REPORTERS DISPATCH WEB EDITION OF MAY 28 - JUNE 4, 2013 VOL 1 NO 24

Abolish State Electoral Commissions -ALGON President >> Page 7

I am Not The Killer Of Bola Ige — Omisore >> Page 6

Vol. 1. No. 24.

May 28 — June 4, 2013

Nigeria’s first free newspaper

Mid Term Report Of Goodluck Jonathan

T

he Re-instatement of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The regulatory body was strengthened with a new Chairman and Commissioners sworn in for the purpose of providing appropriate regulatory functions for the electricity market in Nigeria.

•The Jonathan administration unbundled the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) into 18 successor companies for greater efficiency and effectiveness in

No one can push me out of PDP — Amaechi ...to cahallenge suspension in court.

R

ivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi says he is not thinking of leaving the People’s Democratic Party[PDP] even as the party announced his suspension for contravening articles 58 1 (b), (c ), (h) and (m) of the PDP Constitution following his refusal to obey the lawful directive of the Rivers State Executive Committee of the party to rescind his decision to CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

power generation and distribution.

• Creation of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc. The President inaugurated the CEO and board of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (also known as the Bulk Trader) in August 2011. The requisite environment for private sector investment in the Nigerian Power Sector has been created by establishing a credit-worthy offtaker of power, NBET Plc, who provides confidence to the power generating companies that they will be paid for power produced.

• The Jonathan administration launched the Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation Lighting Scheme.

This is to promote and encourage the use of energy efficient bulbs and lighting systems in order to create an energy conservation culture • The Federal Government of Nigeria entered into an MOU with worldwide leaders in the power sector, General Electric. The MoU stipulates that General Electric will invest up to 15 percent equity in power projects in the country summing up to 10,00MW capacity by the year 2020.

General Electric also proposes to establish local packaging facility for small aero-derivative turbines in Nigeria which will promote job creation.

• Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the US- ExIm Bank. The Ex-Im Bank of the United States of America signed an MoU with the Federal Government of Nigeria to provide an investment window of up to $1.5BN for investors willing to invest in the Nigerian Power Sector. This is the first time such quantum of money will ever be made available by the US Exim Bank for a specific sector in Africa.

•The Goodluck Jonathan administration has improved the power generation from around 2000 megawatts to 4502 megawatts in December 2012 the highest since Nigeria returned to

democratic rule in 1999.

•By July this year, power generation will hit 6,000 megawatts and by December this year it will hit 10,000 megawatts (assurance given last week by Minister of State for Power).

•All ten Power Plants under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) scheme to be commissioned by the end of this year. At the moment, majority of them have reached 95 percent completion stage.

•Improved power supply has been boosted in part by the emergency declared in the Gas sector last year by President Jonathan. At the time gas supply was insufficient. But now, thanks to the intervention by Mr. President, Nigeria now produces more gas than is required for domestic consumption.

•For more efficient power supply, the Jonathan administration has privatized the power distribution companies (DISCOs) under a most transparent bid process.

•Today, large parts of an unprecedented number of cities and towns across the country are enjoying between 14 to 16 hours of uninterrupted power supply, except in some few areas where localized problems of power distribution network have created bottlenecks for smooth transmission.

AGRICULTURE • In 2012 14 new rice mills with capacity to process 240 metric tons of rice were set up by the private sector while in addition, a sum of 1.2 billion dollars was secured by the Federal Government to install 100 large scale rice processing mills to produce 2.1 million metric tons of rice annually.

•This and other initiatives of government in 2012 resulted in the creation of about two million new jobs among rural dwellers. In 2013, the Federal Government will implement a Young Graduates Commercial Farmers Scheme, which will absorb

POWER: • Launch of the Roadmap for Power Sector Reform. The Roadmap launched sets out a clear implementation plan of the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act (2005) as a reaffirmation of the commitment to resolve the power crises and setting the path for power sector Improvement.

780,000 graduates in its first phase and provide an estimated four million jobs in the agricultural sector in the first year.

•Today, Nigeria has reached an unprecedented 60 per cent sufficiency in rice production, a feat, which the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) recently described as capable of raising world rice output to a record high in the next 12 next months.

•The Federal Ministry of Agriculture has set a clear goal to make the country self-sufficient in rice production by 2015 and end the N 356 Billion currently spent on importing rice annually, as well as replace up to 40% of the wheat imports for which the country spends over N 635 Billion annually, by 2015.

• The Nigeria Agricultural Bank is being restructured and recapitalized to provide loans to peasant farmers at single digit interest rates. This will be the most remarkable fund injection initiative ever undertaken by any government to empower rural peasant farmers and create wealth for rural dwellers.

•Export of dried cassava chips began in July 2012 and this represented the first time that Nigeria will achieve commercial CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Children’s Day: First lady teaches ways to peace

T

he First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, on Monday displayed her teaching skills at a party organised to celebrate the 2013 Children’s Day. Jonathan taught the children how to imbibe the culture of peace from a book titled, “We Need Peace’’, which she authored.

She gave a copy of the book to every child at the party.

“Children obey your parents and those older than you. Shun peer groups and friends that can lead you astray and do good because without you there will be no Nigeria,’’ she said. 29 children CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Page 2

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Perspectives National Strategy for the Reduction of Teenage Pregnancies in Sierra Leone: Dame Jonathan Perspective

By Omoba Kenneth Aigbegbele

I

t was a mammoth crowd of stakeholders that cut across traditional rulers, religious leaders and faith based leaders, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations, development partners from all walks of life including opinion leaders who gathered together to show their support to this issue – teenage pregnancies – affecting the very fabric of African society.

Globally, it is estimated that 14 million adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 years give birth; one third of young women in developing countries give birth before the age 20 (UNFPA, 2012) estimation. Regionally, the adolescent child bearing is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, more than 50 per cent of adolescent girls give birth by age 20 (WHO 2010) statistics.

In Sierra Leone, therefore, early child bearing and teenage pregnancy is one of the more pervasive problems affecting the health, social, economic and political progress and empowerment of women and girls.

Analysis from both the Sierra Leone Demographic Health Survey (SLDHS), 2008, and the Multiple Indicator Cluster (MIC) shows that poverty and ignorance are the major causes of teenage pregnancies and they are mutually reinforcing in a negative fashion and as such to tackle teenage pregnancies, services and interventions would have to target these causes including the strategy direction to address the problems head-on of early marriages and child bearing. All the necessary programmes should be implemented to help girls protect themselves from early pregnancies and acquire the necessary education for their stable future lives. However, the enforcement of laws that protect teenage girls from abuse and exploitation in Sierra Leone is weak.

The current statistics of pregnant women aged 15-49 years, who were married or in consensual union, 16 per cent were married before age 15 years, and 50 per cent before age 18 years. In addition, 24.5 per cent of women aged 15 to 19 years, started having sexual intercourse before age 15 years.

Against this background of the high incidence of early girl-child marriage and pregnancies, the use of modern contraception is restricted to a small proportion of the female population of child bearing ages.

Few elements have been documented in Sierra Leone on the real impact of teenage pregnancies on the health of the girls, on their sexual and reproductive behaviours, on their level of educational attainments and on their current socioeconomic status. As a result, there have been so far limited coordinated and focused efforts, at the national level, to devise programmes that would reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancies, or help to reintegrate teenage mothers into the productive socio-economic system either by continuing their education, skill training or accessing opportunities for employment or income generation.

Current researches show a strong relationship

First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan between poverty and teenage pregnancies with teenage girls in the poorest quintile being three times more likely to have a child before age 18 years compared to girls in the wealthiest quintile. The parents of most low-income families, who are unable to support their children’s basic needs, are faced with a choice between nutrition, health and education.

However, it is of importance that a certain value is given to girl-child education, but that both cost and traditionally, the mistrust in the education system are clear barriers for parents to send their girls to school. Parents do not see quick returns from education, whereas children, especially girls can contribute to the family’s financial income through petty-trading and family labour as well as through transactional sex.

The importance of social norms is also visible as regards contraceptives in Sierra Leone; it is not a social norm to use them and there is peer pressure against using them. Peer pressure in general plays a central role, bullying, teasing, name calling are worldwide phenomena at schools.

Teenagers who are abstaining from sex are also ostracized and sometimes made to feel inferior. While a UNICEF Document (2010) identifies the peerpressure cycle as a key determinant for adolescents, particularly young girls, to indulge in unsafe behaviours, substance abuse and unprotected sex.

The impact of the problems can be said that all teenage pregnancies, irrespective of the outcome, have adverse consequences for the girls, the parents and the communities. Adolescent pregnancy is dangerous. The poorest girls in poorest communities in Sierra Leone and across Africa are most likely to become pregnant during adolescence, with serious long-term and wide-ranging consequences from health complications for the young mothers and babies to a broader economic deprivation and desperation.

Indeed, pregnancy is the leading cause of death to adolescent girls, and the youngest girls are particularly at risk. The maternal mortality Global

The mission of reporters dispatch is to place in the hands of every Nigerian the power of information and knowledge.

To promote spontaneous reading in a conscious effort to increase the declining reading culture in Nigeria.

To empower Nigerians through the provision of facts in an informative and entertaining manner with a view to enabling the populace take decisions and make choices

Mission Statement

report says adolescents are more likely to have long and obstructed labours due to their smaller body sizes and immature pelvic structure. This not only increases their risk of death, but also risk of developing fistula, while unsafe abortion kills many adolescents as it is estimated that one-third of teen pregnancies in the world end in abortion.

It is agreed that babies born to adolescent mothers are also at greater risk. A recent review found that adolescent pregnancies associated with premature delivery, still birth, fetal distress, birth asphyxia, low birth weight and miscarriages. Babies born to teen mothers are also far more likely to die than those born to older women.

All these factors necessitated the call for action and the development of a national strategy for the reduction of teenage pregnancies, entitled ‘Let Girls, Be Girls, Not Mothers!’ This took place on May 13 -15, 2013, at Sierra Leone, launched by President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma The key-note address was delivered by Nigeria’s First Lady and President of African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM), Dr. Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, who also shared her experiences from the Nigerian perspective, on two most important topics on the role of traditional and religious leaders in the prevention of teenage pregnancies.

A problem diagnosed is a problem half solved.

Nigeria’s First Lady’s profound concern for stopping the pauperization of the younger segment of her gender constituency – the female adolescent - was very palpable. This most vulnerable segment of the population must be saved from the pervasive problem of teen pregnancies and she heartily suggested the return to our root.

Social revolution of the early 60’s spread around the world with its sexual freedom. Freedom no doubt is good and if you feel free to use your body without regards to traditional and cultural norms and after 50 years of experimenting on this freedom, the result is an international story of woes. What then should African do now? Dr. Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan perspective sounds pragmatic. Her suggestion of traditional rulers’ roles in the cultural well-being of the teenage girl child through historical re-engineering of our values inculcated with youth appealing programmes cum sensitization of the community is some thing to be looked into. Her call for the involvement of religious leaders to preach chastity in churches and mosques, not doubt, may be just what may effectively reduce teen pregnancies.

And this is most praticable to Nigeria’s society which is highly religious.

However, research shows that 48 per cent of 1519 year old girls who said they had remained chaste, nearly one-half of these teenagers said that the main reason they abstained from sex was because it was against their religion or morals.

The emphasis from Dame Jonathan is that is teenagers yearn for spiritual guidance, faith communities are uniquely positioned to minister to this important need. Her appeals to religious leaders to continue to encourage youths and their families to rediscover faith institutions and the sacred teachings they uphold, is germane to removing the pain of teenage pregnancy. Religious leaders should reveal Contd. on page 21

based on facts rather than rumors and propaganda from spin doctors.

To contribute our quota towards the making of a street-wise populace capable of holding their own anywhere in the world.

This newspaper shall be provided free in order to reach the masses who form the most important segment of our society. reporters dispatch is a masses newspaper for the Nigerian masses.

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Page 3

News

Around Nigeria

Mid Term Report Of Goodluck Jonathan Contd. from Front Page scale export of dried chips, which will earn the country $136 million annually in foreign exchange.

•The Jonathan administration is resuscitating the production of Cotton particularly in the Northeast and Northwest zones of Nigeria through the provision of improved cotton seedlings, which have been given free of charge to farmers. This will definitely result in the resuscitation of the upstream and downstream cotton/textile subsector before the end of 2013.

•Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world with 34 million MT produced per annum •In the last one year following the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture under the Agriculture Transformation Agenda of the Jonathan administration, around $8 billion in private investments have been attracted to agricbusiness, crop production, processing and other forms of value addition.

•The Jonathan administration cleansed the rot in the fertilizer distribution system. Under the previous system, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development procured and distributed fertilizers to farmers.

The system undermined the private sector and only about 11 percent of the farmers received fertilizers. The rest were sold to friends and ‘political farmers’ whom exported them. President Jonathan’s intervention dismantled in 60m days, this corrupt system, which had existed for over 40 years and fertilizers are now sold directly to farmers and not to government.

• The Ministry launched a Growth Enhancement Scheme, where farmers receive 50% subsidy on fertilizers, for a maximum of two bags, through the use of their mobile phones or what we call Electronic-wallet system (or E-wallet). In 120 days, over 1.2 million farmers bought their subsidized fertilizers using the E-wallet system. Over 1.5 million farmers will be reached by the end of the dry season. A total of 138,802.7 metric tons of fertilizer and 10,974.78 metric tons of seeds in 517 active redemption centres out of all the 804 centres spread across all states of the federation. The E-wallet system is the first of its kind in Africa and already several African countries have indicated they want to implement the Nigerian system.

• Multilateral and bilateral agencies are providing donorrelated investment support and have shown enthusiasm for the major reforms on-going in Nigeria’s agriculture by committing more $1 billion towards Nigeria’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda. The World Bank Group is providing $500 million.

African Development Bank (AfDB) has committed $250 million. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has selected Nigeria as a priority country for its investment in agriculture. The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) has put up $80 million. The

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed $60 million. The UK Government, through DFID has committed £37 million. The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ford Foundation and UNDP are providing significant technical support facilities.

ROADS •A total of 651km of roads was paved in bituminous layers in 2012.

•A total of 32 Highway projects were completed in 2012.

•Following the recent effects of floods in some parts of the country, the administration intervened by constructing new bridges and reinstating washed out embankments.

•The Ministry of Works on the order of President Jonathan unveiled Operation Safe Passage, a programme aimed at recovering deplorable sections of major roads in the country to ameliorate the sufferings usually experienced by road users during festive seasons.

Under this programme, key roads in the six geo-political zones of the country, were rehabilitated.

•80 projects prioritized in 2012 two have been completed, three are over 90 percent completed, five are over 80 percent completed, eighteen are between 50-79 percent complete while the rest are in different stages of completion.

•The radical intervention by the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme SURE-P in the road sector in 2012 resulted in accelerated work on the rehabilitation of the following projects: Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja; Benin-Ore-Sagamu dual carriageway; Onitsha-Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway; Kaduna-Maiduguri dual carriageway; East-West Road The Second Niger Bridge for which a sum of five billion naira has been set aside.

These roads cover a distance of 1,664 kilometres and are at various stages of completion. Most of these projects are due for completion and commissioning in this year..

•As a major turnaround Federal Government also terminated the concessioning agreement with Bi Courtney company on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the LagosIbadan expressway. The road rehabilitation work is currently been handled by two construction firms and will be completed this year.

•The Jonathan administration has entered into collaboration with multi-lateral agencies under the Road Sector Development Team (RSDT) scheme.

•Under this framework, the RSDT is currently implementing road rehabilitation, upgrading and maintenance, institutional strengthening and policy reform, and road safety improvements with the credit from the World Bank; and additional funding from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB).

•The RSDT in collaboration with multi-lateral agencies rehabilitated/ maintained a total of 257 kilometres of road length in 2012. Two projects under the scheme, the Mokwa-Bida Road and the Akure-Ilesha Road will have their contracts awarded in June.

•Also, the Ministry of Works is currently working out modalities for the execution of the dualisation of the Keffi-Lafia-Makurdi-Enugu (9th Mile) roads in Nasarawa, Benue and Enugu States with funds from the Export-Import Bank of China.

AVIATION •The administration at the end of 2011 earmarked 22 airports for rehabilitation and reconstruction and by the end of October 2012, over 50 percent had been commissioned for public use with.

The remaining eleven would be completed in 2013.

