May 10, 2014

Revealed: Governorship ambition, cabinet posts behind Ize-Iyamu's exit from APC www.thenationonlineng.net

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THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

MISSING GIRLS: PROTESTS CONTINUE

THE NATION

NEWS 3

SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

•From left: National Leader of APC,Asiwaju Bola Tinubu;Oba Sikiru Adetona , Awujale of Ijebuland;Senator Oluremi Tinubu;Olori Oluwakemi Adetona during the celebration of the 80th birthday of Oba Adetona in Ijebu Ode,Ogun State,yesterday

•From left: Oba Riliwan Akiolu, Oba of Lagos; Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State; Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, Awujale of Ijebuland and National Leader of APC,Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State... yesterday

Missing Chibok girls: Military alerted 4 hrs T before abduction — Amnesty HE human rights group,Amnesty International (AI), yesterday returned a damning verdict on the military for its handling of last month’s abduction of 276 students of the Government Girls Secondary School,Chibok by terrorists.

The group claimed in a lengthy report in Abuja that despite having been tipped off by residents four hours before insurgents of the Islamist sect,Boko Haram, struck at the school, security forces deployed in Borno State failed to live up to expectation.

It is the first technical /operational insight into the abduction .

It said its investigation revealed that only 17 soldiers and fewer policemen were on ground in Chibok.

They lacked resources to withstand the rampaging Boko Haram insurgents and were easily overpowered while attempting to repel the invaders, it said.

Amnesty International said that had the military been pro-active,the Boko Haram attack could have been averted.

“The Nigerian security forces failed to act on advance warnings about Boko Haram’s armed raid on the state-run boarding school in Chibok which led to the abduction of more than 240 schoolgirls on 14-15 April,” the group said in the report which it explained was based on testimonies it gathered and which were independently verified..

The security forces,according to it, “ had more than four hours of advance warning about the attack but did not do enough to stop it,” adding that the military headquarters in Maiduguri was “aware of the impending attack soon after 7pm on 14 April, close to four hours before Boko Haram began their assault on the town.”

It said”but an inability to muster troops – due to poor resources and a reported fear of engaging with the often better-equipped armed groups – meant that reinforcements were not deployed to Chibok that night.

“The small contingent of security forces based in the town – 17 army personnel as well as local police –at-

•Report false, unfounded, says DHQ •Opens up on invasion by Boko Haram

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HE Defence Headquarters yesterday denied that the military had advance warning on the invasion of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok where 276 girls were abducted.

It said patrolling troops only received information of an ongoing attack on Chibok and calked for reinforcement from Maiduguri , about 120kilometres away.

It described the findings of Amnesty International as false and unfounded.

The Director Defence Information/Coordinator, MajGen. Chris Olukolade, who made the clarifications in a statement in Abuja warned against campaigns which could portray the military in bad light and cause disaffection.

Dismissing the AI allegation as very unfortunate and untrue,Olukolade said:“Much as the Nigerian

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation tempted to repel the Boko Haram assault but were overpowered and forced to retreat.

One soldier reportedly died.”

Giving graphic details of its findings on the distress signals raised by locals before the abduction,Amnesty International said: “Between 7pm on 14 April and 2am on 15 April, the military commands in Damboa, 36.5 km away from Chibok, and Maiduguri, 130 km away from Chibok, were repeatedly alerted to the threat by both security and local officials.

“According to sources interviewed by Amnesty, local civilian patrols (known as “vigilantes”, set up by the military and local authorities) in Gagilam, a neighbouring village, were among the first to

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation military appreciates the global concern and show of solidarity with the country at this trying moments, falsehood should not be introduced as a means of assessing the situation.

“It has to be categorically stated that the claims by Amnesty International in its report that security forces had advance warning about the abduction of students of Government Secondary School Chibok, Borno State by terrorists is unfounded.

“Contrary to the organization’s claims, troops in Maiduguri did not receive four hours forewarning about the attacks.

“Rather, they received information of an ongoing attack on Chibok community from troops on patrol who on noting the attack engaged the terrorists and called for more raise the alarm on the evening of 14 April after a large group of unidentified armed men entered their village on motorbikes and said they were headed to Chibok.

“This set off a rapid chain of phone calls to alert officials, including the Borno State Governor and senior military commanders based in Maiduguri.”

It quoted a local official who was contacted by Gagilam residents as saying:”At around 10:00 PM on 14 April, I called [several] security officers to inform them about earlier information I had received from the vigilantes in Gagilam village. They had told us that strange people had arrived in their village that evening on motorbikes and they said they were heading to Chibok.I made several other calls, including to Maiduguri. I was promised by

reinforcement to contain them.”

The DHQ gave an insight into efforts made to reinforce troops in Chibok.

“As the troops on reinforcement traversed the over 120km rugged and tortuous road from Maiduguri to Chibok, they ran into an ambush by terrorists who engaged them in fierce firefight and a number of soldiers lost their lives.

“Another set of soldiers also mobilized for the mission arrived after the terrorists had escaped due to a series of misleading information that slowed down the pursuit.

“It must therefore be clearly stated that contrary to the claim by the Amnesty International, the information received by troops at the Division Headquarters in Maiduguri was not a forewarning but the call for reinforcement by troops on patrol. “Considering the vast-

ness of the mission area, deployment has been more of patrols than static.”

The DHQ said troops were never at any time afraid of confronting Boko Haram insurgents.

The statement said: “The imputation of cowardice on the part of troops is particularly confounding as the military has internal mechanism to deal with such tendencies.

“These spurious allegations are obviously a continuation of the campaign intended to cause disaffection, portray the military in bad light and undermine the counter-terrorism efforts.

“Although the Chibok incident is still subject to more investigation, the Defence Headquarters appeals to individuals and organizations to refrain from circulating spurious allegations that could undermine both the operation and investigation of conduct of the mission generally.”

the security people that reinforcement were on their way.”

Continuing,the group said:”Another local official was contacted by herdsmen who said that armed men had asked where the Government Girls Secondary School was located in Chibok.

“At around 11:45 PM, a convoy reportedly numbering up to 200 armed Boko Haram fighters – on motorbikes and in trucks – arrived in Chibok town and engaged in a gunfight with a small number of police and soldiers based there.

“Outnumbered and outgunned, the security forces eventually fled in the small hours of 15 April. Some of the Boko Haram fighters proceeded to the Government Girls Secondary School and abducted more than 240 schoolgirls.”

The AI said it spoke with two military officers who admitted that the military knew of the pending attack.

“Two senior officers in Nigeria’s armed forces confirmed that the military was aware of the planned attack even prior to the calls received from local officials.

“One officer said the commander was unable to mobilize reinforcements. He described to Amnesty the difficulties faced by frontline soldiers in north-eastern Nigeria: “There’s a lot of frustration, exhaustion and fatigue among officers and [troops] based in the hotspots…many soldiers are afraid to go to the battle fronts.

“Amnesty’s requests for a reaction from the military headquarters in Abuja have gone unanswered.

“Since the 14 April raid, a

climate of confusion and suspicion appears to have slowed down the Nigerian authorities’ efforts to locate and free the abducted schoolgirls.

“On 16 April, a senior Defence Ministry spokesperson said that almost all of the abducted girls had been rescued and only eight were still missing. The next day he had to retract that statement.

AI’s Africa Director of Research and Advocacy, Netsanet Belay who released the report asked the Federal Government to bring back the girls safely.

Belay also called for effective collaboration by all agencies to rescue the abducted girls.

His words: “The fact that Nigerian security forces knew about Boko Haram’s impending raid, but failed to take the immediate action needed to stop it, will only amplify the national and international outcry at this horrific crime.

“It amounts to a gross dereliction of Nigeria’s duty to protect civilians, who remain sitting ducks for such attacks.

The Nigerian leadership must now use all lawful means at their disposal to secure the girls’ safe release and ensure nothing like this can happen again.

“The climate of suspicion and lack of transparency about the rescue effort has been unhelpful – all authorities must work together to ensure the girls are brought home safely and more must be done to protect civilians in future.”

It asked the federal government to provide adequate information to families of the abducted girls on the authorities’ current efforts to ensure their safe release.

“The families – and the abducted girls, once they are freed – must be provided with adequate medical and psychological support,” it said.

The National Security Adviser, Mr. Sambo Dasuki, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, the Service Chiefs and the InspectorGeneral of Police, Mohammed Abubakar had on Thursday visited Chibok on a fact-finding mission.

But no member of the delegation spoke on what happened on the night of April 14 before Boko Haram invaded Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok.

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XPERTS from the United States of America and the United Kingdom have arrived in Nigeria to help in the search for the more than 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

The experts include military advisers, negotiators and counsellors.

The UK Foreign Office said the British experts arrived Abuja yesterday and would be working closely with their US counterparts.

“A team of UK experts who will advise and support Nigerian authorities in its response to the abduction of over 200 school girls touched down in Abuja Friday morning,” a spokesperson stated.

“The team is drawn from across government and will work with the Nigerian authorities leading on the abductions and terrorism in Nigeria. The team will be considering not just the recent incidents but also longer-term counter-terrorism solutions to prevent such attacks in the future and defeat Boko Haram.”

Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry said: “Our inter-agency team is hitting

CHIBOK GIRLS’ ABDUCTION

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

US, UK search experts arrive Nigeria

•British PM defends support the ground in Nigeria now and they are going to be working in concert with President Goodluck Jonathan’s government to do everything that we possibly can to return these girls to their families and their communities.

“We are also going to do everything possible to counter the menace of Boko Haram,” he said.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama said the team comprised personnel from military, law enforcement and other agencies.

He said he hoped the kidnapping would galvanise the international community to take action against Boko Haram.

The British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron, yesterday dismissed claims the global community is patronising the Nigerian government over its handling of the kidnapping.

The PM was asked about comments from a Nigerian government spokesman who said criticism of the government’s response was “unfair” and “patronis-

ing.”

Cameron said: “We want to work with them to help.”

He added: “I think it’s quite unfair to talk down to

a concerned government like that. It’s really, really unfair. I take very, very serious exception to that kind of language and in such a very patronising way.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 5

live, Cameron said the UK government wants “to work with” Nigerian officials to help in the search, saying the UK had offered help immediately after the abductions.

He said it was “an ex-

•Members of the Lumumba Lagos Metropolitan Council of the Catholic Church protesting over the abducted Chibok girls at the Lagos State Governor’s Office, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos... yesterday PHOTO: Omosehin MOSES

Borno declares three-day fasting for missing girls

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OVERNOR Kashim Shettima of Borno State yesterday declared three days of fasting and prayers in the state for the safe return of the students of Government Girls Secondary Schoool, Chibok, who were abducted by Boko Haram last month.

The fasting will run from Monday, May 12 to Wednesday, May 14 for God to intervene in the rescue of the girls . Receiving participants in a protest organised by the Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), Chibok,

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation and Bodunrin KAYODE , Maiduguri in Maiduguri, the governor asked every Nigerians, regardless of religion, to join the three-day fasting.

He said that the issue at stake is beyond politics and religion because, according to him, the abduction borders parents everywhere.

He hailed the American first

lady, Michelle Obama, for supporting the cause of the freedom of the girls.

Shettima noted that without the support of concerned citizens of the world like Michelle Obama, her husband and many other leaders around the world, little would have been known about the plight of the victims.

“The people of Nigeria say no to this unfortunate development and I assure you that we will do all we can to get you out of this pains you are

going through,” he told the women.

Earlier, spokesperson for the KADA people, Alabe Grema, called on the managers of security in Abuja to take concrete steps to free the abducted teenagers.

Grema spoke of the psychological trauma being faced by his people following the abduction and prayed that the pains would end soon.

Among the protesters were women and elders of Chibok, including those

whose daughters were abducted.

The mother of Helen Jarma, one of the victims, wept all through the protest.

She told reporters that since she could not go to the Sambisa forest to get her daughter, the best she can do now is to cry until she returns.

On the allegation by Amnesty International that the military had foreknowledge of the abduction four hours before it occurred, Governor Shettima said that while he

Abducted girls still within Nigeria —Jonathan

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan believes the 276 secondary school girls abducted in Chibok, Borno State are still within the country and possibly in the Sambisa Forest.

He is not persuaded by speculations that they may have been moved out of the country.

Fielding questions from reporters at the end of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Abuja yesterday, President Jonathan also dismissed suggestions that his government was slow in responding to the abduction crisis.

He said: ”The attackers are in a part of Borno State described as Sambisa Forest. It is a forest area and we are working with the experts that will use remote sensor to see that wherever they are we will see,” he said.

“So, the best we can say is that they are within the Sambisa forest area. Of course, I agree that there are stories that they have been moved outside the country. But if they move that number of girls to Cameroon, people will see. So I believe that they are still within Nigeria.”

He thanked all the countries assisting Nigeria in searching for the girls.

He said that with the massive support the country is receiving from the international community, Boko Haram will

•Says allegation of slow response to terror, misconceived Augustine EHIKIOYA, Abuja

have no choice but to “bring back our girls; and there is no where they will take these girls to.

“They have no hiding place.

We must work with the global community that is quite keen to make sure that we bring back these girls.”

He pleaded with the parents of the girls to continue to exercise patience and that he himself as a father and the President of Nigeria feels pained and doesn’t sleep ”with my two eyes closed and will not sleep” until the girls rejoin their families.

Defending government’s handling of the situation, especially what is generally criticised as government’s slow response, he declared: “There is no slow response at all.” “ No, no, it is a misconception. The response is not slow.

I have explained this. Borno State can be described as the headquarters of the terrorists, Boko Haram.

“They are more in Borno State, then followed by Yobe and then Adamawa. These are the three states in which we have declared state of emergency already.”

“So they have military personnel in those states. Immediately this happened, they

tremely difficult situation,” adding that the decision to send UK experts to offer advice and logistical support came after a request from President Goodluck Jonathan.

have been following it, both the army and the airforce, they have been combing everywhere. The only thing we did not do, because we felt it was not necessary then, was to video the aircraft moving, the military people moving and the fighter helicopters.

“We did not do the video to show because the people were on ground because of the state of emergency because of these terrorists. That is why people thought it was slow, no it was not. We started work immediately. It was not slow, the Nigerian government responded

immediately. If somebody gives you the impression that government is slow, that is not correct.”

On whether there could be a political solution to Boko Haram, President Jonathan maintained that there is an element of politics in terror but that it is complex and beyond poverty.

He said: “Yes, political solution is there, some elements of politics is there. But terror all over the world is beyond economic.”

He likened Boko Haram to

other terrorists group, saying: “Boko Haram is a terror group. As a journalist you know much more on terror than I do. When Al-Qeada started, most people did not know the dimension until the 9/11 in the US. That was when the whole world knew that terror could be very very devastating.”

He also said that a lot of the suspected brains behind the recent bomb explosions at Nyanya, near Abuja have been arrested.

Jonathan also thanked the participants who defied the terror threats to attend the World Economic Forum on Africa.

appreciated the “sacrifices” of security agencies in checking the menace of Boko Haram in the state, he had no reason to doubt the findings of the organisation.

But he said that with the AI’s findings directed at the Federal Government, the state government would prefer to stay out of it.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mallam Isa Gusau, in a statement yesterday on the AI report said the governor “will not comment” on it.

“But the Governor deeply appreciates the efforts and sacrifices of security agencies in Borno State who have been engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the last three years with some of them laying their lives for the state.

The Governor also respects the Amnesty International as a credible institution and will not doubt its findings,” he said.

“The Governor is very much committed to supporting ongoing search and rescue efforts to free Borno’s precious daughters.

“More than any other person in position of authority, Governor Shettima is deeply pained by that unfortunate abduction and is committed to providing all necessary support security agencies and community volunteers towards freeing his daughters.”

Chibok parent relives abduction of two kids, four family members

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PARENT In Chibok, Borno State has recalled how he received the news of the abduction of his two biological children and four other members of his family.

In an interview with CNN’s correspondent, Isha Sesay, the distraught parent said: ”Precisely on the 14th of April, in the night around 11pm, one of my friends at Chibok phoned me that Boko Haram had arrived at Chibok and that they didn’t know how to handle the situation but we should pray for them.

“I woke my wife and told her about the situation of things in Chibok. The distance from Chibok to my village is about 14 kilometers. I am living in

Balam. When the day broke, all of us went to Chibok.

“There one of the residents told us that all the school girls had been abducted by Boko Haram.

“When we got to the school, we found that everything had been destroyed. We went to the soldiers hoping that my daughter escaped to the bush and would come back home.

We waited until the next day but none of them came.

“We learnt from other villagers that four of the girls escaped. They jumped off the vehicle.”

He added: “The girls that escaped told us that when the Boko Haram people came,

they told them that they were there for their protection and they should not fear. They gathered them all together, pretending to be soldiers. They parked all of them in one place and then they started burning the school.

“Six members of my family were abducted by Boko Haram mebers. Two of them are my daughters, the rest are my family members.

“We mobilised and went into a thick bush that is about six kilometres away from Chibok.

We met a man in the forest who told us that he would show us where our daughters were. He showed us a thick forest and told us that our daughters were

there. But he warned us not to enter there because the insurgents were well armed. He said we should go and meet the government to do something about it.

“We came back and told the government about it but they have done nothing. There is nothing on ground to show that the government is doing anything about it.

“The villagers told us that if we should stay till around 6 o’clock, we would see a helicopter coming to drop food for the insurgents.

“The government said they went to Sambisa forest but honestly speaking, there was nothing like that.”

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

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UK protesters insist on more action by govt

ROTESTERS yesterday stormed the Nigeria High Commission in London chanting ”Bring back our girls” and “solidarity forever”.

They wanted more action from the Federal Government to rescue the over 200 students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, abducted by the Islamist sect, Boko Haram.

The protesters were irked by what they perceived as government’s mishandling of the abduction.

