds and furrows on his scalp.

In fact, his doctors found he had no symptoms of neurological or psychiatric disorders, even though cutis verticis gyrata has sometimes been associated with cognitive disabilities or other brainrelated disorders, such as schizophrenia and seizures.

“It’s a benign and essentially aesthetic condition,” explains Schons.

Although his head probably

attracted some curious stares, this man wasn’t self-conscious about it. He needed no treatment.

Schons says there are surgical methods that can correct some of the disfigurement, but it may not be a good option for patients with extensive scalp involvement.

Doctors saw the young man a year after he was diagnosed, and his scalp looked the same and he continued to have no health concerns or concerns about his appearance.

New England Journal of Medicine, 2012.

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Analysis First Lady’s promise of service

By Miriam Humbe

A

t exactly 3:50pm on Wednesday, the Nigerian Air force plane, with registration number 5N FGW, threw open its door to herald the appearance of First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja. Mrs. Jonathan who had travelled outside for over six weeks for an alleged medical check-up in a German hospital was said to be looking hale and hearty as she waved to the top government dignitaries who had filed out to welcome her.

While her absence lingered on however, the nation waited in utter gloom as information about her absence was scanty even as the media had been awash with speculations which went as far as quoting hospital and presidency sources that Mrs. Jonathan was admitted in the Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden, Germany where she said to be undergoing a tummy-tuck.

But speaking at the tarmac of the Airport upon arrival, the First Lady who debunked insinuations that she did embark on a medical mission, dropped a rather sarcastic poetic familiar lyrics when she declared that she was back to serve Nigeria.

“I have come to serve Nigeria, I have come to work with Nigerians, I am there for them. Once more I am pleased to be back. I love Nigerians they are my family,” she said. One begins to wonder from what point the new messiah intends to set about achieving her mission.

For instance, it was shortly before the period of her absence that the Federal Government under the watchful eye of her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan nearly chocked down the throats of Nigerians the five thousand naira note introduced by Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. But for the timely intervention of the National Assembly, many more hapless Nigerians would be groaning under the yoke of the unfriendly economic policy of her husband.

Earlier in the year, especially on January 1, when Nigerians looked forward to embracing the New Year as they longed albeit in vain for a better and more prosperous year, President Jonathan removed subsidy on petroleum products. The effect of that action has left a sense of nostalgia in the mouths of Nigerians and cast aspersions on the earlier hopes the people had entertained over the election of the president.

The issue of national security is story for yet another day. To put it lightly, the near-breakdown of law and order in the country with high profile bombings, arson and violent communal clashes went un-curtailed in the past few months under the dispensation of Jonathan with fears being entertained in some quarters that the nation was at the brink of a possible disintegration. Vibrant efforts at quelling the challenge became visible only months after hundreds and scores of lives were lost.

What most people who know Mrs. Jonathan well enough will confidently say about her is that she is not new to these kinds of bogus statements. It would be recalled that during the political campaigns before the national elections in April last year, Mrs. Patience Jonathan’s campaign train moved from state to state and appeared to pull more crowd than that of the presidential campaign headed by her husband. These crusades also were accompanied by bogus

First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan promises of a better life in terms of improved health care and the likes of control of maternal mortality and poverty alleviation for Nigerian families which appears to be eluding them presently.

Statements like these coming from the First Lady who also doubles as a Permanent Secretary in the public service of Bayelsa state are to be expected as she has always been in the service of her motherland. Even before appearing in the political limelight as wife of the governor of deputy governor of Bayelsa state where her husband held sway before fate catapulted him up to the national level; Mrs. Jonathan was President of A. Aruera Foundation, a non-governmental organisation which provided succour to the widows and less privileged in society.

In the light of the above therefore, her statement: “God has given me a second chance to come and work with women of Nigeria, children and the less privileged”, is understood in a positive light. She is also noted as the advocate of the 35 percent

affirmative action, aimed at placing women in that ratio and beyond in top positions in the public glare.

The First Lady who had been a teacher in the state’s civil service has been on leave of absence since 1999 when her husband became the deputy governor of the state. Following anticipated queries and unfair remarks that trailed the appointment by Bayelsa state governor, Seriake Dickson, the governor’s spokesman, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, posited that Mrs Jonathan would have risen to the status of a permanent secretary, if she did not cut short her career by taking a leave of absence to join her husband in his political service, first to Bayelsa state and now, to the entire nation.

But the office of First Lady is still not recognized by the constitution of the nation and remains largely a ceremonial office and not careerist per se. This call for caution and the need to check the excesses of first ladies whether at the federal or state levels in order that they do not

unnecessarily heat up the polity.

Thousands of well wishers thronged the Presidential Wing of the airport to welcome her home from her trip to Germany as media reports have said.

However, Mrs. Jonathan neither addressed journalists, nor responded to well-wishers’ solidarity songs.

Hundreds of women from Bayelsa, Rivers, Peoples Democratic Party, and other women groups, displaying placards arrived and stayed at the airport from early in the morning defying the scorching sun for hours before Mrs. Jonathan’s plane finally landed. Several other officials of the party were also present.

Mrs. Jonathan was reported to have been guided into an official vehicle straight from the plane. She paused only to wave to the women supporters, but rarely acknowledged greetings, nor addressed the hundreds of well-wishers who waited patiently for her arrival. No reason has been availed for the first lady’s action.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 41

Weekend

CAF Champions Lea gue semif inals League semifinals

Ahly and Sunshine players contending for possession of the ball during the first leg.

It's make or bust for Sunshine Stars

By Patrick Andrew

O

f a fact, miracles do happen. And that’s on daily basis. That’s why religious devotees supplicate for it in almost all endeavours of life, football inclusive.

Albeit, when it does happen in football, it is sometimes erroneously termed ‘luck’, but the fact remains that miracles are recurrent decimals in our lives.

Definitely, Sunshine Stars would sure need this recurrent decimal today in Cairo, Egypt when they confront Al Ahly, the six-time winners of the CAF Champions League in the decisive return leg of the elite clubs’ fiesta.

A fortnight ago, Sunshine Stars offered Al Ahly a huge leap following a 3-3 draw at the Dipo Dina International Stadium. The away goal hands the Egyptians a foot in the finals of the Champions League. All that they need to do safely berth in the final proper is a score draw against the visiting Stars.