• In addition to remodeling, the Jonathan administration has approved the sum of N106 billion for the construction of five new airport terminals in Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Enugu as well as six cargo terminals to be managed under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Scheme TRANSPORTATION •The Jonathan administration inaugurated the Lagos-Kano train service, which had been moribund for almost a decade.

This is a major feat considering the long years of decay in the rail transportation sector.

•The Eastern rail line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri is being rehabilitated as well as the fixing of the Zaria/Kaura Namoda rail route.

•The Abuja to Kaduna 187 kilometre rail line is about more than 30 per cent completed.

•the Ajaokuta-Warri Standard Gauge Rail line will be completed any time now. This will provide a less than four-hour journey between the Middlebelt and the South South.

•The Lagos-Ibadan new gauge rail line, which was also initiated last year is on course.

•The Federal Government has completed three feasibility studies and commissioned three others to open new railway corridors, which will be concessioned to local and foreign investors.

An unprecedented investment of 200 billion dollars will flow into the Nigerian economy through these concessions in 2013 and 2014 with over 10 million new jobs of skilled and unskilled laborers (engineers, technicians, machinists, accountants) created in the next two years.

SURE-P PROJECTS •In 2012 N9 billion was spent By the Subsidy Removal and ReInvestment Programme (SUREP)on: 500 Primary Health Centres (PHC) across the 36 states and FCT of the Federation.

Employment and deployment of skilled Health WorkersMidwives, Community Health Workers (CHEWs), and Village Health Workers (VHWs).

Upgrading, Equipping and Supplying of Drugs to the 500 PHCs across the six geopolitical

zones are being done.

Selection of 125 General Hospitals across the 36 states and the FCT. Equipping and upgrading their Maternity section to provide comprehensive intervention for complicated Maternal and Child cases from the PHCs is being done.

•4,604 jobs created for health workers in 2012.

ECONOMY •Statistics show that Nigeria has become the favoured destination of investors coming into Africa recording the highest investment of $8.4billion (around 930 billion). Government’s target is to attract $20 billion worth of foreign investments in three years.

•The Jonathan administration’s handling of the economy led to JP Morgan Chase the reputable American investment and Securities Company to list Nigeria on its Government Bond IndexEmerging Markets (GBI-EM). It is the second African company after South Africa to be listed. This inclusion of Nigerian bonds could mean an ‘inflow of at least $1.5 million of inflow into Nigeria’s bond market’. The listing will also improve the profile of Nigeria’s debt market.

•The Jonathan administration has in less than two years put Nigeria on the path of economic recovery. In 2011 for instance the Nigerian economy following International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast, Nigeria was expected to witness 5.9 percent GDP growth but figures from the Federal Bureau of Statistics in Nigeria showed that by third quarter of 2011 the GDP growth stood at 7.3 percent.

WATER •The Jonathan administration has remained committed to the UN resolution in July 2010 on the “Right to Water”, which formally acknowledged the right of every human being to water.

•Pursuant to this, in February this year it organized a Presidential Summit on water to seek more effective ways of preserving national water and make same available to Nigerians.

•To check the menace of flooding and prevent a repeat of the flood disaster experienced last year, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources recently released the 2013 Annual Flood Outlook for Nigeria •The document evaluated the flood scenario in 2012 and analyzed the most likely areas to experience flood in 2013. It has also offered suggestions to all stakeholders and the general public on how to reduce the anticipated flooding as a result of expected increase in rainfall this year.

•The Jonathan administration has revitalized the 12 River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) nationwide.

•The RBDAs have helped in boosting food production through resuscitation of equipment, rehabilitation of production units such as processing of rice milling, palm oil, fisheries, palm oil, bottled water etc.

•The RBDAs have also helped in redistribution and

redeployment of idle equipment, improvement of water management within basin catchment e.g. the Chad and Hadejia-Jamare basins, where the Ministry of Water Resources repaired the Challawa Gates for release of water downstream.

•Nine dams completed in 2012 and 125,000 jobs created in the process.

•Ten irrigation projects deployed in 2012 for crop production. Four other irrigation projects completed and ready for commissioning.

•Residents in125 Local governments sensitized via sanitation programme for attitudinal change.

•52,384 jobs created in 2012 four completed irrigation projects costing several billions of naira.

PENSION REFORMS •Before the Jonathan administration came on board, the pension funds administration regime was one the major channels through which public funds running into hundreds of billions of Naira are misappropriated by corrupt officials.

•Problems associated with the pension management system include embezzlement, falsification of records, Ghost pensioners, obsolete administrative structure and denial of pensioners their due entitlements. This was what necessitated the setting up of the presidential pension Reform Task Team. The activities of this important task force resulted in the following: •Detection and deletion of over 73,000 Ghost/Fake pensioners from the Head of Service/police pension office.

•Stoppage of a monthly theft of over N4 billion from the National treasury.

•Saving a monthly sum of over N1billion from the police monthly pension releases.

•Discovery of over 50,000 unpaid pensioners and immediate payment of their entitlement.

•Discovery of over N2.7billion fraud by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners.

•Seizure of about 200 properties including choice hotels and cash worth billions of Naira from corrupt public officials.

•Arrest and on-going prosecution of pension fraud suspects by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

•Introduction of a more efficient tamper-proof pension funds management system.

OIL INDUSTRY REFORMS •In line with global best practices and the principal aim of the Nigerian Extractive industry and Transparency Initiative (NEITI), President Jonathan recently forwarded the Petroleum Industry Bill to the National Assembly for passage into law.

•By the time the Petroleum Industry Bill is passed into law, Nigeria would have successfully broken the jinx of being a Nation where global business rules and practices are flouted with impunity. Estimated annual earnings of 680 billion dollars Contd. on page 21

Page 4

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Business CAC seeks legal power to remove erring company directors

T

he Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is seeking legal powers to remove erring directors and officers of companies “in line with the practice in most company registries globally.’’

This formed part of the requests presented by Mr Bello Mahmud, the CAC Registrar-General, to members of the House of Representatives Committee on Commerce on Monday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lawmakers were at the commission’s head office on an oversight visit.

Mahmud said that the legal power to remove erring company directors and officers was one of the areas “which are of momentous challenges’’ to the commission.

To this end, he called on the National Assembly to amend the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990, which he described as obsolete and out of tune with modern business practices.

“The Companies and Allied Matters Act CAMA No. 1 of 1990 has been in operation for over 20 years.

“The law requires substantial amendments to enable the commission to keep pace with changing economic circumstances and modern business practices.’’

According to him, the law requires an amendment to strengthen the regulatory and enforcement powers of the commission and review penalties for erring companies.

He added that the amendment should equally make provision for online registration of companies and define the

role of the CAC in the implementation of Code of Best Practices.

Responding, the chairman of the committee, Rep. Sylvester Ogbaga, pledged the support of the House of Representatives for the CAC to address its challenges to discharge its functions effectively.

Ogbaga specifically noted the CAC’s appeal for amendment of its enabling law, saying the committee would assist in this regard.

He lauded the management for its innovations “that have brought sanity and flexibility’’ into the country’s business registration process.

“I commend you for the innovations which are restoring the trust and

confidence of the international community in the CAC. “In the course of moving around, I did ask about the briefcase companies and I am so happy to receive the answer of their delisting and other issues associated with sanitising the system.

“We’ve also seen the transparency of the one-stop shop initiative, which is of international standard.

“Today, registration can be done directly by company owners, unlike in the past when they registered through certified lawyers which made the process cumbersome.’’

The chairman expressed satisfaction with the state of facilities and

A

Senator raises hope of PIB passage, says bill may become law before 2014

S CAC building, Abuja

Report lauds Africa growth, admonishes abuses by multinationals frica has favourable mediumterm economic prospects although growth rates haven’t recovered to pre-crisis levels, according to a report released Monday that also fingered rising inequality and abusive practices by multinationals.

“With projected growth of 4.8 percent in 2013 and 5.3 percent in 2014, Africa’s growth performance would continue to remain below average growth ... preceding the 2009 global recession,” the report co-authored by the OECD found.

The continent needs seven percent growth to reduce poverty, while its population increases by two percent a year, according to the 2013 African Economic Outlook.

Africa grew by 6.6 percent last year, mostly thanks to oil-giant Libya’s economic recovery from a slump during the unrest that toppled Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

But poverty isn’t falling fast enough, according to the report, which was produced in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and UN Development Programme (UNDP).

“The pace of poverty reduction in most countries is falling short of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets,” the report found.

Despite the progress the report also marked “increased income inequalities and in some countries deteriorating levels of health and education.”

It encouraged countries to diversify their economies on the back of growth.

“Now is the time to step up the tempo,” the authors said.

“More equitable human development requires that African countries accelerate their economic transformation, so they can become more competitive and create more gainful jobs.”

Financial flows from outside the continent reached a record level of $186.3

infrastructure put in place by the management.

“Again, the connection of some state offices to the headquarters through fibre optical links is also commendable. “Try and replicate this in other state offices in your current and future plans because it will remove a lot of inconveniences suffered by both investors and customers. “You also told us that we can make registration within 24 hours and customers can have their certificates. This is fair enough for people to do business. “These are some of the issues we think that are critical to making Nigeria one of the developed 20 economies in the world by 2020,’’ he said.

billion (144 billion euro) in 2012.

Remittances from families living abroad were the largest component at $60.4 billion, ahead of foreign aid at $56.1 billion.

Most foreign investment went to South Africa, oil-rich Angola and upcoming natural gas-power Mozambique.

Services, especially in telecommunications and finance, as well as insurance, were major growth sectors.

Though 60 percent of Africans work in agriculture, the report recommends the continent develop manufacturing to

absorb an ever-growing low-skilled workforce.

The report also emphasised the importance of tax reform, especially fairer tax agreements with multinational companies.

“Most African economies have large informal sectors that escape taxes,” it noted. “Excessive granting of tax preferences, inefficient taxation of extractive industries and the inability to fight transfer pricing abuses by multinational enterprises add to the obstacles,” the report concluded.

No one can push me out of PDP — Amaechi Contd. from front page dissolve the elected Executive Council of Obiokpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Amaechi told members of his “kitchen cabinet”that he would not leave the party for those seeking to oust him.

He reportedly told his closet allies who had converged on Port Harcourt the state capital for his birthday that the suspension is to frustrate him out of the party vowing that nobody will stampede him out of the party.

Reporters dispatch reliably gathered that Governor Amaechi’s resolve to stay in the PDP has poured cold water on the hopes of opposition parties ,especially the yet to be registered APC , whose leaders continue to woo Governor Amaechi to their political group.

Meanwhile , Governor Amaechi may head to the courts to challenge his suspension as he has vowed to remain within the fold to challenge his suspension and victimization with every legitimate weapon at his disposal.

Amaechi told journalists that he will challenge this suspension because it is illegal.

“I will use all legal means possible to seek redress. They accused me of not reinstating a suspended local government who was suspended by the state House of Assembly. Am I a member of the Assembly? Why will anyone blame me for the action of the assembly?”He was quoted as saying.

Governor Amaechi’s suspension was announced by spokesman of the party just as friends of the Governor arrived from all nooks and crannies to celebrate his 48th birthday.

Children’s Day: First lady teaches ways to peace rose to the podium to read the 29-pageillustrative book, which teaches peace, harmonious living, obedience and good behaviour. A drama depicting the struggle over the nation’s natural resources by all

en. Nkechi Nwaogu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Oil and Gas Resource, said that she was optimistic that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would be assented to before the end of 2013.

Nwaogu told newsmen in Aba on Monday that consultations were still on with stakeholders, especially from the northern part of the country, to address fears on the bill’s contents.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Senate had approved that the bill should be moved to its Second Reading stage.

The senate had said that the bill should be read for the second time in March.

According to her, any moves by any section of the country to delay the passage of the bill will do more harm than good.

She said that the PIB would transform Nigeria’s economy, unbundle the gas sector and moderate how businesses should be done in the oil and gas sector.

“I am optimistic that with the PIB before the National Assembly, it is expected that the gas sector will be unbundled and be more transparent,`` Nwaogu said.

She said that infrastructure decay and poor funding of public goods were major challenges facing the development of the gas sector in the country.

Nwaogu said that partnership between the Federal Government and the private sector would attract growth to the oil and gas industry. “Presently, we are doing a lot of consultations on the PIB to accelerate its passage. “There are certain complaints about the 10 per cent community fund as stipulated in the bill’s content that we are looking into,“ Nwaogu said. She, however, urged the Federal Government to review its gas pricing policy in order to woo more investors to the sector.

“We want to ensure that investors enjoy mouth-watering incentives like tax holidays,“ she said.

“We are told that Nigeria in 2015 can earn over N15 trillion from the gas sector if we give incentives to investors.“

Contd. from front page

tribes encouraging all to embrace unity in diversity, was shown on the occasion. The first lady cut the celebration s cake and presented gifts to the best dancers. Nneoma Onwuzuirike, a seven-year-old, who won the

best dancer for the second year running, told NAN that she had fun. “I had fun from when I came in till I won the dance. This year’s party is good because there are more balloons in the hall. I like it,’’ Onwuzuirike said.

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

News

Page 5

Around Nigeria

Australia to offer more scholarship to Nigeria women to boost gender equality The Australian government on Monday said it would offer more scholarship opportunities for Nigeria women to study abroad to promote its gender equality efforts in Africa.

The Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Jonathan Richardson, said this in Abuja at the launch of the Nigerian chapter of the Australian Awards African Women in Leadership Network. “Gender equality is at the heart of our development efforts in Africa and across the world and gender quality is central to human development, supports economic growth and helps to reduce poverty.

“When women and men have relative equality, economies grow faster, children’s health improve and there is less corruption,’’ he said.

The envoy said in 2012, his government extended more than two million dollars assistance to the beneficiaries of the Australian Awards, a pan-African programme of

scholarships and fellowships for African professionals in development issues.

“Since 2010, Nigeria has benefited from more than 130 Australian scholarships in the fields of agriculture, mining, health, education, water, sanitation, environment and governance.

“About half of these scholarships have been awarded to women,’’ he said.

According to the envoy, the network will promote Australian awards to potential female applicants from eligible African countries, including Nigeria.

It would also support recipients going to Australia to pursue post-graduate studies and provide a forum for future female leaders to discuss development issues facing African women, he said.

In her remarks, the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai, commended the Australian government for establishing the network to promote gender equality and boost women participation in the scholarship scheme.

Don’t ban Almajiri system of education, Gov Aliyu urges FG

G

ov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger on Monday in Minna urged the Federal Government not to ban the Almajiri system of education in the Northern part of the country.

Aliyu made the call when the Senate Committee on Education, led by its chairman, Sen. Uche Chukwumerije, paid a courtesy visit to the Government House.

He said that banning the system would make the people to think that it was “an infringement on their culture’’.

“The country has to put in place another system that will absorb the Almajiris in the country by properly integrating them into the formal education system.

The governor said: “In the Senate, I overheard the senators asking the northern governors to ban Almajiri school system; you do not ban a culture

without putting something in place.

“They must be treated as citizens and not to make it look like a stigma. It is not a question of banning it, but it is a matter of what do we do to make sure that they are absorbed into formal school system.

“Many of these children cannot trace their parents because they were scattered all over the northern states and beyond. It is something we need to sit down and tackle properly.’’

He noted that the problem of the Almajiri could not be solved by merely building Almajiri schools as currently done by government.

According to Aliyu, efforts must also be made to know their number and make adequate provision for their integration into a formal education system.

“In Niger alone, there are 3,784 Quranic schools with a population of nearly 500,000. Some of the pupils in

the Quranic schools have grown beyond the primary school age,’’ he said.

Earlier, Chukwumerije lauded the “giant strides” taken by the state government to “regenerate” its education sector.

“Niger state is one of the states that we can proudly hold up as a leading light in education in the country, we must commend the government for that.

“Going by our records, Niger State has paid its counterpart fund up to 2015,” he said.

He, however, noted that 21 states in the country were lagging behind in the payment of their counterpart funds to the Universal Basic Education Programme.

Chukwumerije said the development had been retarding the growth of the education sector in the affected states.

Dana Air crash: 11 families get full compensation - Official

E

leven families of the victims of the June 3, 2012 Dana air crash in Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos have received full compensation, the airline management has said.