Artist and writer Esther Wright, who is originally from Delta State, Nigeria, was among more than 100 people at the protest.

She said: “As I’m talking to you right now, these girls are probably getting raped.

“This is a real emergency;

more needs to be done. I am a woman, you cannot treat women like this in today’s world.”

Mrs Wright, who settled in the UK in 2012 after getting married, was one of many who had turned up with handmade placards and posters.

But it was a tweet sent by 30year-old Raliah Adeyemi of East London that got the protest happening in the first

place.

“As soon as I heard about the schoolgirls I wanted to try and help,” said Miss Adeyemi, who went from Nigeria to the UK in 2002 to go to university.

“I didn’t want people to forget about what was happening with these girls, so I went on Twitter and said we should stage something in London, and the whole thing snowballed from there.”

•From left: Secretary to the Federal Government, Senator Anyim Pius Ayim, representing President Goodluck Jonathan; Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Prof. Amos Utuama, SAN, during the funeral service of former Ohanaeze President, Raph Uwechue, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State... yesterday. (See story on Page 59)

Saudi Arabia’s top cleric says Nigeria’s Boko Haram smears Islam

AUDI Arabia’s grand mufti, the top religious authority in the birthplace of Islam, yesterday condemned Boko Haram as a group “set up to smear the image of Islam” and deplored its kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls.

Sheikh Abdulaziz Al alSheikh dismissed the movement, which says it wants to establish a “pure” Islamic state in Nigeria, as “misguided” and should be “shown their wrong path and be made to reject it.”

His remarks came as religious leaders in the Muslim world, who often do not comment on militant violence, joined in denouncing Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau for saying Allah had told him to sell off the kidnapped girls as forced brides.

“This is a group that has been set up to smear the image of Islam and must be offered advice, shown their

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wrong path and be made to reject it,” he told the Arabiclanguage newspaper alHayat in an interview published yesterday.

“These groups are not on the right path because Islam is against kidnapping, killing and aggression,” he

said. “Marrying kidnapped girls is not permitted.”

On Thursday, Islamic scholars and human rights officials of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the world’s largest Muslim body representing 57 countries, denounced the kidnapping

as “a gross misinterpretation of Islam”.

This week, Al-Azhar, the prestigious Cairo-based seat of Sunni learning, also said that the kidnapping “has nothing to do with the tolerant and noble teachings of Islam.”

U.S. Senate panel sets hearing on slow response to Nigeria U.S. Senate panel will next week examine Washington’s offer of assistance to Nigeria after Boko Haram abducted more than 200 girls from their school, as well as impediments that might be slowing that assistance.

The hearing will come a full month after the abductions.

The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa Affairs said it will hold the hearing on Thursday, May 15, with witnesses from

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the U.S. State Department and Department of Defence.

U.S. lawmakers have been calling on the Obama administration - and Nigeria’s government - to do more to retrieve the girls taken by Boko Haram militants from their school on April 14.

“It took far too long for (Nigerian) President (Goodluck) Jonathan to accept the United States’ offers of assistance to find these girls. I was relieved when President Jonathan finally said he

would welcome our help, but rhetoric alone won’t bring these girls home,” Delaware Democratic Senator Chris Coons, the chairman of the subcommittee, said in a statement.

Earlier this week, members of Congress held a vigil on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to demand action. The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution condemning the kidnapping and supporting U.S. efforts to aid in the search.

UN building bomb survivor sends message to Chibok community

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News 5

CHIBOK GIRLS’ ABDUCTION

SURVIVOR of Boko Haram explosion at the UN Building in Abuja, Member Fesse, yesterday asked Chibok Community not to give up on the abduction of 276 students of the Government Girls Secondary School in the town.

She also asked the abducted girls to remain stronger wherever they are because relief is on the way.

Fesse gave the message of hope in a statement in Abuja against the backdrop of the ongoing search for the girls.

“Hold strong, don’t give up, the your girls will come home by the grace of God, alive and well and very

•Says: ‘Don’t give up’ Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

soon,” she said.

And to the victims, she said: “Stay strong, all of Nigeria and indeed the world is looking for you. We will find you and bring you home. I am Chibok Girl. I am you.”

She recalled that hour on August 26, 2011 when she went to the United Nations’ Building in Abuja to collect data for her schoolwork.

“The terrorists came and bombed the building. Their intention was to kill us and take away our dreams. They

destroyed the building, killed many and wounded others, including me. But they could not destroy our dreams,” Fesse said.

“On the 14 of April, 2014, you went to school to get an education. The terrorists came and carried you away.

They burnt down your school.

“Their intention is to cut short your ambition of getting an education and to destroy your dreams of living lives of dignity. They will not succeed. They may traumatise you but you will not bow. I am you.

“You are in the forest. I was lost in the rubbles of the ex-

plosion. Like you, family and friends looked for me. My father had to look among the dead similar to the manner that your parents and community pursued after the terrorists. Eventually, I was found broken but alive. They will find you, for I am you.

“Chibok Community, stay strong. Your girls will come home. Nigeria is looking for your girls. The world is looking for your girls.

“Chibok Girls, stay strong.

You will be found and brought home. The world is standing up for you. I am you—wounded but not bowed. You too will not bow. You will come home.”

Miss Adeyemi, who studied at universities in Westminster and Manchester, said she had several family members living in Nigeria, including more than 20 cousins, some of whom were between 16 and 18 years old - the same age as the kidnapped girls.

“It really makes you think it could have easily been my cousins caught up in this. My heart goes out to the families affected.”

Miss Adeyemi, who works in IT for an investment bank, is also a practising Muslim, and she said that atrocities such as this, were giving her religion a “bad name”.

“They do not realise the damage they are doing. People will grow up thinking Islam is a bad religion; they won’t understand. The international community needs to come together to stop this.”

Midway through the protest, the demonstrators were joined

by MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, who addressed the crowd and criticised the “pernicious evil” that had led to the abductions.

He said that social media had “made the world small”, and it was because of protests such as this that the UK had pledged to try to help find the school-

girls. The UK has sent a team to provide planning and advice on co-ordination to the Nigerian authorities.

“A week ago the international community were doing diddly squat, now we have got some action. And I will make sure the government pushes even further to try and find them.”

His words were heard by 64year-old retired nurse Sheila Atsu of Wandsworth, who is also originally from Nigeria, but left for the UK in 1970.

She said: “The Nigerian government should have done more at the very start of this crisis to try and find the girls.

“People are not going to stop fighting until they are released.”

And her view was shared by Josephine Dolan-Dufourd, 35, of Dalston, London, who turned up at the protest with her three-year-old twins Milo and Elliot.

She said that although she did not have a Nigerian relative, she was still concerned by what had happened, and wanted to show her support.

“It’s important at times like this, no matter what your faith or background, to come together and support a unified cause,” she said.

‘False information misleading the Military’

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HE Military High Command said yesterday that false information may hamper the search for the over 200 abducted students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said in Abuja that false information was misleading the military in the search for the girls.

He spoke at a briefing organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

Gen. Olukolade however said that such misleading information would not discourage the military in searching for the girls.

Additional surveillance equipment have been deployed in the search, he said.

“Some of the information given to the military has turned out on many occasions to be misleading the search team; the trend of wanting to generate false information and wanting to unsettle the populace,” he said.

He pledged that the search efforts will “pay off very soon”.

“At the moment, we have divisions of the Nigerian Army infantry devoted to looking for these girls. And there are four operating units and it is the most active among the operations. They have been deployed to the borders. We also have troops of other security agencies located at various borders.

“The facilities of the Nigerian Army signals and those of the Nigerian Police and all the security operatives have been devoted to coordinating these search and ensuring that information gets back to the control post where all the operations are being

Gbenga OMOKHUNU, Abuja

monitored and guided.

“The Nigerian Air Force has undertaken series of studies and as at Monday we know that over 250 airplanes have been flown with a view to ensuring that surveillance of the air patrol is sustained on a 24 hours basis over location that information has indicated as the likely position of the abducted girls.

“The multinational task force which has its headquarters in Nigeria has been activated to devote much attention to rescuing these girls. The multinational joint task force has contingents from Chad, Niger and Nigeria, although Nigeria is the major contributor and here is the headquarters of the force. They are paying attention to the borders in Niger, Chad and the contingents of these countries have been mandated to make contact with their commands with a view to also looking out for possible movement related to rescuing these girls. Only two days ago, additional surveillance equipment were deployed to support the ones on ground for this search.”

The Director General of NOA, Mike Omeri, said the Federal Government, in a bid to curb the recurring incidence of misinformation, approved the establishment of a National Information Centre (NIC) in Abuja.

The centre, Omeri said, will be coordinated by the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) as the implementation agency.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

COMMENTARY 7

‘‘

Indeed the Nigerian President should borrow a leaf from the reaction of the former military head of state General Muhammed Buhari who condemned the Boko Haram and the video of their leader boasting that he would sell our girls

espite the global furore over the abduction of over 200 Nigerian school girls in NE Nigeria, the World Economic Forum still went on in Nigeria. The CNN aired it and gave more space to the ‘Bring Back the girls‘ global movement that had a mournful Michelle Obama on board just as it showed a cheerful and confident Nigerian President, assuring the audience at the WEF in Abuja that with the global outrage on the abduction of the unfortunate girls, the end of terrorism was in sight in Nigeria - a statement no one but the Nigerian leader can believe, given the track record of Boko Haram in killing and abducting Nigerian girls with impunity in recent times.

Let me state clearly that no one doubts the importance of the WEF as a forum for bringing investments into Nigeria or the potential for such good investments to create jobs and help the Nigerian economy. It is the timing and the continuation of the hosting schedule by the nation’s financial and business elites, in the grip of a super World Bank government elite, and in spite of the abduction of the 200 Chibok School girls and the slaughter of 300 Nigerians in Gamboru Ngala on the eve of the WEF in Abuja, that leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Without mincing words, it was in bad taste for Nigeria to have gone on with the hosting of the WEF while the world was looking out for how to retrieve captured Nigerian girls from Boko Haram whose leader had wickedly told a world audience that the girls would be sold into slavery in a market he said already existed. In the face of such horror our president told his audience in Abuja that not to have held the conference would have meant capitulating as it were to terrorism. I disagree with that because as at now the offer of help to the Americans and the acceptance of such by a willing President Barak Obama made the capitulation of the Nigerian state a fait accompli in terms of self - pride, patriotism and loss of sovereignty and who knows, legitimacy.

I suspect that the rationale of the powerful cabal or elites that advised the president to go on with hosting the WEF at all costs including the fate of the abducted girls, was to ape what the US and Britain did on the aftermath of 9/11 and the bombing of London by terrorists. The US President at the time of the bombing of the Twin Towers of 9/11 was George Bush Jnr and he asked Americans to take to the streets and continue with their lives as staying indoors would make Al Qada to think it has succeeded in frightening Americans from continuing with their way of life.

George Bush then went after Al Qada by bombing the mountains of Afghanistan from where Bin Laden was shown mocking the US on the success of the terror of 9/11. That was the beginning of the global war on terror by the US as we know it today and it is to that US which eventually and ultimately tracked down Bin Laden under President Barak Obama that we are now turning to today to help us find our lost Chibok School girls.

It is however necessary, no matter how painful for our dignity as a nation to note that while the US went after the terrorists of 9/11 and is still after them 13 years after, our gov-

D

‘

Elitism, politics and terrorism‘ ernment’s attitude to the abduction was simply embarrassing. At his media chat on the week of the WEF the president said that he did not know where the girls were and Boko Haram had not claimed that it has abducted the girls, only for the leader of the terrorist group to show up on video the following day to claim he has ‘your girls’ and would sell them. Till today there has been no official condemnation of that Boko Haram leader’s video or any threat by the Nigerian leader to capture the Boko Haram leader dead or alive as a deterrence. Instead it was at the WEF that he made the announcement that with foreign help, the end of terrorism was insight in Nigeria and I find that in consonance with what Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka said that the Jonathan Administration had allowed the Boko Haram menace to fester by treating it with kid gloves right from the onset. How that attitude to Boko Haram is redressed very urgently from now on, will determine when the Boko Haram terror will end and not the offer of foreign help to fight terror when the heart, grit or stomach for such a decisive fight, is lacking.

Indeed the Nigerian President should borrow a leaf from the reaction of the former military head of state General Muhammed Buhari who condemned the Boko Haram and the video of their leader boasting that he would sell our girls. Buhari called the Boko Haram mindless religious bigots who have nothing to do with Islam or Christianity, both of which preach peace. Buhari then called on all Nigerians to forget religion or ideologies and close ranks in fightin Boko Haram to finish. This is the sort of talk expected of the Nigerian President today to give Nigerians assurance on their common destiny and security as citizens of the same nation. In addition Buhari would be the first Northern leader in my view, to boldly condemn Boko Haram and stand up to be counted for doing so.

This alone is enough to put Boko Haram on tenterhooks to take flight and know that there are still some Nigerian leaders around who would not make merry while the thatched roof of their house was on fire but are bold enough to put out the fire before outside help arrives.

However the Buhari reaction is different from the attitude of most Nigerian elites on the Boko Haram abduction. Some are like the proverbial ostrich with their heads buried in the sand hoping that the issue of the abducted girls would just blow away. They are mindless of what happens to the girls as long as their own daughters are not stopped from attending school in their part of the nation. One even asked of what use was any protest in Nigeria on the abducted girls as that would not bring them back. Yet school girls in the US and European capitals and US First Lady are carrying protest cards asking for the Nigerian girls to be brought back safely.

Undoubtedly Nigerian elites live in their self created bubble of

wealth and riches as they can afford to create their security to a large extent given their obscene opulence in the midst of such crass poverty. They, like all elites the world over forget the ageless adage from socialism that said the rich man must sleep with one eye open as long as there are people scavenging for food in his vicinity. That is the lesson to be learnt from the humanity inherent in showing concern for the abducted Nigerian girls, without asking for any gain or any chance of their bring brought back by so doing.

However it is not only in Nigeria that elites look for what is there to gain in any endeavour. It is the same the world over.

But the US which has accepted Nigeria’s offer for help in fighting Boko Haram may yet help us to kill two birds with one stone. The US in coming in to help us with terrorism can also clean our Augean stable or cesspool of corruption which is the stock in trade of the Nigerian bureaucratic,political and financial elite. The track record of the US on the war on terror is clear on this. It froze the accounts of individuals, institutions and charities funding Al Qada and that broke the financial backbone of the terrorist group.

That can explain the resort of terr orists to kidnapping, drugs and armed robberies. But the US Intelligence service has a wide network globally on that and it will be interesting to know what they will throw up on those funding Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Especially at the highest echelon of government, as the president once admitted they had infiltrated his cabinet.

On this score, there is a very pragmatic example to adapt to the Nigerian situation as the US comes in to help us fight terrorism and perhaps later corruption. In Russia whose President Vladmir Putin this week celebrated the Soviet Union’s victory at the Second World War with a parade in recently annexed Crimea, the Russian power elites close to the Russian president are already feeling some heat as a result of the Stalinist expansion scheme of their leader in breaking up neighboring Ukraine.

The US has applied sanctions on Russia similar that used to fight global terrorism by closing the foreign accounts of those Russians working closely with President Putin as he supports insurrection by Russian speaking peoples in Ukraine against the legitimate and sovereign government of that nation. In addition the US has also frozen the accounts of former ministers in the regime of former pro Russia Ukraine President Yanukovich who fled after he could not contain the protests that ousted him from office as president of Ukraine. Given this US strategy on fighting corruption in Ukraine and annexation in, there is a lot to look forward to as the Americans come in to help us on terrorism. Certainly this is one Greek gift that must be heartily accepted because it is just too good to be true.

•See Hardview and Knucklehead on Page 58

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13 THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

Rumours of

bomb!

• Cloak of fear hangs on Nyanya, other Abuja PARKS n Vincent IKUOMOLA, Faith YAHAYA, n Frank IKPEFAN and Grace OBIKE OR residents of Abuja, especially those of Nyanya where two rounds of explosions occurred two weeks interval and left close to 100 people dead, the fear of Boko Haram has become the beginning of wisdom. Before the recent attacks by the dreaded sect, Abuja, the nation’s capital, was seen by many as a safe place, with the impression that the city’s security had been fortified after the initial attacks on the Police Headquarters, the UN building and the Mogadishu Cantonment of the Nigerian Army.

Until the two deadly attacks on Nyanya, reports of bomb attacks by the sect in the North East were regarded by many Abuja residents as news from abroad. But the explosions, which occurred at almost the same spot within two weeks, have left the residents in persistent fear.

F

•One of the scenes of the blast that went off at Nyanya Park penultimate Thursday

The fear has become so palpable now that no day passes without a rumour of plan by the Boko Haram sect to attack one part of the city or another, particularly the parks, the markets and other places noted for high human traffic.

The Nyanya Park, which was the scene of the two separate attacks, has since ceased to exist as soldiers have taken over the place. There are also indications that the park may never resurface as the government is already considering the construction of another motor park for the community within a reasonable distance from the expressway.

While work is expected to commence at the new motor park within the next one week, commuters and motorists are no longer allowed to use the existing park. Commuters now have to line the road in search of vehicles.

Continued on page 14

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Cloak of fear hangs on

Continued from page 13

Checks conducted by The Nation revealed the effects of the recent bomb blasts on other parks around the city. Security has been beefed up in most of the parks, as both the operators and travellers have become more conscious of their environment. The operators of most of the parks around the city have taken the issue of security into their own hands. They have resorted to carrying out a thorough check of travellers’ luggage before they are allowed to board vehicles.

A few of the parks can now boast of hand-held metal detectors, which they use to frisk intending travellers. The operators of most of the parks are now working hand in hand with security agencies, just as police vehicles are now on constant patrol at the parks. Some operators at Zuba Park told one of our correspondents that they have put in place some security measures which they would not disclose to the public.

