December 25, 2014

Newspaper of the Year

Soyinka to Obasanjo: you lied in My Watch

•Nobel laureate writes off book

PDP hides N21b donors’ list NEWS Page 4

NEWS

•More knocks for ruling party

Page 2

•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 9, NO. 3075 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

•www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

•We wish our numerous readers merry Christmas

2015: Jonathan, Buhari woo Nigerians at ‘Xmas President promises credible elections APC: next year will be better

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OLITICS has found some space in this season of goodwill, with leading actors promising better days and credible polls.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s Christmas message released yesterday dwelt on the need for free and fair elections – exactly what his opponents are demanding.

All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the February election Gen. Muhammadu Buhari promised Nigerians a better Christmas next year, saying he would tackle insecurity and

Millions of Nigerians celebrate this season in poverty and misery, not because they have committed any grievous sin...national resources have been rigged against...our people —Buhari From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

revive the economy.

President Jonathan said he would support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deliver free, fair and credible elections next year.

Besides, he said, the security agencies will be backed to en-

sure peaceful and violence-free election towards strenghtening democracy.

He said: “Dear compatriots, we are also celebrating this Christmas against the background of preparations for next year’s general elections. I seize this opportunity to reassure the nation that my administration will give the Indepen-

Let us all be more statesman-like, conduct issues-based campaigns, and eschew the promotion of falsehood, division and hatred of others as we seek the votes of our countrymen —Jonathan dent National Electoral Commission (INEC) all necessary support to ensure that it delivers very free, fair, credible and acceptable elections in 2015.”

“National security agencies will also be given all necessary support to enhance their ability to ensure that the elections which should strengthen democracy in our country are

peaceful and violence free.” he said He urged the political class to be law- abiding and place the greater interests of Nigeria above all personal or sectional interests in the countdown to the elections.

“Let us all be more statesman-like, conduct issuesbased campaigns, and eschew

the promotion of falsehood, division and hatred of others as we seek the votes of our countrymen in what should be a peaceful competition among contending points of view for the progress and development of our dear nation.”

“I remain convinced that God Almighty is still with us as a nation, even in the midst of our current challenges, which we shall surely overcome with greater unity of purpose, dedication, commitment and perseverance,” he added The President told ChrisContinued on page 4

My Boko Haram story, by 13-yr old ‘suicide bomber’ •Military puts 300 on trial From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

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13-YEAR old would-be female bomber has confessed to being lured into the Boko Haram sect’s suicide squad with the promise of making it to heaven.

In a chilling account, Zarau Babangida, who hails from Damaturu, Yobe State, said her parents, who live in Bauchi State, enlisted her into the sect.

Zarau spoke to reporters in police custody after being arrested along with her accomplice.

She would have detonated another bomb during the December 10 twin-explosions in Kano’s Kantin Kwari market but for a change of mind. Ten people were reported dead in that blast; nine others were injured.

Zarau spoke to reporters yesterday.

Her story: “When my parents took me to the Boko Haram training camp in Bauchi, I did not have an idea what they wanted me to go and do.

But when we got there, WILL THE one of the trainers asked CHIBOK GIRLS me whether I wanted to KIDNAPPED go to paradise. I replied ON APRIL 15 EVER RETURN? Continued on page 4

•The Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) seized from Zarau

‘

?

•AB USE OF INNOCENCE: Zarau Babangida...yesterday ABUSE

When my parents took me to the Boko Haram training camp in Bauchi, I did not have an idea what they wanted me to go and do. But when we got there, one of the trainers asked me whether I wanted to go to paradise. I replied in the affirmative. He then told me that I had an assignment to carry out in Kano

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•THE NATION WON’T BE ON THE NEWSSTAND TOMORROW. IT’LL RETURN ON SATURDAY

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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NEWS

‘Obasanjo a predator on others’ achievements’ •The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, flanked by the immediate past Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Sanmi Alade (left) and his successor, Rear Admiral Jonathan Ango, at the handing over parade held at the Command's Headquarters, Apapa, Lagos.

PHOTO: PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU

The controvery triggered by President Olusegun Obasanjo’s latest book - My Watch - may linger for long. Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka, who is one of the personalities criticised in the book, has taken exception to the scathing remarks about him by the ex-President. In his reply entitled: Watch and pray, Watch and prey!, the literary icon accused ex-President Obasanjo of abusing the exhortation by Jesus Christ.

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•From left: Field Sales Manager, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mr. Seye Agboola; Branch Distributor/Development Manager, SouthWest, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mr. Aremu Isaiah; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Osun State Investment Company Limited (OSICOL), Mr. Bola Oyebamiji; Assistant General Manager, Business Development and Strategy, OSICOL, Mr. Taofeeq Kolapo and Acting Head, Living Spring Bulk Purchase, Mr. Taofeeq Sheu, at the presentation of the 2014 Nestle PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS Most Outstanding Distributor to OSICOL in Osogbo, Osun State...yesterday.

• From left: General Manager, Admin and Special Duties, Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Mrs. Abimbola Jijoho-Ogun, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics and Research, University of Lagos, Prof Alo Babajide, Special Adviser to Lagos Governor on the Environment, Dr. Taofik Folami and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, LAWMA, Mr. Ola Oresanya, at the Multi-stakeholder Cooperation for Knowledge and Capacity Development in Waste PHOTO: SOLOMON ADEOLA Management forum in Lagos.

•Corps Marshal , Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi (left), Military Airport Commandant, Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, Group Captain Simon Peter (middle) and Corps Commander, FRSC, Mr. Bisi Kazeem after the 2014 Yuletide Aerial Surveillance Patrol in Abuja...yesterday.

PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

HAD fully attuned myself to the fact that our Owu retiree soldier and prolific author is an infliction that those of us who share the same era and nation space must learn to endure.

However, it does appear that there is no end to this individual’s capacity for infantile mischief, and for needless, mind-boggling provocations, such as his recent ‘literary’ intrusion on my peace.

Perhaps I ought to interrupt myself here with an apology to some mutual acquaintances – ‘blessed peacemakers’ and all - especially in this season of ‘peace and goodwill to all men’. Please know that your efforts have not been entirely in vain. I had a cordial exchange with Obasanjo over the phone recently – engineered by himself, his ground staff and/or a chance visitor – when I had cause to visit his Presidential Laundromat for the first time ever. During that exchange, I complemented him on making some quite positive use of landed property that was acquired under morally dubious circumstances, and blatantly developed through a process that I denounced as ‘executive extortionism’.

That obscene proceeding has certainly set a competitive precedent for impunity in President Jonathan’s recent fund-raising shindig, editorialised in The PUNCH (December 23, 2014) as “Impunity Taken too Far”.

So much for the latest from that direction - we must not allow handingover notes between presidents to distract us for too long.

To return to our main man, and friendly interventionists, you may like to note that I went so far as to engage him in light banter, stating that some of his lesser sins would be forgiven him for that creative conversion of the landscape – a conversation that he shortly afterwards delightedly shared with at least three mutual acquaintances. I promised a follow-up visit to view some mysterious rock script whose existence, he informed me, was uncovered by workers during ground clearing.

The exchange was, in short, as good as ‘malice towards none’ that any polemicist could hope to contribute to the ongoing season of peace and goodwill.

Obviously that visit will not now take place, any more than the pursuit of vague notions of some creative collaboration with his Centre that began to play around my mind.

That much I do owe you from my report card.

Perhaps you will now accept that there are individuals who are born incorrigible but, more importantly, that some issues transcend one’s personal preferences for harmonious human relationships even in a season of traditional goodwill.

The change in weather conditions sits quite well with me however, since

By Wole Soyinka we are both acquainted with the Yoruba proverb that goes: The child that swears his mother will not sleep must also prepare for a prolonged, sleepless infancy. So, let it be with Okikiola, the overgrown child of circumstance.

One of the incessant ironies that leapt up at me as I read Obasanjo’s magnum opus was that we are both victims of a number of distasteful impositions such as being compelled again and again to seek justice against libel in the law courts.

I felt genuine empathy to read that he still has a pending thirty-year case instituted by him against his alleged libelers! Judgment was delivered in my favour regarding one of the most nauseating only this year, after surviving technical and other procrastinations, defendant evasions and other legalistic impediments for nearly as long as his.

That leaves only a veritable Methuselah on the court list still awaiting re-listing under the resurrection ritual language known as de novo.

Unfortunately, not all acts of defamation or willful misrepresentation are actionable, otherwise, my personal list against this newly revealed fellowsufferer would have counted for an independent volume of the Nigerian Law Report since our paths first crossed during the Civil War. My commitment to the belief in the fundamental right of all human beings ‘Not to be lied against’ remains a life obsession, and thus demands, at the very least, an obligation of non-commission among fellow victims.

I must therefore reserve a full, frontal dissection of Obasanjo’s My Watch for later, most especially since the work itself is currently under legal restraint and is not readily accessible to a general readership.

So, for now, let me single out just one of the most glaring instances of this man’s compulsive career of lying, one sample that the media can readily check upon and use as a touchstone – if they do need one - in assessing our author’s multi-faceted claims and commentaries on people and events.

I refer here to the grotesque and personally insulting statement that he has attributed to me for some inscrutable but obviously diversionary reasons.

In the process, this past Master of Mendacity brazenly implicates an innocent young man, Akin Osuntokun, who once served him as a Special Adviser.

Instead of conferring dignity on a direct rebuttal of an ignoble fabrication, I shall simply make a personal, all-embracing attestation: I despise that species of humanity whose stockin-trade is to concoct lies simply to score a point, win an argument, puff up his or her own ego, denigrate or attempt to destroy a fellow being.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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NEWS

‘ When an old man stuffs a lie into the throat of an agemate of his own children - omo inu e!

- we can only pity an irredeemable egomaniac whose dotage is headed for twilight disgrace •Ex-President Obasanjo However, even within such deplorable species, a special pit of universal opprobrium is surely reserved for those who even lack the courage of their own lies, but must foist them on others.

When an old man stuffs a lie into the throat of an age-mate of his own children - omo inu e! - we can only pity an irredeemable egomaniac whose dotage is headed for twilight disgrace.

D.O. Fagunwa, the pioneer Yoruba novelist, was a compulsive moralist. I suspect that he may have exerted some influence on our garrulous General, resulting in his pupil’s tedious, misapplied and self-serving deluge of moralising. It seems quite likely indeed that the ghostly, moralistic hand of Fagunwa reached out from the Great Beyond, sat his would-be competitor forcefully before a mirror and bade him write what he saw in that image.

I invoke Fagunwa because, at his commemorative colloquium in Akure in August last year, I drew my audience’s attention to a remarkable passage in Fagunwa’s Igbo Olodumare. The passage had struck me during translation and stuck to my mind. I found it uncanny that the original creative moralist, Fagunwa, had captured the psychological profile of a being whom I have been compelled by circumstances to study as an eerie creation, yet this was a character Fagunwa was unlikely to have encountered in real

‘

•Prof Soyinka

What Obasanjo wrote on Soyinka

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E is a “misfit as a political analyst, commentator or critic.

“For Wole, no one can be good, nor can anything be spot – on politically except that which emanates from him or is ordained

by him.

“He is surely a better wine connoisseur and a more successful “aparo” (guinea fowl) hunter than a political critic, not to talk of what he would do as a politician.

“I take him seriously on almost all issues except on the political particularly Nigerian politics.” life at the time that he produced that work.

The section comes from an account of a visit to the abode of Iku (death), the terrifying host to Olowo-aiye, the narrative voice of the adventure. Iku, the host, had been admonishing his guests through the histories of seven creatures who were not permitted a straightforward passage to heaven or hell, but were subjected to admonitory punishment at the halfway house to the abode of the dead.

The most horrendous tortures were reserved, it would seem, for the last of the seven such ‘detainees’, and I invited my audience to ponder if they could identify any prominent individual, a public figure whose life conduct seamlessly fitted into Fagunwa’s portrayal, which went thus: “The seventh…. is not among those who set out to improve the world but rather to cause distress to its inhabitants. It was

through manipulations that he attained a high position.

“Having achieved this however, he constantly blocked the progress of those behind him, this being a most deplorable act in the eyes of God, and rank behaviour in the judgment of the dwellers of heaven – that anyone who has enjoyed upliftment in life should seek to be an obstacle for those who follow him. This man forgot the beings of earth, forgot the beings of heaven, in turn, he forgot the presence of God. “The worst kind of behaviour agitated his hands – greed occupied the centre of his heart, and he was a creature that walked in darkness. This man wallowed in bribery, he was chairman of the circle of scheming, head of the gang of double-dealing, field-marshal of those who crept about in the dark of night.

“With his mouth, he ruined the work of others, while he used a big potsherd

to cover the good works of some, that others might not see their attainments.

He nosed around for secrets that would entrap his companions, and blew them up into monumental crimes in the eyes of the world. He who turns the world upside down, places the deceitful on the throne, casts the truthful down – because such is a being of base earth, he will never stand as equal among the uplifted.”

My co-occupants of the High Table, in side remarks, and those who came up from the audience afterwards to volunteer their answer to the riddle, without exception named one individual and one individual only, even as I remained non-committal. Indeed, one or two tried to put up a defence of that nominee, and I had to remind them that I had named no one!

Fagunwa wrote largely of the world of mongrelised creatures but, as I remarked, his fiction remains a prescient and cautionary mirror of the society we inhabit, where beasts of the forest appear to have a greater moral integrity than those who claim to be leading lights of society.

In this season of goodwill, we owe a duty to our immediate and distant neighbours: CAVEAT EMPTOR! Let all beware, who try to buy a Rolex from this indefatigable watch peddler.

His own hand-crafted, uniquely personalised timepiece has been temporarily confiscated by NDLEA (Na-

tional Drug Law Enforcement Agency) and other guardians of public health but, there is no cause for despair. Such has been the fate of the misunderstood and the envied, avatars descended from the heavens before their time, the seers, and all who crave recognition.

Our author invokes God tirelessly, without provocation, without necessity and without justification, perhaps preemptively, but does he really believe in such an entity? Does our homebred Double-O-Seven believe in anything outside his own Omnipotency?

Could he possibly have mistaken the Christian exhortation – ‘Watch and Pray’ for his private inclination to “Watch and Prey? This is a seasoned predator on others’ achievements – he preys on their names, their characters, their motivations, their true lives, preys on gossip and preys on facts, preys on contributions to collective undertakings…..even preys on their identities, substituting his own where possible.

Well, hopefully he may actually believe in the inevitable end to all vanities? So, let our Great Immortal, the Unparalleled Achiever, Divinely appointed Watchman even on the world that is yet to come remember Fagunwa’s Iku, the ultimate predator whose visitation comes to us all, sooner or later. Chei! There is Death o!

Implications of falling oil prices on economy ANALYSIS

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HE fall in the price of crude oil in the international market is sending economic and political shocks around the world.

The hardest hit has been countries whose economies depend largely on oil for appreciable percentage of their foreign exchange earnings.

According to experts, crude oil accounts for about 95 of Nigeria’s foreign exchange receipts.

The reality of possible crippling budget shortfalls also stares many oil exporting countries in the face as the priced commodity has hit its lowest price level in four years.

Crude oil prices started dropping in the global market from as high as $110 per barrel in January to the current level of $58.

Nigeria’s reference crude, the Bonny Light, is currently trading at about $62 per barrel.

It is noteworthy that crude oil is not just the principal export commodity of the country, but indeed all aspects of the nation’s economy rely on the commodity as the major source of reve-

By Rasak Raji & Yusuf Yunus

nue.

The annual budgets, which define the direction that the country, are based on crude oil price benchmarks.

While the 2014 Budget was based on N78 per barrel, the 2015 has been predicated at $65 dollars.

According to Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the fall in oil prices has led to new austerity measures.

The minister said the country would begin to feel the negative impact of the fall in global oil prices, cautioning that the country would need to brace for tougher times ahead by reviewing its expenditures and building economic buffers through budgets based on modest oil prices.

She said that the decline in crude oil prices had assumed a disturbing dimension.

The minister has said: Without a doubt, this slowdown in global economic activities, coupled with the end in the quantitative easing in the U. S., will affect the sub-Saharan African economy, in addition to regions’ other specific challenges.

“As we all know, many countries on the continent depend on commodity exports as their main sources of revenue.

“Nigeria and other countries on the African continent must step back and learn the lessons of the ongoing economic transformation.

“The Federal Government has set up a strong stabilisation policy, but the most important being that we must be able to sustain the drive”.

But a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in an essay on “Slump in Oil Prices: A Progressive Way Out’’, has argued that the austerity measures proposed by the government would further enrich the affluent.

He said that the austerity measures would put average Nigerians into more hardship and economic depression.

Tinubu said that the austerity measures embarked by some countries in the Euro zone had not solved their economic problems in the past five years since the global financial crises set in.

“All that austerity has done is to tighten the grip of the wealthy on the economy, while weakening the position of the middle class and the

poor,” the ex-governor said.

Mr. Kazeem Bello, an energy expert, said the impact of Nigeria’s continued dependence on oil as major revenue earner is very grave.

According to him, the glut in the oil market following the discovery of crude oil in many parts of the world and the new wave of alternative energy sources, particularly shale oil, have had adverse effects on Nigeria.

He said: “In the face of such dreadful challenges, we have no option than to put our economy in order. First, we diversify in terms of other viable frontiers of international revenue earning.

“Secondly, we must make the private sector our engine of growth in order to generate more exportable goods and services.

“Thirdly, government should demonstrate the political will to fight corruption and mismanagement which are part of a `lachrymal waste pipe’ of public resources and finally, we should create the enabling environment for direct inflow of foreign investment,” he said.

•Raji & Yunus are of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

NEWS My story, by 13-yr old ‘suicide bomber’ Continued from page 1

in the affirmative. He then told me that I had an assignment to carry out in Kano. After the necessary training, he told me that three of us (all female) would travel to Kano to execute the assignment, saying after executing the assignment, we would then be entitled to make it to paradise.

“When we got to Kano, they took us straight to Kantin Kwari market. When it was time for the execution, the two other girls took their position.

We all had the bombs concealed in our dresses because we were wearing hijab. The others detonated their bombs, but I vehemently refused to ignite mine. But I was injured on my left leg from the explosion.

“Due to the injury, I shouted for help, the commercial tricycle operator, who sympathised

with me, took me to Dawanau, where I resided with my parents. However, I removed the concealed bomb in my body and left it on the seat of the tricycle.

“The tricycle operator returned to confirm that I was the one carrying the bomb and he alerted security agents. I was arrested at the hospital where I was being treated.”

Kano Police Commissioner Mr Aderenle Shinaba, who was with heads of other security agencies in the state, said the arrest of the 13-year old wouldbe bomber and her accomplice was as a result of the synergy among the outfits.

Shinaba confirmed that the girl was arrested at the hospital. He cautioned against insinuations that people of particular ethnic group are behind the bombings.

300 officers, men on trial for mutiny •Oshodi, Lagos...on Christmas eve.

PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE

PDP hides N21b donors’ list as party gets more knocks

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HERE were indications yesterday that the Chairman of Skye Bank, Mr. Tunde Ayeni, and more than 30 other businessmen might be fined for donating N21billion to the campaign fund for President Goodluck Jonathan.

The businessmen also risk sanctions from the boards of companies where they are major players.

Determined to stave off sanctions for raising N21billion campaign funds, President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) have sought legal advice.

The PDP may hide under the guise of raising the funds for the completion of its National Secretariat.

But the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Manual said it is com-

Outrage over N21b ‘re-election’ war chest

By Joseph Jibueze

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ORE lawyers were yesterday unanimous in their condemnation of what they called a flagrant violation of the Electoral Act by the Peoples Democratic Party

(PDP) and its presidential candidate, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

According to them, the party and its candidate have, once again, shown their disdain for the law.

To some of the lawyers who commented, it is most condemnable having been done in face of increasing poverty and economic reversals, with states complaining of being financially hamstrung due to falling oil prices.

Over N21billion was raised the dinner held on Saturday.

Some Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), include Mallam Yusuf Ali, former Abia State Attorney-General Prof Awah Kalu and Prof Yemi Akinseye-George, said it will be illegal to spend that much in an election.

A Lagos-based constitutional lawyer Mr Ike Ofuokwu described the donations as “scandalous,” and “a violent rape on the Nigerian Continued on page 69 From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

pulsory for PDP to disclose the names and addresses of those who contributed to its cam-

paign funds.

According to sources in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Corpo-

rate Affairs Commission (CAC), the law only allows imposition of fine on any company or a member of the Board of Directors involved in campaign funding.

The sources, however, said a company can invoke Corporate Governance Rules to deal with any board member guilty of such infractions.

Some of those involved are Mr. Ayeni (who announced a donation of N2.5billion for himself, friends and power sector); Hajiya Bola Shagaya(N5billion for Oil and Gas Sector); Oluchi Okoye (who donated N4billion on behalf of Real Estate Sector); Chief Ominife Uzoegbu (N500million for Food and Agriculture sector); Chairman of Deep Offshore, Didi Ndimou(N1billion for TransContinued on page 69

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O fewer than 300 military officers and men are on trial for mutiny because they refuse to go into battle against Boko Haram, it was learnt yesterday.

A higly-placed military source said their refusal to fight embarrased the authority after they were provided all the requirments.

He said: “The military has addressed all issues and even provided these officers and men with sophisticated equip-

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

ment but they refused to fight in some places.

“They had allegedly failed to perform their duties in violation of sections 60, 61 and 62.

No matter the situation, the law has to take its course. The military is not being wicked as being insinuated.”

Section 60 says: “(1) A person subject to service law under this Act who-(a) deserts; or (b) persuades or procures any Continued on page 69

‘Remember victims of insurgency’

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HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday urged Nigerians to use the end of year festivities and the Christmas celebrations to remember victims of insurgency, share in their grief as well as bring succour to the survivors and families of the deceased.

The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, implored Nigerians to extend this gesture to the families of the dead as well as the injured officers

From Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja

and men of the security forces.

The statement said: “As we celebrate Christmas, we deem it very necessary that Nigerians share their happiness with compatriots who have lost their bread winners, sons, daughters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives to insurgency. It deserves every thought that those who paid the price and those in the battlefield to keep us safe be remembered.”

2015: Jonathan, Buhari woo Nigerians at ‘Xmas Continued from page 1

tians and non-Christians to reflect more deeply on the virtues and ideals which the Messiah, Jesus Christ, espoused during his earthly mission.

This, he said, will go a long way to assist the nation to overcome most of its challenges.

He said: “To my mind, there can be no doubt that the greater internalisation of the virtues of love for our fellowmen, tolerance, Godliness, honesty, fairness to others, selflessness, and peaceful co-existence with others, by all adult Nigerians, and the inculcation of the same in our youth, will definitely help our dear nation to overcome most of its present challenges.”

“Peace and love for others, especially, were a constant refrain in the Messiah’s teachings and admonitions to mankind. Therefore, as we celebrate his birth, I urge all Nigerians to offer special prayers for a greater manifestation of divine peace in our country and the vanquishing of all demons of hatred, divisiveness and disunity in our midst,” Jonathan said Jonathan also urged Nigerians to remember and pray for all the men, women and children who have suffered untold hardship, deprivation and

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APC: next year will be better

EXT year’s Christmas will be better, the All Progressives Congress (APC) promised Nigerians yester-

day.

The party that is hopeful of defeating the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in next February’s general election and control the Federal Government urged Nigerians to endure the economic hardship they are facing because it is about to end.

The party stated its position in a message by the National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. He assured Nigerians that this will be their last Christmas celebration under the bondage of insecurity, corruption, unemployment, widespread hopelessness and poor leadership.

He added: ‘’Many cannot travel home

death at the hands of terrorists and insurgents.

He also urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the soldiers and security agents who are at the forefront of the national effort to overcome terrorism and violent extremism in the country.

He said: “In this season of goodwill, I urge all patriotic Nigerians to rededicate themselves to doing all within their powers to support the brave men and women of our armed forces in the ongoing war against terrorism, and also support the Federal Government’s efforts to provide more succour to the hapless victims

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

due to fears of kidnapping, ethno-religious crisis and insurgency, depending on which part of the country they are from. Many cannot celebrate due to the effects of the economic downturn, as manifested in weakening Naira and falling oil prices, both exacerbated by widespread corruption. ‘’Many will mark the holidays in darkness as the country’s public power supply seems to have fallen in a direct proportion to the huge funds ostensibly pumped into the sector in the past few years. Many will be stuck on the roads that have become clogged due to their poor state. ‘’While there is no magic wand to solve the myriad of problems facing our coun-

of terrorist atrocities.”

“The Victims’ Support Fund, which we have established to raise additional funds to assist our compatriots who have been adversely affected by continuing insecurity in parts of our country, remains active.”

Jonathan urged all individuals and corporate organisations who have not donated to the Fund to do so.

Gen. Buhari, in a statement by his campaign’s Communication Director, Mr. Dele Alake, spoke of a review of military strategy to fight Boko Haram, the sect whose insurgency has claimed thousands

try in one fell swoop, an APC government will begin to positively impact on the citizenry within its first few months at the helm, to such an extent that Nigerians will have a better Christmas celebration in 2015,’’ it said.

The APC said Nigerians hold the power to bringing about the much-needed change, hence they should vote wisely during the February 2015 general elections so they can install a government that will address, squarely, the challenges facing the country. ‘’We have, through our manifesto, entered into a honest social contract with Nigerians. But we are aware that we cannot do it alone, hence we need the consent and participation of the people.

of lives.

“On my part, I intend to initiate consultations with serving generals and those who have served our country and distinguished themselves on the battlefield across the world to work out an alternative and effective strategy to crush this insurgency within the shortest possible time.

“Christmas is a season when we all embark on journeys to join our brothers and sisters in our native towns, to hold town hall meetings, commission community projects and exercise our cultural rights.

“But we know the roads through which we shall com-

Continued on page 69

mute are challenged by years of neglect. Nigerians travelling East will encounter the failed promises of the Second Niger Bridge; those travelling west will bear the long queues on the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway.

“We promise that, by Christmas 2015, our administration would have brought our efficiency in management and allocation of public resources to make the inter-state roads smoother and easier to ride.

“We know that millions of Nigerians celebrate this season in poverty and misery, not because they have committed any grievous sin, but because

•Dr. Jonathan

the system of production and distribution of national resources have been rigged against the vast majority of our people. In a nation where a few individuals could raise 21 billion naira because they want to make their friend president, millions of citizens, who truly own the resources being accumulated by a few, are left to suffer in sorrow, tears and blood.

“I have said that I live the life of a pensioner. I share the burden and anxiety of majority of our poor, powerless people. I have offered myself on the platform of All Progressives ConContinued on page 69

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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NEWS Presidency accuses Amaechi, APC of ‘treason’ From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

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HE Presidency has accused the Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of “treason”.

Amaechi, who is the director general of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, had, at a party function in Lagos last Tuesday, canvassed improved funding of the armed forces for counter-insurgency campaign.

But, in a reaction through a statement yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said Amaechi’s position amounted to a “treasonable pronouncement”.

He also did not spare words in castigating the APC’s presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

Okupe accused him of “compromising his personal integrity and enviable military antecedents” by endorsing the statement issued on his behalf.

The statement reads:”The statement by the DirectorGeneral of the Buhari Campaign Organisation asking some soldiers to mutiny against the military authorities is a treasonable pronouncement.

“No responsible Nigerian or political organisation for that matter should ever contemplate encouraging or supporting mutiny in the Nigerian Army under any circumstances whatsoever.

“It is a pity that because of Amaechi’s huge financial commitment to the General Buhari campaign, the presidential candidate of the APC has compromised his personal integrity and enviable military antecedents to endorse such a reckless statement issued on his behalf.”

NEMA, FRSC warn drivers against overloading From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

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HE Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have warned motorists against overspeeding and overloading to ensure an accident-free Christmas celebration today.

But the FRSC has started arresting drivers of overloaded vehicles.

Speaking at the Operation Eagle Eye organised by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Kaduna-Abuja highway, representative of FRSC Kaduna Zonal Commander, Ibrahim Sarki Abubakar, cautioned against over-speeding during the festive season.

“We are happy that NEMA always stand by us by helping us to sensitise the people, particularly motorists, against over-speeding and overloading. These are among the major factors causing accidents on our major roads.

“We have already started arresting defaulting drivers because we want to have accident-free Christmas season.

We commend NEMA for their support,” Abubakar said Earlier, NEMA Zonal Coordinator North-West Zone Musa Ilallah said the operation was aimed at showing support for activities of FRSC, especially during the Christmas season.

•Youth and leaders of volunteer groups working for the actualisation of All Progressive Congress (APC) presidency listening to APC Vice Presidential candidate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo at an interactive meeting at Oriental Hotel, Lagos...yesterday.

PHOTOS: WALE AJETUNMOBI

Oshiomhole laments non-sharing of excess crude account

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DO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole said yesterday that the inability of the Federal Government to share excess crude account in the last 18 months had distorted his administration’s developmental plans.

Oshiomhole, who spoke when the Association of Enigies from Edo South visited him yesterday, said: “Over the past 18 months, we have not shared the excess crude account and yet, the account is empty. Sometimes, we are told they have taken money from it to fund subsidies, including subsidy on kerosene.

“But your royal highnesses, there is nowhere in your domains where kerosene is sold for N50. So, in the name of subsidy, large sums of money are being stolen.

“Things are tough now around the country because the Federal Government mismanaged our national resources, and what is being stolen, nobody agrees it is being stolen. What is arguable is: who is responsible for this stealing?

“The amount that is allegedly stolen is huge, such that whereas we have the capacity to produce about 2.4 million barrels a day, what accrues into the Federal Government account is less than 1.8 million barrel a day.

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

“From the last time we had a meeting, the handouts they distributed shows that sometime for a period of two weeks, we were losing as much as 700,000 barrels a day, and that has been on for the past 12 years.”

The governor noted that he was unable to understand why, suddenly, Nigeria could not protect its territorial waters since the boundaries and the people had not changed.

Oshiomhole said at the peak of the Niger Delta militancy, Nigeria was still exporting about two million barrels of crude a day.

His words: “Then how can we explain that after we have resolved the issue of militancy in the Niger Delta, we have rehabilitated the ex-militants and even awarded contracts to them, that we are losing as much crude oil as that to oil thieves. To the best of my knowledge, there is no major known person, who has been prosecuted and convicted for oil theft in a way that reflects the magnitude of what is allegedly stolen “What this means is that our budgets have not performed over the past 3 years, whereas the budgets have been based on an average of be-

tween $77 to $78 and $79 a barrel.

“The average price of Nigeria’s sweet crude has been around $108 per barrel. That gives a surplus of over $30.

Ideally, we ought to be saving $36 per barrel and 2.3 million barrel a day over the past three years. And if you look at these numbers, you will find that what we have in our excess crude oil account should be over $30 billion.

But as we speak, we have barely $3 billon in our excess crude account.

“Now oil price has dropped to $60 and because we have not saved, the naira is undergoing devaluation. Already as low as N180 per dollar and I believe by February when the elections are over, nobody is going to want to hold the naira.

“Wherever the election goes, I expect that the naira will hit over N200 per dollar.

The inflationary consequence of that is prices of everything will go up and part of the vicious cycle of the devalued naira in the manner that is being done is that the price of petroleum products imported in dollars will go up in naira and government will be asking people who are already poor to pay more money for petroleum products.

“I see this vicious cycle set-

ting in and people are likely to get poorer and that will lead to more tension and we already have our fair share of insecurity.”

He urged the royal fathers to pray for Nigeria, saying: “The year that is coming is going to be a very tough one.

Pray for Nigeria, 2015 will be tough”.

On state projects, the governor said the Central Hospital complex would be completed and ready for use by August next year, while contractors would be mobilised to site on the 2nd East Circular road in the new year.

Also, the governor said 16 roads had been identified in the GRA for rehabilitation and contractors have already bid for the projects, saying the roads would be completely fixed in the first half of next year.

He said: “It’s not that government is unwilling to work on roads in GRA, but because of the lean financial resources.”

Responding, the Ogiegbaen of Egbaen hailed the governor for the achievements recorded by his administration.

He pledged that the Enigies would continue to support his government with prayers and advice to enable him succeed.

•Prof. Osinbajo...yesterday. story on page 8

Benue CJ orders release of 15 prison inmates From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

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N the spirit of Christmas celebration, the Benue Chief Judge, Justice Iorhemen Hwande, has ordered the release of 15 inmates awaiting trial at the Federal Prisons, Makurdi.

Justice Hwande gave the order last Tuesday in Makurdi after the state Criminal Justice Committee visited the prison and reviewed over 300 cases.

The chief judge, who chairs the committee, granted bail to 10 inmates, who were awaiting trial.

He regretted that some inmates had been in detention for two years, without legal advice from the Ministry of Justice.

Justice Hwande directed judges in the state to terminate cases still pending in their courts for over two years without legal advice.

He enjoined those who were discharged from the prison by the committee to be of good conduct and desist from any criminal acts.

“I urge you to be of good behaviour as you gain your freedom today; impact positively on the society. I wish you a very merry Christmas celebration with your families,” he said.

The Benue Controller of Prisons, Mr. Edward Ogbole, said the Makurdi Prisons, which had the capacity for 240 inmates, was congested with 800 inmates.

Why Nigeria needs Buhari, by Aregbesola

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SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has reminded Nigerians that the country needs All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) presidential candidate Gen Muhammadu Buhari at this critical time.

He added that Nigeria needed Buhari just as the former head of state came at the nick of time in 1983, when the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) had brought the country to its knees.

Aregbesola said Nigerians must recollect that the economy, security and social welfare of the citizens were completely destroyed after the defunct NPN’s rule from 1979 to 1983, when the military took over and gave Buhari the platform to restore the hope of Nigerians.

He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had done worse damage to the country.

He, however, noted the significant difference in the Buhari of 2014, who is a civilian

•Governor urges PDP to account for wasted resources and a democrat; and the Buhari of 1983, who was a soldier.

The governor said the first step towards salvaging Nigeria from the PDP was to vote out the party and demand for explanations why there was so much poverty and misery in the country despite the fortunes it had been blessed with.

The governor, in a statement by his Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Semiu Okanlawon, spoke when labour leaders met him to submit a report of the efforts by workers to develop fresh means of economic sustenance and increasing the state’s internally generated revenue.

He also spoke at another forum of directors of water and other environment officials.

Aregbesola, who reeled out social disorders caused by the

PDP’s government, said: “In 1983, it was Buhari that God sent to rescue the situation of Nigerians where the conservative elements had brought Nigeria to a rot.

“Buhari has come again to lead us out of the quagmire and sweep away all three antidemocratic and anti-development elements, who have brought Nigeria to this deplorable state.

“The PDP and their wicked allies have been known over the decades for misery. If you have them around you for whatever reason, you would realise that they represent nothing other than misery.

They represent the best of wickedness, misery and misfortune. Only the misguided would claim to belong to the PDP in Nigeria.”

Aregbesola said President Goodluck Jonathan and PDP could not be excused from the

crises bedeviling the country, adding that a country that sold crude oil above $100 for more than three years, must be asked what it did with the resources that accrued to it.

He said: “The responsibility for the economic tragedy that we are witnessing in Nigeria today rests permanently and absolutely on the PDP and its government at the federal level. There is no way that party and its government can be excused. As a first step to salvage our nation, we must vote out the PDP. “How can we explain that oil sold for more than three years above $100 level and yet, we are faced with this calamity without any redemption in sight? How can we explain it?”

Aregbesola was confident in the capacity of Osun people to make the best choice, saying: “Our people can distin-

guish between the selfish and the selfless.

“Those who voted for me in the August 9 election in Osun have another assignment on their hands. If you voted for me and you don’t vote for Buhari and our representatives in the next elections, you have missed it.”

He said what Nigerians required was “a careful easing out of Jonathan and an installation of a government that knows what to do with power to transform the lives of the masses.”

Aregbesola added: “Don’t fight and don’t carry cutlasses, guns or any other thing.

Just go to the polling booths on that day and vote for our party. That is the power we all have to rescue ourselves from these elements.

“If we love ourselves, our towns and our country, we must all promote Buhari and campaign for him vigorously.”

5

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

NEWS

•Sambo (third left), Obi (right); Shelle (second left), Agbaje (third right); Obanikoro (second right) and Doherty at the briefing...yesterday

Lagos PDP governorship primary: Obanikoro, Agbaje reconcile HE crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State was resolved yesterday, following the intervention of the Presidency.

Former Minister of State for Defence Musiliu Obanikoro and other governorship aspirants have agreed to work with the party’s governorship candidate, Mr Jimi Agbaje, for the party’s success in next year’s election.

Obanikoro had engaged in a war of words with Agbaje and PDP leaders -Chief Bode George and Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe- over the party’s controversial governorship primary.

He had sued the PDP for not

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By Leke Salaudeen, Assistant Editor

addressing a petition he wrote over the conduct of the primary, which he described as a sham.

The reconciliation was announced at a briefing by Agbaje in Lagos yesterday.

Those in attendance were Vice President Namadi Sambo, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, Lagos PDP Chairman Col. Tunde Shelle (rtd) and Mrs Modupe Sasore.

Others were Tokunboh Kamson, Deji Doherty and Babatunde Gbadamosi, all of who contested with Obanikoro and Agbaje.

However, George and Ogunlewe

didn’t show up at the event. Also, Mr Dickson, an aspirant, was absent.

Sambo flew in to Lagos on Tuesday night for the reconciliation talks, which lasted till the early hours of yesterday.

Agbaje said through the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Vice President, “all the aspirants in the governorship primaries of Lagos State have agreed to smoke the peace pipe and gather under one banner”.

“We listened to the voice of Nigerians, Lagosians in particular.

They asked us to give and take. We have just done that. We were asked to put our house in order.

Differences, animosities,

divergences are hereby declared dead and buried.

“It is my pleasure and privilege to speak to you today as the candidate for the governorship of our dear state on the platform of the PDP. All the different voices in PDP have come under this big, strong and formidable PDP umbrella.”

Agbaje said his mission was to ensure that people have an opportunity to realise their aspirations, fulfil their potential and provide people-centred leadership that focuses on transforming lives.

In his address, Obanikoro said despite the inadequacies of our governorship primary, we have agreed today that Agbaje is the PDP

Benevolence funds for UN bomb blast victims

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HE United Nations (UN) office in Nigeria yesterday in Abuja offered N180,000 to families of 14 victims of the 2011 UN Headquarters bomb blast.

Noma Owens, the president of Federation of UN Staff Associations of Nigeria (FUNSAN), said the money was from the benevolence fund meant for the dependents of those who died.

He said the fund was an internal

mechanism to cater for the families of victims who suffered injury or disability or died in the 2011 UN Headquarters bomb blast.

According to Owens, the benevolence fund is an idea conceived by UN workers to mobilise resources to support the dependents of colleagues who died in the blast.

“It is also to support non UN staff; people who are not our personnel but work with us;

provide support such as cleaners, security personnel and restaurant staff, among others.

“When they are able to show evidence that they have needs, we will provide some token to support them,’’ he said.

He urged the beneficiaries to accept the amount as a token from the UN. “We hope that this will be a way of encouraging you to continue to strive to support development in

Nigeria and also to support our own mandate as UN system in Nigeria.’’

The UN staff appreciated the leadership of the organisation for giving beneficiaries the gift before the holidays.

Innocent Okpe, who spoke on behalf the beneficiaries, thanked the UN for the kindness and money given to them.

“We will continue to contribute our quota to develop Nigeria,’’ Okpe said.

Osun APC: Omoworare is our candidate

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has said Senator Babajide Omoworare is its candidate for the Osun East National Assembly election.

The party Chairman, Gboyega Famodun, said: “We are exploring this medium to correct the misrepresentation and wrong impression registered by an aspirant, claiming to have won the primary election.

‘On December 3, screenings were held to scrutinise credentials of aspirants. On this day, there was no primary election. The process and stages were uniform and there was no ambiguity as to how they emerged.

“Governor Rauf Aregbesola did not interfere with the process let alone imposing any candidate as being misrepresented from certain quarters. The stage being referred to by the aspirant is just a screening and not sufficient as stipulated in the party constitution to serve the purpose of a properly defined primary, which was finalised on December 9 at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo.

“From the result of the exercise conducted for Osun East Senatorial District, Senator Babajide Omoworare won at all levels and

has been issued the necessary documents to proceed as the party’s candidate. We implore anyone spreading falsehood and disparaging the party, our candidate and the governor to desist from such diversionary exercise.

“We also implore the public to disregard any discordant tunes, disregard all unfounded claims, remain focused and vote for all APC candidates.”

But Omoworare, in a statement by his spokesperson, Tunde Dairo, explained how he emerged the APC candidate.

He said: “We have read the same assertion in some newspapers. To forestall any element of ambiguity, I intend to set the records straight, prevent a misdirection of public consciousness and probe the intentions of Sola Lawal.

“If we are silent at this threshold of history, this false assertion may soon adorn the toga of the truth and posterity will not judge us right.

“On intuition, I (Senator Omoworare) left Abuja for Osogbo en route Lagos on December 3.

After some meetings, at 2 pm, he

got a call from a party leader asking him to come to Osogbo with his “credentials” for “screening” slated for 2.30 pm.

“Senator Omoworare has been contesting elections since 1999 (AD, AC, ACN, and now APC) and had always respected party leaders at every level and attended party screening sessions.

“This is notwithstanding the fact that he had been satisfactorily screened and issued a clearance certificate by the Screening Committee set up by the National Secretariat of APC. “We are not aware that “votes” are cast at screenings. We are also not aware that a screening exercise

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HE Triennial National Conference of Muslims Association of Nigeria (MAN) and investiture of Alhaji A.O.G. Otiti as its founding father will hold on Saturday in Lagos, by 11am.

Chairman, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services, Dr. Rauf Wale Babalakin, will chair the event.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola will be chief host.

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola and his Ogun State counterpart Ibikunle Amosun are special guests of honour.

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

G •Omoworare

is tantamount to primaries. Going by the timetable set by our party, senatorial primaries could not have been conducted on December 3 nor could it have been conducted by conclave.”

How to end Boko Haram, by cleric

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Fashola, others for forum

Gridlock persists in Ibadan

•How I emerged, by candidate From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

candidate in Lagos State.

“We must realise that in life, there is a time for everything and it is time to close ranks. There is no winner or loser in this endeavour that we have just ended,” Obanikoro stated.

Sambo thanked all aspirants for accepting Agbaje as the party’s governorship candidate and promising to work for him at the poll.

The Vice President said: “I know Jimi Agbaje well. He is a gentleman, a thoroughbred Lagosian. He will be a good governor in Lagos, if elected.”

CLERIC, Dr. Gabriel Fakeye, has said the insurgency threatening the country’s unity will end if Nigerians turned to God. Dr. Fakeye, who is the prophet in charge of the Redeemed Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church from Heaven, said this at an end of year peace revival, which had over 20,000 people in attendance.

In the message, which centred on peace as an authority from God, the cleric said a country that did not fear God would perish. He appealed to Nigerians to seek God’s mercy to end terror.

Making reference to scriptural passages where God saved some nations because of one or two righteous people, he maintained that Nigeria would remain one and overcome its challenges.

He predicted that the terrorists would turn a new leaf and embrace God.

RIDLOCK continued on major roads in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, yesterday as residents trooped out for a lastminute Christmas shopping.

The Mokola-Dugbe-Ring Road, Iwo Road, Aleshinloye, Bodija, Old Ife Road, Basorun-Akobo and others experienced heavy traffic for most part of the day.

At Dugbe, the central business district, the traffic was particularly heavy around Coco/Heritage Mall, where a large number of shoppers trooped in and out.

The situation was also complicated by the large number of workers and bank customers finalising their activities before today’s holiday.

Most of the banks closed at 2pm.

The traffic extended to Queen Elizabeth Road, Mokola and Sango, where shoppers also thronged.

At Iwo Road to Agodi area, traffic was slow. Bank customers and shoppers lined up both sides of the long road, causing a snarl.

Market women and retailers recorded some good sales.

A soft drink retailer in Mokola complained about poor sales.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

6

NEWS CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION Mark seeks peace, religious harmony

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HE Senate President, David Mark, has sued for peace and religious tolerance among the country’s different faiths.

This, he said, was the needed elixir for Nigerians to think and act like “one people, under one God, where peace and love for one another reigns.”

Mark spoke in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, in Abuja to felicitate with Nigerians at the Yuletide season.

The Senate President insisted that only peace, respect for one another and harmonious co-existence would guarantee the needed development.

He bemoaned the insecurity, terrorism and insurgency ravaging Nigeria and pleaded with religious leaders as well as traditional rulers to collaborate with government at all levels to end the menace.

The statement reads: “We have come to an inescapable

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

conclusion that only Nigerians and Nigerians alone can collectively address our problems.

“We should be able to restore the time tested belief in African brotherhood of being our brothers’ keeper.

“We have no reason to resort to these unnecessary wars, bitterness and hate. God Almighty did not make mistake in putting us - different tribes and tongues together.

“We must, as civilised beings, learn to put our differences aside in a manner that gives us respect and dignity.

“All efforts should ordinarily be channelled towards development like the rest of the developed nations.

“Regrettably, the reverse is the case today, where a lion share of the nation’s resources are being deployed to fighting terrorism and insurgency.

Peterside asks Riverians to emulate Jesus

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC’s) governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has urged Rivers State people to emulate Jesus Christ’s humility and compas-

sion.

Peterside, in a Christmas message by the Director of Communication of his campaign organisation, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, urged the people to always work for the unity of the state, adding that irrespective of ethnic divide, the people should see themselves as one.

“Jesus died for the sins of all of us. That is the hallmark of self-less service and compassion. We must emulate good virtues such as these for our state and society to be better,” he said.

Fashola, Amaechi seek peaceful co-existence

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OVERNORS Babatunde Fashola (Lagos State) and Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers State) have enjoined Nigerians to embrace the virtues of peaceful coexistence and refrain from fanning embers of disunity.

Fashola, in his Christmas goodwill message, maintained that as the next year’s general elections approach, it was only through peaceful co-existence that Nigeria could make the desired progress.

“I urge you to continue in this vein, for it is only by living in peaceful and harmonious co-existence, by respecting each other’s right to live freely and peacefully and by being our brothers’ keepers that we are truly celebrating the essence of Christmas”, he reiterated Appealing for vigilance from the people during the 2015 elections, he said the people must be assertive in ensuring that irrespective of the frustrations that they might be going through, they must exercise their civic rights and vote rightly.

He said the security challenges, which the country is facing, should not be used as an avenue to create division along ethnic and religious lines by some politicians who are blanketly engaging in name-calling of political opponents.

The governor said Nigeria has always been a heterogeneous nation and that the people should resist any attempt by any leader to highlight such ethnic differences to further their selfish ends.

He also urged the people to be safety and security conscious, especially during the festive period by not indulging in drinking and driving and reporting all suspicious activities around them to security agencies by using the Toll free lines 767 and 112.

Amaechi, who is the chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, called on Christians to imbibe the spirit of oneness and political tolerance.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary David Iyofor, the governor enjoined Christian faithful to be fervent in praying for Nigeria to achieve the desired change the country yearning for next year.

Fayemi greets Christians

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ORMER Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has congratulated Christians for witnessing yet another Christmas, urging them to continue to live peacefully in love and harmony with one another as well as with adherents of other religions.

According to him: “Christmas is a season to give and expect little in return. A time to preach peace and love. A time to forgive, be more united and forge ahead in the crucial task of building a very strong and vibrant nation.”

Fayemi, in a Christmas message by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, said that God used the birth of Jesus Christ to pass the message of peace and love to the world.

The former governor noted that being alive to witness another Christmas is a privilege, judging by the prevailing circumstances in the nation and the world. This, he said, calls for celebration.

Fayemi, however advised Christians to celebrate in moderation and to devote much time to appreciate God for His mercies and to reflect on the developmental challenges in the country, with a view to seeking God’s intervention.

Beware of Boko Haram, Oritsejafor warns

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HE President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has advised Nigerians to be conscious of the activities of the Boko Haram sect during the festive season.

Oritsejafor said CAN was optimistic that insurgency would soon become a thing of the past, urging Christians and other Nigerians to pray for the country’s peace and unity.

The cleric, who spoke in a statement, said: “On behalf of my family and the national executive of the CAN, I greet fellow brothers, sisters and Nigerians and also felicitate with them with great joy, on the occasion of Christmas.

“Once again, we find ourselves at the end of another year that has seen all kinds of difficult situations, important questions and challenges, but also signs of hope - both in the church and in our society.

“It has indeed been a year of mixed fortunes – for individuals, for the Christian family, other faithful and the

From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

society.

“We have seen the extremes of fundamentalism and terrorism, natural disasters, disease epidemics and other forms of societal challenges all in the course of the year.

“Importantly and typical of the dogged Nigerian spirit, we have sailed through these trying times to the very moment we have found ourselves in today.

“The greatest news in the midst of these challenges is that of hope and the promise of better times ahead of us, which is the message of Christmas.

“The great joy with which families all over the world, including Nigeria, welcome the season of Christmas should be allowed to permeate through the fabrics of the society.”

Oritsejafor urged Christian faithful to reflect on the happenings of the year, especially those moments that threatened the foundation and existence of the nation and work

Bishop Odedeji: let’s seek the face of God

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ISHOP of Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Lagos West Dr. James Olusola Odedeji, has called on Nigerians to resolve to serve God and invite him to intervene in the country’s affairs.

The cleric said Nigeria needed the “message of repentance, salvation, unity and peace at this point more than any other.”

He added: “Factors such as ethnicity, religious diversity, class and the knowledge divide that could have been harnessed to propel the country in the collective urge to join the league of advanced countries keep impeding its development, despite the abun-

dance of resources that the good Lord has endowed the most populous black country with.

“Rather than walk together to the glory of God, Nigerians pull in different directions, thereby leading to stunted growth and degeneration.

“While giving thanks to God for delivering us during the year from the Ebola scourge that threatened to sink the ship of state, we need to draw closer to him, remove the filthy garment of unrighteousness and get clothed with his righteousness, because, as the Holy Scriptures say, righteousness exalts a nation.”

towards inspiring a positive change.

His words: “Christmas comes with peace, love, sacrifice and hope for a better future and these should be the preoccupation of all faithful during the celebrations. Faithful should never spare a moment to reflect on these virtues, even as they eat, drink and make merry.

“Eating chicken, turkey and drinking wine often characterise this season, but equally important at this time should be the virtues of peace, love, sacrifice and hope, which should be the fulcrum of Nigeria’s progression into the New Year. Our actions, attitudes and entire body language in the coming year must reflect these three virtues.

“With love, the less-privileged are cared for; with peace, key actors of conflict will be inspired to lay down their arms; and hope brings on the spirit of a new Nigeria; so ultimately these virtues could together make the difference in 2015.

•Tambuwal

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PEAKER of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun and Imo State Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha have urged Nigerians to use the Christmas to pray for the successful conduct of the next year’s general elections.

Tambuwal also asked Nigerians to seek God’s intervention for an end to security challenges confronting the nation.

The Speaker, in a Christmas message by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Af-

fairs, Malam Imam Imam, said despite the nation’s difficulties, a new dawn would soon set forth.

It reads: “We should all pray for the successful conduct of the 2015 general election because candidates who emerged through free, fair and credible exercise are more likely to serve the interest of the nation.

“The coming elections provide an opportunity for our country to start afresh. I am confident we will get it right”.

Amosun, in a Christmas message by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Wakama, said with prayers, the country would overcome insurgency and bloodletting being carried out in some parts of the country.

The governor also urged parents to be vigilant and ensure that their children and wards were not used as tools

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OVERNORS Senator Liyel Imoke (Cross River State), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Theodore Orji (Abia) and Gabriel Suswam (Benue) have enjoined Christians to reflect on the significance of Christmas.

In a goodwill message by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Ita, Imoke urged Christians to use the opportunity of the Christmas celebration to rededicate themselves to the values of love, peace, sacrifice and tolerance as embodied in the birth of Jesus Christ.

According to the governor, “today is unique, unique in

for violence during campaigns and at the elections.

“Let me appeal to parents to keep watchful eyes on their children and wards, so that they do not become ready tools for some politicians, who do not wish them well.

“As the political parties begin their campaigns and we move towards the election period, let us always pray for our nation and shun all forms of violence. We are Nigerians and we have nowhere else to go. We should also pray that God touches the hearts of those shedding the blood of innocent citizens,” he added.

Okorocha has urged Nigerians to use the opportunity being offered by the season to pray for the peaceful conduct of the election so that it be seen and adjudged to be free and fair.

He also appealed to Nigerians to also pray for divine intervention over the issue of insurgency that has claimed many lives of innocent Nigerians.

Imbibe Christmas virtues, Makinde tells Nigerians

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CALL has gone to Christians to dwell more on the spiritual significance of Christmas, rather than the festivities associated with it.

Oyo State Social Democratic Party’s (SDP’s) governorship candidate Seyi Makinde, in a statement in Ibadan yesterday, remarked that the reason for the season is uncommon love of God for mankind, which culminated in send-

•Oritsejafor

Imoke, Chime, Orji, Suswam preach peace, others

2015 elections: Tambuwal, Amosun, Okorocha urge prayers From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

“Nigerians must realise the fact that the true essence of this celebration lies in the sacrifices that we make in the interest of a better and more prosperous Nigeria. This season is one that inspires sacrifice, which gives hope to the down-trodden in our midst.”

According to him, Nigerians must not “lose sight of the challenge of securing their environment even as they rejoice during the celebrations; we must all be security conscious and assist constituted authority in securing our property.”

ing to the world His only begotten son, and how to reciprocate this among the fellow beings.

According to him, “as we dwell on the agape love of God for us through the birth of Jesus Christ, which we are celebrating, we should reflect also on the humble circumstances of that birth (of Christ) and pattern our lives in a way that we shall be worthy of our call as Christians.”

From Chris Oji, Enugu, Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuhaia and Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

the sense that it represents hope and a new beginning. So, as we celebrate this Christmas, let us reflect on the significance of the season to extend our hearts to one another.”

To Chime, Nigerians must renew their commitment to the promotion of values of tolerance, brotherhood and unity among all groups.