Mr Tony Usidiamen, the airline’s spokesman, disclosed this on Monday in Lagos at a news conference to commemorate one year of the crash.

According to Usidiamen, the 11 families have received full compensation of 100,000 U.S. dollars each while 95 others received an initial 30,000 U.S. dollars each.

He said they all received the compensation as at May 25.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 153 passengers, including crew members, and six residents of the area died in the crash.

Besides, properties worth millions of naira were destroyed.

Usiadiamen, flanked by Mr Sam Ogbogoro, the Media Relations Officer of the airline and Mr Obialor Mbanuzor,

the Head of its Commercial Services Unit, said compensation would be paid to all victims provided they had valid document to back up their claims.

He added that the families of 20 other victims had submitted their letters of administration from the Probate Registry of Lagos State High Court.

“The letters will be verified by the airline’s insurance firm, the Lyodds Insurance Company of London, for payment.

“However, eight families did not submit any claim in respect of their lost family members; they may file their claims later,” he said.

He expressed appreciations to Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State who waived the 10 per cent that should have been paid to the state for damages.

On those who lost properties to the crash, Usidiamen said they had been paid the initial US S 30,000 U.S. dollars

by Prestige Insurance.

According to him, the claims

submitted by them have been sent to estate valuers for evaluation.

“Their claims are being evaluated because the law did not stipulate what should be paid to those who lost their properties on ground,” he said.

Usidiamen added that there were plans to unveil a cenotaph at the site of the crash on June 3.

According to him, other activities for the commemoration include a jumat service at the Lagos State secretariat mosque on May 31 and a mass at St Leo’s Catholic Church on June 2.

“There will also be a memorial procession from the Murtala Muhammed Airport Domestic Terminal 2 to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority Annex on June 3,” he said.

Mbanuzor said 65 families of the victims had gone to court over the claims, adding that compensation would be paid to them after judgment on the matter

Beware of those who can harm you — Fashola urges children Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Monday urged children to be safety conscious and wary of people who could harm them.

Fashola spoke at a programme organised by the state to celebrate this year‘s Children‘s Day in Ikeja.

Addressing a large gathering of pupils and students, the governor said that the security situation in Nigeria had made it necessary for children not to associate with “just anybody’’. The governor warned them against trusting strangers, and urged them to obey instructions by their parents and teachers. The neatly dressed pupils representing the different schools in the state, as well as voluntary organisations such as Boy Scouts, took part in a march past, at the occasion. “There is no denying the fact that some bad people live among us and they try to harm you, but let me assure you that they are very few.

“They are not as many as the good people like your teachers and your parents.

“As the head of this government, I will continue to work hard with our officials to ensure that these bad people do not harm any of you. “For us to succeed, you should do some simple things. One simple thing you can do is to listen to your parents and your teachers about the kind of company that you keep. “You can stay safe by being very careful with strangers, by refusing to take things from strangers and by refusing to be tempted with gifts, food and money.

“You can stay safe by refusing to use public transportation not painted in the approved colours or without registration numbers,’’ he urged. Fashola also advised the children to shun banned drugs including marijuana, and to refuse to join cult groups. “We used to have these bad people like kidnappers when we were kids too, but because we listened to our parents, they could not harm us.

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Page 6

Interview

I am Not The Killer Of Bola Ige — Omisore Senator Iyiola Omisore is the former Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation. In this exclusive interview with UDE EJIKEME in Abuja, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain disclosed that he has said at many fora that none of the ACN Governors have a better structure than he has. Omisore also spoke on his prosecution for the assassination of the former Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, and the insecurity crisis in the country. Excerpts.

Some people see you as very patriotic while others regard you as being very controversial particularly those in the opposition camp. What is your reaction to this observation?

A person of my pedigree cannot be controversial. I am sure that is one of the destructive propaganda of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leaders. I have said at many fora that none of the ACN Governors have a better structure than I have.

I say this with all sense of humility and responsibility. I know what I have done in my engineering field. I have delivered to my constituency what I thought would promote healthy living, improve their standard of education, empower the under-privileged and the marginalized, and comfort those in distress. I can do more if given the chance to lead. But such an opportunity would be right to address the ideological issue more appropriately for then I would, as somebody that has educated himself to the level of having a PhD soon, have the resources to make the minds of our people more creative, enterprising and productive.

No doubt you have contributed to the growth of our democracy. What is your view on our dividends of democracy?

Are Nigerians being short-changed as alleged in certain quarters?

The answer is neither here or there. They are shortchanged, but they have also shortchanged the good leaders, the brilliant alternatives to the present short coming because of their perspectives to the issue of democracy.

Do we have pointers to gains of our people to dividends of democracy?

Yes, definitely. The dividends are there to keep people happy about their investments in democracy or to act as the resource to be ploughed back into production process so as to increase the base of the social capital. Granted that Nigerians have indeed invested a lot in this nascent democracy, including but not restricted to time, energy, financial resources and even life, but can it be said that democracy has yielded something tangible to be shared?

In Nigeria’s current sociocultural expressions, democracy has

become a significant concept for the articulation of various and varied meanings, all attesting to a certain position and expectation, a peculiar act and consequences, a certain commitment and sense of loyalty that individuals and groups express as desires, strategy and forms of affiliation. The democrat, so to say, demonstrates a commitment to actions that meet certain expectations, as the freedom of speech, choice and association, and works with specifically identifiable principles such as the rule of law and due process.

Are these requirements relevant to our home grown democracy?

Not all these requirements are home grown developments, of course rather; they are derived and borrowed from the West, as an alternative to chart a new course of development that would place a

developing nation like Nigeria in the class of the modern. In essence, democracy in Nigeria has come to be associated with the modern.

Democracy is also signification to that which is developing or developed.

Going to your state, a group in Osun State uses the word “Omoluwabi” meaning “gentleman with integrity” very frequently.

What is your disposition to these claims by the political group?

Omoluwabi must have a standard. It does not end with acronym or propaganda. The people calling or identifying themselves as Omoluwabi are fake simple hypocrites. It is an aberration in the state.

Omoluwabi must be sacrosanct and must have pedigree as well as good credentials one must be bold of. Those people have no business calling themselves

Omoluwabi and running down others with blackmail.

The assassination of Chief Bola Ige, the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation for which you were prosecuted, discharge and acquitted continues to be a political issue by the ACN leaders who have threatened to reopen the case. Can you respond to this?

In my own case, there is a lie that has gone on for too long about the death of Uncle Bola Ige, inspite of the court judgment on the issue. I have waited for till this time thinking that they would follow the path of reason, truth and honest conscience, but they would not, as they have found it politically expedient and a soft pad for opportunism. Truth, in my case, and any how it is viewed, would remain the truth. I speak the eternal truth, whether they believe it or not.

In any case when the wise speaks, the fools throw tantrums.

How Uncle Bola Ige died cannot of course, continue to be a matter of conjectures where facts are available, have been scrutinized by appropriate and competent bodies, and categorical conclusions have been made. That he died, at the time he did is, indeed, a sad moment of our local and collective history, particularly given his contributions and the contributions he could still make to our nascent democracy and unfolding drama of progress and development. However, locating that circumstances in imagined possibilities is a departure from the truth and represents an attempt to shortchange democratic dividends to those who could be blessed by the presence and roles of those being impugned and maligned. The real truth is that if this skeptical public would move away from their fixated mindsets, drawn on circumstantial evidence, and obviously for cheap political victory, they would look for the killers elsewhere rather than me. I am not the killer of Uncle Bola Ige. What is your recommendation as to the problem of insecurity in the country?

The Federal Government is doing everything humanly possible to stem the tide. We should in addition be Contd. on page 7

Page 7

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Politics Abolish State Electoral Commissions -ALGON President

The National President, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Ozo Nwabueze Okafor, have canvassed that the State Electoral Commissions (SECs) should be abolished, because it has failed the people. The local government boss told UDE EJIKEME in an exclusive interview in Abuja that members of his association and majority of Nigerians have resolved that the autonomy for the third tier of government would be guarantee better and enhanced governance to the people at the grassroots. Excerpts.

Sir, the autonomy for local government councils, what is your take on this? ssociation of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) are very keen about autonomy because we believe that an autonomous and independent local government system will be good for the people of Nigeria. It will ensure that the local councils have the capacity and resources as well as sufficient authority to implement their policies and ensure that their mandate is fulfilled to the people. I am very passionate about my immediate and primary constituency, which is the local government.

The autonomy issue is very important, because it will increase the capacity of legislature at the state level to deliver to the people. It will increase their ability to carry out oversight over the executive. And one other area I want us to look at is that we should create structures to ensure a very robust legislative council at the local government level.

Presently in the constitution, it is not clearly spelt out, but we know that if we have autonomy, we will equally want the local government system to be very open, transparent and accountable to the people. And we know that if we have a robust legislative council, it will help in ensuring checks and balances. So, we will hope to have that aside the regular issues we have been advocating like issues of financial autonomy, the issue of section 162 and other areas like in section 174 where ALGON are saying that the State Electoral Commission (SEC) should be abolished, because it has failed the people. As a matter of fact, some states electoral commissions have never conducted local government elections, like in Anambra and Borno, the last elections they had were 15 years ago, that was in 1998.

Opposition against the

A

Ozo Nwabueze Okafor autonomy. Any comment on this?

We know that certain persons (state Governors) are against local government autonomy. But we are happy that, that is what Nigerians want, so at the end of the day, it would be very clear to Nigerians to know who their enemies are because the fact are very clear. The plan is to remove the government from the people, because no matter how imperfect the local government system may be, it is still the only level of government people can connect with and access. The people do not access the governors in the Government House with hundreds of security agents denying them access to people. This is a very wonderful opportunity for Nigeria and all of us. It is not just an issue for ALGON. This is the level of government that deals with very critical issues that affects our lives and people, especially those in the rural areas, primary school education, primary health centres, sanitation, local security, amongst others. I can tell you that the advent of the very serious violence we have had in the country came with the failure of the local government, it came at a time the local governments was so stripped

of its capacity to deliver to the people.

These security issues, militancy, violent crimes and all sorts of things came from these areas, because they have nobody they can run to. The government is so taken away from them, they had no option than taking the laws in their own hands.

What is the position of Nigerian Union of Teacher (NUT) on ALGON? That is to be expected, because a lot of them have been beneficiaries of the present situation where the resources and the funds of local government are diverted, so what do you expect?

In the states, you find the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Boards where the allocation of local government is taken first line, without the local governments knowing what they are getting. They deduct this money and say you will pay salaries and use the remaining for something. A local government council may receive N770,000, but they are told that the money has been taken to pay salaries.

And the Executive (EXCO) of such unions are beneficiaries of such system.

Or will it be because some few workers employed by the state government, they get up to say we want Federal Government to be keeping all the allocations that should come to the states, we will support the Federal Government to keep it, we will feel more.

The postponement of the report of people’s public sessions. What do you say about this?

Well, I don’t want to believe that anybody is behind the deferment of the presentation of the collected results from the 36 Federal Constituencies. I will want to think that maybe they are still trying to put one or two things together in terms of collection of results from the public section at the Federal Constituencies. I don’t think the Speaker, House of Representatives, AminuTambuwal, with the reputation he has as a forthright person, who calls

a spade would want to be dragged down to the level of trying to change or alter the wishes of the people. But it may interest you to note that we have the results already because we had the representatives at all the Federal Constituencies who followed the public sessions, a lot of organizations equally have the result, which are in overwhelming support from local government administration autonomy in the constitution.

So, the results are known to Nigerians. We know the feelings of Nigerians on these issues. It is not something personal, because we forget that power is so transient, and we could find ourselves in different side of the divides, so I don’t think that it is something we should worry about, rather we should do things that will reflect the wishes of Nigerians.

On Allegations of alteration?

Well, anything is possible in as much as I am reluctant to really believe that.

But I must confess that I was equally shocked and disturbed that the exercise could not go on, because we waited for so many hours. We are stakeholders.

ALGON is an interested party, and we were ready to receive those results to ensure that they tally with what we have. A lot of civil society organizations have the results already.

National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) equally has the results, their National President was there when we were waiting for the exercise to start. It is very disturbing anyway, because we have had to wait for so many hours. I believe the house should have put its acts together and ensure that the report was ready before invitingNigerians and very reputable individuals as well as organizations to come and witness the collection of results.

I guess they should have done that before this time. It will really be unfortunate if what you care alluding to is true. I will find it difficult to believe.

I am Not The Killer Of Bola Ige — Omisore Contd. from page 6

our brother’s keepers. All of us should regard ourselves as security officers. That is how it is being done in developed countries.

Senator, coming back to democracy, you observed that some Nigerians shortchanged themselves. Would you mind elaborate on this?

They do so in three specific ways.

First in the ways political parties relate, mobilizing the skeptical publics to disrupt normal process of governance in order to gain political advantages as self serving and self fulfilling elite.

The society has been shortchanged by disputation of

criminality and wastage of resources in maintaining unnecessary chaos.

Second, because communal relations are informed by primordial concerns, prejudices of ethnicity religious bigotry, and localized claims that distort the distribution and flow of resources across social divide, they have been shortchanged.

The third and last point is the shortchanging coming from and flowing through party politics and public relationship. We describe this as problem f information flow, limited knowledge construction and low capacity development. This has an endangering effect on the growth of the mind. The people continue to

shortchange themselves when they fail to see beyond the grandstanding of their rulers, speaking to the condemnation of others, while they themselves remain under the influence of stupefying, subduing force, alienating critical thinking.

Indeed when they receive pittance for their efforts and do not insist on being paid their worth, they have also shortchanged themselves because they failed to take advantage of existing liberal philosophy.

Have you not also in other ways shortchanged the people of your constituency and your state though one is aware that law makers have no allocation

or developmental programmes like the Executives?

We did our best while in the National Assembly (NASS). Despite the fact that there are nothing called consistency allowances as the public is made to believe.

I have addressed this perspective through material gifts and donations, satisfying the expectations of various constituents, ranging from the health to education sectors.

I have helped to facilitate the extensive expansion of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals ultra modern mortuary, ophthalmology centre and ultra modern auditorium.

Thank you.

Page 8

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Metro Nigerian security lacks modern equipments to combat crime – expert

By Ude Ejikeme

A

communications equipment expert, Mr. Kim Oestergaard, has raised fresh alarm that obsolete communications security equipment has been the major problem facing Nigerian security operatives in combating terrorists attacks against the country and calls for its upgrading immediately.

Oestergaard, Director, Africa sales and operations, Danimex communications, Sonderborg, Denmark, raised the alarm in an exclusive interview he granted to Reporters Dispatch in Abuja.

He said investigations carried out by Damnimax communications has revealed that obsolete security communications equipment presently in used by security agents in Nigeria, except that of the Armed Forces, were outdated and would continue to be a big problem facing the sector.

He noted that the worst hit by these obsolete equipments are members of the Nigerian police force, who usually parades with outdated mobile walkietalkies while discharging their constitutional duties.

According to him, lack of modernday communications equipment has been traced on why insurgents seems to have been having upper hands against the police but suggested that the only panacea is for the Federal Government to step into the matter immediately with a view of replacing the obsolete communication equipment that has been the cog in the wheel of progress.

Oestergaard who disclosed that he was invited in Abuja by Motorola communications Nigeria Limited for a two-day lecture on security communications equipment, however, said that any country that has porous security communications network is doomed and could be over-ran by insurgents at any given time.

He appealed to Nigerian government not to sleep over this and take a cue from countries like the United States, Germany, Israel, Japan Korea and host of others that spent billions of dollars in procuring modern equipment for their security outfits, and noted that Nigeria will not be an exceptional.

The security communications expert said lack of modern equipment which Nigerian police lacked to combat crimes committed daily at nooks and crannies of this country seems to have given upper hands to bandits such as kidnappers, armed robbers, ritualists and rapists to operate successfully without arrests.

This ugly trend, he noted, needs to be checked by over-hauling of the communication equipment of the security operatives for over-all interest of the citizenry adding that crimes can only be dictated and aborted on time, if security agents are well equipped with the modern communication gadgets.

City, Crime & Justice Court orders Nigeria Police to reinstate dismissed officer

T

he National Industrial Court, Abuja, has ordered the Nigeria Police Force to reinstate a dismissed Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Mr Abayomi Dosunmu.

The President of the court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo gave the order on Monday when he delivered judgment in a case of unlawful dismissal filed against the force by Dosunmu.

