The Nation November 11, 2012

Secession threats mere noise, says Abdusalami –Page 4

I am ready to die for SEC –Arunma Oteh –Page 62

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Vol.07, No. 2306

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SUNDAY

N200.00

NOVEMBER 11, 2012

BAYELSA, RIVERS OIL WELLS ROW

Jonathan’s fresh peace move suffers setback –PAGE 2

Amaechi’s absence forces President to shift peace meeting Rivers State gets N17.5b refund from two oil fields

BUY AND WIN A BRAND NEW CAR SEE PAGE 71 FOR DETAILS

•L-R Governor of Delta State, Dr, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Guest Speaker, Dr, Mike Murdock, President Goodluck Jonathan, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, his wife Helen Oritsejafor cutting the 40th years in service anniversary cake at the International Gospel Centre, Warri, Delta State yesterday.

Photo: AKIN OLADOKUN.

Jonathan lauds Oritsejafor on 40th anniversary • CAN president gets private jet gift from church –Page 5

BOKO HARAM

Presidency has abandoned us –Borno State Govt –Page 4

State creation tops demands at constitution review hearings –Page 6

NEWS

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

‘Social security scheme panacea to poverty’ From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

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HE social security scheme of Ekiti state government has been described as “the ultimate panacea to endemic poverty in Ekiti.”

Nearly 20,000 elderly residents who have attained a minimum of 65 years in age are currently receiving N5,000 monthly from the scheme in the state.

Speaking at his community empowerment programme in Ijan Ekiti in Gbonyin Council Area yesterday, Chairman of Ekiti State Local Government Service Commission (LGSC), Chief Aderemi Ajayi, stated that other state governments and even the federal government should copy the scheme to “genuinely reduce poverty and assist the needy.”

Chief Ajayi, who distributed empowerment materials valued in excess of N3 million, observed it was time states “peer reviewed” themselves with a view to accommodating ideas and policies of others which would enhance living standards of the citizenry.”

He said: “Governance has moved from the realm of surmises and conjectures to the field of realities and observables.

“Leaders and politicians in positions of authority have to learn to implement programmes which will directly and immediately cushion hardships on the populace.

“By doing this, they will not only be justifying their choices and victories at the polls but would be adding cubits to the credibility of the process of their emergence.”

Bayelsa, Rivers Oil Wells Row: Jonathan’s fresh peace move suffers setback

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FRESH move by President Goodluck Jonathan to resolve the row between Bayelsa and Rivers states over the Soku/Oluasiri oil wells suffered a setback Friday due to the absence of Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

The expanded peace session was expected to involve Amaechi, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State and all relevant parties to the dispute.

While the two states bicker, a letter to the Accountant-General of the Federation by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has confirmed that about N17.5billion has been refunded to Rivers State being revenue due the state from Nda and Okwori oil fields from 2007 to date.

The oil fields are part of the Soku/Oluasiri oil wells in dispute.

The letter from RMAFC indicates that refund to any aggrieved state, including Bayelsa State, is a normal practice once a proper boundary demarcation has been established between disputing states by both the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation(OSGF).

The Friday meeting was to be a follow-up to a similar audience which the President had with Kalabri leaders and the Rivers State Government penultimate Friday.

It was, however, gathered that Amaechi, who had officially travelled out of the country, delegated his deputy, Mr. Tele Ikuru, and other stakeholders to attend.

But the Presidency is insisting on the presence of Amaechi in order to ensure true reconciliation of the two parties As at press time, Gov-

• Amaechi’s absence forces President to shift peace meeting • Rivers State gets N17.5b refund from two oil fields From: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

ernor Seriake Dickson was still hanging around in Abuja for his colleague from Rivers State to arrive.

Reliable sources who spoke in confidence said the meeting was fixed for 6.00 pm on Friday with the President suspending some engagements to facilitate the peace talks.

When it became obvious that Amaechi would not make it, the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Ogiadhome, wrote a letter to the governor shifting the session.

A reliable Rivers State

Government official said: “Governor Amaechi is interested in the resolution of the crisis. He actually travelled abroad for some engagements.

“Apparently aware that the Rivers State governor was not in town, the Presidency on November 8 postponed the peace meeting scheduled for November 9. The government wanted Amaechi and Dickson to sit and resolve the dispute.

“It is not true that Governor Amaechi avoided or shunned any meeting at the Villa. He has no basis to do so.

“As a matter of fact, the

President through the Chief of Staff, Ogiadhome, wrote a letter which was submitted at the Rivers Liaison Office in Abuja on November 8 for onward transmission to the governor. He said the President mandated him to shift the peace meeting slated for November 9.”

“In the letter, the Chief of Staff also indicated that “a new date will be communicated.”

A letter RMC/O &G/ 34/VOL. II/263 from RMAFC to the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. J.O. Otunla, confirmed the refund to Riv-

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and the Deputy Governor, Dr Pius Odubu kneel for prayers before Rev Fr Andrew Obinyan at an interdenominational service to mark the end of their first tenure and beginning of their tenure in office, at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, yesterday.

Disappointing results in malaria vaccine clinical trials

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HE latest clinical trial of the world’s leading malaria vaccine candidates produced disappointing results on Friday.

The infants it was given to had only about a third fewer infections than a control group.

But researchers said they wanted to press on, assuming they keep getting financial support, because the number of children who die of malaria is so great that even an inefficient vaccine can save thousands of lives.

Three shots of the vac-

cine, known as RTS, S or Mosquirix and produced by GlaxoSmithKline, gave babies fewer than 12 weeks old 31 percent protection against detectable malaria and 37 percent protection against severe malaria, according to an announcement by the company at a vaccines conference in Cape Town.

Last year, in a trial in children up to 17 months old, the same vaccine gave 55 percent protection against detectable malaria and 47 percent against severe malaria.

The new trial “is less

than we’d hoped for,” Moncef Slaoui, Glaxo’s chairman of research and development said in a telephone interview. “But if a million babies were vaccinated, we would prevent 260,000 cases of malaria a year. This is a disease that kills 655,000 babies a year — 31 percent of that is a very large number.”

The company, which has already spent more than $300 million on the vaccine, wants to keep forging ahead, he said, “but it is not just our decision.”

It also depends on the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, which has put more than $200 million of its Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation financing into the vaccine, and on the World Health Organisation, which has helped talk seven African countries into allowing the vaccine to be tested on their children.