The governor, who stated this in a message by his Chief Press Secretary, Chukwudi Achife, said the celebrations offered Nigerians the opportunity to reflect on God’s love and compassion as “demonstrated by his gift of his begotten son for the salvation of the world”.

Orji expressed gratitude to the people of Abia State for their support for the period he served the state as their leader, urging them to see Christmas as a season of peace, love, gratitude and hope.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Charles Ajunwa, the governor said: “We are grateful for the divine assignment that God gave to us about seven and half years ago to liberate Abia and make it one of the progressive states in our nation.

“We are grateful for your support over the years and we thank God that we have another Christmas to celebrate in an atmosphere of peace and prosperity. We should therefore comport ourselves in a manner that we are known for which is peace and harmony.”

Suswam, in his message, called on Christians faithful in his state to rededicate themselves to core Christian values, which emphasise love, forgiveness and salvation of mankind as taught by Jesus Christ.

The governor said the occasion of Christmas represents hope and new beginning in the affairs of mankind and also a time when family members and loved ones share and care for one another in appreciation to God’s unconditional love and mercy for His people.

THE NATION THURSDAY DECEMBER 25, 2014

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NEWS

APC to Chime: account for N544b allocation T

HE governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State, Mr. Okey Ezea, has accused the Governor Sullivan Chime-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)- administration of wasting the over N544 billion it collected from the federation account between 2007 and this year.

Ezea, a lawyer, told The Nation in an interview in Abuja that despite the huge money collected by the government, the state was underdeveloped.

He said an APC government would apply discipline

From Tony Akowe, Abuja

and accountability in spending money, adding that the fund the government collected from the federation account was not meant to buy cars and houses.

Ezea said he would create wealth and alleviate poverty.

His words: “APC will create wealth and alleviate poverty. To achieve this, agriculture will be prioritised.

Enugu is an agrarian state with 60 per cent of the people being farmers. Once you ad-

dress their problems, you have addressed governance.

“Once you make them happy, government has performed. Most of these farmers don’t use these resurfaced roads and don’t even come to Enugu, although roads are also important. We will give farmers implements to make their job easy.

“We will employ extension workers and clear a large portion of land through mechanised means.

We will give the land to

young farmers. We will encourage graduates to go into farming and government will buy their produce.

“We will make sure that in these farms, there is irrigation, because there are rivers and lakes in Enugu from where we can pump water to farms throughout the farming season. We will provide fertilisers at subsidised rates and provide good seedlings.

“We will also prioritise education. We will provide free and compulsory education up to the senior secondary school level.”

Orji releases 14 inmates From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

A

BIA State Governor Theodore Orji has released 14 inmates from the Aba and Umuahia prisons.

He told them to go home and sin no more, in the spirit of the Yuletide, urging their relations not to discriminate against them.

The governor signed an order for their release.

He said the action was based on the recommendations of the Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy under the chairmanship of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Umeh Kalu.

Orji said what he did was in line with the powers conferred on him by Section 212 of the 1999 Constitution.

The released prisoners are Uchechi Egwu, Kennedy Ikpeazu, Nnanna Kalu, Udoh Ufomba and Chibuzor Ezenwoko. Others are Ejike Kelechi, Okezie Nwokoma, Chiemela Nwagbara, Chinaza Onyenweaku, Isaac Macaulay, Oko Ogburu Urum, Kingsley Onuigbo, Ndubuishi Anyanwu and Chima Uzoigwe.

Old boys meet

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NWAR-UL Islam College, Agege, Lagos Old Students Association will hold its 2014 Annual General Meeting on Sunday on the school premises, College Road, Oniwaya, Agege, from 2pm.

The Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Mufutau Ottun, said members should be punctual.

Church holds crusade

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EAVEN Target International Bible Church will organise a two-day crusade on January 9 and 10 with the theme: “God of Great Favour, Favour Me”, at the church new site on Hospital Road, Agba Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Govern-

ment Area of Anambra State.

The host, Pastor Favour Ezinna James, said there would be salvation, deliverance and healing.

He said the crusade, which would start at 10am everyday, would also feature blessing and breakthrough.

Jonathan’s govt, a failure, says CLO

H

•Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi (left) addressing teachers who were posted to local governments different from theirs by past administrations, during their protest at the Governor’s Office, Ibadan...yesterday

Navy arrests boat, crew members ‘for oil theft’

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BOAT laden with suspected stolen crude oil product was arrested yesterday by men of the Western Naval Command (WNC) on Lagos waters.

The latest arrest has brought to 17, the number of ships impounded by the command and over 80 vessels have been seized by the Navy since January.

The outgone Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), WNC, Rear Admiral Sanmi Alade spoke at the handing over to his successor, Rear Admiral Jonathan Ango at the command’s headquarters in Apapa.

Rear Admiral Alade, who is now the Chief of Naval Transformation, said naval personnel intercepted the boat upon suspicion and it was discovered that it had crude oil suspected to be stolen, adding that five of the boat’s crew were arrested and undergoing interrogation.

He said: “It is true that we arrested a boat carrying suspected stolen petroleum product Wednesday morning, with five persons on board. We are investigating to ascertain their culpability. If they are culpable, we will hand them over to appropriate prosecuting agencies, otherwise, we will release them.

“Talking about how many vessels that have been arrested, WNC is not the only command that has been arresting vessels.

In the Nigerian Navy, I can tell you that we have arrested over 80 vessels since January and during my watch in WNC, we have arrested over 17. But not all the vessels are in custody be-

•Over 80 vessels impounded this year

By Precious Igbonwelundu

cause some have been released.

“My major challenge as FOC West was information sharing.

It was difficult to get information but we tried our best to be on top of the situation at all times. When you have information, your job at sea is made easier.

“When a vessel is under attack at sea, if you are not told, you will not know. But all the ones we were told, we took appropriate actions.”

Highlighting the achievements of the command under his watch, Alade said the establishment of a Forward Operation Base(FOB) at Ikorodu to quell the activities of oil vandals and others maritime related offences has been approved by President Goodluck Jonathan, following the successes recorded in the ongoing Operation AWATSE. ”We have been shouldering enormous responsibilities which have kept me very busy as FOC WNC. I must confess that it has been one of the most challenging and interesting part of my career as a naval officer.

“Improving security of the maritime area through out this period was my priority and that stemmed from the fact that the strategic importance of the Lagos area to the national economic wellbeing cannot be overemphasized.

“There were a lot of cases of vessel hijack, kidnapping, hostage taking and oil theft at sea

within the command at the time I assumed duty but through sustained patrol by deployment of at least a vessel to sea everyday, the situation was brought under control.

“The command recorded a number of successes in military policing and diplomatic roles within the 11 months of my stay, such as Obangame Express in which about 22 navies from America, Europe, Asia and Africa participated.

“We also hosted several visiting vessels from the UK, South Africa, Italy, Turkey, China and we had combined exercise from visiting naval Task Groups from China particularly, and Italy, which comprised capital ships including an aircraft carrier from Italy.

“Good progress has been made in the areas of renovation of facilities and emplacement of functional infrastructure within the command. We were able to renovate some classrooms in our water schools; arrival hall at NNS BEECROFT; WNC Library among others...”

Thanking the personnel of the command for the support he received and for exhibiting high level of discipline Alade urged them to extend same corporation with his successor.

He noted that there were no significant cases of indiscipline throughout his stay as FOC, urging them to keep up the tempo.

“On my part, I have endeavour to address some welfare needs of personnel by maintaining the exisiting medical and

recreational facilities. Also, the various accommodation projects by the naval headquarters are indication of the Chief of Naval’s Staff’s commitment towards improving personnel welfare.

“Our duty therefore is to repay all of these with hardwork and dedication to duty. As the 2015 general elections approach, we must always remember not to get involved in partisan politics. You all must remain apolitical at all times.

Our role is to exercise our civic responsibility and ensure security within the area of responsibility,” said Alade.

Receiving the flag of the command, Ango who commended his predecessor for the laudable achievements recorded during his tour of duty as FOC, pledged to improve on the legacies.

“We have laid down procedures and guidelines of the CNS on what is expected. Of course, I cannot go below what the outgone FOC has done. My duty is to try and improve upon all the successes he has achieved with our standard operating procedures.

“Improving the capability of the men is mainly through training and provision of adequate and appropriate resources for them to do their jobs. One of my responsibilities as FOC is to train, retrain and source for the equipment with which they will work. With my experience and support of the out gone FOC, I am sure we will succeed,” said Ango.

By Leke Salaudeen

UMAN rights group, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), has scored the President Goodluck Jonathan administration low for failing to live up to the expectations of the electorate.

Addressing a news conference on the state of the nation in Lagos yesterday, CLO’s Acting President, Comrade Igho Akeregha, regretted that “the situation has become so helpless that our people, especially those of us who were in the trenches during those dark days of military authoritarianism, have begun to question why we fought the military in the first instance”.

Akeregha said: “The CLO has watched with agony, how some politicians have, without conscience, plundered our patrimony and squandered our resources. As one of the richest countries in the world, Nigeria parades some of the poorest and hungriest citizens in the world today, with lack of social services, including a persistent inability to supply basic energy and potable water.”

He noted that the insurgency in the Northeast keeps escalating everyday and worsening the security situation in the country. Akeregha said rather than addressed the menace, government functionaries have resorted to observing a minute’s silence for the victims of terrorist acts. ”Our conclusion is that our government has failed in its duty to provide adequate security for Nigerians,” he said.

The CLO leader said corruption, executive impunity and lawlessness have become the most worrisome challenges confronting the Nigerian society. “Things have gone so bad that loopholes in the Constitution are dubiously utilised to entrench lawlessness. Public officers routinely plunder the state treasuries without being brought to book.

“Nigerians have continued to experience wanton and arbitrary abuse of human rights and utter disrespect for the rule of law and due process. Citizens are frequently arrested, detained and tortured in custody without recourse to the respect for their rights.

Cases of extra judicial killings, disappearances, disrespect for court orders and trafficking in human beings including lethargy by state agencies to try perpetrators of these violations and abuses have increased.”

Ashafa preaches love at ‘Xmas

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HE lawmaker representing Lagos East, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, yesterday enjoined Christians to emulate the life of Jesus Christ, just as His birth is being remembered.

In a statement from the lawmaker’s constituency office, Ashafa said: “In this Christmas season, it is important for the people to keep in mind that as they exchange gifts and attend parties to celebrate the season, the central theme should not be watered down.

The birth of Christ, which the story of Christmas revolves round, epitomises love, kindness, sacrifice, forbearance and humanity – virtues that we as a people, regardless of religion or tribe, ought to demonstrate in deeds and words.”

He advised all and sundry to open their hearts with love in relation to one another and pray for the unity of the country.

Lolo passes on

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HE death has occurred of a mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Lolo Grace Eburuaja Ezirim.

She died on September 10.

She was 84.

A statement by the family prayed that God “should give us the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. May her soul rest in peace.”

•The late Lolo Ezirim

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

8

NEWS

From left: Head of Physiotherapy and Director of Welfare Committee Mrs. Akinla; Head of Administration O. R. Ajiboye; Head of Accounts Mrs. Agoro, Deputy Chief Medical Director Dr. Keshinro; Ambode; Dr. Dauda; Chief Matron Mrs. Oginni; Director of Clinical Services Dr. Babafemi; Head of Catering Services Mrs. Adesulire and Secretary of the Welfare Committee Mr. Babatola ...yesterday

Ambode felicitates with patients, workers at Gbagada hospital

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HE governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, visited yesterday the Gbagada General Hospital, where he was received by the Chief Medical Director, Dr. Idowu

Adekunle Dada.

Ambode said he visited the hospital to “show solidarity” with the workers in the spirit of the season and give gifts to the patients.

“The hospital is close to my campaign office so I am visiting my neighbours,” he

said.

The APC candidate said the Babatunde Fashola-led administration had done well in upgrading hospitals in the state and stated his desire to continue with this trend, if elected.

He shared his interest in

improving the quality of health services in the hospital and in Lagos generally, saying “If God gives me the grace, I will continue in the tradition of upgrading our hospitals in Lagos. It is a must for us to have a first-class health service delivery in this state of ours”.

He praised the selflessness and commitment with which health workers discharge their duties even in a hostile environment.

He promised such selfless and committed service to Lagos as governor.

Dr. Dauda thanked Ambode

for the visit, stating that this was the first time a governorship candidate visited the hospital. He said the hospital management is “ready to work with and work for him” to ensure the continuity of good governance in the state.

How APC ’ll tackle unemployment, Club marks 25th anniversary T T power, by Osinbajo HE vice-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has said it is possible to fix vital infrastructure and rid the country of corruption within four years, if politicians showed sincerity of purpose and will to take progressive decisions.

Osinbajo, who spoke yesterday at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos when he met with youths and leaders of various volunteer groups working for the actualisation of the APC presidency, said fixing Nigeria was no rocket science.

He said fate had brought him on a joint ticket with General Muhammadu Buhari to rescue the nation from the grip of a non-performing government, noting that APC government believed there was need for direct intervention in the welfare of the people.

Osinbajo, a former Lagos State attorney-general, said the growing youth unemployment showed that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had failed the people.

His words: “Why should 80 per cent of graduates be without jobs and we say we have practised democracy in the last 16 years?

“We believe there is a disconnection between the people and the PDP government and we cannot continue to give excuses every time. There is no reason for the energetic population to be jobless and this is why the youth must vote APC for change.

“If elected, the APC presidency would make the youth the centre of its programmes, because of their limitless human resources.

Under an APC government, graduates who cannot get jobs after the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme would be engaged in compulsory vocation training for which they would get monthly stipends as incentives.

By Wale Ajetunmobi

“Government is about the people. I wonder why President Goodluck Jonathan is seeking re-election if his administration cannot improve the economy in the last five years.”

The APC candidate said all areas of the economy were riddled with the leakages through which country’s resources were drained by a few individuals. Plugging the leakages, he said, would control corruption and restore integrity to government.

“They said the major revenue generator is Nigeria’s oil and this is a sector that has been cornered by a few people loyal to the government. We have a problem of accountability here because nobody knows how much we make from crude oil.

“If the corruption in the management process of the country’s resources is controlled, there is a lot of revenue we would have saved from going into private pockets.

“I believe with Gen. Buhari’s unassailable integrity and openness, corruption will be reduced and people would enjoy good governance again.”

The professor of public law scored the PDP government low in power generation, saying the huge resources the

Federal Government had committed to generate insignificant megawatts of electricity had made people to lose hope in government.

Osinbajo said APC had a clear-cut manifesto on how to improve power supply. He said the only way to achieve uninterrupted power supply was to have a will to pursue the amendment of the law making it impossible for private electricity generation.

He said APC would encourage states and local governments to create their independent power projects for the benefit of the people in their domain.

“We need to do away with this impracticable model of power generation. We plan to decentralise power supply to make it easy for private individuals or companies to have their own power plants.

“We will amend the law mandating willing individuals to get licence before generating power for domestic use. If we fail to act now, we will still be here in the next 10 to 15 years.”

On security, Osinbajo said the Jonathan administration lacked good management skill in the disbursement of security vote. He wondered why security agencies still complain of lack of weapons when the government said it had voted over N4 trillion

for security.

Rather than unravelling the cause of Boko Haram, Osinbajo said the PDP government deliberately accused the opposition of sponsoring insurgency in the North.

“They leave the real cause of Boko Haram; they are looking for scapegoats to punish for their lack of ideas on how to contain the monster,” he said.

The APC vice presidential candidate promised that APC government would unravel the identity of the people behind the insurgency and improve the military in modern warfare to tackle insurgency. This, he said, would be achieved with prudent management of security budget.

Osinbajo dismissed insinuations that Buhari would islamise the country if elected.

He said those calling the APC presidential candidate a bigot should be the ones people must avoid.

“When Gen. Buhari had absolute power, he never allowed the country to participate in the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC). As a military head of state, almost all his civilian cabinet members were Christians. So, why should anyone accuse him of being a bigot?”

‘Hausa’ll vote for Ondo APC’

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HE Hausa community in Ondo State has said it will vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd).

The group, led by its Chairman, Mallam Bala Umaru, assured the state chairman, Isaac Kekemeke, that the Hausa wouldl vote for the party.

He said: “Let me use this opportunity to congratulate you for the free and fair primaries at all levels without rancour, this was adjudged to be one of the best primaries in the country.

“We are appealing to your office to carry us along in terms of campaign mobilisation,

HE Ogbomoso Recreation Club (ORC) will celebrate its 25th anniversary on December 27 and 28 at its club house on the Ogbomoso-Ilorin Road.

Some of the activities lined up are lectures, members’ night and a book launch. The book launch, which is the climax of the activities, documents the history of the club.

It is titled: “Ogbomoso Recreation Club at 25” and is written

by Olayinka Oyegbile, a deputy editor at The Nation on Sunday.

The chairman of the anniversary activities is A.K. Amadu; the club president is former Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala.

Osun to spend N110.8b on projects

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HE Osun State government has said it will spend N110.83 billion on capital expenditure and not N65.3billion.

A breakdown of the expenditure analysis showed that recurrent revenue is N131.74 billion and capital receipts. .....N65.3 billion.

The total recurrent expenditure is N86.99billion and capital expenditure N110..83billion.

Capital Expenditure represents 55.86 per cent of the budget size; recurrent expenditure is 44.14 per cent.

Dark Yuletide for Akure residents From Damisi Ojo, Akure

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ESIDENTS of Akure, the Ondo State capital and its environs may celebrate Christmas and the New Year in darkness, following acute power outage in the city.

Residents have since last month been experiencing power outage, following the damage of some electricity transformers in the city.

This development has affected both industrial and commercial activities in the city as most industries now rely on generators.

Artisans who rely on electric power for their operations have relocated to neighbouring states where electricity is more stable.

The hope of many residents of Akure who prayed that electricity would be restored for the Christmas celebration was, however, dashed as the situation persisted yesterday.

Many residents complained about the situation, arguing that the authorities of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company were not being fair to them.

Many customers, especially those who sell soft drinks, said their business would be affected due to lack of electricity during the Yuletide.

They appealed to the government to prevail on the authorities of IEDC to restore power to Akure to promote the economy of the city and the state.

The Manager of the Akure branch of IEDC could not be reached for comments.

Oke Ogun drums up support for Ladoja From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

empowerment and all necessary logistic support in this race to 2015.”

Kekemeke said Nigeria was in need of change, particularly in areas of insecurity and corruption.

“Imagine a party raising N21billion to pursue an election, this huge amount should have been used to fix bad roads, provide employment and sound health delivery as well as tackle insurgency.

The APC chairman urged the Hausa community to work with the party and secure their Permanent Voter Card (PVC) to vote out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

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OLITICIANS in the Oke Ogun zone of Oyo State have pledged their support and commitment to ensuring the emergence of Senator Rashidi Ladoja as the governor.

They said the Accord Party candidate was the best of all the five contestants and appealed to the people, particularly Oke Ogun, to ensure victory for the former governor.

Speaking on their behalf, Samuel Adejumobi, said they are supporting the former governor because of his antecedent, which remained unmatched.

Adejumobi said: “You will recall that the state from 2003 to 2007 witnessed unprecedented transformation and development. Roads were tarred and new ones were built. Teachers’ salaries were paid as at when due. Promotion of civil servants followed due process.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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NEWS 2014 MUSICAL YOUTH FIESTA INITIATIVE ORGANISED BY SENATOR OLUREMI TINUBU AT EKO HOTEL, V/ISLAND, LAGOS

•Former Lagos State Deputy Governor Mrs. Sarah Sosan (left); Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Lagos State Governor’s wife Mrs. Abimbola Fashola and Hon. Lola Akande at the Youth Fiesta Initiative organised

by Senator Tinubu.

•Mr. Jide Sanwo-olu (left), Mrs Fashola and Senator Tinubu.

•Senator Tinubu addressing pupils at the event.

•Some children performing at the event.

•Four Square Guitar Choir performing at the event

•Some of the pupils performing.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

APCON to get rid of quacks

By Adedeji Ademigbuji

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HE Advertising Practi tioners Council of Ni geria (APCON) has declared zero tolerance for quacks in the advertising industry.

The registrar of APCON, Garba Kankarofi, said this on the sideline of a long service award ceremony organised to honour some of the council’s members of staff.

He said that the council could not tolerate illegal advertising practitioners in the country.

“We will do all we can do to ensure that we get rid of quacks in the industry,” Kankarofi said.

He said that anybody found operating illegally would be prosecuted.

The APCON registrar said that the council had been able to reduce the number of illegal practitioners drastically in the last four years.

“Everybody is trying to comply with APCON rules now, being the regulatory body for all the advertising firms in Nigeria,” he said.

Kankarofi expressed gratitude to the 10 senior members of staff that were given long service awards for giving their best to the council.

Sovereign Wealth Funds are managed conservatively.

They don’t borrow money the way banks do, so you can’t compare this business to banking business. This business does not expose itself to that kind of risk. It is not the same thing as private equity •Managing Director/CEO, NSI A, Uche Orji

Preferred bidder promises to revive NITEL, MTEL T HE preferred bidder of Nigerian Telecommu nications Limited (NITEL) and its mobile arm, Mtel, NATCOM Consortium has pledged to turn around the moribund telco in the shortest possible time to bring it back to its lost glory.

Its Chairman, Dr. Olatunde Ayeni who spoke in Abuja at the signing of the Assets Sale Agreement (ASA) and Issuance of Offer Letter to the preferred bidder by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), said the organisation still had potentials to make it the national carrier.

He said the Consortium had the wherewithal to revamp NITEL/Mtel to become the leading telecoms outfit in the country, adding that with the signing of the transaction documents, the process of revamping the organisation had begun.

Ayeni recalled previous failed attempts at selling the enterprise and maintained that the current effort would not be in vain as the Consor-

• Signs assets sale agreement

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

tium was determined to break the jinx.

BPE Head, Public Communications, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe in a statement yesterday quotedAyeni as saying: “We pledge to make NITEL/Mtel to come alive again to the delight of the BPE that had unsuccessfully in the past tried to sell the enterprise and to the good of Nigerians who will be employed and afforded another service provider in the telecoms market.”

Ayeni commended the BPE for the professional manner it handled the entire transaction culminating into the Consortium’s emergence as the preferred bidder, noting that “BPE is indeed, one of the few government agencies in Nigeria that is trans-

parent, meticulous and executes its assignments diligently”.

Earlier, the Director-General of the BPE, Mr. Benjamin Ezra Dikki said given the zeal and calibre of persons on the Consortium that won the bid, he was confident that the it would pay the bid price and make NITEL/Mtel work again. “I believe we have the right group to turnaround Nitel/M-tel and we believe without any doubt in their ability to turnaround the fortunes of Nitel,” Dikki said.

He said the transaction had undergone full circle with ratification and approval by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP). He added that what was left now was for the preferred bidder to pay up and take possession.

He however warned the preferred bidder that signing of

the ASA did not in any way confer ownership on the consortium, adding that only the full payment of the bid price would grant them access to the assets.

Also speaking, the liquidator for NITEL/Mtel, Otunba Olutola Senbore said though the task was daunting, with the cooperation of all stakeholders, the transaction was successful.

Following the disqualification of NETTAG Consortium as a result of its failure to provide a bid bond together, only the financial bid of NATCOM Consortium qualified for opening on December 3, this year; having scored an average of 92 per cent in its technical proposal which was above the minimum pass mark of 75per cent, and satisfied the requirement of a valid bid bond.

Accordingly, the financial proposal of NATCOM Consortium was publicly opened December 3, which it won a bid price of $252.25million.

CIPM, Accenture partner on best practices

By Toyin Olasinde

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HE Chartered Institute of Personnel Manage ment (CIPM) has partnered Accenture to reward excellence in human resource management and promote best practices in firms and organisations.

CIPM President, Victor Famuyibo said the institute decided to raise the bar by bringing an external assessor to complement the activities of the award exercise as independent audit and quality assurance assessors.

He noted that the award was to encourage the embodiment of exceptional HR standards and practices in organisations as well as identifying organisations with a consistent track record of world class human resources (HR) practice in alignment with the overall goals and objectives of the institute.

According to him, HR practice in the contemporary society has become very creative, innovative and revolutionary.

He added that the awards has steadily grown since its inception with a 41.38 per cent increase in participation in this year’s edition.

He said the institute would continue to implement innovations, which are positively transforming, developing and sustaining professional excellence in the human resources practice in the country.

Famuyibo said business complexity and uncertainty now require that HR professionals demonstrate uncanny proactive qualities that are laced with flawless execution capabilities rather than just business as usual.

• Customers waiting to withdraw money from an automated teller machine (ATM) in Yola...yesterday.

NERC approves new tariff review methodology

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HE Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commis sion (NERC) said it has approved a review of the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) 2 regime with an implication for takeoff date for electricity market by January 1, next year.

Following the approved adjustments, there will be some adjustments in the tarrif of the R3 customers, MERC said yesterday.

The Nation however learnt that since the 11 distribution companies pay different tariff , the adjustment will still result in various tariff for the different electricity distribution companies.

In a statement, NERC explained that with the commencement of MYTO 2.1, the

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

Commission will now progressively hold electricity distribution, transmission, generation companies as well as other market operators to the terms and conditions of their licences.

Its Dr. Sam Amadi said: “It is expected that the take-off of MYTO 2.1 will bring about improved service delivery as distribution companies are now expected to implement their investment plans for metering and strengthening their networks in line with their bid documents.”

He said the adjustment in methodology is not expected to bring about any increase in tariff to residential customers on R1 and R2, who

formed majority of electricity consumers, at least not in the next six months.

Explaining the rationale behind the adjustment, Amadi said the Commission had shielded ordinary Nigerians from the possibility of rates shock that could have accompanied the review while pressing the operators for improved service delivery. He urged them to abide by the agreement they signed into while acquiring the electricity entities.

He explained further that the review was imperative on account of possible take off date of January 1 next year for the transition electricity market and the memorandum of understanding

between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

According to him, all these measures were being put in place to ensure that the new owners fund their operations and ensure improved electricity supply to the economy as well as expand the amount of electricity available for economic development.

With this development, the existing regime of Interim Rules, whereby the Commission govern the market without the full rigours of the MYTO, as situation arises will cease, while activities of the market will now be governed by strict contractual obligations.

Dickson urges liberalisation of financial services From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

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HE Bayelsa State gov ernor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has appealed to financial institutions operating in the state to liberalise their services for the benefit of the people.

Dickson who spoke during the inauguration of a new model branch of Sterling Bank Plc in Yenagoa,tate capital, lamented a situation where banks were only interested in collecting deposits from their customers without doing anything to empower the people and develop the state.

Describing Bayelsa as Nigeria’s best kept secret, he insisted that his administration was determined to provide a secured and enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the state.

He commended the management of the bank for heeding to his earlier call to make its presence felt in the state.

Dickson urged other financial and private institutions to emulate the bank in building befitting corporate offices to enhance the development of the state.

He expressed confidence in the partnership existing between the state government and the bank.

The governor however asked the bank to work out modalities that would create wealth and employment opportunities for Bayelsans.

Dickson said: “I am confident that by opening this branch, more of our people will have access to the opportunities and services that your bank provides.

“I’m keenly monitoring and will like to have a report in no distant time that business people in this state and those involved in the development of small and medium enterprises will continue to benefit from your facilities.

“And I dare say I challenge you to prove in no distant time that you are not like other banks that come to Bayelsa only to collect deposits. I want to see that you are also in the business of giving facilities (loans) and encourage the development of indigenous businesses in Bayelsa.

“I’ve no doubt that, as you continue to do so, we, your partners in government, will continue to create the enabling environment as we have done to encourage you and all other well meaning partners.”

The bank’s Executive Director, Mr. Olanrewaju Adesanya, commended Dickson’s administration for making the state conducive for private business to operate.

Adesanya said the bank is ready to closely partner with the state government. He added that the new branch which is one of the best in the country, was put in place in obedience to an earlier call

by Dickson.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 24-12-14

25-07-14 DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 24-12-14

Nigerian equities gain N544b on Yuletide eve N IGERIAN equities closed for the Yuletide holidays with a cheery mood as increased demand left some N544 billion capital gains in the pockets of investors. The gain yesterday brought total gain in the last two days to more than N1 trillion. The equities had gained N467 billion on Tuesday.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the NSE rose from its opening value of N10.858 trillion to close at N11.402 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), the composite index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, trended upward to another level at 34,428.82 points as against its opening index of 32,786.00 points.

Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

The uptrend was driven by widespread bullish sentiments across the sectors and stocks’ groups. Nestle Nigeria topped the 35-stock gainers’ list with a gain of N52.42 to close at N930.22 per share.

Seplat Petroleum Development Company followed with a gain of N29.93 to close at N322.11. Dangote Cement rose by N18.19 to close at N196.65. Guinness Nigeria rallied N14.11 to close at N151.87. Mobil Oil Nigeria added N7.20 to close at N151.20. Total Nigeria rose

by N6.53 to close at N157.

Forte Oil gathered N5 to close at N214. Presco rose by N2.25 to close at N24.25 while CAP rose by N1.80 to close at N37.90 per share.

Total turnover stood at 581.90 million shares valued at N3.21 billion in 3,451deals.

FCMB Group was the most active stock with a turnover of 158.37 million shares worth N441.61 billion in 150 deals.

On the downside, Seven-Up Bottling Company topped the 15-stock losers’ list with a drop of N1.70 to close at N160 while Okomu Oil followed with a drop of 91 kobo to close at N24.50. UAC of Nigeria declined by 55 kobo to close at N35.45.

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 24-12-14

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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THE NATION

BUSINESS LABOUR

The Industrial Training Fund (ITF), according to its Director-General, Prof. Longmas Wapmuk, is with the execution of its mandate. It cannot meet up because of non-remittance of the one per cent employers’contribution and inadequate funding, among others, raising doubts about the Fund meeting its two million jobs creation target, reports TOBA AGBOOLA

Why ITF can’t meet job creation target

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HE Industrial Training Fund (ITF), a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, appears hamstrung. Its efforts at reducing unemployment through vocational training and production of skilled manpower are being hampered by the non-remittance of the one per cent employers’ contribution and inadequate funding.

Its immediate past Director-General, Prof. Longmas Sambo Wapmuk painted a bleak picture of things at the organisation. The Fund is struggling with the implementation of its mandate because of financial challenges. He said the Fund is targeting about N150 billion revenue yearly to meet its major short and medium term human capacity development programmes.

Wapmuk said the loss of jobs to Asians and other nationals because of lack of technical skills would become history if ITF gets adequate funds.

“The wholesome and proper implementation, or operation of the ITF Act 2011 as amended, holds immense benefit for the overall socio-economic well being and development of the nation, because poverty eradication is a vital tool in the war against insecurity, unemployment and hunger,” he said, adding that with proper funding, ITF will expand skill training centres across the country, ensuring that there are 37 of them across the country to cover 3,725 trade areas.

This, he said, would ensure the training of 25 students, amounting to a total of 23,125 highly skilled technicians yearly, adding that the six centres for Advanced Skills Training for Employment (CASTE) across the six geo-political zones, would also turn out 6,750 highlyqualified graduates yearly.

He said alot of research had focused on the performance of manpower training institutions and manpower needs in Africa, using the ITF, a key manpower training institution in Nigeria, as a case

‘ITF stands out among all the interventionist agencies of the Federal and state governments that have been created to tackle the problem of acute unemployment in Nigeria due to its proactive and sustainable result-oriented methods’ study.

However, experts said these benefits might elude Nigerians because of poor funding caused by the non-remittance of statutory contributions by operators in the industrial and Organised Private Sector. This was why the Director-General, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo, decried the attitude of industrialists and business organisations for refusing, or failing to remit their training contributions to the ITF. He said it was important for industrialists and enterprises to meet their financial responsibilities to the Fund so that it could continue to effectively carry out its activities.

Acknowledging that though, businesses and industries were set up for profit-making, Oshinowo urged firms that are not remitting to have a rethink.

A training expert and human resource professional, Kunle Rotimi, also said a

Civil servants yet to get Oct, Nov, Dec salaries

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HE Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) is spoiling for a fight with the Federal Goverment over the no-payment of October, November and December salaries.

Its Secretary-General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, told reporters in Lagos, that the government should use the N9.2 billion earmarised for stores to pay the salaries.

“As we write, information reaching the union from informed quarters indicates that about 30 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) will not pay December 2014 salaries to their employees. It is very unfortunate that since October 2014, the Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Education, Works, Labour and Productivity as well as a host of other MDAs have not paid salaries to their workers,” he regretted.

Lawal, who lamented that the reality on ground was that thousands of civil servants and their dependants would celebrate this year’s Christmas and New Year in sorrow, called on President

Goodluck Jonathan to intervene on the matter and ensure that thousands of civil servants are paid their October, November and December salaries before the festivity to put smile on their faces.

“We call on the government to use the N9.2 billion earmarked to buy stoves for rural women to offset the October and November salary as well as that of December 2014. We cannot understand how N9.2 billion would be spent on stoves while workers who toil daily to keep the wheels of Government functioning cannot be paid their meagre salary,” he said.

The labour leader recalled that last year, more than 40 MDAs could not pay December salaries to their workers and when the union raised the alarm, government officials were quick to deny the development prompting the association to publish the names of the MDAs that were involved in the non-payment of salary saga.

According to him, based on this sad experience of last year, one would have expected that serious steps would have been taken to ensure that the ugly scenario did not repeat itself.

•DG, ITF, Dr Chukkas-Onaeko

change of attitude by stakeholders is needed to keep the ITF sustainably funded. According to him, the ITF remains one of the few organisations in the public sector that is fulfilling its mandate.

He explained that the initiative by ITF to establish industrial skills training centres in each state, and advanced skills training centres might never be realised if partners failed to live up to their responsibilities.

Noting that the ITF Act spells out sanctions for defaulters, Rotimi, however, admitted that the punishment may be hard to apply since they are not stiff Besides, the ITF, he said, might be reluctant to apply sanctions to partners it intends to work with to address a major national challenge such as unemployment.

Former President, Nigeria Institute of Training and Development, Femi Kilajo, said the role of vocational training and skills in the eradication of youth unemployment is important. He emphasised that vocational training, including plumbing, industrial welding, iron work and fabrications, as well as computer skills, are being imparted on trainees by the ITF its centres.

Pointing out that it was technical and vocational skills adopted by China, Bra-

•Oshinowo

zil, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia and Canada, among other developed nations, that made them strong in terms of economic and industrial output, Kilajo said technicians, welders amongst other numerous trade and crafts have been trained by the Fund, with all of them contributing their parts towards developing the economy.

The ITF was established in 1971 by the Federal Government to bridge the unemployment gap through the vocational training, and also produce skilled manpower for the industrial sector.

According to stakeholders, ITF stands out among all the interventionist agencies of the Federal and state governments that have been created to tackle the problem of acute unemployment in Nigeria due to its proactive and sustainable result-oriented methods.

Some graduates of the ITF’s Industrial Skills Training Centre (ISTC) in Ikeja, Lagos, who spoke with The Nation said apart from the provision of skilled manpower for the industrial sector, the ITF also goes the extra mile of ensuring that global standards are brought to bear in its training curriculum. This, they said, was made possible through the Fund’s understudying and engagement with major technical and vocational training institutions.

Enforce protocol against forced labour, govt told

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EXTILE Garment and Tailoring Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (TGTSSAN) has called on the Federal Government to enforce the global protocol against forced labour.

The protocol, adopted by the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland, aimed at accelerating action against modern slavery.

TGTSSAN’s National President, Comrade Ambi Karu, made the declaration while interacting with reporters on how the protocol has put other world leaders on the alert in the efforts to combat forced labour, which is rampant in the private sector.

He said: “We are very comfortable with the new ILO Protocol on forced labour that will put government of member states of the ILO on alerts. This is because the private sector is responsible for 90 per cent of the estimated 21 million victims

of forced labour, reaping about $150 billion from some of the most severe forms of exploitation in existence.”

According to Ambi, the call became necessary to prevent jobless youths from being usurped by the political class to create political crisis in the country as the nation prepares for 2015 general elections “We are more comfortable because over 92 per cent of, employers and workers’ delegates at the recent ILO Conference voted in favour of the protocol, which the ILO described as bringing one of its longest-standing instruments, Convention 29, into the modern era.

“We are optimistic that the new ILO protocol, if taken seriously by the three tiers of government, the federal, states and local governments, will revitalise action to ending forced labour, especially in the textile and Garment industry, as the new rule will put those who make money from anti-workers’ activities on notice,” he said.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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COMMENTARY LETTER

EDITORIALS

Christmas cheer

•Jesus was born to save us but we have a role to play

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NCE again, Christians and persons of goodwill all over the country and the world are celebrating Christmas today. It is a day of devotion as well as jollification. Its cohesion of piety and vanity makes it one of the most unique days in the Gregorian calendar.

It marks the birth of Jesus Christ, a child of prophesy that abounds in the Old Testament, flowing from the lips and pens of such patriarchs as Moses (wrote the Pentateuch), Isaiah the prophet, King David and quite a few others. It is the story of humility that emphasises the power of royalty. He was born in a manger, in the subaltern simplicity of herdsmen on a wintry night. Yet the prophesy said “unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.”

The same son was trailed by three wise men, poetically rendered in the famous poem titled the Return of the

‘There is no better time than now in our history for Nigerians to follow the precepts and examples of Christ. This is a period where the rhetoric of hate and the fear of impending violence have taken over the imagination of many Nigerians as we approach a new election cycle’

Magi by the stalwart dramatist and poet T.S. Eliot. He was hounded, in his ineffable innocence, by the soldiers and taskmasters of King Herod who feared the prophesy that called him king, and said “His government shall be upon his shoulder … and he shall be called Wonderful,Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace and the Everlasting Father…”

Everything he did in his ministry on earth represented examples for humanity. Whether his baptism in River Jordan administered by John the Baptist, or the miracles of turning water to wine, or raising Lazarus from the dead, or restoring the ears of one of his tormentors as his crucifixion loomed, he demonstrated a magisterial example of character, salvation and power.

Eventually he was killed, and it is not his death alone that mattered, but two other things. One, that he did not feel any malice for those that murdered him. He asked his father in heaven to forgive them “because they know not what they do.” Two, that his death preceded his resurrection, and that meant that his followers had something ethereal to look forward to: eternity in the heavenly.

The most important legacy of his ministry on earth was love, and he proclaimed it this way: “By this shall people know that you are my disciples if you have love one for the other.”

And his followers have always emphasised the superiority of love over other virtues. “And now abides

faith, hope, love,” crooned St. Paul, the most brilliant and illuminating of his apostles, “the greatest of them is love.”

The purpose of love is, for him, peace. He himself said it in a memorable Bible verse, “Peace I live with you. My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you.”

There is no better time than now in our history for Nigerians to follow the precepts and examples of Christ.

This is a period where the rhetoric of hate and the fear of impending violence have taken over the imagination of many Nigerians as we approach a new election cycle.

Jesus himself told a soldier, “do violence to no man.” But are Nigerians going to heed it? Jesus also called for uprightness and holiness and eschewed hypocrisy. He abhorred those who called his name for opportunism. That was why he said his disciples should beware of the “leaven of the Pharisees,” which is hypocrisy.

An upright society would watch against mismanaging the gifts of God in terms of material abundance, like Nigeria is blessed with. Yet, the Nigerian economy is perhaps in its poorest shape ever with the Naira in an all-time low, with many afraid that it may cascade to N200 to a dollar. It is time to manage our resources and stop corruption, so that Christ’s purpose that he “was poor that we may be rich” does not become limp prophesy.

Abuse of strike •Oil workers should stop punishing Nigerians over flimsy excuses

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OR four days last week, the economy would again be thrown into avoidable spasms as a result of the strike embarked upon by the nation’s powerful oil industry unions – the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG). It would, sadly again, be occasion to settle on their now familiar tradition of exploiting citizens’ vulnerability to the hilt; choosing a most opportunistic moment – the approach of the yuletide – to inflict pains on Nigerians.

The fact that this has since become their stock-in-trade is what makes it both regrettable and sad.

And what do these oil workers really want? It goes beyond the same old but familiar story expressed in the so-called failures to execute successful turnaround maintenance of the nation’s four refineries. Or even their new-found tales on the need for the Federal Government to evolve new strategies to combat pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft – a plague which, admittedly, the Jonathan administration has failed to contain.

As stakeholders, it goes without saying that their rather novel demand for an alignment of pump prices of petrol in the wake of the slump in global prices of crude oil would seem nothing extraordinary. No one can deny that these demands have some merit.

Again, like most Nigerians, the unions have the right to worry about the delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB); or even the high rate divestment in the industry and its job losses arising from the non-passage of the PIB;

the non-implementation of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act; the appalling state of access roads to refineries and oil depots’ facilities and the general insecurity all over the country, which they point out, continues to claim the lives of their members.

Protesting the casualisation of oil workers is not only within their prerogative as organised labour; it is also their right to challenge unfair labour practices by companies and government agencies.

But then, are these the real issues?

Even if they were, would they have sufficed to shut down an economy already under the throes of slump in global oil price? For all intents and purposes, the strike has merely revealed one fundamental problem with the unions that has been denied up till now – the belief that simply because they have the power, they can use it to force the hand of the government no matter how unrighteous their cause.

It seems to us that the two unions have merely used the pretext of the transfer and termination of one of PENGASSAN zonal officers in Rivers State, Elo Victor, by the management of Total Oil Nigeria to punish the nation. It is wrong as it is immoral. Of course, only in the context of the weapon of blackmail that the instrument of strike has become in the hands of PENGASSAN and NUPENG can these be contemplated.

As for the refineries, this newspaper has long argued that the Federal Government loses nothing by selling them. That position, if anything, remains as valid as it is compelling, even now. More than five years after the botched privatisation of

the refineries in Port Harcourt and Kaduna, and with billions of naira thrown in for their Turn Around Maintenance with nothing to show for it, the position of NUPENG and PENGASSAN is not only inexplicable; it appears only the two unions still live in the illusion that the Federal Government can ever get the refineries to work optimally. The irony here is that both NUPENG and PENGASSAN which appear just as culpable as the Federal Government in foisting the current atmosphere in which the nation has found it nigh impossible to let the refineries go still think that the government should continue to pour money into the sink holes.

Much as we concede to the right of the unions to stand up for the welfare of their members, these cannot be at the risk of plunging the larger economy into turmoil. We consider last week’s strike as unnecessary; if anything, it was an abuse of the strike weapon.

‘For all intents and purposes, the strike has merely revealed one fundamental problem with the unions that has been denied up till now – the belief that simply because they have the power, they can use it to force the hand of the government no matter how unrighteous their cause’

Wale Oladipo’s unguarded outburst

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IR: One has waited to hear from the National Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Wale Oladipo that he was quoted out of context when he described General Mumhammadu Buhari (retired), the APC presidential candidate, as semi-illiterate. Since he has not retracted the uncalled-for use of wrong words in describing once Nigeria’s Head of State, he has portrayed PDP in bad light. I am a supporter of PDP but if this statement credited to its national secretary remains, it will neither do the party any good nor win it elections.

Is Wale Oladipo actually an academic professor or just a title he got from somewhere? Remember a magician who went with the name Professor ‘P’. Oladipo, if at all he is a real professor, should have checked the academic background of the man he described as semi-illiterate.

From best of my knowledge and little research I carried out on Buhari’s educational qualification, Buhari attended the best military schools in the world. In case the ‘Professor’ doesn’t know, Buhari graduated as a military officer (Lieutenant) in Royal Military Academy, Aldeshot UK. He attended the Defense College India. Col Buhari also attended the US Army War College Carlisle in Pennsylvania from 1979 -1980 and earned his command as a Brigadier General. The respected General Collin Powel attended the same school in 1976 to become Brigadier General. Some of Buhari’s classmates include General Beltson, General Thomas P Carney, General Bill Matz, General David E.K. Cooper etc. All of them are alive and can be reached and they will give glowing tributes of the man, Buhari, they know as their classmate.

My appeal is that, if at all PDP’s Wale Oladipo should earn a reply to this unfortunate use of gutter language on Buhari, it should be from officers of the APC. Let the reply not be by the real Professor, Yemi Osinbajo, who is Buhari’s running mate. The research should include a proper check on Wale Oladipo’s family, social and educational backgrounds.

Wale Oladipo should be made to realize that if he considered PDP first, he should have known that the nation’s First Family would not attempt addressing Buhari in such a gutter language. If this controversy is allowed for public discourse, which I am afraid it will take that dimension, the First Family would be worse for it. Think of the average intelligence dispositions of President Goodluck Jonathan whenever he was interviewed in local and international electronic media; also consider the grammatical ‘shelling’ of Dame Patience Jonathan, etc. Sleeping dog should be left alone, I advise.

• Dr. Bernard Tamuno Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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CARTOON & LETTERS

IR: Whatever the standpoint, there is no doubt that the informal sector, particularly in developing economies, remains the bedrock for economic emancipation of the downtrodden. The Lagos example amply reinforces the fact that, if properly regulated and harnessed, the informal sector possesses enormous wealth creation potential. In today’s Lagos, it is difficult to ignore the sector as it has become a veritable source of prosperity and employment for many. Ttransporters, vulcanisers, mechanics, battery chargers, fashion designers, hair dressers, barbers, traders, painters, welders, carpenters, bricklayers, farmers etc have so much become an integral part of our daily lives that the formal sector cannot do without them.

The administration Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), in Lagos, has evolved several policies and programmes that have accommodated and integrated the sector into the development process. Some of the policies have helped to regulate the activities of the sector thereby ensuring orderliness and enhanced productivity.

In order to monitor and standardize the activities of the tradesmen and artisans, the state government enacted the Enterprise Identification Law to identify and register various trade associations in order to have a comprehensive data bank of the practitioners for planning purposes and to enable the government determine the infrastructural needs of this subsector so as to reduce the cost of doing business.

The long term plan of government in respect of the project, launched on August 24, 2007, is to add value to information collected and collated by using it to produce a comprehensive business directory to be called ‘Lagos Pages’ to expose all the legitimate businesses in the state to the international investors.

In order to improve the driving skill of commercial drivers in the state, government established the Lagos State Drivers’ Institute (LASDRI) on May 13, 2009. Also, members of the Lagos State Cab Drivers Association were assisted to secure loans to purchase brand new Nissan cars to enhance the quality and scope of their operation in the state.

It should equally be stressed that all the buses being used in the BRT operation are strictly owned by infor-

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Lagos and the informal sector mal sector operators who only enjoy the conducive operational environ provided by the state government through road segregation and upgrading of other road infrastructure.

The Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), for instance, owns some of the buses with funds secured from Ecobank while another batch of the buses is owned by LAGBUS Assets Management Nigeria Limited. Buoyed by the widespread acceptance of the BRT scheme, the state government has expanded the scope of its operation to other routes such as Yaba-Oyingbo , IpajaEgbeda-Igando, Oshodi-Sango Otta, Ojodu-Berger/Ikeja among others.

Another core area of the informal sector in which the Fashola administration has achieved remarkable success is food security. In terms of meat

production and distribution, the Eko Meat Vans were introduced into the state’s meat circulation process to put an end to the health hazard associated with the crude style of distributing meat in the past as well as ensuring food security through modern and hygienic mode of meat transportation. To ensure the active involvement of butchers in the project, government introduced the Butchers Association to some commercial banks for the purpose of securing loans for the procurement of over 50 meat vans. In same vein, modern equipments have been installed into some of the state’s abattoirs to ensure that they strictly comply with global best practice.

Similarly, in order to boost food production in the state, government conceived the rice for job scheme

which is meant to assist local rice farmers to access fund and embrace modern technology which will enable them produce on a large scale. Also, government has put in place an agrinet project for farmers in the state to fast-track the dissemination of agricultural and natural resources information and technologies to farmers, upland dwellers, and rural entrepreneurs. Through this, government now makes information on all agro products in the state available electronically to provide strategic information for farmers, government authorities, and other stakeholders at the state and local government levels. Government is also developing and promoting ICT skills among agricultural extension workers and farmers.

In the area of empowerment,

through its many skill acquisition and vocational training centers, government has trained over 100,000 people across the state while many of the centres were recently upgraded into core entrepreneurship hubs.

Similarly, over 24,000 entrepreneurs have been empowered with microcredit facilities secured from the state’s EKO Micro-Finance schemes.

Periodically, government doles out equipment such as pepper grinding machines, sewing machines, cameras, deep freezers, power generating sets among others to beneficiaries as a way of enhancing their socioeconomic status.

As the state government enhances the wealth generating capacity of the sector, more of its operatives are being systematically brought into the tax net, thereby improving the state’s IGR status. At a time when national oil revenue is diminishing, rejuvenating the informal sector and, indeed, other sectors of the economy remains an enthralling option. This is the path that Lagos is toeing, and it is, indeed, a worthy path.

• Tayo Ogunbiyi Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

The PDP magic called primaries

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IR: That the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to be fast losing focus is no longer in dispute. Indeed the media is awash with reports of the legion of self- inflicted vicissitudes that have become the lot of the PDP, which if not properly managed could lead to its defeat in the 2015 elections.

The biggest challenge the PDP has is its lack of respect for the rudimentary principle of internal democracy.

It will appear that the leadership of the party does not believe in internal democracy and does not even pretend about it. From day one that the party started the process for the just concluded primaries, it was clear that respect for internal democracy was not part of the essential ingredients of the process.

The election of the Ward ad-hoc delegates, in virtually all the states of the federation, was a clear mockery of democracy. It is doubtful that any of the delegates was actually elected.

Strong leaders, favoured by the party leadership wrote the list of the del-

egates and sponsored it through the National Headquarters. The turmoil in the primaries proper was only to be expected.

A typical sample of where not to emulate the PDP is Imo State. During the Ward ad-hoc delegate congress, those who believed they were strong enough, and favoured by the PDP National leadership successfully shut out Senator Ifeanyi Arararume from having even one delegate, not even in his own Ward. This governorship aspirant therefore went to the governorship primaries without one delegate put by him.

In spite of this obvious drawback, he remained undaunted, braved all the odds and reached out to the delegates and appealed to their consciences.

Election day came on December 8. The Electoral panel announced to the hearing of all present that 1064 delegates had been accredited to vote in the primaries.

At the end of voting, total votes cast were counted openly and announced as 1017. The counting peaked with

Ikedi Ohakim, the third runner up, whose votes were counted and announced as 213. The next was Arararume. His votes were counted and they came to 336. By this time, the votes of 27 aspirants had been counted and it came to 681. The only aspirant left to be counted was Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha. Going by the total valid votes cast and the total votes scored by 27 of the 28 aspirants, that is 681, it became obvious that Arararume had won the primaries. This is so because when you subtract 681 from 1006 valid votes cast, Ihedioha would have scored 325 votes. But the electoral panel, to the chagrin of all, announced 446 votes for him.

In my view, this is the biggest challenge the PDP is facing and how it is resolved will go a long way in deciding the fate of the party in Imo State.

Surprisingly, the National Party leadership has remained mute on this issue, even some of those who have commented on the matter, including a group of Imo PDP Elders, have refused to address the crux of the matter.

And that crux is: was it 1006 votes that were declared by the electoral panel as votes validly cast? If that is so, and it is because the panel announced that publicly, how come then that after 27 aspirants scored 681 votes, the last aspirant who should have 325 votes now had 346 votes?

Even while the Imo case is peculiar, the crisis in PDP is widespread. The rumour making the rounds is that a ticket from the flawed primaries is not any guarantee of a PDP flag for 2015 election. Stories abound that the tickets are up for grabs to highest bidders in Abuja. And not a few are wondering why the party ever bothered with having primaries.

Perhaps the PDP is sitting supine, unmoved, because it is in power and believes it can always fix things. But they must hear this truth; the biggest gain of our 15 years of democracy is that elections are becoming increasingly impossible to rig. Gone are the days when a PDP ticket is automatic victory in the polls.

• Hon. Declan Mbadiwe Emelumba, Owerri, Imo State

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

19

COMMENTS

Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru 1948-2014

D

EATH is an inevitable end. Life itself is like a stage and each of us has a role to play before we exit from the stage. The Yoruba people have a saying that death does not announce the day it is coming neither does illness announce the month it will come; what will be will be. The question of death has been problematic to all mortal beings from time immemorial. We all know that one day or the other, the owner of our lives will come for them but in most cases we are usually not prepared for that eventuality. In Yoruba religion, it is generally stated that heaven is our home and that the earth is a market place where we come to buy and sell temporarily but inevitably return to our home in heaven. We also say that heaven is anxious to have us come home even though heaven itself knows that we will all eventually go there.

When the Christian and Islamic religions came to our shores, the concept of the Almighty God did not seem strange to us. Yoruba people believe in a pantheon of gods and that the Supreme Being is indeed supreme over all other gods and over all creation. As Muslims and as Christians, Yoruba people now believe in a monotheistic God who is indeed jealous of other gods and would not tolerate our worship of other gods. Christians and I believe Muslims know that there is a correlation between what we do on this earth and what we will do in eternity in heaven. This is why we try to live according to the holy books of our religion because what will a man profit if he gains this whole world and loses eternity.

As a Christian, I share in Martin Luther’s concept of a priesthood of all believers. This is to say all Christians should behave in such a way that the Holy Spirit will live in us and the Holy Spirit cannot live in a sinful body. By living the life of a good Christian, you will gain this world and you will gain eternity. We cannot gain eternity unless we die. In other words, it is through death that the transition to eternity takes place. That is the hope that we have when we lose a dear one. This concept also permeates the two other monotheistic religions of Judaism and Islam.

I had known that Gbenga Ashiru had been ill shortly after he was removed as Foreign Minister by President Goodluck Jonathan some two years or so ago. What immediately came to my mind was that he was fatigued by his constant travelling and that he needed to rest. My friend, Bolaji Akinyemi also had the same experience of fatigue when he was foreign minister. So it never occurred to me that this illness was unto death. A student of mine had a few weeks ago told me that she would like to do a thesis on Gbenga Ashiru and the conduct of Nigeria’s foreign policy. I told her that would be no problem and gave her a guarantee of direct access to

I

T IS a yearly event that Christendom looks forward to not because it is a time to wine and dine; but because of the significance of the Messiah's birth. Over 2000 years ago in the city of Bethlehem, Jesus was born in a manger. Yet, from that humble background, He rose to world acclaim. This is why His birthday is celebrated worldwide every year in remembrance of the life He lived in order to save mankind.