Adejumo also ordered the police to pay Dosunmu his entitlements.

In his ruling, Adejumo held that the defendants did not follow the procedure in the discipline and dismissal of an officer as encapsulated in the police service rule.

The president also held that the defendant’s action was illegal, null and void and ordered that the claimant be reinstated to his rank.

“It is hereby ordered that the claimant be reinstated to the rank of

Chief Superintendent of Police by the defendants and paid all the entitlements owed him.

“No damages shall be awarded to the claimant and this shall be the final judgment of this court,” Adejumo ruled.

The claimant, who joined the force as an assistant superintendent in 1980 told the court that he was dismissed in 2002 without fair hearing.

Dosunmu had joined the InspectorGeneral of Police, the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation as defendants in the suit.

He prayed the court to make a declaration that the defendants did not give him fair hearing before his purported dismissal and to declare same as illegal, null and void.

The claimant also prayed the court to order the defendants to reinstate him and pay him all his entitlements or pay

his entitlements from the date of dismissal to his expected date of retirement.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that during the hearing of the case, the claimant’s counsel, Mr Tehemba Gbashima, had told the court that the 2nd defendant (PSC) did not file any defence.

Gbashima, therefore, urged the court to grant all the prayers of the claimant.

NAN reports that Gbashima, while reacting to the judgment, commended the court for the well researched judgment and thanked the president for his indulgence.

Similarly, Mr T. A Gazali, the counsel to the defendants, thanked the court for the judgment, saying that the defendants did not lose out entirely since all the prayers of the claimant were not granted.

Police arraign 2 VIOs for misappropriation, breach of trust

T

he police on Monday in Abuja arraigned two men at a Wuse Zone Two Senior Magistrates’ Court for alleged criminal conspiracy, misappropriation and breach of trust.

The Prosecutor, Mr Abu Okpanachi, told the court that the men, Sani Sunday and Tanimu Abdullahi, worked as Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) at Mabushi in Abuja.

Okpanachi said one Titus Ushie of Dutse Alhaji had lodged a report on the VIOs at the Police Area Command Metro on Feb. 13.

“Sometime in November 2012, Ushie parked his Nissan brand of vehicle with registration number AA 937 LAP at the NICON Junction to buy sachet water.

“The duo and others yet unknown, all of the VIO, arrested Ushie, collected his keys and drove his car to the VIO Office at

Mabushi.’’

The prosecutor said Ushie discovered the car was missing from the place it was parked when he went back to the VIO office on Jan. 17 to recover his vehicle.

Okpanachi said the offences listed against Sunday and Abdullahi contravened the provisions of sections 97, 309 and 312 of the Penal Code.

Section 97 of the code stipulates that whoever is a party to criminal conspiracy shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or with fine or both.

Also, Section 309 states that whoever commits criminal misappropriation shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with a fine or with both.

Section 312 also states that whoever

Police arrest Indian hemp farmer in Anambra

T

he Police Command in Anambra on Monday said it has arrested an Indian hemp farmer, Chinenye Iloegbune, for allegedly growing the illicit drug in his farm in Umuajali Village, near Awka.

The Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, Mr Emeka Chukwuemeka, made the disclosure while briefing newsmen in Awka.

Chuwkeumeka said the suspect was arrested, following a tip-off by a source in the community, adding, “Iloegbune’s arrest

followed a tip-off by a member of the community, who has not been happy with his activities’’.

Chukwuemeka, however, said that Iloegbune was not arrested along with his father, Mr Christopher Iloegbune.

“Our men actually went to arrest him concerning another matter but stumbled into his Indian hemp business.

“So, investigations are still ongoing to enable us get details on his illicit activities,” Chukwuemeka said.

commits criminal breach of trust shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years or with fine or both.

Sunday and Abdullahi, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Their Counsel, Mr Peter Osigbemeh, urged the court to grant his clients bail, saying they were still innocent until proven guilty as stipulated in the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

The Magistrate, Mr Christopher Oba, then granted them bail in the sum of N500,000 each with a surety each in like sum who must reside within the court’s jurisdiction.

Oba said the surety should be a civil servant not below Grade Level 10, and adjourned the case to June 3 for hearing.

Passenger sentenced for causing grievous hurt

A

n Abuja Grade 2 Area Court in Kado on Monday sentenced one Ike Ikemefuna, 32, to two months imprisonment for causing grievous hurt to a taxi driver.

He was, however, given an option of N2, 000 fine. The Police Prosecutor, Mr Christopher Roko, told the court that, on May 25, one Ndubisi Ajah of Kuchigoro Lugbe Road, Abuja reported the matter to the Utako police station. Roko said that the complainant reported the convict, of Kado village, that he boarded his taxi from Berger junction to Jabi by Conoil Filling Station. He said that on reaching his destination, Ajah demanded for his agreed fee of N50, and instead of paying him the fare, Ikemefuna picked a stone and hit him on his forehead causing him grievous injury. The prosecutor said during police investigation, the convict confessed to the crime saying he was acting under the influence of alcohol. Roko said the offence contravened the provisions of Section 247 of the Penal Code. Section 247 states that whoever voluntarily causes grievous hurt, shall be punished with a seven year term and is also liable to fine. The convict, had pleaded guilty to the charge.

The Presiding Judge, Mr Ahmed Ado, therefore, sentenced Ikemefuna to two months imprisonment or to pay a fine of N2, 000.

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Page 9

Peoples Parliament

Reform the Nigerian Governance As simple as this phrase may sound, it is really important. It is important because the country has not had a genuine leader since August 27, 1985. While it is true that there were Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Yar’adua at the helm of affairs within the period, it is important to ask, what type of governance did they provide? Abuja street parliamentarians in a vox pop with UDE EJIKEME bared their minds on leadership in Nigeria.

John Okon Ndem In my opinion, and in the estimation of many discerning Nigerians, 1985 was the year Nigeria embarked on the steady slope to anarchy. It was the year Nigeria became rudderless, a country lacking the direction, purpose and aspiration. Thirty years is a long time for a country – any country to be without meaningful leadership. Many leaders across the world were able to transform their countries in less time. And in many other places, leaders were able to firmly put their countries on the path of transformation and growth in less than three decades.

Examples are Malaysia and Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia. In South America, we can look to countries such as Brazil and Argentina. And then there are oil states of the middle East where Nigerians now flock to. And even within sub-Saharan Africa, there are rays of hope in places like Ghana, Malawi and Botswana.

Cletus Nwankwo No one can say that Nigerians are incapable of first class leadership. Oh no!

During the colonial and post-colonial periods, we saw many men and women who devoted their lives to the service of our country. For instance, between October 1, 1954 and October 1, 1960, Chief Obafemi Awolowo was the premier of Western Nigeria. Fifty-two years later, his accomplishments and character and vision continue to be the gold standard of leadership. And of course, there were others: Yakubu Gowon, Mobolaji Johnson, Lateef-Jakande, Muhammed Buhari, Abubakar Rimi, Jim Nwobodo, Onunaka Mbakwe and others – leaders who thought of country before self. These men were not saints. That is not the point. The point is that they provided healthy and enriching leadership. They understood what is meant to provide for the people, and they planned for rainy days by their prudent use of public funds.

These type of leaders are no longer common in the country, unfortunately though.

Instead, governors and commissioners and ministers are becoming millionaires in an instant. We have men who ascended public offices with the equivalent of less than $5,000 in their bank accounts, but leaves/left office as stupendously wealthy individuals. Even their children and grandchildren and wives and concubines become fabulously rich.

Crescent Odoh In 1966, Chief (Dr) Nnamdi Azikiwe opined that a truly public spirited person should accept public office not for what he can get for himself – such as the profit and glamour of office – but for the opportunity which it offers him of serving his people to the best of his ability, by promoting their welfare and happiness.

From the 1950s through, perhaps 1985, that was the dominant belief.

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, BNER, GCON is the 14th Head of State and current President of Nigeria

General Yakubu Gowon was the 3rd head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975 Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, First President and Commander-in-Chief, Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Sir. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister Clement Tyonongo In the years since, the thinking has changed. Today, you go into public service not because you want to serve, but because you want to enrich yourself and your friends and family.

You go into politics, not because you want to make a difference in the lives of the poor and needy, but because you want to oppress the people and loot the treasury.

When it comes to leadership, Nigeria is in a mess. It really is! There no ways of sugar-coating it.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo was the premier of Western Nigeria Isabella Alechenu In more recent times, especially since 1999, every single political party and its flag-bearers, who promised to be agents of change or responders to change at the state and local levels, have been a disappointment.

If leadership is wanting at the state and local levels, it has been a colossal failure at the federal level. None of our last three Presidents bothered to protect the dignity of the average Nigerian. None bothered to speak on behalf of the people.

And none attempted to enhance the fortunes of the people. It was/is all about self-interest and the interest of criminal syndicate that defrauds the treasury and our other resources.

Oluremi Abioye Consider these, even though Bola Tinubu had more resources at his disposal during his eight year reign in Lagos state, his achievements pale in comparison to that of Alhaji Lateef Jakande. Alfred DieteSpiff was the first Governor of Rivers State from May 1967 to July 1975.

Baylesa state was created out of the old Rivers state in 1996. Between July 1975 and December 2012, both states had between them 22 or so governors. Yet, their combined achievements are wishywashy when compared to that of Governor Spiff. How could this be? The same scenario is thrive in virtually all the 36 states of the federation. And for that matter, the same is true at the federal level.

Fidelis Obehibe Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, if I will speak of the federal level, did not even bother to a reasonable extent, with the Lagos – Ibadan expressway, or with Enugu-Port Harcourt Express way or Lagos-Benin Express way. President Jonathan, on his own, has not built a single first class hospital or first-rated medical clinic anywhere in the country, or improved our educational system since assumption of office in 2010. Between Obasanjo and Yar’adua, what did they do for the country? What in the world has Jonathan done for Nigeria, for the Niger Detla, and for the Ijaw where he comes from, other than the introduction of aloofness and incompetence? What has been his contribution to the global community? Essentially, the last several decades have been wasted decades made possible by a forgetful round of mediocre leadership in the country. What a fraud!

Usman Ningi Outside of formal governance, we had a cadre of great mind and patriotic citizens. M.C.K. Ajuluchukwu and Michael Okpara were there. We had Aminu Kano and Bala Usman. Tai Solarin and Ayodele Awojobi were alive.

Today, religious leaders have taken over the public and private space. And many, like their political counterparts, are leeches-sucking the people’s and the nation’s blood marrow.

The absence of first class leadership made it possible for Nigeria to be one of the most fraudulent nations in the world, as a recent study by KPMG said, it made Nigeria the worst place for a baby to be born in 2013, according to a new study

by The Economist Intelligence Unit, and while yet another report by Gallup Poll only recently certified Nigeria as the second most corrupt place on the face of the earth. Damn, who are the leaders of Nigeria?

Page 10

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

News

Around Nigeria

Africa closes ranks to condemn ‘racist’ ICC on Kenya cases

T

he African Union on Monday accused the International Criminal Court of targeting Africans on the basis of race, demanding it end proceedings against Kenya’s president who is accused of crimes against humanity.

“African leaders have come to a consensus that the (ICC) process that has been conducted in Africa has a flaw,” AU chair and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said at the close of a two-day summit of the 54-member bloc.

“The intention was to avoid any kind of impunity... but now the process has degenerated to some kind of race hunting,”he told reporters.

A resolution urged the ICC to stop upcoming trials of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice President William Ruto, who face crimes against humanity trials for their alleged roles in orchestrating deadly violence after 2007 elections that left more than 1,000 people dead.

Many African leaders, as well as the AU as a body, have claimed the ICC

unfairly targets Africans, while ignoring war crimes suspects in other parts of the world.

The Hague-based court, set up in 2002 to try the world’s worst crimes, maintained it was not targeting Africa as a continent, pointing out that four out of eight situations under investigation in Africa were referred to the court by the countries themselves.

In addition, 34 African nations had ratified the ICC’s founding statute, it added.

ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah told

Many African leaders, as well as the AU as a body, have claimed the ICC unfairly targets Africans, while ignoring war crimes suspects in other parts of the world/FILE

Mandela exhibition marks 50 years since his jailing

A

rchives documenting Nelson Mandela’s life went on display Monday to mark 50 years since the iconic South Africa leader arrived at the infamous Robben Island to serve a life prison sentence.

The Johannesburg-based Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, which had been closed for renovations for nearly a year, houses a wide array of documents on the life of the anti-apartheid leader.

Some of the items on display show Mandela’s prison card, with the date of his arrival on Robben Island on May 27 in 1963.

Also on show is a grey and tattered warrant of committal issued by the Supreme Court on November 7, 1962.

“The centre now offers the public an opportunity to view the physical documents, not just the digital images,” said Sello Hatang, spokesman for the centre.

In March 2012, the centre, with the help

South Africa Former President, Nelson Mandela of Google, transformed thousands of handwritten documents, photographs and

videos of Nelson Mandela into a digital searchable online collection.

The revered leader, regarded as the father of democracy in South Africa, spent 18 years in the island prison off the coast of Cape Town after he and others were found guilty of treason.

He was later transferred in 1982 to Pollsmoor prison in Cape Town and later to Victor Verster prison in the nearby town of Paarl, until his release in February 1990.

In 1994 he became the country’s first black president, ending decades of whitesonly apartheid rule.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate then served a single term in office before retiring from public life in 2004.

The frail 94-year-old has been in and out of hospital recently, where he spent 10 days until April 7 being treated for pneumonia.

Gunmen kidnap South African couple in Yemen: security

G

unmen kidnapped a South African couple from the central Yemeni city of Taiz on Monday over a land dispute between a local chief and the authorities, security officials said.

The pair of tourists were seized while they were outside a hotel in the eastern part of the city, said one security official who requested anonymity.

The kidnappers came from the area of Janadiyah, some 35 kilometres (about 20 miles) east of Taiz, said another official.

They belonged to a local chief who has had a long-running dispute with the authorities over a plot of land, he said, adding the tourists could be used for bargaining.

Several other security sources confirmed the abducted couple were South Africans. Although kidnappings of foreigners in Yemen are frequent, Taiz — one of the country’s biggest cities — has not been the scene of hostage-taking.

Hundreds of people have been abducted in Yemen in the past 15 years, nearly all of whom have been freed

unharmed.

Most kidnappings of foreigners are carried out by members of Yemen’s powerful tribes who use them as bargaining chips in disputes with the central government.

Earlier this month, tribesmen in south Yemen freed three employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross, including a Swiss citizen and a Kenyan along with two Egyptian hostages. The men were held for few days and were released following tribal mediation.

AFP the court “will not be reacting” to the AU resolution.

The resolution has no legal impact on ICC proceedings but significantly boosts Kenyatta’s standing on the continent.

The Kenyan cases moved to the ICC after a failure to make headway in a domestic court, but the AU argued that reforms in Kenya including a new constitution and revamped judiciary meant it should now return to a domestic process.

“Now that Kenya has reformed its court... things should be left to the court,” AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said, calling the ICC “a court of last resort.”

It is the first time the pan-African body has formally moved against the international court, even though Kenyatta is the second African leader to face trial, after genocide charges were brought against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

The resolution follows lavish celebrations to mark the AU’s 50th anniversary on Saturday, in which leaders praised the spirit of panAfricanism despite frequent disagreements between the bloc’s members.

The ICC resolution was adopted by consensus, with only Botswana and The Gambia — homeland of the ICC’s chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda — expressing “reservations” about the move, AU security commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said.

It has sparked criticism from rights groups, with Amnesty International calling it a “worrying attempt by the Kenyan authorities to avoid justice”.

Human Rights Watch warned that calls for domestic trials “should fool no one as to the prospects for meaningful justice in Kenya” and that efforts should continue “to press Kenya to put politics aside and let the ICC’s cases run their independent judicial course.”

Both Kenyatta and Ruto deny the charges and have agreed to cooperate fully with the ICC. At the summit meeting, leaders also tried to tackle conflict on the continent, including in volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, tensions between Sudan and South Sudan, Islamist threats in Somalia, Mali and the Sahel region, and wider global security concerns. The AU also announced it would set up an emergency military force to rapidly quell conflict on the continent, amid frustration that a planned peacekeeping force was still not operational after a decade.