Zuba, a border town of Niger and Kogi states, has one of the most famous parks in Abuja because of its central location. From there, a commuter can board a vehicle to virtually any part of the country. The only trouble now is that everyone at the park appears to view one another with suspicion.

The Secretary of the Zuba branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Alhaji Musa Tanko, said the recent incidents in Nyanya had caused everyone to live in constant fear.

He added: “You know it involves another garage and we continue to hear of the likelihood of bombs being planted.

So, we are pleading with the government to give us protection and put our minds at rest.

“We noticed a car here within the week. It was parked and no one was aware of who owned it. We called on the security agents around to come and investigate the car. Eventually, we realised that it belonged to someone who had come to use a bank nearby and came in here to park because he could not find a space at the bank.

"We cannot tell you about the new strategies we have adopted to protect

,

Anyone who comes into the park now is made to stay close to his car.

Even if you have come to pick passengers, stay by your car until it gets filled up and you drive off. No more lingering.

We also no longer allow people to leave their bags behind...

,

•Now empty...Nyanya Park on Wednesday ourselves against the different cars that drive into this park, because the whole world will then know and it will no longer be a secret. But we have told all our boys to keep their eyes focused.

They should not allow people to just walk in and park cars or any object because we do not know what will be left behind that will cause us to regret.

"Anyone who comes into the park now is made to stay close to his car.

Even if you have come to pick passengers, stay by your car until it gets filled up and you drive off. No more lingering. We also no longer allow people to leave their bags behind."

Tanko said the number of passengers at the park had reduced drastically since the blasts. If, for example, we were getting 500 passengers, we no longer get up to 300 because people are afraid of the parks. We had discouraged people from boarding vehicles on the highways because it is dangerous, but now most people no longer care.

"We are pleading with the President to please assist security agencies with more manpower if that is their problem, so they can effectively protect us and prevent the country from turning into a laughing stock."

Mrs. Pauline Ezeamaka, a food seller at the Zuba Park, said: “I sell food inside the Zuba Park as you can see, and God knows that I am scared. Even this afternoon, someone parked a car inside the park and everyone was running, saying that it was a bomb from Boko Haram. I also ran away but later came back after the owner of the car had gone with his car.

“Many times we hear rumours. The other day, people said that they (Boko Haram) had sent a letter to this (Dankogi) filling station along the road.

PHOTO: Akin OLADOKUN

So, everybody is afraid that they may visit us at any time. Even myself, right now, I’m really afraid because they may come and hide something somewhere and I will not know until it goes off.

“Before we come out here, I’m always looking around, because all these tyres that are dropped anyhow around the park, they may drop something inside them and we would not know. At least we are trying our best in this park because when we noticed the strange car, the authorities of the market went to call the police to verify and people all came out and kept an eye on the vehicle until they were sure that it was not a threat. ‘’After the incident, Police parked one of their vehicles and continued to patrol the park, and we felt a little safe with their presence.”

When our correspondent visited Utako Park in Jabi at about 7: 15 am on Wednesday, it was empty. There were no security measures or security operatives on ground at the park.

However, Mr. Mike Oamen, an official of the Road Transport Employer Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), told our correspondent that the State Security Service (SSS) has been giving them security tips from time to time since the recent blasts. This, he said, has been very helpful to them.

He said: "The SSS has been giving us security tips from time to time. They sometimes stop by to check. They have been helping with information.

“Because of the Nyanya blast, patronage has reduced. Even when passengers come, they are always in a hurry to leave even when the vehicle is not yet full. In terms of revenue, we have been hit seriously by the recent blast."

Our correspondent observed that passengers are now always in a hurry to

leave the park. Those who cannot wait for the buses to fill up leave the park in a hurry. While some passengers were seen sitting inside the buses, others stayed away for fear of explosion.

The two entrances to the park are controlled by two different unions. The first entrance is controlled by the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) while the other is controlled by the Road Transport Employer Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).

Mohammed Salifu, Chairman, Task Force of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Utako/Jabi Park, said there was no security arrangement on ground.

He said: “There is nothing like security on ground. It was when people were complaining yesterday that we met and discussed how we could help ourselves. You saw the stones and tyres we arranged outside. We want to start stop-and-search ourselves. We want to be seeing who is coming in or going out of the park. We want to start the security checks ourselves.”

Some commuters also aired their views on the security situation. One of them, Mrs. Nike Oladimeji, expressed her fears about the safety of the park, saying: "Our park is very porous. Even all our policemen, they tend to cuddle themselves. They tend to barricade themselves. Now, no security man is here; no police; nothing.

“My fear is that the place is not safe. I have been thinking about leaving the park, because when we came this morning, the park was scanty somehow. Normally, this place is always full."

Alamu Abayomi, a worker at the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, said: “We have to step up the security measures. Everybody has to be

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Nyanya, other Abuja parks •Vehicles waiting for reluctant passengers at Jabi PHOTOS: Abayomi FAYESE Park on Wednesday

,

•A vehicle loading at Jabi Park

security alert. It can happen to anybody.

Only experts can detect a bomb.

“My fear is that a bomb can be planted anywhere. I look around anytime I see a vehicle parked suspiciously. People should be aware of people parking vehicles around them. If you have not seen them before, you tell them to move. That is what I do in my house. If you are not coming to my house, you have to go.”

Another traveller at one of the parks, Mrs Grace Dogara, who was travelling with her little son, said: “Well, I believe that it is God that keeps one. My security is in His hands. I cannot because of what has happened before and say that I will not travel again. If there is a need for me to travel, I will travel. My life is in God’s hands.

“As for the security agencies, I would say that they are not God. It is only God who knows where and when things like that may happen. All I can say is that they should keep trying and we as Nigerians should put our hopes in God, because even if you stay in your house and something wants to happen to you, it will come to you at home.”

Another respondent, who pleaded anonymity, said: “Look at the park, everywhere is dry. There is no more patronage like before. Before the blast in Nyanya, by this time, we would have

loaded five to six buses. But we are struggling to even load one bus since morning. Everybody is scared to enter the park.

“We need to cater for our families. We want government to do something about security. They are saying they will give us security in this park but that is a lie. Did you see any soldier or policeman? Did anyone search you when you came into the park? God is our security.

“It is something you can analyse by yourself. Here, God is our security. Nobody is visiting us here. They (security operatives) only come on patrol for two minutes and go. Maybe in the next three days you would not see anybody (security operatives) here again. And this Jabi /Utako Park is a big park. This is the central park, the biggest park in Abuja.

So, security operatives are supposed to be here 24/7.

“If you go outside, you will see that there are tyres and stones we mounted so that nobody can just come here with speed. Sometimes, our guys go out and check the booths of cars. But as you can see right now, there are no stop-andsearch activities. I won’t lie to you, no security.

“Why is it that government cannot give us two soldiers to guard here?

Sometimes they say they are beefing up

Even this afternoon, someone parked a car inside the park and everyone was running, saying that it was a bomb from Boko Haram. I also ran away but later came back after the owner of the car had gone with his car. Many times we hear rumours. The other day, people said that they (Boko Haram) had sent a letter to this (Dankogi) filling station along the road. So, everybody is afraid...

,

security, mapping out strategy to do counter-terrorism.”

In Kubwa, one of the satellite towns, there seems to be no definite park. Residents, with the support of transport union workers, have turned a major junction popularly called Channel 8 and a bus stop christened el-Rufai into a park.

Motorists in the area said they had stepped up security while the police, unlike before, patrol the parks. Also, vehicles, aside those owned by the major transport services, have been stopped from parking anywhere around the park.

But in spite of claims to increased security measures in the parks, only one of the transport service outfits visited in

Kubwa had metal detector to check luggage and passengers. Others said they only depended on observation and careful appraisal to determine if a passenger poses a threat or not.

The park has witnessed a drastic reduction in the number of traders. It was also observed that most passengers at the park no longer closed their eyes when prayers were being said as their vehicles prepared to take off.

The Assistant Manager of Fairplus Transport in Kubwa, Abdulsalam Sadiq, said: “We have security personnel here and we use our metal detector to check luggage before we allow them into the park and even before we load them into our booths. Besides, we have encouraged everyone to be vigilant. We cannot leave everything in the hands of the security men we have here. And the good thing is that since the first blast, police have always being on patrol.

The Manager of Silver Travels, Comfort Idachaba, said the only security measures they had put in place was the checking of luggage, which was usually done a distance away from the park.

“We move the loads far away from the bus and check. Also, we observe those who are unfamiliar to us and we check them,” he said.

The dircetor of the company, Alhaji Ahmed Rufai, said: “All we do to ensure the safety of our lives and those of our passengers is to stop vehicles from parking around our park. We have explained to most drivers and they are complying because they understand the situation in the country.”

The police are working round the clock to ensure improved policing of the FCT, and this could be seen in the increased number of patrols within the city. Besides, patrol vehicles are seen at most junctions in town as part of the recent security measures.

The Force spokesman, Frank Mba, told The Nation on Thursday: ‘’On the side of the police authorities, lots have been done since the unfortunate incident. Security has since been enhanced and reinforced. For us in the Police Force, we are looking beyond every part of the FCT, the nooks and crannies of the satellite towns and every part of Nigeria are our constituency. " We are looking beyond the motor parks. While working with stakeholders to ensure safety at the parks, the police is also working to ensure the safety of lives and properties across the country."

Kunle AKINRINADE Rukayat JIMOH

Kunle AKINRINADE

Kunle AKINRINADE

Okungbowa AIWERIE, Asaba

Kunle AKINRINADE

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Costly battle against

rice smuggling How customsmen, innocent Nigerians pay dearly as culprits become daring Kunle AKINRINADE

Continued from Page 17

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Another wounded customs officer

Even if you place heavily armed Customs officers in every corner of our borders, it won't stop smuggling. It is a fact that local production cannot match demand which creates a recipe for smuggling. There is a lot of pressure on Customs because the quantity of rice manufactured locally can only satisfy 30 per cent of the local demand. It is easy to point accusing fingers but I believe Customs officers are doing their best...

Customs officers arranging bags of rice seized from smugglers

Patrol vans loaded with seized smuggled rice

Some motorcycles allegedly impounded from smugglers

Customs Area Controller of Ogun State, Mahmud with rice-laden vehicles seized from smugglers

A wounded customs officer after a clash with smugglers on hospital

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•One of the roundabouts in the city

•Massive work at the Freedom Square

•The Oguta Lake

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You know, having spent much of my life in Lagos, I had always seen Owerri, my state capital, as a glorified village but when I came home for the Christmas break with my family, I was dumbfounded by the beauty that greeted us immediately we drove into the city. The whole streets were tarred; there were functional street lights everywhere and the roundabouts were sort of tourist sites...

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OWERRI The allure is back

WERRI, the Imo State capital, in recent times has been undergoing massive reconstruction and renovation and is currently wearing a new look with magnificent and unique roundabouts that have distinguished it as one of the most beautiful state capitals in the country.

The Imo State capital, a rather small city with heavy population density, has over five higher institutions with its attendant challenges. As a result of this, the available infrastructure were strained and gradually, the city lost its spark and allure due to years of abandon by successive administrations.

The few existing roads were dilapidated and vehicular and human movements within the capital city became a nightmare as a result of traffic gridlock. The situation was further worsened by the activities of touts and street traders, who defied established laws to

O

n Okodili NDIDI, Owerri n

carry out their illegal activities.

But today, a visitor to Owerri will confirm that the famous Eastern heartland has fully bounced back and regained its lost glory, thanks to the Rochas Okorocha-led administration, which immediately on assumption of office initiated the Rescue Mission Agenda.

Now, Imo State can boast of having one of the safest and cleanest capital cities. The dilapidated roads have been fixed and strategic new ones constructed to decongest traffic gridlock and ease movement and commerce in the city.

Touting and street trading have also been stamped out and the abandoned green parks have received adequate attention; they now add to the beauty and serenity of Owerri.

But one unique feature that has given the Imo State capital

ca s Y t i C

•The Freedom Statue in the city

Pe

and entire new look are the beautifully constructed roundabouts that have sprouted all over the metropolis. The most conspicuous ones are the Okigwe roundabout, Control roundabout, IMSU roundabout, Fire Service roundabout and Wethedral roundabout.

Another dazzling feature are the street lights that illuminate the entire city at night making it impossible for one to believe that such a beautiful city exists in the South East states.

The State government has also through the Owerri City Development Authority (OCDA) recaptured and implemented the master plan of the capital city. In so doing, however, a lot of illegal and unauthorised structures were demolished resulting to temporary hardship and challenges, but today

the pains had given way to gains and unimagined beauty that is cherished by residents of the capital city and visitors alike.

Another remarkable feature that has made Owerri the melting point of entertainment and fun in the South East and South South is its huge tourist potentials.

Aside from the breath-taking beauty of the Oguta Wonder Lake, Owerri also boasts of the highest number of hotels and resort centres, which had attracted fun seekers from neighboring states like Rivers, Abia, Delta, Anambra among others, especially at the weekends.

Famous among these hotels include the ageless Concorde Hotel, Rockview Hotels, All Season Hotels, Ideal Hotels, Pinewood

Hotels, Lamorde Hotels, Dream Land Hotels, etc.

Describing the beauty of the city, a resident, Mr. Ugo Okemiri, said that Owerri is now entirely a new city, “although I am not from Imo State but I have lived and worked in Owerri for the past 29 years and I can tell you today that in the last 12 years, no one has thought that the city could be what it is today”.

He added: “When the state government was constructing the roundabouts and opening up the city, most people termed it a waste of time and resources but today, everyone is happy to live in Owerri. The roundabouts and the city gates are quite beautiful and at night, one cannot believe that you are in anywhere in Nigeria; its beauty is better imag-

ined, especially at night”.

Mr. Declan Uzoaru, a Lagos-based legal practitioner, who was in Owerri during the last yuletide with his family, had this to say: “You know, having spent much of my life in Lagos, I had always seen Owerri, my state capital, as a glorified village but when I came home for the Christmas break with my family, I was dumbfounded by the beauty that greeted us immediately we drove into the city.

“The whole streets were tarred; there were functional street lights everywhere and the roundabouts were sort of tourist sites. I drove my children round the city and it was just amazing and I returned to Lagos after the holiday with a promise to return soon to savour the beauty of my great state”.

Miss Kelechi Ejerenwa, an undergraduate of the Federal University of Technology (FUTO), commended the state government for the efforts to transform the city. “We are happy because we can now stay in Owerri and feel like we are in any great city anywhere in the world. And when we snap pictures, especially at the roundabouts, people think we took the pictures abroad”, she enthused.

Apart from beautifying the capital city, the efforts of the state government have also boasted commerce and tourism. Today, Owerri plays host to over 70% of local and international seminars in the South East and South South states.

However, the state government has been fiercely criticised by the opposition for constructing the roundabouts and parks in the capital city, which they insisted had worsened the traffic situation in the city.

But Chief Temple Onyejiuwa, a retired civil servant, stated: “Owerri is now a befitting state capital that we are all proud of; everyone should close ranks and support the present effort to reclaim the state capital”.

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ENTERTAINMENT

I didn’t make 9ice but…

–ID Cabasa

•KSA with 9ice and Cabasa

‘Acting opens doors for me’ Continued from Page 23

CHARLES AWURUM

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I have not closed the chapter ‘ on marriage —Grace Egbagbe

No one closes a chapter like that in one’s life. When I see the right man and I have a good relationship, if he proposes, I will say yes. But I am not going to say yes to marriage just to please the society or just to be a ‘Mrs’ to somebody. I am not going to take somebody or marry somebody for the sake of it. What will that do for me?

Nothing! There are too many unhappy marriages already

Ex- TV top gal, Barrister Grace Egbagbe, who is fondly called Aunty Grace, went off the social radar for about six months and there was a great clamour for her return. What did people miss? Of course, her grace, her unique fashion sense and her enduring style. “There is nothing wrong with being fashionable,” says the former Executive Director at the Nigerian Television Authority. She adds: “I am not ashamed to be a stylish person. I guess because I won the first most stylish woman award in Nigeria, people see me only as a mere pretty thing. That my photographs are always in the papers is no fault of mine.” Grace Egbagbe is a lawyer, a TV producer, and the creator of the popular drama series 'Cocks crow at Dawn' (She gave the leading character her middle name, Zemaye). Ms Egbagbe shares her newer passion and dreams with us, in this interview with PAUL UKPABIO at her classy and elegant home. hat has been happening to you of late? The rumour mill had it that you simply disappeared.

(Laughs) Some reporters are my problem. The press keeps chasing me around. You tell me why?

Could it be because you are a reporter's delight and one of the most stylish personalities in the society; one that young people look up to?

Flattery won't get you far, but talking seriously, everyone needs a break from time to time. And all I did was to take a break, though a little longer this time. And I am glad I was missed!

What did you do to keep busy while you were away?

I did a lot of travelling and watching movies.

Where did you travel to?

Oh, I went all over. I was in London, Washington, I spent New Year in Las Vegas and that was awesome. And then I visited some friends that I was in the Law School with in Barbados. That was nice!

Looking back at your days in NTA, what do you miss most?

When you spend the greater part of your lifetime in a place, you are bound to miss the friendship that would have developed - the camaraderie, we had fun! We were members of a large NTA family. That is because, NTA was like a family. I guess, I miss the travelling most. I travelled the world, which is probably why I stayed for 28 years in NTA. Oh really…?

Oh yes, every February, I used to attend Monte Carlo Film Festival. I also went to the Cannes Film Festival. I was a Juror at the then Bulgarian Film Festival, visited the then

W

• Grace

Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Berlin, Leipzig, Moscow and I even did a short course in Satellite Communications at the East-West Centre University of Hawaii (I still get Alumni mails from them).