However, a scoreless draw would be to the detriment of Sunshine Stars, who must even avoid any score draw below 2-2 or 0-0, not even an outright loss as it would spell doom to their ambition.

Sunshine Stars are gunning for an upset. The Stars’ exploits in North Africa this year have yielded some dividends: Losing once in three matches there.

They beat ASO Chlef 2-1 in Algeria, drew 0-0 with Etoile du Sahel in Tunisia, while their only loss was to Esperance in Tunis but through an own goal by Jude Ebitogwa.

Today, Sunshine Stars hope to stun Ahly, especially since the match is behind closed doors, and therefore devoid of the usual intimidating and sometimes vilatile North African fans.

The Stars must have had better preparation and focus than they did a fortnight ago. Prior to that game, they were on strike in demand for unpaid allowances, and could not have had the best of mental and physical presence of mind to confront Al Ahly.

Not so now. The Nigeria representatives have had intensive preparations, are focused and poised for the ‘war’.

They will benefit from the form and fitness of skipper Godfrey Oboabana, who missed the first match because of

suspension. Azu Izuka, who seemed out of shape in IjebuOde, must have re-jigged himself and in the frame of mind for this match.

Dele Olorundare, the super substitute that first reduced the tally for, Stars in the 3-3 all draw, is in top gear as is Dayo Ojo, Mendrano Tamen, all of whom should rally to pile pressure on their hosts.

But the Stars must be wary of sleek Gedo, who got a brace in the first leg, and also double efforts to tidy up their defence wall to thwart Ahly’s deadly incursions in search

for goals.

Moses Ocheje, the Sunshine Stars first choice keeper, remains a doubt after recovering from illness and faces serious fitness hiccups. Coach Gbenga Ogunbote would have to decide whether to risk unfit Ocheje or use Henry Ayodele, who was in goal when they lost 4-1 to Recreativo.

Ahly though would equally miss Ahmed Adel, Waleed Solman and Sayed Moawad, all because of injury. But they welcome their deadly attacker Emad Moteab, who’s back from injury.

Mazembe walk tightrope in Tunis

T

P Mazembe walk a tightrope as they engage Esperance in Tunis today hoping to reach the CAF Champions League final.

The 2010 winners confront that year’s runners-up Esperance in what in all ramification will be a tensed face-off in the Champions League semifinals final leg tie. They played out 0-0 result in the first leg on October 7 in Lubumbashi. But today’s clash must produce a winner.

Mazembe return to this stage of the competition for the first time in two years after the DR Congo side was banned from the 2011 group stage for fielding an ineligible player.

Mazembe’s last visit to Tunis two seasons ago saw them finish 1-1 in a second leg of the final to lift the Champions League 6-1 on aggregate.

One of its payers, Himonde says he believes Mazembe can be fourth time lucky in their first return to Tunisia since then, although they have yet to win there in three visits with a draw and two defeats.

Mazembe will be without key defender Stophilla Sunzu who is suspended after he was sent off in the first leg two weeks ago.

There is also an injury concern for midfielder Rainford Kalaba due to a groin strain sustained in that same match that saw him miss Zambia’s Africa Cup qualifier against Uganda on October 13 due to the same injury.

Meanwhile, 2011 runners-up Esperance are pleased to note that Ghana defender Harrison Afful is in good health from Africa Cup duty away against Malawi.

But Esperance coach Nabil Maaloul is sweating on midfielders Youssef Msakni and Karim Aouadhi as the Tunisian giants plot revenge for their 2010 final loss to Mazembe.

When Mazembe last visited Esperance they held a 50 advantage going into the second leg of the 2010 Champions League final, and drew 1-1 before going on to become the first African finalists in the FIFA Club World Cup. Another score draw would suffice for the Congolese and they will bank heavily on captain Tresor Mputu and fellow midfielder Mbwana Samata, who have scored six goals each in Africa this season.

But the Lubumbashi Ravens will not be at full strength with Zambia defender Stoppila Sunzu suspended and compatriots Rainford Kalaba and Hichani Himonde requiring late fitness tests.

Esperance can call on fit-again Ghana defender Harrison Afful and are hopeful injured midfielders Youssef Msakni and Karim Aouadhi will recover for a match to be watched by a crowd restricted to 25 000 because of security concerns.

The final will be staged over two legs during November with a two-week break between fixtures and the champions pocket $1.5 million plus a place at the 2012 Club World Cup in Japan.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 42

Plateau Peaks win National Div. 1 Basketball League title

P

lateau Peaks of Jos yesterday in Abuja emerged champions of the NBBF National Division One Basketball League, after posting a 67-59 win over Oluyole Warriors of Ibadan.

In the match played at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, the Jos-based Peaks led the game throughout, leading 22-13 from the first quarter. They made it 36-22 in the second quarter, and consolidated their lead adding points to end the third quarter on 56-38.

The match was to determine the champions of the league, which is a cadre lower than the NBBF/ DSTV Premier Basketball League.

Six teams participated in the fiesta, which began on last Tuesday with two Premier League tickets at stake.

In the competition’s individual awards, Okoli Anthony of Oluyole Warriors emerged the Atlantic Conference group’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). Augustine Ese of Plateau Peaks also won the Savannah Conference group’s MVP award.

In his speech during the closing ceremony, President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Tijani Umar, said that the federation would have organised a better league but for exigencies.

“We tried our best and it happened to be like this. I therefore congratulate both teams on their promotion to the premier league,’’ he said.

The Oluyole Warriors and Plateau Peaks of Jos respectively had on Thursday secured promotion to the Atlantic and Savannah Conferences of the 2012/2013 Premier Basketball League.

Both teams had achieved the feat

after winning their groups after four rounds of matches in the two threeteam groups.

The Ibadan-based Warriors had upstaged the Nigerian Air Force Rockets 77-55 in the final game of the Atlantic Conference group, for seven points from three wins and a

loss. The Plateau Peaks also beat Benue Braves of Makurdi 69-62 in the Savannah Conference group’s final game, chalking up seven points from three wins and one loss in four matches.