The Gates Foundation declined to say how much money it was ultimately prepared to spend on an imperfect vaccine; this set of trials is set to go into 2014.

“The efficacy came back lower than we had hoped, but developing a vaccine against a parasite is a very hard thing to do,” Bill Gates said in a prepared statement.

“The trial is continuing, and we look forward to getting more data to help determine whether and how to deploy this vaccine.”

All the families in the trial were given insecticideimpregnated mosquito nets and encouraged to use them; 86 percent did, so the vaccine worked despite other anti-malaria measures.

ers State by seven oil producing states.

Although the letter was dated January 17, 2012, it has thrown more insight into the crisis of confidence between the two states.

The letter reads: “I write to inform you that the Rivers State Government in a letter Ref. No. COM/FIN/ T/01 of 3rd October 2011 requested for the payment of all the 13 per cent derivation revenue due to the state from Nda and Okwori oil fields from 2007 to date.

“The commission examined the request and confirmed that Okwori and Nda oil fields belong to Rivers State based on the Report of the Inter-Agency Committee on the attribution of offshore oilfields to Littoral states, 2008 and submissions by National Boundary Commission (NBC) and Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation(OSGF).

“Furthermore, the 13 per cent derivation proceed from the two oil fields were shared amongst all the oil producing states from April 2009 to June 2010, while Akwa Ibom State exclusively enjoyed the proceed from Okwori oil field from July to August, 2010 and from July 2010 to January 2011 in the case of Nda oil field.

“It is to be noted that the Rivers State Government has since September 2010 and February 2011 been receiving its due share of 13 per cent derivation proceed from Okwori and Nda fields respectively.

“Consequently, the commission after considering the request from the Rivers State Government and the submission from both the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation(OSGF), approved that Rivers State should be refunded the sum of N17,566, 394,965.18b by all the oil producing states being accrued 13 per cent derivation fund from April 2009 to January 2011.

“The amount to be refunded by each state is as follows: Abia (N226,253,896.74); Akwa Ibom (N9, 567,732,283.95); Bayelsa (N2 071, 164,678.46); Delta (N4, 142, 271,632.95); Edo ( N305,693,768.40); Imo (N260,733,722.65); Ondo (N952,544,973.05).”

Column

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Obama as Uber-man T

HE superman finally came to the American supermarket this past week. It is the rise of Uber-Man, a human phenomenon that transcends race, class and religion. Please permit the special coinage, a conflation of German and English. The Uber-Man is a superhuman being , but not in the classical German sense. It is an ordinary man who rose to extraordinary heights by capturing the moral imagination and better aspirations of his society.

There is something infinitely satisfying when good people finish first.

It reaffirms our hope in the essential goodness of humanity and the possibility of human redemption. It speaks to the possibilities of paradise on earth, a quest which has resulted in much revolutionary strife and bloodletting in human history. In the permanent struggle between the good man of Rousseau and the cynical skeptic of Voltaire; between the wise savant of Obatala and the hardy warlord of Ogun, it is always reassuring to see Homo sapiens on the rise.

In every human society, there are forces for good and forces for evil. In the perpetual struggle between agents of darkness and servants of light, much depends on the structural and ethical configuration of the society. There are nations and there are nations. Some nations are structurally configured for the ascendancy of brute force and brutish amoral characters. These are the hell-holes on earth whose denizens are serving out some divine interdiction. It is always good to see a nation put its better foot forward, to see the collective good reassert itself. Goodliness is next to godliness.

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LF-LIKE and exuding supreme confidence and self-assurance, Barack Hussein Obama has seized global imagination by the jugular. In the end, nothing, perhaps, can match the laconic irony of the description of Obama’s spectacular ascension as a fairy tale. A fairy tale combines magic and superstition with savage and exacting reality. Savage because it belongs in the realm of primitive rituals of coronation.

Exacting because it is actual history unfolding as a communal fantasy; a spectacle of the tribe. Like a fairy prince, Obama has dangled magical possibilities before the world. Things may never be the same again.

For America, and perhaps the rest of the world, it was a truly defining moment. For comparison, we have to reach back to almost fifty years earlier in 1959 when the dazzling, youthful and charismatic John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States. It was also a watershed election. America had elected its first catholic president, and a handsome, rich and glamorous one at that. The whole world took note. Camelot was back.

It was always going to be difficult for a man who claimed religious allegiance to the papacy in Rome to become America’s leader and Commander in Chief. Although founded on secular authority, there has always been a deeply religious strain to the American nation anchored on the Puritan and Calvinist ethos of its ancient founding fathers.

But if Kennedy was a victim of intra-elite rivalry and conspiracy, particularly the long face-off between the East coast WASP elite, the Boston Brahmins and the Irish descendants, Obama’s ascendancy was borne on the cusp of a grand assault on the centre from the margins and from below. This is why it resonates more with the wider world than Kennedy’s earlier triumph.

It was a democratic revolution.

But it is even better and more ennobling than the real thing. Unlike the typical revolution which pits one

S

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nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu

•Obama

To be sure, America is not a perfect society. No human society is as yet a perfect society. It is always wise to have a sense of perspective. When people make noise about America’s unenviable and unflattering past, all they need to do is to compare it with other societies, particularly theirs.

Humankind is not a fallen angel but a rising ape. As Walter Benjamin fa-

mously puts it, there is no record of civilization which is not at the same time a record of barbarity. From the Egyptian pyramids to the American Pentagon, there is no human monument which is not at the same time a silent tribute to man’s inhumanity to mankind.

The good fortune of America is its capacity for ceaseless self-surpass-

ing and endless self-invention. This is so because America is a nation founded by romantic intellectuals and starry-eyed idealists who believed against overwhelming evidence and their own innate disposition and inner judgement that all people are created equal. Once that benchmark has been fixed, it is left to ordinary and super-ordinary men and women to slug it out and slog towards the ideal.

What a struggle that has been in America in the last three hundred years, from the civil war to civil rights protests.

These are the epic contentions and the ceaseless fire-fights for emancipation and freedom that have culminated in the Obama revolution. It was a close run thing. America is still bitterly divided and fractured along critical fault lines. For a moment, Obama himself appeared to have stumbled and faltered. There were moments when he seemed to have lost the script altogether. But he never lost his decency, his compassion for the disadvantaged, his unfailing politeness and courteousness and the extraordinary courage in face of adversity that has defined his life.