Jesus lived and died for man to be saved. He did not come to the world for the righteous, according to the scripture. He came for sinners. This is why in His lifetime, He neither condemned nor judged people. He simply led all to the right path. At Christmas, the world remembers His coming with nostalgia because He came so that we may have life more abundant. He was an only begotten child who was sacrificed for the good of man.

Man is expected to be Christlike, to live holy and see ourselves as our brother's keeper. These are traits we are expected to exhibit every day, but more often than not, we do not. We live for ourselves not bothering about the other fellow. At Christmas, things change; we become kind and of good nature. We see the other man as our

255 DAYS AFTER

?

WHERE ARE THE ABDUCTED CHIBOK GIRLS?

Gbenga Ashiru. Gbenga Ashiru was like a younger brother to me and I am sure he related to me too on that same basis because I had known him since he was in high school in Ijebu-Ode and I had also watched him grow into a brilliant and easy going diplomat. He always had something going for him because of his sociability. He was good looking, likeable and a good mixer and an extrovert. These attributes are very important in diplomacy where the machine of diplomacy is oiled by entertainment. Gbenga Ashiru also comes from a remarkable family of the Ashirus of Ijebu-Ode where education was given the pride of place among competing brothers and sisters. His mother had retired as a nursing sister while his father had taught in Ijebu-Ode Grammar School before going into business and making a success of it. Gbenga went to Ijebu-Ode Grammar School like his father and the University of Lagos and after graduating, he went into the Foreign Service. He served in such places like London, Stockholm, Bangui and became high commissioner to South Africa which was his last diplomatic posting before retiring from the ministry of foreign affairs.

After coming back from South Africa he served as Under Secretary-general in the ministry of foreign affairs. These were specially created positions for senior and able diplomats who would have been permanent secretaries in the home ministries. He was considerably young when he retired after the statutory 35 years in service. It was in retirement that he was appointed foreign minister, a position which he deserved and more than merited. He carried himself with dignity, suavity and sure-footedness as foreign minister. He was in his elements. He brought a lot of innovation to his ministry and I remember once being in his office when he had to pass quick messages to some heads of missions. Right there in his office, he was able to communicate on skype with his ambassadors. I am sure older ambassadors would have been envious of this technological advancement in communication.

He was loyal to his diplomatic colleagues and I remember he pushed through a policy by which former career diplomats were allowed to keep their diplomatic passports even after retirement to avoid embarrassment meted out to Nigerians at the entry point to foreign countries. One of course is not sure if this measure will work especially these days when hundreds of members of parliament would insist that they should carry diplomatic passport with the effect that the passports do not carry the respect that they ordinarily should confer on them. As foreign minister, he was patriotic in the defence of Nigeria and was particularly critical of South Africa’s treatment of our people which he must have

found difficult to do publicly because he had many friends in that country but what had to be done, he did not hesitate to do it. During his term in office, he also ensured that considerably large number of Nigerians got elected and appointed into international bodies Jide and institutions. He Osuntokun was a successful foreign minister who was removed because of intra-party politics and fight among the top dogs in the PDP. Gbenga was of course not a politician but a technocrat. He did his bit and he is now gone, he now belongs to the ages. History will be kind to him and he will live in the hearts of those of us who love him. His death to me is like the loss of a junior brother. I pray that the Ashiru family will be able to bear the loss of this brilliant diplomat and a gentleman. My heart goes to Kehinde his wife and to his young children. Adieu, good man.

‘As foreign minister, he was patriotic in the defence of Nigeria and was particularly critical of South Africa’s treatment of our people which he must have found difficult to do publicly because he had many friends in that country but what had to be done, he did not hesitate to do it. During his term in office, he also ensured that considerably large number of Nigerians got elected and appointed into international bodies and institutions’

Do they know it's Christmas? neighbour whose needs must be met whether or not he asks for our help.

If only we could do half of the good we display at Christmas, our country will be a better place to live.

It is at Christmas that we remember that our neighbour is hungry; it is at Christmas that we remember that our neighbour's children cannot go to school because of lack of financial wherewithal; it is at Christmas that we remember to be of good behaviour. Just because it is Christmas, we believe that we should act as saint and not be seen perpetrating evil. Oh. how I wished everyday is Christmas.

Despite our penchant to do good during this season, there are some who are still not touched by this outpouring of love. We do not remember such people because they are far from our thoughts. It is not that we are not aware of their existence. We are aware of them, but we do not remember them. These are the people who have been lying in hospitals for years nursing injuries from which they may never recover except by divine intervention. I am talking, among others, of the paraplegic who can neither move nor do anything for themselves.

Many of them are in orthopaedic hospitals, lying down in one place because of their inability to use their limbs. We tend to forget these people at this season because it does not cross our minds to go look for them. We are only concerned with the needs of those in our immediate environment and do not cast our nets wide for the sick and elderly, who have been abandoned in Old People's Homes. The joy of Christmas should radiate in every corner of the universe and in every home, hospital and rehabilitation centre.

Painfully in the homes of the missing Chibok girls this Christ-

mas, this joy will be missing. It is not that these households do not want to celebrate, but circumstances beyond their control have robbed them of such celebration. In the rustic Chibok community in Borno State, over 200 families will not know the joy of the season. As I was pounding away on my desktop on Tuesday, something made me look up at the television and what i read on the screen pierced my heart.

The Cable News Network (CNN) was running a promo of its interview with some of the missing Chibok girls' parents. The girls were kidnapped from their school last April 15 and since then they have remained in captivity. For eight months, their parents have not heard from the girls nor do they know where these children are being kept. When the girls were snatched in April the world rose in condemnation of their abduction.

The United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), among other powerful countries, promised to assist Nigeria in getting back the girls. Nobody knows how far they have gone in making good their promises. Are they still interested in helping us get the girls? Is there any hope of getting all the girls back intact? How committed is the Federal Government to the rescue of the girls? It is sad that these girls will be spending their first Christmas away from home in captivity.

I watched dejected as two parents - a man and a woman - spoke of the trauma of a Christmas without their children. The man said : ''Every Christmas, we come together as a family and we are happy. How can we be happy now, when one of us is not here?'' The woman said : ''There is nothing I can say, it has happened. It is a bad Christmas''. If those in power were

to be in these parents' shoes, I am sure they would have spoken in like manner.

How can any parent, no matter how heartless he or she may be, celebrate Christmas knowing that his or her daughter is in kidnappers' den. The most heartrending of it all is that we do not even know if the girls are still with their abductors, sold into slavery or married off. For as long as these girls remain in captivity so long will their parents be pining away in anguish and sorrow, thinking of what would have been if their daughters were with them.

These parents can no longer know the joy of Christmas. Their homes were once bubbling at a season like this, with laughter ringing out from children, friends and relations.

Painfully, this season, the reverse

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Lawal Ogienagbon lawal.ogienagbon@thenationonlineng.net SMS ONLY: 08099400204, 08112661612

will be the case and it may be so for a long time, with the way the government is going about the rescue of the girls. How do you wish parents like this, Merry Christmas.

That's a tough call.

Favour seekers

HE Quran and Bible enjoin us to be cheerful givers.

These holy books also tell us that whatever good we do with our right hand should not be known to the left. Many people, however, find it difficult to live up to these injunctions. Some give to show off or to curry the favour of those in power. For others, their giving is pay back time for favour once done them. They do not give to attract the blessing of God, they give for political and other reasons.

Last Saturday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held a fund raising for its presidential candidate, Dr Goodluck Jonathan and some individuals and institutions virtually

broke the bank in order to be seen donating towards ''a worthy cause''.

In a society where many are dying of hunger; where there are no good roads; where the hospitals are ''mere consulting clinics''; where power is unstable, N21.7billion was raised within the twinkling of an eye. The donors did not give because they love the president, they gave in order to be in his good book and to be the first to be considered for those juicy contracts when the time comes.

You do not give a sitting president a billion naira or more for nothing; you are saving towards the rainy day when your donation will speak for you. Is that a cheerful giver? No, that is a favour seeker.

‘In the homes of the missing Chibok girls this Christmas, joy will be missing. It is not that these households do not want to celebrate, but circumstances beyond their control have robbed them of such celebration’

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

20

COMMENTS

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AST Saturday, Odia Ofeimum’s 1914 showpiece dance drama of the centenary year was staged at the MUSON centre, Lagos. It traced the loss of our sense of community to the subversion of our undoubtedly superior social structure by fortune-seekers from a hostile environment where ‘live was nasty ,brutish and a short’ with a prevailing culture of ‘the survival of the of the fittest’ .

Their rape of their new conquered ‘garden of Aden’, where you don’t have to work hard to survive was aided and sustained through the introduction of Christian religion in the south and reliance on existing Islam in the north. It is significant to note that the foreign invaders were indifferent to how the south and the north worshipped their God. Of greater interest was how slaves and later farm produce needed badly in their plantations and factories get to the sea ports en route America and Europe.

As it was before and after 1914, so it is today. What has happened is a change of paradigm. Globalisation, the new economic relations, celebrated as the solution to poverty and inequality in the world which supports government subsidy of $2 for every head of cow owned by a pastoralist in developed economies of the west in the circumstance where 75% of our compatriots live below a dollar a day can be regarded as the worst form of slavery.

But just as our forebears were persuaded by desperate men in search of ‘gold, glory and honour’, that slavery and later colonization were the only way to economic prosperity, our today’s leaders, have accepted the current unequal economic relations as the only way to resolving our crisis of underdevelopment.

Unfortunately at the Agip Hall of MUSON centre last week where Odia and many gifted Nigerian youths called attention to our past folly of seeking external solution to our crisis of underdevelopment, there were neither presidential nor gubernatorial aspirants. President Jonathan’s economic wizards were conspicuously absent. There were no representatives of Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN), Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and Transformation Ambassadors

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IKE the drop of rain that brings relief after a prolonged period of drought, the emergence of General Muhammad Buhari (GMB) as presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, has already brought considerable joy and relief to a few Nigerians who see the Generals’s General as yet another hope and the APC as the only credible platform that can save Nigeria from the current state of hopelessness.

Of course the PDP never believed the APC could manage the presidential primaries successfully considering the pedigree of aspirants and considering the way such exercises had gone in the past. But with the outcome of the delegates election and the unwavering support other contestants have openly given to endorse GMB, it is clear to everyone now that APC means business with this election and the party is set to give Nigeria the type of real leadership that can bring about genuine transformation, not the types we see on television adverts that derive from artist impressions of development projects.

There is somehow a semblance between the GMB candidacy and HOPE 93; the campaign platform used by the late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola. The general acceptance of the former head of state was just like the case with Abiola; cuts across tribes and religion even when the other party tried with a lot of sweat to paint the APC flagbearer in negative religious and ethnic colours. The level of trust that the low and mighty have expressed towards the General, deriving from his track record of integrity in public and private undertakings, is akin to the general trust men and women, the old and the young had towards Abiola. We all knew Abiola would not tamper with our collective wealth because he already had more enough, and today we know that GMB cannot do it; he did not do it when he was much younger, it is not now that he would start the ugly game that the present ruling party has elevated to statecraft.

GMB offers us hope, against the present gloom and despair in the land. The gloom is all around us as a nation. It is present in the failure of the ruling government to offer any

Odia’s 1914 Centenary Dance Drama of Nigeria, (TAN), Arewa Consultative forum, Yoruba Council of Elders, Igbo Elders Forum and all other groups that have contributed to the exploitation of the ignorance of our people since independence.

How can we break the cycle of poverty, without first understanding the issues at stake?

It can also be argued that it has been more of hypocrisy and conspiracy rather than ignorance. Is it not too much of a coincidence that those who insisted we cannot end our cycle of poverty by putting our fate in the hands of those who cannot solve the social problems of their own societies without first promoting chaos in the conquered territories were haunted down?.

Awo realized ignorance was the bane of the society and attacked it with free education. For a healthy and harmonious relationship, he advocated a federal arrangement based on equality of the major ethnic groups. He was labelled a communist and sent to jail. Murtala Mohammed insisted we must seek home solution instead of reliance on strategies imposed by those whose survival depends on our inability to manage our affairs; he was murdered by a drunken Dimka. MKO Abiola spoke of reparation for over 400 years of exploitation; he won an election but died in prison in the presence of representatives of western powers. Buhari who during his first coming as military Head of State simi-

larly insisted solution to crisis of underdevelopment must be home grown suffered similar fate. For rejecting the IMF’s bitter economic pill and insisting we would have to produce grains, if we must eat grains, he was in the night of many knives deposed by Babangida who reversed all his policies and went on to accept IMF liberalization policy. The result was the sharing of our national patrimony among privileged members of the ruling class and the opening up of our market to the importation of labour of other societies leading to crisis of unemployment for our youths.

Odia’s centenary drama dance is a call on us to take another look at our crisis of underdevelopment. Can we continue to put our fate in the hands of those motivated only by the welfare of their own people, who turned our oil boom to oil doom, openly criticized corruption by our leaders but have no qualms holding on to proceeds of corruption? As 2015 approaches, the choice of those who have since independence insisted on leaders who will not question their vision of society is clear. We will delude ourselves to assume the west, motivated only by self-interest will suddenly be on the side of the people China and India our new friends are equally are equally motivated by self-interest. A few years back, some crooked Indians masquerading as foreign investors,

aided by some unpatriotic Nigerians secured huge bank facilities to establish textile industries. Over 70% of the funds went into importation of machinery and raw materials from India. Shortly afterwards, all the textile firms asked to be declared bankrupt while Nigeria market became flooded with textile products from India channelled through some European countries. It is also on record how India we had thought would help us resolve the problem of our jinxed iron and steel industry colluded with some unpatriotic politicians to end our dream of an iron and steel industry.

China has outwitted the West in flooding our markets with substandard goods.

As Akin Oyebode recently put it, the celebrated transformation of our airports is largely done by replacing the old tiles with cheap Chinese tiles. Seventy percent of the $500m Chinese loan secured to build new airports will likely go back to Chinese firms. It has also allowed corrupt government officials bring in unskilled Chinese workers in droves with many of them ending up selling wares in open market or ‘amala and ewedu’ in road-side eateries.

In our struggle to overcome our crisis of underdevelopment and end the cycle of poverty and misery, among our people, the West whose interest it is to keep us down in order to sustain the high standard of living of their people cannot be a trusted ally.

‘Odia’s centenary drama dance is a call on us to take another look at our crisis of underdevelopment. Can we continue to put our fate in the hands of those motivated only by the welfare of their own people, who turned our oil boom to oil doom, openly criticized corruption by our leaders but have no qualms holding on to proceeds of corruption?’

Why Buhari is man for the season

By Abdulwahaab Oba reasonable explanation for its inability to end the spate of killings in the north-east, the gloom is there in the home of every mother who has a daughter among the over 200 Chibok girls now gone without trace for almost 300 days; it is there in the home of every mother who has lost a son or daughter to the slaughter’s slab of Bokko Haram, it is there in the heart of every woman who has suddenly become a widow because of the failure by government to provide security for the nation. It is there in the heart of every Internally Displaced Person, men and women who were once home owners but have become homeless today, men and women who used to feed others but today depend on rations given by Victim Support Fund etc. The gloom is there in the downturn in our national economy where the naira has defied their economic logic and continued its free fall. The gloom is compounded by the federal government’s refusal to satisfactorily give account of our collective wealth there by denying states governments their statutory portions and the people the necessary dividends of democracy.

Nigerians are appalled, the atmosphere is uncertain. It is sad that we have a leadership that has so much divided us along ethnic and religious lines that differences we thought were gone are suddenly appearing and becoming stirring factors in dealing with one another. The labour of our heroes past; those who told us that though tribe and tongue may differ in brotherhood we stand, have since been frustrated because we have a leadership that mocks the leaders of yesterday and deride their contributions to the growth of the nation all because they want to become the ‘founder ‘of a new Nigeria. They have so much elevated sycophancy and deceit to high heavens, that the only thing you need to get their attention is form a group of ‘transformers’ who go about collecting dubious signatures

to ‘convince’ a man they knew was going to run to run. We have ‘transformers’ who sing and dance on the grave of thousands of victims of Boko Haram while the transformers we need to power our home are not available.

And that is why the Buhari candidacy is offering something better. It is giving us hope that Nigeria can still be what our forefathers dreamt it to be. The APC has practical records of doing it well, of nurturing hope and bringing joy to people in the states where it hold sways today that the developments in those states are enough campaign about what the party can do. Go to Lagos. Go to Rivers. Go to Kano. Go to Sokoto, Kwara, Edo and other states under the rule of APC and compare the rate of genuine transformations there with what the PDP has been able to do even when they have access to fund better than their counterparts.

GMB is running with these states. GMB is offering the same opportunity for Nigeria at the larger scale. A GMB presidency will bring to bear on the nation the collective contributions of all men of goodwill who desires genuine transformation for this nation, men and women who have seen the lies and deceit of the PDP which in many states have been unable to manage its primaries. Day by day, the PDP is losing the confidence of Nigeria and with the emergence of GMB as candidate of the APC, the tide is turning against the ruling party because Nigerians want real change, not cosmetic projections by armchair economists.

Listen to the words of hope offered by the people’s General: ý”My nomination is not because I am better than any of the other contestants. I see it as a tribute and mark of confidence to carry the torch as we all join hands to rescue our dear country Nigeria, from those who have led us into the current state of insecurity, poverty, sectarian divide and hopelessness among our people.

What I say today is for all Nigerians: Chris-

tian and Muslim, southern and northern, rich and poor, young and old, man and woman.

We are all citizens of Nigeria. There is no dividing line among us that I care to honour.

Either we advance as one or fail altogether.

My choice and my colleagues’ choice and wish are that we progress together. Preserving the nation’s future is a scared obligation to all of us in this party. Leaders should be wholly committed to fulfilling this obligation otherwise they have no business being leaders. Sadly, the current administration does not believe in this obligation. By their actions they are leading us to calamity.

At international conferences, the Nigerian delegation is usually among the largest but at the same time the least effective. Our president should have the status and the voice of Africa’s largest nation. But in political influence we are among the weakest.”

Finally, Buhari asked: “Shall we continue in a situation where 250 of our daughters have been abducted and the government has been unable to rescue them or provide credible information about what steps they are taking?

“Shall we live in a nation where several people were trampled to death in search of jobs in a stadium and yet no one has taken responsibility for the tragedy?

This is the man for the people, the leader long awaited.

• Oba writes from Ilorin

‘We have ‘transformers’ who sing and dance on the grave of thousands of victims of Boko Haram while the transformers we need to power our home are not available’

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

21

COMMENTS

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CLOSED the first part of my letter last week with the following words: “I

know you have what it takes to change and save Nigeria. I wish you luck in your election – and I wish Nigeria luck”.

I mean those words sincerely. Your record in our country’s public service shows that you honestly hate public corruption, and that you can sincerely wage war on, and suppress, public corruption. I have also read your manifesto and, from the simplicity of its presentation, I am persuaded that you sincerely mean all you have outlined in it. Though I have ceased belonging to any political party for a long time, I believe it will be good for our brutally vandalized and tottering country if we voters choose you as president at this critical time.

Our mutual sincerity encourages me to utter the following pleas and words of advice. Certainly you are aware that many Nigerians are concerned and even fearful about the persistent claims by some of the Hausa-Fulani political leadership that their Hausa-Fulani nation must dominate Nigeria as a sort of colonial overlord. You know as much as anybody that that thorny fact has been a very major factor in the making of our country’s disunity, conflicts, and instability. Usually, people do not accuse you personally of sharing in that mentality; but since you are Hausa-Fulani, and since some of your people perpetually noise that claim and make efforts to achieve it, it is a large though mostly unspoken factor in the coming presidential election. It would be a pity if this should cause serious problems for such a good candidate as you at this time.

Therefore, I urge you: use your undoubted capabilities to put an end to this terrible tradition – in the interest of our country.

Realistically, no single one of our nationalities can dominate all the rest of us. It is impossible. How can one nationality, even

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Letter to Gen. Buhari – 2 if it is larger than all the rest of us put together, dominate all the rest of us in any full or lasting sense? And we do not have any numerically dominant nation like that.

Our three largest nationalities (HausaFulani, Yoruba and Igbo) are very close in population size, and each of them is a minority in Nigeria. How can the HausaFulani succeed in subduing and dominating the large and capable Yoruba or Igbo – not to talk of all the nationalities of Nigeria? Talking about domination and trying to achieve it has only bred hostility, crookedness, and instability in our country. It is time we remove that obstacle from the path to our country’s stability, progress and prosperity – and you can lead us to do it. Please sincerely strive to do so. Let it be one of your immortal gifts to our country.

Nigeria is a country in which we all can prosper – and together build a world power.

That leads me to another but related subject. The reason most of the Hausa-Fulani elite are forever angling for a bigger, more powerful, and more resource-controlling Federal Government, is that they believe that, by having that kind of federal government and ensuring their own control of it, they will be able to subdue and dominate all of Nigeria. But it is a nebulous and disruptive venture. Yes, they have succeeded in pulling power and resources into the hands of the federal government, but have their homeland or anybody else gained anything from that? The most important result is that the federal government has become a podgy, ponderous, incompetent and repulsively corrupt monstrosity, a constant manipulator of elections and other vital processes across our land, a destroyer of development and progress in our country, and a disgrace to our country in the wide world. You acknowledge almost

URKISH President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is obviously dangling at the bottom end of the political chain. He is fighting the battle of his life to survive a forthcoming election in June 2015, which he apparently fear will nail his political coffin. Desperate time, he has heard, calls for desperate measures. These measures, he thinks, should involve suffocating the press. So last weekend, Erdogan renewed attacks on a section of the media outside his pockets, arresting over 20 journalists and other media workers.

The outpouring of condemnation that greeted the media attack was expected. The criticism came from countries, organisations and prominent individuals, including the European Union, EU, a body Turkey has been craving to join. But the Turkish dictator would not have any of that. Erdogan, instead, gave his critics a bashing, particularly the EU. Arguing that the assaults did not constitute an attempt to gaggle the press, he retorts: "The EU should mind its own business and keep its own opinions to itself. What do you [Europe] know about these operations to feel yourself competent to make such comments? We have no concern about what the EU might say, whether the EU accepts us as members or not." He would further claim that the operations were meant to stop "dirty operations" aimed at toppling his regime.

The EU had rightly said the raids and arrests "are incompatible with the freedom of media, which is a core principle of democracy." Unfortunately, the attempt by the Turkish authorities to silence the media didn't begin last Sunday, only that it reached its crescendo then. The recent raids is obviously an offshoot of his renewed campaign against Futhullah Gulen, his friend-turned-foe.

For example, Emre Uslu, a columnist critical of the government and eastwhile lecturer, said after the assault, "Unlike previous threats, I now face much more intense and organized threats for criticizing the government. First I received death threats from organized groups. I faced threats from the PKK, which is very likely to have been coordinated with the intelligence agency to scare me off of criticism.

Even a PKK militant, who was sent to Istanbul to kill me, was arrested by the police.

"The government pressured my university to either silence my tweets and writings or fire me. The

as much as this in your manifesto.

The federal government’s obstruction to development is hurting all parts of our country. For instance, our Northern Region saw a great deal of development and progress under the regional leadership of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello. Since all the power and resources for development have been gradually pulled together at the federal centre, has the North not steadily declined in economic progress? Is the same not true of the East and the West? Obviously, the answer is to take away much of the ponderous powers of the federal government, reenergize the different parts of our country, and thus bring development close to our people again. Empower the elite of our various parts to handle the development of their people, and our country will pick up again. Moreover, leave each part to elect the local men and women who will handle their affairs, and stop the destructive assumption that those who control the federal government have the prerogative to choose rulers for all parts of Nigeria. Flush corruption out of our elections. These are things you are capable of leading us to accomplish. We have high hopes in you - and we will support you.

Then, I wish to offer some counsel concerning your fighting corruption. Our country’s experiences show that going after those who have been corrupt and punishing them is an unreliable and problematic approach, potentially capable of generating division and even conflict. This is because, in a country in which ALL public servants (politicians, civil servants, judges, and all) have descended into the culture of corruption, punishing some people tends to degenerate into a process of selective justice. Groups that feel that their own leaders are being punished selectively cannot be blamed if they feel bitter. For instance,

Gbogun gboro even though I hate public corruption as a destructive evil and fought it passionately throughout my service to Nigeria, it hurts me to remember that, among the generally corrupt Nigerian leadership of today, my prominent kinsman like Bode George was sent to prison, or that the federal government started a vindictive case against Bola Tinubu some time ago. If punishment is one of the weapons you decide to employ against corruption, please make sure that the process is manifestly even-handed.

‘The federal government’s obstruction to development is hurting all parts of our country. For instance, our Northern Region saw a great deal of development and progress under the regional leadership of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello. Since all the power and resources for development have been gradually pulled together at the federal centre, has the North not steadily declined in economic progress? Is the same not true of the East and the West?’

Turkey’s media raids

By Henry Noble university I was teaching at was only able to resist the government pressure for one year, after which they told me they couldn't resist the pressure anymore and fired me in September 2013, even after classes had already been scheduled.

"Even after I lost my job, the government has not stopped harassing me. Then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan directly pointed a finger at me during his March 2014 election victory speech. He filed lawsuits against me, and ordered the intelligence agency and government agencies to find any possible reason to harass me, but they found nothing illegal."

The allegation by the Turkish President that the media houses were being used to carry out dirty operations targeted at removing him from power is both vague and laughable. And his government's reaction to the EU's condemnation reflects the position of a regime going southward. Is it not the same Erdogan that frantically laboured to convince everyone that he was passionate to have his country join the EU? How did his age-long associate suddenly become his greatest foe and a terrorist? And why?

Fate has been gracious to Erdogan in an unprecedented manner. Second chance in politics, or in life general, is rare. But for him, it has been different.

Even though he was disgraced out of office as a mayor and hauled into prison, he later bounced back as a legislator...then a prime minister... and now a president. It appears, however, that he is now determined to squander what is left of his political capital. I don't know of any despot in recent age that successfully crippled the press. The kind of war he has started can’t even succeed in Nigeria, a country of shorter political and democratic history. Turkish new "emperor" is surely embarking on a journey leading to political oblivion.

The recent operations against the Zaman media group are once again the result of the group's efforts to expose the wrongdoings in the government.

Pro-government dailies claim that the Teshiyeciler group of the Nurcu network - the first time I have heard of this organization -- was one of the reasons for the operation. When I looked into who this Teshiyeciler group was, I found the dirty business of the intelligence agency.

Teshiyeciler group appears to be one of the small Nurcu groups with a few hundred followers. Their leader, Molla Mehmet Dogan, is nothing but ignorant. It seems that intelligence officers wanted to penetrate the Nurcu network through the Teshiyeciler group and use them as a shield to find al-Qaeda supporters among them in order to label the non-violent Nurcu groups as a violent organization. When al-Qaeda affiliated people - encouraged by intelligence agencies - contacted the Teshiyeciler group, police raided the operation and destroyed the intelligence agency's plan to criminalize the peaceful Nurcu network, this of course infuriated the intelligence agency. That is why many of these people are arrested.

You decide, which one is a crime? Plotting against peaceful networks in order to criminalize them and turn the peaceful Nurcu networks into recruitment centres for al-Qaeda or requesting that government authorities not engage in these activities?

‘Fate has been gracious to Erdogan in an unprecedented manner. Second chance in politics, or in life general, is rare. But for him, it has been different.

Even though he was disgraced out of office as a mayor and hauled into prison, he later bounced back as a legislator...then a prime minister... and now a president. It appears, however, that he is now determined to squander what is left of his political capital’

22

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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25

THE NATION

EDUCATION

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

INSIDE

Fed Govt warns against funds misuse MINISTER of Education Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau has vowed that serious punishment is awaiting any vice chancellor who invests the intervention funds provided by the Federal Government to earn interest..

-Page 45

Six hours sleep helped me succeed, says Crawford’s best

-Page 46

CAMPUS LIFE

• In the spirit of the season...Merry Christmas

•A 10-page section on campus news, people, opinions etc

Student dies in Customs chase

-Page 29

The fight for financial and administrative autonomy for local governments enjoys the National Assembly’s support. But the Houses of Assembly are against such autonomy. Public school teachers say they will support it if the federal and state governments pay their salaries.

L

OCAL government autonomy is a touchy issue. While local government workers desire it, others, particularly public primary school teachers, abhor the idea. The reason is not far-fetched. They remember the 1990s as the dark years of primary education - when teachers were not paid in many parts of the country for between six and 12 months. Back then (1992-1994), the local governments were responsible for funding primary education and paying teachers' salaries. The councils’inability to pay teachers regularly from their allocations led to the creation of an account managed jointly by the states and local governments. It is from this account that primary school teachers’ salaries are removed first before the allocation is disbursed to the various local governments.

However, with the National Assembly granting the 774 local government councils full financial and administrative autonomy, teachers

Our condition for local govt autonomy, by teachers

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie, Uyoatta Essiet (Uyo) and Ndidi Okodili (Owerri), Odunayo Ogunmola (Ado-Ekiti), Jide Orintunsin (Minna), Nicholas Kalu (Cross River), Adetayo Johnson (Ibadan), Clarice Azuatalam (Port Harcourt) and Adekunle Jimoh (Ilorin)

are afraid the dark ages may be making an unwelcomed comeback. In October, the National Assembly amended Section 124 of the 1999 Constitution to the effect that local councils should function as a tier of government, independent of state government control.

But the state Houses of Assembly have rejected independence for local councils. They gave the feedback to the National Assembly on the

amendment last Friday. This may not be unconnected to the pressure mounted by the NUT, which visited the various houses of Assembly to air their grievances against council autonomy.

However, despite not getting the 2/ 3 vote it needed from the state houses of Assembly, the Senate President, David Mark, said the National Assembly would continue to press for autonomy for local councils "until

common sense prevails."

While the National Assembly is fighting for autonomy for local councils, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) has vowed to oppose it. Its members, who spoke with The Nation in Lagos, Benue, Niger, Plateau, Abia, Ekiti, Ondo, Rivers, Cross River and other places, threatened to paralyse the basic and secondary education sub-sector should primary school teachers be returned to the care of local councils.

Recalling the suffering of teachers under councils’ control, two decades •Continued on page 26

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

26

EDUCATION

ASUU urgesFashola to rescue LASU from ‘tyranny’

T

HE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Abuja Zone, has faulted the leadership style of the Vice Chancellor of the Lagos State University (LASU), Prof. John Obafunwa.

The union also called on the visitor to the university and Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) to rescue the situation.

Coordinator of ASUU, Abuja Zone, Dr. Suleimen Mohammed, told journalists in Abuja that the VC should be called to order for victimizing ASUU members and reducing promotion criteria to mere reward system.

He said: "As we know, evil is contagious and like an epidemic, would soon spread across the universities in Nigeria. ASUUABUJA Zone hereby calls on wellmeaning Nigerians to join forces with ASUU to crush this evil that has crept into LASU before it destroys the university. In the same vein, the Union calls on the Visitor to the University and the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fasola (SAN), to urgently come to the aid of the university and rescue it from tyranny, misrule and mediocrity, so as to restore the eroded past glory of the University.

"Promotion amongst academics in any normal University is based on scholarly productivity and time-in rank provisions as specified in the Appointments and Promotions

From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

guidelines of a University. However, Obafunwa has eroded this culture in the Lagos State University. He has reduced promotions criteria to mere reward system, to reward those who assist him in his maladministration and misrule; yea, those who help him to destroy LASU. While J. O. Obafunwa is yet to circulate the Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER) Forms for the 2013 promotion exercise as stipulated in the promotions guideline of LASU, Obafunwa has selectively promoted his cronies and partners in crime!

"Apart from this selective promotion programme for cronies, Obafunwa introduced an alien concept into the promotion exercise of the academics at LASU. He devised a new term promotion, 'promotion to vacancy' in LASU. Under this scheme, academics are supposed to be promoted if and only if there is vacancy for such promotion. This is worrisome and betrays the inexperience of the Vice Chancellor in the proper running of a University system. The truth is that professors in a particular department have their areas of expertise and one cannot block the promotion of another.

"Only recently, Obafunwa and his stooges/cronies turned their destructive machinery against the incumbent Chairperson of ASUULASU, Dr Adekunle A. Idris, stripping him of the PhD he earned

several years ago, all in the name of the Senate of the Lagos State University not properly wording the degree.

"The sin of these men for which they and many others in the Lagos State University are being persecuted is simply their insistence on observance

of due process and strict adherence to best academic practices. We believe these men are men of courage who dare to fight for justice for all and specifically for the system in which they work- LASU." Present at the briefing was the former ASUU President and trustee

member, Dr. Dipo Fashina who also said strike may not be ruled out of this situation if nothing is done adding that justice and equality must prevail. He said ASUU has held series of strike for the same cause in the past and that the voice of the union is very strong on issues like this.

•CAREER DAY AT TOAMY: Some pupils ofToamy Private School in their choice cover outfits on its career Day held, recently.

Our condition for local govt autonomy, by teachers ago, Akwa Ibom State chairman of the NUT Comrade Etim Ukpong said local council autonomy would deal a death knell to public primary education.

"In an event the provision is revised and there is no joint account any longer it will therefore means that we should forget completely about public primary education in Nigeria. To vote yes to council autonomy is to vote yes to the death of public education in Nigeria," he said.

The Niger State Secretary of the union, Comrade Labran Garba, said though the teachers are being blackmailed for their stance, they are more concerned about their teachers.

"We are not opposed to local government autonomy, but our concern is informed by the harrowing experience our members had when local governments pay teachers' salary. It was a sad memory. Virtually all the councils owed salaries for upwards of 6 months to a year. It was a period of incessant strikes.

"We are not ready to be subjected to the hardship of the dark days. This is the bone of contention for us at NUT. We are been blackmailed as working against councils' autonomy, all we are after is the welfare of our members," Garba said.

Mr Adesegun Raheem, the NUT Chairman, Lagos State wing, said the National Assembly was aware of the feelings of teachers about the autonomy issue. He said there are other ways to solve the abuse of local councils by state governments without putting teachers at risk.

He said: "The proposed bill on the autonomy of the local government will not do public primary schools any good. It was been practised before it was scrapped because of the excesses of the local government chairmen and we feel that if governors of various state are suppressing the activities of the local government by making use of their money illegally, I think as we have JAAC (Joint Accounts Allocation Committee) at the state level we also have FAAC (Federal Accounts Allocation Committee) at the federal level. If the commissioners for finance and the accountant general in so many states could stage a walk out at FAAC when appropriate money was not disbursed, why not local government chairmen staging a walk out from JAAC?"

Raheem said further that primary education should be taken away from local governments completely and jointly managed by the state and Federal Government.

He said: "The funding of primary education should be taken away from local government to either the state or back to the Universal Basic Education Commission which of cause metamorphosed from the National Primary Education Commission. If this autonomy scales through, we as professional teachers and a trade union, and of course as taxpayers whose tomorrow hang on the balance, we will make sure that all schools in Nigeria both primary and secondary would be shut down till that law is reversed."

Already, some form of joint-funding of primary education is going on between the Federal and state government under the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme. The UBE Act of 2004 allows the Federal Government to match whatever the state government allocates for primary education with two per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The money is disbursed for infrastructural development, instructional material, staff training, but not used to pay salaries.

The Chairman of NUT, Rivers state, Comrade Geoffrey Worgu, said local council autonomy does not appeal to teachers because of what they suffered between 1990 and 1994 when they had to queue at council offices to get their salaries, which was not always sure.

"Because then Education Secretaries and Accounts Supervisors turned themselves to demigods and seized teachers salaries at will," he said.

Dr. Cletus Uchenna Okeke, NUT Chair, Imo State wing, said those who retired back then did not get their pensions as a result of local government's insensitivity.

"All primary school teachers who retired during that period and even soon after were not paid their pensions and gratuities. Most of the lucky surviving retirees of that era are still suffering the effect of that neglect by local government councils," he said.

On his part, Kwara State NUT Chairman, Comrade Musa Abubakar, said teachers would not mind autonomy for local councils as long as the JAAC remains.

He said: "We are not against local government autonomy, we don't want a repeat of what obtained in the past.

Because between 1992 and 1994 primary school teachers in this country saw hell under the authority of the local government; that time was a period of total collapse of the primary school system, it was the period of dark moment in this country.

"With introduction of joint account between the state and local governments the system has been stabilized and primary school teachers receive their salaries without any hitch.

We are saying that if the local government is granted autonomy, federal government should allow the states to run primary schools. After all there is a Supreme Court judgment that favoured the state on the issue of primary schools."

Abubakar added that local councils have been unable to discharge their other responsibilities properly and therefore should not be saddled with a responsibility as important as education.

"Check out the local government areas in the country today, you see that nothing is working. Even their statutory responsibilities they are not equal to the task not to talk of education which is the bedrock of our development," he said.

However, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Babba Kaita argued against the continued

existence of the JAC on his Facebook page that it has failed the purpose for which it was established.

He said: "Many may like to argue about the constitutional provision of joint account operation between the local and state government as a safety valve. This was a mechanism put in place to check the menace of public funds pilfering and ensure accountability and probity. However, this mechanism has since lost out to the creativity of Governors who take advantage of a poor and obsolete system of public financial accounting procedure in a manner that defies logic, common sense and patriotism.

Governors have over the time perfected the art of muscling the local governments using their supervisory role to usurp the powers of the councils."

Sir Raymond Ichita, Chairman NUT Abia State, said he trusts state governments to manage education better than the local councils. Apart from not paying salaries on time, Ichita said local councils could sack teachers in a bid to save money.

"The teachers can be victimized by the local government authority; they can sack them at any time. We don't trust the local government chairmen because when you give them such money, they will utilize it anyhow they like. They may want to use teachers' salary to do one project or the other - maybe to pay back later - and while they may want to do that, another problem might crop up which they would use the money for while teachers' salary will keep lingering," he said.

Some senior staff of Aba North and South local government councils who spoke anonymously described the teachers' fears as unwarranted. They said that the autonomy would not affect their salary, but would help the council manage its funds properly.

One of them said: "What the teachers

We are not opposed to local government autonomy, but our concern is informed by the harrowing experience our members had when local governments pay teachers' salary. It was a sad memory. Virtually all the councils owed salaries for upwards of 6 months to a year. It was a period of incessant strikes

are scared of is that some local government may be looking at what they get monthly and what projects they have, and might decide to prune their staff strength to match their wage bill. But for me, it will be in the teachers' best interest and help the local government manage schools at the grassroots very well. Have you gone to some schools and see how they are?

Such would be a thing of the past if local governments are allowed to manage schools in their domains. That is why we are always referred to as the government that is closer to the people in the hinterland."

In Jos, Plateau State, where teachers protested the proposed council autonomy penultimate week, the NUT Chairman, Comrade Gunshin Yarlings said granting autonomy to councils would amount to retrogression as councils do not consider education as a priority.

"The local governments never took primary education as priority thus did not care to pay their contribution of a mandatory 15 per cent of the teacher's emolument to the pension fund meant for the payment of pensions and gratuities of primary school teachers.

"The granting of autonomy to Local Government Councils therefore will amount to the Labo ur of our heroes past to be in vain because the establishment of National Primary Education Commission (NPEC) now Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and subsequent creation of the State joint Local Government Accounts were done to reverse the trend of Local government councils abuse of teachers," he said.

However, chairman of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Samson Mufuyai, said lack of autonomy has hampered development at the grassroots.

Mufuyai said: "There is so much developmental deficit at the grassroots and because of the joint account. Life has become more and more difficult for the people at the rural areas, resulting to the worrisome rural-urban drift in search of better life and to have access to basic social amenities.

Mufuyai suggested that since the JAC is an issue, teachers' salaries should be sent to SUBEB directly from the federal government for onward payment to them.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

27

EDUCATION

Fed Govt seeks impactful research as FUTA graduates 6,085

T

HE Federal government has called on Nigerian universities to be committed to conducting relevant research to address the immediate technological, economic, social, educational and health needs of the country.

President Goodluck Jonathan, who is the Visitor to the Federal University of Technology, Akure made this call at the combined 25th and 26th Convocation for 2012/ 2013 and 2013/2014 sessions at the new auditorium of the university last Friday and Saturday.

Dr. Jonathan who was represented by Prof Peter Azikwe Onwualu of the National Universities Commission (NUC) said: "Universities play critical roles in the attainment of societal growth and national transformation. I wish to state unequivocally that the expectation of government and the Nigerian public is for FUTA to continue to be a model for other universities in terms of the quality and uniqueness of its classrooms, libraries, laboratories and students' hostels. All these create the ambience for a good teaching and learning environment, which altogether play significant roles in the teaching and learning process."

The President also commended the leadership of the university for doing a good job.

"Let me commend the leadership of the university, under Prof Adebiyi Daramola. I have carefully monitored University's rate of development and transformation in the last three and half years of his assumption of office as ViceChancellor. I have noted with keen interest the massive investment in facility, infrastructure upgrade, and a tremendous improvement on teaching and learning environment.

I am aware of the current effort towards internationalizing the University, which has led to a number of vibrant collaborations with some American, German and South African Universities involving staff and students' exchange. I am also not unaware of FUTA's rise in global ranking, now coming among best 100 universities in Africa and among the top 10 in Nigeria.

I have information that all academic programmes of this university are fully accredited by the National Universities Commission and

•Okpara

•Chief Babalola (right) with Alhaji Bashir Aminu at the convocation.

T

FUTA is 11th institution to honour Afe Babalola

HE selfless effort of Aare Afe Babalola, (SAN) towards the establishment of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) in the 1980s was rewarded at the university's convocation last Saturday where he was conferred with the honorary Doctor of Management degree.

The Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) shone like a million stars at the colourful ceremony as his citation was read amid reverberating applause in an event that featured the crème-de-la-crème of the society.

FUTA is the 11th institution in Nigeria to honour the legal icon, farmer, and educationist.

Others include: Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti (Fellow,1997), College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti (Fellow,1998), University of Ado-Ekiti (Doctor of Law, 2000), Nigerian Institute of From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

appropriate professional bodies," he said.

The President counseled the graduands to live up to the quality of their training by working hard,

Advance Legal Studies (FNIALS) (Fellow, 2002), Kogi State University (Doctor of Letters, 2012), University of Lagos (Doctor of Law, 2013), University of Jos (Doctor of Law, 2013).

A November 17, 2014 letter with Reference Number FUTA/REG/ CAD/HDC/71 signed the Registrar and Secretary of Council of FUTA Dr. M.O. Ajayi, predicated the award on Babalola's "significant contributions to the growth and development of this university (FUTA) and the nation".

Babalola had, in 1982, waived a N5 million legal in exchange for a federal institution to be established in the then Ondo State. The Alhaji Shehu Shagari-led Federal Government acceded to Babalola's request by citing the Federal Polytechnic in Ado-Ekiti. But when the (Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) government under the leadership of Governor Michael Adekunle Ajasin

heard of the move, the late Ajasin quickly announced the establishment of the Obafemi Awolowo University (now Ekiti State University) also in Ado-Ekiti.

The Federal Government then moved the polytechnic to Akure.

But soon afterwards when FUTA was sighted Akure, the polytechnic, which Afe single-handedly fought for, was moved to Ado-Ekiti, Babalola's homestead.

Aare Babalola, who was the first Chairman of the Governing Council of the polytechnic, invested his resources to ensure the effective take-off of the institution.

After his seven-year tenure as ProChancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) - during which he was voted the best Pro-Chancellor twice - Babalola founded ABUAD to entrench functional and reformatory education in quality all areas.

remaining focused and patriotic.

In his address, the ViceChancellor thanked the Federal Government for releasing funds under the NEEDS assessment initiative. He pledged to utilize the

funds judiciously.

Daramola praised the Council, members of staff and students contributing to FUTA's success.

"The modest success FUTA has achieved over the years is possible because of clear vision and excellent

Insecurity starving education of funds, says expert

T

HE high cost of fighting the insurgency in the Northeast is telling on human capital and economic development in Nigeria, says Mr Garba Abdu Ganger, a management consultant.

Delivering the 2014 Public Lecture

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

of the Nigerian Institute of Training and Development (NITAD) entitled: "Security, Economy and Education: The Way Forward", in Lagos recently, Abdu Ganger said the

•The Assembly Pastor of The Apostolic Church Yaba, Lagos, Emmanuel Olowoyeye and his wife, Deaconess Esther, during a thanksgiving on his completion of his PhD in Religious Studies (New Testament) from the University PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN of Ibadan.

Federal Government needs to pay attention to this cost to avert future problems.

Abdu Ganger explained in his lecture that because of efforts to check insecurity, money that ought to be spent on education, economy and infrastructure is being spent on defense, rehabilitation of displaced people, and repairs.

"Insecurity is a major hindrance to development. Because when there is insecurity, money to be spent on something else is now diverted. Government budgeted N32 billion for insecurity last year; then the National Assembly approved another N60 billion and another 100 million dollars. If government spends that amount on education, we will not be here today," he said.

The lecturer said the cost of insecurity can be direct or indirect.

While direct cost includes medical, legal services, and repairs, he said indirect cost includes loss of investment in human capital and effect of psychological harm, among others. He said indirect cost is worse as it negatively affects future development.

To address insecurity, he advised the government to tackle structural violence caused by poverty and marginalization,

ensure good governance and reeducate the people.

Discussing the topic further, Dr Leni Omoyinmi, a lecturer, said Nigeria has to re-design its education system to be futuristic and not historical.

He said: "It is a philosophy built on the fact that the right education is the education that would make the individual discover his purpose and in discovering your purpose which definitely rely in the future, it won't be part of what has expired. It is something that would be the reason for you to want to continue to live and you are going to be remembered for your purpose. It is only by the fulfillment of this purpose that you are actually fulfilling the mission."

In his speech, the NITAD President, Dr Kayode Ogungbuyi, said the theme of the lecture was apt given the upheavals the nation experienced this year.

"The theme of this year's lecture, 'Security, Economy and Education: The Way Forward', could not have been better chosen given the unending disconnect between security and education with the implications on national economy.

We are all bearing some of the emotional, social and psychological effects of the disconnect," he said.

team work. Management, staff and students work as a team for common purpose under the purposeful direction of the Governing Council with Dr. Mohammed Shata leading," he said.

In his address, the Chancellor, HRH, Alhaji Isa Mustafa, Agwai I, Emir of Lafia, described FUTA as the best technology-focused university in Nigeria.

"I am proud to say that you are one of the luckiest Nigerian graduates who attended a University with world-class academics, very rich academic curricula and of course, the best University of Technology in Nigeria.

At the Convocation 2,095 graduated from the 2012/2013 session with 17 in First Class grade; while 2,229 graduated from the 2013/2014 session with 35 in First Class grade. 1,761 were conferred with the Postgraduate Diploma, Masters and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees. Obinna Michael Okpara of the Department of Bio Chemistry emerged the overall best student.

The highlight of the event was the honorary awards conferred on Legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola and Alhaji Basrir Aminu, Chairman Board of Directors of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency.

Foundation camps teens for Yuletide

D

IVINE Destiny Foundation, a foundation that focuses on bringing out the best in teenagers, will start its 2014 Teenage Camp-out (TEENSCAMP) tomorrow.

The three-day programme, which will feature workshops, seminars, career talks, talent hunt show, and spelling bee, and entrepreneurial training, will hold at the Stars Maritime Academy, Ote-Itele Road, Ota, Ogun State.

Founder of the organisation, Mrs Oluwafunmilola Bayo-Oshilesi, said the programme themed Destined for greatness is opened to teenagers free of charge.

"We want all teenagers to come so we can train them to become independent, help them discover the potentials in them and actualise their goals.

Everything is free, even feeding and accommodation," she said.

•Mrs Bayo-Oshilesi

28

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

EDUCATION CHRISTMAS FUNFARE

School writes off debtors’ fees

A

S part of identifying with the spirit of Christmas, five pupils of Christ LifeForte School, Orisumbare, Lagos had their outstanding tuition fees written off by the school management.

Parents of the five defaulting pupils who had attended the school's Christmas party on Friday last week, and had thereafter gone to pick up their reports card were disappointed as the pupils' respective teachers denied them.

Instead, they were referred to the head teacher Mr John Avornyo who, having listened to their plea, decided to wave off the school fees and directed that affected pupils report cards be handed to the parents with immediate effect. The gesture, which was applauded by the now happy parents, Avornyo explained, was to demonstrate love synonymous with the yuletide season.

According to Avornyo, the management of the school has a culture of carrying parents with financial

•Pupils acting the nativity play

By Sampson Unamka

challenges in the school along.

He said: "The decision of the management is to carry parents who can't afford to pay fees along. It's not every day; and all the time that someone is expected of what you are supposed to be, there are times you go down and there are times you go up".

Avornyo added that the school used the party to express gratitude not only shown to pupils and parents, but the society at large.

Describing Christmas, he said "We see Xmas as a season of love, giving, sharing and forgiving. Today, we are trying to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, and we are closing today finally for the term, so we engage the children to cheer them up" said Avornyo.

The Christmas party which was packaged by D'Groove entertainment had other side attractions including jokes, games, and music among others.

School welcomes ‘Xmas

T

HE Mind Builders School family last week celebrated Christmas with Carol and Concert, with both holding on Wednesday and Friday at the Isheri annexe of the school.

Pupils from the school’s Omole, Central Business District, and Isheri campuses presented plays, carols and other songs, instrumentals, and ballet dance to the delight of parents and guests. They all centered on the theme: Prince of Peace, .

The various ballet presentations were the favourite of most parents.

Participants looked angelic in their pink frocks and ballet shoes while they danced gaily to music that suited the occasion.

The presentations were interspersed with hymns and nine lessons drawn from the Holy Bible. Rev Ibikunle Fatuyi of the All Saints Anglican Church, Ikosi, Ketu, who spoke on The Purpose of Christmas, told the audience that despite the country’s problems, Jesus, as the Prince of Peace, would make a difference in the lives of those who embrace him.

“No matter how difficult things are, you will be visited by the Prince of Peace if you want peace in your family, please embrace Jesus. I have tasted life and I have tasted Christ and I know the difference,” he said.

The school’s Head Teacher, Mr Ezekiel Awe, said the theme was selected because Jesus represents peace.

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

“We looked at what is happening in the nation right now, there is insecurity everywhere, crisis in the northeast, which is creeping into other parts of the country. We need peace in the country, in our various homes and we know Jesus stands for peace. Let his peace reign in our various institutions, homes, schools and everywhere. If we can allow peace to reign, then everything would be normalised,” he said.

The school’s Parents/Teachers’ Association Vice- Chairman, Mrs Mariam Ayoade, said there was a lot for parents thank God for this year.

“Understanding the kind of challenges that we have been through this year, I will say this is a period to be thankful . We should be thankful for grace, we should be thankful for life – with all the bombings, Ebola, the uncertainties that have happened this year – the grace to be here and to be well and happy, and hope to look forward to what life is going to give us, I think we should be thankful,” she said.

The Education Director, Mrs Bolajoko Falore, said God saw the school through the year despite all the challenges.

“Personally I still have to give thanks to God; if not for anything, for the gift of life. The situation in the country might not be so favourable, but we have to thank God. God has been so faithful, he met all our needs,” she said.

•Pupils having fun with Banny at Christ LifeForte School.

Meadow School rewards parents, pupil with return tickets

M

EADOW Hall, a private school in Lagos, has treated her pupils to a spectacular carnival-like Christmas party with the theme: 'Festival of colours', suprising a parent, Mr. Michael Omanuah, and a pupil, Oluwasore Awosile, with star prizes of two return tickets to London and South Africa respectively. It was a courtesy of Rwand Air. Aside, parents and members of the school’s host community also went home with lots of exciting gifts through a raffle draw organised by the school.

"This year's event is quite different from the previous years in the sense that it was not like a regular funfair," the college administrator, Mrs. Joy Oguchi, said.

She added: “This year’s fair was a carnival. It was a very colourful event tied to Christmas celebration and for the first time we had a Santa grotto, giving children opportunity for early

By Adegunle Olugbamila

visit to Santa. Also, at this year's carnival, lots of exciting raffle gifts were won by both members of the Meadow Hall including two return tickets to London anmd South Africa.”

There were other consolation prizes, which included a 2.5KVA power generator, weekend getaway vouchers, bicycles and many more."

Oguchi, who chaired this year’s Carnival Planning Committee, spoke on the importance of the event. "Festival of colours is the 2014 theme for Meadow Hall's annual Family Christmas Carnival. It is an annual event, aimed at providing fun for the whole

•Meadow kids during one of the performances.

family.

“It is all about fun and there is always something for everyone to do no matter the age. It also gives families and parents an opportunity to bond and share playtime with their children," she said.

Through the Meadow Hall consult, which is the teacher training arm of the brand, thousands of teachers have been trained from across the country on different topics that would develop the 21st Century teacher

The event, according to her, provided a platform for various games including toddler zone, rock wall climbing, water slides, bungee run, swimming in the school’s half Olympic-size swimming pool, among others.

Meadow Hall, she said, is a top brand platform providing quality education to pupils from basic to secondary levels.

“Through the Meadow Hall consult, which is the teacher training arm of the brand, thousands of teachers have been trained from across the

country on different topics that would develop the 21st Century teacher.

"Through our Foundation, we have embarked on a school adoption programme, which has allowed us to adopt a public school in our environs; that we now support with resources, teachers and we are now working on erecting a perimeter fence,” she said.

The festival, according to her, targets families in a way that encourages children to get together with families of their friends.

Saving their sight

Their creative best

*CAMPUSES *NEWS *PEOPLE *KUDOS& KNOCKS *GRANTS

Page 42

Page 31

THE NATION

CAMPUS LIFE 0805-450-3104 email: campusbeat@yahoo.com THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.net

email:- campuslife@thenationonlineng.net

A final year Political Science student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) died in an accident last Thursday. The deceased, who was driving an unregistered vehicle, was said to have rammed into a truck while being chased

by Customs officers on the Benin-Ore Road. EZEKIEL EFEOBHOKHAN (400-Level Pharmacy) reports.