The victory had ensured the Plateau Peaks were returning to the

top league from where they were relegated at the end of the 2010/ 2011 season.

Both teams will now replace the Defenders of Abuja and the Chariots of Lagos, which were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2011/2012 season.

Bakary Kone, one of Wydad’s leading scorers acknowledges cheers from the crowd.

CAF Confed. Cup: All to play for in Bamako for Wydad W

ydad Casablanca have it all to play for in hope of reaching the semifinals of the Confederations Cup when they travel to Bamako this Sunday to take on the already eliminated Stade Malien.

The Red and Whites kept their hopes of a berth in a semifinal alive when they defeated AC Leopards 3-1 in Casablanca thanks to goals from Bakary Koné, Bakr El Hilali and a stoppage time effort from Abderrazak Lemnasfi.

The win meant that Mustapha Chrif’s men are capable of finishing in the top four should they come out victorious against Stade Malien all while hoping that Djoliba AC pull out a good performance too in their Group B encounter against AC Leopards.

The Malian outfit’s journey, on the other hand, was brought to an end when they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Djoliba in Bamako, on October 7.

The loss left ‘Les Blancs’ lying four points behind the second-

placed Leopards one week before the concluding match of the group phase, making it impossible for them to reach the semifinals.

They will, however, be determined to cause an upset on

match day when they meet Wydad on their home turf – they have pride to play for and they will not be a walkover.

The first leg between the two teams ended in one-all draw in

Casablanca and with qualification for the highly sought after semifinal spot just 90 minutes away for Wydad they will be guaranteed to be going all out in this encounter.

…Derby for first place in Khartoum

A

l Merreikh and Al Hilal meet in Khartoum on Saturday to battle it out for first place in Group A in the sixth and final day of the group phase of the Confederation Cup. Both teams have already qualified for the semifinals, but they will be playing for pride and hopefully an easier semifinal match.

Al Hilal secured their ticket to the semis two weeks ago, when they outclassed Al Ahly Shandy 2-0, thanks to a brace by Zimbabwean international Edward Sadomba.

The two Sudanese rivals, both unbeaten since the start of the

competition, are lying on equal points, with Al Hilal possessing a better goal difference than their neighbour before their final clash.

So Al Merreikh must ensure a win on Saturday or a goalless draw (they held Al Hilal to a draw 1-1 in the first leg) to end on top of the group, and to avoid Djoliba AC, who are certain to end as leaders of Group B, in the semifinals.

Al Hilal certainly also hope to secure a semifinal return leg at home by avoiding defeat (a draw other than 0-0 would suffice to assure first place), even if their coach seemed to have a preference for the Malians as their next adversaries.

“I have one more match left to prepare well for the semifinals. If I had the choice, I would prefer to meet Djoliba at this moment.

“But first off I have to work on our mistakes and fix them,” stated the former coach of TP Mazembe and Wydad Casablanca Diego Garzitto, who is now in charge of Al Hilal Omdurman, after their win over Al Ahly Shandy in the fifth round.

Whichever of the two teams end on top will face the secondplaced team of Group B in the semis, yet to be decided between the Congolese of AC Léopards de Dolisie and the Moroccans of Wydad de Casablanca.

2nd FCT Unity handball tourney starts today

R

esidents of the FCT will be treated to four days of handball fiesta when the 2nd FCT Unity Handball Championship begins today at the Old Parade Ground Abuja.

The championship will see 14 teams slugging it out for the converted trophy and a prze tag of N300,000, said to be the highest prize money in the nation’s handball competitions.

Of the 14 teams participating in the championship, eight male and six female teams, according to chairman of the Local organizing Committee Bala Mohammed.

The male teams are the defending champions Safety Shooters of Abuja, Key Boys (Nigeria Prisons), Civil Defence, Sokoto State, Lagos State, Kano State, Benue state and Kaduna State while the female teams are Plateau State, Kaduna State, Lagos State, Civil Defence, Road Safety and Imo State.

Road Safety Shooters are the defending Champions of both male and female categories and going by their track records, they are poised once again to repeat the feat they achieved last year.

According to the fixtures released by the technical committee of the championship, Civil Defence Babes will play the opening match against Team Plateau while Unity Boys of FCT will trade tackles Safety Shooters in the second match.

The two remaining matches of the day are Safety Babes against Team Kaduna and Prison Key Boys against the male team of Civil defence.

“This year’s championship will be exceptional in the area of quality of teams, prizes and other logistics that has made this championship an epic annual ritual” “We have been following closely the preparations of the participating teams and I hope that come 20th of October, the city of Abuja will witness the best of handball” Bala was quoted in a release.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 43

Puyol, Pique, Alves still out as Barca tackle Deportivo

B

arcelona, will again improvised in their most troublesome department by deploying midfielders Alex Song and Javier Mascherano to partner in the central defensive position as they visit Deportivo La Coruna today.

The improvisation is necessary because of the continued injury problems of defensive trio Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique and Dani Alves. Two weeks ago, Barca opted to use full back Adriano Correia at centreback for the ‘Clasico’ and turned out okay.

Barca hold an eight-point lead over fifthplaced champions Real Madrid, who host promoted Celta Vigo also today.

But Real are not without their injury headaches. The Jose Mourinho’s side lost fullbacks Marcelo, Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao to injury during the break for internationals and, like Barca, will need to shuffle their defence to cover at left back.

Unbeaten Atletico Madrid may have the chance to go top when they visit Real Sociedad on Sunday, if leaders Barca slip up in La Coruna. They are level on 19 points but second on goal difference.

Coach Diego Simeone is likely to be without Turkey playmaker Arda Turan who returned from international duty with an ankle injury.

Third-placed Malaga host promoted Valladolid on Saturdaywith a doubt over Spain fullback Nacho Monreal who has a back complaint and Argentine striker Diego Buonanotte, who has a knee ligament problem.

Weekend fixtures

Ronaldo and Messi rekindle rivalry Long-term injury victim Julio Baptista, who is recovering from Achilles surgery, started doing ball exercises on Thursday for the first time since his operation.

Misfiring Valencia have midfielders David Albelda, Ever Banega and defender Ricardo Costa back in the squad after injury as they prepare to host another struggling side, Athletic Bilbao, today.