The AU’s “African Standby Brigade” to intervene in sudden crises — a proposed force of 32,500 troops and civilians drawn from five regions of the continent — has made little headway since preparations for it started a decade ago. South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia have pledged troops to the proposed force, an interim measure until the main brigade is completed, Lamamra said.

Funding issues were also addressed, after the death of key backer Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with Hailemariam saying members of the cash-strapped body should “be prepared to make sacrifices”.

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Page 11

Special Report Can South Africa Help Nigeria to Industrialise?

By John Fraser - IPS

T

he lack of economic diversification throughout sub-Saharan Africa means that despite South Africa’s pledges to help Nigeria make the automotive sector the West African nation’s flagship industrial target, it may be difficult to do so, experts say.

Earlier this month, South African Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies announced the initiative during a visit here by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

It is a move that is seen as an important milestone in inter-African industrial cooperation. However, Peter Draper, a research fellow at the South African Institute of International Affairs, questioned whether this collaboration would develop into economic integration.

“The real question is whether such cooperation could ultimately evolve into meaningful, broader, economic integration rather than the network of mostly hollow shells that currently masquerade as free trade agreements,” he told IPS. “I think that Nigeria and the Southern African Customs Union should negotiate a complementary Free Trade Area agreement to promote closer economic relations – as the complementarities are strong, and it would bring the two countries closer together politically.”

Draper said that the African Union (AU) has already developed a number of initiatives for specific sectors, but more needs to be done.

“Actually there are quite a few sectoral policies covering, inter alia, energy, communications, transport, and various other integration initiatives. The problem remains implementation, not a lack of plans,” he said.

He said that it seemed to be commonly accepted that the AU’s role was to develop and coordinate implementation of a continental “master plan” that integrates these various initiatives.

“I think there is a role for a broader continental perspective, but I prefer the notion of ‘subsidiarity’ – pioneered in the European Union – where implementation is left to the lowest possible level of government.”

Draper said that the cooperation between South Africa and Nigeria could be an important mentoring initiative for South Africa.

“South Africa has been (involved in) auto industry policy development since the mid-1920s and has a lot of experience to draw on and share,” he explained.

“It reminds me of cooperation in Latin America, which historically evolved through sectors, involving the auto industry particularly. The

South Africa has pledged to help Nigeria make the automotive sector the West African nation’s flagship industrial target. Currently German car manufacturer BMW has a plant at Rosslyn near Pretoria. About 80 percent of the BMWs produced there are for the international market. Credit: John Fraser/IPS European Community (which became the EU) also started out through a network of sectoral collaboration – iron and steel in particular.”

Minister Davies told the Business Day newspaper that discussions on automotive cooperation with Nigeria were still at an early stage.

But while some manufacturers, such as Nissan, might be willing to set up plants in Nigeria, others are more cautious.

Bodo Donauer, the managing director of BMW South Africa, said that in his group “production follows the market” and he does not currently envisage a BMW plant being established in Nigeria.

“Local production plants make it easier to access and develop new markets with long-term growth potential. Having a local plant also makes the company a ‘local player’ and boosts acceptance of the products locally and underscores our good corporate citizen approach,” he said.

“The success of this strategy has been proven by positive sales trends

since the ramp-up of production plants, for example in the Unites States, in China, in the United Kingdom and, of course, in South Africa.”

He said that around 20 percent of BMWs produced at the Rosslyn plant near Pretoria are sold on the local market in South Africa “with more than 80 percent exported to markets around the world, including one percent to certain markets in the rest of Africa.”

“Given the current size of the new premium car market in the rest of Africa, we believe the BMW Group is well-placed with its current global production network to meet any additional demand in markets like Nigeria without the necessity for additional production locations,” he said.

Peggy Droidskie, an advisor to the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the initiative between South Africa and Nigeria was very welcome, as regional integration in Africa remains high on the development agenda.

“Nigeria is a large market, and it is closer to Europe. This proximity to Europe implies that it would be logical for E u r o p e a n connections to be used.

“The fact that South Africa is preferred (as a partner for N i g e r i a )

indicates that South Africa is very competitive and can accommodate the requirements of Nigeria. It also provides South African manufacturers with an additional footprint in Africa,” she said.

Droidskie predicted that some manufacturers who currently operate in South Africa would become interested in setting up in Nigeria.

“Agreements of this nature are driven by politicians,” she noted.

“The politicians believe that the agreements that they enter into benefit the private sector, which is often, but not always, the case.”

She said that South African vehicle manufacturers are already exporting a significant number of vehicles to Nigeria.

“Last year, the number was nearly 15,000.

Nigeria is therefore currently a lucrative market for South African vehicle manufacturers. It is therefore very likely that the manufacturers will take advantage and come to the party.”

And she predicted that this cooperation could expand to other industrial sectors.

“If the profile of Nigeria’s imports is taken into account, there is considerable room for an increase in South African exports to Nigeria. For instance, there is room for greater trade in electrical and electronic equipment and machinery.

“With the development of the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement between the three regional economic blocs in sub-Saharan Africa, there is considerable potential for cooperation to expand to other countries and to other sectors.”

Page 14

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Around the World Nurse admits to murdering 11 in Sydney nursing home

A

male nurse has pleaded guilty to murdering 11 elderly people by setting fire to the Sydney nursing home where he worked.

Roger Dean also pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to another eight nursing home residents injured by the blaze in 2011. The 37-year-old registered nurse was on duty when he set the fire and later appeared on television describing his efforts to rescue trapped people at the nursing home in the suburb of Quakers Hill.

He made his pleas in New South Wales state Supreme Court on Monday. His sentencing hearing starts on Thursday. He potentially faces life imprisonment.

Police had questioned him at the home hours before the blaze over theft allegations. He has already pleaded guilty to stealing prescription drugs from the home.

Niger leader says Chad next target after Islamist attacks

N

iger’s president said Monday that attackers who bombed an army base and French-run uranium mine, leaving more than two dozen people dead, entered his country from southern Libya, where he warned further attacks were being planned on Chad.

“For Niger in particular, the main threat has moved from the Malian border to the Libyan border. I confirm in effect that the enemy who attacked us... comes from the (Libyan) south, where another attack is being prepared against Chad,” said President Mahamadou Issoufou.

Two Islamist groups claimed Thursday’s attacks in northern Niger, calling them retaliation for the country sending troops to help a French-led campaign against AlQaeda-linked insurgents in Mali, in which Chad is also involved.

Issoufou, speaking to a Chadian delegation, did not say whether the planned “attack” on Chad had been foiled.

“The situation in Mali, which

is a consequence of the crisis in Libya, should not sidetrack the international community’s duty to stabilise the situation in Libya, (which) today constitutes the main source of destabilisation in the Sahel region,” he said.

Last week’s dawn attacks began with twin suicide bombings at the army base in Agadez, the main city in northern Niger, and the

Somair mine some 250 kilometres (150 miles) to the north, which is majority owned by French nuclear giant Areva.

Attackers then seized a building at the Agadez base, ending in a raid by French special forces and local troops.

In all, the Agadez attack claimed 24 victims in addition to eight Islamists killed, according to

Niger’s Defence Minister Mahamadou Karidjo.

One employee was killed and 14 wounded in the Somair attack.

The attacks were claimed by two Islamist groups, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) and veteran jihadist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s Signatories in Blood group.

Libya denies Niger attacks launched from its territory

L

ibya dismissed on Monday Niger’s assertion that the Islamist insurgents who attacked an army base and a uranium mine there last week had come its desert south.

Libya’s south, is an area many countries fear has become a safe haven for militants.

Thursday’s attacks killed 24 soldiers, one civilian and damaged machinery at an Areva mine that supplies uranium to France’s nuclear power programme.

Militants said the raids were retaliation for Niger’s role in the French-led war on Islamists in Mali.

Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou said the attackers had come from southern Libya, which has become a smuggling route for weapons reaching al Qaeda militants deep in the Sahara since Muammar Gaddafi’s fall in late 2011.

“I would like to confirm those (claims) are groundless and do not relate to reality,” Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan told a news conference during a visit to Brussels. “It was Gaddafi who exported terrorism ... The new Libya will not tolerate that.”

The Tripoli government is struggling to impose its authority on a myriad of armed groups who helped

topple Gaddafi and now refuse to lay down their weapons. The national assembly in December declared the south a military zone but policing porous borders remains a huge task for weak state security forces.

“We have ... strengthened securing our borders and we have taken measures not to let anyone go out of Libya or into Libya from Mali,” Zeidan said. Issoufou said the raids showed Libya was a source of regional instability, months after France launched an assault on northern Mali, which Paris warned had become a launchpad for attacks by al Qaeda-linked groups.

Zimbabwe: Developing and Managing the Mineral Wealth of Zimbabwe for Tomorrow Amid calls from the Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambura for the establishment of a database of mineral reserves to avoid misleading deals when negotiating with investors, there are also calls to monitor the lack of community development in view of the mining of precious metals in communities in the country and elsewhere on the continent.

The mining sector in Africa constitutes one of the largest industries in the world. Africa is the second biggest continent, with 30 million km² of land, which implies large quantities of resources. For many African countries, mineral exploration and production constitute significant parts of their economies and remain keys to economic growth.

The continent is richly endowed with mineral reserves and ranks first or second in quantity of world reserves of bauxite, cobalt, industrial diamond, phosphate rock, platinum-group metals (PGM), vermiculite, and zirconium.

Gold mining is Africa’s main mining resource.

However, in spite of this rich mineralisation African countries are still wallowing in poverty. The primary problem has been the racist and colonial natural resource laws in Africa which empower the investor at the expense of the citizenry who are the bona fide owners of the resource.

Based on this flawed framework most of the mining deals and activities on the continent have been opaque and detrimental to Africans.

Corruption by both public sector and private sector players has compounded the

A diamond sorter evaluating the quality of the stones. malaise. Secondly, mining in Africa has been largely extractive without beneficiation or value addition.

This has led to African countries exporting cheaply priced raw commodities, while importing expensive refined products.

The lack of meaningful benefits to African people from their natural resources is a key part of what is currently being described as leakage of resources from the

continent.

African leaders and industrialists need to make a lot more noise about the leakage of money from the continent. Plugging the leaks is one of the major ways of keeping Africa’s growth steady. If this is addressed we will have enough resources on the continent. We will have sufficient investable capital from the continent. This will smash the current

Photo: De Beers unsustainable overdependence on foreign aid and foreign direct investment.

Intra Africa investment and investment outflows from the continent into the rest of the world will become practical propositions.

African governments and societies must harness the opportunities created by natural resources effectively.

They must ensure the huge opportunities for economic

development and prosperity provided by resource discoveries and commodity booms will never again be missed. Some of the poorest countries in Arica have large amounts of natural resources and these can provide a pathway out of poverty.

Yet in the past, these opportunities have often been missed, and resource abundant countries have consequently remained poor.

Natural resources have the potential to be transformative if they are properly harnessed for development.

However, the decision chain from the discovery of natural assets through to their conversion into a productive economy is long and complex.

This is why the process has so often been unsuccessful on the African Continent. Africa is too rich to be poor.

It is within this continental context that we assess Zimbabwe’s mineral strength and how it can be leveraged to improve the quality of our people’s lives. The recent work of Paul Jordan and ZEPARU has been instructive in identifying the key policy issues with respect to the mining sector in Zimbabwe, in particular around geological and mineralization issues.

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Page 15

Around the World

Vietnam War Veterans Wounded Together Reunite After 44 Years F ormer Marines Jim Volkmar and Arthur Phillips always wondered what had happened to each other.

They last saw each other more than four decades ago in as a haze of morphine as doctors worked furiously to patch them

World-Syrian TV reporter ‘killed near Qusayr’

A

reporter for Syrian state television has been killed while covering an army assault on the rebel stronghold of Qusayr, state media said on Monday.

“The ministry of information... announces that colleague Yara Abbas has been added to the ranks of the martyrs, killed by terrorists near Dabaa airport,” north of Qusayr, state media said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog also reported the death of Abbas who worked for state television news channel Al-Ikhbariya, saying she “was killed by a sniper close to Dabaa airport”.

The group said other members of Abbas’screw were wounded, without providing further details.

Information Minister Omran alZohbi, interviewed on Syrian television, described Abbas’s death as “tragic” and called her a “martyr.”

“This is a new sacrifice by the Syrian media so that Syria will remain and will return better than before,” he said.

He expressed the hope that “Yara will be the last of the martyrs in a bleeding Syria”.

“Yara was aware that she could die a martyr and she shed her blood for Syria,” he added.

Before her death, Reporters sans Frontieres said 23 journalists had been killed in Syria since the beginning of the uprising in March 2011.

At least 58 citizen journalists have been killed in the conflict.

The Syrian army, backed by fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, began an assault on the rebel stronghold of Qusayr on Sunday May 19.

Both the rebels and the regime view the town in central Homs province as a key strategic prize, because it lies near the Lebanese border and by the road connecting Damascus to the coast.

up.

Volkmar was a platoon commander, Phillips his radio operator. On that March day in Vietnam in 1969, they had set out to help rescue members of their platoon who were pinned down by the Viet Cong.

As they made their way through a cornfield, a device, possibly a mortar, exploded in their midst.

“It picked me up, and I did a summersault and landed on my back,” said Volkmar. “I saw Arthur was standing rigidly and his finger was on his throat, and blood was coming through his fingers.”

Both men were picked up by helicopter and flown to their base ship.

“They took me to the operating room,” said Phillips.

“I was sprayed head to toe with shrapnel.”

Doctors also worked on Volkmar, whose left foot, leg and arm were severely injured.

It was the last day the two men ever saw each other. Phillips was sewn up and returned to combat. Volkmar spent nine months in military hospitals and was then reassigned to the U.S.S. Hornet in Long Beach, Calif.

This year, Phillips was trolling the Internet and stumbled on an article on the websiteTogetherWeServed written

by Volkmar and recounting that day he and his radio man were wounded.

Phillips realized he was that radio man, and that this was his long-lost colonel.

The next day, the two were able to connect by phone. It was March 13 of this year, 44 years to the day they were blown up.

“If you ever want to see the hand of God at work, this is it,” said Lt. Col. James Volkmar who made a career out of the Marines.

“I recognized that voice right away,” said Phillips. “You know, I haven’t heard that voice in 44 years.”

The two talked for more than an hour.

“It was like we were standing right there before the device hit and went boom. It was like the years just fell away,” said Volkmar.

Phillips, who worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 28 years, lives in Massachusetts. Volkmar is in Texas. The two hope to connect in person this summer.

TogetherWeServed.com is a website dedicated both to memorializing and to reconnecting veterans from all branches of the service. Volkmar called it “truly uplifting and inspiring.”

Pam Jeans couldn’t agree more. Her husband of 47 years, Duel Jeans, is also a former Marine. He served during the Korean War. The couple stumbled on the website when Duel Jeans was trying to find buddies who had fought alongside him.

Pam Jeans found herself hooked on the stories and profiles of the men and women who had served their country.

She began spending hours online researching genealogy sites, obituaries, looking for any information she could get her hands on. She used the information to create remembrance profiles of Marines who served in Korea who have since passed away.

“The main thing for me,” said Jeans, “was making sure these fellows weren’t forgotten.”

She has certainly done that. Jeans has created a record 12,585 remembrance profiles of the Korean War veterans for TogetherWeServed.com.

“It’s not the numbers I’m interested

in so much as the stories,” said Jeans.

“Seeing their pictures, you can actually see them go from a young boy to a man.”

This Memorial Day weekend, TogetherWeServed is putting out a call to families whose loved ones died while in the military.

The website now has 90,000 profile pages in its Roll of Honor: solders, Marines, sailors and airmen who served from World War II until today. They’re hoping families of these men and women will add to the profile pages with pictures and details of their service.

“I think what we will ultimately end up with, if we’re not already there, is the largest reservoir of historical information on all services across the board,” said former soldier and site historian Mike Christy.

Pam Jeans is still working hard to make sure that happens. When she’s not taking care of her 83-year-old husband, who now suffers from dementia, she’s creating another profile of yet another Korean War veteran.

Even with more than 12,000 under her belt, she’s hardly slowed down.

“You would think after all this time, I would be tired of doing it,” she said.

Yet as she finds veterans to profile, veterans who might otherwise be forgotten, Jeans said, “Every day there is something new that inspires me in some way.”