Student dies in Customs chase H

IS mates had gone home for the Yuletide, but he chose to remain in school.

Osaretin Meshach Nohuwa, a final year part-time Political Science student at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), stayed back to make some money. But, before he could do that, he died in an accident.

He died last Thursday while being chased by Customs officers in Isior, a community close to the university’s Ugbowo campus.

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the late Osaretin was driving an unregistered vehicle about 11pm when some Customs officers stopped him. Rather than stop, Osaretin sped off.

An eyewitness said the Customs officers chased him. He rammed into a truck as he tried to overtake a bus.

The eyewitness said: “The car, which the victim was driving, was on high speed. He tried to overtake a commercial bus, but he did not know a truck was in front of the bus. He rammed into the rear of the truck. The truck dragged the car to a distance before it stopped at a spot close to Eddygrace Filling Station.

“The victim died on the spot.

When we got to the scene, we discovered that the vehicle was not registered. Then, another person with the same type of unregistered car later came to the scene and told us that the victim was being chased

by Customs officers.”

Police investigation showed that the late Osaretin was contracted by an Edo-based car dealer to bring Tokunbo vehicles from Lagos to Benin.

A police officer, who declined to give his name, confirmed the accident, saying policemen on patrol saw the accident. His words: “There was an accident involving a red unregistered Mazda coming from Oluku side and a truck. The victim, who was occupant of the car, died instantly but I cannot confirm if he

•The wreckage of the car. Inset: The late Osaretin

was a student.”

The policeman said after Osaretin’s body was deposited at University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) morgue, his parents came to retrieve the body for burial.

“We advised them to wait until in-

vestigation and autopsy are completed. This is because there could be court case later and given that the victim was the one, who hit the truck from behind, we would have charged him for the damage he caused to the truck if he were to be

PHOTOS: EZEKIEL EFEOBHOKHAN

alive,” the policeman said.

It was all quiet at the Noma Hostel in Ekosodin, where the deceased resided. When our correspondent visited the hostel, the building was shut, as most of the occupants were said to have gone home for Christ-

mas; those around fled to avoid what they consider police trouble.

An occupant, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE on condition of anonymity, said the late James was yet to finish his examination before he •Continued on page 30

•UNN scales accreditation hurdle •INEC meets students on election P32

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

30

CAMPUS LIFE

I

Pushing Why we need values reorientation Out with

JUST love what some concerned mothers did a few years back. They placed a paid advertorial in the papers when a prominent Lagos politician locked down the central business district as he walked straight from prison to the church to “give thanks to God.” The mothers told their children, wards and youths that what they witnessed or read can never happen in a sane and forward, looking society and nation; they charged the youth not to look upon the politician and his ilk as their ideal role model but to hold on to the timeless values their hard working parents instilled in them.

If we are honest with ourselves we’d mostly agree that all is not well with our nation and that the values we once held dear sadly belongs in another era. Where are values like honesty, integrity, good neighbourliness, religious tolerance etc that once defined our society? Let’s take the issue of corruption and insecurity for instance. Ten years ago, it would’ve been really appalling to hear of individuals stealing billions of naira; but that is the norm today.

Whatever also happened to being our brother’s keeper? Today, we’ve grown so numb and we’re no longer shocked when people are slaughtered in a senseless terror campaign by some deranged individuals. As a result, we now have internally displaced people in Nigeria, yet we carry on as if all is well. Everything has been reduced to politics.

Growing up, it wasn’t unusual seeing Christians and Moslems mingling together celebrating Christmas and Salah, but today bigotry reigns supreme. We perpetuate the worst kinds of ethnic chauvinism and idolatry you could ever think of. Driven by greed and inordinate lust for the “good life,” we seek the shortest possible route to riches.

We revere criminals and treasury looters as our “best of men” bestowing upon them honourary degrees, chieftaincy titles or even “purchase” election forms for them.

Nations often have constitutions used to establish the groundwork for their social, legal and ambitious future. It establishes the

basic relationships between the citizens and their rulers. It defines rules for good and bad practices, 08116759750 laying down laws against taboos (SMS only) while preaching certain practices as essential. This generally is the means •aagboa@gmail.com of identifying the nation’s values or value system. It is assumed that a nation’s value system is sacred and could grow together in their values. When two extend beyond that nation’s boundaries. All people meet for the first time, they do not nations are supposed to be proud of their know very much about what the other person value systems, just as a person is proud of his values. Each one makes assumptions about or her upbringing and character and would the other, some of which are true while others try to impress that behaviour and beliefs on are false. Yet, over time, if they discover that others. they agree on their most important values, Basic values are traditional and historic, their relationship will deepen and grow reflecting aspects of the experience that each stronger. nation went through since its inception as a This is also true regarding all family national unity – we have these embedded in relationships. Parents usually seek to instill our constitution and other documents. The their values into their children. As a child greatest part, however, used to be – and, in grows, he forms his own unique value system some cases, still are – extracted from the main from what he learns from his parents. The religious teachings of the nation. In fact a value quality of the relationship the parent and child system is based on averaging the total human share is completely dependent on how much experiences and producing a compromised they agree on each other’s most significant version for all to follow. Religion is often values. present at the heart of a human value system.

Good neighbourliness is based on common Our value system therefore is the sum total values systems and we experience this truth of our ideas and beliefs. It includes every every day. We want to be with those who opinion we hold about life. Each thing we share our interests and moral ideas. Likewise, like or dislike, and the importance each one we avoid people who do not share values has to us, merges to form our unique value similar to ours, whether in moral areas of life system. Our value system develops through or simply in manners or interests. In fact, it is what we are taught and experience, combined difficult to enjoy a relationship with someone with our reactions to them, forming our who is substantially different from you. preferences and our unique perspective on Of course, the true values that we hold are life. Ultimately, every opinion we have in life the ones by which we actually live. If we claim is based on something in our value system. to value something, yet do the opposite of it, The quality of any society is directly linked then we actually value something else. If I to the importance of the shared values. Two claim to value truth, yet lie, then there is people may share a common interest in something more important to me than telling football, but if one thinks the other is a liar the truth. My lies prove that I hold some other and a thief, they likely will not develop a deep value more deeply than honesty. friendship. On the other hand, if we have a Every family has rules or expectations of mutual interest in keeping our neighborhood what each member should or should not do. safe, our views on sports will not interfere The degree to which we follow those with our working together for that common expectations reveals how much we agree with goal. them. Although we might not agree on a rule Relationships grow over time as the citizens or expectation, we might still live by it in

Agbo Agbo

order to preserve our family relationships.

In that case, we value the relationship as more important than choosing our own rules and having our own way.

Our actions are the first indicators to ourselves and others about the values we hold because the values that we live by are connected to what is most important to us.

However, we can sometimes have other desires in our hearts that differ from our actions. To be completely at peace within ourselves, there must be conformity between our deepest values and how we actually live.

That is, you must be committed to your deepest values and seek to live according to them.

Otherwise, you will experience inner conflict because you have not determined which values are most important to you, and every choice you make will not flow from a firmly held belief about that area of life.

It is sad to note that some parents have abdicated the responsibility of instilling core positive values in their children and have left that to schools, nannies and the society to do, but what such parents fail to realise is that schools don’t train children, parents do. My reference on children here is predicated on the fact that character and values is better instilled from the formative years of a child.

What a school or society does is to guide, the onus is still on the parents to provide the moral foundation in which their children’s future would be firmly anchored.

As I write, everything continues to go wrong as we forsake the values that ought to matter.

Police officers still terrorise ordinary citizens, bankers still pilfer the life-savings of poor and struggling compatriots, hoodlums continue to run amok in communities, minority “lawmakers” ride roughshod over the majority, internet scammers and advanced fee fraudsters are still at their beats.

What about armed robbers and kidnappers?

They are all having a field day.

The concept of equity has all but disappeared from our lexicon, so is benevolence and the Rule of Law which permits no perception of justice except for the rich. We still face a hard struggle to survive. In the rat race, we still manage to make great sacrifices for the education of our sons and daughters, but the irony is that there exist little openings for the kinds of skills they acquired – mainly from universities abroad.

In the throes of these woes, who says we cannot reinvent ourselves? There may yet be hope, and 2015 will be the signpost.

Insurgency: Varsity strengthens security at Central Mosque

F •The late Osaretin’s hostel

Student dies in Customs chase •Continued from page 29

died. “He was supposed to write his final paper last Saturday morning,” the student said, describing the deceased as lovable and hardworking.

Some colleagues were surprised that the late Osaretin was involved in vehicle delivery business because he had a thriving barbershop and boutique.

A part-time student, who simply identified himself as Omorege, said: “The late Osaretin had a barbershop and boutique. It was through that salon that he got his popularity among students. When he was about to travel, we told him not to go but to write his final examination, which came up on Saturday. Osaretin did not listen to us. I was shocked when I learnt about his death.”

Osas Osarogiuwa, a student living close to the late Osaretin’s barbershop, said: “I never saw him sitting idle. If he was not going to school for lectures, then he would be in his barbershop attending to customers.

He was loved by everybody.

His brother, Osas Nohuwa, said

Osaretin's death brought sorrow to the family. “His death has brought sorrow to our family because it was sudden and hit us like a thunderbolt. He lived an unforgettable life and I pray that his soul should rest in peace till we meet to part no more.”

His close friend, Vincent Aifuwa, said: “Osaretin was a good friend and a brother. Everyone likes to associate with him. We love him but God loves him most.”

A family source told CAMPUSLIFE that the body was buried on Monday. When asked if the late James’ parents knew about what he was doing, the source said: “I don’t know if he told his parents but we have buried him. We had gone to pack up his property in his barbershop and the things in his hostel. I won’t want to make further comment on it because the family is bereaved and we want you to respect our right to mourn.”

However, the Zone C command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), could not be reached for comments at the time of this report.

OLLOWING a growing concern over insecurity in the North, the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) chapter of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) has taken measures to ensure the safety of worshippers in the campus Central Mosque.

Security was tight at the mosque last Friday when worshippers gathered for Jumat prayer. MSSN officials joined the school security personnel deployed to the mosques to conduct thorough search before allowing anyone into the premises.

The MSSN spokesman, Suleiman Abubakar, said the measure was taken to ensure criminals did not find their way to wreak havoc in the school.

He said: “After several meetings and due consultations with the MSSN officials and the Chief Security Officer of the university, it was resolved that the MSSN should collaborate with the university security team to provide

S

TUDENTS of Oyo State in higher institutions have urged the state government to ameliorate their suffering by paying their bursary award.

The students, who spoke through the president of the Federation of Oyo State Students’ Union (FOSSU), Damola Olalere, said the delay in payment of bursary and scholarship is causing untold hardship for them, especially those who are self-reliant.

Damola, in a statement in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital last weekend, praised Governor Abiola Ajimobi

From Ahmad Muhammad Auwal NSUK adequate security at the campus Central Mosque, especially during Jumaat prayers.”

He said the spate of masque attacks, which have claimed the lives of many people, had brought fears in the hearts of worshippers, which he said informed the security measure. “For this reason, we consider it appropriate to beef up security at this time,” he added.

A member of the MSSN security team, Sa’ad Yusuf Abubakar, said security started from the grassroots.

“We need to be security-conscious at all times. Most importantly, our efforts as civilians in the fight against insurgency stand to complement the efforts of security agencies. This effort shall be sustained and Nigeria will win this fight by the grace of God,” he said.

More than any other issue in Nigeria today, the greatest concern has been the security condition of the country. Almost every day, there are accounts of several security threats arising from armed robberies, assassinations, armed militancy and banditry, kidnapping, bombings, among others.

‘We need to be security-conscious at all times.

Most importantly, our efforts as civilians in the fight against insurgency stand to complement the efforts of security agencies. This effort shall be sustained and Nigeria will win this fight by the grace of God’

Oyo govt urged to pay bursary From Sikiru Akinola IBADAN for his developmental stride in the state but urged the governor to also prioritise the payment of bursary to Oyo students, saying it was the only pecuniary benefit they got directly from the government.

He said: “Over 4,000 students have paid the N1,000 requested by the scholarship board but they are still

waiting to receive their bursaries. The payment of bursary and scholarship grants will help us to augment what we get from home and give us a sense of belonging.”

Damola said education remained the only tool that could liberate the society from the shackle of poverty, urging the government to leave no stone unturned in giving quality education to the youth at affordable cost.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

31

CAMPUS LIFE

Their creative best Five students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the Lagos State University (LASU) have won scholarships for designing a project to spread information about Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and violence against women. BALIKIS MOYOSORE reports.

D

URING the Ebola crisis, three Mass Communication students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) designed Ebola Shield, a communication project to sensitise people on the disease prevention.

In appreciation of their feat, the students were given scholarships at an event at the United Nations Information Centre in Lagos last Tuesday.

Ayodeji Adesina, Lilan Udodi and Tobi Alagbe were the cynosure of all eyes as they walked to the rostrum, one after the other, to receive the 2014 JGC Entrepreneurship and Innovation Scholarship awards. They were also given laptops.

The trio presented the project at the Global Editors Network (GEN) contest, where they represented UNILAG and won bronze.

It was held at the Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos.

Eleven teams participated in the contest, which was organised by JAYTECH Global Concept (JGC) Nigeria Limited and jointly sponsored by International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), Google Incorporation, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and the Pan-Atlantic University.

Ayodeji, who is a post-gradu-

•WINNERS ALL: Tobi (UNILAG) (left), Angela (LASU), Raji (LASU), Lilan (UNILAG) and Ayodeji (UNILAG) with their prizes.

ate student, attributed the team’s success to the support and uncommon leadership provided by their lecturers. He said: “Our lecturers are strongly committed to see us succeed. It is a tradition in UNILAG for lecturers to mentor students beyond the classes.

Hardly would you see a lecturer at the department who is not going extra-mile for the students.

That is why our awards are deservedly and lovingly dedicated to our lecturers.”

The GEN programme manager, Envageline de Bourgoing, described the UNILAG team’s Ebola Shield as “highly inspiring”, praising the team for its efforts towards eradication of Ebola in West Africa.

Former Head of Department of Mass Communication at UNILAG, Prof Ralph Akinfeleye, urged the UNILAG team to keep up the winning streak, which he said was the hallmark of the 48year old department.

Akinfeleye reiterated that the department would continue to harness its students’ potential for development and good programmes. He urged the organisers not to stop investing in the abilities of the youth, noting that the initiative would help solve youth restiveness and unemployment.

Two students of the Lagos State University (LASU) Angela Okon and Abdulkadri Raji also got

•Prof Akinfeleye (left) with Selimovic during the event.

scholarships for their project on violence against women.

Angela is of the Department of Accounting, Abdulkari is a 300Level student of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management.

Angela appreciated the sponsors and the organisers, stressing that the scholarships meant so much to her because she could not finance her education after her mother’s death.

She said: “It has been very pain-

ful living for a year without my mother, who died exactly a year ago. I had thought the day would forever be a bad day to remember but this belief has changed today with the scholarship given to me. I am grateful to the organisers.”

The Chief Executive Officer, JGC, Jennifer Jemedafe, said the organisation would remain committed to youth and women empowerment with the hope that empowered individuals would expectedly empower others for better future.

Jemedafe said she believed the scholarships would further empower and help the recipients to contribute positively to the growing entrepreneurial initiatives in Nigeria.

At the occasion were UNILAG lecturers led by Dr Ifoma Amobi, Senior Public Information Officer of the United Nations Information Centre, Lagos, Envra Selimovic, founder, BAU Online, Mr Gossy Nkanwoye, Manager, Corporate Affairs Africa, Intel, Mr Babatunde Akinola and artistic Director, Maybelline New York Nigeria, Mrs Bimpe Onakoya, among others.

Echoes of nationalism at college’s convocation The Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe (NOCEN) in Anambra State throbbed with activities last week when it held its convocation and third Nwafor Orizu Memorial Lecture. EMEKA CHUKWUEMEKA reports.

T

HE Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe (NOCEN) in Anambra State has held its convocation. It was an opportunity to honour the late Dr Akwaeke Abyssinia Nwafor Orizu, former Senate President after whom the institution is named.

The two-day event, which started with the third annual memorial lecture for the late Orizu, was graced by Anambra State Governor, Dr Willie Obiano; Deputy Senate President and chairman of the occasion Senator Ike Ekweremadu, represented by Prof Leo Muoghalu.

Other dignitaries in attendance included the Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, who was represented by the Vice-Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Prof. Joseph Ahaneku, and

•Governor Obiano congratulating the best graduating student, Evelyn

Senator Andy Uba and top government officials in the state. ..

At the lecture with the theme:

Nwafor Orizu and horizontal education, Shekarau said the late Orizu was a respected nationalist, who should be

seen in the league of the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

He said: “The kind of leadership bequeathed to us by Nwafor Orizu and his contemporaries such as Chief Awolowo, Sir Ahmadu Bello and Prof Eyo Ita remains reference point in our history. Taking a cue from their leadership values can help us to raises the bar of governance to promote quality and merit in our leadership structure.”

The minister extolled Orizu’s virtue, urging Nigerians to emulate him.

Ekweremadu said Orizu led an exemplary life, which must be emulated by students. The late Orizu, he said, was in the front of the vanguard that fought to free the country from the grip of colonial masters, stressing that education was his weapon.

The Deputy Senate President said for there to be meaningful development in the nation, there must be attitudinal change among the people.

•Continued on page 44

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

32

CAMPUS LIFE Library association honours VCs, Rector From Richard Adura-Ilesanmi AAUA

T •Prof Ozumba (middle) with members of the NUC team after the inspection

T

HE National Universities Commission (NUC) has rated the facilities of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) as up to the standard after an inspection by its team. The commission praised the university’s management on its new method of running undergraduate programmes.

The five-day exercise according to Prof Moses Ajewole, who led the team, was to ensure that the institution kept to the standard in teaching its accredited programmes.

He said the exercise was necessary to give report on the quality

UNN scales accreditation hurdle From Oladele Oge UNN of teaching in universities, noting that NUC had been making moved to reposition higher institutions to the standard in the advanced countries.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bejamin Ozumba, on behalf of the Governing Council, hailed the NUC team for its co-operation

with the varsity’s staff. He urged staff and students to raise the bar of excellence by embarking on quality research.

Ajewole told CAMPUSLIFE: “If the physical environment is conducive enough for academic activities, the rest of the problems of any institution would have been partly solved. Good facilities are key to improving quality and standard.”

Faculties visited by the team include Arts and Physical Sciences, where the team had hectic time inspecting the facilities in departments making up the faculty.

After the inspection, Uju Umeje, a professor of Geology, praised the team for a job well done promising that the faculty would ensure it do not found wanting anytime the accreditation team returns to the school.

HE Ondo State chapter of the Nigerian Library Association (NLA) has honoured the ViceChancellor of the Adekunle Ajasin University in Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Prof Femi Mimiko, with the award of excellence in library management.

Mimiko was honoured alongside the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof Adebiyi Daramola, and the Rector, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic in Owo (RUGIPO), Prof.

Igbekele Ajibefun.

The honorees received their awards at the 2014 NLA Annual General Meeting and Conference held in FUTA on Wednesday.

The chairman, Planning Committee, Mr A. M. Akomolafe, said Mimiko was honoured because of his feat and landmark achievements in library development, saying: “It is also to your credit that AAUA library, including the e-library are well-stocked with current books and journals.”

Responding on behalf of other awardees, Mimiko thanked the NLA for recognising their efforts in their respective institutions.

UNIZIK elects union leaders

S •Cross section of participants at the event

INEC meets students on election

T

O ensure students are not used to perpetrate electoral violence in 2015, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has held a seminar for students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN).

The event, which was organised in partnership with Sunlight Forum, a leadership and entrepreneurship group, was aimed to informing students and youths in the state of their roles in electoral process.

The event, which held at the Students’ Union building, was attended by the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Moses Okafor, and Director of Youth to the Edo State government, Comrade Emmanuel Yakubu.

The President of Sunlight Forum, Joshua Chianu, urged the participants to resist temptation to be used for vio-

T

HE Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has advised students to imbibe the attitude of safety as they go home for the Yuletide break. The commission said road safety rules must be observed during the festive period to ensure accident-free season.

The Commander of Uwan-Esigie Unit of the FRSC, Mr Felix Afoke, said the advice was necessary because many students had been victims of preventable accidents in festive period.

From Ese Okoduwa, Ezekiel Efeobhokhan and Sunny Ibeh DELSU, UNIBEN lence during the general election, stressing that youths must engage in proper development of the mind.

In his lecture, Prof Kingsley Omoyibo, guest lecturer, who spoke on 2015 Election: Will it make or mar Nigeria?, said there was possibility that the country would surpass 2015 and survive all pessimistic prophesies.

He said: “I am ashamed that some persons in Nigeria are advocating for division in 2015 when there is no reason for such stand? Nigeria cannot disintegrate, not even during a democracy. Go to Tunisia or Egypt, where they had their leaders removed, the country are still in existence.”

Comrade Peter Esele encouraged the youth to be proactive, saying leadership started from time management. “If you can’t manage your time and so the right thing, everyone is bound to be doomed. We have to sense the political atmosphere,” he said.

He advised the partcipants against collecting money from politicians, saying: “Money kills conscience and you should all be careful not to sell your conscience.”

After the events there was presentation of awards to Comrade Esele and Prof Omoyibo.

A 300-Level Mathematics and Economic student, Victor Okoroafor, said the event was timely to sensitise students on their role in making the general election successful.

TUDENTS of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State, have elected new leaders into the Students’ Union Government (SUG). The election followed a crisis within the rank of the union’s former leadership, which led to the impeachment of Chukwunonso Ibe as president.

But, moving out of the crisis, students came out en masse to vote in a peaceful process, which took place in all faculties. Students queued for hours to cast their votes for their choice candidates.

Prior to the elections, the campus witnessed various campaign gimmicks and propaganda, which had some candidates being accused of having diabolic intentions to contest. The race began almost immediately the outgone union leadership was inaugurated, with potential aspirants engaging in selfless activities to boost their popularity among students. Some organised seminars, while others made donations to churches.

The race became interesting when candidates started pasting their campaign posters and stickers in open places, such as busy UNIZIK temporary site, Arroma, Ifite road and school gate.

Of the 16 candidates, who indicated interest in the position of the

•Noble

From Oby Okeke UNIZIK

union president, six were disqualified, including popular contenders. Twenty-two aspirants vied for the remaining eight positions.

When the election results were released, Noble Eyisi, a student of Political Science polled 594 votes to beat nine others and was returned as the president-elect.

Others elected are Amarachi Ozems, Vice President; Anthony Anolue, General Secretary; Ada Onyeji, Assistant General Secretary; Martin Nworah, Public Relations Officer; Joseph Okonkwo, Financial Secretary; Joseph Idigo, Treasurer; Alexander Nzeadi, Director of Socials and Livinus Elike, Director of Sports.

Be careful on the road, FRSC urges students From Ezekiel Efeobhokhan UNIBEN He said: “This message is a message of safety and it is for everyone.

We all have to adhere strictly to it.

All road users have their roles to play in ensuring the safety of everyone on the road at a given period. We are issuing this warning

because students have started travelling to their respective homes for the holiday.

“If you find your driver misbehaving while driving, you have a duty to caution him. If the driver refuses, because we know some drivers are naturally recalcitrant, report such driver to our men on the road. Our officials are always on the road.”

The FRSC Public Education Officer (PEO), Anthony Njemanze, condemned attitude of students whenever drivers were arrested for unsafe driving, saying some had assaulted FRSC officers for making move to stop drivers defaulting road safety rules.

He cited, where students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) al-

most lynched FRSC officers in Benin City after they arrested a commercial driver without valid license. He said: “Students can be easily tricked to fight for any cause. We don’t want to encourage this when it comes to road safety.”

He urged students to be law-abiding and report reckless drivers to the commission’s officers.

Newspaper of the Year

AN 8-PAGE PULLOUT ON SOUTHEAST STATES

40 years in Catholic vineyard

Peace campaign takes off in Ebonyi

•PAGE 34

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

PAGE 33

Elechi’s wife fetes widows, children •PAGE 40

•PAGE 36

•Mrs Elechi at the event

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A foretaste‘ of Christmas

IDOWS, children and the less privileged in Ebonyi State have had a foretaste of Christmas, especially its sharing aspect.

Wife of the state governor, Mrs Josephine Elechi ate, drank and danced with them, sharing jokes and lightening the atmosphere.

Wives of top government officials attended the event which took place at Government House, Abakaliki, the state capital.

Addressing the women, Mrs Elechi appealed to the women to pray for the peace and unity of the state during and after the forthcoming elections.

She emphasised that leadership comes from God and advised women not to allow their children to be used as political

From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

thugs during the polls.

She further called on wellmeaning individuals to always remember widows and the less privileged especially during the festive periods.

She also commended wives of local government chairmen and coordinators for taking her humanitarian programmes to the grassroots.

A Catholic priest, Rev Fr. Raymond Eselu urged the widows to give thanks to God in every situation, adding that thanksgiving brings testimonies.

The cleric noted that some widows find it diffficult to stay without a man after the death of their husbands, and therefore advised

Over 2,000 widows drawn from the 13 local government areas in the state went home with many gift items which included foodstuff, oiletries, wrappers and cash, among others

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such women to remarry legally instead of going after men.

He maintained that men read

women like a book and when a woman fails to respect herself, men will take her for granted.

“Because of that, widows should be upright, maintain their dignity, their womanhood and God will not fail them”, he added.

The state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Lady Maryjoy Umoke challenged the widows to avoid promiscuity which she warned could lead to untimely death and contraction of HIV/ AIDS. Mrs Umoke enjoined the women to use their life to work for God, adding that those children they get after the death of their husbands are likely to become a menace to the society as they may lack good parental upbringing.

The over 2,000 widows drawn from the 13 local government ar•Continued on page 36

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THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

40 years in Catholic vineyard

He that is mighty has done many things; 40 years ago, you were nothing, but now, you have so many things to bequeath to humanity and you have passed through breaking points without breaking down

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HEY call him Melody and it is all the same to Rev. Fr. Dr. John Osinachi Amadi, who has celebrated his 40 years of priesthood in the Catholic Church.

The event took place at his newly-built St. Jude Catholic Church, Amechi-Awkunanaw, Enugu State.

Although, the church service to mark the occasion was billed for 10am, the hall was already filled at 8am with worshipers, relations, Catholic priests, friends, traditional rulers, nurses, students, and Egede people, the hometown of Rev. Fr. Amadi.

At the sermon, a visiting priest, Rev. Fr. Prof. Augustine Akubuo, of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, said that anybody who lives to celebrate Silver Jubilee or 40 years should be thankful, considering the short lifespan in Africa.

He said, “St. Paul has called on us to celebrate Fr. Amadi. His choice was that of the lord while he was still in the womb, and so his ordination 40 years ago was by destiny.

Fr. Prof Akubuo showered praises on Fr. Amadi’s parents and all those who helped him to reach this stage.

Describing Fr. John Osinachi Amadi, as a priest with a sound credential, big masquerade, and Godgift to the parish, the catholic legend, further stated that “He that is mighty has done many things; 40 years ago, you were nothing, but now, you have so many things to bequeath to humanity and you have passed through breaking points without breaking down”.

While attributing all his achieve-

,

•Rev. Fr. John Amadi (middle) with Mr. Martin Ugada (left) of the Civil Service Commission Enugu after presenting a car donated by St. Jude Parish Amechi Awkunanaw to Rev. Fr. JohnAmadi From Chris Oji, Enugu

ments to the power of the Lord, the clergy man, noted that the past 40 years was time of trying to keep company with Christ, adding that the Lord was also using the occasion to remind you that the struggle continues, providing another window of opportunity to serve God. According to him “ priesthood is challenging, tasking, spiritually, intellectually and time consuming, age will change, but these virtues stand, remember God’s mandate to

A

N anti-graft unit has been set up at Federal Polytechnic, Oko in Anambra State to tackle corruption in the institution.

Dishonest conduct in its various forms is said to have become quite an issue at the federal institution located in Anambra North Local Government Area of the state.

As a result, the institution in collaboration with Independent

be the salt of the earth and to be the ambassador of the Lord”.

Elder sister of Fr. Amadi, Rev. Sister Mary Ikechukwu Amadi of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala, Anambra State, expressed joy that her brother had fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a catholic priest,and recalled that when they were kids, both of them had always said they would wish to serve the Lord throughout their life time and described her brother as the light and pride of the family.

Also speaking, Miss Sandra Amadi, the daughter of his late el-

der brother, Peter Amadi, who flew in from London, praised God for the huge successes achieved by her uncle, but regretted that her dear father, Peter Amadi, was not alive to witness the celebration. She also prayed God to guide Fr. Amadi to his diamond jubilee in 2024.

Earlier, the chief celebrant Rev. Fr. Dr. John Amadi, alias Melody, said the crowd in the church, was a practical demonstration that he was appreciated by his people, and prayed God to also guide him to his diamond jubilee in the next ten years.

He re-affirmed his commitment to the service of God, and wept that his caring elder brother and mentor, Peter Amadi, was not alive to be a part of the history he helped to build, after training him.

Highlight of the occasion was the presentation of a KIA caper car to Fr. Amadi by the St. Jude Parish as a token of appreciation. Managing director of Umuchinemere Procredit community bank, Enugu,Mrs. Ngozi, Mr. Fela Ogbuke and wife of Enugu State Football Association, Mrs. Juliet Egbo of Anambra State Broadcasting service, Awka, students, nurses, and over twenty catholic priests and Rev. sisters were among personalities at the event, as well as a media icon, Ben Ilechukwu.

Institution tackles corruption From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

Corrupt practices and other Offences Commission (ICPC) has set up what they called Anti- Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) to fight the monster.

Oko Federal Polytechnic has survived many turbulent periods and stood the test of the time, growing from strength to strength.

The institution is one of the fastest developing tertiary institu-

tions in the country, drawing strength from the synergy and cooperation with various universities within and outside the country including Sharda University, Greater Noida, India.

The flag-off of the anti-graft unit at the school attracted the institution’s management staff, an ICPC team, Federal Character Commission personnel and the Chairman, Aguata Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Col. O. O Muoghalu of Isuofia.

Before the inauguration, Rev. Victor Uzuakpunwa of the Chapel of Light Church had committed the school and its management in the hands of

‘

God. The nine-member (ACTU) led

by Mrs. Nnenna Nwobi, who were taught the ICPC slogan by the leader of the graft agency Ezeh Nwafor “shun corruption, it is evil” Addressing the people, the Rector of the institution, Prof Godwin Onu, said that since the inception of the current administration of the school, the institution has been put on a turnaround plane with the introduction of digitization.

According to Onu, “we are digitalizing every process in the •Continued on page 37

The institution is one of the fastest developing tertiary institutions in the country, drawing strength from the synergy and cooperation with various universities within and outside the country including Sharda University, Greater Noida, India

,

•Burnt shops of traders at Aba, Abia State

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

35

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

Journalists trained N in Imo O fewer than 80 journalists have been trained for enhanced performance in Owerri, the Imo State capital. The trainees were drawn from various media houses in the state, including members of the council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ). The workshop whose theme was “Re-engineering Imo journalists towards sustainable media and democracy growth in Nigeria”, held at Mayfair Suites and Conference Centre. It lasted three days. The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha facilitated it in collaboration with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).

The journalists were trained in election reportage, effective media performance and the challenges and prospects of the media industry.

The resource persons drilled the journalists on the application of modern technologies as relevant tools for effective media practice, the rights, privileges and limitations of journalists and the roadmap for effective performance.

Dr. Saleh Dauda of the University of Abuja, in his paper titled the “Nexus Between Media and Democracy: Nigeria’s Example”, noted that the role of the media in the consolidation of every democracy cannot be over emphasised, adding that “the media being the watchdog of the society has a critical role to play”.

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

He said, “Democracy and journalism are soul mates. You cannot have one without the other. It is only a democratic environment that can foster the best journalism.

“Mass media and democracy have been established to be intertwined. They cannot be divorced from each other. To govern therefore is to communicate. To democratise is to ensure free, unhindered flow of communication.

In any democratic polity there must be a two-way communication flow, that is, from the government to the citizens and from the citizens to government. This is a time tested postulation, without which democracy cannot be established let alone consolidated”.

The university teacher also stated that “the leadership role of the media is seen in the fight by the media to draw attention to bad policies of government and also to drum support for the positive initiatives of government.

The watchdog role played by the media can be seen in thwarting former President Obasanjo’s attempt at a third term in office. The media mobilised support against the third term agenda”.

Dauda affirmed that, “the media has performed well in respect

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•The facilitator of the workshop, Hon Emeka Ihedioha presenting a certificate to one of the participants

Journalists should be trained and retrained to equip them to face the challenges of the 21st century which is knowledge driven. The freedom of information act should be implemented to the fullest and journalists should be motivated through welfare packages

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to elections. They have provided the platform for Nigerians to have insight in the personalities

of political office seekers. In Nigeria the media has played a significant role in the sustenance of

democracy in several areas”.

He concluded that for the media to continue to play its role in the growth and sustenance of democratic polity, “journalists should be trained and retrained; this will equip them to face the challenges of the 21st century which is knowledge driven. The freedom of information act should be implemented to the fullest and journalists should be motivated through welfare packages”.

Dr Austin Uganwa in his paper titled “Roadmap for effective media performance in democratic Nigeria”, observed that social responsibility is the cornerstone of media practice in democracy, adding that “the greatest demand of social responsibility is that media should not only be participants in the political environment they operate but serve as social crusaders, political reformers and watchdog of public welfare”.

He stressed that the media are expected to checkmate the perceived excesses of those in government and expose prevalent political and social ills in the society.

Uganwa also posited that it is the role of the media under a democratic setting to among other things, expose corruption in high places, pursue the restoration and sustenance of the social, political and democratic values of the nation, advance the cause of •Continued on page 40

•The journalists at the workshop

Imo Deputy Governor visits historic spring

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•Youths reparing their road for Christmas celebration

HE Imo State Governor Prince Eze Madumere has

visited a spring not only steeped in history but also believed to have life-enhancing properties.

It is located in Amuzi community, itself famous for its lush vegetation.

Iyi in Igbo means a stream while Ehi means a cow.

Madumere the Amuzi Spring or Ishi Ehi stream to savour its awe and make a personal enquiry into its rich history and weigh its value to the people and the state.

According to a legend, a wealthy member of the community built a house on a rock,

where the spring has its source.

The man had plenty cattle, one of which one day broke off the water source cap. The water came rushing out and has continued to flow ever since.

Many believe that the legendary Amuzi spring water is then reason for the longevity of the residents.

The oldest man in the community died at the age of 135, while it is said that the average age of the people is 80 or 90 years.

This angle of the community’s history was made available to the deputy governor and his entourage by a renowned leader of the •Continued on page 38

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

•Some Oko community residents at the event

Institution tackles corruption •Continued from page 34 •Participants at the event

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HE National Orientation Agency (NOA) has flagged off a statewide peace advocacy programme in Ebonyi to hammer home the imperatives of tolerance and harmonious coexistence among the people in the run-up to a momentous election next year.

At the flag-off which took place at Ndiulo Ngbo Development Centre in Ohaukwu Local Government Area, the National Orientation Agency Director-General, Mr Mike Omeri enjoined all traditional, religious, community and political leaders to champion the cause of peace within their spheres of influence.

Mr Omeri, who was represented at the event by the state Director of the NOA, explained that the programme became very necessary because of the need for the country to triumph over insurgency and to conduct a violence-

•Dr Abah speaking to the people

Peace campaign takes off in Ebonyi ‘ From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

free, fair and credible election next year.

He also explained that the programme was aimed at sensitising Ebonyi residents on the need to build alliances and dialogue in order to consolidate peace and security in the society.

The NOA Director-General called on Nigerians to be mindful of the need to maintain peace and security by preventing conflicts and violence in the society, adding, “Peace is one of

humanity’s most precious needs.

Our societal peace and security ought to be consciously sustained through development of good strategies for managing early warning signs and defining of early response for conflict prevention.

He enumerated the signs of conflicts and violence to include sudden demographic changes and population displacement; rising unemployment rates; economic shocks or financial crises; destruction or desecration of religious sites; discrimination or injustice; destabilising of referenda or elections; rise in “societal” in-

There is need for the country to triumph over insurgency and conduct a violence-free, fair and credible election next year. The programme was aimed at sensitising Ebonyi residents on the need to build alliances and dialogue in order to consolidate peace and security

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tolerance and prejudice; increase in numbers of demonstrations or rallies; foreign intervention; in-

flux of refugees; drought, famine; erosion; flooding; fire disaster; earth quake, among others, and

urged Ebonyi residents to beware of these signs.

In their goodwill messages, officials of some security agencies at the occasion- DPO Ngbo Division (Simon Njoku), Nigeria Immigration Service (IgweIkechukwu) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (OgbatuUchechukwu) – appreciated NOA for the information which they said will boost up their efforts to work assiduously before, during and after the elections to ensure that peace and tranquility regain their normal place in the society.

In his speech, the Coordinator of Ngbo Central Development

Centre, Hon Uche Ubochi, allayed people’s fears that the elections in his domain will be violent and promised to deploy all strategies to see that the revise becomes the case.

Honourable Ubochi, who was represented by Mr Chijioke Onwe appreciated NOA for her efforts at making the people cohabit peacefully and pledged to work with Ward Executives to further cascade the message of peaceful coexistence of one another to the hinterlands.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Occasion, Dr Sunday Onwe, extolled NOA for the programme saying that it was apt and en-

couraged them to continue to discharge their constitutional mandate dutifully.

The NOA Assistant Director, Ebonyi North Senatorial Zone, Mr Anthony Uguru regretted that absence of peace and insecurity in Nigeria is jeopardizing her goodwill and made a clarion call on all Nigerians to desist from all acts watering-down the efforts of the nations past and present heroes. He also thanked the people for honoring his invitation.

Some of the participants at the event- Mrs Monica Okabe and Jacinta Chibuzo- promised to contribute their quota to the success of the peaceful move.

Polytechnic so as to eliminate bottlenecks experienced in the discharge of official business”.

“In the course of doing this, we realized that if we must succeed we must tackle the issue of corruption headlong as it has become endemic in the system”.

“Virtualy all aspects of public life have an element of corruption entrenched in it and that gave rise to the establishment of an anticorruption and transparency unit in this polytechnic headed by a seasoned hand and backed by ICPC”.

“Corruption is at the very core of the survival of the nation’s tertiary institutions. There is no doubt that our ivory towers are supposed to be repositories of knowledge that has the capacity to uplift knowledge and chastise vice and offers authority to virtue”.

The Rector said there were quite plethora of unethical behaviours brazenly manifested in the polytechnic at inception which, according to him, included extortion of students by staff.

Others were undeserved award of scores after examination, gratification, indecent dressing, godfather syndrome, political interference in management of institution and channeling greed towards public office among others.

However, he said that ACTU has come to stay, adding that the institution would do everything within its power to support the activities of the office to fight corruption.

For the ICPC helmsman Ezeh Nwafor, who represented the head Enugu zone, Udonsi U. Arua, commended the institution for being cult free unlike what happens in some other institutions.

He said the coming of ACTU would equally bring to an end all other vices that exist in the institution, but warned that the members should not use it to intimidate or harass innocent persons.

‘ Anglican Bishop condemns corruption T

•Just for Christmas

HE Anglican Bishop of Enugu North Diocese, Rt. Rev. Sosthenes Eze has urged Nigerian leaders to shun corruption.

He stressed the need for leaders to stop diverting Nigeria’s resources into their private pockets.

This he stated at the second session of the second synod of the Anglican Diocese of Enugu North with the theme “The challenges of living in a corrupt generation” which took place at the Cathedral Church of St. Mary Ngwo Enugu North.

Bishop Eze averred that corruption was a colossal problem, urging religious leaders to sit up and stand firm for the truth.

The cleric further stated that in this synod the church preaches against corruption. “The church must preach against corruption and at the same time avoid being corrupt too. The church should also desist from honouring corrupt people and also refuse their gifts.

The cleric stressed the need for all hands to be on deck in order to transform our nation, adding that God cannot come down to do it by him-

From Chris Oji, Enugu

self.

His words “corruption is a colossal problem and the church is preaching against it because the people in government also attend church. We need to sacrifice so as to transform our nation; God cannot come down to do it by himself. We must shun corruption at all levels, it has prevailed and nobody is asking about infrastructures, economy etc. It is redeemable if we are collectively willing. We cannot keep blaming the government”.

He further urged the people to disseminate the news that corruption is bad and has devastating effects on our society. He went further to call on the EFCC and other bodies that deal with corruption to perform their duties to the later without fear or favour.

Also speaking at the synod, the Anglican Bishop of Enugu Diocese and Archbishop of Ecclesiastical Province of Enugu, Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma kicked against the zoning of the governor-

Corruption is a colossal problem and the church is preaching against it because the people in government also attend church. We need to sacrifice so as to transform our nation; God cannot come down to do it by himself.

We must shun corruption at all levels, it has prevailed and nobody is asking about infrastructures, economy etc

,

ship position by the Enugu state Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

The Cleric further stated that no person or group of people can sit somewhere and restrict another person from contesting an election under the guise of zoning, stating that a political party should give all aspirants equal opportunity and conduct a transparent primaries, even as he added that only the citizens of the state can elect who they deem fit.

“The governorship position is left for the people of Enugu State to decide and not zoning. Let the parties give level playing ground and trans-

parent primaries to all its aspirants whoever wins, we vote for him. Politics should be open, people’s mandate should be respected. No preference to a certain zone”.

The cleric insisted that the decision taken by the ruling party was not a step in the right direction, advising that the governorship race should be thrown open so that everybody would have an opportunity to contest.

The synod was attended by numerous dignitaries including the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Anthony Ani.

•The flag-off of Enugu-Port Harcourt intercity train service

38 THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

Imo deputy governor visits historic spring •Continued from page 35

community, Hon. Chief Innocent Okporo whose father’s house, Late Chief Lawrence Okpokoro, sits at about 200 feet above the water source.

Hon. Okporo is the Government Liason Officer of Amuzi and former Special Adviser, Security to Gover nor Rochas Okorocha.

He is the current chairman of Board of Directors, Imo Development Finance and Investment Company Limited.

Responding to Deputy Governor’s question on the longevity legend, Mrs. Ngozi Ihekworo, 60, said she has drunk the spring water from her childhood.

She said she also her laundry at the stream.

She said she married into Amuzi from a neighbouring village.

The water source which flows from below spectacular layers of rock, is described as the purest water source within the environs, even purer that any borehole water or table water. This was confirmed by Mr. Joseph Umoru, a natural water enthusiast, and a beverages and soft drink specialist. It was Mr. Umoru who brought the information on the spring to the desk of the deputy governor.

According to the Technical Assistant to the Deputy Governor, the water source sits at an estimated 65 meters or over 200 feet below ground level. It has about four water sources flowing from same basin under a huge high rock.

In what looked like a typical sci-fi movie in the Discovery Channel or the famous Nigerian

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OUTH coordinators of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) in Imo State have held their inaugural meeting in the capital Owerri.

They are to coordinate the organisation’s activities in the state’s local government areas.

Gulder Ultimate Search expedition, the deputy governor descended into the steep valley with his entourage. The descent into the valley is a breathtaking long journey that requires a proper firm grip of your foot on the slippery steep stairs. A little slip of feet will send you crashing down to 200 feet below ground level. Climbing up was even more tricky than ever, and it required high exhaustion of energy to make it out. Hon. Okporo who led the expedition told the deputy governor that he last dared tried going to the water mouth to fetch decades ago when he was still much younger.

At the foot of the water source, the deputy governor met members of the community fetching water and doing their laundry.

Children also played around, but the valley was quiet and has the serenity of the “Valley of Life”, the types found in places like Israel and Palestine.

Speaking to his audience at the foot of the rock and Ishi Eyi spring water, the number two citizen of Imo State said he was fascinated by the report brought to his desk by Mr. Joseph Umoru.

Prince Madumere informed his audience that the purpose of his mission to the spring with his technical team is to see how government can improve the welfare of the people by helping them have access the water in large volume without having to climb the steep valley, and while developing the water mouth into a source of tourism.

Continuing, the deputy governor’s assistant on technical matters, Mr. Alba said to achieve the feat will require the installation of a boaster to increase hy-

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•The water of Iyi Ehi at Amuzi in Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State

At the foot of the water source, the deputy governor met members of the community fetching water and doing their laundry. Children also played around, but the valley was quiet and has the serenity of the Valley of Life

,

dro pressure powerful enough to take the water to the high level surface. It will also require the installation of water treatment

unit and other facilities that will make life easy for the people who drink from the water source.

In their appreciation message to

the deputy governor, the community represented by the expedition leader, Hon. Innocent Okpokoro and the CLO of the community, Mr. Emma Okpokoro thanked the Rescue Mission Government led by Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha for its grassroot-oriented development programme. They described Gov. Okorocha’s deputy, Prince Eze Madumere as a thorough leader who cashes in any opportunity to improve the welfare of the rural people. They asked God to give the governor another opportunity come the 2015 elections to consolidate on the development strides the governor has embarked on in the state, especially in Okigwe zone while promising their support in totality.

TAN inaugurates youth coordinators The inaugural meeting attracted a crowd of enthusiastic supporters and admirers of President Goodluck Jonathan.

While speaking, TAN’s Youth Co-ordinator in the state, Uche

Ogbuagu explained that the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), is a non-governmental organisation designed to promote good governance. ”It is different from most politi-

cal organisations you know, most of which have ended up in political parties. TAN is much more than a political party. It is a movement of people with one mission and one goal in mind. That one

mission and goal is to see Nigeria transformed into a model modern African nation, comparable to any other nation in the civilised world, which we as its citizens can be proud of.”

From left: HRH Eze Godwin Ukanna of Ipu South Autonomous Community, HRH Eze •Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha watches as the newly appointed Chief Judge of Ikeagwuchi Ekeke of Obeaku-Ndoki and HRH Eze Chinyere Dike of Isimanu Autonomous Community during a media briefing in Aba, Abia State Imo State, Hon Justice Paschal Obinna Nnadi signs

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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THE SOUTHEAST REPORT •Continued from page 35

democracy and good governance and strengthen all sectors of the economy.

In his speech at the closing ceremony of the tree day event, Ihedioha disclosed that the workshop was designed to enhance the professional competence of Journalists in Imo State, adding that “considering the crucial place of the media in democracy, a workshop of this nature is symbolic and germane”.

He noted that the training will have a far reaching effect in reinforcing media practitioners’ capacity towards driving the growth and development of democracy in the country.

According to him, “evidently two fundamental objectives informed my desire to facilitate this training workshop. One was to re-empower Imo journalists towards consolidating their critical role in democracy. The other was to prepare them for the efficient coverage of the 2015 general elections. ”The significant nature of the enumerated goals informed the expansive participation base of the workshop by ensuring that all media organizations operating in the state have an opportunity to take part”.

He added further that, “the critical role of the media in democracy, politics and policy making makes any workshop geared towards scaling up journalists to enable them report democratic institutions and structures much

•Some of the resource persons at the event

Journalists trained in Imo ‘ better, a development imperative”.

Ihedioha charged the media to be alive to their responsibilities to the people and the nation, adding that, “the media not only inform, educate and entertain the people but serve as a veritable tool for social change, economic reform and democracy consolidation. ”In democracy therefore, the media serves essentially as one dynamic institution that builds bridges between the leaders and the led. The media essentially constitutes a genuine vehicle for democratic change, swaying rulers and the governed towards synthesised political orientation.

Essentially the media operate to advance the cause of democracy

The media serves as one dynamic institution that builds bridges between the leaders and the led. It is a genuine vehicle for democratic change, swaying rulers and the governed towards synthesised political orientation. The media advances the cause of democracy and good governance, strengthening the polity, economy and ensuring the overall mechanisms of national development

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and good governance; strengthening the polity, economy and ensuring the overall mechanisms of national development”.

Commending the organisers

and the Deputy Speaker for training journalists in the state, the state Chairman of NUJ, Sir Innocent Igwe, assured that the knowledge imparted in the cause

of the workshop will assist the media in effectively covering the 2015 general elections.

He however appealed for continued training and retraining of journalists in the state and the expansion of the programme to accommodate more participants.

The Chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel, Mr. Atan Agbakuru, described the timing of the training as apt, adding that the correspondents have benefited a great deal of the teachings of the renowned mass communication lecturers.

He called on the state government and other political office holders to learn from the gesture of the Deputy Speaker and assist in alleviating the challenges of journalists in the state.

‘How to build a science-driven nation’

Starting from schools in Onitsha, Anambra State’s commercial hub, a science competition will soon spread to other parts of the state. NWANOSIKE ONU captures the award to high-flying contestants as well as the facilitator’s vision for homegrown scientists

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HE cleric’s vision is clear.

Science is not transferred but developed from within, and what better way to stimulate interest in it than encouraging pupils to compete for top prizes. In Anambra State, beginning from its commercial nerve Onitsha, the vision is catching on. Its schools have come alive with the Archbishop Valerian Okeke Science Competition (AVOSCO).

Winners in the contest are picking up good cash and other prizes.

So are their teachers and even the schools.

The Most Rev. Valerian Maduka Okeke initiated the competition to help secondary school students to excel, especially in science subjects with a view to building a nation grounded in science and technology.

Now, only students in Onitsha metropolitan schools are competing but very soon, the contest will spread to every part of the state.

The event which was held at Bishop Shanahan Hall in Onitsha brought together many students including their teachers. Various prizes were won by the students and the teachers.

Twenty science students were rewarded with cash prices and gifts alongside their teachers.

The overall best science student in the senior category, Ezeilo John Paul from All Hallows Seminary Onitsha, scored 80 per cent to beat others and win N50,000.

Ekwo Cynthia from Mater Christi Secondary School, Awada, came first in the junior category with 87

per cent, going home with N40,000.

Others who took home different prizes included Obikwelu Kyrian and Okeke Oluebube, coming second and third respectively in the junior category.

Also in the senior category, Nnamaga Kenechukwu of St. Charles College, Onitsha came second while Okafor Chioma of Dominican Sisters College, Abatete, came third. Each of them won N40,000.

The teachers were not left out. The best teacher, Charles C. Okonkwo, of All Hallows Seminary Onitsha went home with N50,000 in the senior category. Mr Okonkwo shone brightly at the event, not just because he worked and deservedly earned the top prize but also because he is physically challenged.

Many saw him as a role model.

A gteacher from Queen of the Rosary College (QRC) was judged the best teacher in the junior category while her counterparts from All Hallows Seminary Onitsha and Mater Christi Secondary School Awada came second and third, respectively.

In the senior category, Dominican Secondary School, Abatete, won the first price with St. Charles College Onitsha and All Hallows Seminary, Onitsha, taking second and third positions.

Consolation prices of N10,000 were given from the fourth to the tenth positions in both junior and senior categories.

In addition to the awards to the students, teachers and their schools, there were other materials donated

‘

We are here to celebrate the students who stunned the entire state and the people with their brilliance, life is about competition; the aim is to have competition among the students

,

to the schools by the sponsors.

These were giant interactive electronic boards valued at N200,000 for the schools to work harder which were for the first positioned schools, while photocopier machines were given to the second and third positions.

Speaking with the Nation, the Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev Valerian Okeke said that the foundation is creating the opportunity for the young ones to discover their tomorrow.

According to him, “today is not to bring out our mission and vision but to present awards; we are here to tell the young ones, you can be better”.

The cleric commended the students for discovering their abilities

and capabilities in science, while also hailing their parents for allowing their children to avail themselves of the opportunity offered to them. ”The teachers mould minds, form characters and help the students to discover their real selves,” he said.

The education secretary of the Onitsha Diocese, Rev Basil Onwegbelu in his lecture titled, “Why science?” described science as the bedrock of education.

He said that they would not allow any other country in the world to re-colonise Nigeria through science again; adding that denying the people the study of science is like another form of enslavement.

For Rev. Dr. Patrick Omuta, it is good to dream dreams because without it, there would not be any

reality, adding that the Archbishop has demonstrated his love for science.

Omuta who was the chairman of the ceremony described the cleric as the beacon of hope for the children in the state.

He said that 76 Catholic secondary schools competed in the Onitsha province which he said was the regional level, adding that the competition would soon go round the state.

“We are here to celebrate the students who stunned the entire state and the people with their brilliance, life is about competition; the aim is to have competition among the students” “So many people have been under the scholarship of the Archbishop in all the cadres of education and he has been celebrating his birthday and Christmas with the prisoners in this state.

Mr. Charles Okonkwo, the physically challenged Chemistry teacher at All Hallows Seminary, Onitsha who won the best teacher, said the exercise opened the eyes of the students and their teachers.

He commended the Archbishop for creating such environment in the state and his vision in building the Holy Family Youth Village in Awka where students live.

Cynthia Ekwo and Ezeilo John Paul, the two best students in both junior and senior categories, told The Nation that the awards would spur them the more to put more efforts in their studies.

The students thanked Archbishop Okeke for establishing such awards in the state.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

41

CAMPUS LIFE

NANS leaders take oath

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ADI Kwali Hall of Sheraton Hotel in Abuja was filled when the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) inaugurated members of its national executive.

The event hosted dignitaries among who was Dr Ahmadu Ali, for chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who chaired the occasion.

Other guests are the Attah of Igala, Micheal Oboni; Special Assistant to the President on Youth and Students’ Matter, Comrade Jude Imagwe, NANS Grand Patron, Chief Tunde Adeniyi, Chief of Staff to former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Osenu Odewale, and Comrade Igwe Ude-Umanta, chairman, NANS Convention Planning Committee.

Ali, said the crop of NANS leaders were intellectuals, who had taken up the challenge to support the government in the development of the nation. “I believe the new leadership of NANS is the continuation of last tenure and we want you to take Nigeria to the next level. This is your time; you have no time to wait for.

There is no barren in age, I. want us to cooperate and move Nigeria forward,” he said.