Bottom club Espanyol have taken two points from a possible 21 so far and, after fan protests against the team and the board at their last home game, coach Mauricio Pochettino is under pressure for the visit of Rayo Vallecano. Real Zaragoza visit Granada on Sunday without Serbian defender Ivan Obradovic who requires surgery on a knee ligament injury. He is expected to be out for around six months.

PSG to put pressure on Marseille

P Villas-Boas lead Spurs revenge mission to Chelsea T SG could provisionally take the lead during week 9 of the Ligue 1 in the case of a win against Reims, on Saturday at

the Parc des Princes, until Olympique Marseille’s away game against Troyes 24 hours later.

ottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas insists his players will be the only ones on a revenge mission when his former club Chelsea visit White Hart Lane in today’s London derby.

With Chelsea captain John Terry suspended after deciding not to appeal the four-match ban imposed for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, the focus will be fixed firmly on Villas-Boas as he confronts the Blues for the first time since his dismissal after just nine months in the job.

Villas-Boas was bitter about his exit in March and to make matters worse, his former assistant Roberto Di Matteo oversaw a revival that delivered the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Chelsea’s European triumph ensured their return to the competition despite finishing in sixth place in the Premier League, and consigned fourth-placed Spurs to the Europa League.

And Villas-Boas claims that will prove the more significant motivation for his team, who face the unbeaten league leaders on the back of a run of four straight wins, than any personal thoughts of revenge.

“In the end there is one thing which has been to a certain extent blown out of proportion in some ways - this is certainly not a personal matter,” Villas-Boas said.

“But this game is not going to decide the future of both teams in the Premier League, after this game there will be 30 more games to play, and both teams will have to have decisive matches in front of them. It counts as three points. It doesn’t win us a trophy.”

Villas-Boas is expected to stick with England’s Jermain Defoe as his side’s lone striker, with Emmanuel Adebayor remaining on the bench, but faces a tough decision between Brad Friedel and Hugo Lloris for the keeper spot.

But Spurs will once again be with midfielder Scott Parker and left back Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Di Matteo, meanwhile, will call-up Gary Cahill to deputise for Terry alongside David Luiz with Ashley Cole set to start 48 hours after being fined £90 000 for his abusive tweet directed at the FA following criticism of his role in the wake of Terry’s clash with Ferdinand.

Fernando Torres will again lead the Chelsea attack after revealing last week the depth of his personal frustration last season when he struggled to get into the Blues starting line-up ahead of the now departed Didier Drogba.

Andre Villas Boas

The Parisians are still unbeaten in the Championship since the start of the season, but are impatient to taste victory again after their draw at the Stade Vélodrome against their bitter rivals.

To welcome Stade de Reims, PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti will have to rethink his midfield, given the injuries of Thiago Motta and Clément Chantôme, as well as Marco Verratti’s suspension.

For this purpose the Italian technician could call on Momo Sissoko and Mathieu Bodmer, who are both back with the group.

The locals might very well be the big favourites for this clash, but they are nevertheless wary of this team, who are currently occupying a very surprising fifth position in the league standings.

“It is going to be a difficult match. In football, you never know what could happen.

In any case, we will do everything to win because we will be at home. The Rémois have the desire to play, to show themselves in the Ligue 1. It is always complicated to play these types of teams that are very concentrated,”stated Parisian striker Kévin Gameiro in a press conference.

Stade de Reims remain unbeaten since the third week and although they recognise the value of their opponent of the day, they still refuse to head to the Parc with a victim’s mentality.

“We are not going there for a holiday and we will initially try to impose our game. We will try not to suffer too much.

We have to resist the pressure. We don’t often play in front of 40,000 people and there will be a lot of factors to keep control over.

Everybody expects us to lose over there and this match is a bonus. We must not be ridiculous and try to look good,” explained Reims defender, Mickaël Tacalfred.

EPL Tottenham v Chelsea Fulham v Aston Villa Liverpool v Reading Man Utd v Stoke Swansea v Wigan West Brom v Man City West Ham v Southampton Norwich v Arsenal Sunday Sunderland v Newcastle QPR v Everton CAF Champions League 21:30 Esperance v TP Mazembe Sunday Al Ahly v Sunshine Stars CAF Confederation Cup 18:00 Al Shandy v Interclube Al Merreikh v Al Hilal Sunday AC Leopards v Djoliba Stade Malien v Wydad Casablanca French Ligue 1 PSG v Reims AS Nancy v Sochaux Evian TG v Toulouse Nice v St Etienne Rennes v Montpellier Valenciennes v Lorient Sunday AC Ajaccio v Bastia Lyon v Brest Municipal Troyes v Marseille German Bundesliga Borussia Dortmund v Schalke 04 Bayer Leverkusen v Mainz Wolfsburg v SC Freiburg Eintracht Frankfurt v Hannover 96 Fortuna Dusseldorf v Bayern Munich Werder Bremen v Borussia M’gladbach Sunday Nurnberg v Augsburg Hamburg v VfB Stuttgart Italy Serie A Juventus v Napoli Lazio v AC Milan Sunday Cagliari v Bologna Atalanta v Siena Chievo v Fiorentina Inter Milan v Catania Palermo v Torino Parma v Sampdoria Udinese v Pescara Genoa v Roma Spanish Primera Liga Malaga v Valladolid Real Madrid v Celta Valencia v Athletic Bilbao Deportivo La Coruna v Barcelona Sunday Spanish Primera Liga Getafe v Levante Espanyol v Rayo Vallecano Granada v Real Zaragoza Osasuna v Real Betis Real Sociedad v Atletico Madrid

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 44

Max Gradel has earned a place in the Ivorian team and the starting 11 of Saint-Etienne. But that's not enough for the attacker, who hopes to get Les Verts to Europe and the Elephants forget their failure in the final of CAN 2012.

P.I.C.T.O.R.I.A.L Sri Lanka’s bowlers stifle Pakistan to give the hosts a 16-run win and a place in the final of the World Twenty20

Anne Keothavong is knocked out of the Luxembourg Open in the second round by top seed Roberta Vinci of Italy.