How was it like working in NTA? It was very challenging. I joined NTA a year after it was set up under Engineer Vincent Maduka, who was the first Director General of NTA, a seasoned but a bit tough administrator. I learnt from him that hard work always pays even if not always recognised. It was under him that I was in charge of programmes like Cocks crow at Dawn and Second Chance, a comedy programme in which I cast the very distinguished Olu Jacob as an adult education teacher; his present wife Joke as a student and Madam Kofo as the student who was more interested in her outrageous hairstyles than studying!

Madam Kofo is quick to acknowledge to anyone who cares to listen, that I tied her very first 'Madam Kofoish' head-tie on the programme. As for Olu and Joke, I claimed that I am their cupid's arrow.

But how did the marketing and the legal aspect of your career come in?

When I get restless, I usually seek more knowledge because my dad always said that, you can never be over educated. So I went on study leave without pay, to the University of Buckingham, England, where I got my Law degree.

I was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985. Prior to that, I had gotten a degree in TV/Motion Picture Production from the University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA. How did the advertising aspect come in because you were well known for being a Director of Marketing at NTA? That came about when Ben Bruce was the Director General and being the businessman that he is, he moved me from programmes to marketing. As you know, you cannot practise advertising until you are registered with APCON. The same way you cannot practise Law unless you are called to the bar. And so, I had to become a student once again by studying for a diploma in Advertising at APCON. There was a time you were on TV receiving an award at APCON graduation...

Oh yes, and I have my son to thank for that. He warned me: “Mummy, please be serious and don't go and disgrace us.” That really hit me. And just as a good child works hard not to disappoint his parents, so did I burn the midnight oil not to disappoint my children. I'm

happy to say that, not only did I graduate as the Best Female Graduate, I was also the Overall Best Graduating Student and I also won three other prizes as Best Student in other subjects. The good news was that, all the awards came with cash prizes.

Between programmes and marketing, which did you enjoy the most?

Both! But there were challenges in both areas.

In the programmes area, we did not have enough funding to make good programmes and I think this is still the case. It was hard to convince the public that the foreign programmes that they enjoyed so much cost millions of dollars to produce. As for marketing, people were just not ready to pay for airtime. They knew the effectiveness of advertising their products on a network like NTA, but they were not prepared to pay the

• Grace

charges. And because there were so many outstanding debts, we decided for the first time to insist on no-payment-no-advert. In other words, your advert will not get on air, especially on the network news unless it was paid for beforehand. At the time, the telecommunication companies had just set up, so they were our major advertisers.

Why did you choose to be a career woman?

If you are asking me why I have a career, I will say it is necessary to equip yourself for survival in this difficult world. But I will also say that I was greatly influenced by my father, who believed in education for women at a time when women were relegated to the background. And I wonder what I would have been today without my education. I am the first female graduate from a small village called Okpekpe, although you can't call Okpekpe 'small' now after the internationally acclaimed 10km Road Race that just took place there, a race that only a few years ago was just a dream.

Today, the village that was previously largely inaccessible now has an express road running through it. Thanks to the Executive Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, the village now has a 10-kilometre annual Road Race. We had well known athletes from Ethiopia, Kenya and other places taking part in the race.

Why aren’t you doing movies?

How do you know I am not? Is it because you have not seen me in some Nollywood movies or because I have not produced any (laughs)? First of all, acting in Nollywood movies would have just complicated my problems more. As for movie production, I do have a couple of scripts that I am working on. But having acquired my training from an internationally acclaimed school in Hollywood like UCLA, I want to do a first class production. And first class productions cost a lot of money.

There were lots of pretty faces at NTA during your time then…

Yes there were, but there are still pretty faces there now. Or don’t you like the faces you see there now (laughs)?

What values were instilled in you as a child that helped to make you the person that you are today?

One that stands out clearly is what my dad use to say to us, ‘hard work doesn’t kill.’ I watched my dad wake up early in the morning and once that radio call came in, that there was an outbreak of communicable disease like measles or smallpox, he would take off sometimes running into days before we saw him again. It got to a stage where I insisted on travelling with him on his little tours, because I had a special bond with my dad. He was my mentor and my hero. My dad also taught us to be frank and to say it as it is. I guess ‘diplomacy’ or double-speak was not something to be encouraged. So I try as much as possible to be honest and straight forward with my friends. And I can’t pretend to like you when I can’t stand you.

You rose to the top at NTA, do you think women have been given a fair chance?

Yes, but not enough. Didn’t some wise guy say “if you want a job done, give it to a woman”? Women, especially Nigerian women, have the capacity, the knowledge, and the intelligence to do any job that has been held by a man. The taste of the pudding is in the eating, so how would you know if a woman can do a job well, if you don’t try her out? We have women doing creditably well in the oil and banking sectors. But hitherto, women had been their own worst enemies, pulling each other down instead of up. Which is why I give kudos to an organisation called WIMBIZ which spends all its time in helping and mentoring other women. Credit must be given to the present administration for giving more women than ever a chance to hold positions that were previously considered the exclusive preserve of men.

People assume that successful ladies hardly do simple women chores at home. Do you still do them?

Of course I cook when I have to. It also depends on who I am cooking for (laughs).

You have been quoted in previous interviews that marriage will come when it will. Have you closed the chapter on marriage?

No one closes a chapter like that in one’s life. When I see the right man and I have a good relationship, if he proposes, I will say yes. But I am not going to say yes to marriage just to please the society or just to be a ‘Mrs’ to somebody. I am not going to take somebody or marry somebody for the sake of it. What will that do for me? Nothing! There are too many unhappy marriages already.

What do you value most?

My God, my children, my family and my genuine friends.

And how would you love to describe yourself?

I would describe myself as the apple of God’s eye. My name is Grace and people say that I live my name. I like to be gracious to people, I like to be kind to people and I like to be frank to people. I like to be honest as much as I can and I don’t give a damn about what Mr A or Mrs B thinks about me because what others think about me is their problem not mine.

What does success mean to you?

Success is being able to do what you like when you like (as long as it is legal).

Success I think is being able to be you.

Success is to live your life the way that

‘

fulfils you. And my prayer always has been that God gives me satisfaction in whatever I do because you could have little money and be happy or have lots of money and still be unhappy because you want more.

A key ingredient to happiness is the satisfaction that comes from within a satisfaction with what you have. God usually gives us what we need. He feeds the flowers and birds of the air, so He is sure to feed us as well. But what gets us into trouble is our insatiable greed and need for more. If people want what they can’t have, some would go as far as to kill to get it. So I think that contentment is the primary key to success and happiness.

Are you fulfilled?

I am very fulfilled because I have God and incredible children and a loving family.

How do you take off stress and what keeps you looking so young?

First of all, I try not to stay stressed, which is why I take off to go and relax in an environment outside my usual home. I love to watch movies, dance and listen to soft music. There’s hardly a movie that is out that I have not seen. All these help me to ‘de-stress’. I also play golf when I can find the time. As for looking young, I thank you for your compliments. But I think I have my parents to thank for that.

When my dad died at 79, his waistline was 32 inches. My mom just turned 85 on April 5 and she walks on her two feet. She’s as sharp as a 60year-old. What makes women age fast is usually husband and child problem. There’s a proverb that says, ‘a woman that has no child does not suffer child bereavement.’ So I do not have husband problems and I have amazing children. Plus, I am content with all God has given me. I count my blessings every day. And I think my child-like faith in God keeps me happy and looking like a child.

What does fashion mean to you and how important is fashion in a woman’s life?

For me, I equate fashion with comfort. You cannot be comfortable if you are wearing something that you feel uncomfortable in. I believe that one should wear what is appropriate for the occasion. So I’m saying, for instance, I will not wear Jeans to a Sunday church service or wear a ball gown to a pool side party. I do not condemn seeing outfits on others which I cannot wear. For instance, if you have Tina Turner legs, by all means, wear your minis and just because I can’t wear them will not make me condemn you for wearing them. People assess you by the way you dress the first time they see you. And their first impression of you usually last forever. So when you leave your house to go out, you must endeavour to look nice. ‘The rule of thumb’ is to wear what you feel comfortable in and don’t follow fashion trends blindly. Fashion is huge business but unfortunately, I do not think that we have tapped our potential enough in the fashion industry in Nigeria. A woman should always look nice and alluring.

Why are you not in active politics?

Don’t you want a political appointment?

That is precisely my point. I see that many go into politics because they want political appointment and I do not think that is the right motive for going into politics. One should go into politics to make a change for the better. It’s not that I am averse to politics, but I am averse to the way people see politics as a do or die affair. People should be in politics to positively impact their society, to help people who need help. From what I hear, I thank God that some people think about me in positive terms. I am wary about my good name being rubbished by the way politics is done here. I like to help people and communities quietly.

I cannot be so blessed by God and not share with others. Unless people are true and honest to themselves, the way politics is played will continue to be the bane of our society.

• Grace

Pg 35

Pg 30

BRAZIL 2014

FIFA

WORLD CUP:

Pg 30

Pg 32

UCHEBO:

Our opponents’ll be tough Appiah

Uchebo

Akpoborie

Inside The

Glass House WITH AMINU MAIGARI

AKINLOYE

AT LARGE

08050246155 atlarge84@yahoo.com

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

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with KAYODE ALFRED E-mail:kayflex2@yahoo.com Tel:08116759807

A

new wind is blowing in the entertainment sector in Lagos, stirred by Isaac Fayose, the younger brother of former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose.

In a trend that looks like an expansion of his business, the Chairman of Anis Guards has floated a television station and a record company. The new TV station, named Alibi On TV, is meant to complement his interest in entertainment business which he started with the opening of the Alibi Lounge, a classy wine bar located in Lekki, Lagos.

Isaac says his dream is to make Alibi On TV the number one entertainment channel in Africa. And he is seeking to achieve this by partnering with Eugene Mc'nair, an American entertainment guru who is the Executive Director of Alibi Entertainment.

Alibi On TV is expected to cover social events in Africa, Europe and some parts of America. Isaac has picked May 25 for a dance party at the Alibi Lounge to signal the birth of his entertainment outfit in Lagos.

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

41 with KAYODE ALFRED E-mail:kayflex2@yahoo.com TEL:08116759807

with KEHINDE OLULEYE (e-mail: kehindefolade@thenationonlineng.net) Tel:08023689894

Kemi SADIQ

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

SENATOR DAMINGO OBENDE

COMMISSIONER FOR TRANSPORT

D-G NYSC

Kayode Opeifa

Damingo Obende

Okorie Affiah

PRESIDENT JONATHAN

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE MINISTER OF POWER

Chinedu Nebo

President Jonathan

Akinwunmi Adesina

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

We need need infrastructural infrastructural We development in in Lokoja Lokoja development

Wike

Wada Suswam

Orji

HON. SHEHU IDRIS BARDE

Ogbeni Aregbesola

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

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Costly battle against rice smuggling

Continued from Page 47

Senior customs officers inspecting bags of rice seized from smugglers at Idiroko border post

The late Bankole

Some bags of rice being smuggled out of Igolor, Benin Republic, on motorcycle

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

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30-yr-old prophecy fulfilled The Permanent Secretary of the Teachers Establishment Trainings and Pensions Office, Otunba Nurudeen Adeyinka Ojora-Adejiyan, and his wife, Afusat, gave out their daughter, Islamiyah Olajumoke, in marriage to Boonyameen Babajide, son of the Deputy High Commissioner of Nigeria to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Oluwatoyin Kayode Lawal. NNEKA NWANERI was there. hree decades ago, two-year-old Jide was was taken to see Jumoke where she was birthed at the Onika Health Centre. Jide’s mum declared that she had found her son a wife.

Many years later, she was offered an admission to read English at the Lagos State University. She insisted she wanted to be a lawyer and her admission was changed to read Law; another unintended ploy to meet her heartthrob.

Destiny brought them together again when they were in the same Law class. They hardly talked then until they met where they worked in the same office in Abuja. Their love story began and they began seeing each other after office hours. They are both lawyers serving in the chambers of Wale Babalakin (SAN).

According to Jide, he used to hang out with her out of pity so she wouldn’t get bored, having just moved to Abuja from Lagos. He grew feelings for her and proposed. She turned him down.

“He tried to propose by trying to kiss me and popping the ring into my mouth. I told him I wasn’t ready and this made us stop talking for a while,” Jumoke said.

Jide told The Nation: “Yes, I did try to pop the ring in her mouth. That’s not bad but to say she left me gutted was an understatement. Those two years we were apart were the most miserable years of my life, but I finally I proposed to her at White City in London and she had no option than say yes.

“All I know is that she is my other half. She completes me. Without Jumoke, nothing feels good.”

The relationship climaxed with the union of the soul mates last Saturday, in fulfilment of the prophesy which

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was made more than 30 years ago. They were joined together in a Nikkah and traditional ceremony and the social aspect, which was well attended by A-class guests.

All the three events held at the Haven Event Centre, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.

From the rising of the sun last Saturday to its setting, it was a joy and jubilation all the way. All the while, there was never a dull moment.

The both illustrious families of Lagos pooled together not only their family members and friends, but also associates and traditional rulers and well-wishers from neighbouring towns and foreign countries. It was nothing short of a society wedding and a gathering of who is who in the Lagos tradition, politics and social scène.

As big as the arena is, it did not contain all the guests who came to felicitate with the couple. Up and down the large hall, the guests moved about the walkway, searching for vantage points to sit and have a good view of the proceedings. Some of the tables were labelled.

With an interesting story and great promises ahead, the couple became the cynosure of all eyes as they walked their first step into marital bliss. Many were stylish in their attires. The ladies stole the show with their eyecatching fashion dresses. It was well sewn in the colours of the day- peach and green.

There were two facing stages at the centre of the hall.

The one where the couple occupied was all white.

Bubbles popped out sporadically from the background.

The different colours of disco lights set the pace for the splendour and glamour of the occasion.

The other was set up for the Alaye of Fuji Music, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM1) who thrilled and electri-

• The couple, Olajide and Olajumoke

•Bride’s parents, Ojora-Adejiyan; his wife, Afusat and groom’s parents, Amb Lawal and his wife

fied the venue, singing the praises of the guests who couldn’t resist his beats.

By the time the Master of Ceremony and TV show host Bisi Olatilo called the couple in, there was a long queue of the friends of the couple. They lined both sides of the walkway, dancing and swinging their bodies. Jide and Jumoke stepped in. By this time, she had changed into a white v-neck fitted gown. Her beau was in a black suit and white inner shirt.

A long oriki on the both families was recited off hand by Okikiola Olaoriki, who was well appreciated with crisp naira notes. The big wigs had lots to wine and dine on.

Assorted meals and drinks were in circulation.

The chairman of the occasion was the former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Mulisu Smith. The couple’s employer, Mr. Babalakin, was called to make a speech. He described the couple as the best young people he has known.

“I didn’t know they were doing things behind my back but I am proud and happy it succeeded. Now, they have been caught, exposed and the consequences are good.”

The man of silk said the union of the couple will be a great harbinger for many good things to come.

Mr. Tarfa (SAN) said the coming together of the couple is not ordinary but one made in heaven. He urged them to fear God in all their dealings. “Do not do family planning but have as many children as God gives you and you will produce a child that will lead the country”.

The two SANs supervised the cutting of the 13 or more layers of cake. Thereafter, there was the father-daughter dance. The bride and her father danced to the late Luther Vandross’s Dance with my Father, before they switched to Davidio’s Skelewu, allowing the Perm Sec to dig it out with his daughter on the coloured dancing slab.

This set the pace for the dance floor to be thrown open by the couple dancing to fuji music. By the time the groom was delivering his vote of thanks, he had lost his voice. He still went round the hall collecting ‘high 5s’ from his friends. He also bent to receive back pats from the elderly men and women.

In attendance were: Retired Chief Justice of Nigeria Alfa Belgore; the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Michael Gbadebo, who came in company of the Bakimo of Egbaland, Chief Sunny Oyekunle and and the Arefiwagboye of Egbaland Otunba Abiola Salawu; Ojora of Ijora Kingdom, Oba Fatai Aromire; Oba Saheed Elegushi. The Oba of Lagos was represented by his white cap chiefs. This time, they weren’t in the usual white cap but blended well with the guests in the uniformed stripped green cap the men wore.

Others were former Vice-President Abdulsalam Abukakar; Mr. Ricky Tarfa (SAN); Lagos Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire; Secretary to the State Governor Aderonke Adegbule; permanent secretaries and commissioners of the Lagos State ministries as well as special advisers. The Iyaloja-General of Lagos Mrs. Iyabo Tinubu-Ojo; Senator Gbenga Ashafa; former Lagos Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Sosan; member of the House of Representatives, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa and Managing Director of VDT Communications, Mr. Biodun Omoniyi and its chairman, Tunde Gafar.

• Wale Babalakin (SAN)

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

•From left: Fomer Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and Princess Sarah Sosan

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• Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Alfa Belgore (left) and Alake of Egbaland, Oba Gbadebo

•Kabisi Ojora and wife, Tolani

•Chief (Mrs) Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, Iyaloja of Lagos and Chief (Mrs) Risikat Lasisi, Yeye Sanmori of Lagos

• Oba Saheed Elegushi and his wife, Olori Sekinat

• Mr. Biodun Omoniyi (right) and Mr. Tunji Gafaar

Rickey Tarfa (SAN) (left) and Mr Ade Haastrun •Mr. Segun Erewa with his wife, Hon. Abike Dabiri

PHOTOS: Nneka NWANERI

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Email: counselling@faithoyedepo.org

Coping with diseaseS With Prof. Dayo Oyekola Ph.D. (Ibadan), NMD,FNCP Tel: 0803-330-3897 Website: www.holisticlifecare.com E-mail: kolemetric@yahoo.com

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

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54 NEWS

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

•Former Zenith Bank MD, Jim Ovia( left); ex-Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi (right) and Chibundu Edozie at the dinner in honour of the visiting WEF dignitaries at the International Conference Centre, Abuja

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IGERIA’S healthcare is poised for a boost after the Federal Government, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and General Electrical (GE) Healthcare signed a N3.5bn ($20m) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve the sector.