MI5 ‘tried to recruit’ London murder suspect

B

ritain’s intelligence services were under pressure Saturday to explain their knowledge of two Islamists suspected of hacking a soldier to death in London, amid claims they had tried to recruit one of them.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22 – who remained under armed guard in hospital after being shot by police at the scene – were known to the intelligence services but were reportedly assessed as not posing a deadly threat.

An alleged friend of Adebolajo was arrested at the BBC after telling the broadcaster that British security services had tried to recruit the murder suspect.

Abu Nusaybah told BBC television on Friday that Adebolajo was asked by the MI5 domestic intelligence agency if he knew certain individuals and later if he wanted to work for them. He said Adebolajo had snubbed their approach.

The BBC said Abu Nusaybah was promptly arrested on their premises after giving the interview.

Scotland Yard police headquarters said counter-terror officers had arrested a 31year-old man in London on suspicion of the “commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”. It is understood the arrest was not directly linked to the brutal murder of soldier Lee Rigby, who was hacked to death in broad daylight Wednesday outside the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, southeast London.

Rigby’s distraught wife said the family found it hard to accept that the 25-year-old had been killed not in a war zone but on the streets of his own country.

A huge pile of floral tributes was building up outside the barracks.

More details emerged about Adebolajo, who was born to devout Nigerian Christians but converted to Islam a decade ago and

had attended meetings of the extremist group Al-Muhajiroun, which is now banned in Britain. He had reportedly sold inflammatory literature at a stall in Woolwich, where his increasingly extremist behaviour in recent weeks had alarmed other Muslims. Reports said Adebolajo had attempted to travel to Somalia to fight alongside Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents but had been turned back and had his passport confiscated by police.

Abu Nusaybah told BBC television that Adebolajo had been picked up by Kenyan forces and physically assaulted in detention there. Shortly after he returned, MI5 agents repeatedly called at his home, the friend alleged. “His wording was: ‘They are bugging me – they won’t leave me alone’,” he said. “After him saying that he didn’t know these individuals and so forth, what he said is they asked him whether he would be interested in working for them.

Page 16

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Special Report

Nigerians on the run as military combat Boko Haram-IRIN T ens of thousands of residents of northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State have fled their homes thousands of them into neighbouring Niger and Cameroon - following airstrikes by Nigerian fighter jets on Boko Haram (BH) camps from 15 May. The attacks on BH camps in northern parts of Borno close to the borders with Chad, Niger and Cameroon followed the 14 May declaration of a state of emergency by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in the northeastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

Musa Karimbe fled his village of Bulabute near Marte, BH’s major stronghold in the area, on 17 May to Kusiri, 100km inside Cameroon where he is staying with a friend. “We are afraid of a repeat of Baga attacks on our homes,” Karimbe said, referring to fighting on 16 and 17 April between troops from the Chad-Niger-Nigeria Joint Multi-National Task Force and BH members in which 187 residents from Baga town on the shores of Lake Chad were killed, and 2,128 homes burnt, according to Human Rights Watch.

People from villages around Abadam District, including Malamfatori, fled to Bosso in Niger’s Diffa Region, while others have taken refuge in the Cameroonian towns of Fotokol, Amchide, Darak and Kusiri, according to interviews with displaced Nigerians. Officials say 2,000 people have fled across borders, though several of the displaced told IRIN they thought the number was higher.

The number of casualties from the fighting is not yet clear, though Nigeria defence spokesman Brig-Gen Chris Olukolade said on 17 May that there had been BH casualties, and that 100 BH members had been arrested.

An official with the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the capital, Abuja, said they had not yet been able to establish contact with their teams to find out the details of the humanitarian situation, because telephone networks in Borno and Yobe states have been shut down since 16 May. “The areas where military operations are ongoing, are not accessible,” he told IRIN. Residents of Gamboru Ngala in Borno State said military forces screened them thoroughly before allowing them to cross the border; others passed through the network of unofficial trade routes that criss-cross the region.

The military has placed a “food blockade” on northern Borno, refusing to allow trucks laden with household commodities from leaving Maiduguri (the state capital) to the northern part

A Nigerian military offensive aims to provide security to the north Photo: Obinna Anyadike/IRIN

of the state, in case they end up in BH hands. As a result, prices have shot up, said Bukar Zanna, head of the Traders’ Association in Gamboru Ngala.

Since January 2013 BH has taken control of Marte, Mobbar, Gubio, Guzamala, Abadam, Kukawa, KalaBalge and Gamboru Ngala local government areas in northern Borno, chasing out local government officials, taking over control of government buildings and imposing Sharia law.

This prompted President Goodluck Jonathan to declare last week that he would “take all necessary action... to put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists,” including the arrest and detention of suspects, taking over BH hideouts, the lockdown of suspected BH enclaves, raids, and arresting anyone possessing illegal weapons.

The military crackdown came after several attempts at dialogue - the most recent on 17 April, when the president set up a 26-member Amnesty Committee (headed by Nigerian Special Duties Minister Kabiru Tanimu) with a three-month mandate to try to convince BH to lay down its arms in exchange for a state pardon and social reintegration.

Dialogue soon broke down, and BH stepped up bombing attacks and assassinations in April and May in apparent defiance of the proposed amnesty.

BH has repeatedly rejected peace talks, citing insincerity on the part of the Nigerian government following a series of failed mediated negotiations.

On 8 and 9 May the Amnesty Committee met Nigerian security chiefs in Abuja and then BH members in detention in Kuje prison near Abuja to gather information on how to reach out to the BH leadership for talks. But

on 9 May around 200 BH gunmen, armed with rocket launchers and rifles, launched coordinated attacks on security forces in the town of Bama in northern Borno, including a military barracks, a prison and police buildings, killing 42 people including soldiers, policemen, prison guards and civilians and freeing 105 inmates. Some 13 BH gunmen were killed in the attacks, according to the military.

In a 13 May video, BH leader Abubakar Shekau rejected the government’s amnesty overtures and vowed not to stop his group’s violent campaigns to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria.

Flip-flopping The government’s flip-flop approach is evidence of its frustration with the deteriorating security situation. But the next steps are not clear. “Deployment of troops and the declaration of war on BH by the president have put a huge stumbling block on the path of the Amnesty Committee,” said Mohammed Kyari, a political science professor at Modibo Adama University of Science and Technology in neighbouring Adamawa State capital Yola, which is also affected by the emergency decree.

“It will now be difficult to win the confidence of BH which is crucial in bringing them to the negotiating table because you can’t talk of peace on one hand and be deploying troops on the other.” A leading rights activist in the north, Shehu Sani, who has participated in past negotiations with BH, agrees.

But many say the government had no choice. Yahaya Mahmud, a prominent constitutional lawyer in Nigeria, told IRIN: “No government anywhere will allow a group to usurp

part of territorial sovereignty. The declaration of a state of emergency was necessitated by the constitutional obligation to restore a portion of Nigeria’s territory taken over by an armed group which involves the suspension of constitutional provisions relating to civic rights.”

The fear now is that the more violent the crackdown, the greater the chance of radicalizing angry young men to join the rebel cause. Babagoni Kachalla, a resident of Wuljo, one of the areas taken over by BH in northern Borno, said BH has been going village-to-village since January in all-terrain vehicles fitted with loudspeakers to gather recruits and preach their ideology. In the days leading up to the military response, BH fighters stepped up their recruitment drive, said Borno State residents.

Political scientist Kyari worries, in response to the crackdown, that BH will just shift their bases. “BH can’t face Nigerian troops in conventional war; the troop deployment to northern Borno means they will move out to other towns and cities with less military presence and launch guerrilla war, which is deadlier.”

The deployment of troops to Maiduguri in June 2011 and military crackdowns pushed some BH members northwards within Borno, and others to northern Mali, which they fled during the French, Chadian and Malian intervention in the north.

Trust Many analysts and politicians are pushing for dialogue as the only way out of the impasse, but trust between the government and BH is very low.

Conspiracy theories in the north abound, including that prominent politicians, including the president, are fanning some of the violence in the north since they would benefit from chaos continuing there in the run-up to 2015 presidential elections.

While not endorsing the theories, Abdulkarim Mohammed, author of Paradox of Boko Haram, said they should be investigated if the government is serious about understanding the roots of BH’s insurgency.

The Amnesty Committee stated yesterday it would meet BH leaders anywhere they chose, to negotiate a way out of the violence.

If the government does not win the confidence of BH soon, to at least bring them to the negotiating table, we are going to be in this much longer than we thought,” said Kyari, adding: “and if it is not managed well, it will engulf neighbouring countries.”

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Page 17

Science & Environment

Moon may harbour alien minerals, study M

inerals found in craters on the Moon may be remnants of asteroids that slammed into it and not, as long believed, the satellite’s innards exposed by such impacts, a study said Sunday.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, cast doubt on the little we knew of what the Moon is actually composed of.

It had long been thought that meteoroids vaporise on impact with large celestial bodies.

Unusual minerals like spinel and olivine found in many lunar craters, but rarely on the Moon’s surface, were therefore attributed to the excavation of sub-surface lunar layers by asteroid hits.

Olivine and spinel are common components of asteroids and meteorites, and have been found on the floors and around the central peaks of lunar craters like Copernicus, Theophilus and Tycho that are around 100 kilometres (63 miles) in diameter.

A team from China and the United States simulated the formation of Moon craters and found that at impact velocities under 12 kilometres per second a projectile may survive the impact,

though fragmented and deformed.

“We conclude that some unusual minerals observed in the central peaks of many lunar impact craters could be exogenic (external) in origin and may not be indigenous to the Moon,” they

wrote.

Co-author Jay Melosh from Purdue University in Indiana, said the finding answers the conundrum exposed by earlier studies which said craters the size of Copernicus were not big enough to

have dredged up the contents of the Moon’s deep, interior mantle.

“It also warns planetary scientists not to use the composition of the central peaks of craters as a guide to the interior of the Moon, whose dominant mineral might not be olivine,” he told AFP. On Earth, spinel and olivine create rare gemstones like peridot.

In an article commenting on the study, Erik Asphaug of the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, said the theory meant that material excavated from Earth by large impacts during the planet’s early days may still be found on the Moon.

The scattered material was known to have hit the Moon at velocities as slow as 2 km/s and should have survived, if the study’s assumptions are correct.

This suggested yet another explanation for the existence of spinels on the Moon, said Asphaug: They came from Earth.

“Even more provocative is the suggestion that we might someday find Earth’s protobiological materials, no longer available on our geologically active and repeatedly recycled planet, in dry storage up in the lunar ‘attic’.

“Certainly, the potential of finding early Earth material is emerging as one of the primary motivations for a return to the Moon by human astronauts in our ongoing search for the origin of life.”

Unlike the Earth’s crust, which is repeatedly recycled through the process of plate tectonics, the Moon’s hard crust dates back billions of years, offering clues to the formation of the solar system, including Earth.

Genes Play Role in Baby’s Sleep at Night

P

arents who are having difficulty getting their babies to sleep through the night may be somewhat relieved by a new study showing that a large determinant of an infant’s nighttime sleep is simply the luck of the genetic draw.

Researchers in Canada studied sleep records from nearly 1,000 identical and fraternal twins in Quebec, and found that genes largely determine whether c through the night. However, children’s ability to nap during the day is controlled more by their environment.

While some parents may find themselves fortunate in having a sound sleeper, the researchers said there are also ways to help a child along.

“The genetic influence is only part of the equation that controls sleep duration. One should not give up on trying correcting inadequate sleep duration or bad sleep habits early in childhood,” said study author Evelyne Touchette, a psychology researcher at Laval University in Quebec.

The researchers found there is a particularly sensitive time for the influence of parental interventions, at around 18 months, Touchette said. “This is a good time to implement sleep strategies in order to improve the child’s nighttime sleep habits if they are not already in place,” she said.

Parents should not assume that a child who doesn’t seem to sleep enough doesn’t need more sleep, Touchette said.

Only 5 percent of children in the study were considered “short-persistent sleepers,” meaning they seemed to need

less than 10 hours of sleep nightly. “One should use caution before concluding that their child is truly a short-sleeper.

More often than not, children do not get sufficient sleep for other reasons,” she said.

In the study, the researchers did not look for specific genes associated with sleep, rather they looked at whether identical twins were more likely than fraternal twins to share sleep patterns.

While children can vary in their sleep habits, there are some milestones to look for, said Dr. Dennis Rosen, associate medical director of the center for pediatric sleep disorders at Boston Children’s Hospital and author of ”Successful Sleep Strategies for Kids” (Harvard University, 2012).

At 6 weeks old, infants begin napping two to three times a day, moving to two daily naps by age 6 months, he said. At 18 months, a toddler should be down to one nap during the day.

“Most children are finished with daytime naps by the time they’re about 5, but many children stop napping earlier,” he said.

In the Quebec study, 4 percent of children had stopped napping by age 4, but that number was 68 percent in a similar study from Italy, showing culture has some impact on nap times.

It’s key to find balance between spending enough time in bed but not too much time, Rosen said.

Children not given enough time to sleep will often become irritable and cranky, but children who stay in bed

longer than they need will often not stay asleep, or will wake up multiple times throughout the night.

Both Rosen and Touchette said it is important to establish a routine that allows the child autonomy in getting themselves to sleep.

“From about [6 months], I recommend putting children to bed when they are drowsy but still awake, so that they can develop appropriate sleep-onset associations and learn to fall asleep on their own,” Touchette said, adding that this also helps children to fall back asleep quickly when they wake

up at night.

Parents should look for possible sleep problems, such as loud snoring, gasping or pauses in breathing. But even other issues that have a child consistently waking parents up can be problematic.

“These are things that are not medical issues but they can be quite disruptive,” Rosen said. “The parents need to sleep as well.”

“Speaking to somebody who is knowledgeable about sleep in children, a pediatrician or sleep specialist, can be very beneficial.”

Courtesy: LiveScience.com

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Page 20

Your Health Group links infertility in women to infections in puberty T

he Global Advocacy for Toilet and Sanitary Standards Initiative, an NGO, said on Monday that infections contracted during puberty could be responsible for infertility in women.

The National President of the group, Mrs Miriam Onuoha, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that improving access to toilet use for women would reduce this trend.

She spoke of the need for improved toilet use for women and girls to reduce morbidity

rate from infections and poor sanitation.

“The gender perspective of toilets is borne out of the fact that the non-availability of toilet facilities or a properly kept toilet deals more devastating blows on the girl-child and the women because a male student can go into the toilet and come out, the same one that a female student goes into and contacts some diseases.

“I am particularly bothered and worried because I used to be a sanitary prefect back in

school days and I know that it wasn’t an easy task. I decided and told myself that when I come of age, I was going to mobilise people of like minds to talk about that issue that have been left to lie like that .

“A lot of infertility cases today on part of the women could be traced to some diseases and infections which the girl had contacted back in school days and wasn’t able to treat it and get it properly cured. That is the particular importance to

the girl-child.“ Onuoha said the NGO had launched the Support my School (SMS) Project, which focused on creating awareness to address poor sanitation challenges in schools, especially for the girl -child.

“This was borne out of our nationwide survey report on public schools and institutions, we need water and sanitation infrastructure, continuous hygiene education in selected schools nationwide.“

She said poor sanitation and lack of toilets in schools had led to absenteeism, due to a woman’s physiological inbuilt.

Onuoha urged Nigerians to give attention to providing toilet facilities, saying government cannot do it alone.

The body is a civil society organisation dedicated to secure best practices and standards in toilet design, cleanliness and sanitation, through advocacy, training and community dialogue.

The energy-boosting supplement that could HALVE the number of deaths from heart failure

Girls Are Reaching Puberty Earlier, Says Study |

DAILY HEALTH TIPS Fizzy drink addiction as bad for your teeth as meth or crack, according to new study Bad news, diet coke junkies: gulping down excessive amounts of soda is no longer just bad for your teeth, now it’s as bad for your teeth as crystal meth or crack

·Coenzyme Q10 is first drug shown to reduce heart failure deaths in a decade ·Known as CoQ10, it is a vitaminlike supplement sold in health food shops ·CoQ10 levels are decreased in the heart muscle of patients with heart failure ·The pill - which is ‘a natural and safe substance’ - can be taken with statins and ‘should now be added to conventional treatment, say experts The vitamin-like supplement coenzyme Q10 could halve death rates among people with heart failure and reduce hospital admissions Supplements of a popular energybooster could halve death rates among people with heart failure, claim scientists.