The Blue Sharks gobbled up continental kingfishers Cameroon to qualify for their first CAF Africa Cup of Nations, midfield mainstay Odair Fortes says the islanders could make even bigger waves in January's finals.

Roberto Mancini has laughed off speculation that Yaya Toure will leave Man City and hopes the Ivorian will choose to miss next year's African Nations Cup to focus on the club's title charge

Welsh Rugby Union chief Roger Lewis reveals Wales' four regions turned down an offer to contract international players centrally

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

PAGE 45

SOCCER Learning the basic rules of soccer 1

By Augustine Aminu with reports from Wikipedia No Rules = An Unfair Game he game of soccer would be unfair if only your opponents had permission to set the rules for the match.

And if both your and the opposing team had permission to make the rules, there would probably be so much discussion about every situation that you, your teammates and the opposing players would not care about how the match ended.

That’s why players, coaches and soccer associations over the whole world have decided which soccer rules should be followed.

The referees just make sure that you and other players are following the soccer rules.

But what if you get angry at the referee if he/she makes a wrong decision? Like giving the opposing team a penalty kick when their player was not even in the penalty area (also known as the the box and 18 yard box).

Well, keep in mind always that it is the referee who decides if it is a foul or not. Don’t ever get angry at a referee, even if you do not agree with his/her decision about some particular situation on the soccer pitch.

This will result in the referee getting even more stressed and confused, which will lead to more wrong decisions.

The referee is also a human being who make mistakes and despite that he knows all the soccer rules perfectly he will still make mistakes.

So, lead my advice; spare yourself unnecessary arguing and focus on your game.

How to Calm Down Sometimes it is hard to not get angry at the referee, but keep in mind that there is no reason to complain because a referee will never change his/her decision afterwards.

Use your energy to performing well and push yourself to work harder on the soccer field instead. I know this is easy to say when you are not upset on the field, but I usually count to 10 when I get angry at the referee, and after a while I feel better and so will you. I promise :-) Start of the game A match begins with a handshake between you (if you are the captain of the team) and the opposing team captain.

Usually players say hey to each other and wish the referee and the other team good luck.

The official soccer rules state that a game must start with a kick off from the centre of the soccer pitch.

End of the match The match is over when you and your teammates say “thanks for the match” (this is not a must but the official soccer rules state that this is fair play and should be adapted by all teams).

Both teams’ captains handshake the referee and say “thank you for the game” (even if no one is satisfied with the referee’s decisions during the match).

The Fundamental Rules You Must Learn Before we start, I just want you to keep in mind that it is not necessary to learn these rules in one day.

Instead, reflect over them while you are watching a soccer game and try to memorize at least one of them per week. Now, let’s study these rules in more detail.

T

If you don’t know the basics you will not either know how to play soccer.

However, you will not need to remember every soccer rule as many of them will not give you any advantage on the field.

In this guide I have only selected the most necessary ones that you need to learn in order to perform well.

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

City Life

With Stanley Onyekwere 08138559513

Promoting unity through inter tribal marriage T

h e r e is no gainsaying that inter tribal marriages enable people to learn about values of different cultures, thereby fostering peace building and unity especially in a heterogeneous country like Nigeria.

Marriage as a union between a man and a woman is contracted for the purpose of peaceful and harmonious living in a given society.

This is hinged on the belief that every marriage is geared towards peace and harmony for the parties and their offspring and by extension, the universe.

And marriage is both spiritual and sacred because of the spiritual bond holding the parties.

However, marriage is intercultural and inter tribal when it has to do with one two or more cultures within the state, nation, region or continent.

The culture of the bride’s tribe is made open to those who are asking for her hand in marriage. And par venture, the two families are not from distinctive linguistic and cultural background, the union would surely bound people of different cultures together. To this end, the marriage becomes a bond so affected to perpetually unite two different families.

Interestingly, both siblings of the couple, who equally involve themselves in return, continue the trend have equally created an unlimited expansion of relationship in this manner, each protecting the life of the other where crucial. And useful education and enlightenment of the concept of brotherhood starts from the family as peace emanates from the family, which is a complex of husband and wife and the children.

Therefore, for heterogeneous society like ours to progress, there must be the encouragement of intercultural and intertribal including interreligious marriage, which would promote the integration of autonomous units into a complete whole. And no person sees itself as an isolated being, but a being in a complete whole.

Again, it portends well for the much needed peace and unity of the country, including fast tracking economic integration, viable trade and commerce, thereby leading to substantial drop in violence.

It was in the light of this understanding that the parents of former Miss Augustina Olohigbe Udokhagbai, of Edo state gave her out in marriage to Mr. Septugene Sunday Umana, from Akwa Ibom state.

CITY BRIEFS: 2012 FCT tree planting campaign launched The annual afforestation sensitization programme tagged tree planting Campaign of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) aimed at creating tree planting awareness in the FCT and the 36 states of the federation has kicked off across the area councils.

Launching this year's campaign with the theme Tree Planting, a Solution to Global Warming, the minister of state (FCT), Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide pointed out that choice of the theme is timely given the current erosion and flooding that are being experienced in the nation as a result of climate change.

She therefore urged all FCT residents and visitors to take advantage of the initiative and cultivate the culture of planting trees particularly around their homes.

Retired policeman seeks dissolution of 42-year-old marriage A retired police officer, Mr Simeon Eguavon (64), on Thursday, dragged his wife, Grace (58), before an Ikorodu Customary Court in Lagos, seeking the dissolution of their 42-year-old marriage, over childlessness.

The petitioner also accused his trader wife of being troublesome.

Eguavon, who resides at Ikorodu High School Road, Agbala, Ikorodu, Lagos State, told the court that his wife fought with neighbours and also disrespected him.

The Court President, Mrs Risikat Ekerin, adjourned the case till Oct. 25 for judgment.

(NAN)

Court dissolves 'barren woman's marriage

The couple, Mr. and Mrs. Septugene S. Umana The process which started last week Friday, the 12th of October with a traditional marriage rite held at the bride’s father residence in Jikwoyi, Abuja, was concluded on Saturday with a solemnization service of their matrimony held at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Wuse.