The initiative is spread over five years.

It is expected to draw on the competencies, capabilities and know-how of the partners to bring funding, technology and expertise in training and education with a

•From left: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN); his deputy, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, at the 11th Executive/Legistlative parley held at Golden Tulip, Festac Photo: OMOSEHIN MOSES Town, Lagos.

WEF: Govt, USAID, GE sign N3.5bn MoU to improve healthcare in Nigeria Vincent IKUOMOLA, Abuja

view to developing unique solutions to the country’s primary healthcare infrastructure and helping build capacity for maternal and infant care.

Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu, with whom were Mr. Michael Harvey of USAID and Farid Fezoula of GE Healthcare

Africa, told reporters in Abuja yesterday that a scheme- Healthymagination Mother and Child- will emerge from the partnership specifically to tackle maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria.

He said: ”While Nigeria still comprises a large share of the world’s burden of child

and maternal morbidity, mortality in Nigeria has seen a 38% reduction to 78% deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012.

“This positive trends are indicative of the Nigerian government’s genuine commitment and sustained investment for maternal and newborn health, where no-

table progress has been made over the past few years.”

USAID Nigeria Mission Director, Michael Harvey, said the agency is committed to promoting and supporting stronger governance, finance and human development.

He also hinted that the initiative has the potential to improve the health and

Nation’s leaders urged to emulate Awolowo

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ROMINENT Nigerians have called on the nation’s leaders to shun selfishness and strive towards leaving legacies that would outlive them when they leave office.

They urged present day leaders to emulate the first Premier of the old Western Region, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who initiated many people - oriented policies and implemented same effectively for the benefit of his people and others.

The Nigerians who included clergies, Senator Biyi Durojaiye, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Ogun State, Mr Segun Odubela, among others, said the exemplary life lived by Awolowo and the enduring legacies left behind informed why the memory of him lingers and why the late

AMORC holds symposium

T

he Lagos zone of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, will today hold a symposium themed “One World Religion-Is it attainable?

The event, which will take place at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, according to the spokesman of the organization, Mr Monday Evawomaha, is “a continuation of AMORC’s serialized annual public seminars and symposia aimed at advancing the course of humanity’s progress through individual and group tolerance, national integration for world peace, security, stability and the progress of mankind.”

Ernest NWOKOLO, Abeokuta national leader would continue to be celebrated.

The people spoke in the Ikenne home of the late sage, Ogun State, yesterday at the 27th Memorial Anniversary and Patronal Day observed in his honour.

The Vicar, Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, IkenneRemo, Venerable Foluso Babatunji, in his sermon said Awolowo lived a life of sacrifice that was most beneficial to the people.

Babatunji said the late Yoruba leader gave all he had to the service of his family, community and the nation as his contributions to the country had remained relevant 27 years after his death.

Babatunji said: “When Papa was alive, he lived a life of giving. He gave to his family, town and the nation. In Yorubaland, Awolowo’s name is a household one. All is because he lived a life that millions of people benefited from. His legacies are there for us to see. The people of the defunct Western Region cannot forget his name.”

In attendance at the service are the Bishop of Remo Diocese (Anglican Communion), The Right Reverend Olusina Fape, the Alakene of Ikenne-Remo, Oba Adeyinka Adeyiga, his wife, the Iya Ijo of Obafemi Awolowo Memorial Anglican Church (OAMAC), Ikenne-Remo, Chief (Mrs) Ajayi, Honourable Omosanya Solaja, among others.

According to the cleric, the nation’s politicians should be selfless and put the interest of the people uppermost on their minds while pursuing their political ambitions.

Odubela appealed to the country leaders to learn from the leadership qualities of

Chief Awo, saying it is a common knowledge within and outside the Southwest region how Papa Awolowo impacted upon his people positively.

He said: ”Papa Awolowo did so much for the Western Region and the entire coun-

try. He touched all areas of human endeavour. He empowered his people economically. He provided his people with free education. He built the first television station in Africa. He built a standard stadium which was named after him. We will continue to celebrate him for his good policies.”

wellbeing of the population.

“The reality that we know today is unacceptable and heartbreaking as nearly 300,000 mothers and three million newborns continue to die every year from causes we know how to prevent,” he said.

President, GE Healthcare Africa, Farid Fezoua, said the challenges facing Nigeria and other countries in Africa are much more than equipment. More crucial ,according to him,are training and skills enhancement.

“At GE, we recognize that it takes all different perspectives and contributions to solve a problem and when you consider Africa’s vast healthcare challenges, medical equipment alone is not enough,” Fezoua said .

Revealed: Governorship ambition, cabinet posts behind Ize-Iyamu's exit from APC

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QUABBLES over the 2015 polls and cold cal culations over Edo gubernatorial polls in 2016 are the principal reasons behind the exit of some chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Party(APC) last Monday.

Announcing their resignation, one- time Secretary to the Edo State Government, Pastor Osagie Ize- Iyamu, Abubakar Momoh (Reps member, Etsakor), Tony Omoaghe, Alhaji Shagadi and their supporters cited “manipulation of the recent election” and “lack of internal democracy” as their grouse.

Specifically, Ize- Iyamu said: The governor was being held hostage “by people who have no idea about how a party is run and how a party is managed.”

But checks by The Nation revealed that the party leaders were aggrieved over their inability to take control of the party structures to enhance their chances in the forthcoming general elections as we get close to the 2016 governorship polls in Edo State.

Momoh, who currently represents Etsakor in the House of Representatives, has signified his intention to vie for the party's Senatorial ticket for Edo State. The office is currently occupied by Senator Domingo Obende.

Ize-Iyamu is believed to be eyeing Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s seat come 2016. He was the SSG to the Chief Lucky Igbinedion administration.

Before decamping Monday, Ize-Iyamu, it was gathered, listed the dissolution of the state executive council and allocation of eight portfolios to be occupied by his nominees as condition to remain in the party.

Oshiomhole, according to a top APC chieftain who attended the last “peace meeting” in Benin City, refused to accede to Ize-Iyamu's demand.

Said the source: ''These guys are simply too consumed by their ambition.

Abubakar Momoh is unhappy with Comrade because the governor does share the sentiment that Etsakor should not produce

governor as well as the Senator for Edo North."

Obende is of Akoko Edo extraction while the incumbent SSG, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, who is eyeing the ticket, is of Owan extraction.

Oshiomhole is Etsakor.

"On the other hand, Omoaghe, who was an unpopular factional chairman of the PDP in the Igbinedion years, now wanted to be made the state chairman of the APC by all means. He told Oshiomhole point- blank to deliver the post to him as his own form of settlement.

"Apart from his demand of eight plum cabinet posts, Pastor (Ize-lyamu) also wanted the Comrade Governor to ensure he takes over the party structures in Edo South which accounts for close to 60 per cent of Edo voters. The man is simply too obsessed with his ambition to succeed Oshiomhole by all means.

"Left to some of us, the governor should not be sitting with these political traitors .

But Comrade Oshiomhole seemed to believe he could still win them over even

when Ize- lyamu continually exhibited bad faith.

"The meeting was supposed to be the last- ditch effort by a mutual friend to reconcile Comrade Governor and Pastor after they (Ize Iyamu and co) went to Abuja to wine and dine with President Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Tony Anenih."

Interestingly, cracks appeared in the Ize -Iyamu camp on Thursday when Elder Igbinanke, earlier listed among the decampees on Monday, came out to disown the Ize- Iyamu group.

Igbinanke, a notable politician in Ovia North East APC, explained that they were tricked into attending the Monday meeting.

"We were told we were going to discuss the issues of the party congress. They asked us to put down our names. Little did we know that the attendance list would be tendered as proof that we are in support of decamping. It was a dirty trick.

I hereby disown Ize- lyamu and co. I remain in APC and loyal to Comrade Adams Oshiomhole."

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

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THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

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HE Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof.

Modupe Adelabu, and wife of the Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, on Friday lamented the spate of insecurity and widespread bloodshed that has caused weeping and mourning daily across the country.

They bared their minds during a solemn procession of Ekiti women, led by the First Lady, to protest the abduction of 276 female students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Bornu State, on April 15.

Before the protesters hit the streets, the governor’s wife presented a protest letter addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan to Adelabu, who received the team on behalf of the Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

In the letter, the women called on the President to act decisively and end the regime of “promises, diplomacy and pledges” over the rescue of the girls from the Boko Haram enclave.

In a voice laden with emotion, the deputy governor lamented that mourning and weeping have become a daily routine across the country following unabated sectarian violence, kidnapping, armed robbery and other crimes.

She expressed sorrow about the spate of insecurity in the country, which she said was in sharp contrast to what obtained in the yesteryears.

The deputy governor later led a short prayer session for the timely rescue of the girls POLICE AUCTION SALE This is to inform the general public that The Nigeria Police, Divisional Headquarters Okwuzi-Egbema Rivers State plans to dispose unclaimed and abandoned exhibits. Claimaints are advised to report at the station within 21 days of this publication.

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Boko Haram: ‘Nigerians now weep and mourn every day’

and for peace to reign in every part of the country.

Adelabu said: “I’m sad. This is not the Nigeria we used to know. This is not the Nigeria in which we grew up. We now mourn and weep everyday because of violence and criminal activities.

“If it is not Boko Haram killing people, it will be armed robbers. They kidnap and kill people for rituals as if we are animals. When we were growing up, we moved freely in every part of the country without fear.

“But I must say that this is going to be the last time Nigeria mothers and women will weep and mourn. The end of the boastful leader of

Boko Haram is near. He will end up like Goliath.”

Addressing the protesters, the governor’s wife said that Ekiti women decided to lend their voices to the incident in solidarity with others across the country and the world at large.

She urged President Goodluck Jonathan to be more decisive in the search for and rescue of the schoolgirls, who are now spending their fourth week with their abductors.

Fayemi said: “We are here to lend our voices in solidarity with others across Nigeria and across the world who are deeply distressed about the recent kidnapping

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of over 200 of our children from Chibok.

“Nigerian mothers are tired of weeping, mourning and shedding tears over their chil-

dren. Our children are supposed to survive us; we are not supposed to bury them.”

She condemned the incessant act of terrorism and

criminal activities that have enveloped the country, which she said had made everywhere unsafe for the young and adults.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

COMMENTARY

#BringBackOurGirls (Week Three) s I watched the campaign to #BringBackOurGirls take a life of its own on a global scale, I breathed a sigh of relief.

At last the tragedy that had befallen Nigerians and over 223 families living in Chibok town, Borno State was being acknowledged by a force greater than our government. After about two weeks of being shell shocked over the Chibok tragedy, many Nigerians all over the world began expressing outrage over the lack of information about what efforts were under way to secure the girls' release.

Our fury on the abduction of the girls was amplified by the perception we had that the authorities were not doing enough concerning the process of bringing back the girls safely to their families. So out of frustration we united as one in a vociferous outcry, stood up in great numbers, took to the streets via protest marches in different parts of the country and abroad and used social media to get our story out. And we managed to tap into a huge reservoir of public attention. As the story went viral, reactions to it dribbled over from Twitter, Facebook and blogs to the classic media, with basically all major TV stations picking it up. Finally, the world was aware of our missing girls!

And as we continue the campaign, until there is a resolution or some breakthrough, henceforth my articles will be dedicated to the movement to see our girls safely back home and I will focus solely on this issue in order to continue in the struggle to #BringBackOurGirls.

Now that the effort of Nigerian civilians and youth has ignited awareness and a global call for action, the question is, ‘what next’. How can our government and we, as a people, capitalize on the momentum and the awareness generated by this campaign to #BringBackOurGirls so that, like the Kony 2012 campaign, the impetus does not fizzle out?

Nigeria is literally melting down. The government’s attempt so far to stop the spread of terror, especially in the North Eastern part of the country has, not only exposed the defects within our security structure, but has allowed thousands of innocent civilians to be butchered, massacred and executed by an irreverent group resolute in shedding the blood of innocent people. With all the turmoil we have seen and the innocent blood that has been shed, this violation where over 200 young girls are taken from their hostels by such depraved scum has pushed us to the very brink and we have completely reached the end of our tether. This has got to be the point in which we say “enough is enough”. This has got to be the beginning of the end of this insanity.

From the onset, the official response to this latest transgression appears to have been weak, to say the least. Right from the start, the authorities have downplayed the scale of the abduction in a manner that has been understandably interpreted as a failure of the government to treat it with the seriousness it deserves.

Now that the whole world is demanding to #BringBackOurGirls, we are not yet home and dry. There is no doubt that, before any foreign assistance is called upon, the Nigerian government has primary responsibility of bringing our girls back. More than any other time, this administration has no choice but to pursue a measured and assertive course in ending this terrible terror in Nigeria. Because the longer this threat lasts, the greater the threat it poses beyond Nigeria and beyond Africa.

As a starting point, the government must take full responsibility and stop shifting blame by implying that the parents of the girls are somehow culpable, in that they have not been open in giving the identities of their missing children. I have spoken to a relative of one of the girls that is alleged to have been taken and I asked why they were not willing to cooperate with the government. What they told me was that, they had been warned that if they pursued the girls or gave information about their children and the abductors came to know of this, their children would be killed. One can understand how, as parents, they

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Knucklehead With

Yomi Odunuga E-mail:yomi.odunuga @thenationonlineng.net SMS only: 07028006913 f we must tell ourselves the truth, Dame Patience Jonathan would not have needed that public show of superficial emotion if certain persons had lived up to the responsibility of paying more than a passing attention to the abduction of school girls in Chibok, Borno State, by members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect. She could have meant well by directly intervening in a matter in which The Presidency had displayed crass impotence and incredulous indifference. Sadly, her badly handled official meddlesomeness has become another example of our national maladies. This is not just about the ill-mannered bullying that was pervasive in her interrogation of the officials that she summoned to Aso Rock. It is not even about her atrocious use of English Language which, in my opinion, shouldn’t be an issue at this critical moment of our nation’s history. It is more about the illegality of the summons and the implied meanings embedded in the First Lady’s pronouncements. In any case, that she was forced to play a motherly role in the abduction saga following the loud silence in government quarters should not be enough reason for her to play the role of the judge, jury and interrogator in such a delicate matter.

Lest we forget, the Nigerian Constitution is yet to document any official role for the wife of the President or any public official’s wife for that matter. But because we have become used to implementing established laws in the breach, some of these constitutional indiscretions are unquestionably tolerated. And for those who think there was nothing wrong with the way the First Lady summarily summoned the Commissioner of Police in Borno State, the wife of the governor, the head of the West African Examinations Council in Nigeria, the commissioner for education, the principal of the affected school and other persons, they should also be kind enough to quote the relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution which gives her the power to do such. Perhaps if she had stopped with her threat to lead a powerful band of women protesters from The Presidency to the National Assembly and Borno State, there would not have been any public umbrage over her conduct. The glaring faux pas on show that night would have been clearly avoided if she had decided to exhibit the ‘bringbackourgirls’ banner within the precinct of Aso Rock or she had, in solidarity with other protesters, decided to

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would be sceptical of cooperating with a government that they believe does not have the will or capability of rescuing their children and protecting them.

Like it or not, even with the threat that goes with the exposure of information that we are desperately clamouring for in this case, the government, to a certain degree, has got to shed the cloak of secrecy that it has so far draped on this crisis. Because by being overly secretive, all the government has done so far is alienate itself and created an information vacuum, leaving many casting doubts on what, if anything, has been done to rescue and #BringBackOurGirls. The silence has also created an avenue for confusion to reign; where dissimilar accounts and conspiracy theories have popped up all over the place.

A round the clock information source should be set up immediately to give out adequate information, which would not compromise the security operation that is being carried out to rescue our girls or ensure their safety. The whole world is increasingly becoming emotional over the abductions and people are desperate to know the true situation, efforts and measures that have been taken in ensuring that our girls are brought back home safely. And it is only through the responsible and steady flow of information from government that public anxiety will be reduced.

Though it has come under a lot of criticism, in my opinion, the recent pronouncement by the President, setting up a committee to #BringBackOurGirls is a step in the right direction. Now, that committee must get to work immediately of getting as much information as possible from the parents of the girls, teachers in the school, residents in the village, witnesses to the incident and anybody that is directly connected to the incident. The committee can humanize the victims of the Chibok tragedy by compiling the identities of the girls and ascertaining how many girls were taken and how many have returned so far. Let us know the exact amount of girls that were abducted, the amount that escaped and can be accounted for, and the amount of the yet to be rescued girls in addition to statements of what and where they were taken by the girls who managed to escape.

With accounts that the girls may have been taken out of the country, any rescue operation may have to take extra measures. Given that the group which took responsibility for the abductions has been declared a terrorist organisation, legal steps should be taken by the government in obtaining adequate warrants that would satisfy cross border detention of anyone culpable of these crimes. This may mean that the proper authority in Nigeria would have to reach out to the world’s largest international police organization (INTERPOL) to work together to #BringBackOurGirls. INTERPOL may issue notices to all member countries that the girls are missing and it may ask police in member countries to look for the abductors and search for our girls.

Amidst all this chaos, the silence from the Chad, Cameroun and Niger governments is so deafening one would not have thought that we have representatives and ambassadors in each other’s countries.

Let’s not forget that Chad, Cameroun and Niger share a border with Nigeria around the area where these atrocities are taking place. In fact several times in the past, accounts of bands of terrorists relocating to the neighboring countries to remobilize and rearm has been reported.

In order to rise to the challenge of our porous borders and cross border insurgency, a Multinational Joint Task Force composed of soldiers from Chad, Niger and Nigeria was put in place. If the accounts of our girls being taken over the border are true and if the pathetic state that our borders are in is enhancing the flight of the insurgents, then this is no longer an immediate Nigerian problem; this is an immediate problem of every country that exists within the region of West Africa.