Imagwe urged the new executives to promote good values through their activities, assuring them of government’s readiness to

•The NANS leaders taking the oath

From Wale Bakare ABUJA support them and improve the standard of education. He said the president had allocated substantial percentage to education, which, he said, has resulted in diversification of our tertiary education.

He said: “It is enemy of education that wants to destabilised Nigerian education. We must rise in support of the government’s effort to stop these aliens. Election is approach-

ing and I urge students not to allow politicians to use them as thugs. We must differentiate ourselves has students. NANS leadership must help the electoral body to ensure free and fair election, because they can’t succeed without the support of students.”

The NANS president, Tijani Usman, said the convention, which produced the executive was the most peaceful in the history of the association. He listed his priorities, saying he would agitate for proper funding of education and embark

role on human capital development programmes.

He said: “I am aware that the government has been considering the idea fee increment in universities, polytechnics and colleges of cducation. Their reasons look appealing to close funding gap of these institutions, but the wider implication is that education will be taken away from the students of the poor. This will increase rank of social miscreants, which can easily be mobilised as agent of terrorism and vices.”

Vice President (External Affairs), Oluwatosin Ogunkuade promised that the association would do its best to promote scholarship, en-

I

•The university choristers at the Carol

‘Christmas a period for reflection’

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RO-CHANCELLOR and chairman, Governing Council of the Adeleke University in Ede, Dr Adedeji Adeleke, has urged the people to use the Christmas season to appreciate God’s mercy in their lives.

He said since God’s best gift to humanity came on Christmas day, people must reflect on the significant of the day and make the world a better place.

Adeleke spoke during the fourth

From Adewale Babarinde ADELEKE Christmas Carol held on the campus.

He gave glory to God for making the day possible, saying the event was historic as it was the first time Carol would be held in the permanent site of the university.

In his remark, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Oluwole Amusan, praised the Pro-chancellor’s commitment to-

wards making the faith-based institution the best in the world.

In his sermon, Pastor Gbenga Efuntade, the university’s chaplain, said in all things people should give glory to their creator. He prayed for the university and the country.

The Registrar, Ven. Olusegun Ojo, thanked all the participants, among whom were Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, Timi of Edeland, Oba Munirudeen Lawal, Osun State government officials and students.

CAMPUSLIFE man fetes pupils

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N the spirit of Christmas and his passion to inspire the young ones, Victor Oguaju, a 200Level Anatomy student of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University in Uli, Anambra State has held a prize giving day for the pupils of Community Secondary School in Isuofia.

The event, which held in the school premises, was attended by the principal and teachers of the school.

Victor, who is a CAMPUSLIFE

From Umeh Jeniffer OFFA POLY reporter, was accompanied by friends, including Francis Egwuatu, Mr Universe Nigeria, who is also a CAMPUSLIFE reporter at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).

For hours, Victor motivated the pupils, admonishing them to study hard for their Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and avoid exam malpractice. He also spoke to the SSS Two pupils, ad-

vising them to be responsible and be good leaders after the graduation of their senior colleagues.

Victor also discussed moral values, career prospects and entrepreneurship with the pupils during the event. After the talk, he rewarded brilliant pupils with gifts, urging them to remain focused.

Victor and his friends promised to put the school in the map of “Room to Read” project, Francis’s pet project, to enable the pupils benefit from it.

trepreneurship, job creation and free education for students.

Others members of the NANS executive are Vice President (National Affairs), Gbenga Ayenuro; Vice President (Special Duties), Ufuoma Erharhine; Senate President, Royce Ochai; General Secretary, Umar Dahiru; Public Relations Officer, Ezekiel Nwankwo; Treasurer, Isa Jabi; and Financial Secretary, Mohammed Yusuf; ExOfficio I, Mercy Taiwo; Senate Clerk, Zachariah Sha; Assistant General Secretary, Love Obazee; Ex-Officio II, Deborah Ohuoba; Director of Exchange, Umar Yusuf, and Oluwasegun Famuyiwa, Deputy Senate President.

Abia varsity students hail fee cut

N what could be likened to a Christmas gift, the Abia State government has announced reduction in the fee of Abia State University (ABSU) by 20 per cent. In a statement by the Secretary to the state government, Governor Theodore Orji said the cut was necessary because of the challenges facing the nation’s economy.

The school fee was hiked by 100 per cent in 2011 by the government, which hinged its reason the need to improve the institution’s infrastructure.

The news of the reduction spread like wild fire after it was confirmed by the Students’ Union Government (SUG) President, Israel Ahaemfula.

For students, it was good news.

The Chairman of ABSU chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr David Chikezie, said the government was yet to notify the management on the reduction. “It is true that the state government has reduced the school fee by 20 per cent but they are yet to write to inform us of the development,” he said.

A fresh student in the Department of Medicine and Surgery, Goodness Ihemelandu, described the fee reduction as a good development. He said: “The high fee almost botched my dream to study medicine. I am happy that the government has re-

From Uchechukwu Amanze ABSU

duced it and this will enable the indigent student to remain in school.”

Kelechi Okorie, a 400-Level Law student, said: “This is a Christmas gift from the governor. For this commendable act, Gov. Orji has proven to be a lover of education.”

Some graduating students described the reduction as political, wondering why the governor waited till election time to reduce the fee. A final year student, who did not want his name in print, said: “Why did the government slash the fee now when it has less than five months to leave office?

For me, this is a political gimmick and I can’t fall for it.”

Another student, who pleaded anonymity, said it was obvious that the governor reduced the school fee for political reasons, saying: “This is political because 20 per cent reduction is not much.

But, we will manage it.”

With the new development, students in Faculty of Health Sciences will now pay N112,000 per session against N140,000 they paid last session. Student in the faculties of Agriculture and Humanities will pay N96,000 as against N120,000 they paid last year.

‘It is true that the state government has reduced the school fee by 20 per cent but they are yet to write to inform us of the development,’

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

42

CAMPUS LIFE Dr Nneoma Sibigam, a Corps member in Enugu State, has come to the rescue of residents of Ogui Nike Village through her personal Community Development Service tagged: Save Their Sight. She treated the villagers of eye problems, reports EMMANUEL AHANONU (colleague).

Saving their sight

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WHEN she discovered that sight problem was prevalent in her host community, Nneoma Sibigam, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, moved swiftly to remedy the situation.

No fewer than 500 residents of Ogui Nike community in Enugu State benefited from her “Save Their Sight” held on Saturday.

Nneoma said she organised the free eye test and counselling because of the increase in vision impairment in the community. Most of the victims, she said, were ignorant of the condition.

Nneoma, a doctor and a Batch “A” serving Corps member with Poly Sub-district Hospital in Enugu, said she raised the medical mission because mass blindness was imminent in the community.

For more than six hours, Nneoma led a group of Corps members to conduct eye test on the residents.

They started from the palace of Igwe of Ogui, Igwe Michael Oko Mmaduekwe. Nneoma personally tested the monarch and members of his household. Afterwards, the Igwe sent out his town crier to announce to the community residents of the free eye treatment.

The Corps members took the outreach to the 9th Market, where hundreds of residents waited to benefit from the gesture.

Majority of the beneficiaries were old residents, but there were instances of children of ages between four and 16 also treated. The Corps members referred severe cases to an eye clinic; others were counselled after receiving free medications.

Some of the items shared during the mission included eye glasses, eyes drop, ointment and drugs, such as Loratadin, Paracetamol, Vitamin

•Nneoma attending to a beneficiary

C tablets and Timolol, among others.

Dr Nneoma said she chose the outreach as her personal Community Development Service (CDS) because she observed an increase in the rate of vision impairment in the community. She said people’s careless attitude about the condition of their eyes informed the counselling and treatment.

She said: “I discovered that blindness was gradually creeping into the

•Igwe Mmaduekwe with the Corps member

community and peoples are not even aware of their eye condition.

So, I set out to help prevent the outbreak of blindness and counsel the residents on how to maintain good vision. The drugs would also help them to check.”

To make more people benefit from the gesture, Dr Nneoma held the free eye test in five locations around Enugu North and South metropolis, including Federal Road Safety Corps office.

She noted that the main challenge she faced during the mission was people’s reluctance to turn out at the event on time, but said the outreach was successful.

Mrs Susana Ugwu, a beneficiary, could not hide her joy after she got free eyeglasses. She kept repeating: “Onye nwe anyi ga agoziriri unu” (our Almighty must bless you people).

Mr Boniface Oriaku, 70, who got eyeglass and drugs, said that he

heard about the outreach through the town crier. After praising Dr. Nneoma for her gesture, he pleaded with the Corps members to take the outreach to rural area in the state, where he said many aged people are suffering various eye ailments and cannot afford treatment.

Another beneficiary, Mrs. Ikenegbu Ikeogu, 58, a native of from Abia State, said she had no money to treat herself or buy drugs. She prayed for long life for the Corps members.

Medical students of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU), Kaduna State, have trained road users and students on how to administer First Aid on people in distress. ABDULRAHMAN ZAKARIYAU (Mass Communication) reports.

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IRST Aid is the first lifeline an accident victim gets from sympathisers, but how many people can administer it? To educate people on first aid management and how to save the lives of accident victims, medical students of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria, Kaduna State, have held a practical training session for students and stakeholders in the transport sector.

The workshop with the theme: First aid management at the scenes of road traffic and explosives accidents was attended by officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), ABU security officers and members of the institution’s host community.

The chairman on the occasion and Dean, College of Medicine, Prof A.G. Bakari, represented by his deputy, Dr I. S Aliyu, said the training was necessary to educate people on how to apply first aid to save those in distress. He urged the participants to pay attention to elements of the techniques.

In his paper titled: First aid by first respondents on the road side during road traffic accidents, Dr Ibrahim Abdulkadir of the Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, ABU, defined first aid as the first care given to any trauma victim before taken to the hospital. He said trauma kills faster than some deadly diseases, noting that many road accident victims could have been saved if they

Life-saving tips •The medical personnel and Road Safety officers with the dummy used at the training

had got proper attention from sympathisers.

He said fatality from road accident is higher in countries with low income, compared to societies where emergency medical services are provided. According to Abdulkadir, 90 per cent of crash victims die from rescuers’ lack of education on trauma

management.

He said: “The first caller at an accident scene should be a person that can give first aid to a trauma patient.

He or she could be a passerby or an emergency medical service provider.

In organising a trauma support or first aide treatment, the first aid process should be well organised. Safety

on the scene is important for every rescuer to ensure the environment is adequately protected.

There must also be Plan B and protocol to follow while carrying out the rescue mission. Another step is extrication and demobilisation of the patient from the scenes of injury to a safe spot where he or

she can be attended to. During or after first aid, the patient should be transferred quickly, safely, carefully and without any further complication to a well-equipped medical facility or hospital.”

Dr Ufaimia Ugwu, an anesthetist, engaged the participants on how to conduct Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). She explained that CPR was a live-saving action that improved the chances of patient’s survival after a cardiac arrest.

While demonstrating how to perform first aid, Dr Zakari Yau Lawal, a Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon, said the aim of the person administering first aid was to keep victim alive for medical attention. He explained that the first thing to do was to inform relevant agencies for help.

He said: “After you have taken the victim to a safe spot, don’t let him stand up immediately; let him lay facing down on his left arm to clear his air passage. There must not be crowd around the victim to prevent suffocation. Check if the victim is breathing or not. If he is not breathing, then the first aid provider will have to conduct mouth-to-mouth breathing.”

In a case of puncture in the lungs, Lawal said the first aid provider must get a clean cloth put and bandage to block the spot to prevent contact with the external environment. After the practical session, there was a questionand-answer session.

•Continued on page 43

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

43

CAMPUS LIFE

A relation to fake drugs

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S a child, I was told that drugs could only be bought at two places - hospitals or in a chemist shop. Later, as I became much older, I was made to understand the difference between a chemist, which is a patent medicine dealer and a pharmacist. The former is a mere trader with little or no knowledge of the composition of the drugs he sells. Most times, he learns his trade through apprenticeship with a vague knowledge of the efficacy of some drugs in certain ailments. But he is still very useful in first aid medications like treatment of headache, vomiting, fever, cough and other minor illnesses that the patients are advised to consult their doctors if symptoms persist or reoccur. These first aid medications save the time, stress and long protocols of hospitals. But then, the nature of the delivery might conceal or engender worse ailments.

The latter is a professionallytrained health personnel who understands the composition of drugs, their reactions when used on humans, and the associated side effects. A pharmacist understands that drugs could also be poisonous if abused or wrongly administered.

Hence, he rarely dispenses drugs not prescribed by a physician, especially when they are not overthe-counter medicines such as Paracetamol, antacids, laxatives etc. By virtue of his training, he is also licensed to produce drugs.

Unfortunately, some patent medicine dealers do cross their boundaries at will, by prescribing drugs

O

UR goals can be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no route to success. - Stephen Brennan.

The growing unemployment in the country has, no doubt, influenced the curriculum of education in Nigeria. This has resulted in the review of secondary schools curriculum and inclusion of entrepreneurial skills in the curricula of tertiary institutions. The essence of the curriculum review is to equip the students with entrepreneurial knowledge that will make them self-employed and employers of labour. The review and inclusion seems not to be an ending solution to unemployment crisis in the country.

It is worthy to state that unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to 23.90 percent in 2011 from 21.10 percent in 2010. The average unemployment rate in Nigeria stood at 14.60 percent from 2006 until it reached an all-time high of 23.90 percent in 2011 and a record low of

T

HEY have left their home country with good intentions. They are in search of better wages and working conditions and to seamlessly acquire new skills in the profession and raise their families to places of better social amenities. They are in search of places where they will find greater prospects of actualising their life ambitions. They are immigrant Nigerian medical doctors.

They have continued to drain Nigeria’s health sector base yearly as a result of their mass exodus from our shores.

Since the inception of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), there have been 65,000 registered medical doctors but presently, only 25,000 of them are practising in the country. Official statistics have it that there is one doctor to 6,400 patients in Nigeria as against the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of one doctor to 600 patients. If we must meet the WHO standard, then there must be an additional 283,333 doctors going by a

for patients; selling Prescription Only Medicines (POM), for instance hypertension drugs, sedatives, pain killers and by so doing assuming the positions of physicians and pharmacists put together, thereby causing untold harm to humans.

Some patients consult them for medication, they carry out their poor prognosis on them and after which they mix-up different drugs, one for each complaint made by the patient, and this has actually promoted self-medication. Some have also converted their shops to semihospitals, maternities and abortion clinics.

However, the sins of some patent medicine dealers are not the only bane of the pharmaceutical industry because more problems are unveiled as one encounters the next category of people administering drugs in Nigeria. This category of medicine dealers carries out their trade from house to house, in the streets, in town service buses, in the market and in motor parks. They not only dispense drugs, but also prescribe it to people who never solicited for their services. One of the acts that make their sins so grave is that they not only encourage self-medication, but they also go as far as discouraging people openly from consulting their physicians for medical solutions. In Enugu, for instance, some of them are seen in town service buses.

They usually start with prayers once the bus takes off, after that they introduce themselves and then go ahead to introduce their drugs one after the other to the commut-

By Kingsley Amatanweze ers who never asked them for medical help.

It is in their habit to scare the public with some health conditions, saying that medical doctors have been found unable to treat the ailments. They present their drugs as the only remedy to such conditions, to the acceptance of some gullible and uninformed commuters. This drug hawking business is found prevalent in the northern part of the country where drugs are displayed like food items in the market and open places. And in Lagos, they even formed an unregistered union for themselves - Medicine Sellers Association in Nigeria.

Most of the people in this category of dealers are neo-literates, with some of them completing just their primary education. Whereas

majority of the people that fall victim to these charlatans are members of the lower class, rural area dwellers and people who rarely visit the hospital for regular medical check-up.

Regrettably, many people have lost their lives to the services of these people. Many were made to believe that their health problems were benign and could be treated with drugs sold to them by these fellows. This sheer exhibition of deceit exacerbates the health conditions of such people even before they eventually get to the hospital for adequate health care delivery.

They have also discouraged some others from consulting medical doctors on their health issues, with the argument that the drugs the hawkers sell are the only panacea to the problem, as they tag doctors clueless in the treatment of such sicknesses.

Drugs are meant to be stored in a cool dry place, most times at or below room temperature (20 - 25 degree celcius). But the practice of drug hawking exposes them to temperatures so many times above their storage temperatures, and this leads to the denaturing of the constituting chemicals in the drugs and thus, its consequent adulteration due to unfavorable temperature conditions. So there is no gainsaying that the practice still poses similar threats like fake drugs. Again, there is high tendency of them equally hawking fake drugs.

Therefore, it is high time this practice was stopped since it encourages self-medication, discourages medical diagnosis and check-up and exposes drugs to unfavourable storage conditions. There should be a well-targeted campaign and place-

ment of adverts on the media to help sensitize the general public on the dangers of drug-hawking and selfmedication. NAFDAC, NDLEA and other drug regulatory agencies should step up their fight in flushing every form of drug misadministration, handling and abuse out of the society. Since most of these hawkers market drugs for some registered drug companies, such companies should be cautioned and directed to use the modern means of advertisement in the media Poverty and ignorance are popular among the reasons behind selfmedication. Therefore, government should further subsidise health care and make it more available to the people of the lower class and rural dwellers. The public should also be seriously educated on the dangers of drug misadministration.

Drugs are delicate substances that save life, but if not properly handled and administered, are poisonous. The law regulating the sales and dispensing of drugs should be reviewed and strictly enforced to ensure that only pharmacists dispense prescription drugs. Patent medicine dealers should not be allowed to go against the law which allows them to sell only over-thecounter drugs.

However, drug-hawking should absolutely be prohibited owing to the reasons highlighted earlier.

Their gospel and practice have sent many to their early graves. No matter the form it may be presented, the effect of this practice is just a close relation to the dangers of fake drugs.

Kingsley just finished from Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, UNN

Graduates must be ready to work

By Hammed Hamzat 5.30 percent in 2006.

The attitude of final year students of the University of Ibadan at the career sensitization seminar call for sober reflection as less than three hundred students of the institution participated in the exercise. The programme was organized by the Student Affairs Division of the institution with Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic as the Chairman of Career Board.

Despite massive publicity for the programme which was placed on the University’s website, faculties’ notice boards and other strategic places on campus, students in their lackadaisical attitude still ignored the call to groom them for better opportunities in the labour market.

Securing employment has gone beyond academic excellence. This is because the influx of graduates into the labour market is high com-

pare to job available for the entire sector. It is therefore imperative for graduate to get acquainted with necessary skills expected of him while preparing to take up a job.

It is not an overstatement to state that becoming rich is a matter of mind and decision. As such the lamentation of graduates of higher institution will continue to soar high if the minds of students that are graduating from ivory towers are not refined and nurtured towards taking entrepreneurial skills and know the qualities employers expected them to possess.

Albeit, no pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a new doorway for economic prosperity. It is a matter of fact for students to make themselves available for goals setting and enriching programme.

In the age of industrialization, roads, railways and power were

considered as basic infrastructure.

In the 21st century, information is the basic infrastructure that must be available to every citizen. The problem with the current generation is the low Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literacy among students and lecturers. It took seven years for internet to receive appreciable acceptance while it took forty six years for electricity and sixty six years for airplane to be accepted globally.

For centuries, universities have been described as a place where higher knowledge and skills have been developed, refined and nurtured. One of the lessons from this career sensitization seminar is that management on their part should mandate the exercise on all final year students of the institution to attend.

This will go a long way to arming graduates of the institution with requisite tools for career success.

Other tertiary institutions can key into

the campaign towards making Nigerian graduates employable, thereby reducing unemployment in the country.

With total number of final year students hovering around two hundred and fifty that attended the programme cut across one hundred and twenty departments, this represents less than 15% of total graduates the university produces annually. This calls for students to be more proactive and ready to utilise every opportunity that comes their way that will assist them to fit into the society.

This is a clarion call on all graduating students to make the best use of opportunity availed them by their institution to harness their entrepreneurial potentials and contribute to societal growth as the world of work is different from world of the classroom.

Hammed, 400-Level Educational Management, UI

Why won’t they leave? population of 170 million. Reports have it that 77% of black doctors in the United States of America (USA) are Nigerians.

Truth be told, the situation is not getting better at any level of practice - from the house officers to the consultants and even medical students.

They are all leaving the country for greener pastures. Why won’t they leave when they lack better working conditions and are made to work in rodent-infested work places? Why won’t they leave when they are encumbered in the workplace by suffocating and irritating contest for position, status, salary and relevance with them?

My Economics teacher in secondary school told me that the duration and cost of training is a factor that determines the salary of workers, yet everyone want to earn the same salary and attain same status as a medical doctor. Why won’t they leave

when they can no longer concentrate and can’t put in their best as a result of lack of modern equipment to work with? Why won’t they leave when Nigerians blame them for not being able to discover cure for diseases, forgetting that they have failed to fund their research?

Why won’t they leave when they have become subjects of kidnap, vilified in newspapers, owned salaries and allowances for months? Why won’t they leave, when their hazard allowance is not even enough to feed the miserable lions at the University of Ibadan Zoological Garden? Why won’t they leave when the society they toil day and night to ensure is healthy now stabs them at the back, remind them of Hippocratic Oath when they engage in strike action to demand for the needful, forgetting that society has failed to fulfil their part of the oath. Should we blame society? No. After all, they know

nothing about the oath.

Why won’t they leave when Universal Health Coverage is not for all masses? Why won’t they leave when the society has tagged them as proud, killers, negligent, selfish and in the profession for nothing but money?

Why won’t they leave when those aspiring to become specialist have lost hope in the dream as a result of inadequate space for residency training? Why won’t they leave when patients take all sorts of medications including traditional concoction expecting the doctor to do miracle when they present themselves in the hospital? Why won’t they leave when patients can no longer pay their bills because those gangsters they voted in as leaders have not provided them with job and the doctor has to bend backwards all in the name of rendering service to humanity? They are tired of treating patients for free and ths, have to go.

By Eddy Uwoghiren Why won’t they leave when there is now mass unemployment in the profession? Why won’t they leave when the crowd in the hospital is outstretching the facilities there? Why •Continued on page 44

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

44

CAMPUS LIFE Provost urges students on diligence

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ILIGENCE is a virtue that can help workers to attain the highest position in their career, the Provost of Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology (OYSCATECH) in Igboora, Prof Gbemiga Adewale, has said.

He urged staff and students of the college to carry out their responsibilities diligently to sustain the institution’s achievements in academics and infrastructure. He spoke at the seventh matriculation for freshers admitted into National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes for the 2014/2015 academic session.

Adewale said his administration had set a culture of doing things in the right way, while admonishing staff to discharge their responsibilities and make efforts towards helping students to achieve their academic pursuits.

He noted that the college had been pursuing youth empowerment programmes, particularly training for students in agricultural enterprise, including poultry, rabbitry, fisheries, piggery, livestock feeds production, home economics and crop production.

He urged ministries and parastatals to collabo-

AL-HIKIMAH launches online library L-HIKIMAH University in Ilorin, Kwara State, has launched an interface to create easy access to academic materials for students. The software was produced in partnership with Phinnx.com, a software firm, contracted by the management to computerise academic materials in the school library.

The firm has launched anti-plagiarism software, which students have already downloaded on their mobile devices. Courses’ materials are being converted to soft copies for

A

From Helen Olawore OYSCATECH rate with the college in improving the quality of the youth empowerment service.

The Provost congratulated the matriculating students, charging them to be focused and shun vices, such as cultism and examination malpractice. He enjoined them to join lawful and registered social and religious organisations on campus to help them to achieve their purpose in their academic pursuit.

The highpoint of the ceremony was the oathtaking, which was conducted by the Registrar, Mr Niyi Fehintola. More than 432 students were admitted into the ND and HND programmes.

Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igboora was established in August 2006 as an agricultural training institute but the Oyo State House of Assembly amended the Act setting up the college from monotechnic to polytechnic. Governor Abiola Ajimobi signed the amended Act into law last month. The institution is now named Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology (OYSCATECH).

From Faith Olaniran ILORIN easy access. The firm would equip the library with enterprise search system, browser-based video conferencing, illustrator and instant messaging tools to make reading easy for students.

Students of the Department of Physical Sciences have already enjoying the new platform, describing it as exciting. Basit Suleiman, a 400-Level Geology student, said: “It is the most exciting learning system I have used.”

The Phinnx.com software is free and can be downloaded on smart phones, tablets and laptops. The Phinnx community process allows user to request new features that will be beneficial to them without charges.

Lecturers lauded the initiative, saying it would assist the institution to deliver quality education to its students.

On and Off Campus By Solomon Izekor 08061522600

•The freshers at the event

Echoes of nationalism at college’s convocation •Continued from page 31

He said: “We must contribute selflessly to make our country great. We should make sacrifices to sustain what our founding fathers bequeathed to us. We must shun bribery and corruption in every position we find ourselves in order to move the country.”

In his paper titled: Education, state and democracy in Nigeria, a professor of philosophy and zonal co-ordiantor of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof Ike Odimegwu, noted that Nigeria would only develop if quality education is restored in school.

“If our education sector is adequately funded to produce quality, politics will start doing well,” he said.

Another speaker, Mr Emeka Maduewesi, who spoke on Nwafor Orizu and horizontal education, noted that the late Orizu practiced what he preached. According to him, the late Orizu knew that, the heart of education was the secondary school and this made him established a school in his home town before his death.

He said: “As we remember him today, I urge the government of Anambra State to promulgate necessary legislation to convert Nwafor Orizu College of Education to a university of education. Only then can we truly honour him as our past hero.”

The honoree’s daughter, Princess Udunna Nwafor-Orizu, on behalf of the family, thanked the college management for honouring her late father.

She said: “This memorial lecture for my late father shows people still remember his immense contributions to the nation. Our leaders should try to emulate selfless leadership beliefs of the

Life-saving tips •Continued from page 42

President of the ABU Medical Students Association (ABUMSA), Ibrahim Sodangi, said the aim of the workshop was to promote a healthy society. He said the seminar would enlighten the unlearned public on what they could do whenever they find themselves at accident scenes.

He condemned people’s action to take pictures of people in distress and weep at accident scenes, saying such act could not save the lives

past nationalists, who fought to ensure the country became independent.”

The Provost, Dr Ego Uzozie, said the ceremony was unique because it was the first time in four years that the college would hold convocation. She hailed Gov. Obiano for what she called “uncommon show of commitment” for the college, urging the governor to review the salary structure of lecturers and upgrade the college to a degree-awarding institution.

Gov. Obiano congratulated the granduands and extolled the leadership of the institution. He said his administration had been focusing on infrastructure and welfare of students and teachers to sustain the current tempo of education in the state.

He said arrangement had been finalised to train technical students and equip them with entrepreneurial skills. He added that some selected teachers would be travelling to Singapore for special training to meet the challenges of modern teaching.

In her remark, the Commissioner for Education, Prof Kate Omenugha, said the government was working hard to ensure quality was improved.

The occasion was a moment of joy for the college’s best graduating students. They are Evelyn Nwankwo in Agricultural Science Department, Chinyere Ogbuagu in Biology Computer Department, Eucheria Obiako in Business Education Department and Chimezie Chukwunelo, Economics Department.

Evelyn, who spoke on behalf of the valedictorians, said: “We are better people now, morally, physically, intellectually, and spiritually. I can confidently say we are rich in character and learning.” of people in need of medical attention. “This seminar will educate and enlighten the participants on things they can do to help people in need of medical attention. Providing first aid will go a long way in saving lives before the arrival of medical practitioners,” he said.

A student of Department of Computer Science, Ibrhim Mohammed, described the training as an eye-opener. He said he learnt how best to save a life without being medical doctor.

Aisha Sadiq, a student of Department of Mass Communication, described the workshop as “life-saving education”.

Why won’t they leave?

•Continued from page 43

won’t they leave when a local government chairman now prefers to go outside the country to seek medical attention for mild headache?

Why won’t they leave when Hippocrates is now uncomfortable in his grave with the happening to his followers? Why won’t they leave when the budgetary allocation to the health sector is far below standard? Why won’t they leave when the government had grown bigger than workers union, threatening striking workers with sack and other punitive measures? Ask the 16,000 resident doctors that were sacked and recalled recently.

Why won’t the medical students leave when

their stay in medical school is being truncated and prolonged by accreditation crises, teachers strike and poor infrastructure? How can they be learning and not have tools for practicals? Who is suffering? Of course the Nigeria health sector which is already deficient of specialist doctors.

The drama has now changed. They no longer leave for the USA and Europe. They now leave for other African countries with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) far less than the supposed giant of Africa; after all, they are appreciated there.

This is their plight , I weep for them.

Eddy, 200-Level Medicine and Surgery, UNIBEN

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

45

EDUCATION

Fed Govt warns against intervention funds misuse M INISTER of Education Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau has said serious punishment awaits any Vice Chancellor (VC), who invests Federal Government intervention funds to earn interest.

He said this in Abuja, at one-day sensitisation retreat on the implementation of needs assessment intervention in Nigerian public universities.

Shekarau said: “We thought we should bring all the Vice Chancellors and all their management staff concern with management of funds to inject into their heads that this money coming must be prudently utilised. The implementation monitoring committee, chaired by my humble self, will be monitoring every naira and kobo released to every university and we will make sure that due process is complied with. We will not spare any head of any institution that violates the rules and regulations guiding the expenditure of this funds.

From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

“Distinguished participants, please permit me to sound a note of warning. On no account should universities invest the intervention funds to earn interest. There must be no delay in meeting financial obligations to contactors, vendors, suppliers and staff undergoing training. All beneficiaries are to maintain a single dedicated bank account to which funds released by IMC are lodged, and from which the universities settle their contractual obligations. The intervention funds cannot be paid into any other account. Any change of account must receive the prior approval of IMC.” He urged stakeholders within the university community to support the government’s quest to improve the quality of students that pass through the university.

“With the quantity of funds injected into the tertiary education sub-sector this year, the Federal Government expects a reasonable infrastructural transformation of our universities in the next few years,” he said.

The Minister said the 2012 report of the Committee on Needs Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities exposed the decay of learning facilities, hostels, high percentage of abandoned projects, poor sanitation in universities.

He said: “Hostel accommodation had rapidly deteriorated due to intense pressure on existing facilities, resulting in overcrowded rooms and overstretched lavatories and poor sanitation. Municipal, electricity, medical facilities are no better. Many of the universities had a litany of abandoned projects, insufficient or out-dated. The Universities were grossly understaffed; many of the staff available requires

capacity building or re-training.

“The Committee made far-reaching recommendations, which were considered and adopted by both the Federal Executive Council and the National Economic Council. It is at the backdrop of this that the Federal Government inaugurated the implementation monitoring committee (IMC) to oversee the administration of this intervention, in collaboration with the universities.

“The Federal Government is making available the sum of 1.3 trillion naira to be disbursed as follows: 2013 - N200 billion, 2014N220billion, 2015, N220 billion, 2016 - N220 billion, 2017 - N220 billion and 2018 - N220 billion.

He said the government would not rest on its oars to ensure that “our universities are citadels of learning and ivory towers, and that your score cards at the end of your tenures would be assessed by all stakeholders”, urging them to be responsible in the discharge their duties to their immediate communities.

Law School prodigy Anita dreams big

A

22-YEAR-old graduate of the University of Reading, England, Anita Omonuwa, who bagged six prizes at this year’s final examination of the Nigerian Law School, has attributed her success to hard work and constant reading.

Anita was the first Nigerian, who schooled abroad, to graduate in the Bar final examination with a First Class in the 51 years existence of the school.

The overall best graduate in the examination written by 5,841 candidates across the six law school campuses, was Opeyemi Alonge, a graduated with a First Class in Law from the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA). Alonge won seven awards at the call to Bar ceremony, setting a new record at the school.

Anita's six prizes were from the Corporate Law Practice; Best Overall Female Student of the Year; Best Student of the year; 1st Class student; Council of Legal Education Star Prize (won by only two persons) and Boinime Jackson Lott Foundation Prize.

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

Anita, whose father, Omoruyi Omonuwa, served as the AttorneyGeneral of Edo State (2007-2008), said she has been winning school awards since she was in the kindergarten.

She recalled that she was rewarded with a free uniform as a motivational prize, for being the best kindergarten pupil at Our Lady of Apostles, Benin City.

Other prizes she claimed to have won in her primary and secondary school years included the 2003 Bournvita Award for Outstanding performance as the best graduating pupil; the Igbinedion Education Centre 2008/2009 Certificate of Merit as the overall best graduating student in Accounting, English, Yoruba, Computer Science, Biology, Literature, Government, Economics, Food and Nutrition.

At the University of Reading, Anita said she earned a scholarship as the best Foundation student after making a Grade I with distinction and later became the first black woman to win the Reading University

Chancellor's Award.

Anita is not done yet; she said she is working hard to be like her father, who has excelled in the legal profession.

She said: "I have enrolled for Masters Degree Programme in Law in the UK to specialise in Comparative International Commercial Arbitration, International and Comparative Oil and Gas (Upstream), Maritime Law and Marine Insurance Oil and Gas: Contracting, Decommissioning and Financing of International Trade."

"I tried to follow in my father's footsteps, who rose to be honoured with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) at an early age in his law career. He has been an Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Edo State. For his contributions to the nation, in 2012 he made it to the President's list as an Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR).

"I have shown great zeal to learn and gain useful experiences since starting out at my father's Law Firm as a Library Assistant in 2009 and my interest further in Law practice in

•Anita

2011 with Ferdinand Orbih (SAN) and Co Nigeria. I have worked as an intern in the legal firm of Hatten Wyatt Solicitors and Advocate in the UK." But Anita is not just thinking about law, she also plans to be useful in philanthropy.

"I want to make good use of myself and the world by engaging in philanthropic activities like assisting the underprivileged and making others smile," she said.

JABU on track, says VC

Two dons win TWAS grant THE World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) has selected the projects of the two academics of the Department of Chemistry, University of Lagos (UNILAG) for its 2014 Research Grants Programme.

Prof O. Familoni will receive grant for his work on: Synthesis of Some Sulphur Containing Heterocycles with Physiological Activities, and Dr. C. Isanbor for Towards the Design of New AntiParasitic Drug Candidates: Some Studies of the Reaction of Aromatic Nitro-Compunds with Anionic and Amino Nucleophiles.

The duo was selected on merit, by the TWAS Advisory Committee after a highly competitive process, which involved the evaluation of a very large number of applications.

The Vice-Chancellor, on behalf of members of the University Community, congratulated them and wished them success in their endeavours.

Varsity, GSK discuss pact THE GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Limited, has discussed plans to establish a Research and Development (R&D) laboratory to enhance medical research.

A three-man delegation from GSK made up of Managing Director, Mr. Lekan Asuri; Sales Director, Mr. Bunmi Adimula and TLOD Manager, Dr. Yewande Olusanya, hosted by the UNILAG authorities, unveiled the plans.

They were received by the ViceChancellor, Prof Rahamon Bello, accompanied by the Deputy ViceChancellor (Academic & Research), Prof Babajide Alo; Registrar, Dr. Taiwo Ipaye; Bursar, Mr. Lateef Odekunle; among others.

Asuri said the plans, under the firm's Strategic Investment in Africa, also hopes to endow 25 professorial chairs in the universities.

He said: "The Strategic Investment in Africa plan aims to create world's first R&D open Laboratory to increase understanding of non-communicable diseases and support development of new medicines for Africa; significantly increase African manufacturing presence to build capacity and enhance regional self sufficiency.

Researchers win TETfund awards

T

HE Vice Chancellor, Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Prof Sola Fajana, has said the institution would continue to produce graduates with a strong sense of moral uprightness for national development.

Fajana, who spoke at the 5th convocation of the university, said the institution has pursued the mission by continuously improving teaching and learning, strengthening its manpower, and creating an enabling environment for learning and holistic development.

He also said all academic programmes offered by the university are accredited, while necessary arrangements were being made for those due for accreditation.

"The University has continued to advance in all frontiers of learning.

The visit of the National University Commission (NUC) Resource Verification Team to the proposed Law, Public Administration and International Relations Programmes last February, led to the approval of Law Programme for the university," he said.

Fajana enthused that in the coming years, as fallouts of collaborations and partnerships with foreign institutions, JABU will be participating in accreditations offered by accrediting bodies outside Nigeria to improve its visibility.

UNILAG FILE

•From left The Chancellor JDr Wemimo Odunaiya, Best Graduating Student, Emmanuel Adebisi, and Prof Fajana at the event.

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

He charged the 1,044 graduands to create positive things and be good ambassadors of the university.

Among the 19 students that bagged first class honours at the convocation, Emmanuel Adebisi of the Computer Science Department emerged the best graduating student with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.85.

Adebisi attributed his success to

God and self-determination.

Meanwhile, 279 students graduated with Second Class upper; 614, Second Class lower; while 126 had third class.

Others bagged higher degrees - four MBA and two Post-Graduate Diplomas. In his remarks, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council, Prof Anthony Imevbore, said JABU is poised to prepare and equip a vanguard of qualified human resources, who will participate in up-

lifting the nation's economy.

He said the university would soon establish a Medical School for the production of various cadres of health workers.

Highlight of the convocation ceremony was the conferment of the Doctor of Enterpreneurship (honoris causa) on Dr Goodie Ibru, for his contribution towards the development of humanity, business world and the society.

THE proposals of two research teams of the UNILAG have won the 2014-2016 Awards of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). They were among the 20 selected by the TETFund for various grants. Submitted in 2011, they were part of the hundreds of research proposals tendered by research teams drawn from several universities across Nigeria. The proposals were evaluated and pruned to sixty before awards were granted to twenty research groups.

The principal researcher for the two research projects is a renowned Professor of Botany and Director of Academic Planning, UNILAG, Professor Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe. One of the projects will be conducted in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR).

The first research project, The Allergenic Activities of Pollen and Spores of Nigerian Plants and Their Spatial Pattern was coordinated by Ogundipe in collaboration with Dr Olusola Adekambi, Dr Temitope Onuminya, and Mrs Nneka Ezike, all of the Botany department.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

46

CAMPUS LIFE AOCOED FILE

SCHOLARSHIPS

Mgt. updates workers

APPROACHING DEADLINE

THE management of the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education Otto/Ijanikin, Lagos has paid three out of the four and half months salary owed its workers.

This is in fulfilment of the agreement the school management and workers signed last month. The college public relations officer (PRO)Adebowale Odunayo, said only individuals indebted to cooperative societies were denied the funds.

It said management also invited workers to participate in the ongoing auditing of the college activities by the government which ends this week.

Odunayo also said October and November salaries have been paid to all categories of workers.

Concerning outstanding internal arrears, Odunayo said the school management agreed with the workers that the two months arrears would be paid to Hatiss 9 & 11, saying, payment schedule for the aforementioned status had been sent to the bank and paid since 19th of this month.

UNU-INRA Visiting Scholarship Programme for Africans, 2015-2016 UNU-INRA, with funding from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), is offering UNU-INRA Visiting Scholars Programme for a research project entitled ”Unleashing the Potential of African Rural Economies through Green Growth”. Scholarships are available for undertaking a three-year research project at UNU-INRA headquarters in Accra, Ghana or at one of its operating units based in Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Namibia, Senegal and Zambia. Female candidates are encouraged

to apply. Up to ten visiting scholars will be selected each year for 3 to 4 months of USD 1,500.00 value. The application deadline is 30 April 2015 for the academic year 2015–2016.

Study Subject(s): Scholarships are awarded for a research project entitled ”Unleashing the Potential of African Rural Economies through Green Growth”. The project aims to provide empirical evidence on how green growth strategies can, amongst others, influence employment, income generation, innovation, competitive-

Six hours sleep helped me succeed, says Crawford’s best

F •George

Director for Q&A AOCOED has appointed Mr. Pius Adekunle George as the Director, Directorate of Quality Assurance (Q&A). The decision followed an earlier directive by the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) that the college must establish a functional and effective QA unit.

The management, during one of its recent meetings, directed the esthwhile Quality Assurance unit to transform into a full Directorate and Mr George was appointed to man it.

Others on board are: Mr. Bajulaiye A; Mr. N.T.A Sikiru; Mr. Bello O.B; Mrs. Lawal; M, Mrs. Bello; G., Mr. Akanmu O.S; Mrs. Ombugadu A.K; Mr. Ajagbe S.O; and Mr. Ojoare Waheed. Mrs. Egboh, F.B will serve as the secretary.

Deans’ tenure expire FOLLOWING the expiration of the two - year tenure of most of the deans of the college and subsequent directive that they are to handover to the most senior HOD's in their departments this month, some individuals have been appointed in acting capacity with effect from December 18, until substantive deans are elected.

They are: Mr. Bajulaiye, A.A (Student Affairs); Mr. Olaogun G.O (Pry Educ. & Early Childhood Care); Mr. Hontonyon, B.A (PartTime Studies); Dr. J.O Owoso (Prelim Studies); Dr. M.O Odumosu (School of Science); and Mr. J.I Bello (Art and Social Sciences). Others are Mrs Taiwo Kehinde (Languages); Mr. S.O Egbetokun (Voc & Tech Education) and Dr Dele Giwa (Education).

The college Management, Odunayo added, has begun work on the 2013 promotion exercise, saying eligible non-teaching staff are already being interviewed and screened.

According to him, the promotion exercise began on December 18 and ended on Tuesday.

The institution's workers, it would be recalled, embarked on a twomonth strike over some of the afore-mentioned demands.

OR students popularly referred to as efikos (bookworm) who would rather deprive themselves of sleep in order to come atop in class, Omope Samuel Oluwatosin has a message for them- "Too much reading and less sleep doesn't make a student succeed."

Oluwatosin who emerged the best graduating student of Crawford University, Igbesa Ogun State defended his position at the university's sixth convocation held at the university's main auditorium on Thursday last week. Oluwatosin graduated with 4.79 Cumulative Grade Point Average from the College of Business and Social Sciences, Department of Accounting 'Six hours of sleep everyday helps one assimilate better' Oluwatosin told the large audience comprising graduands, their parents, guests and workers of the university.

He continued: "What some students know is that they must read and ac-

•Oluwatosin

By Medinat Kanabe

tually dig deep to understand what they read and must read from everywhere - newspapers, books, library, internet; but what they don't understand is that in order for them to assimilate, they must have a minimum of six hours and a maximum of eight

ness and social inclusion for rural Africa under four thematic areas: Green business opportunities in rural Africa, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and resource efficiency, productivity and resilience in rural Africa, Rural SMEs and ecosystem services and Institutions and governance for environmentally-friendly business practices.

Course Level: Scholarships are available for undertaking a three-year research project at UNU-INRA headquarters in Accra, Ghana or at one of

its operating units based in Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Namibia, Senegal and Zambia.

Scholarship Provider: UNU-INRA, with funding from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Scholarship can be taken at: UNUINRA headquarters in Accra, Ghana or at one of its operating units based in Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Namibia, Senegal and Zambia.

•Continued on next edition

hours rest. If you are staying in bed more than eight hours or less than six hours, you are doing yourself a disservice.

"If you stay in bed between six and eight hours, it refreshes your brain. During exams, I tell my friends that staying overnight to read isn't the best because it is a waste of time. After the whole stress of the day and the accumulated fatigue in the brain, you will not rest but begin to read again at night, there is no way you will assimilate until you have a minimum of six hours rest.

Oluwatosin's target time is between 4am and 6am everyday.

"I go to bed by 10pm everyday," he stressed, "but by 4am I would have had a minimum amount of rest which is six hours of sleep. I do a little bit of reading from 4am to 6am, bath and go to class to read again until my lectures starts.

"Most time I just read when I am chanced to read.

After lectures, I go to the library, after library I go to the cafeteria to read, but most times when I get to my hostel at night I don't engage in any reading. I simply chat with my friends and play because all work and no play make Jack a dull boy," he said.

However, Oluwatosin did not have a smooth sail to victory. He told reporters how his educationist father and civil servant mother struggled to send him to school, noting that he saw their toil as a mandate to succeed.

"As a civil servant mum she didn't have much and dad's business as a proprietor also was gradually nose-diving during this period and school fees here is about 450,000. So I have actually seen my parents sell their vehicle just to raise funds. My dad would say all the work they did was for us and the best investment one can have is the one on one's children," Tosin noted.

The 21 year-old Oluwatosin also relishes his appetite for social life.

Oluwatosin got Prof Peter Akinsola Okebukola Science Foundation Prize for the Best Overall Graduating Student; Mrs Ngozi Osueke's prize for the Best Behaved Graduating Male Student; Parents Forum prize for the Overall Best Graduating Student, and Messrs Adebo Ojo & Co. prize for the Graduating Student with the Best Overall Result in Accounting, among others.

ASCON holds low key end-of-year party

T

HE end-of-the-year family reunion of the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), was devoid of the usual fanfare.

This was as a result of the loss of three workers of the college.

However, the Director-General Ajibade Peters, took stock of events in the outgoing year.

Peters said a total of 2,375 participants attended the college various programmes in the outgoing year, a figure he lamented dropped when juxtaposed with enrolment in the 2012 and 2013.

"This is not unconnected with the dwindling government revenue, late releases and drastic cuts in budgetary allocations to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), rising insecurity and preparation for the general elections in February 2015," Peters said.

The college, he further said, boosts its relationship with state governments, helping them to conduct promotional examination for their civil servants on one hand, and serving as consultant in recruiting new officers into their civil service.

According to Peters, the college is involved with others bodies in the professionalisation of the human resources management function in the federal civil service, an initiative of the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (OHCSF).

ASCON, Peters said, is solely handling the second aspect of the initiative, which according to him, is to identify specific skills gaps

a m o n g incumbent h u m a n resources (HR) managers and administrative officers (AOs).

"I wish to note that this project is of strategic importance to ASCON in terms of being involved in the implementation of the various t r a i n i n g programmes that will emanate from the skills and knowledge inventory study as well as

• Mr Pereke (2nd left) with wife Mrs Stella, receiving his gifts from two of his colleagues Messrs Bello Adio (3rd left) and Hashim Benson. Inset Peters.

replicating the initiative for the state public service," Peters added.

He thanked the immediate past HoS, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji for making it possible for ASCON to repossess its land, which was ceded to NIMASA in 2006.

He also thanked a former HoS, Steven Oronsanye for linking ASCON with the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN), which facilitated the award of contracts worth billions for improved facilities.

He identified poor electricity supply, dwindling government subvention and declining internallygenerated revenue (IGR) as some of the college’s biggest headaches.

By Adegunle Olugbamila

"Power supply has remained our biggest challenge. This has caused the college to run its stand-by generators for almost 24 hours daily.

The cost of running these generators is astronomical and the opportunity cost to the college in terms of the resources that could have been used for other pressing demands is even higher.

"We have also been confronted during the year with a declining IGR profile. This is also connected to the dwindling government revenues in the sense that shortfalls or cutbacks

in subvention to MDAs and statutory allocations to state governments have translated into declining patronage by our traditional clients.

“With the worsening financial position of the college, you will agree with me that we need to embark on a cost reduction strategy, while evolving additional and new revenue generating strategies to shore up our finance.

The high point of the event was the interactive session and presentation of long service award to Mr Ekokeme Pereke, who has spent 30 years in the service.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

47

EDUCATION CHRISTMAS FUNFARE

Bonus for principals, others

Indomie celebrates pupils

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

I

A

S part of its activities to appreciate the children, who form the chunk of its indomie noodles consumers, Dufil Prima Food Plc, last week hosted members of the Indomie Fans’ Club to an end of the year party at the National Theatre Iganmu, Lagos.

The event, which was fun-filled, had several schools in Lagos State, both the kids and their teachers, present.

The co-ordinator, Indomie Fans’ Club, Faith Joshua, said the company holds the event yearly and as such, could not be described as ‘Christmas party’ because they have both Muslim and Christians as fan club members. Describing the kids as its main consumers, Joshua said the company deems it fit to bring them together and discover the talents in them for grooming.

“The club is actually an open thing, we say it to the schools and if they response to us we, make them our members. Indomie Fan Club has over 100,000 members and every year in all our programmes we actually host them and take care of them,” said Joshua Speaking on the benefit of the club to the children she said: “When they participate in our competitions, they also review their educational skills and we groom the ones that are actually vital for us.

Under the avenue of indomie

•Pupils of Halycom International School, Ilupeju, Lagos, dancing during their 2014 Christmas party.

PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

By Sampson Unamka

platform they have the opportunity to make new friends and associate with people from different classes.”

According to her, the same celebration was ongoing in other cities such as Abuja, Akure, Abeokuta, Ibadan and Benin, with plans to expand to more states in future.

Dufil Prima foods Plc, Public Relations Manager, Ashiwaju Temitope said: “It’s one platform that the company really believes in and we have done this consistently in the past and we don’t intend to stop.”

He said apart from the kids, the school and teachers also benefit

immensely from the programme.

“We are also giving back to those people, who are co-ordinating them and that’s by giving to schools and by ensuring that the school teachers also get from us. Some of those things that the teachers get from us are that once a year, we try to do what’s called ‘Training the trainer’. We train the teachers because if you want the children to be part of what you believe in you have to train them.

Since we, as a company, will not be able to do this directly for the kids in school, it means that we have to put a platform were all these teachers would be trained periodically and that we do it from time to time,”Ashiwaju said.

He listed the company’s major challenge in organising the event as security, adding that the company will love to explore other parts of the country. “ If you see the list of where we are having such parties, we strategically left the northern part of the country and some parts in the east because of security challenges.

What goes into having 5000 children at a point in time is not easy at all, you need to talk of health, you need to bring nurses, security people and teachers together. And you need to train them well ahead of the event.

I am sure that once security becomes an issue of the past, then of course we can have it nationwide,” he said.

Exclusive party for pupils

By Jane Chijioke

C

ARDINAL Nursery and Primary School decided to do something unique-it hosted the kids to an exclusive Christmas funfair, exempting their parents.

The pupils, the school proprietress, Mrs Nkechi Ohakawa disclosed, made the request to enable them display their talents on the dance floor without their parents’ interfering.

The event held at D’Cubicle Event Centre, Igando last Friday.

The children participated in dance competition, carols, Bible lessons and a drama depicting the birth of Jesus Christ. There were also lots of interesting games with lots of food, drinks and gifts from Santa Claus.

Ohakawa recalled how the previous editions of the party, which had parents in attendance, constituting distractions and prevented the pupils from fully expressing their dance skills.

Teachers also rendered carols and praise songs. In what seemed like words of exaltation, Mrs Ohakawa explained the significance of Christmas.

According to her, Jesus Christ came to redeem the world, and The therefore, was children incarnated in form, participated human adopting manin dance kind as children God. competition, ofHis birth, carols, Ohakawa further stressed, Bible was significance lessons with love, joy, happiness and and a forgiveness.

Raymond drama Ayim, a Pridepicting mary IV pupil, the the birth of described season as a time Jesus to give, which he has set out to Christ do.

• Pupils of Loving Gaze School, catching fun with Santa Claus.

NGO stresses love, care for children

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NON-GOVERNMENTAL Organisation (NGO), Loving Gaze Schools, has underscored the essence of giving care and love to children, particularly during festivities.

Loving Gaze, who is the general manager, Barbara Pepoli, spoke at the SS Peter & Paul Creche, Nursery & Primary Christmas party. It featured over 360 students and their families in attendance.

Pepoli said such gesture would give the children a sense of responsibility and make them discover the beauty around them.

The Christmas party was celebrated with the support of Kinder Joy, a children household event which featured a Santa Claus that gave each kid a package comprising chocolate and toy.

He said: "We are delighted to celebrate this year's Christmas party with the support of Kinder Joy. We

By Sampson Unamka

share the same values for our children: Joy, quality of education and surprise for the beauty of the world. It is every child's right to receive care, attention and love.

We want them to be aware of their dignity and infinite value; this is our education through all our activities.

"We want them to grow, discover the beauty around them and become responsible adults. Our school’s motto for this academic year is: What is essential can be seen only with an open heart. We hope that our children will see the true spirit and joy of this Christmas celebration."

He explained that Loving Gaze is a not-for-profit organisation, with 25 years of experience in Nigeria. It is run by 150 Nigerian professionals, Italian expatriates and

international volunteers. The NGO focuses on underprivileged communities especially, in Lagos and Taraba States, through educational activities, basic health care service, women empowerment and vocational training,” Pepoli said.

The party afforded the pupils opportunity to participate cultural dance, dance, songs and drama presentations. Aside, participating families and teachers had the chance to meet and discuss.

SS Peter & Paul Creche, Nursery & Primary School was founded by the NGO as a social service, providing basic quality education to all children regardless of religious, ethnic or economic background.

The school began operation in 1991, as a Catholic private school.

At present, school enjoys international exposure with eight international volunteered teachers from France, Australia and Italy.

T was cheering news for principals and directors of the Lagos State Ministry of Education when the Head of Service, Mrs Oluseyi Williams, announced a 15 per cent bonus on top of their December salaries last Friday.

Mrs Williams announced the bonus at a party and award programme in honour of principals of public secondary schools and directors in the ministry, which held at the Grandeur Event Centre, Oregun, Ikeja.

She said the money was ready to be remitted into their accounts, adding that the state was ahead of many others in the country in timely payment of salaries.

"Government is appreciative of what you are doing. Continue to put in your best. Our December salary will be out any moment from now and it is coming with a bonus of 15 per cent. This is coming at a time when some other states owe up to three months; some are still looking for November salary," she said.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs Omolara Erogbogbo, thanked the principals for working hard during the year to achieve the state's educational objectives. She urged them to continue in the same way.

"The Ministry of Education cannot exist without teachers and principals.

As you take care of those children committed to your care, God will take care of your children; you will find favour. We encourage you to do more and to be appreciative of what we have done. We know it is not yet uhuru, but we will get there," she said.

Other dignitaries, who spoke at the event, included Mr Wahab AlawiyeKing, Chairman, House Committee on Education; Prof Abisogun Leigh, former Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), the NUT Chairman, Comrade Segun Raheem, and the President, All Nigerian Confederation of Principals of Secondary School (ANCOPSS) Lagos State Chapter, Mrs Omotunde Lawson.