The vitamin-like supplement coenzyme Q10 also reduces hospital admissions, says a major new study.

It is the first drug shown to save the lives of heart failure patients in more than a decade - and it is available over the counter in health food shops.

CoQ10 - which can be taken with statins - should now be added to conventional treatment for such patients, according to Professor Svend Aage Mortensen, who led the study.

Professor Mortensen said: ‘CoQ10 is the first medication to improve survival in chronic heart failure since ACE inhibitors and beta blockers more than a decade ago and should be added to standard heart failure therapy.

‘Other heart failure medications block rather than enhance cellular processes and may have side effects.

‘Supplementation with CoQ10, which is a natural and safe substance, corrects a deficiency in the body and blocks the vicious metabolic cycle in chronic heart failure.’

More than 900,000 Britons live with heart failure, which occurs when damage to the heart leaves it too weak to pump blood efficiently round the body. Around 100,000 a year are thought to die from it.

Heart failure causes symptoms of fatigue, breathlessness, increased heart rate and swollen ankles, and it can lead

to serious complications.

CoQ10 is a substance similar to a vitamin which is made by the body and found in every cell, where it is used to produce energy.

However, CoQ10 levels are decreased in the heart muscle of patients with heart failure, who are often taking statin drugs that in turn deplete the body’s supplies still further.

Previous research has shown CoQ10 improves symptoms, functional capacity and quality of life in patients with heart failure with no side effects.

But until now, no trials have been big enough to prove that supplements increase survival.

The latest study from researchers at the University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen randomly allocated 420 patients with severe heart failure from a number of countries to CoQ10 or placebo - a dummy drug - and followed them for 2 years.

CoQ10 halved the risk of patients suffering death or serious deterioration of symptoms, including hospitalisation.

Altogether 29 (14 per cent) patients in the CoQ10 group had such an event compared with 55 (25 per cent) patients in the placebo group.

CoQ10 also halved the risk of dying from all causes, which occurred in 18 (9 per cent) patients in the CoQ10 group compared to 36 (17 per cent) patients in the placebo group.

The substance is essential to survival and as well as being important for energy production in cells, it also functions as an antioxidant, which protects the body from damage caused by harmful molecules.

CoQ10 is naturally present in small amounts in a wide variety of foods, with higher levels in organ meats such as heart, liver, and kidney, as well as beef, soy oil, sardines, mackerel, and peanuts, but levels obtained through diet are insufficient to impact on heart failure.

CoQ10 is available over the counter as a food supplement and many doctors advise patients on statins to take it as well in order to offset the cell energy-depletion caused by statins.

But Professor Mortensen cautioned: ‘Food supplements can influence the effect of other medications including anticoagulants and patients should seek advice from their doctor before taking them.’

He added: ‘We have no controlled trials demonstrating that statin therapy plus CoQ10 improves mortality more than statins alone.’

Nevertheless, he supported the use of CoQ10 by heart patients on statins because of their effect on supplies of the naturally-occurring nutrient.

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Page 21

Living & Style

How does the brain react to a romantic breakup?

Xiaomeng (Mona) Xu, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University and at the Miriam Hospital, responds:

Y

ou’re in the midst of a breakup and feel like a different person. You find yourself spending a lot of time longing for your ex, constantly checking her Facebook updates, and wondering what went wrong. This shift in patterns of thought and behavior may be caused by neural changes that occur after a breakup.

Neuroimaging studies have found that being rejected, even by a stranger, activates many of the same regions in the brain as when experiencing physical pain. In one study, biological anthropologist Helen Fisher of Rutgers University recruited brave participants who held still in a functional MRI scanner while they looked at pictures of the person who

Image: JAMIE CARROLL iStockphoto had recently dumped them.

These participants exhibited increased brain activity in several regions associated with reward, motivation, addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder, which helps to explain why you might struggle to let

go after a romantic relationship ends.

Grief can also be a part of the breakup process. In another brain-scanning study, researchers asked women who had gone through a recent breakup to think about their ex

in an fMRI machine. They found patterns of brain activity consistent with feelings of sadness, rumination and chronic depression.

For some people, heartache can continue months after a split.

A team of German investigators, studying a small group of people who were still hung up on an ex up to six months after the relationship had ended, also found brain patterns consistent with depression, such as decreased activity in the insula and the anterior and posterior cingulate cortices.

Although such studies show that heartbreak is associated with obsession and grief, the findings are limited. Our understanding primarily

comes from research in which participants are asked to actively think about their ex, something people probably don’t do all the time.

Additionally, studies tend to be about the heartbroken, rather than the heartbreakers, and focus only on the period of misery postsplit. Luckily for many people, the heartache from a lost relationship fades over time, and life goes back to normal. For some, the rupture might even become a positive experience, allowing a person to get away from a dysfunctional relationship and fall in love again.

This article was originally published with the title How does the brain react to a romantic breakup?

Culled from Scientific American

Why That Healthy Meal Is Making You Fat

Y

ou shun junk food, eat balanced meals, and never miss a spin class. So why are you gaining weight?

Look to your food portions, says a recent study published in the International Journal of Obesity.

Study authors showed 186 people various foods such as cereal, beverages, and coleslaw, labeling them “healthier” or “standard” (although both versions were of equal calories), then asked them to serve themselves an appropriate portion. They found that not only did people assume that “healthy” equaled “less caloric”, they served themselves heftier servings of the “healthy” foods, and felt less guilty about how much they ate.

“People tend to overeat foods labeled ‘healthy,’ or ‘organic’ because they assume that those

foods won’t cause weight gain,” says David Grotto, RDN, author of The Best Things You Can Eat. “We call that the ‘Health Halo’, meaning, there are certain categories or types of food that we give ourselves unconditional permission to eat. The problem is, this mind frame leads to consuming larger portions and weight gain.”

Keeping portion sizes in check is a tough habit to maintain.

From the time we’re kids, we’re taught to “finish our plates” so we often keep eating even when we’re full. What’s more, in our 24/7 society, people tend to cram large portions on their plates, subconsciously believing that they have to eat as much as they can in limited time. And lastly, many people don’t have a clue as to how much food they should be eating in the first place. Try these tricks for keeping your

healthy meal under control.

Make your salad darker: Just because lettuce is green, doesn’t mean it’s the healthiest choice. When building a salad, opt for the darkest leaves available. The reason: They absorb more light and synthesize more vitamins, according to a study conducted by Zhejiang University in China.

Select smaller plates: You may feel like you’re eating at the kid’s table but eating off a tiny plate tricks your mind into thinking you have a significant amount of food, says Grotto. One study conducted at Cornell University found that when kids were given larger bowls, they consumed 16 percent more cereal than those with smaller bowls. At the same time, those who ate more also believed they consumed less than they actually did.

Throw mushrooms in your omelet: Opting for mushrooms instead of sausage in your morning omelet can fill you up without filling you out.

Research published in a recent issue of the FASEB Journal found that when overweight men and women substituted white button mushrooms for meat, they effectively maintained their weight.

Drink from tall glasses: You’ll drink 19 percent less if you swap short, wide glasses for tall,

skinny ones, according to research published in the Journal of Consumer Research.

It may have to do with the fact that people’s brains tend to zero in on an object’s height, so tall glasses seem fuller than they actually are.

Give your fork a rest: “It’s very counter-intuitive but putting your fork down on the table in between bites will force to you eat slower,” says Grotto.

“Doing so will allow your body to release a hormone called leptin that signals to the brain that you’ve had enough food.”

Eat more fat: “Fat shouldn’t

be feared because it contains a satiating component,” says Grotto. And while it’s generally better to opt for unsaturated fats (avocado, nuts) over saturated fats (butter, dairy, steak), Grotto says that sprinkling small amounts of unhealthy fats such as crumbled bacon over a salad or in soup can help fill you up faster so you don’t overeat.

And when in doubt about how much to eat, consult this cheat sheet for common serving size terms, according to EatRight.org (formally the American Dietary Association) culled from: Healthy Living

Page 18

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

inspirational dispatch

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Page 19

Around the World National Strategy for the Reduction of Teenage Pregnancies in Sierra Leone: Dame Jonathan Perspective Contd. from page 2 to their faithful what God originally intended sex for.

That this national strategy is a clarion call for immediate action, that the role of traditional and religious leaders in supporting communities to prevent teenage pregnancy cannot be overemphasized. This is because they are respected opinion molders, held in high esteem by the society and as such has a greater role to play for the common good and their wealth of experience will guide our adolescent boys, girls and their parents.

An action is proved either right or wrong by its result and our deviation from our cultural probity – abstention from sex until marriage, preached by both Christians and Moslems – is fast truncating the beautiful future of our teenage girls. Is there anything archaic in returning to something that can cure our social ill?

Even legal teenage pregnancy is not good and Mrs. Jonathan did not spare it. Accordingly she said, that a glimpse into the world of teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone, states that “importance is given to girls marrying as virgins that the age of marriage often coincides with the first occurrence of female menstruation.” The alarming rate of teenage pregnancies was the main reason for the seminar in Sierra Leone. Teenage pregnancy should be frowned at, whether through illicit sex or through legal marriage. That the conference really offered vital platform to discuss the pressing issue while exploring new ways in which traditional and religious leaders can work in greater partnership in their communities to prevent the problem that has social, development, economic, psychological and health implications for the victims.

On health complications, the First Lady regretted the pains of girls of 14 years old and much younger, face during pregnancy and delivery, such as severe anaemia, acute malaria, pregnancy induced hypertension, obstructed labour, among others. These are not theoretical problems, they are real. So who can say teenage pregnancy is no evil perpetrated by men and boys of the same society? Mrs. Jonathan also wants the men-folk to be sensitized so that they can know how to behave toward the opposite sex.

The pain of teenagers who get pregnant goes beyond the trauma of the nine-month unwanted programme; they mostly remain unmarried and

Sierra Leone President, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma many, for fear of their grim future and stigmatization, hide their pregnancies, seek abortion and may end up dead or maimed at the hands of quack doctors.

It is pertinent to know that an estimated 70,000 teenage mothers die each year because they had children before they were physically ready for motherhood. These unmarried pregnant teens often resort to desperate measures to seek to abort their mostly unplanned pregnancies by patronizing the services of quacks, resulting in either their death or loss of future reproductive ability, amongst those who do survive.

In addition, researches also indicate that young mothers and their babies are at a greater risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections like fistula. Others end up isolated, stigmatized and abandoned and so become depressed.

With all these basket of woes, the First Lady’s concern should be the concern of all compassionate mothers, fathers, and almost everybody. Just imagine dropping drop out of school, not being able to reach one’s full potential and actualizing one’s dreams, all because of the social malaise of sexual immorality and teenage pregnancy! The girls are more likely to face a life of poverty if they do not have supportive parents or marketable skills to take care of themselves and

Mid Term Report Of Goodluck Jonathan observers as credible, free and fair.

Contd. from Page 3 would be added to our Gross Domestic product. Crude oil theft and other sharp practices are also being combated with much vigor by various security and regulatory agencies on the president’s instructions.

•Furthermore, the fuel subsidy regime which had been a conduit pipe through which huge funds were siphoned from the National treasury has been subjected to forensic scrutiny by various agencies and committees set up by Mr. President in the last twelve months.

•The Aig-Imoukhuede Presidential committee on verification and reconciliation of subsidy claims and payments led to the arrest and arraignment of a number of individuals and firms by the EFCC. •It is also on record that the president, upon receipt of the House of Representatives subsidy probe panel report, forwarded same to relevant security agencies with a firm instruction that there must be no sacred cows in the prosecution of culpable individuals and corporate entities.

•The on-going implementation of this and other reports has resulted in huge savings of money hitherto stolen by corrupt public officials.

•These are initiatives which had not been taken by any other previous government.

ELECTORAL REFORMS •President Goodluck Jonathan that this important process has been sanitized in a manner unprecedented in our political history.

•The reform carried out in this sector is responsible for the conduct of elections assessed by local and international

•He has given the Nations electoral body a free hand to carry out its statutory duties without any form of direct or indirect manipulation. It takes a man who is committed to eradicating political corruption to do this in view of the apparent desperation of some politicians to capture power at all cost.

PORTS REFORMS •Opportunities for bribery, documents forgery and other sharp-practices in the Nigerian ports have been substantially removed through a number of measures introduced by both the Ministries of Finance and that of Transport.

•A Presidential committee on ports reform and monitoring has worked assiduously to reduce congestion in our ports with the ultimate goal of a 48-hour goods clearing policy. The reforms in this sector are helping: • To improve efficiency and transparency in ports operations and management.

•Reduce charges and promote competition.

•Facilitate the development of the transport sector.

•Eliminate ports congestion.

•Reduce government’s financial burden.

LEGAL AND JUDICIAL REFORMS •The Jonathan administration has since its inception been concerned securing convictions of suspects accused of economic crimes within a reasonable time frame.

• On the occasion of the swearing in of Justice Miriam Aloma Mukhtar as Chief Judge of the Federation in July 2012, President Jonathan admonished the new CJ to consider the creation of special courts and designation of

their children. Why not prevent it all? This is the import of Dame Jonathan perspective.

Ignorance and poverty are also factors that contribute to teenage pregnancy as young impressionable girls are enticed with gifts, money, sweet words and promises of marriage. This where parents should not only be teachers to their children, they should also be communicators and friends to them. They should always point out the differences in how things turn out for those who become teenage mothers and others who marry later, delay pregnancy beyond their adolescence. The latter always normally have more chances to stay healthier, to improve their education and build a better life for themselves and their families.

Parents must also take renewed interest in their children, mothers have roles to play in this regard and sex education should begin at home and from infancy. If the children are not taught about their private parts by their parents, they will learn about them wrongly from their inexperienced peers and bad adults who want to exploit them The First Lady’s concern did not stop at pointing out the problem, she abundantly proffered solutions, to the extent of recommending the importance of town hall meetings, continuous community sensitization programmes and encouraged traditional rulers, religious leaders to partner with NGOs and civil society organizations to create the relevant awareness in their communities including the correction of moral values and value-reorientation by our traditional institutions. Before the curtain finally came to an end, Dame Jonathan’s Nigerian situation became a topic and Nigeria, not being immune to the problem, has a programme for preventing high risk sexual behaviours during the teenage years. This programme, the First Lady revealed, is a national reproductive health policy since 2000.

All said and done at the seminar, Dame Jonathan said all hands should be on deck to support the First Lady, and President of Sierra Leone, to mitigate the challenges of teen pregnancies “I am confident that the stakeholders and actors here present will implement the strategies of the action plan with great success for the overall good of the people of Sierra Leone and Africa at large,” she said.

Omoba Kenneth Aigbegbele, is Media Adviser to the First Lady, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Email: Kenneth_aigbe@yahoo.com

special judges to adjudicate on corruption cases.

•In addition, the President as the head of the Executive Arm of government has also initiated a reform of the criminal justice system as a means of plugging loop holes often exploited by counsels to delay trial of persons accused of corruption.

•The office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice has completed a new set of proposals which has been sent to the National Assembly. This bill, when passed into law, will remove incidence of frivolous injunctions, interlocutory motions, adjournments and other abuse of court processes by counsel employed by suspects in corruption cases.

•The CJN has keyed into the crusade for a reform of the judicial system by President Jonathan by taking steps to weed out judges who acts of omission and commission are subverting delivery of justice.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT •The signing of the Freedom of Information Act into law

by President Jonathan in May 2011 represents a watershed in the anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria.

•This piece of legislation which had been virtually stalled by successive administrations since 1999 was signed into law by President Jonathan to usher Nigeria into the league of countries where transparency in governance is entrenched and citizens are granted access to unfettered information about government activities.

•It is noteworthy that the present administration took the bull by the horns to lay this very important foundation for the war against corruption in Nigeria in the early months of its inception and 24 hours after the bill was presented to him by the National Assembly.

Page 22

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Potpourri

Gists, Events, Parties, Entertainment, Tourism and Relationship

PDP Suspends Amaechi and CPC , ACN are Complaining!

By Edirin Jones

S

ince the suspension of Governor Rotimi Amaechi,strongly worded and furious statements have been emanating from the opposition parties, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) condemning the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for suspending one of its own members and the governor of Rivers State.

This has sent observers

asking why the opposition parties are crying more than the bereaved?