The bride, Agustina, a trained educationist and first child of her family, hails from Uokha town, Owan East LGA of Edo state, while the groom, Septugene, an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), hails from Edimeya, in Ikot Abasi LGA of Akwa Ibom state. They dated for two years before cementing the relationship.

According to the bride, she met her heartthrob in University of Ibadan (UI) and both fell in love with each other

at first sight in the church.

“When I sighted him in the church and whispered silently to God to give me the charming darling I saw sited beside his parents in the church auditorium; I never knew our feelings were mutual and the story started from there, and we never looked back”, the newwed, Mrs. Umana expressed.

Customarily, at the place of marriage celebration, interesting stories are shared between and among members of the families involved, because the mood is refreshing. This story was not different when these two families from Edo and Akwa Ibom joined their children in marriage.

Also to demonstrate the sanctity of marriage of this nature and its connection with peace and harmony, items brought during marriage

celebrations in customary/ native marriage within the traditional African culture, are items that portray and signify peace and harmony.

Obviously, matrimonial union from this social perceptive promotes and signifies harmonious integration between and among the two opposite sexes.

This integration is not peculiarly tied to the two alone, if in a monogamous union, nor does it imply only the parties in the marital contract if is in a polygamous union.

And more so, this harmonious integration cuts across members of the immediate families, clans and communities and by so doing, each of the extended party in the contract of marriage sees himself or herself as part of the family in whole.

Got interesting stories about life or happenings in your neighbourhood? Contact CityLife, and let others read about them. Send suggestions/comments with your names and phone numbers via mycitybeat2pml@gmail.com.

A Grade 'A' Customary Court in Agege in Lagos on Thursday dissolved the eight-year-old marriage of a retiree over barrenness and quarrelsomeness.

The Court President, Mr Emmanuel Sokunle, held that the union of the retiree, Mr Fasiu Ayinde (58) and Ganiyat (38), could not stand the test of time.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Fasiu filed a divorce suit on April 16, 2012, saying that Ganiyat was troublesome and had not been able to bear child for him.

CITY QUOTE "I love being in cities with lots of other people, because I'm reminded that there are billions of people like me, and we are each stuck inside of our minds, feverishly trying to crawl out to make connections with other people."

-- John Green

From the Pulpit PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Self-sufficiency vs. God-sufficiency (2)

P

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GREEN PASTURES

r a i s e the Lord! I'm pleased to bring you the concluding part of this message which I began last week. Before I rounded off last week, I said, you need to always overcome any temptation to rely on the resources available to you without dependence on God.IemphasizedthatwithoutGod,you are insufficient no matter the abundance of what you have, and you should always depend on God alone. If you missed that edition, please ask your vendor to help you get a copy.

Amaziah's self-sufficiency Amaziah, the king of Judah, exemplified the wrong belief that selfsufficiency is a key to success in life. But God always seeks to make us shift our eyes from ourselves or others, and to fix our eyes on him. "I look up to the mountains - does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made the heavens and the earth!"

(Ps 121:1-2 NLT) Here is the story of Amaziah: "Then Amaziah organized the army, assigning generals and captains for all Judah and Benjamin. He took a census and found that he had an army of 300,000 select troops, twenty years old and older, all trained in the use of spear and shield. He also paid about 7,500 pounds of silver to hire 100,000 experienced fighting men from Israel. But a man of God came to him and said, 'Your Majesty, do not hire troopsfromIsrael,fortheLordisnotwith Israel. He will not help those people of Ephraim! If you let them go with your troops into battle, you will be defeated by the enemy no matter how well you fight.

God will overthrow you, for he has the power to help you or to trip you up.'

Amaziah asked the man of God, 'But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?' The man of God

replied,'TheLordisabletogiveyoumuch more than this!' So Amaziah discharged the hired troops and sent them back to Ephraim. This made them very angry with Judah, and they returned home in a great rage. Then Amaziah summoned his courage and led his army to the Valley ofSalt,wheretheykilled10,000Edomite troops from Seir. They captured another 10,000 and took them to the top of a cliff and threw them off, dashing them to pieces on the rocks below."(Verse 5-12 NLT) You can see from that passage that Amaziah was not satisfied with his army of 300,000 select troops and decided to hire 100,000 experienced fighting men from Israel - mercenaries from Israel, a kingdom God was not pleased with at that time. His purpose for hiring mercenaries was to achieve selfsufficiency.Amaziahhadalreadypaidthe mercenaries 7,500 pounds of silver for the services to be rendered. When Amaziah told the man of God about this payment, God sent to warn him not to go to war with these mercenaries as Judah would be defeated. The man of God told him further: "The Lord is able to give you much more than this!" God was able to give him more than the 7,500 pounds of silver he had paid. Obedience to God was more important than the money he had paid.

Amaziah forfeited the fees he had paid the mercenaries, and with his 300,000 soldiers he had thought were insufficient to give him victory, God gave himvictory.WithGodwhatyouconsider insufficient becomes sufficient, little becomes much. Amaziah's underrated army won that battle. God taught him a lesson in God-sufficiency as against selfsufficiency. I don't want to talk about what happened to Amaziah later as he

John 8:30-32; Proverbs 19:2; Isaiah 5:14; Hosea 4:6"

The glorious freedom of God's people of faith

A

n d ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Our freedom, liberation, deliverance, fulfilment in life depends on what and who we know. Christ reveals that our knowledge of the truth will make us free. Ignorance of the truth is not good 1. SPIRITUAL FREEDOM BY THE SON "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." Spiritual freedom comes by getting connected to the Son of God. Everyone needs to come into His presence to be able to experience this freedom. Opportunity is always there for sinners to be connected and backsliders to be reconnected to the Saviour. The freedom the Lord grants is not partial but permanent. He sets us free from sin, sickness and Satan to follow and become servants of righteousness. "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." As servants and students of righteousness, sin does not have dominion over us any longer.

When the Son of God comes into our lives, He renews our mind, thoughts, conscience and makes us completely free from sin. He then becomes the Controller and Director of our lives.

When there's no more sin, the middle wall of partition that separates us from Him, we "become servants to God...."