Prof Leigh, who chaired the occasion, congratulated Mrs Oladunjoye for her achievements in managing the ministry. He said it was different from the time he served as Commissioner for Education in 1978.

"You have done so well so far and I pray that God will continue to direct the ministry under the leadership of Mrs Oladunjoye. Precisely in 1978 I was holding that position and I can see the development that has taken place," he said.

Plaques were presented to outstanding principals and directors in the six education districts, Otunba Ayobade Obajimi, former TutorGeneral/Permanent Secretary, Education District IV, and Sir Kessington Adebutu,were given awards for his support to the education sector. Also awarded was Mrs A. Jemerigbe, Director-General, Nigerian Employers' Consultative Association (NECA).

Oladunjoye and Erogbogbo were also presented with awards.

•Mrs Oladunjoye

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

48

EDUCATION

Lawmaker honours student

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HE lawmaker representing Ifako/Ijaiye 2 constituency in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Ipoola Omisore has advised youths to start early to position themselves for greatness in life.

•Pays her one day’s wage

By Oziegbe Okoeki

Omisore spoke on Friday at the Assembly complex when he hosted Basirat Abiona as a one-day

•Principal officers of Nigerian tertiary institutions at a leadership training organised by Executive Trainers Ltd and Harvard University in the United States.

lawmaker for his constituency for winning a competition he organised.

"The only way you can let them know that they can be like us is to encourage them. I organised a test for 600 students and Basirat came first. The one day lawmaker makes her a role model amongs her colleagues," he said.

Omisore presented Basirat with an undisclosed amount of money that he called one day's worth of his salary - though he said it was higher than that.

In her speech, Basirat Abiona, who just gained admission to study law at the University of Ibadan having graduated from Vetland Senior Grammar School, Agege, thanked God for his grace in her life, and her parents for their support.

The 16-year old girl, who got one day's pay of the lawmaker, thanked Omisore for the gesture, and commended the Lagos State Government for investing a lot of money in education.

"I also thank the Lagos State Government for developing education in the state. We have well equipped library and laboratories and the environment of the school is very conducive," she said.

Basirat's father, Mr. Hassan Abiona Adetoye, thanked Omisore for the gesture, adding that he has always been investing in the education of his children.

He added that Basirat, his third child, would be joining her two older siblings at the University of Ibadan.

•From left: Mrs Jegede, Olukoga, Wahab Alawiye-King, Chairman House Committee on Education, Lagos State House of Assembly, presenting cheques to two beneficiaries.

S

Lagos ‘settles’ 2,966 students with N227m

TUDENTS of Lagos State origin studying in various tertiary institutions nationwide smiled home with bursaries and scholarships worth N227,615,000 last week for the 2013/ 2014 set courtesy of the Lagos State government.

While 2,352 students got bursaries of between N20,000 and N50,000 depending on their courses of study, 235 students studying at the Nigerian Law School and nine studying the Maritime Academy, Oron, got N200,000 each.

Also, 370 undergraduate and postgraduate students benefited from local scholarship worth N81,500,000.

In addition to the N227,615,000 expended for the 2013/2014 set, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Education, Otunba Fatai Olukoga, said that this year, the government also provided funds to clear backlogs of bursaries from 2010.

He said the initiative is a testament of the government's interest in the

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

welfare of the students so they could focus on their studies.

"It is to elevate the students. Going the university is a lot of money. The state government said the only we can assist them is to cushion the effect of school fees. We are giving this to encourage them to read so that they don't worry when they want to study. The state government has been doing this since the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is a progressive state. It is state that makes promise and delivers on that promise," he said.

The Director of the Lagos State Scholarship Board, Mrs Omauton Jegede, said that the bursaries were given to Lagos State indigenes after they were certified by local leaders of the five administrative divisions of Lagos State (Epe, Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja and Lagos), while the local scholarships were given to the

recipients based on merit irrespective of the course of study.

She said physically-challenged students also benefited from the bursary awards - with each of them getting N40,000 irrespective of their courses of study. However, since law, medical and engineering students get N50,000 as bursary, she said physically-challenged students studying those courses, were advised to choose that package instead.

Speaking on the initiative, Sanusi Rasheedat, a 200-Level Microbiology student of Lagos State University (LASU), thanked the government for supporting parents to bear the burden of school fees.

"I am happy to be here. With this, they (government) are encouraging the students and parents. They are encouraging the parents that they are not alone - that government is involved. I will save the money in my bank account. I will discuss it with my parents because I am not the one paying my school fees myself," she said.

EDUTALK

with

Hmmm!

This year 2014

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HE Boko Haram insurgency was by far the most disturbing of the challenges that the nation faced this year. It affected all sectors of societal life, Kofoworola including education. Schools Belo-Osagie were burnt down, pupils, students and teachers killed, or in Kofosagie@yahoo.com some cases, abducted - the most 08054503077 (SMS only) popular being the over 200 girls kidnapped from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State in April. The insurgency affected the whole nation, filling us with tears and anxiety. We sighed each time we heard news of another attack on villages, towns, schools or communities.

As the year comes to an end, we look back with mixed emotions sadness about the lives lost, resources wasted, and our sovereignty as a nation undermined - yet thankful that we are alive to continue the journey.

However, we look forward to the future with hope. For some of us, that hope is drawn from the portion of the bible that tells us that as long as there is life, there is hope (Ecclesiastes 9:4). Book Haram has an end, and with God on our side we will overcome.

With such hope, we can dream of a bright future ahead. For the education sector, I choose to dream that we will find a way to unleash our potential. Nigerians are very bright and industrious. We are hard working, creative, intelligent and colourful. Our vices are corruption, impatience, and the permissiveness that allows us not to punish wrongdoing adequately. If we can address them in our education sector, we are headed for the very top.

Imagine what would happen if we pay attention to our education system like Finland - where all schools are good and public and private schools compete favourably; where teachers are the highest paid professionals such that the profession attracts the best of brains!

Then we would have no strikes because the teachers would be happy with their pay. Also, we won't have the underprivileged attending the poor schools and the children of the elites seeking better quality education abroad.

Despite all the bad news this year, our ability to check the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) was one success that showed that we can actually do things right if we put our hearts to it. If only we can fight the rot in our education system like we fought the EVD, then, we can achieve more success. If we commit more funds into improving school infrastructure, providing instructional materials, training teachers and improving our curriculum to address our needs, and monitoring the utilization of these funds, then we can expect to reverse the poor performance in public examinations by majority of our students and improve the overall quality of products churned out by our schools.

Like former Secretary of the United States, Condoleezza Rice, said of Nigeria, no amount of foreign aid would bring us out of the problems we are faced with. We need to put our acts together and decide in which direction to go. Singapore did that many years ago. I was surprised to learn that Singapore was once so poor that it begged to be annexed by Malaysia but was rejected. The same country's standard of living is now three times that of Malaysia. That happened because a leader rose up and decided to invest in human capital development. This has paid off for the country, which is now the toast of the world.

This is why 2015 is a very important year for Nigeria because we have another chance to choose our leaders. Nigerians should not be influenced by 'stomach infrastructure' to choose leaders who are not worthy of public office. We must decide wisely so that we do not mortgage our future in the name of immediate gratification.

This year may have been bleak in many respects (insurgency, oil price crash, etc). However, we still have our tomorrow to look forward to if we act appropriately today. Merry Christmas.

‘Despite all the bad news this year, our ability to check the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) was one success that showed that we can actually do things right if we put our hearts to it. If only we can fight the rot in our education system like we fought the EVD, then, we can achieve more success. If we commit more funds into improving school infrastructure, providing instructional materials, training teachers and improving our curriculum to address our needs, and monitoring the utilization of these funds, then we can expect to reverse the poor performance in public examinations’

50

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

51

THE NATION

NATURAL HEALTH E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

‘Nutrition is key to diabetes management’ D

IABETES sufferers have been advised to take bitter kola, okro and cucumber, among others to lower their blood sugar level.

According to a naturopath, Dr Gilbert, Ezengige, regular consumption of these natural plants will help in stabilising their glucose level. “Medicinal plants possess the ability to re-generate pancreatic beta cells, promote insulin release and fight the problem of insulin resistance,” he added.

Ezengige said bitter kola (garcinia kola) known as Orogbo in Yoruba and Aki-ilu in Igbo and bitter leaf’s extract (Vernonia amygdalina) can lower blood sugar level.

“It contains a bioflavonoid that has a blood sugar lowering property,” he said.

He said okro (Abelmoschus esculentus) improves insulin sensitivity, adding that cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is one of the most important vegetables for diabetics because “it regenerates the pancreas.”

Also, guava (Psidium guajava) which is rich in fibers lowers glycemic index, thus, makes it a perfect fruit for diabetics.

He said cashew (anacardium occidentale) should be taken due to its hypoglycemic property.

“Fluted pumpkin known botanically as telfaria occidentalis and Ugu in Igbo has efficacious properties to help the recovery of a diabetic.

“The water extract from its leaves as well as cooked seeds of Ugu have antihyperglycaemic property which makes it beneficial to diabetics,” he said.

The natural medicine practitioner recommended groundnut because of its blood sugar level lowering ingredients. Consumption of peanut and peanut butter daily is important, he added.

Diabetics, he said, should eat raw onions and garlic, adding that they are good as they possess anti-hyperglycemic properties.

“Ginger too can be eating because it increases insulin sensitivity. It also has antihyperglycaemic property.

“Water extract of basil (scent leaf) known botanically as Ocimum gratissimum; Efirin in Yoruba, Nchuanwu in Igbo lowers blood glucose level.

“Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) seeds flour known in Igbo as fio-fio; Otili in Yoruba are very effective too.”

The alternative medicine practitioner also recommended boiled “unripe” plantain because of it lowers glycemic figure.

Diabetics, Ezenige said, should take Vitamin B complex, Vitamin B6 (50mg – 100mg per day improves glucose tolerance), adding that coenzyme Q10 (100 mg/day may stabilise blood sugar in some diabetics.

“Vitamin C should be taken daily to improve glucose tolerance reducing insulin while vitamin E with mixed tocopherols prevents vascular complications and as such

•Okro

•Ginger

•Garlic cloves

Stories by Wale Adepoju

improves glucose tolerance.

Taking chromium daily, he said, can restore normal glucose utilisation and promotes efficacy of insulin.

“Daily magnesium intake improves insulin production while regular consumption of zinc helps to lower blood sugar levels,” he said.

Many people, Ezengige said, are suffer-

•Bitter-kola

ing from diabetes without knowing how to manage it.

He said nutrition can help to effectively check the disease, stressing that diabetics should not depend on drugs and insulin to manage the disease as adequate nutritional support would help in the management of the disorder.

Ezengige, who is the General Secretary, Natural Integrative Medicine Practitioners

Association (NIMPA), said food is medicine and medicine is food.

He described diabetes mellitus as a medical condition characterised by persistent high level of sugar in the blood.

This, he said, was occasioned by inadequate secretion of the hormone, insulin or the ineffectiveness of the body cells to efficiently utilise insulin.

The natural medicine practitioner said people should know their Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) by having a test to confirm whether their blood sugar is high or not.

He identified frequent thirst, hunger and urination, as well as weight loss as symptoms.

Others are body weakness, itching and tingling as well as numbness and blurred visions.

Ezengige said there are three types of diabetes mellitus (DM). They are insulin-dependent DM (IDDM), which is also called type 1 or juvenile-onset diabetes; non-insulin dependent DM (NIDDM) known as type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes (Pregnancy induced diabetes).

Diabetes, he said, is a serious metabolic disorder across the world.

He said about 90 per cent of people living with diabetes mellitus have type 2 (NIDDM), adding that half of them may not know they have it.

“Studies show that an estimated 2.8 per cent of the world population is affected by diabetes mellitus and that this figure may cross 5.4 per cent by the year 2025,” he said.

Nigeria, he said, is among the top five countries that have the highest number of people affected by type 2-diabetes in subSaharan Africa. It has about 1.2 million people living with the disorder; South Africa, 841,000; the Democratic Republic of Congo, 552,000; Ethiopia, 550,000 and Tanzania, 380,000,” he said.

He listed social structure, obesity and hormonal imbalance as factors influencing diabetes.

Others are heredity and psychic stress.

Ezengige said there are six tastes in foods, such as bitter, sweet and sour. Also on the list are salty, pungent and astringent.

He said: “Modern day eating habits largely overlooks the simple fact that the six tastes in foods affect our physiology.

The consumption of artificial sweet foods is prevalent and as such is detrimental of other foods’ tastes.” This, he said, is contributing to various ailments affecting people, especially diabetes.

He identified bitters as an important food for diabetes mellitus treatment and management.

“The physiological effects of bitters among other benefits are body tonics, which tones the pancreas. Bitters increase secretion of digestive juices,” he said.

Honey, salt water, lemon good for sore throat treatment

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RE you suffering from sore throat due to infection arising from harmattan?

A traditional medicine practitioner, Dr Lambo Adebisi, said there is no cause for alarm as honey, salted water and lemon can be taken to provide soothing relieve.

He said what people suffering from the disease need is drink honey mixed with tea or only honey a couple of times and get better.

According to him, honey has been found to contain active ingredients that can suppress common cough and sore throat. “The inflamed or sore areas of the throat are healed by taking honey or its mixture,” he said.

Adebisi said a salt water solution of half teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water can help reduce swelling and keep the throat clean when drunk regularly for three days.

“Also, taking lemon or lemon juice can bring relieve to a sufferer. It is good for sore throat

treatment. Although it is a bit hard in the mouth, it kills the virus,” he said.

He explaind that honey contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, adding that it contains vitamin C, calcium and iron.

“Honey has antibacterial and antifungal properties. This is why it is often used as a natural antiseptic in traditional medicine”, he said.

He said it also contains nutraceuticals, which are very effective for the removal of free radicals from the body.

“As a result, our body immunity is improved against many conditions, even potentially fatal ones like cancer or heart disease,” he said.

Other benefits of honey is its potency in ensuring healing of wounds.

“It possesses anti-microbial properties, as such helps in promoting moist wound healing as well as speeds up the healing process by stimulating wound tissues”, Adebisi said.

Lemon, he said, contains vitamin C, which helps the healing process of wounds. “It is good for treating scurvy, common cold and flu because it contains anti-oxidants.

Sore throat, he said, is caused by viral infection, which may be as a result of minor ailments.

“Soreness in the throat may sometimes be the only symptom. Also, people may also have a hoarse voice, mild cough and high temperature. Headache, feeling sickly and tiredness, as well as swelling in the neck.

Those taking solid food may find it hard to swallow. The soreness naturally gets worse over two days and slowly goes away within a week,” he said.

He further said: “When a sore throat lasts longer than a week, it means it is caused by an irritant or injuries.”

People, Adebisi said, should not resort to using antibiotic because the problem is too serious to call for that.

•Lemon

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

52

NATURAL HEALTH

Cooling with moon plants in hot weather T

ODAY is Christmas 2014. Happy Christmas! With this wish, I pray the day is well spent, not in the typical revelry which has come to characterise the way many people observe the anniversary of this memorable event, but in quiet, sober reflection of how its message has been well understood and applied in daily life by every Christian. I may address this later.

Meanwhile, the thought which came over me last week as another Christmas approached was delay of the harmathan season this year. Long before I was born, the harmattan interfaced in Nigeria between the rain season and the dry and hot spell, when it can be so hot that old people may die of sunstroke. With cold, dry and foggy African wind, the harmattan visits the continent at about the same time winter is upon Europe. Some hammatan authorities believe the name of this continental trade wind blowing over west Africa between the end of November and the middle of March came either from a Ghanaian word or the Arabic, Harram. In North Africa, the harmattan is reported to be so active that it may disturb social life and temperament, making thought and decisions erratic or wrong. Even a Christian Christmas hymn invites us to come to “the house of the Lord, who had provided for our needs before arrival of winter”.

Lagos weather In Lagos, the rains seemed to have stopped abruptly this year. They often did in years past with short and thunderous heavy rains. Since the rains stopped, the Lagos weather has been so hot it would appear the air was burning. Everyone was sweating profusely in-door or out-door. The handkerchiefs market was booming and the Chinese export market was booming. Back home in Nigeria, the cold water industry, too, was thriving, as was the soft drinks industry. Fruit sellers experienced bigger sales. All over Lagos, the wheel barrow has ceased to be a construction site tool for loading and moving, sand, mortar, blocks or cement bags. People from diverse lands, including Chad and Niger Republic, load fruits in them and, irrespective of the law forbidding street trading, display their wares and selling on the highway in the rush-hour traffic of workers returning home for the night.

Most of these fruits, unknown to the buyers, are moon fruits, which are good for consumption this season if they are eaten at the right time.

Moon plants and sun plants.

The sun, the moon and the stars are not ornaments in the skies. They were all created to make human life possible on earth, and affect every aspect of earth life. The moon broke away from the earth a long time ago. Some plants are known as moon plants because the moon affects their lives more than the sun and the stars. For similar reasons, some plants are known as sun plants. Our health benefits from our eating moon or sun plants at the right time.

Sweating EFORE the rain season comes again, the weather will be hot and we would all be sweating. Back in high school, I learned that “rapid cooling” was bad, and that it may be worse to “cool down”, as we say, with icecold drinks. Ice-cold drinks shock the nerves and the system. The kidneys, in particular, are said not to like them.

Besides, the body has to work extra hard, utilising hardearned energy to warm up the cold drink to body temperature. This is extra work, and unnecessary wear and tear. When cold drinks are taken with or over a meal, it slows the digestion of the meal. In the refrigerator, the cold arrest enzyme activity to keep foods almost as fresh as we kept them in there. In the same way, it froze the food in the stomach of a corpse discovered under ice in Europe about 15 years ago.

The man was overrun by a river of ice hundreds of years ago during the age of glaciers. When the ice berg which preserved his body melted years ago, the corpse was discovered. The food he had just eaten before he was buried alive did not digest. This is an indication of what may happen, though on a smaller scale, when cold drinks are taken with or over a meal.

Drinking copious amounts of cold or cool water or drinks when excessive perspiration makes us thirsty may suggest ignorance about what sweating means and about how to respond to it. There are many possible causes of sweating or excessive sweating. Sweating is the excretion of excess heat in the body through salt-based fluid. The excess heat may arise from the consumption of spicy food, caffeinated drink (soft drinks, tea, coffee), alcohol, beverages, medications, fever, infections, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) synthetic thyroid hormones etc. Sweat is made of water, electrolytes (sodium and potassium in particular) and fat. When these are replaced with white sugar in soft drinks, a depleted electrolyte stock may be aggravated by the acidosis which sugar and carbonated drinks cause in the body. For electrolytes such as potassium, calcium and magnesium may be required to bring the internal acidic condition to an alkaline status. In time, potassium deficiency may lead to primary or mild hypertension, headache, sore and aching muscles, tiredness and, in worse case scenarios, growths of all kinds. In other extreme conditions, a sunstroke or heatstroke may occur which may lead to death. Doctors save the day when we are electrolyte depleted by giving us drips. In emergencies, one may take Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) salts which can be bought at a patient medicine store. Coconut water may also help. To avert such an emergency which calls for this intervention, one may regularly take green drinks. These drinks are minerals rich. One of them is wheatgrass. Another is spirulina. Yet another is barley grass. There is hardly any mineral, vitamin, and co-factor they do not contain. They

B

help to restock the nutrient lost from excessive sweating which can be complemented with the nutrients from moon plants. Moon plants, as stated earlier, are those plants influenced by the moon than by any other stellar or heavenly body.

Moon Plants It is a pity man no longer seems to do anything right, that is as Mother Nature demands it be done. We plant and harvest without regard to lunar or heavenly guidance, and, for this reason, do not seem to derive the best benefits from foods and herbs. Isaac Newton long ago established the Laws of Gravity. These laws teach us that the tides are affected by the moons gravitational pull. The moon exercises a stronger pull on the earth than the sun does, although it is much, much smaller than the sun, because it is nearer to the earth.

The moon has two major phases: the waxing and the waning. The waxing phase takes the moon to full moon. The waning phase takes it to half-moon or quarter moon. The waxing moon “pulls the nearest body of water a little away from the solid mass of the earth beneath it, and at the same time pull the earth a little away from the water on the farthest side. In this manner the moon sets up two tidals bulges on opposite sides of the earth”.

The same forces affect the soil’s water content. They create more moisture in the soil during the new or full moon. An increased moisture makes seeds sprout and grow. At the North-western University, Dr. Frank brown carried out a 10-year experiment which showed that plants absorbed more water during the full moon even when he carried out the research in-door, away from direct exposure to the moon, he discovered that the results were the same.

Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Anthroposophical Movement, developed a “biodynamic method” of planting “The movement saw a correlation between science, Nature, Universal Laws and spiritual concerns”. He taught that a relationship existed between the earth, air, fire and water which related, also, to specific parts of the plant. Thus, earth corresponded to Roots water to Leaf grown, fire to seed production and Air to flowers. From this, I can assume that when seeds are eaten in a hot weather, one adds fire to fire.

John Jevons, author of How to grow more vegetables, says increasing moonlight during the waxing moon phase stimulates leaf growth. Growth of the plant above the ground slows when the moon begins to wane. At this time, the roots are stimulated. This shows our herbalists were wise and in tune with nature. They know what time of the day to harvest different parts of a plant for food or medicine.

In 1939, Frau Dr. Kolisko and in 1956 Maria thun experimented with root crops and found that germination of their seeds was influenced by lunar phases, with maximum germination on the day before full moon. The experiments of people such as these show we do not need fertilisers to grow robust and health-giving foods which, in any way, fertisergrown foods cannot oblige.

In Psychic gardening, Mellie Ugldert says: “All water ich plants are true children of the moon, such as the cucumber, pumpkin, melon and those living in and on the water such as the water Lily, Brandy-bottle etc, and on the bank such as the willow and the plants with half moon shaped leaves or oral leaves composed of two half-moons.

“Like a person a plant never, of course, belongs to one heavenly body or sign alone; they are named after the sign or star which clearly predominate in firm and habit. In man, moon plants promote the creation and flow of fluid such as the operation of glands, menstruation, the excretion of urine and sweating. That is why cucumber juice is good for promoting better circulation during woman’s menopause.

Climbing moon plants twist to the left (yin) and can be recognised by that. Those that turn to the right are of the sun”.

Millie Uydert says that, in man, moon plants are good for ailments. For example, chickweed may be used against convulsions. For sharp memory, she suggests cashew nuts.

Papilionaceae is a good nervous system tonic. As food crops, beans can be used for nutrition. Nos Vomica is good also for the nerves.

e-mail: femi.kusa@yahoo.com or olufemikusa@yahoo.com

When we perspires we lose not only water but chemical substances as well. The composition depends on what has been eaten or drunk, and for how long the perspiration has persisted. Generally, perspiration contains water, minerals, lactate and urea. The minerals may comprise (1) sodium (2) potassium (3) calcium (4) magnesium. The body also excretes trace metals such as (1) Zinc (2) copper (3) iron (4) chromium (5) nickel (6) lead.

Sodium deficiency may affect nerve function. Potassium shortage may cause primary hypertension and muscle aches and pains and palpitation. Calcium and magnesium deficiency may cause spasms and constipation. Zinc deficiency may cause infertility, slow healing of wounds, immune depletion, eye problems, nail, skin and hair problem Iron deficiency would bring low blood count and anaemia. Water or soft drinks alone do not replenish these loses. Most water brands have no minerals and are acidic LASENA WATER, Nigeria’s first artesian well water from more than 500 meters depth is alkaline and has calcium, magnesium, zinc and other minerals. LASENA is 7.4pH. SUPERIOR ALKALINE WATER, infused with minerals - dense CORAL CALCIUM is 11.5pH and has to be mixed with five bottles of normal water for each bottle to hit 7.4pH. tissue or cell salts, biochemic and homeo pathic, may be dissolved in these water brands or any other to enrich them.

Moon plants are fluid-rich some of them are tomato, water melon, pawpaw lettuce, spinach cabbage, broccoli celery etc.

Dr. William Rogers in THE WONDERFUL WORLD WITHIN shows that lettuce is one of the richest vegetables on earth.

Adding the juice to say, orange juice or lime or lemon juice, which have lots of potassium, makes a revitalizing drinks.

After a day’s hard work, I take wheatgrass and spirulina drink to which add food grade edible salt (96% silica) and

Jonathan, Buhari, the Rich and the poor (2)

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EXT Years presidential and other elections promise to be Nigeria’s hottest by any standard evaluation.

For at no time has the opposition to the establishment been as formidable and nation-wide as it is today. The outcome should affect all of us not only in our pockets but in our health as well. Last week, this column saw the lineup as between the powerful and rich, that is the establishment, and an opposition fuelled by progressive or left-wing of the establishment and the motley crowd of largely poor people. Last week, column suggested as well that retired General Mohammadu Buhari, leading the opposition with no more than N1 million in his bank account and only two houses to his name in Nigeria, could defeat President Ebele Jonathan if the poor of Nigeria stand solidly behind him like the Rock of Gibraltar, immune to manipulations by the Establishment on ethnic, religious and “stomach infrastructure” terrain stomach. The stomach-infrastructure is a Nigerian coinage to describe rejection of roads, bridges, schools and hospitals, among other public facilities, in preference for such personal benefits as rice, vegetable oil and some cash.

Last week, the establishment party, the people’s democratic Party (PDP), rolled out the tanks, as it were, at a fund raising for president Jonathan’s campaign. The haul was impressive in 1979 or thereabout, Chief Moshood Abiola made a N1million cash contribution at the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) national headquarters fund-raising, and this raised eye-brows. Abiola was later to make a bid for the presidential ticket, perhaps because of this large investment, but was told by party-man Alhaji Umaaru Dikko that the ticket was not for sale. A few weeks ago, Jonathan had the PDP ticket. The PDP, by the way, is an offshoot of the NPN. More than N25 billion was raised by a few persons who had not been in public limelight recently, with the exception, perhaps, of Alhaji Dangote, one of Africa’s richest men, who said he was not a politician. One of the donors was Alhaji Bola Yahaya, said to be a friend of Nigeria’s first Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan. She gave a whopping N5billion. Prof. Herry Gana, former Information Minister and former chairman of MAMSER, who had not been seen around lately in public, gave another N5 billion to the fund.

He said the donation was from his humble self and his friends from the energy sector. Incidentally, the power sector as gulped trillions of dollars in public investments with nothing yet to show for it.

Mr. Ayeni, chairman of Skye Bank and a power sector business associate of Gen. Abdusallam (rtd), a former Head of State, gave N2billion. This first-round donation of over N20billion by far exceeds what the finance minister has said would be austerity measures in which salaries will be cut and jobs lost.

Gen. Buhari (rtd) must be wondering where all the money was coming from. So must the army of the poor he is leading. From the donations, it is evident Nigeria’s rich is ready for battle to protect the Establishment. Lots of money will go into advertising and “stomach infrastructure”. In Ekiti State, where PDP man Fayose is governor, the government has already wheeled out live chickens as Christmas presents for the citizens. In Jonathan’s campaign, Buhari’s poor brethren will stretch out their hands for the forbidden fruit.

Some will take it and still vote according to their conscience.

Some may buckle. But there would be some others who would rise beyond the Tempter and bread and butter. Already, poison arrows are flying at Buhari on the internet.

One says: Who stopped the lagos metroline? Buhari’s stoppage of the Lagos metroline project when he was military Head of State in 1983 or 1984 was one of the counts against him in Lagos in the presidential election of 2011.

Tel: 08116759749, 08034004247, 07025077303

THURSDAY DECEMBER 25, 2014

53

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

Senator Lawal Shuaibu is the Deputy National Chairman (North) of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He represented Zamfara North in the National Assembly between 1999 and 2007. In this interview, the former National Secretary of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) speaks about the chances of the APC in next year’s election. He spoke with TONY AKOWE.

Shuaibu: Power must shift in 2015 T

HE APC is less than two years old as a party, but it has gained a wide acceptability across the country. What is responsible for

this?

What is responsible is the desire by Nigerians to see a change. The Nigerian people have always been looking forward to the opposition to effect a change in the status quo. People are fed up with the situation of things in the country because nothing works, corruption is growing and impunity has become the norm in official quarters. You’ll find out that there is impunity everywhere, including the legislature, the judiciary and the executive. In fact, in the executive arm of government everybody is doing whatever they want without any caring what will happen. The Nigerian people have been pushed to the wall. Nigerians are desirous of good governance. Indeed, the APC was formed to push for good governance. For your information, the APC is a conglomeration of all major opposition parties in this country. They made sacrifices to come together because they know that Nigerians are yearning for change.

Why has the party settled for Gen. Mohammadu Buhari as its presidential candidate?

That is the people’s choice. The primary that threw him up was very transparent; votes were cast and he emerged. He emerged because people want to give him the opportunity to realize his ambition of effecting a change in the country.

The argument is that globally many countries are going for younger people…

But, in Tunisia, an 82 year old man just won an election; in Sierra Leone, somebody much older has also won election. You cannot question people’s choice. People wanted a change and they made their choice as to the person they feel can effect such a change.

The North, which is your constituency, appears divided between Buhari and Jonathan. For instance, the ACF came out recently to say that they have not endorsed Buhari. What is your take on this, given the fact that the region is very critical to your success?

The North is solid as far as the choice of Buhari is concerned. When you talk about the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), you should know that it is not a political grouping, but a cultural organisation. When you say ACF or Ohaneze, they are not political organisations and, so, what anybody from the organisation says does not necessarily reflect the views of the generality of the people in the North. Let me tell you that the leaders of the PDP from the North have resolved to back Gen. Buhari and will mobilize for his success come February. Quote me on this and go and write it down. Forget all the rhetoric flying around. Of course, man must eat. But, when it comes to that day, you will see what is going to happen.

Do you think it would be easy to defeat an incumbent? Secondly, don’t you think the insurgency in the Northeast will affect your chances in the election?

There are several countries in Africa where the opposition took over power and Nigeria cannot be an exception. I told you from the beginning that when the wind of change comes, it will not be about money or power, but the will and wish of the people. Once they are resolved, they will go the whole hug to realise their wish. As for the issue of insurgency, elections were successfully held in Afghanistan, Egypt and Syria, which are experiencing insurgency. The same applies to Iraq. So, what are you talking about? Insurgency is not an impediment. In fact, the people in the Northeast where the insurgency is more pronounced are very eager to use their votes to express their opinion about the incumbent government and the way things are going in the country. They feel highly disenchanted and they are going to show it.

Some people believe that the change the APC is preaching has only happened in the state capitals in places like Lagos and Edo and that if given the chance, the party may not be able to replicate this at the federal level...

We are talking about the APC as a party that is a little over one year old. It has just ratified its

• Shuaibu

manifesto at the recent National Convention.

The party intends, as a matter of policy, to enforce the implementation ifs policies by government at all levels. Our policies are cry clear and we are going to implement it and it is left for Nigerians to judge the implementation of the party’s programmes. You cannot use the standard of the legacy parties to judge what is going to happen to an APC government henceforth.

We are talking about change in the APC when a good number of the chieftains of the party are from the same PDP we are accusing of running down the system. So, what is that change we are talking about?

The good thing is that it is not everybody in the PDP that came to join the APC. Besides, those who defected to the APC probably found themselves in the midst of strange bedfellows and that is why they left the fold. I want to assure you that in the APC we are going to strictly adhere to the constitution of the party. There will be the principle of party supremacy. The party is supreme and dictates what happens; the governors or the President cannot hold the party to ransom.

The leader of the party is Chief John OdigieOyegun, in his capacity as the National Chairman. But, of course, we have national leaders such as Atiku Abubakar, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and many others. Tinubu is always in the news, but he is not the only national leader. The issue

of national leader is not an issue that has to do with the constitution of the party. As far as the party is concerned, the leader of the party is the National Chairman of the party. During the NPN days, they observed the principle of party supremacy. If you watched General Buhari on Channels TV before the convention, they asked him what he intends to do or the action he will take on certain issues and he said he will rely on the party to tell him what to do. He has read the constitution and gone through the manifesto and understood how the APC should operate. The party is just starting and we are going to show Nigerians for the first time that the issue of party supremacy is back in Nigeria’s democratic norms.

In other climes, when you defect from one party to other, you resign your position. But, in Nigeria under the present political dispensation, this has not been the case. What will the APC do about this?

We will follow strictly the constitutional provision and ensure that the judiciary, when confronted with matters like this, will do justice to it.

Recently, Prof. Akinyemi wrote a letter predicting that there will violence during and after the 2015 election. What is your take on this?

When you talk about violence, you are shouting fire even before you strike the match.

It means that you have a motive. We don’t foresee any violence. What we foresee is when the will of the people is spelt out, the generality of Nigerians will stand up in jubilation because for the first time, we have all resolved to accept the will of the people.

But where you are talking about violence, it means there is an intention to rig election. If there is no intention to rig election, why do you have to talk about violence. Why do you start shouting fire when there is no smoke?

But one of your governors Chibuike Amaechi said if the election is rigged, you will not go to court, but will form a parallel government and make Nigeria ungovernable.

How would you react to this?

People are entitled to their opinions and their audience is entitled to their own interpretation of such statements. Only Amaechi could interpret what he said and what he meant. But, we are saying is that we don’t intend to embark on any violence. But, let me tell you that if you strike somebody and he reacts, then you turn round and say he wants to perpetuate violence. We don’t propagate violence and we don’t advice people to embark on violence.

But, sometimes, you don’t have control over the reaction of people who feel they are on their right. You may even be in your house when commotion will erupt and somebody

‘We would not attempt to replicate the fraud perpetrated by the PDP. If INEC is serious about enforcing the provisions of the electoral act, it ought to ensure that every member of the PDP who pledged a donation at the fund raising show the source of the money’

will say that you caused it. You didn’t cause it.

Once the will of the people is allowed to prevail, there is not going be violence in any party of the country. When you talk of the Niger Delta, I want you to go and write it down, the APC will win Bayelsa, the home state of the President. We have made our assessment; we know what is going on there and we I’ll cashed in on that.

There is the belief that the Southwest is the base of the APC. Don’t you have this fear that there may be a repeat of what happened in 2011 when they voted for Jonathan when Nigerians were expecting them to vote for the ACN? When you talk about 2011, the circumstances are not the same. The political atmosphere is no longer the same. The year 2011 was a time when an opportunity was opened for the political class to introduce religious politics and the PDP has continued to encourage it.

The President visited Lagos nine times within a period of one month. He was visiting churches and that has never happened in the history of this country where you take your political campaign to the church or the mosque. But, he was doing it openly in the full glare of cameras.

The PDP has just raised N21 billion for the campaign. How would you match this? Are you going to do the same thing?

We would not attempt to replicate the fraud perpetrated by the PDP. If the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is serious about enforcing the provisions of the electoral act, it ought to ensure that every member of the PDP who pledged a donation at the fund raising show the source of the money. This is the law and the electoral act is very clear about this. When a governor says he has donated N1 billion, it must not be from government coffers. INEC knows that the governor has no right to take the peoples’ money and donate. The PDP National Chairman Adamu Muazu said part of that money will be used to complete the National Secretariat and the rest will be used for campaign at all levels. There is no provision in the law that says you can use government money meant for developmental projects for political campaign. So, the party should show us the receipt issued to each donor by the party and let us see the accounts of the PDP because such money cannot come in bags and sacks, but through some instruments. We must know the source of that money. If it comes from government account, then the PDP or the person who stole government money for political campaigns is liable. In our own case, we intend to raise funds, through transparent means.

Whoever donates money, we will publish it, so that the whole world will see. We will not accept any anonymous donations.

Whoever brings in money, it will be for the world to know where the money comes from.

So, we don’t have any fear about the money raised by the PDP, as long as they are as transparent as the law stipulates and as far as INEC will be neutral and be prepared to enforce the provisions of the Electoral Act.

Niger PDP: Ndanusa, two others for deputy governor

F

ORMER Minister of Sports Sani Ndanusa is among the contenders for the runnning mate to the Niger State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Umar Nasko.

Other contenders are the Secretary to the Government (SSG), Hon. Idris Ndako Kpaki, and the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development, Alhaji Isah Kantigi.

The contenders were selected, following consultations and a shadow poll by State Executive Council members, local government chairmen and party leaders.

Sources said that the search for the running mate was based on an agreement that

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

the party should carry stakeholders on the choice of the running mate.

The deputy governorship candidate was to have been named last week. But, there was a stiff opposition by some stakeholders, who kicked against one of the contenders perceived as Governor Babangida Aliyu’s annointed candidate.

Also, a source said that the flag bearer’s family is not favourably disposed to the aspirant.

Following the objection by stakeholders, the governor directed that the names of the three contenders should be forwarded to the standard bearer to decide.

He added:“The governor was in a fix. He had given his word to one of the contenders, but the new turn of events seem not to favour his preferred candidate. So, he has directed that Nasko be given opportunity to pick his deputy.

“He claimed he was not given a similar opportunity when he came into power in 2007, but would want his successor to start with a deputy of his choice.”

Efforts to get Nasko to comment on the issue proved abortive. But, a member of his campaign team, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “Our principal is being guided by the party on the choice of his deputy. We are going to weigh all the options and come up with the best for the party and the state.”

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THE NATION THURSDAY DECEMBER 25, 2014

RACE TO 2015 NNPP: Nigeria has bright future

T

HE New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has urged Nigerians to be hopeful for a brighter future, assuring that democracy will stabilise in the country.

The party advised stakeholders to reflect on the challenges confronting the country in this Yultide and cooperate with leaders in finding solutions.

In a statement in Lagos, its National Chairman, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, observed that fears are rife that the next general elections may be marred by violence.

He said: “There is palpable fear about the escalation in political violence. There is insecurity in the country, which is manifesting killings and suicide bombings and other activities of the Boko Haram sect. Also worrisome are the activities of armed robbers and kidnappers.

“The utterances and actions of some politicians point to the fact that the cohesion and indivisibility of Nigeria is undergoing its most serious test since the amalgamation of 1914. Every passing day reminds Nigerians of the prediction or the warning by an American envoy,that Nigeria may break up in 2015.”

Aniebonam said, inspite of the dark cloud, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Nigeria.

He added: “Nigeria will weather the storm and come out more united and stronger. This is the good tiding, which the party has brought to Nigerians. The NNPP wishes to remind Nigerians that Nigeria is a special project in the hands of God to fulfill a purpose. However, all hands must be on deck to ensure that the prediction does not come to pass.”

Aniebonam urged politicians to play by the rules as the country prepares for the general elections.

He said: “In this era of campaigns, politicians should go about it in a manner devoid of violence, mudslinging and character assassination. They should engage in issue-based campaigns.” Politicians should desist from turning the future leaders of our country i.e. the youths, into thugs, who are later unleashed on their political opponents and innocent Nigerians.

‘Vote for credible candidates’

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha and Dorcas Imah

N

IGERIANS have been urged to vote for credible candidates in next year’s general elections in the interest of democracy.

The Lagos State Coordinator of the ‘Ward to Ward Initiative,’ a group in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Ayo Faseke, gave the advice in Lagos at the meeting of the group.

Explaining the objective of the group, he said: “The Ward to Ward initiative by the PDP is a movement where the grassroots are empowered with knowledge on how to vote wisely. Each member of the group is expected to canvass for 20 votes for President Goodluck Jonathan during the election.

“The initiative is also aimed at educating the people on one man, one vote. We are also drumming support for the Lagos State PDP governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje. Our priority is to encourage people to vote for credible candidates.”

2015: Youths enjoined to vote wisely

By Raymond Mordi

R

ENOWNED broadcaster Mr. Dele Adetiba has enjoined the youths to vote wisely in the general elections. He said their choice of leaders would have direct impact on their future.

Adetiba lamented that ethnic and religious factors have been promoted to the front burner, stressing that it has affected the quality of leadership.

He said: “I am not happy that Nigerians now clamour for their tribe to produce the next governor or President. Really, what we seem to be saying is that it is our turn to loot the treasury; it is our turn to have an unfair access to the spoils of office.”

Adetiba said, if the job of a leader is to work endlessly to make life easier for his people, then, it does not matter where he comes from. He added that the idea of Nigerians defending their kinsmen in office, even if they are not doing the right thing, can only lead to doom.

Adetiba, who spoke at the 2014 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) in Lagos, said corruption and impunity among public office holders have a negative effect on the youths.

He added: “The general effect on the youth is that, since we live in a society where rules do not work he feels that working hard or studying hard does not guaranty success. He believes he has to cheat the system to survive.”

The Chairman of the RYLA Committee, Dr. Adewale Ogunbadejo, explained that the award is to awaken the leadership qualities in the youths and to motivate them to become good citizens and role models.

• INEC boss Prof. Attahiru Jega

‘Why we ‘ll not support Jatau for Bauchi governor’

A

GROUP, the Bauchi Youth Foundation (BAYOF), has rejected the can didature of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship can didate in Bauchi State, Hon. Auwal Jatau.

The group threatened to pull out of the PDP, if Jatau’s name is not substituted before the election.

It urged Governor Isa Yuguda to listen to the voice of wisdom by replacing the candidate, who is a member of the House of Representatives.

Its coordinator, Mr. Saleh Jibril Barde, said there are better aspirants who can succeed the governor next year.

The federal legislator from Zaki Constituency emerged as the winner at the governorship primaries, beating Senator Babayo Garba Gamawa, Dr. Mohammed Ali Pate, Alhaji Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, Mr. Aminu Hammayo, Senator Adamu Ibrahim Gumba, and Mr.Bappa Azare. The shadow poll was conducted by Senator Stella Omu.

‘

In this era of campaigns, politicians should go about it in a manner devoid of violence, mudslinging and character assassination. They should engage in issue-based campaigns

‘

In this piece, Leo Sobechi, writes on the politics of power shift in Ebonyi State and its implications for stakeholders in post-Elechi period.

Politics of power shift in Ebonyi

T

HE recent governorship primary election in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has thrown up serious issues about the unity and peace of Ebonyi State.

Some observers concluded that the state Governor, Chief Martin Elechi, had lost in the power equation. But the fact remains that there are many sides to any event. Hence it is not the focus of this writer to comment on the credibility or otherwise of that assumption.

However, the aspect of the whole scenario which necessitated this reaction is the mischievous imputation in such a hurried declaration that tends to question the place and potency of the current political leader of Ebonyi State. Taken from the perspective of leadership and its place in social development therefore, the matter could be seen beyond victory or loss.

If leadership presupposes followership, a situation whereby followers denounce leadership gives rise to rebellion. But then another question arises. Is rebellion possible in a democracy where plurality of opinions is the defining feature? Furthermore, does opinion leadership presuppose willy-nilly obedience? One outstanding feature in the analysis of political tendencies is that competition for electoral office is the socio-psychological equivalent of war. In a war situation, reason is a scarce commodity as each camp plots and does all that could win it victory. Against the background of the foregoing, could it be said that Governor Martin Elechi lost out in the competition for power in the coming election year of 2015?

A little background is necessary for a comprehensive appreciation of the issues involved.

It is a fact that even before he was elected as the second executive governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Elechi was generally seen as the leader of Ebonyi State. However from May 29, 2007 when he was sworn into office as governor, Chief Elechi began to perform the office of leader of government and the political platform upon which he won the governorship election which is the PDP. It was based on the fact of this political leadership that the Governor nominated David Nweze Umahi as the Chairman of Care-taker Committee of Ebonyi PDP in 2007. The subsequent proclamation by the Governor that the Care-taker committee members should proceed unopposed during the party’s state congress was also in his position as leader. Then in 2011 the Governor yet again nominated Chief Umahi to contest the governorship with him as his running mate. In all these expressions of preferences by Governor Elechi, there was nothing to suggest that there was no dissenting views or opinions. But the fact that the leader had spoken was enough to stifle those voices of disapproval in the interest of the unity of Ebonyi State.

The population of Ebonyi State is unevenly distributed among the three senatorial zones of the state.

And given historical realities that underline the state creation, the Abakaliki bloc which is spread into Ebonyi North and Central Senatorial zones share much in common politically. Moreover the population of the old Abakaliki bloc exceeds that of Ebonyi South Senatorial zone otherwise known as old Afikpo bloc.

• Elechi

‘It was obvious that the youth were infuriated by the rebellion of beneficiaries of his leadership and benevolence. The mass movement of these young elements from PDP to the Labour Party, (LP) is the democratic converse of physical protest’ This demographic segmentation is necessary to explain the argument which is beyond those who are not conversant with the socio-political reality of the state.

It was against that background that Governor Martin Elechi decided to embark on shuttle diplomacy to plead with the people of old Abakaliki bloc to show political understanding by accommodating the necessity of power shift to the old Afikpo bloc.

Even prior to that intervention the governor had shown his determination to transfer power to Ebonyi South Senatorial zone by his actions and utterances. However, after elevating Umahi from PDP Chairman to Deputy Governor, it began to dawn on the governor that the criteria for selecting the next governor of the state include the reality of political sensibilities and democratic considerations in Ebonyi South. Such vagaries pointed to the fact that between Ohaozara and Afikpo, Afikpo should be given prime consideration for the position of governor. Not that alone, the historical role played by the late Dr. Akanu Ibiam in the struggle for Ebonyi State creation brought about the moral question. There was need therefore to recognize the unique labour of that hero past in the consideration of where the gubernatorial power should anchor in Ebonyi South.

In keeping with the dictates of his position as leader, Governor Elechi therefore settled in his mind to nominate Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu for consideration as the ideal candidate to represent the South in the po-

sition of governor. Unfortunately it happened that it was the same people that had benefitted in the past from the Governor’s opinion leadership that decided to kick against the choice of Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu. While these political actors fought against Professor Chukwu’s nomination, they forgot the painstaking campaigns and moral suasion of the Governor that the old Abakaliki bloc should accommodate the interest of their Ebonyi South brothers and sisters.

Add to that some envious economic opportunists saw the ensuing political battle as opportunity to come in and settle scores with Elechi and try to have a say in how the rich mineral deposits in Ebonyi State should be exploited. The gang up became so entrenched that various peace conferences that were held in Abuja to resolve the political crisis brewing in Ebonyi lost sight of the hidden interest of economic prospectors.

To show their gross misunderstanding of the issues involved, the leadership of PDP gratuitously suggested that Governor Elechi should proceed to the Senate and allow things to go as planned. But disregarding the vain carrot being dangled in his face, the Governor decided to bear the cross of patriotism in his ardent love for Ebonyi State.

It is therefore to his credit that the compromised primary election of the PDP should hold without mayhem being levied on the state. Not only did Governor Elechi live true to his name as Peace Advocate, he allowed his democratic ethos full expression. Convinced that water must always find its level and foreseeing that all weights must return to the ground, Chief Martin Elechi prevented Ebonyi youth from going wild. It was obvious that the youth were infuriated by the rebellion of beneficiaries of his leadership and benevolence. The mass movement of these young elements from PDP to the Labour Party, (LP) is the democratic converse of physical protest. So even though Governor Elechi succeeded in reining in the youth from violent confrontation with those who sought to instigate a return to ferocious exchange, he could not continue to restrain them from using their numerical advantage as weapon of political expression.

And so, did Governor Elechi lose out in the power equation? Not by any means. Rather the elder statesman should be praised for his patriotism and foresight. Ebonyi State which he joined hands with other veterans to found, remains united in the enjoyment of peace. What is more, the political space has been widened such that the forthcoming election would show whether Ebonyi is for sale to the highest bidder or Ebonyi people have become capable of electing their leader! As the Labour Party comes alive in the State, all things seem to be working together for the good of Ebonyi people. If not for the uprising by political upstarts, who would have thought that Ebonyi state which is renowned for hard work and sense of social justice would find its traditional kinship with a political party founded by workers for the suffering masses?

Those who see the emergent political realities as Elechi’s loss should rather commend and crown him as a pacific patriot and father of Ebonyi State. Ebonyi is on the march again!

55

THE NATION THURSDAY DECEMBER 25, 2014

‘

RACE TO 2015

E will like you to tell us your next move after leaving office as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly?

That is a very difficult question for me to answer, because when I look back on the much that I can remember in my life --- and I can remember more than 90 per cent of the years --- I see that God has a way of making me achieve in life.

One thing that I have learnt from my own life is not to worry too much about tomorrow.

I am not clairvoyant and I don’t pretend to be a prophet, but it is not very likely that this generation would witness another threeterm Speaker in the Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHA).

Really, I have so much in my hands right now and I can’t see any vacuum in my life. Many of you might have heard that I am a doctoral student in far away Liverpool in the United Kingdom, I am in my final year now and since the beginning of this year, I have not been able to do much on my thesis. I must find time to get that done because I am supposed to finish by May 2015, which is five months time. I am also a year one law student in the University of Lagos. I also like to join your world as a social/public commentator, where I can comment on national issues without any fear of political leaders. Though I have too many things to do, I am not tired of politics and I am still a senior member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Sixteen members of the 7th LSHA would not be returning in 2015.

What is the implication?

That is also a very tough one. In 2007, we fought very had for 17 members to return to the House, in 2011, it was another battle to get 22 members to return. Yes, we have 24 who already have tickets, but it is still my hope and pray for more serving legislators to return. I want to tell you, ours is a very young democracy, a lot of hitches are still on our path. I personally would not like a situation, where we have seven women in the 7th Assembly and we cannot have eight or 10 women in the 8th Assembly. If the number reduces, it doesn’t portend good omen for our democracy, not just for Lagos State House of Assembly. In 2003, there was only one woman, Hon. Adefunmilayo Tejuosho. When we resumed in June, Bola Badmus joined, following a bye-election.

In the sixth Assembly, we had five women and in the 7th Assembly, we have seven women. That makes me feel proud and happy because it means that we are progressing. The womenfolk should be given more opportunities, which is how it is everywhere in the world.

What made it possible for you to survive as Speaker for so many years?

You should have asked my colleagues why they did not impeach Ikuforiji; they are in a better position to tell you that. I can tell you from my own side that it is one thing to look at a job and see the peck side of it and it is another thing to see the job done. Even in 2003, when we were coming in, I fought very hard to be Speaker of the House, thank God I was not made the Speaker then, because it gave me room to study the House and I became more conversant with its rules and procedure before I was made Speaker in December 2005. There are many things you need to understand and know if you want to lead the legislative arm. Unlike any other arm of government, the Speaker as the head should also be a great follower; he is the servant of his people. Unlike the Governor, who has the power to hire and fire, the Speaker can only persuade. If the Governor asks any of his aides to send out a message that he would be hosting press men on a particular day and he says they are invited, about one quarter or half of them would make sure that they attend.

But, you cannot do that with the members of the House, they would attend at their own convenience. If you understand that they are your boss and you are not their boss there would be no problem. The seat of the Speaker is like a chair, the arms, the legs, the back and the front belong to different members.

If you remove any part of the chair, you would not be able to sit very well. So, you need all the parts to be able to sit comfortably. If you are conscious of that, the number one thing is the grace of God, the Bible did not tell us to keep praying alone, you have to work. Of course, you cannot satisfy every-

‘I have so much in my hands right now and I can’t see any vacuum in my life. Many of you might have heard that I am a doctoral student in far away Liverpool in the United Kingdom, I am in my final year now and since the beginning of this year, I have not been able to do much on my thesis. I must find time to get that done because I am supposed to finish by May 2015’

‘

Sheriff is PDP senatorial candidate for Borno Central

Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji recently held his annual media session with correspondents. During the session, he spoke on on partisan issues. OZIEGBE OKOEKI was there.

Ikuforiji: I have learnt not to worry about tomorrow W

I am not clairvoyant and I don’t pretend to be a prophet, but it is not very likely that this generation would witness another three-term Speaker in the Lagos State House of Assembly

T

• Ikuforiji

body, I am never carried away if they praise me that I am powerful because they delegated the powers I have to me.

How true is the rumour that you plan to return to the Assembly in 2015?

Well, it is not in my plan. I have no such plans. Even before the governorship primary, every opportunity I have had to talk publicly, even at the Hijrah lecture, I said that it is not my intention to return to the Assembly. God has his own plan; if they want me back, all of them must be seated with our leaders and they have to bring my mother from heaven to come and tell me to come back. Honestly, it is time to move on, after a decade. I am sure when you tell some of your friends if per adventure I have plans to return to the House, they would say ‘what happened, is he the only one, what else does he want?’ Really, I am tired; let me just go and rest.

Was there a time you saw the position of the Speaker as being challenging?

Yes, every second has been challenging since December 29, 2005 and I have always faced the challenges with a lot of courage. Anyone who tells you that the position is not challenging is not progressive-minded; he is not seriousminded and he is not going to take the House anywhere. Think about it, today, everyone in the country agrees that Lagos Assembly is the number one in the federation. In fact the National Assembly cannot compete with LSHA. When we were in Tanzania in July, some of the people from the National Assembly, the staffers and some Senators started greeting me unusually as soon as I came in. I was wondering what happened. It was later I heard that the President agreed to sign the National Assembly Commission Bill a day before I got there. The only thing they used to convince him was that Lagos has done it and he felt that if his rival has done it, he should sign the document. The day he was to sign it was the day I got there and they were happy that the man who made it possible had come. Now, this is having an impact on them, if you don’t see the position as challenging, you are not likely to be on your toes. If you don’t know that everyday has its own peculiarities, then you would not make progress. If I am Speaker of the House for the next 10 years, everyday would come with its own peculiarities, because there are still so many things to be done, and I would want to get them done. Those are challenges, and we must always take up the challenges and do our very best.

HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has selected former Governor Modu Sherrif as its Borno Central senato-rial candidate for next year’s election.

The party explained that Senator Sherrif emerged as a consensus candidate, following consultations among stakeholders.

He was given the ticket after he was cleared by the Department of State Security Services (DSS) on the allegation sponsoring Boko Haram activities.

To forge unity in the chapter, the party also resolved to select other candidates through consensus to prevent post-primary crisis.

Sheriff was absolved of complicity in Boko Haram activities. Also cleared was the former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd).

During the investigation by security agents, another controversy broke out, when the photograph of Sherrif with President Goodluck Jonathan and Chadian President Idriss Derby in D’Jamena, the Chadian capital, appeared in the social media.