As at the time of going to press, Rotimi Amaechi, the governor who was suspended by his party has not responded to his suspension which came on his birthday. Yet, these parties whose governor voted for him during the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) election have been issuing strong statements.

ACN and CPC were also Governor Amaechi’s advocates during his battle with the

ministry of aviation over the Rivers state government plane which was grounded after it was established that the papers the state produced for registration were forged. As pundits continue to watch the drama unfold, it appears that there is much more than a secret romance going on between His excellency Governor Rotimi Amaechi and the opposition parties in Nigeria.

One only prays that they do not lure him out of his home only to abandon him in the middle of no where.

P Gov. Amaech Rotimi

Drug Addicts In Adamawa Now sniff Lizard Dung To Get High

C

ommander, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Adamawa state – Alhaji Hassan Zungeru has revealed that drug addicts in the state have resorted to inhaling Lizard dung and dirty drainage ‘gutter’ water to get “high”.

Speaking to newsmen in Yola the State capital, Zungeru said most of the drug addicts in the state were unemployed youths who could not afford what he called the costly ‘classified drugs’ of abuse.

He said “Lizard dung and gutter water is now becoming an

emerging trend because the well classified drugs of abuse are beyond the reach of the youths who are mostly unemployed”.

He listed the commonly abused substances in the state to include: Indian hemp, tramol, rubber solution, cough syrup with codeine. However, the commander said the agency would not fold its arm and allow the disturbing development to continue hence its collaboration with the Adamawa Emirate Council with support of the state government to embark on sensitization and awareness tour of rural areas to educate the populace against the menace of drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking.

Mandela biopic to be released in November

A

film based on Nelson Mandela’s bestselling autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom” will be released in November, producers said on Monday.

The biopic, entitled “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”, is to star British actor Idris Elba as the iconic anti-apartheid hero and will trace his life from childhood to imprisonment and presidency in 1994.

“We are honoured to have had Madiba license us the film rights to his fascinating life story,” said producer Anant Singh in a statement, using the popular name for Mandela.

Singh said he was pleased when Mandela looked at some of the images of Elba in the trademark Madiba shirt, and remarked, “Is that me?”

“This recognition and affirmation from Madiba is extremely

satisfying and makes our journey worthwhile,” he said.

The book, an inspiration to many, was published in 1994, and has been translated into several languages. Singh was awarded the film rights in 1996.

The film features a host of local actors and was shot at various locations in the Eastern Cape, Mandela’s birthplace, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Producers say it is the only motion picture that has the endorsement of the Mandela and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the centre that manages his legacy.

Several documentaries and films inspired by the life of the 94year-old statesman have been made over the years.

Early this year it was announced that The Weinstein Company had acquired the North American distribution rights for the film.

Israeli writer Amos Oz wins 2013 Kafka award

A

mos Oz, Israel’s best-known writer, was on Monday named the winner of this year’s international Franz Kafka literary prize for his imaginative tales of life in the Jewish state.

Oz will receive the award and a $10,000 (7,700-euro) cheque

Children’s Day: Jonathan Promises Toll Free lines for Children in Distress

at an October ceremony in Prague, the Franz Kafka Society, which organises the annual award, said in a statement.

The 74-year-old, born in Jerusalem to Polish and Russian parents, is known for his use of humour and imagination in work that has been translated into more than 40 languages.

Examples include the 1965 short story “Where the Jackals Howl”, his earliest fiction, and “A Tale of Love and Darkness” (2003), a heart-wrenching memoir of his mother’s suicide when he was 12 years old.

While still a teenager, the novelist and peace activist changed his last name from Klausner to Oz, Hebrew for strength and bravery.

Over the years, Oz has received numerous awards, including the Israel Prize for Literature in 1998 and Germany’s Goethe Prize in 2005.

The Kafka prize, named after the famous Prague-born writer of such classics as “The Trial”, “Metamorphosis” and “The Castle”, was first awarded in 2001.

Previous winners include Japanese author Haruki Murakami, US novelist Philip Roth, British playwright Harold Pinter, French poet Yves Bonnefoy and Czech playwright and former president Vaclav Havel.

resident Goodluck Jonathan has assured that Federal Government will establish free child helplines to protect the rights of children in Nigeria.

President Jonathan gave this assurance in an address on the occasion of Children’s Day Celebration at the Old Parade Ground, Abuja, even as a Non- Governmental Organization (NGO), Helpline Foundation made a case for over ten million out of school children in Nigeria.

Wife sues husband for allegedly spending more nights with second wife A 35-year old woman, Maryam Mohammed, on Monday sued her husband, Adamu Mohammed, before an Area Court in Lugbe, Abuja for allegedly spending more nights with his second wife.

The Plaintiff, who lives in Sabon-Lugbe on Airport Road, accused her husband, also of the same address, of neglect, selfishness and starving her of sex and food.

Maryam said her parents had been sending food to her.

She, therefore, urged the court to dissolve the marriage forthwith, to enable her to marry another man who can take care of her.

“My Lord, whenever it is my turn for the night, my husband would sneak into the bedroom of my second and spend the night there.

“He has neglected me, he has become very selfish and no longer gives me food or money for my feeding.

“Rather, it is my parents who have been sending me food. I am seeking immediate divorce to enable me to marry a man that can take care of me,’’ she said.

The defendant, however, denied his wife’s claims.

Mohammed said he could not satisfy his wife’s needs because he had been sick for a long time.

“My Lord, I cannot satisfy her needs because of my prolonged illness. Now that I am getting better and I still love her, I urge her to stay and the court should not grant her any divorce,’’ he said.

The Presiding Judge, Mr Haruna Masanawa, adjourned the case to June 3 for further hearing and directed both parties to come with their parents or witnesses.

reporters dispatch, May 28 — June 4, 2013

Page 23

Sports Super Eagles to depart for USA today ahead of Mexico friendly The national team will leave Germany where it has been in camp for the United States today as it prepares for the important friendly match against Tricolores Nigeria’s national team would leave Germany today Tuesday for the United States of America, venue of Friday’s international friendly match against the national team of Mexico.

The Super Eagles have been training hard at their Germany camp and would depart the Novina Hotel Herzogenaurach Herzo-Base, for Frankfurt at 5.30am this morning and take off from Frankfurt Airport at 10am local time (9am Nigerian time) on the same day for Houston, venue of the game against Tricolore.

21 players are in camp at the moment but coach Stephen Keshi has decided not to go with every player. Only the selected ones that would prosecute match would be taken along as he is expected to drop four players.

“The coach would decide who will travel and who will be dropped tomorrow,” Team Coordinator, Emmanuel Attah said.

Celtic defender Efe Ambrose and Lazio midfielder Onazi Ogenyi who were involved in Cup final victories are expected on Monday. However, media reports claim that Onazi might not be able to make it as he is set to fly into Nigeria in order to renew his Italian work permit.

Dynamo Kiev striker Brown Ideye will join the team in the

USA. Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi, CSKA forward Ahmed Musa and Valerenga midfielder Fegor Ogude were permitted to stay out of the friendly match against Mexico.

They would however be involved in the 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifying matches and the Fifa Confederations Cup in Brazil. Nigeria will play against Kenya and Namibia in Nairobi and Windhoek before travelling to South America for the tournament involving

continental champions.

They will play against World and European champions Spain, South American champions Uruguay and Oceania champions Tahiti in Group B. Attah also disclosed that “So far training is going on well with no injury worries. The boys look very fit and the training program is of high intensity” The players that trained for two hours on Sunday morning are goalkeepers Vincent

Enyeama, Ejide Austin, Akpeyi Daniel and Chigozie Agbim. The following defenders were available: Gambo Mohammed, Solomon Kwambe, Benjamin Francis, Odulami Kunle, Echijile Elderson, Azubike Egwuekwe, Godfrey Oboabona and Kenneth Omeruo.

The midfielders in camp are Babatunde Michael, Sunday Mba, Obinna Nwachukwu and John Ogu. The forwards are Anthony Ujah, Onku Gomo, Emeka Eze, Joseph Akpala and Oduamadi Nnamdi.

Junior dos Santos kicks Mark Hunt in the face during their heavyweight bout at UFC 160 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 25, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The kick led to a win for dos Santos. (Getty)

Luiz, Ba: Jose’ll Make Chelsea EPL Kings Again!

C

helsea have made their Premier League intentions clear just a week after the season ended and believe that with new management at main rivals Manchester United and Manchester City they have a golden chance to take advantage.

Although Chelsea will also be making a new appointment, the almost certain return of Jose Mourinho means a familiarity that will not be repeated in Manchester.

So believe David Luiz and Demba Ba. ‘We didn’t do a perfect job in the league, although we did qualify for the Champions League in the most difficult league in the world,’ said Brazilian Luiz who, with Ba and others, participated in a youth clinic at FC Harlem.

‘I want to win titles at Chelsea and I want to have that feeling like others here at the end of the season when you take the trophy.

‘Every year we have a chance because if you are a big club you have to think you can

win everything. But next season I am confident, not just because of our squad but also because both United and City have had big losses. Both were great coaches and you have to think that the new man doesn’t do the same job. In our minds

it’s a good thing.’

Ba agrees. ‘We’re pleased about the Europa League and Champions League spot ,but we could have done better in the Premier League. And the disappointment of this means we’re going to work very hard and get ready for the new season,’ said the Senegal striker.

‘With or without Sir Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini, United and City still have great players but we’re confident in what we can do next season.’

The second coming of the Special One fills him with similar excitement, though.

‘Everyone in football knows him. Many people say he’s great to work with. I follow football history and I know the history of Mourinho. He has huge credibility across the world and, of course, I’m excited when you are about to work with a very good coach.’

Cashstrapped Bury Release Sodje

C

ash-strapped Bury have been forced to release former Nigerian international Efetobore Sodje and 15 other players over stringent financial situation at the club, leaving just eight players behind, reports Completesportsnigeria.com.

The players released along with the Nigerian are Joe Skarz, Marcus Marshall, Mark Carrington, Mark Hughes, Max Harrop, Carl Regan, Christian Dibble, Euan Holden, Jordan Melia, Dalton McLaughlin and David Healy.

Others include Cameron Belford, Craig Fagan, Tom Soares and Valery Mezague. The 16 players have all been let go by the financially-stricken outfit.

Full-back Skarz has already agreed a deal to sign for Rotherham when his contract officially expires at the end of May. It leaves only eight players still under contract and in place at Gigg Lane for next season, coming after Tuesday’s announcement that captain Steven Schumacher has joined Fleetwood for an undisclosed fee following the Shakers’ relegation to League Two. Bury’s official website read: “Due to the uncertainty of the future, the club is unable to offer deals to any of the out-of-contract players.

“Negotiations with new investors are at an advance stage. At the moment, we are unable to announce a definite timescale, though we hope to be able to reveal more positive news within the coming days.”

Sodje, a former Huddersfield Town and Crewe Alexandra defender, has played five games for Nigeria.

Efetobore Sodje

VACANCIES

May 28 — June 4 , 2013

Vol. 1. No. 24.

Nigeria’s first free newspaper

Mission update: Troops foil terrorists attempt to regroup in Borno

T

he Defence Headquarters said on Monday that it captured 25 insurgents and killed three others, including a high profile terrorist identified as “Abbas’’.

A statement issued by Brig.Gen. Chris Olukolade, Director, Defence Information in Abuja, said Abbas had been on the list of most wanted persons.

The statement, which gave an update on the ongoing military operations in Borno, said the incident occurred during an encounter between troops of the Special Forces and

the insurgents.

It said that the insurgents had finalised moves to carry out extensive operation around Maiduguri.

The statement also said the insurgents succeeded in killing some military personnel.

It added that the troops intercepted a message sent to fleeing insurgents urging them not to give up but to fight to the end.

“The attempt by some of them to heed the call was foiled during the weekend as they were trailed to some

settlements and towns towards the border where they planned to regroup.

“The captured ones were all apprehended with their weapons which include rifles, pistols, double barrel guns and various calibers of ammunition during an operation by the JTF in Kumshe and Bulunkutu area,’’ it said.

The statement said that Multinational Joint Task Force had raided and destroyed the assembly points of the insurgents at the outskirts of

COMMISSIONED ADVERT EXECUTIVES WANTED Apply to: The Editor-in-Chief, Reporters Dispatch Head Office: No. 3, Cotonou Crescent, Wuse Zone 6, Abuja.

Telephone: 08068573814, 08076007253

Kaneram Dan Katsina, Tumbu Dabino and Mallam Fatori, north of Baga.

It said the towns and settlements had been secured while cordon and search operations were on in the area after the insurgents had been dislodged.

The statement said troops of the Special Forces had freed a man taken hostage in the Sambisa forest in Borno, since 2012 after combing the area.

“The freed hostage is being treated by the Task Force.

“The troops are dominating the forest as they find a number of fresh graves, more arms and ammunition, burnt vehicles and other equipment,’’ it said.

Why PDP suspended Amaechi

R

easons have emerged for the suspension of Rivers state Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi by the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. PDP spokesman, Olisa Metuh, announced in a statement that the NWC held an emergency meeting on Monday morning, and agreed to suspend Amaechi from the party.

Metuh said the NWC’s decision follows the petition submitted by the PDP Rivers Executive Committee against the Rivers state Governor “for violating Articles 58 1 (b), (c), (h) and (m) of the PDP Constitution following his refusal to obey the lawful directive of the Rivers State Executive Committee to rescind his decision dissolving the elected Executive Council of Obiokpor Local Government Area of Rivers State”.

The statement added that “the National Working Committee after preliminary hearing, in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 57

(3), 59 (3), 59 (5) and 29 (2.b) hereby suspends the Executive Governor of River State, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as a member of the PDP and refers the matter to the appropriate disciplinary committee of the Party”.

It also said the decision is in furtherance of the determination of the leadership of the party to enforce discipline at all levels within the Party.

In a swift reaction, the Rivers State Government has condemned the suspension of the State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, describing it as a “witch-hunt’ Amaechi was suspended by the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, on Monday after an emergency meeting.

The state government described the suspension as nothing but a political witchhunt. This was stated by the Commissioner of Information, Ibim Semenitari, in a brief statement made available to newsmen.

“We are concerned as we believe this is political witch

PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur hunt,” she said, adding that “it is worrisome, because the reason given is the suspension of the Obio Akpor council”.

According to Semenitari, the reason given

by the NWC for the suspension order is not tenable because it is “purely a legislative matter and done in accordance to the laws of local government councils in Rivers State.”

She stated.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party has named an 11man committee to investigate the allegations leveled against the Rivers State Governor, R o t i m i Amaechi.

T h e committee is headed by Joe Gadzama, a S e n i o r Advocate of Nigeria.

Police dig up arms in coastal settlement

T

he Police Command in Bayelsa on Monday announced the recovery of 1,700 rounds of ammunition buried in the ground in an abandoned building in Koluama I community in Southern Ijaw.

The recovery also included eight pump action rifles, five AK47 rifles and19 magazines..

Displaying the recovered items before newsmen at the command headquarters in Yenagoa, Commissioner of Police (CP), Tonye Ebitibituwa, said a police squad jointly carried out the operation with the Navy.

Ebitibituwa said the building was deserted when the security operatives raided it and recovered the items on Sunday following a tip-off.

He stated that although no arrest was made, the success of the operation was an indication that most communities were not safe as criminal suspects were using them as their hide-outs.

“These arms and ammunition were buried in the ground .The house was deserted. By digging up the ground, these arms and ammunition were found.

“We have eight pump action guns, five AK-47 rifles, 1,700 rounds of ammunition and 19 magazines,” he said.

Ebitibituwa said the police would very soon mop up arms in the state to ensure that peace and security were not threatened by bandits.

“The import of what we have discovered is serious. This is not going to be the end.

“We are going to mop up more arms. With the information given to us, we will make use of it,” he said.

The CP also commended the efforts of the policemen and the naval ratings, noting that with adequate support security operatives would perform optimally and reduce the crime rate in the state.

Place your advert here reporters dispatch and reporters 365 (www.reporters365.com) are projects of Initiative For Empowerment And Development.

Head Office: No. 3, Cotonou Crescent, Wuse Zone 6, Abuja. Editor-in-Chief: Linda Somiari Stewart Chairman of Board: Sina Sabur Aroyeun Hotlines: 08068573814, 08076007253 E-mail: editor@reporters365.com