There is an urgent need for the government, together with the

Multinational Joint Task Force to give a press conference, the challenges they face and steps needed in order to quell this monstrosity.

Reports that, despite the outrage at these abductions and despite the fact that security has allegedly been stepped up in the areas of concern, about 8 more girls were abducted solidifies the need for the government to relocate all the families living in the danger zones with immediate effect. Most of the families that are left in the most dangerous areas are poor and don’t have the option of relocating or the means to do so. The families of our missing girls need to be relocated at the expense of the government until there is a response to bring their daughters back.

My greatest fear, which has already began to be played out in Nigeria, is that the focus of this campaign will somehow be lost on the cutting room floor of the prejudices and power-hungry tendencies that consumes almost every African society. Whispers of “It’s this one planning to bring this one down…, No it’s those ones scheming to destroy these one’s” is already polluting the air. For God’s sake, we should stop making this issue a political, ethnic or religious one on the expense of the lives of our Chibok teenage girls. Children’s lives are at stake here and every Nigerian regardless of political affiliation, ethnic or religious differences should make every effort in unity, in seeking for the rescue of these innocent teenage girls.

At every point, until our girls are found, we must remind ourselves that our focus has got to remain steadfast on the rescue of the girls. There is a time and a place for everything and this is not the time for Nigerians to politicize or tribalize this issue. No matter ones view or theories on all the sundry concerns that surrounds the awkward and mottled tapestry of Nigeria, this one matter has got to be about bringing our girls back home safely.

There are so many steps that the government should take; amongst which setting up an enquiry panel which will investigate how over 200 students could so brazenly be taken from a hostel in a state that is already under martial law should be paramount. But for now, the focus must remain on getting our girls back.

So, despite the fanatical rambling of a raving lunatic that has nothing to show for effort other than an out of control, trembling right hand, completely misguided ideology and sins that only Allah can adequately give dire punishment for, the kidnap of #TheChibokGirls is not about religion. In spite of veiled implications via an astounding public meltdown of a first lady, the mass abduction of young girls is not about a conspiracy against a president. Even with the finger pointing along political, ethnic and regional lines, we cannot allow the threat of the trafficking of 223 of our young girls to be manipulated in the interest of party, tribal or regional lines. By giving this atrocity a reason, we are acknowledging and giving an identity to it and playing right into the kidnappers’ arms. No, our focus has got to be about just our girls and on bringing them home safely.

Time is the merciless enemy. And as the clock ticks, the plight of our girls grows ever more desperate. It is imperative for the government to step up and assert its authority against this horror. For those of us in the public bleeding inside, we will utilize every tool available to us including the awesome power of the media because all that matters at this stage is for us to ensure that they #BringBackOurGirls.

If only we knew... wear red dresses for some days. Today, we are not just faced with the likely tragic consequences of the move to save the girls from the bloodied hands of their demented abductors; we are also battling to clean up a mess that has exposed us to international derision! If we had known, maybe we would have insisted that those saddled with the responsibility of keeping us safe should live up to that mandate instead of this inchoate melodrama in this season of woe.

To be candid, we have always known that the present administration has tauntingly continued to wave its woeful flag of incompetence in our faces. What we never knew, or ever thought could happen, was how determined it was to dance naked before the international audience. It is really sad that this has to happen at the time the First Lady was busy bungling her one-man probe into the Chibok abduction shameful story. Regardless of the religious, political and even ethnic coloration that have been surreptitiously introduced into the abduction of the school girls, the world had waited with bated breath for the unveiling of a presidential master plan for rescuing the girls. Clearly, they were not expecting that a fidgety President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan would come on air to tell them that he was also in the dark like every other person on the whereabouts of the girls! Unfortunately, that was the summation of what he told the world during Sunday’s Presidential Media Chat which was full of words and empty on substance. What we saw was a President mumbling on and on about the tragic failings in governance while blaming every other person but himself. When a Commander-In-Chief talks of death the way he did, then the rest of us should scamper for safety at the mention of Boko Haram!

Like someone said, we do owe Jonathan a word of gratitude for being forthright with his ignorance on some key national issues, including his capacity to be outlandishly extemporaneous in stultifying his audience. In moments like this, you can’t help applying the soothing effect that comes from a rare brew of crying and laughing at our ill luck. Even in moments of riotous rage, you can’t but giggle when our President turned out to be defender-in-chief for almost everything that has gone wrong with governance. Where on earth did he get the philosophical calmness to announce to a stupefied audience that he did not know the location of the abducted girls? Yet, at the same time, he was promising a rescue operation with the “cooperation of their parents and guardians?” What relevance is a presidential change of countenance each time law-abiding citizens were mauled down while the Presidency keeps on with the rituals of offering platitudes?

For the record, Jonathan should know that he was not voted into that powerful office to wring his hands in surrender while terrorists and their sponsors make life miserable for the rest of us! And if he insists of being a ‘President’ to all, including the blood-sucking insurgents, shouldn’t he evolve a strategy of asking them to sheathe their swords and allow others to have their peace?

By the way, why does the President get unnecessarily edgy anytime he is asked to justify his sickening inaction in calling some of his aides to order? Aside from claiming ignorance of his Petroleum Minister’s move to obtain an injunction against being summoned by the House of Representatives to answer questions on the N10bn allegedly expended on a private jet by her office, the President would also berate the legislature for the frequent summons extended to the cabinet members. How petty? As President, he ought to know that the Constitution does not specify the number of times a particular aide can be summoned to clarify issues. Whatever his fears about the ‘politics’ playing out in the National Assembly with majority of the members coming from his party, it should bother him that Mrs Diezani Alison Madueke would rather seek an injunction from the court instead of seizing the opportunity provided by the probe to clear her name of any misconduct in the use of the private jet. How can the President accuse the legislature of entrenching parliamentary dictatorship when he envelopes himself in the garment of executive cluelessness and official recklessness?

It is also surprising that the President continues to live in self-delusion that mind-boggling corruption is not at the heart of our problem. In fact, his attempt to redefine corruption explains why official sleaze would continue to remain an unwritten principle directive of state policy. With his usual dismissive poise, Jonathan told an awestruck populace that: “People have been confusing corruption with stealing. If public officers steal money they term it under corruption.” What is the right word for it then? Graft or obtaining by false means? Sir, do we then call it petty thievery and allow the culprits walk away with a slap on the wrists even if the billions they have ‘stolen’ have impoverished thousands of pensioners? How do we label those who siphoned the subsidy funds and contractors who, in connivance with civil servants and politicians, cream off billions of Naira from the economy without turning a sod on any project?

What tag do we affix to the breast pockets of those briefcase businessmen and rent seeking agents hanging around the corridors of power, fleecing our collective inheritance at the behest of those entrusted with its safety? Petty thievery?

It is really intriguing that a man who once linked his slowness in taking prompt action to being extremely cautious in making mistakes would be the one defending the multiple mistakes being made by his aides and hangars-on. We now understand the perennial lethargy in government. With the elasticity of perception and implicit approval given to the tendency to err deliberately, it is clear that some persons would be pardoned even if they spend billions of naira to buy toothpicks or spend it on laundry offshore. But, while at it, we can only pray that such benumbing elasticity does not spread to the key function of ensuring our safety and security as Shekau continues to hold sway from Sambisa Forest!

Whatever it is, just bring our girls back safely!

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

NEWS

•Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State (right) performing the dust-to-dust rite at the funeral service of the late Otun Iyalode of Ibadanland and founder/proprietress of Omolewa Nursery and Primary School, Ibadan, Chief (Mrs.) Gladys Aduke Vaughan, at the Cathedral of St. Peter's Church, Aremo, Ibadan, on Thursday. With him are the children of the deceased.

•Gov. Akpabio presenting a plaque to the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremandu, during a courtesy call on the governor in Uyo.

Five suspected kidnappers killed in escape bid IVE suspected kidnappers who attempted to escape from custody have been killed in a cross fire between members of their gang and men of the Edo State Police Command.

The suspects are Osaro Victor, Smart Uche, Osarumwhen Ekibise, , Lucky Ekhator and Osai Friday.

They died from bullets wound before they could get to the hospital.

The shooting occurred at a forest

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n Osagie OTABOR, Benin n near Oluku along the Benin-Akure express road while police were taking the suspects to their hideouts to recover arms and operational materials of the suspects.

Police Commissioner, Foluso Adebanjo, told newsmen that the suspects were arrested in connection to the kidnap of a female in Benin City.

Adebanjo said other members of

the gang ambushed the policemen at the hideouts and rained bullets at the Volkswagen car, a decoy car used by the police.

He said the arrested suspects took advantage of the surprise attack to escape but were hit during the exchange of gunfire.

The police boss said the suspects were rushed to the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, but died before help came.

Items recovered from the suspects'

hideout, according to the police boss, were two pump action gun, 65 live cartridges, one double barrel gun, two Toyota Camry cars and one black Range Rover jeep.

A video recording, made available to newsmen, showed one of the suspects, Lucky, confessing to the crime after being shot.

Lucky said the kidnapping was the second he participated in before he was caught.

'Fayemi to use eight-point agenda to empower cyclists, civil servants' OMMERCIAL motorcyclists, also known as Okada riders, teachers and civil servants in Ekiti State will receive prime attention in the next administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi.

This disclosure was made at the weekend by the Direc-

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Confab: Igbo group tasks northern delegates on national unity N Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF) has tasked the northern delegates to the ongoing national conference to consider national unity in their agenda.

The group, in a communiqué jointly signed by its President and Secretary General Messrs Augustine Chukwudum and Chinedu Onyebuchi, at the end of its annual convention said: “We call on stakeholders and elder statesmen to be careful of utterances that can lead to chaos in the country. We therefore urge northern delegates to the ongoing national conference to discard tribal sentiment and prove to other regions of the federation that the unity of the country is sacrosanct.

“A memo circulated by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) to the Northern delegates at the conference whose main objective is to work against the agitation for the creation of an additional state for the South-east region. The reasons given by the Northern delegates lack merit because facts have shown that in the United States of America (USA), whose model of democracy we copied, has many states with varying land masses and population.

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tor-General, Kayode Fayemi n Sulaiman SALAWUDEEN, Ado-Ekiti n Campaign Organisation, rent administrations achieveHon. Bimbo Daramola, dur- ments in all areas of human ing a meeting with traders, life in the state, said, "We canartisans, commercial motor- not hope for more from a cyclists and various other governor who has proved to groups, in Ado-Ekiti, capital be on top of the situation in of the state.

Ekiti in the last three and a Daramola, who noted that half years." the eight-point agenda had Daramola said Governor been responsible for the cur- Kayode Fayemi has used his

agenda as a roadmap for the recovery of the state in critical areas of education, infrastructure, health, tourism, employment generation and empowerment programmes.

"I have to assure our people that Fayemi's second term in office will be primarily focused on genuine empowerment of various categories of

our people.

"While our roads are beautiful, our hospitals and schools now bear such names not notionally but actually, the work to be done are the humans who are to move in their vehicles on those roads and make use of various other services the administration has provided.”

Rostrum caves in as Fayose campaigns in Ekiti HE governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and other party bigwigs were feared to have sustained varying degrees of bruises yesterday when the podium used for his campaign collapsed.

The campaign, which was being transmitted live on the Nigerian Television Authority network, was temporarily halted as the aides rushed to

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•PDP guber candidate charges members on commitment n Sulaiman SALAWUDEEN, Ado-Ekiti n offer helping hands to Fayose and other party chieftains.

Reacting to the development, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Hon. Taiwo Olatunbosun, clarified that the development was proof that "Fayose's mission in Ifaki-Ekiti was essentially opposed to the wakeful spirits of

former governor Segun Oni whose ancestral land was being desecrated."

According to the former Information Commissioner during Oni's regime, "Fayose and his cohorts were too small to confront giants like Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Oni whose achievements were too obvious and overwhelming to be dis-

paraged by a rejected band."

Olatunbosun maintained that "the fall of the podium on which Fayose was campaigning offered telling affirmations that he was set on a mission which would equally cave in under his feet and collapse like a pack of cards. It is proof that he is set about a mission which does not carry the sanction of the ancestors and progenitors of our dear people and state.

Ex-Ohaneze president Uwechue buried amidst eulogies in Delta HE remains of Nigeria’s first envoy to France and ex-President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Ambassador Raph Uwechue were yesterday interred in his country home at Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha -South L.G.A. Delta State, amidst encomiums and eulogies.

His remains were lowered into the grave at his country home, “African House” at exactly 2.30 p.m.

Notable dignitaries who graced the occasion included President Goodluck Jonathan, represented by the Secretary to the Federal Government, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, Delta Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, former Secretary-General Commonwealth of Nations, Mr. Emeka Anyaoku, Minister of Works, Emeka Worgu, exAnambra Governor, Peter Obi, Delta Deputy Governor, Prof Amos Utuama (SAN), Senator Chris Ngige and former Anambra State Governor, Emeka Ezeife.

Others include Senator Arthur

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n Okungbowa AIWERIE, Asaba n Okowa, Prof Eze Laz Ekwueme, Rear -Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Ossai Ossai, member House of Representatives.

Earlier a funeral mass was held at the St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Ogwashi-Uku. In his homily, Most Rev. Dr Michael Odogwu Elue, Catholic Bishop of Isselu-Uku Diocese, said not only is it the desire of human beings to live long, the death of a loved one often bring pains.

He said despite the fact that man does all to avoid death, death is inevitable. He stressed that the death of a loved one is a painful experience.

According to him, “the resurrection of Christ came to cushion the pain of death.”

He said three things which standout at the death of a Christian are a restatement of the resurrection of Christ, the recall of the baptism and the resurrection of Christ.

He said Amb. Raph

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Uwechue was washed clean in the baptism of the Eucharist.

According to him, “death is a leveller, it is the same for the rich as for the poor”, adding that though the congregation has come to commit the mortal remains of the deceased to earth, it is with the hope of resurrection.”

He said the Archdiocese of Isselu-Uku has lost “a very gentle, quiet, generous benefactor”, adding that Uwechue “relates with every one of us, and pays quiet attention to the welfare of the ordinary people.”

He described the death of anyone is an opportunity to re-examine their own lives, noting that death of another should shake us into the reality to make preparations for our own journey.

President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by Anyim Pius Anyim (SGF), described Uwechue as “an epitome of the finest ideals of international diplomacy and uncommon commitment to dedicated service to the fatherland”

He said Raph Uwechue served “the nation at the highest levels in various capacities and remained unwavering in the defence of unity, peace, and stability of Nigeria.”

Delta State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, said he was deeply touched by Uweuche's involvement in conflict resolution, adding that “there are many Raph Uwechue in Nigeria”, while appealing that such persons should avail their expertise to Nigeria at this difficult period of insecurity.

His words: “What I want to appeal is that for those who have experiences in conflict resolution. Nigeria currently needs your expertise. There is no doubt that we have a very serious issue at hand. Many international communities are coming to assist, but I also believe that the best assistance will come from within. For those of us who have the expertise, let us lend our hands of fellowship and support to Mr. President.”

Amaechi swears-in new revenue board chairman, others •Governor says more funds needed to complete ongoing projects IVERS State Governor and Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has said that his administration would need more funds from the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to complete ongoing projects in the state.

He noted that it is the responsibility of the state Board of Internal Revenue to ensure that more funds accrue to the state from taxes and levies to assist the government in its expenditure.

Amaechi spoke shortly after simultaneously swearing in the chairman of the State Board of Internal Revenue, Onene Osila Obele-Oshoko and three members of the State Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

The three JSC members are Mr Tom Jackson Orage, Mr Tonye Lolomari and High Chief Ambrose Igbokwe Nwuzi.

After the brief swearing-in and oath-taking ceremony, which held at the Executive Council Chambers of Government House, Port Harcourt on Friday, Governor Amaechi congratulated all the appointees and urged them to rededicate themselves to their responsibilities and service to the state.

He recalled that the state revenue base jumped up shortly after he became governor of Rivers State and urged Onene Oshoko to plug all loopholes in tax payments to sustain the increase in IGR. “When we took over government, it was N2.5 billion in a month. We have gotten to N6 billion, and I hear we are doing an average of N8 billion now. It's still not enough. Our recurrent expenditure has gone up to N8.9 billion, so we need to be able to make between N10 and N11 billion for the IGR to be able to at least handle our recurrent expenditure.

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THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

COMMENTARY 61

Re- Buhari, Tinubu and the fierce urgency of now egun, the APC faulty political approach at winning the 2015 presidential elections isn’t a theoretical elite matter that can simply be made good with the declaration of pious intentions. Capturing votes from the people is a practical thing and has to do with the electorate whose sense of purpose can’t just be wished away even with attractive logical conclusions. It neither flouts common sense nor offends reason on the part of the party to allow the rule of expediency and wisdom to guide its footsteps in the interest of all concerned. Leaders emerging through Muslim-Muslim ticket could turn out to produce the Nigerian nation of our dream forthwith no doubt but it is better to face the reality on the ground than being carried away with sweeping generalisations that border more on logical reasons, Emmannuel Egwu, 08037921541 *Happy Sunday Mr Segun, I must commend you on your piece. It did not only make an interesting reading but also dissuade so many Nigerians from using religious sentiment to truncate our collective resolve to usher in a new political order come 2015. I am a Christian from Akwa Ibom State but I must confess that there is no politician that can be compared to Buhari and there is no Christian running mate that will be as power• Buhari ful as Tinubu. My wish is to witness in my lifetime how Nigeria becomes a giant of Africa, a nation devoid of tribalism and corruption. Please keep on educating the people, Thomas Thomas, Uyo, 08029300123 *APC Hausa-Fulani and Yoruba agenda will fail, 08063693335 My brother, SegunAyobolu, you made my day with your column of yesterday. God bless you, Anonymous, Osogbo *Egbon Segun, I agree totally with you. The fierce urgency of change needs passionate consideration and not religious bigotry and sanctimonious posturing. A Tam David West versus a Femi FaniKayode? The latter is a Lilliputian. FaniKayode is but trusted like the fox a la James Hardly Chase, 08110190709 *Sege, an old school mate at Saint Anthony Secondary School Ilorin agrees with you on your write up on Buhari and Tinubu, Tony Iyeh, 08063983535 Bravo for your incisive and factual write up on Saturday. We need an upright, courageous and visionary leader to steer the ship of state away from the treacherous rapids of insurgency threatening to drown us all.