The pictures provoked debate and condemnation by critics and opposition political parties.The Presidency explained that Sheriff was not part of Dr. Jonathan’s entourage, adding that he received the visiting President like other Nigerians resident in Chad.

Last week, the DSS paraded seven suspects, including Junaidu Khadi, former Special Adviser to the former governor, on allegation of conspiracy to frame up his former boss.

However, Governor Kasim Shettima’s spokesman, Malam Isa Gusau, pointed out that the DSS failed to allude to the fact that Khadi served as a special adviser under Sherrif in 2010.

He also recalled that the former governor mounted pressure on his successor to re-appoint Khadi as a member of the State Executive Council. Gusau emphasised that Khadi was sacked by the governor before his arrest, adding that he was not working with Shettima when he was arrested.

Sheriff had earlier endorsed his associate, Alhaji Mohammed Imam, for the Senate, following his failed governorship bid. Imam lost to Alhaji Gambo Lawan during the selection process. While Imam enjoyed the support of the former governor, other PDP leaders preferred Gambo.

Sheriff had contested for the Senate in 2011 on the platform of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), but he lost to Ahmed Zanna of the PDP, a relatively unknown politician.

A source said that Sherrif has promised to get ministerial or ambassadorial position for Imam, if the President gets a second term.

However, many stakeholders are jittery because of the soaring popularity of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the rising profile of its presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. In their view, the PDP may not bounce back, if the APC sustains the current tempo of mobilisation across the six geo-political zones.

• Sheriff

‘Omoworare was properly elected as senatorial candidate’

I

NSINUATIONS that Senator Babajide Omoworare was imposed by Governor Rauf Aregbesola on the as the Osun East senatorial candidate has been described as a tissue of lies.

The Director of Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, made the clarification while reacting to allegations by an aspirant, Mr. Sola Lawal. He said Lawal’s allegation lacked substance, adding that it was a a fabricated to deiscredit the shadow poll and dent the image of the governor.

Okanlawon described Aregbesola as an advocate of democratic ethos, noting that Lawal’s accusation paled into a failed attempt to rubbish his democratic credentials.

He said, since Lawal started his media war triggered by his imaginary victory, he has not spared any party leader from his virulent attacks.

Okanlawon said that, contrary to Lawal’s claim that he polled 17 votes to defeat Omoworare, who, according to him, scored just three votes, those who voted were more than the 37 people.

He said there was no way the voters at the primaries who came from Ife/Ijesa axis could be reduced to 37.

Okanlawon added: “Some leaders in the senatorial district were saddled with the responsibility of screening aspirants for the senatorial seat. How can the screening become a party primary?

How can 20 people dictate who will represent the people?

“How can there be a primary to choose a senator from a district where the governor hails from and the governor was unaware of such a primary election? How did 20 people arrive at the decision without any of the 11 APC local government party chairmen, 11 Local Government Executive Secretaries, all members of the executive council from the Ife/Ijesa Zone and all other stakeholders across the senatorial district taking part?”

The spokesman explained that the screening were done for aspirants by leaders from each of the senatorial districts before primaries were conducted.

• Omoworare

THE NATION THURSDAY DECEMBER 25, 2014

56

RACE TO 2015 Chief Dele Daniel-Kalio, a politician from Okrika, Rivers State, spoke with NWISI ROSEMARY in Port-Harcourt, the state capital, on the ‘failed’ voter’s card distribution by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), despite the mass mobilisation of residents for the exercise.

‘

The President’s victory at the convention is a foretaste of what to expect in the 2015 general election because the people will vote massively for Mr. President and that should not surprise the opposition

‘

PDP chief hails delegates on Jonathan’s endorsement

By Musa Odoshimokhe

T Why voter’s card distribution was

flawed in Rivers, by Daniel-Kalio

W

HY did you embark on the mobilisation of the riverrine areas for the voter’s registration?

I have been in active politics in the past 35 years, especially in Port Harcourt where I reside. I know that there is the tendency for residents of Port Harcourt to want to go back to their various home towns and villages to participate/carry out any national exercise, such as the voter registration and census. So, there is the need to sensitise them with the views of re-orientating them.

What are the methods employed for this enlightenment?

I started by organising nucleus meetings with community and religious leaders within the Port Harcourt Constituency (Port Harcourt South) to sensitize them on this issue, with the aim of passing through them to also sensitize their members, before I formally moved into organising town-halllike meetings with community members.

I was able to cover all the waterfronts in the constituency, to educate dwellers on the importance of Permanent Voter Card (PVC), collection and need for those who are yet to register not to travel out to do so, especially as the essence is to enable one participate in elections and there is one very close to us.

I covered Egbema, Rex Lawson, Enugu, Ogu, Okrika, Dockyard, Bundu Water Fronts among other communities.

During the 2011 voters registration, many people, including elected leaders, travelled to their respective communities to participate in the exercise and also encouraged their supporters to do same, and even rolled out free buses to assist them go home and do that, how do you reconcile that with your sensitization message.

I am aware of this. That is why I consider it necessary to give the people the right education. This is because, moving outside you place of where you live, work, do business and your children go to school for your community where you barely visit, but ostensible don’t reside, to register for election, elect leaders or even go and be counted during censuses is counterproductive to governments’ plan for the area.

If people go home during election and the population survey, it will undermine the population of their actual place of stay, which will subsequently affect governments’ planning for provision of social amenities in the area. This is because during planning, provision will be made based on the population captured in the areas in these major national exercises (voters registration and census) whereas it is not true most residents of the area had travelled out to participate in the exercise, so when they return and key into the

• Daniel-Kalio

provision made with limited population it weights down on the amenities, resulting in the allegation of governments’ insufficient provision in these places.

But, if people stay in the places they live and earn a living and pay taxes to participate in these programmes, it makes the job of the government easy and also enable tax payers enjoy the fruit of their taxes, because the government will know the accurate number of nursery, primary, secondary school age children in the area to enable it know the number and sizes of each of the schools to build in a particular area, know the amount of power and size of transformer to provide for residents there, the size of roads needed among others.

These things would now be provided in a manner that they will be adequate rather than the present estimated provision which ends in rationing of every amenity.

Now, what are the catchment areas of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Port Harcourt Constituency 2 (Port Harcourt South).

‘There is the tendency for residents of Port Harcourt to want to go back to their various home towns and villages to participate/carry out any national exercise, such as the voter registration and census’

The Rivers State House of Assembly stretches from Azubie by Port Harcourt zoo, through Okuru-ama, Abuloma, Amadiama, Marine Base, Old PortHarcourt Town to Borikiri and terminated at Ikpukulobie. There are five electoral wards spread in the constituency.

According to 2011 voters registration records, Port Harcourt Constituency 2, recorded a total of 179, 958 voters in the following order, Ward 4(22129), ward 5(44421), ward 6 (25210), ward 7(29905) and ward 20(58293).

How was the response?

Impressive and enthusiastic. I discovered that meeting the people one -on -one with the appropriate, message, education does great magic, it whips up interest in people, then they knew the need for them to go for their PVC and those that had not registered came to the understanding of why they should register.

Prior to the move, they did not know the reason they should sacrifice their time, business as the case may be for PVC collection, or even go and register for it, when according to them they don’t have the feel of the presence of any government in power either in their lives as law abiding citizens or as a community.

They were enraged with the system and government, they did not want to hear about the election and the collection of PVC, but after the sensitisation, with the help of other public spirited individuals who found what I was doing worthwhile, we were able to mobilise financially to get some very old and the financial incapacitated ones to their polling units to obtain their cards.

Is there a concern for marginalisation?

There is always room for improvement regarding recognition and presence from all levels of government. Where there is increased performance from a unit or group, the demand for commensurate recognition and presence is always justified.

From the statistics give earlier, it is obvious that the population of eligible voters in this constituency is what every sincere politician vying for elective in the constituency should crave their supports/ votes, it is more than the population of some Local Government Areas in the state and some other states of the Federation; also any politician who out of myopic view and dependence on shortcuts, neglect this whopping number, has lost great fraction of votes that could give him or her a win.

What I am saying in essence is that anyone seeking any elective political office from the Presidency, the governorship, down to the constituency election, who does not articulate what he has for the people of Port Harcourt Constituency 2 is on his own.

HE leader of the Jonathan Mandate for Justice 2015 (JMJ) and achieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in BauchI State, Mr. Noah Dallaji, has hailed the outcome of the national convention which, he described as a foretaste of victory for President Goodluck Jonathan in next year election.

In a statement in Bauchi, the state capital, Dallaji praised the delegates, leaders and members, who attended the convention and their resolve to elect the President. He said Dr. Jonathan will win the election and use the mandate to consolidate on his transformation agenda.

Dallaji said the convention has confirmed to the world that the PDP is a democratic party, which would always conform to its constitution by allowing the wishes of the people to prevail.

He added: “As a democratic party, the PDP has by the outcome of this convention showed to the world that we are true democrats. The delegates have expressed themselves through their ballots and resolved to give President Goodluck Jonathan the presidential ticket which is a good thing for our collective interest as a people and nation in an era of consolidating our national transformation and we can only thank and praise the delegates for their wise decision. Importantly, we cannot but also praise the leadership of our national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu, who has provided good direction, stabilized and united the party since he came on board.

“What is important in a democracy is the process which should conform with the ethics of democracy and this was vindicated at this convention because the people made their choice and this should be respected by all as a fundamental objective of democracy. It was a democratic enterprise which further showed the resilience of the PDP as a political party, the acumen and commitment of its leaders as well as the good spirit and discipline of our members.”

Dallaji said the President’s victory would also be reflected in the general election, stressing that the electorate can see beyond the antics of the opposition.

He added: “What is important to the people now is how to consolidate on the progress already made across the nation by virtue of the the impact of the transformation agenda of the president and never to go back to the past of unpredictable policy and leadership change.

“The President’s victory at the convention is a foretaste of what to expect in the 2015 general election because the people will vote massively for Mr. President and that should not surprise the opposition.

“The opposition will have their say, but they can’t stop the people from voting according to their wishes and aspirations. All they want is continuity of policies and programmes to consolidate on the gains already made through the transformation agenda of this government, which the people can seee as impacting their lives and much more would be done during the president’s second coming.

“So, it is not about changing policies and leadership for the sake of it but consolidating on the good work done by the Jonathan Administration which is showing signs of improvement that our nation is getting better, delivering on the challenge of national cohesion and development even as we note that much more still need to be done. We have to be careful of unpredictable policy and leadership change, we certainly need to move forward.”

‘I ‘ll fulfill my campaign promises to Ondo South’ From Damisi Ojo, Akure

A

ll Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Morayo Lebi has emerged winner of the Ondo South Senatorial primaries held at Adolak Hotel, Ore. He polled 1,261 votes to defeat his rival, Femi Akingbola, who had 156 votes.

The Returning Officer, Duro Adonis said that 1,467 delegates participated in the poll, adding that total valid votes cast was 1,417. The invalid votes was 50.

Adonis said that the election was peaceful and well organised, adding party agents and aspirants accepted the results.

Lebi told reporters that the result undercored his popularity, assuring that he will fulfill his campaign promises, if elected as a senator. He dedicated the victory to his supporters.

The flag bearer said that the emancipation of his people was utmost in his mind, adding that his senatorial district would experience unprecedented development during his tenure.

Lebi, a lawyer, expressed optimism that he would defeat his opponents at the poll. He said: “Our people are tasty for change because they are tired of endless promises of the opposition party and I tell you that the wind of change is already blowing all over the country.

“My people have repose their trust and confidence in me and I will never let them down because my senatorial district will witness unprecedented change and development,’’ Lebi said.

The Chairman of the APC in Ondo South, Mr Paul Oyeto, also expressed satisfaction at the conduct of the election saying that it was peaceful and well organised.

“I thanked the supporters for their decorum and peaceful organisation.

The APC is known for organisation and unity. All these will be put in place to dislodge the opposition in • Lebi 2015 general elections.”

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

57

THE NATION

BUSINESS INDUSTRY

industry@thenationaonlineng.net

The Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI) in collaboration with public sector agencies, is positioning private sector operators to drive the economy. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports that the move, which is seen as the most comprehensive and practical approach to boost the employment and wealth creation capacity of small scale enterprises, may be the tonic to turn the economy around in the face of dwindling oil revenue.

Reinventing the industrialisation wheel

T

HE industrial sector is set for a re bound. The Nigerian Association of Small Scale Inudstrialists (NASSI), the umbrella association for all small scale enterprises and industries, is leading a campaign to position Micro, Small and Medium and Enterprises (MSMEs) operators to drive the industrialisation process.

The campaign will see the MSMEs take their pride of place as the engine of growth.

The leadership of NASSI under its National President, Chief Chuku Wachuku, is forming some strategic partnerships and alliances with major public sector agencies which mandate verges on promoting the development of MSMEs. Some of the agencies include Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Raw Materials Research and development Council (RMRDC), Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) as well as development finance institutions such as Bank of Industry (BoI) and Bank of Agriculture (BoA). In fostering such strategic partnerships, the overall objective of NASSI is to position its members to drive the economy, particularly now that focus is shifting to the nonoil sector in the wake of declining oil prices in the international market.

Wachuku said: “Anybody who knows the economy of the emerging nations or even developed nations should know that all economies must necessarily depend on MSMEs and the informal sector because it’s the engine of growth.

“Seventy-five per cent of all new net jobs in the US are created by small and medium enterprises, and in this country Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contribute 90 to 95 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Their only problem is that whereas they contribute this percentage to GDP, the wealth addition stands at only 46 per cent.

“So, if we could bridge that gap, which is what we are trying to do, we are going to create more wealth in the economy.”

It was in the bid to bridge this gap, according to Wachuku, that such strategic partnerships became necessary.

To begin with, NASSI would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SMEDAN soon in training and entrepreneurship.

He said under the MoU, businesses of members of NASSI would be well-packaged with the collaboration of SMEDAN. “We will train you in entrepreneurship and give you the technical knowhow and entrepreneurial skill to become a businessman; how to prepare your own business plan and feasibilities, and also present you to either BoI or BoA, who is also partnering with us,” he explained, adding that the purpose is to ensure that NASSI members transit from being applicants to becoming employers.

Wachuku noted that because most small scale industries emanate from personal resources and do not have the culture of business, they die within two to three years.

The MoU with SMEDAN is therefore, seeking to reverse the trend by adding value to what MSMEs have in form of training and entrepreneurial skills.

According to him, this is why a Federal Government agency such as SMEDAN, a ‘one stop shop’ to facilitate the access of micro, small and medium entrepreneurs/

investors to all the resources required for their development, becomes very relevant.

He also expressed optimism that the collaboration with SMEDAN would create more impetus by adding more industries, and with the industries that are there already, encouraging them to sustain themselves and not to die.

Perhaps, the icing on the cake for small scale industrialists under the renewed drive by NASSI to transform the industrial sector is the plan to establish industrial clusters. Already, the Minister of Science and Technology working through RMRDC and NASSI is powering the emergence of clusters along the agro and industrial value chain. Under the new arrangement, to be perfected next week, RMRDC will be coming out with raw materials-based industrial clusters in every local government area of the country. On its part, NASENI, which produces prototype equipment and commercialises them through the private sector, will power the clusters using its solar energy plant.

With hundreds of businesses or entrepreneurs in the 774 local government areas of the country, operators and stakeholders are upbeat over the huge impetus this would create in the industrial sector.

For instance, if agric clusters such as rice clusters are established in a state such as Ondo, paddy rice becomes natural raw materials to processing mills and that means you already have off-takers. “That is what I mean by value chain. So, you are going to have raw materials based clusters where it’s only NASSI members who will access them,” he said, adding that ‘we are going to sign MoU with BoA.’ That is not all. Wachuku also hinted that in a bid to get round the challenge of lack of access to finance, NASSI would, in the next couple of weeks, be shopping for investors so that the association can have its own micro-finance bank in every local government. The association is also considering setting up a credit department to investigate every credit refusal.

He said: “We will supply you training and all our trainings must be certified by SMEDAN. “Once SMEDAN certifies you through the Business Development Service Provider (BDSP) that your business plan is good, if a bank refuses you credit, one of my departments in NASSI will ask why.

So we are going to establish in NASSI a monitoring department to ask why a bank refused a NASSI member credit.’’

NASSI’s move to establish a bank may have been prompted by the failure of its earlier MoU with FirstBank of Nigeria Plc, a development that did not go down well with some members of its state chapters particularly Kano and Rivers. NASSI had in 2012 signed a single-digit credit agreement with FirstBank.

The loan was to be extended to members of the association who were to contribute

a certain amount of money. Non-member small scale enterprise (SME) operators were also encouraged to register with a certain sum to benefit from the scheme. The loan was to be funded from members’ contributions and First Bank’s investment, while a large pool of it was to be realised from participating state governments, who were approached by the banks’ officials and NASSI to buy into the initiative.

However, the MoU failed to achieve its objective apparently for no fault of First Bank or the leadership of NASSI. Wachuku explained that under the MoU NASSI signed with First Bank, the bank was to provide loans at nine per cent interest rate.

The MoU, he said, was to made states assist entrepreneurs who have no access to finance and collateral. The state government will put funds into First Bank, about N500 million minimum. The bank will use the money as collateral and lend to the citizens of that state who are members of NASSI. The interest rate was negotiated at nine per cent. But when NASSI got to the states, it found out that they were not willing to back up their own citizens. He said state governments did not put money into the First Bank deal to enable the association commence the programme Hear him: “Kano State Government did not pay that money (N500 million) into First Bank. Rivers State Government did not put one kobo into First Bank. Now some stupid elements using politics thought that if you pay the normal membership fee of N15, 000 or N25, 000 as the case may be, you are now entitled to maybe N5 million.

How do you pay N15, 000 a year and get N5 million loan? It’s stupid, it’s illiterate, and it’s annoyingly unintelligent for anybody to think that because you paid N15, 000 First Bank will give N5 million and you keep bashing the leadership of NASSI.” He said that NASSI members in Kano and Rivers State probably did not understand the concept of the First Bank MoU, which was that the bank would give loans to eligible NASSI members at nine per cent interest rate. “How do you expect a deposit money bank with shareholders funds to give you interest of nine per cent instead of their prevailing interest rate of 25 to 30 per cent?” he asked, noting that this was why the association came up with an idea that each state government will deposit at least half a billion into First Bank. “The point is quite clear: you get your state government to put half a billion, which you didn’t do,” he said.

However, there is good news for all NASSI members who paid membership fees in the hope of getting the First Bank loan but didn’t. “Members of NASSI who paid for the First Bank loan who didn’t get it, particularly Kano and Rivers, we

‘In fostering such strategic partnerships, the overall objective of NASSI is to position its members to drive the economy, particularly now that focus is shifting to the non-oil sector in the wake of declining oil prices in the international market. ‘

•Aganga

will waive their membership fee,” Wachuku announced, adding however, that “Becoming a member of NASSI does not guarantee you must get a loan. Your business must be well packaged, you must be eligible to meet the criteria, and the criteria from bank to bank are different, but we are going to create common criteria. That was why I said we are going to ask government to create under SMEDAN a platform to ensure that whatever businesses are packaged, approved and certified by SMEDAN through our own partnership, will not have any problem.”

To ensure that as many members of NASSI as possible benefit from the ongoing initiative to boost their competitiveness, the National President disclosed plans to float a new membership drive.

The thinking is that if NASSI is going to present its members to either BoI or BoA or any commercial bank or any of its strategic partners for one form of assistance or the other, it has to have their profiles in its systems so it could track them. “Millions of Nigerians who are natural members will become members of NASSI because there is going to be cross-collateralisation,” he said, noting that the strategy is to have the public sector work in strategic partnership with the private sector.

As Wachuku puts it: “Government cannot create employment; employment and wealth creation must be private sectordriven.” According to him, NASSI through the partnerships hopes to create five million jobs in the next five years.

This may not be an empty claim.

Wachuku, a former Director-General of National Directorate of Employment, (NDE), actually initiated the concept of self-employment.’’ NDE has done all these things before.

No matter what you do, it’s still coming back to the concept of NDE, which is job creation through entrepreneurship, through agriculture, through special public works, and through skills acquisition. So what we need to do now is to forget these old ideas of government and build up capacity in the private sector as represented by NASSI,” he said.

According to him, NASSI simply means entrepreneurs, business owners, and business owners create employment and wealth. He said NASSI remains the critical platform for Nigeria to use to create employment.

“We are all over the place and we have mobilised. So NASSI is actually driving a serious system that will translate this to active job creation,” he said.

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

INDUSTRY

‘Beverage sector can save $1.66b from PET bottles’ O G

LOBAL provider of Poly ethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle for liquid packaging, Sidel, said its new initiative aimed at reducing the amount of PET used in beverage bottles.

This, the firm said, would help producers save money and improve the environment.

According to Sidel data, the average line can save between $300,000 and $1million, with faster lines or larger bottle formats capable of saving even more. This leads to an approximate average saving per bottle of up to $5 per 0.5 litre bottle or $7 per 2 litre bottle for still water, and 0.005 dollars per 0.5 litre bottle or $6 per two litre bottle for Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSD).

According to Euromonitor forecasts for 2014-2018, releasedthis year, 216 billion PET bottles for still water and 116 billion PET bottles for CSD would have been produced by the end of the year.

Assuming a minimum saving of $5 for all those bottles, the beverage industry as a whole could save $1.08 billion for water and $580 for CSD. In total this equates to over $1.66 billion potential cost savings for the beverage industry from water and CSD alone on a global scale. This does not in-

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

clude other categories such as juices, liquid dairy products and other products.”

Service Director, Sidel, Samuel Gobbe, said: “We did the calculation exercise to show the potential that right weighting provides globally. However, we also recognised the value of producers being able to find out the specific savings that they can achieve and have therefore, introduced the packaging calculator to enable them to do so.”

Sidel introduced an online PET savings calculator to allow beverage producers and bottlers to calculate for themselves what savings could be achieved based on their production parameters.

“The benefits of light weighting PET bottles are well known in the beverage industry. However many producers are still not taking advantage of innovative new bottle designs that could help them make substantial cost savings,” the Zone Vice-President for the Middle East and Africa at Sidel, Clive Smith, said.

He said great opportunities exist for the industry in terms of reducing raw material use, costs saving and improving environmental footprints by adopting new bottle designs, especially for

water and CSD. He said in the past 18 months Sidel has launched several bottle design innovations, including its right weight bottle concept.

On right weight, he said it was the proprietary bottle design that Sidel uses to ensure a bottle is both light while also strong enough to survive global supply chains, look good at the point of sale and offer a great consumer experience.

On savings, Smith said studies had shown that modern bottle designs could lead to substantial savings for beverage producers worldwide. To make it easy for manufacturers to calculate their savings, he said his firm launched new PET savings calculator, that would enable water and CSD producers to calculate how much they could save by utilising a Sidel StarLite base and a shorter neck.

He said: “The calculator allows producers to enter their production conditions for water or CSD products, such as bottle neck format, raw material costs, annual production hours and blower speed etc. for a range of bottle formats. It then immediately calculates how much money could be saved per line by simply adapting the bottle design to use the Sidel StarLite base and shorter neck.”

SON destroys N500m fake products

VER N500million worth of sub-standard goods were destroyed this year by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

Speaking at the destruction of substandard products at its Shagamu dump site, Ogun State, its Head, Inspectorate and Compliance, Bede Obayi, said most of the products were seized from various ports and the borders, while some were smuggled items seized in some states.

He said it was disheartening to note that despite efforts by the agency to enlighten the citizenry about the negative effects of substandard products to the economy and Nigerians, importers still engaged in the illicit trade.

Obayi said the move by SON is to show its zero tolerance for substandard products, and also serve as a deterrent to unscrupulous importers who do not mean well for the nation. “We are also going to intensify our effort to ensure that these products do not find their way into the Nigerian market,” he said, warning importers to desist from the act.

He said: “You are all aware that these goods are imported by people who do not mean well for the country. We have told them that if they must bring in goods, it must be goods that meet the minimum requirements of the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) that will give consumers value for their hard earned money.”

Speaking on the destruction, he said the goods are worth more than N500 million. He listed the products to include, electric armored cables, tyres, expired su-

By Toba Agboola

permarket breakfast cereals, extension sockets, mini-led flashlights, rechargeable lamps, shaving sticks, mobile phones, stabilisers and engine oil, among others.

“We are destroying this huge volume of goods, but creating jobs for people overseas because by the time we destroy these goods, we get nothing but economic loss. We are not happy destroying these products, but if we can save the life of one Nigerian by burning these products, we have done something for this country and this is exactly the core mandate of our agency by showing zero tolerance for substandard goods in this country.

Obayi said SON has used many fora to educate importers and other stakeholders on the right way to import products into the country.

Also, the SON Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) is in place and it is still running, while its e-registration programme is also active to help trace each product to the importer and effectively monitor imports.

“We have told importers times without number that they should approach SON to get the right standards for the products they are bringing into this country so that when they come in, we will not in any way tamper with their goods, but ensure easy access into ýtheir warehouses.

These goods were destroyed to save the lives of Nigerians who are not aware of the harmful effect of these products, he said.

‘Cassava factory near completion’

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•Xmas celebration, some Nigerians goes for second hand wares at Aswani Market as economy goes bad.

Photo: RAHMAN SANUSI

HE Plateau government said the structural development of its Cassava Processing Factory had reached 60 per cent completion.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Steven Barko, who spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), added that the project is a fall-out of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state government and a Brazilian firm, EBS Fedeta de Fedates, signed in 2012.

He said: “It has gone up to between 50 to 60 per cent in terms of structural development but all the machines have been manufactured.

“Furthermore, 10 Plateau youths have been trained in Brazil to handle the factory. In fact they returned (from

Brazil) just one week ago.”

He said the state Ministry of Works had completed the construction of the road leading to the factory while the boreholes for supply of water to the factory had been sunk and ready for use.

He said: “We need water, reliable water and all the boreholes that are needed for the water have been completed; the road to the factory has been completed.

“The structural development is what is going on now and you know the delay in completion is because sometimes this structures and equipment must come together so that they would understand where to fix this, where to fix that.”

LCCI: unfair competition killing businesses

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HE Lagos Chamber of Com merce and Industry (LCCI) has raised the alarm over the problems facing the manufacturing sector.

Its President, Alhaji Remi Bello, said many sectors were faced with unfair competition caused by importation.

He said the situation has continued to hurt the sector, especially in areas, such as smuggling, faking and counterfeiting, influx of substandard products and evasion of import duty payment.

Others are under invoicing of imports and granting of underserved waivers.

Advising the government on the need to improve non-oil revenue in the light of dwindling fortunes in the global oil market, he cautioned that the idea of giving targets to revenue-generating

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

agencies could backfire.

He said: “There is a risk that best practice principles would be compromised in the desperation to meet the set target. Already, this is beginning to manifest in the manner of import valuation by the Nigerian Customs Service.

Reports reaching the Chamber indicate many instances of upward review of values of import in complete disregard to the values of invoices of such imports.”

He also alleged that importers had been made to pay exhorbitant import duty and charges, a practice which has affected investors, especially in the absence of an effective dispute resolution mechanism.

He suggested non-oil areas, especially taxes, by improving the environment for businesses.

Observing that the harsh envi-

ronment would make it difficult for the government to realise the desired tax revenue, he noted that tax revenue could only be as good as the performance of businesses.

He urged the government to nurture the private sector to get robust revenue in form of tax, insisting that emphasis on tax should be more on consumption than on production.

He said: “There is too much emphasis on investors for purposes of taxation, especially in tax on their raw materials and other input; high tariffs on energy and business premises. We should focus more on taxing consumption.”

On the insecurity, LCCI lamented that the problem was disturbing investments.

He decried declining investors’ confidence in the economy. According to him, this is as a result

of the negative impact of the country’s image and perception.

Others are risks of doing business in some parts of the country, relocation of businesses away from the troubled spots and setbacks for the tourism sector.

According to him, there is the distraction of the government from other germane issues in the country, leading to the abandonement of many projects under construction in the north.

Acknowledging the efforts of the government in tackling the problem, he appealed that such efforts be further intensified. He said this is a time for all the citizens to rally round the administration to find an enduring solution to the challenge of insurgency.

On the declining score on ‘Ease of Doing Business’, he drew the attention of the Federal Government to the World Bank report on

the ease of doing business for this year where it indicated a drop of nine points to 147th position from 138th the country scored last year among 189 economies in the world.

He explained that the areas scored are Starting a Business (8), Dealing with Construction Permits (-5), Getting Electricity (1), Registering Property (no change), Getting Credit (-2), Protecting Investors (-1), Paying Taxes (-3), Trading Across Borders (1), Enforcing Contracts (2) and Resolving Insolvency (no change).

He said the report was disheartening, noting that the nation’s scores dropped on six out of the 10 metrics used in the ranking.

He stressed that the declining ease of doing business as indicated in the report agreed with key findings of LCCI’s business environment survey and business confidence index over the last one year.

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS e-Business

e-mail: lukajanaku02@gmail.com

Christmas is here and with it, mobile telephone subscribers experience on virtually all the networks is bad. Subscribers are complaining that it appears the networks have collapsed, LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

Subscribers at operators’ mercy H E dialled his wife’s number and his service provider told him: “The number you have dialled is incorrect, please check the number and dial again.” Unsatisfied, he cross-checked and tried again and he got the same response. At the third attempt, he shouted: “These people have gone mad again. How can they tell me the number I bought for my wife at the cost of N12,000 about 11 years ago is no longer correct. This country is a complete fraud and you say there is government in place,” a secondary school teacher at Prudent Comprehensive College at Abule Odu, near Idimu, a Lagos suburb, lamented.

Another subscriber, Iya Ibeji who wanted to speak to her daughter, an undergraduate of the University of Ado Ekiti got a shock as her service provider quipped “This number is not assigned to any customer.” Frustrated, she tried her alternate number to see if a net call could do the magic for her but she was told: “The number you have dialled is not available at the moment, please try again.”

It has become popular even among the uneducated to hear phrases such as “network palaver”, “network wahala” and such bitter comments when they make fruitless efforts to make calls.

The quality of service (QoS) has remained a pain in the neck of subscribers. Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) appear not to be on the same page on the matter. NCC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO Dr. Eugene Juwah said of all sectors, only telecoms has offered seamless service 24/7 to Nigerians.

According to him, telecoms services can neither be compared with that of power nor banking sector.

• Mrs Johnson

•Juwah

scriber base to their capacity will not pay. It is a business decision that rest squarely on operators.”

Mrs Johnson regretted that despite the fact that her ministry had been working hard to provide an enabling environment for the deployment of ICT infrastructure poor quality of service had remained a recurring decimal in the industry.

She said: “We are concerned that the poor quality issues still abound.I have been inundated with complaints about quality of service and the seemingly uncaring attitude of our telecoms operators to resolve these issues on a regular basis. We will continue, through the industry regulator, to apply sanctions when operators fail to meet the required standards in terms of service quality breaches.

“However, consumers cannot continue to bear the burden of poor service delivery.

Though we are mindful that the operators are facing issues in deploying or maintaining infrastructure, we believe that the operators can do better in delivering acceptable quality of service, which they are clearly not doing now.”

Johnson also emphasised the efforts being made by government and its agencies to address the challenges of operators should result in better quality of service.

Futile attempts Attempts at ensuring quality service made NCC and operators to agree on key performance indicators (KPIs) on which the operators were measured. These were Call Set-up Success Rate (CSSR), Call Completion Rate (CCR), Stand-alone Dedicated Controlled Channel Congestion (SDCCC), Hand-over Success Rate (HSR) and Traffic Channel Congestion (TCC).

Breach of these KPIs led NCC to impose fines on the operators. But sector analysts say the impact of the fines is hardly felt by the operators whose financial war chests are huge. But Juwah disagrees. He said: “Don’t think that they pay fines so easily. The last time we sanctioned them, they paid about $2.5 million each and they are forced to publish it in their annual reports. For some of them that are listed in stock exchanges like Johannesburg; it affects them more seriously than people think.”

Two years ago, the regulator imposed a fine of N360 million each on MTN and Etisalat on the one hand while. Airtel was required to pay N270 million and Globacom was fined N180 million on the other, all failing to meet the KPIs set by the regulatory agency. CSSR denotes the fraction of the attempts to make a call which result in a connection to the called number. For a number of reasons, all call attempts do not always result in a connection. CSSR therefore measures the success rate against the attempts.

CCR denotes the total number of successfully completed inbound or outbound calls versus the total number of calls that were placed or received. On this parametre, NCC set a minimum of 96 per cent.

CDR refers to the fraction of the calls which were cut off before any of the speaking parties terminated the call. On this, NCC set a maximum of two per cent. Of course, the

•Adebayo

Operators’ position

•A base station

lower the percentage of dropped calls, the better.

Juwah had said after the fine, operators had prevailed upon the regulator to lower the KPIs which it did, adding that while the operators have been passing the test conducted on the network, end-user experience has been nothing to write home about. He argued that the operators’ business model was not helping matters He said: “Some of them may have decided that because of their own plan, they will continue to increase their subscriber base. By this they are ready to pay fine that they in-

cur from quality of service infraction. They will also be making investment until the investment will catch up with the needed capacity.”

As a way of enthroning good QoS, Juwah had promised that both the operator and regulator will revert to the status quo ante on KPIs. “Come January we will tighten the KPIs that we have now according to the agreement we have with them. Any one that has decided to continue loading their network without minding the quality of service will continue to pay heavy penalties.

Those that have decided to restrict their sub-

President, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbnega Adebayo said since the operators do not operate in a vacuum and since they do not operate in isolation, the fundamental environmental challenges affecting the country have to be addressed by the government.

He said he had to stop and caution a contractor working who ignorantly vandalised OFC, adding that there must be synergy to stop such incidence in the future.

Such challenges are the bureaucracy around the grant of right of way (RoW), multiple taxation/regulation, premeditated vandalism of OFC and BTS, theft of fuel at BTS and crushing cost of running the networks on fuel. Others resort to shutting down of BTS by officials of government ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) and lack of incentives to drive service penetration to the remote and rural areas.

From operators’ perspective, poor quality of service impedes the capacity to make money. According to them, environmental challenges often beyond their control affect the services they offer.

The challenges include inadequate grid power, multiple regulation and taxation; illegal access denials and site shut-outs; lack of incentives to drive service penetration to remote and rural areas; rent seeking charges for permits and approvals necessary for deployment; and insecurity.

These challenges notwithstanding, it is time for operators to step up work with industry regulator to bring about the kind of services subscribers pray and pay.

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

e-Business ‘Collaborative effort needed to develop VAS’

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• From left: Country Manager, Intel Nigeria, Olubunmi Ekundare; Director, Bitflux Communications Limited, Biodun Omoniyi; and Business Development Manager, Intel Nigeria Stanley Muoneke; during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Intel and Bitflux in Lagos.

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Hazards of phone use worries Fed Govt

HE Federal Government has expressed worries over the likely health hazards of the use of mobile phones. It has asked experts to examine the issue and fashion inputs that will assist regulators in West Africa to tackle the issue.

Minister of Communications Technology Mrs Omobola Johnson, who spoke in Lagos at the second West African Conference on Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) Exposure and Health, said it was also vital the people’s health is taken care of in the booming telecoms business.

She said: “Even as we celebrate the gains of this revolution, it is important that we are mindful also of the health of our people, both in the short and in the long term.

Mindful of the concerns, which have been expressed both locally and internationally, on whether exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) poses any health hazards to humans; and determined to ensure that the people of West Africa are well advised as to the facts regarding the issue, the Federal Government of Nigeria decided to take the initiative to bring about this conference, which is a follow up to the first one held in 2012, also

Stories by Lucas Ajanaku

here in Lagos, Nigeria.

“As you may be aware, Mobile or cellular phones are now an integral part of our lives. In many countries, over half the population use mobile phones and the market is growing rapidly. Already, here in Nigeria as at September 2014 there are over 135 million active subscribers of both mobile and Fixed Wired/Wireless lines; and this number will increase. The growth has been equally phenomenal in the other countries in West Africa and in many instances mobile phones are the most reliable or the only phones available.

“Given the large number of mobile phone users, it is important therefore to investigate, understand and monitor any potential public health impact. Mobile phones communicate by transmitting radio waves through a network of fixed antennas called base stations. Signals in the mobile telephony bands of the radio spectrum are non-ionizing radiation such as X-rays or gamma rays, can neither break chemical bonds nor cause ionization

in the human body.”

According the minister, the big question is whether there are any health effects from the use of mobile phones. She said a large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk, adding that to date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use.

“But the agitations and concerns continue to surface time and time again. It is, therefore, for us to get the true situation on this topic, as it is currently, and from some of the most informed experts. The Federal Government is very concerned about the welfare and the health of her people; I believe this is the same of our sister countries in West Africa,” she said, adding that the forum would help the governments to get a position that they can use to either reassure the people that they have nothing to worry about. She however said if the conference finds at the end of the day that there is something to worry about, then, it becomes the duty of the various governments to do that which must be done – “to ensure safety of our people and the environment while using mobile communications.”

Internet skills vital to MSMEs’ growth, says group C OMPUTER Warehouse Group (CWG) has said the shift in traditional business to online commerce has made the acquisition of online skill an indispensable tool for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Its Head, Marketing Communications, Success Nmerife, who spoke during the maiden edition of a special workshop for MSMEs in Lagos, said the workshop was designed to introduce them to solutions and methods they could employ to maximise the benefits that the internet affords in growing their business.

According to her, the paradigm shift in the global focus from traditional business model to online commerce has made the utilisation of the electronic platfrom in business promotion and sales an indispensable tool for merchants.

The free online technology workshop had Learn How to Set-up, Operate and Advertise Your Own Store Online aimed at equipping business owners with the skills they require to take their business to the online community by operating an online store and selling to people other than those in their immediate physical community.

Speaking at the event, Business Manager, Openshopen, Adriana De la Cruz Duffo, said Openshopen has been uniquely designed to respond

to the challenges of online trading encountered by MSMEs in the Nigerian business environment.

She said: “Openshopen is easy to use, cheap and profitable. It addresses the fears of payment gateway security. It also takes care of the logistics of delivery. It is a platform you as merchants can adopt, if you want your business to grow.”

During the workshop, merchants were taken through three training sessions. In the first session, Head, Innovation, CWG, Mr. Tayo Oduwole, introduced the Openshopen online platform to the participants. He said: “CWG’s partnership with Openshopen to introduce the eCommerce platform is in line with our vision to enable Nigerian merchants acquire business enabling technology without incurring business killing own-infrastructure costs”.

He said Openshopen differs from other online shopping platforms in that it allows merchants sell directly to buyers and have the privilege of promoting their brands. Unlike other platforms that require merchants to submit their wares for sale. “With Openshopen, you can sell your brand alongside your products, such that people can look

for you if they want your products again,” he added.

Mr. Oduwole took participants through step by step procedure of opening a store online with the privilege of creating their own store, each having their unique web address, corporate logo and products for display. Partcipants were taught the basics of promoting their business using various social media platforms.

Chief Technology Officer, CWG, Mr. James Agada, who presented certificates to participants at the workshop, said the workshop served as one of CWG’s ways of contributing towards the growth of SMEs in the country, creating employment and contributing to the growth of the nation’s economy. He urged the participants to utilise the knowledge they have acquired from the workshop.

The participants expressed their gratitude to CWG for the privilege of the workshop. Most of the attendees indicated that the workshop has been of immense benefit to them. Commenting on the workshop, Mr. and Mrs. Yemi Adeyemo, Directors at House of Treasures, observed “In fact, the workshop was worth the while, the lectures were extensive and the speakers were very good. We have learnt a lot that we will like to put them into use as soon as we get back home.”

OMPANIES offering value added services (VAS) on mobile network have urged all stakeholders in the mobile telecoms industry to join hands together in order to fully develop the wireless application sub-sector for the country’s social and economic growth.

The body, under its trade body, Wireless Applications Service Providers Ltd GTE (WASPAN) said in a statement that the current scenario whereby mobile networks, wireless application service providers (WASPs) hold divergent opinions on several critical industry issues would not augur well for the sector’s development and the country’s growth.

Its National Coordinating Consultant, Mr. Simon Aderinola, said the wireless application sub-sector is one that has emerged globally in recent years and not part of the traditional telecoms services. He noted that based on this reality, there is some degree of uncertainty about how to regulate the activities of WASPs application providers and how to help develop the sub-sector.

Aderinola said the problem was not peculiar to Nigeria, noting that in many countries, after the initial problems, collaboration between network operators, application service providers, the industry regulator and other stakeholders had led to the development of the industry for greater economic benefits.

He said: “We need to learn from the success of the models adopted in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana. These are countries where the wireless application services industry is doing well. These countries collaborated to develop a framework that is now successfully benefitting stakeholders.”

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Shopping dash excites Etisalat’s customers

TISALAT Nigeria has honoured 10 of its Business Customers in Abuja with a special reward scheme tagged “the Etisalat December Shopping Dash.” The event held at the Shoprite, Apo, Abuja, was a special event dedicated to reward 10 lucky customers for their loyalty and commitment to the Etisalat Network.

The 10 customers who got a chance to partake of the Abuja edition of the Etisalat December Shopping Dash were overjoyed about their prizes and expressly thanked Etisalat for the generosity and innovative prowess in ensuring that all its customers get the very best from the network.

Excited corporate customer, Ibrahim Magaji of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) described his experience, thus: “I am very glad to participate in the Etisalat Shopping Dash and I am simply short of words at how generous Etisalat is. I can say boldly say that Etisalat Nigeria is a fantastic network that cares

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It will be recalled that following unending controversies, especially between mobile networks and wireless application services providers, WASPAN in 2012 invited experts from South Africa to help in sharing their experiences on the matter.

The consultant that helped South Africa set up the country’s joint industry regulatory framework, Dr. Leon Pellman, led a delegation to the country and had useful discussions with several stakeholders on how to develop application service sub-sector.

Aderinola said collaboration was needed so that the potential of the sector could be realised. The industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said the volume of business activities in mobile VAS segment of the Nigeria’s telecoms industry currently worth $200 million year-on-year.

The revenue, according to the NCC, is expected to more than double to reach $500 million in the next few years if proper regulatory framework is put in place.

A major issue of disagreement between WASPAN and mobile networks is the current revenue sharing formula that gives close to 80 per cent to the networks. Another is the gradual encroachment by mobile network operators into the wireless applications sub-sector and the stifling of growth of small companies.

It will be recalled that NCC had called a stakeholders’ meeting earlier in the month to discuss several issues bedeviling wireless application services. A fallout of the meeting was the announcement by the Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah that a plan to develop an industry-driven regulatory framework to strengthen the mobile VAS market would soon be unveiled.

deeply about its customers.”

Another lucky customer, Safiya Runsewe, said “the Shopping dash was both exciting and engaging. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time and it is all thanks to Etisalat Nigeria.”

Its Director, Business Segment, Lucas Dada said: “Since inception, Etisalat has remained committed to providing its customers with the very best customer service in Nigeria. It is to this end that the December Shopping Dash was berthed. The 10 selected customers have a maximum of three minutes to select any item within the store that they desire, courtesy of Etisalat. Whatever they can carry, they can keep. It is our simple, yet innovative way of giving back to our customers and showing them that we truly care.

“Etisalat has a lot more surprises in store next year and we urge all our esteemed customers to remain loyal because we will continue to deliver the very best to them.”

Glo urges peace, reconciliation at Yuletide

ATIONAL Telecoms provider, Globacom, has wished all Christians in Nigeria a very joyous Christmas celebration and called on Nigerians to live in peace with one another in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ who is the reason for the season.

The company urged the Christian faithful in the country to use the season of the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ to spread the joy of the season and pray for the progress of Nigeria.

In a goodwill message issued in Lagos, Globacom wished Christians a season full of love, unlimited happiness and celebration.

The telecoms operator urged all

Nigerians to use the occasion of the Yuletide to make peace and reconcile all differences. “On all fronts, we need to encourage cordiality and peaceful co-existence; between friends, families, political opponents , tribes, ethnic groups and religions,” Globacom said in the statement.

“Nigeria can only thrive in an atmosphere of peace and unity.

Therefore, Nigerians should imbibe the spirit of tolerance, forgiveness and forbearance as exhibited by our Lord Jesus Christ. Ethnic, religious and political differences should therefore be transformed into the plank for enduring unity, and not be pushed to extremities”, the statement counseled.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS ON ANY EMERGENCY Council endorsed the useful phone numbers submitted by the security agents in case of any emergency on the metropolitan Roads. Accordingly, the public may easily contact KAROTA for: Breakdown of Vehicle(s), Traffic Congestion, Accidents, and Illegal/Wrong Parking on – 08091626747. Similarly, the State Police Command could be contacted on – 08032419754, 08123821575. In addition, the State Fire Service can also be contacted on – 07051246833, 08191778888.

180TH KANO STATE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING

PREPARED BY COUNCIL AFFAIRS DIRECTORATE, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY TO THE STATE GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT HOUSE, KANO. n the second (2nd) term (29th May, 2011 to date) of Governor Engr. Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE as the popularly elected Governor of Kano State, the Government expended a total sum of money close to Four Hundred and Thirty Four Billion One

I

Hundred and Seventy One Million, Two Hundred and Fifty Two Thousand, Six Hundred and Eighteen Naira, Twenty Kobo (N434,171,252,618.20) transparently and prudently deployed in the execution of over Four Thousand, Four Hundred and Seventy Five (4,475) projects/ policies/schemes/programmes at an average rate of twenty five (25) approvals granted per each of the previous one hundred and seventy nine (179) sittings of the State Executive Council.

As such, it is correct to state that, the State Executive Council progressively approved an average expenditure of Ninety Seven Million, Twenty Thousand, Five Hundred and Eight Naira, Ninety Seven Kobo (N97,021,508.97) per each of its previous one hundred and Seventy nine (179) sittings in the execution of public oriented/spirited projects/policies/schemes/ programmes across all sectors in line with resolutions precisely captured and designed concisely to address the positive transformation of the State along with the lives of the citizenry for the better. In fact at one of the sittings the council APPROVED an expenditure in excess of N33 Billion Naira and the proceeding week N27 Billion was also approved.

In this regard, all Government activities undertaken by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are transparently and prudently executed as commendably depicted across all sectors with achievements recorded unequaled by any other administration within the span of three (3) and a half years in Kano or any other State in Nigeria. Indelible and easily retrievable records attest to this in respect of all sectors.

Sure and confident to complete all the initiated positive developmental efforts, the State Executive Council held its number one hundred and eighty (180) sitting under the Chairmanship of Governor Engr. Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE on Wednesday 17th December, 2014 (25th Safar, 1436AH). Thirty eight (38) memoranda from five (5) MDAs were tabled for deliberation of which Council approved seventeen (17) cutting across six (6) sectors with an expenditure of One Hundred and Twenty Five Million, Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twenty Nine Naira, Sixty Kobo (N125,350,729.60) covering fifteen (15) projects while the remaining two (2) are on policy issues. Thus; 1. THE INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT/MAINTENANCE SECTOR Achievements recorded by the current administration in the State in respect of the infrastructural development/maintenance sector stand out prominently as a signature/indelible stamp of the Kwankwasiyya Legacy and Commendable/Copious approach as vitally required across all sectors for the transformation of the quality of lives of the citizenry for the better.

Edifices that stand out abound of which only few examples can be cited under the following three (3) prominent sectors; viz; the Education Sector; the Health Sector and the Transportation Sector. o The Education Sector The Physical/Infrastructural requirements are robustly provided continually which positively transforms the performance of Government in respect of this sector at all levels and physical ramifications, among others. This administration executed the following projects and more as physically required to positively transform the education sector. i. Construction of over 3,000 classrooms to decongest existing ones in both Basic Education and Secondary Schools in Kano State so as to ensure accommodating an average of no more than sixty (60) pupils/Students per classroom. The prototype Kwankwasiyya Blocks of Storey Classrooms plus offices and conveniences attest to this across the State. ii. Conversion of several unused/underutilized Government owned buildings (e.g. Gidan Ado Bayero, Former Magwan Water Restaurant, Yadakunya Psychiatric Hospital, etc.) to viable Schools. iii. Renovation of several Basic Education/Secondary Schools and provision of perimeter wall fence to fortify many from encroachment, etc. iv. Establishment of the permanent site for the Northwest University, Kano. v. Establishment of the permanent site for the College of Arts, Science and Remedial Studies (CARS), Tudun - Wada Dankadai, etc. o The Health Sector Performance of the present administration in the effort to provide the infrastructure required under the Health Sector is commendable as the envisaged positive transformation is a reality in the sense that, - Most of the Kano State Government owned General Hospitals/Health Facilities are currently renovated/fully equipped.

- Establishment of the State Primary Health Care Management Board is currently a reality with all the physical/infrastructural requirements available.

- College of Nursing and Basic Midwifery, Madobi; School of Post Basic Midwifery Gezawa and School of Health Technology Bebeji are established with all the infrastructural/physical requirements available, etc. o The Transportation Sector Developments and the general positive trend recorded in the infrastructural requirements under this sector are tremendous as to warrant only mention of the few that standout. Viz; i. Several new roads were constructed while many of the existing ones are expanded and maintained continuously. ii. Street lights provided along all categories of roads in Kano Metropolis as well as along the 5KM roads constructed in each of the 44 Local Government Headquarters.

iii. Pedestrian walkways along the major roads in Metropolitan Kano are provided with Garden Interlock tiles to ease movement and protect the roads, etc.

Continuing with the commendable effort towards the physical positive transformation of the State, the State Executive Council approved the execution of three (3) set of memoranda under the infrastructural development/maintenance sector as follows; a) Request for Funds to Enable Procurement of Duraline Flame Fighter Hoses and Chemical Foam Rabi’u Musa Kwankawaso Compound:This request was submitted from the State Fire Service Department but was endorsed by the State Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport and presented to Council for consideration. Details on the two (2) items required were presented along with the request for the release of the sum of N9,375,000.00 for the stated purpose.

Council considered relevance of the project to the protection of lives and property in fighting accidental fire outbreaks and approved as requested. b) Request for Funds to Enable Provision of Fire Extinguishers, Servicing Existing Ones and Training of Kano State Government House Staff on Fire Fighting Techniques:The Honourable Commissioner, State Affairs instructed the State Fire Service Department to conduct the cited training which channeled the cited request through the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport (as its Supervisor) for consideration by Council.

The details presented were considered as relevant by Council which approved the release of the requested sum of N9,266,500.00 for the stated purpose. c) Request for Funds for the Renovation of Takai/Albasu Inter Town Conversion (ITC) Complex for Electricity Supplied to Seven (7) Towns:The Takai/Albasu I.T.C Complex provides it's Inter Town Conversion Services for electricity supplied to seven (7) towns which include Takai, Durbunde, Fajewa, Falali, Marke Sabuwar Kasuwa, Tsanyawa and Sakwaya. The complex requires renovation urgently as its services are in demand in accordance with the socio - economic needs of the affected Communities.

Details of the project were assessed and estimated to cost the sum of N13,792,327.00 which was requested for release to enable the State Rural Electricity Board (REB) execute the project under the supervision of the State Ministry of Rural and Community Development.

Accordingly, Council noted, considered and approved as requested.

2. THE EMPOWERMENT SECTOR Again, the State Executive Council approved the execution of five (5) memoranda under the empowerment sector at its one hundred and eightieth (180th) sitting.

These added to the impressive series of memoranda approved for execution under the sector that cut across all segments of the society in various ways. For example; o Provision of access to professional/academic education:- A large number of the State Indigenous qualified students sponsored for professional/ academic courses at both under/post Graduate levels (over 4,000) in institutions/colleges/ universities publicly and privately owned locally and abroad. o Provision of access to capacity building for serving civil servants:- Series of workshops, seminars, conferences, on - the - job training, etc. were approved to be conducted locally and several others to be attended by serving civil servants so as to build their respective capacities for effective service delivery. Beneficiaries cut across MDAs and the number is incomparably impressive.

- Twenty four (24) employable skills acquisition training institutes were established of which many graduated their trainees that commenced benefitting their acquired skills.

- Various empowerment schemes were conducted by the State Community Reorientation Council (CRC); the Hisbah Board; the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development; etc.

- Reintroduction of the Lafiya Jari Empowerment Scheme under which an impressive number of unemployed youth were trained on the business of patent medicine store.

- Provision of take - off capital free of charge to the beneficiaries of the empowerment schemes etc. o Provision of support to the needy:- Bereaved families of deceased civil servants are promptly paid the statutory bereaved family allowances.

- Displaced/distressed persons catered for; examples are those displaced from the Central African Republic, Mubi in Adamawa State, etc. to mention but few.

In this vein, the five (5) memoranda approved for execution at the one hundred and eightieth (180th) sitting of the State Executive Council can be sub - divided into three (3). That is two (2) under provision of access to professional/academic education, one (1) under provision of access to capacity building for serving civil servants, and one (1) under provision of support to the needy. o Provision of access to professional/academic education:- Twenty three (23) qualified Kano State Indigenous students are currently sponsored for various under graduate programmes at the American University of Nigeria, Yola Adamawa State.

Council approved the release of the aggregate sum of N2,070,000.00 as requested by the State Scholarship Board to enable payment of monthly feeding allowances for nine (9) months (April - December, 2014) to the twenty three (23) students at the rate of N10,000.00 per month (i.e. N90,000.00 x 23).

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014 - Twenty (20) amongst the one hundred (100) State Indigenous students sponsored for Pilot Training at Mideast Aviation Academy Jordan successfully completed their course.

Council approved the release of the sum of N2,860,000.00 to enable them afford the five (5) items required to sit for a written examination under the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority so as to qualify for Nigeria Pilot License. o Provision of access to capacity building for serving civil servants:- Approval was granted for the release of the sum of N2,000,000.00 by the State Executive Council at its one hundred and eightieth (180th) sitting to enable the State Ministry of Education host the mandatory continuous programme and training for 1,100 principals of secondary schools (ANCOPSS), Kano State Chapter. o Provision of support to the needy:- The Kano State Secretariat of the NYSC requested for financial assistance from the State Government by granting approval for the release of the sum of N4,195,200.00 to enable furnishing and provision of mosquito netting at its Kusalla permanent NYSC Orientation Camp site, Karaye Local Government.