Had Obama gone under in the face of a determined onslaught, it would have been a cruel unraveling.

Had the revolution been abridged, it would have been a great loss to America and humanity at large. The minimal strides of America towards

a just and fairer society would have suffered a terrible set back. The forces of rightwing reaction were already celebrating before they succumbed to a stinging sucker punch.

The good thing about electoral revolutions is that they flow from the ballot and not the bullet; and they tend to unite society rather than divide it. Obama was elected not because he was a Black person, but in spite of that fact. The Black alone could not have elected him. It was a pan-racial, pan-class and panreligious affair. It was the triumph of the good American. It was victory for the Uber-man as represented by Obama.

It would be foolish and presumptuous in the extreme to assume that under Barack Obama, America has suddenly become a fairer and more egalitarian society, or that it has lost its warrior-state mantra. The dogged pursuit and swift execution of Osama bin Laden is an awesome display of the bloody-minded and chilling resolve of a super-security state. But there is a conscious movement in the right direction. This is the lesson for all fractured societies and nations. Thye next four years should be interesting, that is if Obama survives a possible violent backlash from the loony right. We congratulate America and the Americans.

Fairy prince who stole the world (First published in November, 2008)

class against the other in an orgy of hate and bloodletting, this one demands a unity of purpose that cuts across class, race and creed under a supreme unifying symbol. The American people rose as one against the tormenting excesses of the warrior super-state and its plutocratic tyrants.

Once again, America has shown the way forward for the civilised world. A truly democratic nation can negotiate its way out of any political quagmire. Whatever its imperfections as a nation, America has a unique capacity for ceaseless self-invention. In the process, it often manages to correct the toxic side-effects of its own self-projection and hubristic swaggering. To that extent, the emergence of an Obama-like figure of redemptive possibilities is a historic inevitability.

It may appear curious and even bizarre that the same nation that voted for George Bush junior twice is also the nation that rooted for Obama’s more transformational leadership qualities. The irony of it all is that without the younger Bush, there would have been no Obama presidency at this point at least.

America needed a man of spontaneous mayhem and clueless briskness like George Bush to drive the supersecurity state to the extreme of its unilateralist logic and the summit of its murderous ferocity before it can come to its senses. For any nation founded on rational principles, nothing concentrates the mind more than looming political disaster and fiscal anarchy.

Yet in fairness to George Bush and much as we may rant and rail against him, much as low as his popular stock may have fallen, it is useful to remember that he did not create the American warrior-state.

He merely inherited it. The Ameri-

can super-security state was ironically the creation of starry-eyed intellectuals with an exaggerated and romantic notion of America and its place in the world. Obama should take note. As it has been convincingly advanced by David Halberstam in his classic, the best and the brightest of America’s political establishment pushed the nation in the direction of permanent and perpetual war-mongering.

Unfortunately, America was not founded on a warrior’s code or by a warrior caste. America was founded by starry-eyed intellectuals who wanted to create the world anew based on the ideals of freedom, liberty and equality. But just as the much-rhapsodised Athenian democracy was based on a slave-holding economy, equally brutal realities underpinned the American project. These are the realities of slave-holding and the brutal expropriation of the original owners of the land.

Famously, L’Ouverture Toussaint, the great black revolutionist and Haitian hero, had cautioned his French persecutors not to replace the aristocracy of class they had overthrown with an aristocracy of race. It was a lesson lost on the American founding fathers, and it was to lead directly to a civil war and decades of civil strife. It was to lead eventually to the Obama presidency and the historic denouement of November, 2008. Every inch gained, every elbow room created as the heroic civil rights campaigners slogged their way through the obdurate detritus of the American political establishment was to provide the incremental building block for the Obama presidency.

But as it is said, men make history but not under the circumstances of their choice. In one of history’s great ironies when the hour even-

tually dawned for an African American president of the US, the honour fell on the son of an African who had come to the country of his own will and volition and not on a descendant of enslaved Africans. The cunning of history indeed.

Perhaps if Obama had grown up in a ghetto or one of the feral downtown slums of urban America, he would have been consumed by implacable hatred and bitterness, his self-confidence and self-belief hobbled, his spirit dampened, his radical optimism and appetite for glory sullied, and his infectious enthusiasm destroyed. It is also possible that he would have been picked up by the radar as an intelligent but subversive trouble maker and effectively demobilised.

It is to the eternal credit of the system, to Obama’s own Olympian fortitude and self-belief and his lucky insertion into the system as the much adored and adorable grandson of doting white upper middle class grandparents that the president-elect of America survived unscathed. The audacity of hope is premised on the hope of audacity that all will be well. In another milieu after being repeatedly clobbered audacity will disappear and hope will diminish, leaving in their wake the sheer hopelessness of audacity.

Let us leave things to a footballing trope. In an infamous gloss on Diego Maradona’s audacious run through the entire English defence which culminated in Argentina’s second goal in the 1986 World Cup, Maldini, one of the hard men of the remarkable Italian national team of the early eighties, noted tersely that if Maradona had begun that run in an Italian Football league he would surely have ended it in a hospital.

It is impossible to imagine an Obama surviving in the continent of

his father. There would have been a long queue for his head that is if he doesn’t succumb to “friendly” fire. It has proved easier to send a Luo to the White House than to the presidential castle in Nairobi. This is why one finds it so strange and bizarre that some of the shameless autocrats who have turned Africa into an undemocratic hell-hole have been falling over themselves to hail the Obama phenomenon.

It is too early in the day to affirm that Obama would make a great president. The odds are greatly in his favour. Old Abe Lincoln who was both a great man and a great president had his character steeled in the furnace of unrelenting adversity and repeated failures.

Obama has emerged relatively unscathed and closeted from the buffeting gale of human perversity.

Hence a tendency to overconfidence and hubris. This is the twindisease of the American nation itself and we can see how in both nation and latest political hero, they are a source of profound strength as well as potential disaster.

Nothing, however, can discount from the profoundly symbolic nature of Obama’s victory. The victory has redrawn the race map of America forever and shattered its stratified hierarchies. After the horrors of Vietnam, Mogadishu, Iraq, Bosnia and Kigali, it feels good to be a human being again. After wandering in the jungle for almost three hundred years, America has finally reconnected with the dream of its founding fathers who were themselves torn between harsh reality and idealistic posturing. It takes a true dreamer and an exceptional individual to unite the entire world in Graceland. It is a magical moment and the magician is of African extraction. Something new always comes out of Africa indeed.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

News

Lagos unveils new safety guidelines for private schools

By Yinka Aderibigbe

H

ENCEFORTH private schools in Lagos State must conduct safety audits every term and maintain incident logbook for all accidents within their facilities.