2. SEVEN-FOLD FREEDOM THROUGH THE SAVIOUR Christ, our Lord and Saviour sets us free from seven-fold bondage. He grants us: (1) freedom from filthiness - God

specializes in cleansing sinners from all filthiness of sin. Cleansed by God, the heart becomes free from all stubbornness and resistance to His Word; it becomes tender as He equally sanctifies and fills it with His Spirit. (2) Freedom from fear. Fear is a terrible emotion. Many times, what you fear, you attract to your life. Premonitions and terrifying dreams tend to become reality through fear. Satan uses the fear in people to work against them like he did to Job. In the new covenant, it's a new day, and fear is gone. (3) Freedom from the flesh. Some people are still involved with the works of the flesh and remain voluntary slaves when God has declared universal freedom for all men.

(4) Freedom from frustration. Hope deferred often brings frustration and depression, especially when there is lack or loss of opportunities and means of livelihood or difficulty in finding a marriage partner. (5) Freedom from failure. Many people are battling with failure; they tell stories of ill-luck and inability to pass exams. With confession, conviction, correction, concentration, consecration, commendation and conferment, there will be freedom from failure. (6) Freedom from falsehood.

God sets free from false apostles, prophets, teachers, doctrine, religion and ideology that despise Christ's sacrifice. (7) Freedom from the fire. God sets us - family, property - free from the fire of the enemy. He also grants freedom from eternal fire through repentance, faith and freedom in Christ.

mismanaged the victory that God gave him by going into idolatry.

But hear what Apostle Paul said about the thorn in his flesh which he prayed to God thrice to remove: "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when Iamweak,thenIamstrong."(2Cor12:910 NKJV) It is the grace of God that can make a man sufficient - not his abilities, his position, his money or other resources. It is possible for someone to have all of these in abundance, and still fail in life. Paul said, "Not that we are sufficientofourselvestothinkofanything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God." (2 Cor 3:5-6 NKJV) Learning from Nebuchadnezzar and Uzziah No matter what you have, who you are or who you have, make God your sufficiency. You must always "remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth." (Deut 8:18 NKJV) You shouldn't say it is your power. Don't be like Nebuchadnezzar who proudly said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?" (Dan 4:30 ASV) He got instant judgment for this foolish statement. Verse 31-32 say, "While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your

By Pastor T.O. Banso cedarministryintl@yahoo.com GSM: 08033113523 dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses." (NKJV) Nebuchadnezzarwouldn'thavebeen able to build Babylon without God's power. He should have acknowledged God's power. But he learnt a great lesson while he was on 'sabbatical' in the forest with animals. Hear a 'born again' Nebuchadnezzar: "And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most HighandpraisedandhonoredHimwho lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?' At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down." (Dan 4:34-

FAITH DISCOURSE WITH

Pastor W. F. Kumuyi While genuine believers will go to heaven to walk on the streets of gold, those who reject Christ will burn in eternal, unending fire.

3. THE SUSTAINING FAITH OF THE SAINTS The Scripture reveals some saints who had sustaining faith. God wants us to exercise faith in Him; He wants us to be "followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

When we are set free, live and act by faith, God will grant us the fulfilment of His promises and blessings.

Let us learn from the faith of the saints. Abraham's faith did not consider his ageing body dead and barren but believed God for the promised child. Barak's faith went with Deborah to battle without any consideration for gender because he believed God was with her. Caleb's faith did not consider the giants superior to His God but believed that with Him on

their side, they were well able to overcome. Daniel's faith triumphed over conspirators who wanted him to become a secret disciple. He came out of the den of lions unhurt. Elijah was a man of authority who locked and opened heaven against idolatrous Ahab and Israel. Fortunatus, though unfamiliar, by faith supported as well as made the apostle Paul glad. Gideon's faith was neither in the size of the army nor in people but in the almighty God, who gave him victory in battle.

Hezekiah's faith cancelled premature death through prayer. Isaiah's faith claimed signs and wonders for him and his children. Joshua's faith was built on God's word and promise that no man would be able to stand before him all the days of his life. King Jehoshaphat's faith considered the battle won; as such, he arranged his people to praise God. The Lepers' faith received miracles from the Lord when

37 NKJV) Back to Uzziah - he must have felt so self-sufficient that he misbehaved. He was a king whose fame spread far and wide because he was marvelously helped till he became strong but he messed up a glorious reign. He failed to retain the acknowledgment that God was the reason for his great success. He was so full of himself that the High Priest and 80 other priests - 81 men of God - could not prevent him from intruding into the office of a priest to burn incense. He probably felt he could do and undo, after him in the kingdom, there was nobody else.God'sjudgmentcameuponhim.He became leprous, and consequently couldn't enter the house of God as from that time. He lived and died in isolation.

He couldn't even be buried where kings were buried. (2 Chro 26:15-23) Beware of that air or feeling of selfsufficiency; beware of pride. One of Job's friends, Zophar the Naamathite, said of the wicked: "In his selfsufficiency he will be in distress; every hand of misery will come against him." (Job 20:22 NKJV) That won't be your portion. You won't be distressed. Always remember that your sufficiency is in God - not in yourself, the things you possess or some connections you have. You should be able to say with Paul: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil 4:13 NKJV)

He told them to go and show themselves to the priest. Moses' faith did not see Pharaoh as any obstacle to Israel's exodus but was fixed on the invisible God. Noah's faith obeyed God's warning, prepared the Ark and escaped His judgment. Obadiah's faith made him hid and fed servants of God during Ahab's sinful reign and also spoke about Elijah's departure by the Spirit of God. Paul, the apostle was able to perform miracles through his faith in God. Queen Esther's faith delivered the whole nation of Israel from being wiped out. Rahab's faith acted on her knowledge of God; she and her family were preserved. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's faith affirmed that their God was able to deliver from persecutors and oppressors.

Thessalonians' faith was a growing one; it grew to solve greater problems and cope with greater challenges.

Unwavering faith does not doubt the promises of God. Virgin Mary's faith believed the good news from the Lord.

Woman of Shunem's faith believed and confessed, 'it is well' though the child that came after many years of waiting was dead. Extraordinary faith of the Sirophenician woman did not give up but persisted in spite of distractions and tests until she got the blessing. Yoke-breaking faith in the anointing from the Lord upon His servants set free. Zerubabel's faith moved mountains; began and finished projects and accomplished dreams.