Accordingly, Council considered and approval was granted in support as requested.

3. THE HEALTH SECTOR The present administration in the State leaves no stone unturned in transforming the Health Sector positively. All aspects and ramifications of the sector are improved continually which include the infrastructural, material, equipment, personnel, consumables, etc. requirements.

A trip round Government owned health facilities of all categories will confirm this as the sector enjoys priority consideration among others.

Continuing with the commendable trend, Council approved the execution of five (5) memoranda under the health sector during its one hundred and eightieth (180th) sitting as follows; a) Request for Funds for the Control of Scabies in Kano State:Cognizant of the capacity of scabies to quickly spread from infected to non - infected persons in the society especially among children living in unhygienic environment, the office of the Secretary to the State Government endorsed this request from the Ministry of Health and presented it to Council for consideration.

Details were presented along with the request for the release of the sum of N5,634,500.00 to the State Ministry of Health to enable control of scabies as a common skin disease in Kano State.

Accordingly, Council considered and approved as requested. b) Request for Funds for Monthly Support to Community Based Management of Severe Malnutrition in Six (6) Local Government Council Areas:This routine request was submitted from the State Ministry of Health but endorsed by the office of the Secretary to the State Government and presented to Council for consideration.

The six (6) Local Government Council Areas specified in this memorandum include Bichi, Kano Municipal, Madobi, Sumaila, Wudil and Tsanyawa in order to improve, manage and treat children with severe malnutrition in Communities.

The details presented were considered by Council as approval was granted along with instructions to the six (6) concerned Local Government Councils to ensure continuous monthly release of the sum of N1,281,400.00 to the State Ministry of Health to ensure control of severe malnutrition in their respective domains. c) Presentation of the Need and Request for Funds for the Supply/Installation of Equipment/Furniture at the Gwarzo General Hospital (Main Theatre/Renovated Structures):Infrastructures at the Gwarzo General Hospital were recently renovated along with the main operation theatre. Provision/installation of equipment and furniture are still pending for the hospital to be fully functional which prompted submission of this request for consideration

by Council as endorsed by the office of the Secretary to the State Government.

Accordingly, Council approved the release of the sum of N20,835,159.68 for the project. e) Request for Funds for Donation to the Endowment Fund to the Tune of N700,000,000.00 to Enable the Dala Orthopedic Hospital Establish a Spinal Centre:Cognizant of the positive impact envisaged in the establishment of the stated Spinal Centre, the Ministry of Health recommended to the State Executive Council to approve the release of the sum of N5,000,000.00 as token financial contribution of the State Government towards the successful establishment of the immensely required Spinal Centre at the Dala National Orthopedic Hospital, Kano.

Council noted, considered and approved as recommended.

4. THE EDUCATION SECTOR The unprecedented positive transformation of the education sector in the State, requires no emphasis in this medium. The story tells itself glaringly and stridently as one sees and hears it when conducting a verification tour round the State.

Relentlessly, the State Executive Council approved the execution of yet another set of three (3) memoranda under the education sector at its one hundred and eightieth (180th) sitting as follows; i. Request for Funds to Enable Completing Building a School Donated to the Kano State Ministry of Education:The Ministry of Education notified Council, through contents of this memorandum that, the Sabuwar Gandu Development Association, Kumbotso Local Government Council Area with registration number No. 7 of 1987 donated an uncompleted school building to the State Ministry of Education which consists of the following; o Storey block of thirteen (13) classrooms (ground floor). o Two (2) staff rooms. o Two (2) stores. o Twelve (12) toilets.

To assess the requirements for completing building the school, a physical inspection of the site was undertaken during which need for completion was identified estimated to cost the sum of N24,144,322.92 which was requested for release by Council for the project.

Accordingly, Council appreciated the philanthropic gesture and approved as requested. ii. Request for Funds for the Purchase of Chinese Language Textbooks for the Chinese Academy and Its Library, Located at Challawa:The present administration established four (4) special secondary schools which include; Chinese Language Academy, Agric Academy, French Academy and Sports Academy in various locations in the State. The students of the Chinese Academy established in the State, required set of textbooks for the teaching and learning of the Chinese Language taught in the school. Again, students' and teachers' reference books are required in the library where one hundred (100) Kano State Indigenous students were admitted in the Academy and fourteen (14) teachers were trained on Chinese language abroad.

More details were presented to Council for consideration along with the request for the release of the sum of $13,030.00.

Accordingly, Council considered and approved as requested. iii. Request for Funds to Facilitate for Five (5) Requirements by Kano State Indigenous Students Studying at Three (3) Bilingual Colleges in Niger Republic:-

63 Cognizant of the bilateral agreement that exists between the Kano State Government and that of the Niger Republic for the establishment of the two (2) Bilingual Colleges in Niamey and Zinder, the Ministry of Education submitted this request for consideration by Council.

The details presented were summarized to five (5) prayers as follows; o Council to consider and approve the release of the sum of N1,200,000.00 for the purchase of two hundred (200) units of mattresses for two hundred (200) newly admitted students of Bilingual College Zinder. o Council to consider the release of the sum of N1,200,000.00 to enable refund of the expenditure incurred to purchase two hundred (200) units of mattresses for two hundred (200) students of Bilingual College Niamey. o Council to consider and approve the release of the sum of N500,000.00 to obtain one hundred (100) ECOWAS Certificates for one hundred (100) Kano State Indigenous students studying at Bilingual College Zinder. o Council to consider and approve the release of the sum of N2,100,000.00 to enable payment of six (6) months' rent at the rate of N350,000.00 per month for the temporary site pending commencement of academic activities at the permanent site of the Engr. Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso Bilingual College Zinder. o Council to consider and approve the release of the sum of N670,000.00 for the transportation of one hundred (100) Kano State Indigenous students of Muhammadou Issoufou Bilingual College Zinder.

Accordingly, Council considered the five (5) prayers as authentic and approved the release of the requested sum of N5,670,000.00 for the commitment.

5. THE INFORMATION/COMMUNICATION SECTOR This sector is the capable image maker for the present administration and carries the banner that blatantly informs the public of all activities of the State Government. One can correctly say that, the information/communication sector is the Government as far as this administration is concerned because it is considered as the reliable avenue through which the Government portrays its image cognizant to which Council approved the execution of one (1) memorandum under the information and communication sector in respect of one (1) of the established employable skills acquisition training institutes established by the current administration in the State. Thus; 6. THE JUSTICE SECTOR This sector signifies the Judiciary which is the third (3rd) arm of Government in addition to the Executive and Legislative arms.

As such, the present administration provides for all requirements of the Justice Sector cognizant of its equal status to the Executive arm of the Government. Every physical/ infrastructural, material, personnel/professional, etc. required are provided for this sector according to statutory provisions without reservations. 27 new Shari'ah Courts/Courts of Appeal were constructed while many existing ones were renovated to befitting status. The High Court Complexes at Miller Road and Audu Bako Secretariat were renovated while series of approvals were granted to enable attendance of personnel in the Legal Profession to capacity building workshops, seminars, conferences locally and abroad. Approval was granted for the execution of one (1) memorandum under the justice sector at the one hundred and eightieth (180th) sitting of the State Executive Council as follows; Request for Funds to Enable Purchase of Islamic Law Books:Availability of reliable reference materials determines correct dispensation of justice especially under the divine guidance of Islamic Jurisprudence which instigated submission of this request from the Kano State Shari'ah Court of Appeal which was endorsed by the office of the Secretary to the State Government and presented to Council for consideration.

Details were summarized, endorsed and presented to Council for consideration as follows; S/NDescription Price Total (N) i. Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence (vol. 1 - 11) N500,000.00 x 3 copies 1,500,000.00 ii. Encyclopedia of Islamic Law (vol. 1 - 10) N500,000.00 x 3 copies 1,500,000.00 iii. Encyclopedia of Islamic Shari'ah (vol. 1 - 10) N400,000.00 x 3 copies 1,200,000.00 Total 4,200,000.00 As such, Council was requested to approve the release of the sum of N4,200,000.00 for the stated purpose.

Council noted, considered and approved as requested.

UPDATE ON ACTIVITIES OF THE 180TH KANO STATE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL SITTING 1. SECONDARY SCHOOLS STUDENTS COMPETITION AND AWARD OF PRIZES Council noted the tremendous success recorded during the recently concluded various Senior Secondary Schools Competitions organized nationwide were Kano State Students excelled as follows; i. National Junior Engineers/Technician competition (JETS) the State Student emerged with the following prizes:- one (1) Gold, one (1) Silver and two (2) Bronze. ii. In the Etisalat U - 15 Football Championship in the Northwest Zone the State Contingent emerged - second (2nd) position. iii. Global Education Partnership - Kano State received $22,000,000.00 of the $100,000,000.00 shared among five (5) States. iv. Donation - the Kano State Government Donated the sum of N250,000.00 to Kano State Students' Association Kaduna Polytechnic Chapter for its newly Launched Magazine.

2. GRADUATION CEREMONY OF WOMEN AND YOUTHS UNDER THE EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMMES Council acknowledged the successful conduct of the graduation ceremony of the State sponsored Women and Youths trained on different employable skills acquisition under the empowerment programmes (16th December, 2014) at the Government House Kano. Specifically; i. Four thousand, four Hundred (4,400) Women trained under the second (2nd) Batch Special Family Orientation Programme. ii. One (100) Women Trained in Home Based Trades in Collaboration with Etisalat Communication. iii. One hundred and thirty six (136) Trainees of Kano Reformatory Institute Kiru. o Total = four thousand, six hundred and thirty six (4,636).

Signed: Hon. Commissioner, Ministry of Information, Internal Affairs, Youth, Sports andCulture www.kn.gov.ng/new

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

SHOWBIZ ‘Toyin Ohio-Alegbe plans big for Love Season Concert

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HE Managing Director of HEV Communications Limited, ‘Toyin Ohio-Alegbe, is set, once again, to dazzle funloving Nigerians with the special edition of the soaraway Love Season Concert (LSC), on Friday, December 26, at Time Square, Off Ajao Road, Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos.

The LSC, which made its debut exactly 10 years ago, “is about wholesome music, laughter for the whole family and charity for the less privileged in one place.”

The maiden edition, which held at the Gymnasium Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, featured a parade of stellar performances from the Wellu-Wellu exponent, Sammie Okposo, Mike Aremu, Buchi, Jane Pela, Rhymesta A, among others. It also featured drama, dance and fashion exhibition.

Ever since, the organisers have kept faith with the vi-

By Dupe AyinlaOlasunkanmi

sion of the programme, thereby making it a must-see annual event. Besides, it has always featured some of the best among Nigerian acts, including Buchi, Koffi, Lara George, Lolo 1 and Mike Aremu, among others. In particular, the 2009 edition was significant in the sense that it coincided with the 40 th birthday of the executive producer of the • Mike programme.

Speaking about the forthcoming event, which is being supported by MTN Magic Nuudles, OhioAlegbe said: “This year edition is a blast. We shall celebrate all the artistes who have graced the LSC stage, the loyal fans who have kept the faith, the sponsor, all and sundry. Usually, up-

Aremu

and-coming acts are also constantly encouraged, giving them the opportunity to share the coveted LSC stage with the big names in the industry. Some of those who have enjoyed this privilege include Neo Cyril, Amadino, Chris Nice, Johnson, Hero, Skenz 1&2 and so on.”

Channel O backs AFRIMA 2014

By Dupe Ayinla-Olasunkanmi

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HANNEL O, has thrown its weight behind the much talked about All African Music Awards (AFRIMA) by endorsing one of the categories; the Best R‘n’B Song of the Year. The AFRIMA Award ceremony which will be presented on Saturday, December 27, 2014 at the Grand Ballroom of the prestigious Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos will reveal the winner of the category which will now be known as Best RnB Song in Africa brought to you by Channel O, which is in line with the agreement signed between Electric Media Network (PTY) owner of Multichoice and AFRIMA Awards Limited.

Contending for the Best R‘n’B Song of the Year in 2014 are musical acts from the Africa continent. They include Davina Green from Zimbabwe, with the track Every Time; Isabel Novella from Mozambique with the track Moya; Maurice Kirya from Uganda with the track The Blue Dress; 2face Idibia from Nigeria with the track Dance in the Rain; Vanessa Mdee from Tanzania with the track Come Over and Wahu from Kenya with the track For You.

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

NEWS

•Sambo (third left), Obi (right); Shelle (second left), Agbaje (third right); Obanikoro (second right) and Doherty at the briefing...yesterday

Lagos PDP governorship primary: Obanikoro, Agbaje reconcile HE crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State was resolved yesterday, following the intervention of the Presidency.

Former Minister of State for Defence Musiliu Obanikoro and other governorship aspirants have agreed to work with the party’s governorship candidate, Mr Jimi Agbaje, for the party’s success in next year’s election.

Obanikoro had engaged in a war of words with Agbaje and PDP leaders -Chief Bode George and Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe- over the party’s controversial governorship primary.

He had sued the PDP for not

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By Leke Salaudeen, Assistant Editor

addressing a petition he wrote over the conduct of the primary, which he described as a sham.

The reconciliation was announced at a briefing by Agbaje in Lagos yesterday.

Those in attendance were Vice President Namadi Sambo, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, Lagos PDP Chairman Col. Tunde Shelle (rtd) and Mrs Modupe Sasore.

Others were Tokunboh Kamson, Deji Doherty and Babatunde Gbadamosi, all of who contested with Obanikoro and Agbaje.

However, George and Ogunlewe

didn’t show up at the event. Also, Mr Dickson, an aspirant, was absent.

Sambo flew in to Lagos on Tuesday night for the reconciliation talks, which lasted till the early hours of yesterday.

Agbaje said through the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Vice President, “all the aspirants in the governorship primaries of Lagos State have agreed to smoke the peace pipe and gather under one banner”.

“We listened to the voice of Nigerians, Lagosians in particular.

They asked us to give and take. We have just done that. We were asked to put our house in order.

Differences, animosities,

divergences are hereby declared dead and buried.

“It is my pleasure and privilege to speak to you today as the candidate for the governorship of our dear state on the platform of the PDP. All the different voices in PDP have come under this big, strong and formidable PDP umbrella.”

Agbaje said his mission was to ensure that people have an opportunity to realise their aspirations, fulfil their potential and provide people-centred leadership that focuses on transforming lives.

In his address, Obanikoro said despite the inadequacies of our governorship primary, we have agreed today that Agbaje is the PDP

Benevolence funds for UN bomb blast victims

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HE United Nations (UN) office in Nigeria yesterday in Abuja offered N180,000 to families of 14 victims of the 2011 UN Headquarters bomb blast.

Noma Owens, the president of Federation of UN Staff Associations of Nigeria (FUNSAN), said the money was from the benevolence fund meant for the dependents of those who died.

He said the fund was an internal

mechanism to cater for the families of victims who suffered injury or disability or died in the 2011 UN Headquarters bomb blast.

According to Owens, the benevolence fund is an idea conceived by UN workers to mobilise resources to support the dependents of colleagues who died in the blast.

“It is also to support non UN staff; people who are not our personnel but work with us;

provide support such as cleaners, security personnel and restaurant staff, among others.

“When they are able to show evidence that they have needs, we will provide some token to support them,’’ he said.

He urged the beneficiaries to accept the amount as a token from the UN. “We hope that this will be a way of encouraging you to continue to strive to support development in

Nigeria and also to support our own mandate as UN system in Nigeria.’’

The UN staff appreciated the leadership of the organisation for giving beneficiaries the gift before the holidays.

Innocent Okpe, who spoke on behalf the beneficiaries, thanked the UN for the kindness and money given to them.

“We will continue to contribute our quota to develop Nigeria,’’ Okpe said.

Osun APC: Omoworare is our candidate

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has said Senator Babajide Omoworare is its candidate for the Osun East National Assembly election.

The party Chairman, Gboyega Famodun, said: “We are exploring this medium to correct the misrepresentation and wrong impression registered by an aspirant, claiming to have won the primary election.

‘On December 3, screenings were held to scrutinise credentials of aspirants. On this day, there was no primary election. The process and stages were uniform and there was no ambiguity as to how they emerged.

“Governor Rauf Aregbesola did not interfere with the process let alone imposing any candidate as being misrepresented from certain quarters. The stage being referred to by the aspirant is just a screening and not sufficient as stipulated in the party constitution to serve the purpose of a properly defined primary, which was finalised on December 9 at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo.

“From the result of the exercise conducted for Osun East Senatorial District, Senator Babajide Omoworare won at all levels and

has been issued the necessary documents to proceed as the party’s candidate. We implore anyone spreading falsehood and disparaging the party, our candidate and the governor to desist from such diversionary exercise.

“We also implore the public to disregard any discordant tunes, disregard all unfounded claims, remain focused and vote for all APC candidates.”

But Omoworare, in a statement by his spokesperson, Tunde Dairo, explained how he emerged the APC candidate.

He said: “We have read the same assertion in some newspapers. To forestall any element of ambiguity, I intend to set the records straight, prevent a misdirection of public consciousness and probe the intentions of Sola Lawal.

“If we are silent at this threshold of history, this false assertion may soon adorn the toga of the truth and posterity will not judge us right.

“On intuition, I (Senator Omoworare) left Abuja for Osogbo en route Lagos on December 3.

After some meetings, at 2 pm, he

got a call from a party leader asking him to come to Osogbo with his “credentials” for “screening” slated for 2.30 pm.

“Senator Omoworare has been contesting elections since 1999 (AD, AC, ACN, and now APC) and had always respected party leaders at every level and attended party screening sessions.

“This is notwithstanding the fact that he had been satisfactorily screened and issued a clearance certificate by the Screening Committee set up by the National Secretariat of APC. “We are not aware that “votes” are cast at screenings. We are also not aware that a screening exercise

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HE Triennial National Conference of Muslims Association of Nigeria (MAN) and investiture of Alhaji A.O.G. Otiti as its founding father will hold on Saturday in Lagos, by 11am.

Chairman, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services, Dr. Rauf Wale Babalakin, will chair the event.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola will be chief host.

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola and his Ogun State counterpart Ibikunle Amosun are special guests of honour.

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

G •Omoworare

is tantamount to primaries. Going by the timetable set by our party, senatorial primaries could not have been conducted on December 3 nor could it have been conducted by conclave.”

How to end Boko Haram, by cleric

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Fashola, others for forum

Gridlock persists in Ibadan

•How I emerged, by candidate From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

candidate in Lagos State.

“We must realise that in life, there is a time for everything and it is time to close ranks. There is no winner or loser in this endeavour that we have just ended,” Obanikoro stated.

Sambo thanked all aspirants for accepting Agbaje as the party’s governorship candidate and promising to work for him at the poll.

The Vice President said: “I know Jimi Agbaje well. He is a gentleman, a thoroughbred Lagosian. He will be a good governor in Lagos, if elected.”

CLERIC, Dr. Gabriel Fakeye, has said the insurgency threatening the country’s unity will end if Nigerians turned to God. Dr. Fakeye, who is the prophet in charge of the Redeemed Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church from Heaven, said this at an end of year peace revival, which had over 20,000 people in attendance.

In the message, which centred on peace as an authority from God, the cleric said a country that did not fear God would perish. He appealed to Nigerians to seek God’s mercy to end terror.

Making reference to scriptural passages where God saved some nations because of one or two righteous people, he maintained that Nigeria would remain one and overcome its challenges.

He predicted that the terrorists would turn a new leaf and embrace God.

RIDLOCK continued on major roads in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, yesterday as residents trooped out for a lastminute Christmas shopping.

The Mokola-Dugbe-Ring Road, Iwo Road, Aleshinloye, Bodija, Old Ife Road, Basorun-Akobo and others experienced heavy traffic for most part of the day.

At Dugbe, the central business district, the traffic was particularly heavy around Coco/Heritage Mall, where a large number of shoppers trooped in and out.

The situation was also complicated by the large number of workers and bank customers finalising their activities before today’s holiday.

Most of the banks closed at 2pm.

The traffic extended to Queen Elizabeth Road, Mokola and Sango, where shoppers also thronged.

At Iwo Road to Agodi area, traffic was slow. Bank customers and shoppers lined up both sides of the long road, causing a snarl.

Market women and retailers recorded some good sales.

A soft drink retailer in Mokola complained about poor sales.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

66

NEWS

Gunmen kill three soldiers in Bayelsa

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UNMEN have killed three soldiers belonging to the Joint Task Force (JTF), code-named: Operation Pulo Shield, and a civilian boat captain on the waterways in Bayelsa State.

The soldiers were killed on Tuesday, two days to Christmas and barely three days after three other JTF’s soldiers were killed by suspected pirates in a similar circumstance on Santa Barbara, a notorious river in Nembe, Nembe Local Government Area.

In the Santa Barbara incident, which occurred on Sunday, the bandits reportedly hijacked a military gunboat escorting items from Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, to Brass terminal, owned by the Nigerian Agip

•Arms stolen From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

Oil Company (NAOC).

It was gathered that before JTF’s search-and-rescue team could recover the bodies of the Brass-bound soldiers, gunmen launched a fresh attack on soldiers at Azagbene, Ekeremor Local Government Area.

Sources said a boat conveying the soldiers on routine duties was attacked at 11.30am on Tuesday.

A security source, who spoke in confidence, told our reporter that after killing the soldiers, the gunmen stole their rifles with 180 rounds of ammunition.

They were said to have also

killed the boat captain.

He said: “This is a bad time for soldiers. Just three days after killing three soldiers, whose bodies have not been found, three other JTF soldiers were also killed in a similar circumstance on Tuesday.

“The soldiers were ambushed and killed by the gunmen, who stole their rifles and ammunition. The Niger Delta region, especially the waterways in Bayelsa State, is gradually returning to the dark days of militancy. Losing six soldiers within two days is massive.”

The source attributed the attacks to the ongoing arms stockpiling in the region

ahead of the 2015 elections.

“They are stockpiling arms for the 2015 elections or preparing to resume hostilities in case the 2015 election does not favour them.

“That is why you see them attacking armed security operatives and stealing their weapons. You recall that in October, four police escorts working with Agip were killed with their gunboat hijacked.

“Sometime ago, pirates tried to steal a gunboat belonging to Operation Pulo Shield, but the soldiers were active enough to repel them,” the source added.

On the calibre of guns that were always mounted on the gunboats, the source described them as General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG).

He insisted that with such

weapons in the hands of criminals, the waterways in the state would remain unsafe.

The source said: “The guns that are always mounted on a gunboat are the GPMGs. Sometimes, it is the type that can fire grenades. The grenade types use big bullets, almost the size of a normal battery.

“These bad guys have a way of even getting those kinds of dangerous weapons on their own, apart from stealing them from security operatives. They buy them. It is a serious problem. The waterway is very unsafe.”

JTF Commander, Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Atewe, did not answer the calls put through to his mobile phone.

But a senior military officer confirmed the attack.

The officer said it involved three soldiers and a civilian boat driver.

Why PDP must go in 2015, by Oshiomhole

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DO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has urged Nigerians to reject the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at all levels in the 2015 general elections.

The governor noted that as long as the party remained in power, Nigerians would remain in darkness.

Oshiomhole spoke yesterday when he received over 2,000 defectors from Oredo and Egor local government

‘Urhobo won’t vote against PDP in Delta’ From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

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HE Delta State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it will reconcile aggrieved members of the party.

Delta State PDP Chairman Chief Edwin Uzor addressed reporters in Warri at the end-of-the-year party of a popular social club in the state, the United Brothers Social Club.

The party chairman said those who would not embrace reconciliation would lose out.

Uzor, who is the president of the club, also allayed the fears of protest votes by the Urhobo because of the choice of its governorship candidate, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, from the Delta North.

The Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) had promised to mobilise over one million Urhobo voters for any party that gave its governorship ticket to an Urhobo candidate.

The union said it would carry out the threat in all elective offices.

But Uzor said the UPU would not work against his party in the next election.

The PDP chairman said Delta State was one, adding that the emergence of his party’s candidate from any part of the state would not result in a protest vote the UPU threatened to carry out.

He said: “They will not vote against the PDP. All of us are in UPU. I am 45 years old in Warri. So, I am a member of UPU and I’m a chief in Urhobo land, we cannot do that. We are all one, Delta state is one, there is no ethnic sentiment. What we are trying to do is to ensure that everybody is in one group so that the boat can be one boat, not double.”

•Over 2,000 PDP defectors join APC areas, led by Mr. Festus Osaretin Oviawe and Igbe Kingsley.

The governor said the choice before the people in the next elections is to choose between darkness and change.

He said: “In 16 years, Edo State has gained nothing from the PDP besides the resurfacing of the Ofosu-Benin road and the attempt at the dualisation of the OkeneBenin road, with all its imperfections. They were forced to embark on it after we cried out that how could they dualise the road from Abuja and stop abruptly in Okene without extending it to Edo?

“In 16 years, after spending over $25 billion, we still have no light. Now, they have shared the electricity company to their friends and associates. “As long as they remain in power, Nigerians will remain in darkness. Our companies will remain shut and the economy will be subjected to the vagaries of instability of the international oil market.”

Accusing President Goodluck Jonathan of abandoning Edo, Oshiomhole said: “He (Jonathan) got 95 per cent votes from Edo. What has he done in Edo? What has he done in Benin City? The Queen Edo erosion was

caused by the Federal Government. I have written several letters to them to come and fix the mess. Yet, they ignored us and gave money to Delta and Kogi states.

“See the newly refurbished airport in Benin. I was there and the roof was leaking during the rain. Is that the kind of government we still want in Nigeria? No way!

“For too long across Nigeria, the PDP has buffeted us with untruth, lies, deceit, empty promises, at the political level and the economic front. They have run short of lies and they have run short of excuses.

“It is not possible for a he-

goat to live long to become a sheep; it can’t also become a ram. A he-goat will always be a he-goat. The PDP can never change. I think you all will also agree that they are aware that they need to change. But the more they try to change, the more they remain the same.

“You know before my election in 2012, I remember they were shouting: ‘This is new PDP!’ I was saying what is new? The head is the same old PDP and it has become even older now, almost approaching a hundred. So, the head has not changed and so the body couldn’t have changed. But they know they have nothing to change. We will sweep the PDP away from Abuja.”

Abraka PDP stakeholders assure Okowa, others of bloc vote From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Ughelli

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HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders in Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, yesterday reassured its governorship candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and other candidates of the party of massive votes during the 2015 general elections.

The resolution, which was taken at the party’s enlarged meeting, convened by the former Chairman of the local government and the party’s Director of Youth Mobilisation in Delta State, Sunday Onoriode, was attended by party leaders from the three wards in Abraka.

In the resolution, the ward leaders - Chief Tony Onoharigho, Chief Sapele Atigogo, Chief Cheko Inomiesaha, Chief Warri Godday, Kizito Oweh, Felix Erhimedafe, Wilson Agbure and Mrs. Grace Uwhumiakpo -said Abraka was a traditional PDP home.

Peterside is gender-friendly, says Karibo

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HE Executive Director of Youth and Women Advancement Initiative (YAWAI), Miss Pretty Karibo, has urged women in Rivers State to work for the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, in next year’s election.

Karibo spoke in Port Harcourt, the state capital, during a visit to the Dakuku Adol Peterside campaign office.

She said: “It is in our interest to support a candidate who already has an agenda for women. I have always argued that women should not wait until elections are won before they start negotiating. Dr. Peterside is a gentleman who has assisted women across the length and breadth of our state. This is, therefore, our chance, and we must take it.”

Cross River: Goddy Agba dumps PDP for LP •57 Nigerians at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, before their departure to South Korea

Agwai: SURE-P has spent N80b on East-West road

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HE Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) has said it has spent N80 billion on the East-West road since 2012, when it started a partnership with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, its Chairman, Lt.-Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (rtd), has said.

Agwai spoke yesterday at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, after inspecting the East-West road, which runs from Warri (Delta State) to Oron (Akwa Ibom State).

The former Army chief said the road was 82 per cent com-

From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt

pleted.

He said the Federal Government attached much importance to its dualisation because “it is a major trunk outlet for the transportation of petroleum products from Port Harcourt and Warri refineries to other parts of the country”.

Agwai said the Federal Government had awarded the contract for the upgrading of the Port HarcourtEleme junction flyover to Onne junction (15 kilometres) to three-carriageway.

The SURE-P chairman also

said another contract had been signed for the extension of the East-West road from Oron to Calabar.

He attributed the delay in the completion of the road to the terrain (over 16 bridges constructed), inadequate funding prior to SURE-P intervention, cost escalation, difficult community leaders, among others.

Agwai said: “This is my first time travelling from Warri to Oron. I will tell you that it is not possible to complete the road on December 31, 2014. I commended the Federal Government for the innovation. The construction

has impacted positively on the people, especially skilled and unskilled labour.

“We Nigerians must understand that government is working in the interest of all and has not interfered with the funding.

“Over 3,500 have benefited from the job. It has impacted on the people, skilled and unskilled.

“We have been able to meet our mandate. SURE-P came up after the partial removal of oil subsidy. I assure that SURE-P will work with integrity and will not connive with anyone to waste the tax payers’ money.”

A

FTER months of intrigues, it was learnt last night that a frontline Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Cross River State, Goddy Jedy Agba, may have defected to the Labour Party (LP) to realise his ambition.

Agba, who was seen yesterday at LP’s national secretariat in Abuja with some of his supporters, had served a notice of withdrawal from the PDP primary through a letter to the party’s national leadership on December 8.

In the letter, titled: PDP Primary Elections: Notice of Withdrawal, he complained about a lack of transparency and absence of a levelplaying field in the conduct of the party’s primary.

THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

67

NEWS

Robbers kill four policemen in Kogi

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HE Kogi State Police Command has confirmed the death of four mobile police officers in a robbery attack in Okene Local Government Area.

The policemen died in a gun duel with robbers who stormed a new generation bank in Okene on Tuesday.

Two policemen were killed in a similar circumstance, last Saturday, during a robbery attack in Egbe, Yagba West Local Government

From James Azania, Lokoja

Area.

In a statement yesterday by police spokesman, Elvis Aguebor, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), the command said over 20 robbers killed the four police officers in the attack on the new generation bank in Okene.

The statement reads: “The gunmen, as they emerged from four ve-

hicles, fired sporadically into the bank premises, killing our men on duty.

Their aim was to cart away money from the bank. But the remaining policemen at the bank, who were assisted by others deployed in the two adjoining banks, gunned down two of the robbers in an exchange of fire.”

The statement added that the superior fire power of the policemen on ground

prompted the “remaining robbers to abandon their devilish and unholy quest”.

It said the fleeing robbers sustained bullet wounds.

The command urged the public to report anyone with bullet wounds to the nearest police station or other security agents.

The command reassured that it would make the Christmas and New Year celebrations hitch-free.

Lamido: I’m not Jonathan’s Northwest campaign coordinator

J

IGAWA State Governor Sule Lamido has denied his reported appointment as President Goodluck Jonathan’s Northwest campaign coordinator for the 2015 election.

The governor addressed reporters yesterday in Dutse, the state capital, after the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) state caucus meeting.

He said: “As I’m talking to you now, there is no formal sign of my appointment.

“I heard it as you heard it.

From Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse

Nobody contacted me. As far I’m concerned, I’ve not been appointed Jonathan’s campaign coordinator at any level.

“As I’m talking to you, there is no official letter to me, directly or through the party, on this appointment you are asking about.

“I am not Jonathan’s campaign coordinator. The only thing I know is that I saw my name in the newspaper. Things cannot be done that way.”

Adamawa, firm sign MoU on sugarcane production

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HE Adamawa State Government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a frontline agro-allied company and a member of the JOF Group of Companies, JOF Nigeria Limited, in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to finance the development of agriculture and agro-allied industry.

The Bala Ngilari administration signed the MoU in Yola, the state capital, to fulfil its promise to industrialise the state.

JOF, which has been in the agric business in Nigeria for over 50 years, is

partnering the government to establish a large scale sugarcane plantation.

The event was attended by Governor Bala Ngilari; JOF Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Segun Fagboyegun; Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ibrahim Welye; SolicitorGeneral and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Sule Mohammed; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands and Survey, Ibrahim Gisinbee; JOF Director of Finance and Management Services Sogo Omosona; JOF Process Improvement Manager Yomi Ogunrinola and other top government func-

•Alhaja Lateefat Gbajabiamila (middle) cutting the tape to kick-off the distribution of chairs and desks to primary schools in Surulere, Lagos at the council secretariat. With her are: Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftancy Affairs, Mr Ademorin Kuye, Local Government Education Authority Secretary, Mrs Yetunde Fatoke (third left) and Council Manager, Surulere Local Government Mrs Basirat Akinsanya .

Aliyu: INEC bungled PVC distribution

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HE Chairman of Northern States’ Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu yesterday accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of bungling the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) nationwide.

His complaint is coming on the heels of the condemnation of the distribution by a

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

former Niger State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Mathias Echioda.

The cleric had described the distribution as a “monumental failure and a deceit” designed to disenfranchise many of eligible voters in next year’s general elections.

The PVC distribution, which ended last Monday in

the state, was a failure in 11 of the 25 local government areas, where it took place.

Aliyu told members of the House of Assembly, when he presented the 2015 fiscal estimate, that majority of eligible voters would not be able to vote during the elections.

He said: “As I speak to you, myself, former military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and General Abdulsalami Abubakar have

not collected our voter cards.”

The governor explained that only 11 of the 25 local government areas got materials.

He said the distribution was fraught with problems.

According to him, not more than 12 eligible voters, out of 500, received their cards in most of the polling units where the distribution took place.

Aliyu stressed that in most of the collection centres, it

Sokoto presents N112.5b budget proposal

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HE Sokoto State Government has proposed a budget of over N112.5 billion for the 2015 fiscal year, as against the over N125.9 billion budgeted for the outgoing 2014.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the budget proposal was presented yesterday to the House of Assembly in Sokoto.

NAN also reports that the special session of the legislature

to receive the proposal was presided over by Deputy Speaker Abubakar Tureta, on behalf of Speaker Lawallli Zayyana.

Governor Aliyu Wamakko said the decrease of about 10.59 per cent in the 2015 proposed budget, when compared to that of the outgoing year, was the result of dwindling resources from the Federation Account.

He said the proposed budget, tagged: Budget of Accomplishment, would focus more

on the completion of ongoing projects and ensuring smooth transition to the next administration in the state.

The governor said N61.7 billion and N50.5 billion were for capital and recurrent expenditures.

Wamakko restated his administration’s commitment to provide social infrastructure to the residents.

The governor expressed happiness over the cordial re-

lationship among the state government, the Judiciary and the Legislature.

He acknowledged the sustained fatherly support and guidance of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the people of the state to his administration.

Tureta promised a speedy passage of the budget proposal to sustain the laudable programmes and policies of the government.

Ongoing projects get priority in Niger N80.8b appropriation

E

DUCATION, personnel costs and the completion of ongoing capital projects top the list of priority projects the Niger State Government plans to execute in 2015, Governor Babangida Aliyu said yesterday.

The governor spoke in Minna, the state capital, when he presented the 2015 budget proposal to the House

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

of Assembly.

Aliyu said N421 billion of the N80.8 billion the budget estimates was for recurrent expenditure and N38.6 billion for capital expenditure.

The governor told the lawmakers that Value Added Tax (VAT) was expected to generate over N10 billion, while capital receipts and in-

ternally generated revenue (IGR) would each generate N9 billion.

The budget, he said, would depend on over 82 per cent from the Federation Account, adding that the government had provided the necessary safety valves to absorb the shocks from the continued drop in the price of oil at the international market.

Insisting that the payment

of salaries would continue to be a priority to his administration, even when the economy continued to dwindle, Aliyu said the government had set aside the fund for the payment of pensions and gratuities for retirees.

According to him, the state government, in the last seven years, spent N14 billion on the payment of pension.

Insecurity: Adamawa bans tricycles at Christmas

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HE Adamawa State Government has banned the use of tricycles in Yola, the state capital, during the Christmas period, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A statement yesterday by Mr Phineas Elisha, the Direc-

tor of Public Affairs to Governor Bala Ngilari, said the ban would be effective as from yesterday till tomorrow.

The statement said: “Adamawa State Governor Bala Ngilari, after due consultations with Commis-

sioner of Police, has banned the use of tricycles, popularly known as Keke NAPEP, as from December 24 to December 26.

“The government regrets any inconvenience caused by the action and requests the public to be calm and remain

law-abiding in the interest of state security.”

NAN reports that the state government had banned the use of motorcycles in major towns in 2012, following series of attacks by Boko Haram insurgents.

2015: Tofa warns INEC, others against rigging

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ORMER presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) in the aborted Third Republic, Alhaji Bashir Usman Tofa, has warned the Federal Government, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to resist the temptation of rigging next year’s general elections.

Tofa, who was also a chieftain of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), spoke yesterday in Kano, at the 72nd birthday of the All

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari.

Tofa insisted that the votes of Nigerians must count, adding that this would only be realised in free and fair elections that are devoid of irregularities.

He said rigging the 2015 general elections would not augur well for the advancement of democratic values in the country.

Tarzor picks Ngbede as running mate

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HE Benue State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Prince Terhemen Tarzor, has picked Commissioner for Works and Transport, John Ngbede, as his running mate.

It was learnt that Ngbede’s name had been forwarded to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for

From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

documentation.

Ngbede hails from Agatu Local Government Area of Benue South Senatorial District and was the chairman of the local government.

He was also the Special Adviser to former Governor George Akume on Assembly Matters.

‘Only APC can liberate Kebbi’

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GROUP in Kebbi State, under the aegis of APC Youth Forum, has said only the All Progressives Congress (APC) government will liberate the people from the ruling People Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) non-performance.

The group noted that the ruling party in the state lacked focus and should be changed.

In a statement by the group’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Alhaji Jamilu Umar Galadima, it alleged that the PDP administration had destroyed the state, particularly civil service.

It said: “The people must change the ruling party in the state because its lacks focus.

It must be changed by the electorate in the 2015 elections.

Renowned Hausa poet dies at 85

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RENOWNED Hausa poet, Alhaji Abubakar Ladan, has died. He was 85.

A younger brother to the deceased, Alhaji Ahmed Maccido, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria yesterday that Ladan died at his home in Zaria,

Kaduna State, on Tuesday night, after a protracted illness.

He said Ladan was a descendant of Mallawa dynasty and was born in Kwarbai, Zaria, in 1934.

He attended the Zaria Middle School, now AlhudaHuda College, from 1950 to 1954.

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THE NATION THURSDAY DECEMBER 25, 2014

NEWS

Pa Jimoh Laka Orelope: Another titan of the brave generation passes on A tribute in honour of the late Pa. Jimoh Laka Orelope by former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

“F

EW will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” ¯ Robert F. Kennedy Even at the ripe old age of five scores and one, the passing into eternal rest of Pa. Jimoh Laka Orelope evokes a certain feeling of loss and serves as a poignant reminder of the gradual disappearance of that great generation of politician-activists whose struggles, dedication, passion and service continue to inspire us till this day.

The qualities of dedication to public service, readiness and ability to advocate the cause of a struggle and passionate and decent politicking were combined in Pa. Orelope and he represented the quintessential Awoist politician who could lead, inspire, mobilize and serve the people all at once.

I am personally honoured to be one of the inheritors of the mantle of that great generation and therefore pleased to write this tribute in honor of this late titan.

As a consummate politician, Pa. Orelope was a people’s man and a man of the people. While the expression, “it was a pleasure meeting you” is, perhaps, one of the most perfunctorily mouthed expressions in the English language, I am very certain that many who knew the late Pa. Orelope or who met him (even if only once) would agree that it was indeed always a pleasure

to be in his company, to work with him and to listen to him freely share of his wealth of experience and wisdom.

The late Pa. Orelope was a complete man who balanced and carried out his duties to his God, to his family, to his people and to his country.

He was a wise, knowledgeable and highly-placed man who walked and dined with great men. Yet, he was humble and uncommonly dedicated to the welfare of his constituency so much so that he gave to all who knew himjoy and happiness and a rekindled faith in the goodness and kindness of mankind.

All who knew him readily recall the warmth and happiness that he radiated. That was the first thing anyone who met him noticed. It was indeed a God-given grace that the late Pa. Orelopecould break the ice and pull down the walls to turn a stranger to a friend in no time! With him, it was always difficult to say whether the person with him was a bosom friend, a mere acquaintance or a stranger. Without any doubt, he had a big heart for friendship.

All who knew him also readilyrecall a man who valued relationships and was dedicated to his family and friends.He had a great relationship with his family and with his children, grand-children and great grand children. His dedication to his wife, love for his children and investment in their education and careers bear testimony to the beauty of his soul. Today, his daughter continues to fly the flag high and to bear the torch highly in her commendable service as the Deputy Governor of Lagos State.

In his prime and before he was affected by ill health, he was also the man you wanted at your occasions because of the charm and joy and radiance that were his permanent

companions. And he was the man who would be at your events and occasions even at the risk of losing sleep or endangering his health. You only had to ask a favour and he would go all out to oblige you as much as it was within his powers. It is therefore no wonder that he could so massively motivate and mobilize the people.

The late Pa. Orelopewas also a philanthropist. He was indeed the proverbial giver who never lacked.

Although he would want to keep most of his acts of generosity secret, he is fondly remembered as the leader to whom any one could turn in the time of great need and distress.

The late Pa. Orelope sacrificed greatly for the common good.

During the major democratic struggles of our nation, Pa. Orelope was there and in the struggle against successive military regimes, he was not silent. For nearly 60 years, he was part of the on-going struggle to make Nigeria a better country that is democratically governed and one that meets the aspirations of all.

Indeed, the passing of Pa. Orelope is a depletion of the ranks of the relentless fighters for a just and free society. His service to the Action Group, the Unity Party of Nigeria and the Social Democratic Party who are the forbears of our great party, the All Progressives Congress will forever remain appreciated, remembered and regarded as one of the greatest service one could ever render to one's country. We must celebrate him and hold him up as a model of selfless service and commitment. We must collectively rise up to immortalize this great and cerebral man, who invested his life in the service of humanity.

Adieu, Papa. You can rest assured that the excellent work you did will long outlive you; you can rest assured that your illustrious children are

•From left: Kaduna State Governor’s wife, Hajia Fatimah Mukhtar Ramalan Yero(left) presenting Spagetti to the representative, Widow Association of Nigeria, Mrs. Grace Adamu, at the kick-off of distribution of food items for less privileged to celebrate Christmas, at the Ministry of Women Affairs in Kaduna... yesterday

•The late Pa Orelope

‘

Indeed, the passing of Pa. Orelope is a depletion of the ranks of the relentless fighters for a just and free society. His service to the Action Group, the Unity Party of Nigeria and the Social Democratic Party who are the forbears of our great party, the All Progressives Congress will forever remain appreciated

‘

preserving your legacy of service and you can look back with pride at the countless number of democracy soldiers for whom you serve as an enduring inspiration.

We celebrate you, Papa.

We commiserate with your family.

We long for another man like you.

Adieu.

•Secretary, Campaign for Democracy,Lagos State; Comrade Mike Falola (left); President, Women Arise & Campaign for Democracy, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin; Prince Obi Goodluck, Southwest Chairman, Prince Obi Goodluck and Nollywood star Kola Olaiya and others at a forum in Lagos

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

NEWS 2015: Jonathan, Buhari woo Nigerians at ‘Xmas Continued from page 4

gress, the party of change, because I desire to give back to a country that clothed, fed and trained me to be what I am today.

“Our people are poor. But our country is rich.My duty as your president will be to make the condition of living of the common man the index for the assessment of our policies, not the amount of billionaires our administration would have made.

“Certainly, there will be changes in policies. We cannot continue to enslave our country to those who tell us that we are in economic crises because of loans.

“Ours is the most populous black nation on earth. A potential global superpower. Our manifest destiny is to empower our people so that we can take our prominent place in the comity of nations.

“I pledge that the Christmas

of year 2015 will meet us all in greater joy and happiness. It is indeed significant, the February 14, 2015, the date of the presidential election, falls on the Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate love among mankind.

“I urge you all to keep sharing the love that binds us together. Let us eschew hatred and make our nation the land of justice, peace and progress.”

PDP hides N21b donors’ list as party gets more knocks Continued from page 4

port and Aviation Sector; Cizaly Limited (N250m); Shelter Development Limited (N250million); the SIFAX Group (N100million); National Automotive Association (N450million); National Association of Stevedores Companies (N25million) and Ajuji Best Western Hotel (N1million).

One of the sources said: “Our law is weak. Going by Section 38(2) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), any corporate player involved in such a mess will both refund the cash and pay fine.

Section 38 ( 2) says: “A company shall not have or exercise power either directly or indirectly to make a donation or a gift of any of its property or funds to a political party or political association, or for any political purpose; and if in breach of this subsection makes any donation or gives of its property to a political party or political association or for any political purpose, the officers in default and any member who voted for the breach shall be jointly and severally liable to refund to the company the sum or value of the donation or gift and, in addition, the company and every such officer or member shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine equal to the amount or value of the donation or gift.

“The affected corporate players can, however, be sanctioned by their companies’ Board of Directors.

“When at an AGM a former official of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc announced that the bank had donated some cash to Obasanjo Presidential Library, the shareholders rejected the report and ordered a review.

“You can also recall the position of the Nigerian Breweries on his erstwhile brilliant Managing

Director, Festus Odimegwu who had to step down because of the role of Corporate Nigeria in elections.”

As at last night, the Presidency and the PDP were keeping the list of donors under wrap.

The two parties have sought legal advice to avoid sanctions and litigations which may affect President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid.

A source said: “With the controversy on the N21billion donations, the list of donors might not be released to the public.

“The PDP might also come up with a fresh argument that not all the donated funds were meant for Jonathan’s campaign.

“Those involved in the donations have just realised that they committed a slip. They are just trying to seek advice on how to manage the bad situation.

“One of the arguments of the

Legal Advisers borders on the fact that PDP is not bound to make such disclosures until three months after the February 2015 presidential poll. They said this can be in May 2015.”

INEC’s Political Finance Monitoring Manual compels the PDP or any other party to disclose the list of donors - in line with Section 93 of the Electoral Act 2010(as amended).

A source in the commission said: “The law is very clear, PDP has no choice than to disclose the names and addresses of the donors. It is not our business but a court of law can compel it to do so in compliance with Section 93 of the Electoral Act. “Even if INEC remains impartial, some anti-corruption organisations or groups or political parties can make issues out of the provision of the Electoral Act.”

Outrage over N21b ‘re-election’ war chest Continued from page 4

economy.”

Ali said: “It is theft. The fund that was raised at that function is very obscene in a country where there is mass poverty. Is the money from some of the the donors’ private purses, or from the purse of the state?

“Was the money donated appropriated or captured in the 2014 budget? Not at this time, when the country is undergoing very serious economic woes due to the fall in oil price.

“It is quite unfair to Nigerians and it is like they’re daring us and saying: ‘What can you do?’ It’s so sad. It’s so sad!”

Ali said.

Prof Akinseye-George said the “immoral” donations is like “a criminal assault” on Nigerians.

“The donation is illegal and immoral. It is the height of

impunity - a brazen violation of the Electoral Act, a criminal assault on Nigerians. It is a kind of declaration of war on the masses,” he said.

Ofuokwu said the PDP and the presidency have exhibited how insensitive they are to the plight of Nigerians.

His words: “The PDP and the Presidency have with their conduct once again reiterated the fact that they are insensitive to the plight and the feelings of Nigerians who for 16 years of their reign have been impoverished like never before.

“It is simply scandalous and the climax of impunity to set aside a whopping N21billion for the purpose of presidential election less than one month after the same government introduced austerity measures and asked Nigerians to tighten their belts. “

300 officers, men on trial for mutiny Continued from page 4

other person subject to service law under this Act to desert, is guilty of desertion and liable, on conviction by a courtmartial, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or any less punishment provided by this Act. (2) A person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) of this section shall only be liable to be imprisoned for not more than two years if(a) where the offence is against paragraph (a) of that subsection, he was on active service or under orders for active service at the time when it was committed; or (b) where the offence is against paragraph (b) of that subsection, the person in relation to whom it was committed was on active service or under orders for active service at that time.

Section 61 deals with “assisting and concealing desertion and absence without leave” It reads: “A person subject to service law under this Act who(a) knowingly assists any other person subject to service law under this Act to desert or absent himself without leave; or (b) knowing that a person subject to service law under this Act

has deserted or absented himself without leave, or is attempting to desert or absent himself without leave, fails to report that fact without delay, or fails to take any step in his power to cause that person to be apprehended, is guilty of an offence under this section and liable, on conviction by a court-martial, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or any less punishment provided by this Act. Section 62 borders on “failure to perform military duties.”

It says: “A person subject to service law under this Act who(a) without reasonable excuse, fails to attend for a parade or other duty of any description or leaves parade or duty before he is permitted to do so; or (b) neglects to perform, or negligently performs, a duty of any description, is guilty of an offence under this section and liable, on conviction by a court-martial, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or any less punishment provided by this Act.” Yesterday, the Defence Headquarters said a suicide bomber was killed at a military checkpoint in Gombe while trying to escape after a failed mission.

According to a statement by the Director of Defence Infor-

mation, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, the botched suicide mission took place in Bajoga.

The statement said: “A suicide bomber who rammed into a military check point in Bajoga, Gombe State yesterday, failed to achieve his mission.

“His attempt to escape also failed as he was brought down by vigilant soldiers when he tried to flee after hitting a military Armoured Personnel Carrier with his IED laden Honda car.

“The explosives, which failed to detonate, have been evacuated and handed to the police.”

The DHQ also confirmed the arrest of two bomb-making experts in Kano.

“Also in Kano, security forces have raided a terrorists’ hideout in Nasarawa Local Government Area, leading to the arrest of bomb making experts who are already helping in the investigation into activities of bombers lately. Officers believe that the efforts will yield useful clues.

“Troops deployed in all locations of the counter terrorism campaign have been directed to sustain the tempo of operations all through the period of seasonal celebrations and ensure that the intention of terrorists to attack civilian target while avoiding troops is duly frustrated.”

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THE NATION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

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THE NATION THURSDAY DECEMBER 25, 2014

FOREIGN NEWS

Ukraine peace talks start in Minsk

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EACE talks aimed at reaching a stable cease-fire in Ukraine between its government forces and pro-Russian armed groups began on yesterday, with the discussions to include a pullout of heavy weapons and an exchange of war prisoners.

Representatives of Ukraine, Russia, pro-Russia rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe arrived at the venue in the capital of Belarus in the early evening.

Media haven't been allowed access to the government residence where the talks are taking place.

A second round of the talks is set for Friday.

Valeriy Chalyi, a deputy chief of staff for the Ukrain-

ian president, said in Kiev that no definitive results are expected until then.

The negotiations are focusing on measures intended to ensure a lasting ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, where the fighting between pro-Russia separatists and the Ukrainian government forces has claimed more than 4,700 lives.

Previous rounds of peace talks in September produced a cease-fire and an agreement to pull back heavy weapons, but both sides have failed to agree on a line of division and heavy fighting has continued.

Hostilities have abated this month amid renewed peace efforts.

Leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany

discussed the current peace talks in a conference call on Monday.

Heidi Tagliavini, the OSCE's lead figure since the talks began, has said a pullback of heavy weaponry, an exchange of all war prisoners and the delivery of humanitarian aid would top the agenda for the Minsk talks.

Denis Pushilin, one of the separatist leaders, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying the parties had reached a preliminary agreement on the prisoners' exchange and are now trying to finalize details. He said the rebels would also demand that Ukraine approve a law granting broad rights to the region.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko initiated such a law earlier this fall, but retracted it after separatists staged local elections in November without the government's approval. Ukraine and the West denounced that as illegal and destabilizing. Ukraine also has cut pensions and other financial services to the rebel areas.

The insurgency in the Donetsk and the Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine erupted in April following Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of fueling the rebellion with troops and weapons, accusations Moscow has denied.

Europe and the U.S. have imposed sanctions on Russia.

IS captures Jordan warplane pilot

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SLAMIC State (IS) militants have captured the pilot of a Jordanian warplane that crashed in northern Syria, Jordan's military has confirmed.

The jihadist group claimed it had shot down the jet with a heat-seeking missile near the city of Raqqa.

It published photographs showing the pilot, who has been named as Flight Lieutenant Moaz Youssef al-

Kasasbeh.

This is the first US-led coalition aircraft to be lost on IS territory since air strikes began in September.

Jordan is one of four Arab states which have bombed targets in Syria.

The confirmation that a Jordanian pilot had been captured came in a statement carried by the state news agency, Petra.

IS fighters were shown loading the wreckage of the

Jordanian aircraft on to a vehicle Jordan's military said the jet was one of several involved in a raid on IS hideouts in the Raqqa region The aircraft appeared to come down near a river or lake, outside the city of Raqqa "During a mission Wednesday morning conducted by several Royal Jordanian Air Force planes against hideouts of the IS

terrorist organisation in the Raqqa region, one of the planes went down and the pilot was taken hostage," a military source was quoted as saying.

"Jordan holds the group and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life," the source added.

The source did not name the pilot, but Petra published a photo of Flt Lt Kasasbeh above its report.

•This Iraqi Christian boy, whose family fled Islamic State militants in Mosul, poses for a picture at a Catholic church in PHOTO: AFP Irbil, Kurdish northern Iraq

Japanese PM unveils new govt

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APANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a new cabinet on yesterday, appointing a defense chief whose desire for a stronger pre-emptive strike capability could rile neighbor China.

Gen Nakatani, a lawmaker who served in the armed forces for several years, has served as defense minister before and favors Japan having the ability to hit enemy bases pre-emptively in the face of imminent attack.

He replaces Akinori Eto, who had faced questions over his use of political funds. The rest of the cabinet, Abe's third since he returned to power late in 2012, was unchanged.

Abe stressed Nakatani's experience as the reason for his appointment, while emphasizing the need to improve ties with China, South Korea and Russia.

Despite suggestions that a record-low election turnout 10 days ago had devalued his victory, Abe vowed to push on with his "Abenomics" brand of stimulus policies.