The Director-General of Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC), Mrs. Dominga Odebunmi, who disclosed this yesterday, said the agency will not hesitate to sanction errant schools.

Odebunmi said government will concentrate on strengthening the capacity of school owners and managers to promote safety consciousness.

She spoke at a news conference on the forthcoming first safety management conference scheduled for November 27-29.

The conference, which she said is mandatory for all private schools in the state, is organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and an educational consultancy firm, SchoolRun Nigeria.

It holds at the University of Lagos multipurpose hall, Akoka for schools on the mainland while schools on the Island will use the Lagos City Hall.

Those at the suburbs will attend the conference at the Assembly Hall, Grail land, Iju Hills, Agege.

Odebunmi said: “safety experts from within and outside the country will seek to update the knowledge of all school owners to the entire gamut of safety to ensure their schools are poised for safety certification, aid schools in innovating safety techniques, acquire knowledge on minimising injuries and risks to health and promoting safety consciousness among pupils and students.”

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HE Borno State government has accused the federal government of abandoning it in the face of the security challenges it is facing as a result of the activities of Boko Haram in the state.

The Commissioner for Information, Mr Inuwa Bwala who disclosed this to The Nation in an interview in Abuja at the weekend said no federal political office holder had visited the state to either assess the situation or empathise with the state government and its people.

According to him, “There has been no visit from the federal side to Borno State. The President and his Vice have refused to come, share in our plight, if at all.

They have not given us moral boost or if at all to show that they care and that we are part and parcel of Nigeria. We had been left on our own. For some time, nobody has shown that they really care, nobody has visited to show solidarity with us.”

Bwala, who disclosed that the highest federal government team to the states were made up of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Chief of Defence Staff, lamented that the federal government is not treating the state as part of the federation.

“I am not just saying it.

That is the fact. We have been left on our own. We have been left to our plight as if we are not part of Nigeria.

That has been our grouse against the federal government,” he said.

The Information Commissioner disclosed that members of the ruling party in the state have been the victims of attacks since the security challenges started. “I have said it time and time again that criminals and political assassins have penetrated Boko Haram. They started with their grievances but somehow along the line, they have been hijacked by opportunists. That is why the greatest number of people that have been killed today are from the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). If not, I don’t see how people from the other political parties are

Council poll: Court stops Benue PDP

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HE Benue State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been restrained by a Benue High Court from presenting the name of one Emmanuel Ochekwu to the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) as the party’s candidate for Ikobi ward in Apa Local Government Area for the November 24 council polls in the state.

Delivering ruling in a suit filed against both the PDP and BSIEC, Justice M. A Abounu also granted the applicant, Johnson Otache Silas an injunction to challenge the substitution of his name with that of Ochekwu despite the fact that he won the PDP primaries on August 14, 2012 and was duly declared as the councillorship candidate for Ikobi ward.

According to the suit filed

by Barrister Samuel Adama on behalf of Otache, the applicant had defeated Ochekwu and other aspirants during the August 14 primaries conducted by party officials from the state headquarters and supervised by BSIEC. It added that Ochekwu dumped the PDP and tried to get the ticket of about two other political parties after he lost the PDP ticket to Otache all to no avail.

Otache, until a couple of weeks later, was recognised by the party as its candidate in Ikobi ward.Granting the injunction, Justice Abounu said it is within the fundamental human rights of Otache to challenge his alleged disqualification by his party given that he contested and won the primary election held to nominate the PDP flag-bearer for the ward.

Boko Haram: Federal Govt has abandoned us —Borno State Govt

By Akin Orimolade

roaming the streets but we in ANPP are being compelled to take cover.”

Bwala said contrary to the impression being created that Borno State is not working, the state, he said, is moving on. “The markets are open, banks are open, work is going on, normal activities are going on, flights come into Maiduguri and leave fully booked everyday. It is just that some of the people spreading things about Borno do not know what is happening there. They don’t live there. They only peddle what they imagine

is happening. Life is going on in Maiduguri. Government is working, people go to work. The situation in Maiduguri is not different from the situation in any other place where this crisis had happened and we are on top of it,” he said.

To buttress his claim that the state is working, Bwala said, “You may have heard of the agriculture revolution which we started. We have vast underground water, we have vast arable land, we have a willing population. Because of this, the government said that agriculture, which is the mainstay of our economy, shall be the

fulcrum of our agenda. That is why we are importing farm implements. As it is, we have imported over one thousand tractors which we have distributed across the state. We have brought in seedlings. Over 50 million varieties of crops. We are exploring the possibilities of modern poultry, modern cattle rearing, and other agricultural activities. Fish farming has been the tradition of our people along the Lake Chad shores, it is still going on. Government has mapped out strategies of encouraging them by giving out loans and buying what they have as surpluses to sell to Nigerians.”

He advised both indigenes and settlers in the state that fled as a result of security challenges, to return as government is on top of the security situation.

The Information commissioner disclosed that the leaders of thought, opinion leaders and Borno State government are working round the clock to engage the boys and shift their minds from crimes and criminal activities.

Bwala said beyond the issue of religion, it has been discovered that some political elements are using Boko Haram to settle personal scores.

•L-R, President, International Association of Political Consultants, Mr. Felipe Noguera, former American presidential aspirant and Editor-in-Chief, Forbes, Magazine, Mr. Steve Forbes; receiving the crest of the State of Osun from the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, after the opening session of the annual conference of the International Association of Political Consultants in New York on Friday.

Secession threats mere noise, says Abdusalami

F

ORMER military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, said the country will not break up despite the security challenges and agitations by various regions for self-determination. He described the calls for secession as mere noise.

Speaking to reporters at the Government House, Makurdi, General Abdulsalami expressed hope that the country will overcome her present challenges. He noted that Nige-

Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

rians have intermingled over a long period of time and lived with obvious developmental challenges which would make it difficult for any break up.

According to him, “This is not the first time I am saying this, all the secession threats here and there with the security challenges are mere noise because we have deeply intermingled; wherever you go you see Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Kanuris and others so,

there is nothing that can break up this country because God has brought us together.”