BIG PUNCH "Let the former Head of State show us one power station he constructed during his tenure. We challenge him to show us one station he built to show his interest in the power sector.”

—Mr Bede Opara, President General, Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC)

SATURDAY 20 — SUNDAY 21, OCTOBER, 2012

Blueprint on Northern Economy (III) Prof Aminu S Mikail et al AGRICULTURE Opportunities in Northern Nigeria Crop Production Potential Northern States of Nigeria, albeit were the overwhelming majority are Muslims, have undoubtedly great potentials and opportunities to raise crop productivity, eliminate food imports, be a net food and cash crop exporter, generate foreign exchange, enhance domestic food security, increase agricultural sector contribution to the GDP and improve the living standard of its people. Taking the three Northern zones into perspective; North Central(consisting of Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger, plateau and FCT) North East (Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe), and North West (Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi and Zamfara ) each has peculiar potentials based primarily on the topography, ecology, and other agro-climatic variables.

In the North Central, sufficient rainfall to support active production of several crops exists.

Major assorted water resources in form of bodies of streams and rivers coupled with fertile soils along riverbanks, flood plains offer potential for production of root and tubers, varieties of cereals, vegetables, and plantation and tree crops.

The North East which constitutes a vast area of the North Region has wide range of topography, ecology and climatic conditions that range from montane or near temperate to hot tropical climate. The highlands of Mambila are suitable for the production of temperate crops (tea/coffee), while the semi-arid Sahelian areas can be put to production of cereals and legumes.

The lakes, rivers and various water bodies that abound there can be put to production of plantation crops (e.g. sugarcane), fruits, and vegetable crops.

In the North West, areas with higher rainfall have potential for vegetables, spices, oilseeds, roots and tubers, and other cereal crops.

This zone has the largest fadama areas in the country which can be put to large-scale cereal and horticultural crop production, year round.

Livestock and Fisheries Potential Nigeria's livestock population is put at about

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16 million cattle, 24 million sheep and 36 million goats, 106 million poultry, 0.9 million camels, 1 million donkeys, and 0.3 million horses. More than 90% of the nation's total ruminant livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats) which are the major sources of animal protein for humans are under management of the traditional extensive Fulani transhumance

WEEKEND with

Ibraheem Sulaiman sa427420@gmail.com

Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and mixed farming systems in the Northern part of this country; a system that is less efficient in enhancing productivity of the livestock. Less than 1% of the national herd is under improved management system. The poultry industry which hitherto is considered a commercial venture, only about 11% of the birds is commercially managed. The fishery resources in the North are from the inland water sources (rivers, lakes and reservoirs); rich in diverse species, but relatively untapped using improved methods of fish husbandry.

The need to upgrade the entire livestock breeds to improve their productivity is a recognized fact.

This calls for sedentrization of the nomadic pastoralists, whose age long method of production in search for pasture, is now seriously curtailed by population pressure and continuous expansion of cropland that have led to the loss of grazing lands and stock routes; consequently, feed availability for the stock is greatly constrained.

The livestock genetic pools require improvement through a programme of artificial insemination, cross breeding with

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exotic breeds and provision of improved quality pasture.

Likewise, poultry and fish production have fast turn over and accommodate gender production systems that can provide income and employment opportunities, therefore, an aggressive development campaign for commercialization of these agricultural production systems requires urgent attention so that the region protein needs are met in shortest possible time.

A comprehensive animal health management programme, that transfers ownership to the pastoral communities, to cater for economically important livestock diseases that are endemic need to be developed on a sustainable basis to curtail losses of animals and economic wellbeing of the region and the nation in general.

Majority of livestock and fishery farmers are largely illiterate and not organized, with the exception of some of the modern farmers, thus in the existing free market such farmers are left at the mercy of collusive exploitation by middlemen and speculators. Where semblance of farmer organizations exist, indeed

for crops too, they are usually not effective in protecting their members' interest within the industry. Thus, government intervention to support and motivate farmers to take advantage of organized marketing in this sub sector, and all other agricultural sub-sectors, is necessary.

Great potentials exist in the livestock, poultry and fishery sector in the North, as projected animal product demands persistently remain in deficit because of slow rates of supply. The region's dry season provides an avenue for farmers to engage in off-farm income generating activities.

Livestock rearing provides the most viable and economically rewarding intervention especially in rural communities that dominate the Northern States. The abundant grassland, hitherto left untapped except in some areas where grazing reserves were curved out, government can and should intervene and improve such reserves, and lease them out to rearers to help reduce transhumance cattle raring.

Focus should also be on the small

ruminants, poultry and fish because of their short gestation period to make the region selfsufficient and create surplus for export.

Irrigation potential Northern Nigeria is endowed with enormous water resources and various types of arable lands, fadama and nonfadama which can be put into small and large scale irrigation.

These potentials for irrigation which if harnessed and utilized can make a remarkable contribution to the Northern economy. For decades, the fadama have been used for small scale irrigation farming while with the advent of modern technologies, tube-wells, wash-bores and small irrigation pumps, are used to irrigate thousands of hectares under small scale-irrigation. In the early seventies the Nigerian Government established the River Basin Development Authorities to further harness the abundant water resources in the country to irrigate large hectarages (100,300 ha) under medium and large scale irrigation schemes (with a total potential in excess of 1million ha). It is important to note that 93% of the total area (93,270 ha) developed for irrigation is in the Northern States, but the utilization capacity of is only 35%.

Every year, Nigeria spends billions of naira importing wheat flour required for bread and other confectioneries. The required wheat can be produced under irrigation during the cool harmattan season in the North and thus the irrigation schemes put to advantage in terms of reducing the level of import.

The potential of the three major irrigation schemes in the North namely, Chad, HadejiaJama'are and Sokoto-Rima Basins, to produce wheat is in excess of 1 million tons if fully developed.

Unfortunately, only a small fraction of the nation's wheat requirement can be achieved given the present developed areas of the river basins.

Fresh vegetable are produced during the dry season from the irrigation schemes and fadama areas. However, farmers suffer lots of losses due to their perishable nature. Well planned production, processing and marketing arrangement can reduce losses, bring increased income to farmers and create more employment opportunities.

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