Please relent not, 07031677944 *Sege, you are not being realistic. Muslim-Muslim ticket will give Jonathan cheap victory. Buhari may be good but his utterances in the past have shown him as an ethnic or religious bigot. The truth I know could be bitter, 08051103922 *How can anybody ever be contemplating a BuhariTinubu presidency? Apart from being a Muslim-Muslim ticket, these are two very strong characters who command followership in their separate domains. It will amount to having two presidents at a time. And in any case the party does not belong to them only so why should they corner the juiciest positions? APC would be making a big mistake if they don’t drop this idea, 08023019889 *Honestly Bola Tinubu is the most sophisticated, pragmatic, dogged and dynamic politician with the largest political followership in the country today. As for General Buhari, his followership in the North is unequalled. No one can stand his integrity in Nigeria.

Buhari can be the next Mandela. If we truly want this inept, incompetent, corrupt, arrogant and primitive leadership of PDP to end then the best is a BuhariTinubu ticket. This will restore credibility, security and good governance to the country. This is not the time to talk about religion. I am a Christian but that is not the issue. No more Azonto dancing, 08033394837 *Mr. Segun, thanks for the good work but I will not leave you alone. The PDP has not spent 15 years in power not to talk of 16. Mr Ayobolu, some columns are veritable sources of teaching materials for some of us, Charles Iyoha, Chairman, Academy Limited, 07033775454 *Dear sir, your earlier article last week was well thought out, an article from the heart. I was disappointed that you changed your mind so soon. I love Tinubu

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• Tinubu

very well but I don’t think it is fair for us to ask him to be a running mate or to present a Muslim-Muslim ticket. APC should throw it away. Ahmed Tinubu is bigger than that, Abiodun, Surulere, 08050219909 *Buhari is an extremist and allowing such a person to become president at this time will spell doom for Nigeria. I believe that most Nigerians will rather vote for an incompetent Jonathan than a religious bigot taking into consideration what we have seen and gone through in the hands of the Islamic extremists. Let the APC look for a younger and liberal Muslim from the North, GbotemiOrijeka, Omuo-Ekiti, 08032225597 *When people like the Emir of Adamawa and Governor Nyako can talk nonsense without considering others and our APC keeps quiet then let everyone go their way. Buhari and Tinubu fine but who wants this nation wiped out by Hausa-Fulani Islamic fundamentalists? 08033798382 *Segun, inasmuch as I agree with you on this issue of Buhari-Tinubu ticket, I strongly disagree with your analysis of Christians taking other positions. We are not in a religious competition but in viability testing as a country. Muslims can be in all positions so far they follow the law but the fact remains that the Muslim community in Nigeria must apologise to the Christian community for truncating the June 12, 1993, election of Muslim-Muslim ticket, Obikoya Oladele, 08189507816 *Segun, I often agree with most of your comments but the only way for APC presidency in Nigeria is Kwankwaso/Oshiomhole ticket. Let Buhari remain party leader and Tinubu Senate President. You need to listen otherwise Jonathan will win. Big shame if PDP loses, Comrade Ade, Action Alliance for Good Governance in Nigeria, 08088255828 *Sir, forget about religion in politics. APC should take Buhari/Amaechi or Oshiomhole. APC should give a different ticket from public permutation even though I love Tinubu because he is a planner, Adekoya Muyiwa, Gbagada, 08035313169 *Dear Mr Ayobolu, please continue to write on this issue from various angles until Nigerians continue to begin to think aright. Buhari-Tinubu ticket is what Niheria needs now. I am Ibo and a born again Christian but the truth is that tribalism and religion have destroyed us and we need these men to salvage us, 08035410243 *Segun, please add that Buhari was one time governor of old Borno State. He knows how to move into North East and terminate insurgency. He knows how to ensure proper use of funds given to military commanders, UdemeUkpong Please you need to send this piece to the social media.

Nigerians need to read this beautiful piece of work by you because you write like a prophet. God bless you, 08161817776 *I agree with your article today. Though I am a Christian, I will march with Buhari/Tinubu ticket to

give us good governance unlike what we are witnessing now, S.O. Olagoke, Ibadan, 07087726651 *Segun, this is a highly objective and intellectual masterpiece. Until Nigerians rise above religious and ethnic frivolities and tow the path of objectivity, this nation cannot join the league of progressive nations. Sentiments apart, I think in this circumstance, this ticket can rebuild Nigeria even though I am a Christian, Anonymous *Thank you very much Mr Segun. Keep on enlightening people, 08065988557 *So Fashola and Oshiomhole are not good enough just because you have been ’settled’.

Shame on you, 08033603023 *I just read your article on Buhari and Tinubu. Don’t let us mince words. If APC attempts such a venture it will be a disaster as they will lose heavily.

You have to be more realistic in your analysis, Gbenga Bamgbose, Ibadan, 08152572815 *Segun, I am a great admirer of your column every Saturday.

I have a lot of love and respect for Professor Tam David West but I totally disagree with your analysis of APC MuslimMuslim ticket. In Abiola’s time it was possible but in present day Nigeria, APC will be committing suicide if they try it.

The Christians in Middle Belt, South-South, South-East and even the liberal South West will revolt and things might fall apart while the centre may not be able to hold, Uncle EyilesanAjibola, 08023500760 *I read Illuminations column on Buhari-Tinubu ticket.

It’s okay but is this country going to accept that with all these CAN members junketing with the ruling class?

That’s my fear because we didn’t have this set of people during Abiola/Kingibe era. God wiil give APC the Wisdom of Solomon to do it right, JenyoAdebisi, 08182087116 *Masterpiece! Exceedingly illuminating. Catch you in the Villa 2015!,08033228564 *Dear Bolu, the only hope left for us in the country is electoral victory of APC come 2015. I beg you in the name of God to stop promoting this Muslim-Muslim ticket idea of yours. It will not work, 08070997674 *Thank you for the presentation of the response of an enigma and renowned neurologist like Professor Tam David West as regards this Buhari-Tinubu ticket. If APC reasons this way, this ticket will pave the way for a straight fight with PDP and possibly send it packing.

God be with Nigeria, B. I. Aguda, Ekiti State Coordinator, Oodua Redemption Alliance, 08028838606 *The biggest mistake APC will make is to merge two Muslims together as President and Vice President. If they do that, they won’t win this election. So you call us in South-South, South-East and North-Central fools?,08091595261 *God will immensely bless you for coming out boldly to endorse the Buhari-Tinubu ticket in your piece today.

Their combination for the 2015 election is the best for now. I have been voting for Buhari since 2003. With Asiwaju’s mettle in the South West in the last one decade, I have been doffing my hat for him, Deji, 08030824100 *You are on point Segun. All the noise about MuslimMuslim ticket not going to fly is due to fear of how well it will do because of the personalities involved. Who cares if Hindu-Hindu ticket can make my country better?

(I am a Christian anyway), 08053562380 *This is an election period, for the opposition party to field Muslim-Muslim candidates will be a bad gamble.

The reason is that the ruling party has politicised religion to such an abysmal level that an all Muslim ticket will not augur well with Christians because of the menace of terror ravaging the polity, LaideOwadusi, 08021483687 *Ayobolu, your article is so well written and thank you for your boldness. I voted for former President Obasanjo not because he was a Christian. I just felt he was good enough to clear the confusion in the country then. That is history now but in the elections since Obasanjo’s first coming, I have always voted for General Buhari to satisfy my conscience. Buhari/Tinubu ticket would be fantastic and I will vote for them even if mine will be the only vote. I believe in them to do this country proud, SeargentTarbundeAgovson, Gboko-South, Benue State, 08035935995

THE NATION

62 NEWS

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IGERIA'S hosting of the World Economic Fo rum (WEF) has secured fresh investments of $68 billion for Africa.

The Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, Mr Phillip Rosler, said that a fresh investment commitment of $68bn has been secured for the African continent as a result of Nigeria's hosting of the international conference and this amount would be invested in key sectors of the African economy such as education, health, infrastructure

SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

WEF: Africa gets fresh $68bn investment •President Jonathan approves additional $10m for safe school project Nduka CHIEJINA (Assistant Editor) and agriculture, among others.

According to the WEF boss, "to put the money together which was committed by the Chinese and others, we have about $68bn in the next years for Africa and the African

people for specific project like infrastructure, energy, healthcare and very importantly education."

Phillip Rosler praised Nigeria's hosting of the forum as one of the most successful in the history of the organisation, giving the large turnout of over 1,000 del-

egates at a time of grave security challenges in the country.

On the security challenge Nigeria is facing, Phillip Rosler noted that by successfully hosting the World Economic Forum, the Federal Government has been able to secure huge solidarity around the world on the need to end terrorism. He insisted that "we will not allow terrorists to dictate the African agenda. And this is the main message from

this WEF. And let me say again that we will make sure that all these projects are successful in Africa."

Also at the event, it was revealed that President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the sum of $10 million (N1.6 billion) for the safe school project. Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi OkonjoIweala, disclosed this also at the media briefing that the $10 million would be added to the

initial $10 million provided on Wednesday by the Nigerian business community, bringing the total amount for the project to $20 million (N3.2 billion) This additional contribution, she said, became necessary to guarantee the safety of all schools in order to prevent the future abduction of school children like the one that happened at Chibok, Borno State from repeating itself.

Amosun rescinds decision on TASUED

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•Managing Editor, Online & Special Duties of The Nation Newspapers, Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin, his wife, Ronke, and children, from right, Damilola, Yemisi, Femi and Daniel, assisting their father to cut his 50th birthday cake at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, Lagos...yesterday Photo: Dayo ADEWUNMI

Osun Speaker tasks police on intercepted arms-laden car

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HE Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam, has called on security agencies in the state to investigate the mystery behind the arms and ammunition found in a car intercepted by the police at Ikirun, Ifelodun Local Government Area, and reveal

Bamidele picks civil servant as running mate Sulaiman SALAWUDEEN, Ado-Ekiti

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Deputy Director with the Ekiti State Public Service, Alhaja Mariam Ogunlade, has been picked by the gubernatorial candidate for the Labour Party (LP) in the June 21 governorship election, Mr Opeyemi Bamidele, as his running mate.

Bamidele, who made the announcement yesterday at a news conference at his Iyin-Ekiti residence, said Alhaja Ogunlade voluntarily retired from active service a few days ago.

He said the retired director would replace Mrs. Bolanle Bruce, a journalist, whose name was initially submitted to the INEC. Bamidele told newsmen that 19 prominent members of the LP vied for the post, but that he chose Ogunlade because of her career as a respectable civil servant with 33 years experience.

He said Ogunlade’s Muslim background and the need to be gender-sensitive prompted him to select her as a running mate and explained that his choice of a running mate, who hails from Emure-Ekiti in the southern part of the state, was to compensate people from the area.

Adesoji ADENIYI, Osogbo those behind it.

In a statement signed by his Press Secretary, Mr. Goke Butika, the Speaker said that the discovery had further reinforced the fear of the people about the plot of the opposition to destabilize the state.

He said: “The purpose of the cache of arms loaded in a vehicle in Osun must not only be unveiled, the suspects must be made to reveal other areas where guns and dangerous

ammunition are being kept for use in the forthcoming governorship election.

“We have learnt about some political players who are boasting that they would turn the state to a theatre of war during the forthcoming governorship election. And now that a vehicle heavily loaded with guns has been seized at Ikirun, the need for security agencies to be proactive has become imperative.”

Salaam tasked the people of the state to be vigilant and to protect the prevailing peace reigning in the state.

GUN State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, may have rescinded his government’s decision to scrap the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, IjebuOde, saying that the institution “will continue to exist.”

Speaking at the prayer session to mark the 80th birthday of the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, at the Central Mosque, IjebuOde, Amosun said the controversy surrounding the government’s action in February 2012 has been resolved.

“TASUED has come to stay. The school is back to life and will continue to exist.

Very soon than you expect, the Governing Council of Tai Solarin University of Education will be constituted to enhance its smooth running,” he said.

The government had announced that the institution would be affiliated to the Faculty of Education of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, a decision which was greeted with divergent views.

The governor thanked the Awujale for his fatherly intervention on matters relating to the existence of the institution which is the first university of education in Nigeria.

The governor, at the prayer session which had Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos and the former governor of Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu among other prominent dignitaries in attendance, de-

scribed the Awujale as a lover of Ijebu race “who will do anything without looking back for the sake of his people.”

“Kabiyesi’s fatherly counsel by extension on both state and national issues cannot be overemphasized,” Amosun added, while also praying God to grant him many more years of impacting on the nation.

Olowoporoku CAC inaugurates Iyana Ilogbo Assembly

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HRIST Apostolic Church (CAC) OkeIyanu, Olowoporoku Mafoluku District Headquarters will inaugurate a new assembly today at Iludun, Iyana-Ilogbo, Ogun State.

The event will be coordinated under the leadership of the District Superintendent, Pastor John A. Oni, and the presiding minister of the new assembly, Evangelist Matthew A. Olapite.

The event will have in at-

tendance personalities from all walks of life, especially members ranging from the District Headquarters in Mafoluku, CAC Wonderland, Alamo and the host assembly and its environs.

The pastors and the entire church members consider the occasion as a golden opportunity to glorify God. Pastor Oni, in a brief interview, expressed the church’s gratitude to the Zonal Chairman, Pastor G. O. A. Dare, for his support.

THE NATION SATURDAY, 10, 2014

63

SPORT EXTRA 2015 AYC QUALIFIER

Flying Eagles battle ready for Tanzania

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IGERIA’S Flying Eagles will take on hosts Ngorongoro Heroes of Tanzania in a 2015 AYC qualifier on Sunday, while praying it does not rain on the day.

It has been raining for the past week here in Dar es Salaam, but weather forecasts suggest it would be sunny on match day at the National Stadium.

The Flying Eagles have had a first feel of the National Stadium pitch, which has an even grass and is soft and muddy because of the rains.

“You have to add some power to the pass if not it could hold it back from its intended target,” said assistant coach Nduka Ugbade.

“The pitch is okay but should it rain, we would need to play with hard-stud boots,” said Kelechi Iheanacho, who led several other players like Izu Omego and Joshua Enaholo to shop for new boots Friday morning.

Tanzania U-20 assistant coach, Mohamed Ayoub, was also at the Flying Eagles first training, but must have been hugely disappointed as the Nigeria U20s did not play a two-a-side game for him to pick up some key points about the visiting team.

The Flying Eagles, on the other hand, are armed with a comprehensive dossier on their

opponents from NFF technical officer Rafiu Yusuf, who watched Tanzania hold hosts Kenya to a goalless draw last month.

The report said the Ngorongoro Heroes have a good and compact defence, but they are not great shooters in front of goal as they prefer to work the ball into the net.

It was also noted that they parade a creative midfield with some gifted players.

Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba has made it very clear he wishes to win well in

Tanzania so that the return leg in Nigeria a fortnight later would just be to fulfill all righteousness.

He therefore wants to add more force to the attacking partnership of Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’ and Taiwo Awoniyi he started in a 1-0 loss in Benin last week.

Manchester City youngsters Kelechi Iheanacho and Chidiebere pepped up the strike force in Cotonou when they were introduced in the second half and they are likely to now start in midfield on Sunday.

•Manu Garba during a training session with Flying Eagles

Foreign-based’ll get us goals —Falcons coach UPER Falcons Coach Edwin Okon is optimistic that the team’s low goal scoring problem will be solved by the foreign-based professionals invited for the Africa women championship (AWC) clash with Rwanda.

The inability of the Nigeria senior women team to convert scoring opportunities has been a major concern to coach Okon and his assistants. It was very glaring when they managed to beat Cameroon 1-0 in a friendly after creating several chances.

But the coach is hopeful that the trio of Pepertua Nkwocha, Oparanozie Desire and Francisca Ordega who are among the eight invited foreign pros would score plenty goals for the team.

According to the coach, the invited professionals must however prove that they are better than the home-based

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players to get the nod to play against Rwanda.

Speaking after Friday’s training coach Okon said everybody in the team will get equal chance to make the team that will travel to Kigali to play Rwanda on May 24.

“There is no automatic jersey for anybody no matter where you are coming from. They are all Nigerians and have equal right to the team. All I want is the best for the country and so I will use the best “I am glad that the foreign based players will start arriving next week to camp and I know they would be great additions to the team and hopefully help solve the team’s poor goals-scoring record” he stated Coach said that he and his assistants are working tirelessly to ensure that the home based players are in good shape before the coming of the eight foreign-based

players.

The players invited are Perpetua Nkwocha (Sunnana SK,Sweden), Sarah Micheal (KIF Orebro, Sweden), Francisca Ordega (Pitea

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OUR players were on Friday shown the revolving exit of the Golden Eaglets’ CJ Planet International Hotel Camp in Abuja as Coach Emmanuel Amuneke wielded the stick after repeated warning against poor performance and conduct by his fledging players.

The players who got the marching order were Kingsley Michael; Okonkwo Orji; Chibuzor Ibekwe and Paul Obasi; even as he advised the rest to pull their weight since no undisciplined conduct would be tolerated both on and off the field of play.

“I really want to thank all of

•Praise Oshiomhole, Itemuagbor Over Okpekpe Race •Sympathy Over Pa Itemuagbor’s Death country. Minister, we can assure you as a body that Omorodion will not fail you and the nation. Most importantly, you have a man who will tell you the true state of affairs in Nigerian sports only for the betterment of the system”, the statement declared.