He added, “What everyone needs to do is support the federal government effort. If you are talking about security then, who are the miscreants and where do they live.

They live among us, so we must play our part by reporting them to the security agencies.”

He lauded the effort so far made by President Goodluck Jonathan in key

Aliyu bags UI award, marks 57th birthday

N

IGERIA’S premier ivory tower, University of Ibadan (UI) will tomorrow award Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State the Golden Jubilee Personality Award by the Institute of African Studies of the institution.

The award coincides with the 57th birthday of the governor.According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Malam Danladi Ndayebo, the award is in recognition of Aliyu’s out-

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

standing contributions to growth and development of his state and the nation.

The ceremony holds at the Trenchard Hall of the University of Ibadan.Ndayebo further said that Aliyu was chosen on the basis of his giant strides in the areas of education, health, agriculture, infrastructural development and good governance in general.”

Governor Aliyu was chosen for entrenching conditions that guarantee sustainable peace and development of his state,” the statement concluded.

Other personalities who will be honoured alongside Governor Aliyu are the Alaafin of Oyo, HRM Oba Olayiwola Adeyemi III; Rivers State Governor, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, CON; Chief Afe Babalola, SAN; Prof. Kwabena H. Nketia and Engr. YemisiAdedoyin.

sectors such as education, security and power and affirmed that these efforts will soon be made manifest and some of the problems solved.

He called on the elite to support President Jonathan through quality advise and suggestions on how to keep Nigeria one because it is the responsibility of every Nigerian to contribute to the development of the nation.

General Abdulsalami described Governor Gabriel Suswam’s contribution to nation building as unprecedented and expressed hope that with leaders like him, the country will be better.

He said, “I have followed your activities as a young legislator and now as governor and what you have done to your state and country in general.

We the elders are proud that the country may never lack those who shall lead the people politically.”

Governor Suswam, on his part, described General Abdulsalami as the greatest Nigerian who had an opportunity to hold on to power for a long time but organised an election in nine months.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11 , 2012

News

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Jonathan lauds Oritsejafor on 40th anniversary P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has asked Nigerians to be steadfast in prayers and seek strengths in the country’s diversity, despite the numerous challenges confronting the nation.

Jonathan spoke yesterday in Warri as special guest during the 40th anniversary of the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and founder of Word of God Bible Church, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, on the pulpit which also coincided with his birthday.

The CAN President during the occasion also joined the league of clergymen who own private jets. He now has a 10Seater Bombardier/Challenger 601 Aircraft.

According to him, the country would overcome her challenges if the people could draw positively on their areas of strengths.

The President, who attended the programme till the end, also extolled the virtues of Oritsejafor, stressing that since he started his ministration 40 years ago, he had stayed on course and remained to his calling.

Apart from being a shining example of priesthood, the President stated that Oritsejafor had spent his four decades on the pulpit propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ, building bridges and serving as an interface across the religious divide.

He said: “40 years in the service of God Almighty is a remarkable feat achievable only through the grace of God. Pastor Ayo is a respected national Christian, visionary leader, a great man of faith that preaches the word of God pleasantly. I also thank the Lord for giving him as a gift to

•CAN president gets private jet gift from church

FROM: Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

the generation of Nigerians.

“I can say without any equivocation that Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, from the very humble beginning about 1972, has moved from strength to strength. Today, he is a Christian visionary leader who preaches the word of God clearly and eloquently as a good shepherd, a man of vision who has served as an interface across the religious divides.

“He has earned his respect among his peers and this

explains why he is holding the two very important positions in Christendom in Nigeria as a President of Christian Association of Nigeria and President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria.

“You will continue to be a source of inspiration to many people in many years to come.

When he started this ministry many years ago, Nigeria was just emerging from the anguish of civil war. Although, today we are enjoying the benefits of democracy, we still need to overcome our challenges. We must seek strength from our diversity.”

Oritsejafor said if Nigeria must reclaim its lost glory and be great again, all Nigerians must be ready to put the nation first and be ready to make sacrifices.

He said rather than dwelling on the things that are capable of dividing the country, he admonished the people to begin to do thinsg that would impact positively on the lives of the people.

The CAN President said, “If Nigeria must reclaim her destiny, then everybody must be ready to make sacrifices.

We must be prepared to inconvenience ourselves; we must

be prepared to forget about ourselves and put Nigeria first. We must begin to do things that will make positive impact on the lives of our people. Nigeria is great and our sacrifices will bring out the greatness of the great nation.”

During the service it was announced to the congregation that Oritsejafor has joined the league of pastors with private jets in the country. Others who have been in the league before him include David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel, Enoch Adejare Adeboye of The Redeemed

Group seeks x for protection OkonjoIweala, Madueke ...warns oil marketers From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

T • L-R; The Secretary, Independent and Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr Elvis Oglafa , President of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Mr Segun Aina presenting plaque to the ICPC Chairman, Mr Ekpo Nta during the Institute’s visit to the Commission in Abuja, yesterday

MOSOP demands justice for Saro-Wiwa, others

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The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has stated that Ogoni remains a forgotten economic wasteland, ravaged by deepening poverty and socioeconomic exclusion.

It called on the federal government to take immediate steps to implement the recommendations contained in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland, despite the fact that it has set up the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Programme (HYPREP). The movement said it might be forced to take the case to the international community.

The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people also demanded a judicial inquiry into the killing of Ogoni-4 and justice for Ogoni-13, as well as the other victims of the repression of the 1990s.

The Chairman of MOSOP Provisional Council, Prof. Ben Naanen, stated this yesterday at Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoniland and the seat of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, during the 17th remembrance of the hanging

Christian Church of God 2nd Bishop Mike Okonkwo of the Reedemed Evangelical Mission (TREM).

Oritsejafor’s jet, marked N431CB, was said to have been manufactured in the United States, the announcement elicited loud ovation and applause from the congregation.

The luxurious and spacious cabin of the Bombardier/Challenger 601 is perfect to conduct meetings or simply relax.

Although the cost of the aircraft was not disclosed, an updated version of the 1994 series is said to cost $4.9m.

The jubilant congregation spent over 15 minutes congratulating one another while the recipient did not make any comment on the jet said to have been purchased for him by the Church.

•Asks govt to implement UNEP report From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt of the renowned environmentalist, Ken SaroWiwa, and other Ogoni activists.

Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists were hanged on November 10, 1995 at the Port Harcourt Prisons, during the regime of the late General Sani Abacha, for their alleged roles in the murder of the Ogoni-4, while on May 27, 1994, four prominent leaders of MOSOP were brutally murdered at a gathering at Giokoo-Ogoni in Gokana LGA of Rivers State.

The Anglo/Dutch oil giant, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), was chased out of Ogoniland in 1993 and yet to return, with the Ogoni people vowing that the oil firm would never be allowed into the four Ogoni LGAs of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme.

Naanen, who is also of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), said in his

thought-provoking address at the remembrance service, that the event was for all who gave their lives to the Ogoni struggle.

The UNEP report on Ogoniland’s environmental assessment was issued on Aug 4, 2011 and received by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on August 12, 2011, but the recommendations are yet to be implemented, while the Federal Government decided to set up HYPREP, to cater for all Niger Delta communities with similar problems as Ogoniland.

MOSOP said: “The Ogoni struggle is one written in flesh and blood. It is the story of a people who demanded accountability for their environment, after decades of oil production, in which about the main reward they received was a devastated environment and destruction of their traditional livelihood.

“It is the story of a marginalised people, who wanted to take their destiny in their own hands. It is about a people who wanted freedom and to improve their lives, by

having control of their local affairs, while remaining an integral part of the Nigerian nationhood.

“It is the story of people who suffered undeserved discrimination and wanted to recover their lost dignity and respect. One may ask what the Ogoni people have gained from the supreme sacrifice of these martyrs. The people have largely recovered their dignity and respect, but hardly anything much beyond that. The area remains a forgotten economic wasteland, ravaged by deepening poverty and socio-economic exclusion.

Oil-related environmental devastation remains a sordid and conspicuous feature of Ogoniland.”

The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people also stated that the judicial process that produced the gruesome verdict, which led to the hanging of Saro-Wiwa and eight others, had been variously described as “show trial”, “unfair trial” and “politically-motivated trial”.

It noted that the then

British Prime Minister, John Major, called it “judicial murder.”

MOSOP reiterated that in the period between the killings at Giokoo and the executions of November 10, 1995, Ogoni was subjected to a reign of terror, in which significant number of innocent people were killed or tortured by the authorities and communities burnt down, all in the attempt to destroy the Ogoni revolution.

It said: “MOSOP is calling on the Nigerian Government to take immediate steps to implement the UNEP report, the pre-emptive set up of HYPREP notwithstanding. The Ogoni people want to see action.

The Ogoni umbrella organisation also stated that the martyrs gave their lives, so that Ogoni could be a model of accountable leadership.

It added that as MOSOP would be preparing for its elections, it called on all Ogoni people, who considered themselves qualified for the challenge of leadership, to step forward and present themselves for the people’s verdict.

HE Southern Mandate, a coalition of socio-political groups in the South-West, South-South and South-Eastern geopolitical zones of the country, yesterday warned some indicted oil marketers against alleged plot to harm the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, and her Finance counterpart, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Also, the group urged the aggrieved marketers to stop the persistent propaganda against the two ministers.

It said the alleged threats have taken a frightening dimension and pleaded with security agencies to protect the duo.

The group gave the warning in a statement in Abuja, which was signed by six coordinators of the coalition, against the backdrop of security beef-up for OkonjoIweala by the government.

The signatories are Messrs Tito Zuokumor, Victor Akpe, Obi Okoroma, Fadairo Bamidele, and Dr. Odafe Wilson Omene.

The group alleged that plots by some marketers were not only directed at the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, but targeted at President Goodluck Jonathan.

The statement called on the two ministers not to be deterred by the attacks and threats on their persons, but continue to perform their functions to the best of their capabilities and in the interest of the nation.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

News

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CONSTITUTION REVIEW HEARINGS Ijebus want state creation, female kings From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

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HE Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, led thousands of his subjects yesterday to support amendment of section 8 of the constitution to allow for the creation of more states.

The paramount ruler, who spoke with reporters during the House of Representatives’ Public Hearing of the Review of 1999 Constitution in Ijebu - Ode, reasoned the proposed amendment will address the inherent injustices and imperfections in the nation’s structure.

He said Ijebuland remains the only province yet to transform to the status of a state, saying it is long overdue.

The public hearing was organised for the Ijebu Central Federal Constituency comprising Ijebu - Ode, Odogbolu and Ijebu East.

Ijebu women in Ogun State, at the event, made a case for constitutional amendment that will allow the emergence of female traditional rulers.

They called for removal of prejudices and discriminations against women to enable them become monarchs.

Their spokesperson, Otunba (Mrs.) Anthonia Balogun, said since women are already entitled to regency and chieftaincy titles in Yorubaland, there should also be constitutional provision for them to become traditional rulers.

Describing women as vital agents, Balogun, who is the state Coordinator for Gender and Constitution Reform Network (GECORN), said the society would be better for it if they are allowed to hold traditional rulership.

Cross River votes against state police From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

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GITATIONS against state police were vociferous yesterday across the eight Federal Constituencies in Cross River during the public session on the review of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.

This was despite the insistence of Governor Liyel Imoke that establishment of state police is critical to checkmate crimes across the nation.

Constituents voted massively against state police, insisting Nigeria should retain the current police structure.

Some who spoke with The Nation expressed fears that the police may be cornered by governors but called for restructuring of the existing security structure.

Kogi endorses power rotation

Delta supports resource control, increased derivation K

By Mohammed Bashir, Lokoja

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ELTANS yesterday canvassed varied positions during the public session of the 1999 constitutional review.

Constituents in Bomadi/ Patani demanded for increment of the revenue allocation to 20%.

They voted against immunity from criminal proceedings against Presidents, Governors and their deputies.

But they endorsed the immunity of Presidents, Governors and their deputies from civil cases.

They also backed 50% control of resources by states while other proceeds are paid to the Federation.

Aniocha/Oshimili constituents supported the

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

amendment of Sections 135 and 180(2) to create a single tenure of six years for the offices of the president and governors and endorsed independent candidacy.

Bomadi/Patani constituents also endorsed the single tenure idea, but did not set a time limit.

Both federal constituencies rejected the amendment of section 214(1) to enable the establishment of state police, insisting that state governors should not have control over commissioners of police in the respective states.

These decisions were, among others, taken in Asaba and Warri respectively at the

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North-West while the SouthSouth, South-West, North-East and North-Central should have additional two states each.