The ESMP, also took time off to praise Edo state Governor Adams Oshiomhole, over his fresh strides in sports through the 10km Okpekpe race. The initiator of the race, Mike Itemuagbor also received plaudits for his heroics, with the body hoping that the international athletics body, IAAF, will quickly grant the race the much desired gold status.

“Apart from his giant strides in infrastructural development,

IF,Sweden), Onome Ebi (Minsk FC, Belarus), Osinachi Ohale (Houston Dash, United States), Faith Ikidi (Pitea IF, Sweden), Desire Oparanozie (Atasehir Belediyespor, Turkey) and Helen Ukaonu (Sunnana SK, Sweden).

Golden Eaglets drop four

Edo media practitioners hail Minister over Omorodion HE umbrella body of Edo sports journalists in the country, under the aegis of Edo Sports Media Practitioners, have been reviewing its recent activities, with the leadership of the body saying that Nigerian sports may after all be on the right path under new Sports Minister Tamuno Danagogo.

A statement issued Friday by the body’s Chairman Osaretin Emuzie and Secretary Smarts Ebhodaghe, said it was particularly thrilled with the appointment of one of its members, Patrick Omorodion of the Vanguard Newspapers as the new Special Adviser to the Sports Minister. “Omorodion has been a shinning light in sports journalism in Nigeria and it took a discerning Minister to pick him out of the glut of sports journalists in the

Match tickets are 2,000 Tanzanian schillings (about 200 Naira) for the cheap seats and 5,000 schillings for the VIP stand.

Kick-off is 4pm local time, which is 2pm Nigerian time.

Match officials are from DR Congo led by Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo. The other referees are Oliver safari Kabene, Nabina Blaise Sebutu and Mupemba Ignace Nkongolo.

Match commissioner is Antoine Ralph Danny from Seychelles.

Governor Oshiomhole is also demonstrating a rare taste for sporting excellence through his support for the internationally acclaimed Okpekpe race and his drive to bring back the glory days of Bendel Insurance FC”, the statement further added.

“For Mike Itemuagbor, we have always known him as a man of excellence and we are not surprised that he initiated this wonderful testimonial of the abilities and potentials of the average Edo man”.

The statement finally commiserated with Itemuagbor over the passage of his father, Chief Pius Itemuagbor, who died at the age of 94, two days after the last Okpekpe race. “We know he died a fulfilled man and we cannot but pray God to grant his soul eternal rest”.

you for what you have done so far but the truth of the matter is that some of you are not doing enough and as a matter of fact, we won’t also condone indiscipline on the part of anybody,” said Amuneke, the former African Footballer of the Year.

He said he was miffed with the conduct of some of the players following the team’s relative success at the recently concluded WAFU B Tournament in Togo and categorically told the players that no individual player is bigger than the team or the country.

“Without discipline, we can’t get to anywhere and achieve anything as such, we want you to remain focussed and disciplined, “he maintained The tough decision of the coaching crew notwithstanding, both Obasi and Ibekwe were magnanimous in praising the technical crew as well as praying for the overall success of the team in the days ahead.

•Amuneke

Compensation list •Continued from back Mexico friendly simply because the technical committee resisted the inclusion of goalkeeper Agbi. It leaves this writer with the conclusion that Agbim would be picked ahead of a bench-warming Akpeyi as the third goalkeeper. Our prayers will be that goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama should not be injured. We would be in big soup especially, if such an injury keeps Enyeama out of the next game(s). Austin Ejide is equally as efficient and exposed as Enyeama. But Ejide is injury prone. Not a few Nigerians would leave their seats for the bed, if they see Agbim warming up to replace either of the goalkeepers. This argument seems far-fetched. But the opposition can wilfully injure Enyeama, if he is their stumbling block to score goals. It happened to Nigeria against Italy, where the Italians ensured that they took out Daniel Amokachi and Emmanuel Amuneke. Once they succeeded, our USA’94 World Cup campaign was over.

The Eagles defence has been the team’s pivot. They stuck together to give the midfielders and attackers the effrontery to surge forward during Nigeria’s matches.

One really doesn’t know why the coaches opted to return Oshaniwa to the fold after his jittery display in the final game at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations which Nigeria won. Oshaniwa shouldn’t be in Nigeria’s final 23, if the coaches consider the Mundial as a serious business.

One would have thought that the coaches would have considered one of the age-grade defenders, especially in the left back position where Elderson Echiejile hasn’t been playing for Monaco FC in France like his contemporaries in other Europe leagues.

Nigerian coaches who would see Chinedu Obasi play so well for Schalke 04 in the German Bundesliga, yet invite Nnamdi Oduamadi for the World Cup campaign, even when he isn’t a regular for his Italia Serie B side.

Only God knows why Obasi, who starred in Schalke’s game against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League won’t be in Brazil for the Mundial. Perhaps, he is “tactically undisciplined” as Ike Uche. Perhaps.

It is true that there cannot be a perfect list, yet it is expedient that the coaches pick players who will do us proud than compensate loyalists who are either match rusty or recuperating from injuries. I insist that those who clinched the Africa Cup of Nations for us in South Africa have been adequately rewarded. My other problem with Nigerian coaches is this fixation even when the house is crumbling under the heads.

One needs to remind our coaches that Emmanuel Emenike has been in-and-out of matches for his Turkish club. What this means is that Emenike is injury-prone.

Looking at the substitutes for his position further raises the need for the Eagles crew to swallow their pride and invite Ike Uche and Chinedu Obasi. Many have celebrated the exclusion of Brown Ideye. Is Ideye not better than Gabriel Rueben, Babatunde Michael and Obinna Nsofor? Isn’t it clear that our list is meant to compensate loyalists of the coaches? Good luck to the coaches.

Thank you Delta State FA Going to the old Bendel State sends nostalgic feelings through me. It reminds me of my cherished youthful days. So, when the opportunity comes, I grab it, knowing that I would always see my old folks.

Last Wednesday, I got a call from Pinnick Amaju.

Amaju seldom calls, so I knew it must be important.

Amaju informed me of my nomination for the Football Media Excellence Award. He wanted to find out if I would make the oceremony. I immediately told him that I would be in Auchi for the Okpekpe 10-km Road Race, which was held last Saturday. I would be in Warri on Sunday for the ceremony.

I have been going to Warri since 1972, so I knew my way there. I was however marveled at the reconstruction work around the city. I must praise the Delta State Governor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan for this job, even though the traffic jam at Enerehen Junction remains.

There is hope, however that it will vanish when the road is completed.

Last Sunday afternoon, I saw former school mates I hadn’t seen in decades. Many had aged, with grey hair.

Some told me they were grandfathers already. We cracked the jokes of old. A few of them have dropped their youthful days’ vices. Others haven’t quite done so.

These formed the butt of teasing them throughout the game and late into the night in the hotel where I stayed.

The list of awardees was rich and I consider it a privilege to be decorated on such a day with the greats of the beautiful game. I want to express my gratitude to the Delta State Football Federation and, indeed, the Delta State Sports Commission (DSSC) for this award, in spite of the fact that I come from Edo State. This award ranks next to the Olympic Games Torch relay race I ran with 8,000 sports greats in the world before the 2012 London Olympic Games.

I dedicate this award to my late mother, Mrs. Abigail Isevbua Ojeikere, who incidentally shares the same birthday with me. She passed on June 27, 2004 in Philadelphia, United States. Once again, thank you Delta State. And like the Edos would say, Oba Khato Okpere, Ise.

TOMORROWPUNCHLINE IN THE NATION

The president’s qualities would not be the only factor influencing voters. After the First Lady’s display last week in Abuja, many will be asking themselves whether they can stomach another four years of Patience Jonathan’s histrionics —Festus Eriye

SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.9, NO. 2844

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T angers. It provokes. It repulses. It humili ates. It disgusts. I refer to the chilling video of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau and his fellow armed gangsters taunting the Nigerian state, mocking the Nigerian people and celebrating the desecration of womanhood. In the video, Shekau is surprisingly relaxed. He exhibits confidence and a disturbing bravado. This is in sharp contrast to the seeming confusion and even hysteria emanating from Aso Rock. Boko Haram is obviously playing deliberate psychological games to further frustrate the Nigerian state. Is it this assortment of deranged and deluded ruffians that has virtually put a resource-laden Nigerian state to sword? Cry, the sorry country.

Shekau gloats over the abduction of over 200 Chibok secondary school female students: “I abducted your girls. I said Western education should end. Girls, you should go and get married. I will sell them in the market by Allah”. It is instructive that thousands of girls across northern Nigeria are risking their lives to obtain an education despite the primitive threats of Boko Haram. Thousands of families are making the sacrifice to send their female children to school despite the ceaseless bombing campaign of Boko Haram. This shows that the extremists are a minuscule minority in the north. They are not winning the battle for the minds of the people.

In an earlier video recording a year or two ago, the Boko Haram chief had boasted that he loved killing human beings like fowl to the pleasure of his strange Allah. Shekau’s Allah kills. His Allah enslaves. His Allah defiles innocent women. This certainly is not the Allah that has motivated Islam to be a force for human progress and civilisation in the arts, sciences, culture, scholarship and statecraft across centuries. This is why I support the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, in his characteristically restrained criticism of the Jama’atuNasir Islam (JNI) for reportedly ‘accusing the Federal Government of persecuting Muslims under the guise of fighting terrorism’. The JNI and other Muslims should firmly, decisively and unambiguously denounce and distance themselves from the murderous Boko Haram and also support every effort to exterminate this poisonous virus. Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu in recent published articles have shown the right example in this respect.

For me, the Shekau video has also evoked a feeling of profound pity. Pity for Nigeria- a ‘crippled giant’ (apologies to Professor EghosaOsaghie).Pity for Shekau and his followers, enslaved minds in urgent need of salvation if not beyond redemption. But then, Shekau and his misguided followers were not born this way. They are the bastard offspring of the abduction and serial rape of the Nigerian treasury by the predatory elite over the years. The resultant appalling poverty, want and criminal inequality particularly in Northern Nigeria have spawned the teeming army of jobless youth that provides ready foot soldiers for Boko Haram and international ter-

Sorry country ‘

The sad but bitter truth is that Abubakar Shekau is offering more effective leadership to Boko Haram than President Jonathan is doing for Nigeria and that is a key reason why we remain such a sorry country

•Patience Jonathan

•Shekau

rorist outfits like al qaeda.

Of course, I agree that the northern political class must take primary responsibility for this situation.

It makes absolutely no sense to blame the Jonathan administration for the Boko Haram menace. The conditions for this kind of extremist terrorism had been laid over decades of gross misrule by successive administrations.

But then Jonathan is currently at the helm of affairs. The buck stops at his table. Leadership is not about excuses. It is about taking responsibility and finding solutions to problems. It is about radiating confidence, a sense of purpose and inspiring hope in people even in times of deep despair and seeming hopelessness. The Jonathan administration has failed abysmally in this regard. And nothing better showcases this failure than the very embarrassing intervention of the First Lady, Dame Patience in the abducted girls’ affair.

Why did Dame Patience have to step in so forcefully, meddlesomely and unconstitutionally in the matter? It was to fill the vacuum created by her husband’s lethargic leadership.

I refrain from joining in mocking her elocution or her occasionally lapsing into pidgin

’

English. For me it is the motive that matters and I believe she meant well. As a mother she felt for the abducted girls and their parents.

As a wife she was understandably protective of her husband and his job. It is only natural.

This was probably why she was even persuaded to entertain the thought that the entire abduction saga was carefully stage managed to undermine her husband’s government. I would probably reason the same way if I was in her shoes. Let no one cast the first stone. My view is that her tears were genuine and heart felt. Her plaintive cry, ‘There is God O, there is God O…’ was no Nollywood acting. It came from a pained heart. In truth, despite her excesses, I admire Dame Patience’s originality, spontaneity and utter lack of pretension. I simply wish Dr Jonathan, the custodian of the constitutional mandate, had such fire in his belly.

The scandal really is that the intervention of the First Lady even took place at all and in full glare of cameras. And even after it had happened, it was so lackadaisically allowed to get into the public domain. The blame goes first to Dr Jonathan who should be firmly in control on the home front and offer the leadership on the domestic terrain to avoid such

occurrences. Also to blame are the plethora of aides – media, security, protocol, administrative etc – who are paid to advise, guide and protect the First Lady. The presidency is not just President Jonathan and the First Lady. It refers to the entire expansive bureaucracy that exists to help shield their weaknesses and project their strengths. I fear that if the President and his wife decide tomorrow to take a swim in the Atlantic Ocean, their aides would most respectfully allow them to go ahead with full media coverage for the event! It is either the duo is not getting good advice or they are refusing to listen to such advice. This should not be so.

In a similar vein, Dr Jonathan’s disastrous outing in his last media chat is utterly inexplicable. His defence of the Petroleum Minister, Mrs Diezani Allison Madueke’s alleged expenditure of N10 billion on chartered private jets as well as her refusal to cooperate with the House of Representatives in getting to the root of the matter did incalculable damage to his person and exalted office. His exaggerated claim that the Minister has appeared before the House over 200 times is most astonishing.

It appears to me that there was little or no preparation for the chat. The leader is in many ways an actor. No serious actor goes on stage without thorough preparation.

The president’s media and strategy team should have anticipated the burning issues of the day and the likely questions. Rehearsals should have been held with his aides serving as the devil’s advocate posing him hostile questions and preparing him to respond effectively and persuasively to them. The president should have been tutored carefully as regards his body language and the need to be sensitive to the public mood. With adequate and thorough preparation, there is even no need for the presidency to hand pick the panellists thus undermining the credibility and subverting the purpose of the media chat.President Obama has excellent leadership skills but he also has his weaknesses like all mortals. But he smells like a Rose most of the time because his aides have the competence and are allowed to do their jobs as professionals.

What all this points to is the fact that the country suffers from a severe deficiency of leadership under President Goodluck Jonathan. This is the vacuum that Dame Patience so disastrously sought to fill as regards the abducted Chibok girls with disastrous consequences for the country’s image. This is why a member of the Federal Executive Council like the Internal Affairs Minister, Abba Moro, can comfortably retain his seat on the body right under the president’s nose after the recent tragic immigration service recruitment saga.

The sad but bitter truth is that Abubakar Shekau is offering more effective leadership to Boko Haram than President Jonathan is doing for Nigeria and that is a key reason why we remain such a sorry country.

See reactions to ILLUMINATIONS on Page 61

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday talk2adeojeikere@yahoo.com

Compensation list (My World Cup diary (4))

N

IGERIA’S 30-man provisional list is out. No changes. It is a list of loyalists, who dare not look into the coaches’ faces for fear of being dropped. The Super Eagles’ camp will be a cantonment of sort with everyone scared of the World Cup axe.

Is this how others pick their best?

But the victors in this battle to get into the Eagles’ provisional squad are Osaze Odemwingie and Joseph Yobo, both of who threw barbs at their coaches. Yobo and Osaze joined issues with the coaches, who swore not to list them for the World Cup. One only hopes that the fragile peace between the coaches and these two immutable stars doesn’t dovetail into fisticuffs when the final 23-man squad is named. We are watching.

Osaze has told us he is bold. He won’t want to be used as a guinea-pig at the pre-World Cup camp. He is dreaming Brazil in the same way as Yobo, who has the century

appearances for the Eagles as his lifetime ambition.

The flipside to the invitation of Yobo and Osaze is the decision to exclude Ikechukwu Uche from a list that has Gabriel Rueben and several recuperating players. The coaches told us repeatedly Ike Uche is tactically undisciplined on the pitch. They also said that Ike Uche openly discredited the coaches’ tactics and that his comments caused bad blood amongst the players. Rather than pillory the coaches in the media, Ike Uche chose to face his club career. See what it has cost him?

Sometimes, silence could be a sign of weakness because the coaches have no justification not inviting Ike Uche, given his club form with Villarreal FC in the Spanish La Liga. I admit the right to pick players is the coaches’.

Perhaps, our coaches need to take a cue from the manner in which Chelsea’s manager

Jose Mourinho handled the open criticism to his tactics by Belguim-born striker Edwin Hazard. Hazard, at a post-match interview after Athletico edged out Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League semifinals, described Mourinho’s tactics as “boring”. He said that Mourinho’s system made it impossible for Chelsea’s players to exhibit their skills.

Mourinho was careful with his counter remarks, although he lambasted Hazard, describing him as a lazy player, who won’t give his 100 per cent to his team in matches where he should prove his mettle. Many reasoned that a battle line had been drawn between Mourinho and Hazard. It didn’t happen. The manager listed the Belgian against Norwich, because Mourinho wanted to win the game, although the Blues ended the game on a barren note.

Ike Uche’s exclusion reverberated at the press session with Clemens Westerhof in

Lagos. The Dutchman identified Ike Uche as the best Nigerian forward in Europe, pointing out that he is an intelligent guy he would have loved to work with during his time with the Eagles. Westerhof’s enthusiasm died when the audience told him that Ike Uche wasn’t listed among the favoured 30 players on the provisional list. One hopes that the Eagles don’t have goal-scoring problems at the Mundial.

The inclusion of goalkeepers Daniel Akpeyi and Chigozie Agbim is bad exhibition of the game at the domestic scene. It explains clearly that our coaches don’t watch the Globacom Premier League matches live.

For instance, I was in Warri Township Stadium to watch the Federations Cup finals and I saw Daniel Akpeyi sitting on the bench.

Akpeyi lost his first team place to Okeimute Odah. This is not the first time Odah has benched Akpeyi, yet Akpeyi keeps making the Eagles’ list. The question is where did those who picked Akpeyi see him perform?

Again, one is tempted to believe the story that the coaches took two goalkeepers for the

•Continued on Page 63

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