While Aniocha/Oshimili people supported the insertion of a provision for the office of the president to be rotated between the northern and southern parts of Nigeria, Bomadi/ Patani people rejected the insertion of such provision in the Constitution.

Both federal constituencies supported the insertion of a provision for the rotation to be extended to the six geo-political zones.

Both federal constituencies threw their weight behind the rotation of the governorship seat between the three senatorial districts of a state.

Aworis: Merge us with Lagos State

By Taiwo Abiodun

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•Cross section of participants at the public session on the review of 1999 constitution in Jos, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Kano kicks against state police, rotational presidency

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ANO indigenes yesterday voted against agitations for state creation, state police and rotational presidency at the public hearing of the Constitution Review Committee in various constituencies.

Most participants argued that those were not the main problems with Nigeria.

They also insisted most of the issues the National Assembly is considering for amendments are against the interest of northerners.

On new states, most of the people who spoke to our correspondent were of the view that Nigeria’s problem was beyond state creation.

They said there were more pressing and disturbing

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

issues affecting the nation, stressing that state police cannot address the current security challenge especially in the North.

Ahmad Tijjani, one of the participants, said: “State police would only add salt to the injury that we are faced with in terms of security. We are therefore not in support of the idea. And Nigeria is not ripe for such or similar arrangements.”

Mustapha Sheriff believed that rotational presidency was undemocratic and do not allow electorates to make their choice. Their political choices were misguided and would not achieve anything, so long

Creation of Adada State dominates hearings South Federal Constituency, REATION of Adada in Enugu Enugu North/South ConstituState was the para-

mount demand yesterday across the eight Federal Constituencies in Enugu State during the nationwide House Representatives public hearing on the Review of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.

At the session held at Obollor headquarters of Udenu Local Government, participants unanimously de-

Peoples’ public session on the review of the 1999 Constitution organised by House of Representatives for the constituency.

They voted for the amendment of Section 8 to remove ambiguities in the process of state creation.

While constituents of Aniocha/Oshimili federal constituency endorsed the creation of twelve more states across the country, Bomadi/ Patani federal constituents rejected the idea of parity among the geo-political zones, advocating that creation of states should be based on merit.

The Aniocha/Oshimili people supported the creation of three more states in the South-East, one state in the

OGI indigenes yesterday backed rotation of power among the senatorial districts during the constitutional review roundtable talk across Federal Constituencies in the state.

Out of the nine Federal Constituencies in the three senatorial districts, only three rejected rotational of power in the state.

Issues that topped agenda in Ankpa, the headquarters of Ankpa/ Olamboro/ Omala Federal Constituency include State Creation, Local Government Autonomy, Abolition of State Electoral Commission, Five- year Single Term for President and Governors as well as Abolition of Joint Account.

The member representing Adavi/ Okehi Federal Constituency, Honourable Abdulrahman Badamasuiy, said that the inclusion of rotational arrangement for governorship position will endanger justice, fairness and equitable representation in governance.

From Chris Oji, Enugu

manded the creation of Adada State.

They stated that they were ready to concede every other item as contained in the template document for voting on the constitution for creation of the proposed state.

At Nsukka/Igbo-Eze

ency as well as the session in Enugu East/Isiuzo Federal Constituency, Enugu indigenes massively supported the creation of Adada State.

They expressed happiness with the National Assembly for the initiative, saying it was the first time the masses were asked to participate in the nation’s constitution.

as presidency would continue to be shared among the zones.

Honourable Farouq Lawan’s Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency witnessed heavy presence of armed mobile policemen.

This followed allegation by a section that most of the participants were not from the constituency.

The member representing Gwale Federal Constituency, Hon. Bashir Galandanci, was allegedly attacked by an angry mob.

It was learnt Galandanci arrived to a hostile crowd chanting slogans suggesting

his rejection.

Some of the slogans also demonstrated opposition to the Constitutional Review project.

Eyewitness account hinted the lawmaker was molested almost to the point of going into coma before intervention by good Samaritans.

Lawan, former House Committee Chairman on Subsidy Removal, however, was overwhelmingly received in Bagwai\Shanono Federal Constituency.

Constituents cheered endlessly on sighting their fourtime representative.

HE Aworis have expressed willingness to join Lagos State.

They alleged that the Egbas and Owus in Ogun State have refused to recognise them, leading to backwardness of the area and discrimination in employments.

The Secretary of The Awori Consultative Council, High Chief Bangboye Osunlabu, said his kinsmen will be glad to be part of Lagos State.

He said: ‘’We believe if we are merged with Lagos State, we will derive more benefits and have rapid development in terms of relative peace among us unlike what we are having now with the Owus and the Egbas.

“The Egbas are encroaching on our land and are expanding their own territory claiming that they had one battle with us in 1882 and won.”

Osunlabu decried the discrimination of Awori indigenes, saying no one from the race has risen to the top in the state.

According to him: “In terms of employment if you look at the census figure of the civil servants in Ogun state hardly will you see an Awori man at the top and apart from that we don’t enjoy anything.”

Ekiti opposes constitutional roles for traditional rulers ROMINENT indigenes (EKSU), Dr Ayan Adeleke,

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of Ekiti State yesterday unanimously opposed conceding constitutional roles to traditional rulers in the state.

This was despite several vociferous agitations by traditional rulers for constitutional roles.

Governor Kayode Fayemi, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Legislative Matters, Mr. Oladapo Karounwi, noted that he would not be swayed against

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

the consensus of the state.

Speaker after speaker from across sections including student union, trade groups, members of the Nigerian Bar Association, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other professional groups equally rejected the state police.

Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ekiti State University

spoke against persistent advocacy that traditional rulers be engaged in the running of government.

Speaking on behalf of other monarchs in the state, the Oore of Moba, Oba Adedapo Popoola, canvassed constitutional roles for traditional rulers.

Speakers equally supported amending the constitution to enable creation of equal number of states in each of the six geo-political zones.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Adenuga donates to flood victims

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HE Mike Adenuga Foundation has donated relief materials worth N70 million to flood victims in Bayelsa State.

Some of the materials presented to Governor Seriake Dickson at the Government House in Yenogoa, include 4,000 mattresses, 4,000 pillows, 4,000 blankets, 2,000 cartons of noodles, 2,000 cartons of detergent and 500 bags of rice, among others.

Handing over the items to the governor on behalf of the founder of the foundation, Dr Mike Adenuja(GCON), foundation Managing Director, Mr. Yomi Ogunbamowo, said the gesture was aimed at supporting the government’s efforts to enable the victims live normally again.

Ogunbamowo said: “We quite appreciate the agony the people affected by the flood disaster have had to contend with. Many of them lost their loved ones, including their bread winners while several others were displaced from their homes or business premises.”

Dickson expressed appreciation for the timely intervention by the foundation.

He noted that the materials will assist his government’s efforts to ameliorate the plight of the flood victims in rehabilitating displaced persons in the affected communities.

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Flooding: Jonathan approves N9.7b food production plan T

O support farmers in flood-ravaged states, President Goodluck Jonathan has approved N9.7 billion for execution of flood recovery food production plan.

The plan, which involves the release of 40, 000 metric tons of food from the Strategic Grains Reserve to the affected families, will include provision of free seedlings and fertilisers to affected farmers.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, dis-

From: Olugbenga Adanikin, Abuja

closed this during an emergency meeting with Commissioners for Agriculture and Rural Development on the National Flood Recovery Food Production Programme in Abuja.

Adesina said: “The real issue is how we compensate for the losses incurred. We have already put in place a flood recovery food production plan to support famers in the flood affected areas.

“As the flood recedes, we

will embark on the intervention. Mr. President has approved N9.7 billion for us to implement this plan.”

He added: “The plan has four components: first, we will release 40, 000 mt of food from the strategic grain reserve to the families directly affected by the floods.

“Secondly, we will provide free improved seeds and fertilisers to farmers that are directly affected as soon as the water recedes.

“Thirdly, in states that are affected by floods, but vast areas unaffected, we will give

them improved seeds and fertilisers while the last group, which are states not affected will also benefit from the free seeds and fertilisers but through the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme.

Describing the disaster as a wakeup call for all stakeholders especially in the agriculture sector, the minister identified Taraba and Kogi States as the worst hit.

He explained that the flood claimed 106, 400 hectares (ha) of 751, 540ha total cultivated area in Taraba while Kogi had crop loss of 72, 200

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

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By Joe Agbro Jr.

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ha of 250, 670ha cultivated farmland.

Adesina further put the total flooded areas as at 12th and 13th October, 2012 to 1.4 million as estimate for crop loss was 467,000 ha.

Adesina dismissed imminence of food shortage next year adding that the mentioned data were outcomes of a sophisticated remote sensing and satellite imagery research conducted by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) to determine extent of crop loss.

He added that with the various intervention programmes and support schemes provided for the farmers, the country would not suffer food shortage.

Kano Commissioner for Agriculture, Hajia Baraka Sani, lamented the flood had affected about 25, 485 ha of farmlands while the state is yet to examine losses incurred on the irrigation farms.

She said a total of 31 out of 44 local councils were affected, asides from houses and properties washed away.

Sani commended the Federal Government for the initiative, stressing that it will complement the state’s effort towards assisting the affected farmers.

Her Kogi State counterpart, Dr. Olufemi Bolarin, lamented that about 20, 000 crops of small holders and confluence sugarcanes were swept off by the flood.

Jonathan greets new Archbishop of Canterbury

Durotoye eyes ‘reading’ world records OREMOST motivational speaker, Fela Durotoye, is set to create three world records with the reading of his book, ‘17 Secrets of High Flying Students’ to a global audience.

The project, Gemstone Global Reading festival, is scheduled to hold simultaneously by 12 noon on Saturday, November 24 in 17 countries and 17 cities across Nigeria.

The reading will also be streamed live on the internet.

A statement by the project manager, Rotimi Eyitayo, said: “while the reading takes place in Nigeria by 12 noon, other locations like Ghana would be 11am, South Africa at 1pm, Malaysia at 7pm, and Maryland (USA) at 7am and so on.”

Gemstone Group, promoters of the reading festival, hopes to register over 50, 000 secondary school students.

Some of the records the event will attempt to break are the most number of children being read to by an adult currently at 4, 222; the largest book reading event by an author, which stands at 5, 406 and the largest global reading lesson in different countries simultaneously (new category).

Other Nigerian cities involved in the project are: Abeokuta, Calabar, Ibadan, PortHarcourt, Ife, Abuja, Benin, Jos, Ado-Ekiti, Uyo, Enugu, Kaduna, Minna, Owerri, and Asaba.

The event will also hold in Malaysia, Ghana, South Africa, United States of America, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Indonesia, and Singapore.

Other countries are China, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Seychelles, Dubai, Australia, India, and Canada.

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•Scene of an accident involving a trailer with registration number BE 736XA and a Toyota Camry with registration number KSF 610AV on Adeniji- Adele road in Lagos… yesterday PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

Ekiti NULGE announces ceasefire, resume tomorrow

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ORKERS across the 16 councils of Ekiti State will resume work tomorrow.

Announcing a ceasefire at the weekend, officials of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) said the suspension of the twomonth strike was consequent on the willingness of the state to pay N19, 012 minimum

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

wages fixed by the Federal Government.

President of NULGE in the state, Comrade Dele Ajayi, said the government has agreed to commence payment of the wages with effect from 1st November, 2012.

Government’s team, ac-

cording to him, comprised the Commissioner for Labour, Productivity and Human Capital Development, Mr. Wole Adewumi and his counterpart at the Local Government Ministry, Chief Dayo Fadipe, alongside officials of the Federal Ministry of Labour.

Ajayi disclosed that the agreement also include the

I have no private jet yet, says Sam Adeyemi

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HE senior pastor of Daystar Christian Centre Lagos, Pastor Sam Adeyemi, has refuted media reports linking him with ownership of a private jet.

He said it is completely false and untrue that he owns a private jet.

Adeyemi described the reports as mere rumours without any iota of truth.

Speaking with reporters yesterday during the annual Excellence in Leadership (ELC) conference of the church, the host of the popular Success power radio show said: “I do not own a private yet.”

He added: “It is a rumour that has been there for sometimes, especially in the junk media.

“It is becoming a source of concern now that reputable magazines and newspapers are saying the same thing.

“I take it as a prayer and say amen but I won’t say more than that.”

By Sunday Oguntola

He called for evolution of the Nigerian dream to get the nation out of the wood.

Until such a dream becomes a national identity, he said Nigeria will move nowhere.

He explained: “The whole of America has a clear vision, which they call the American dream.

“The question is: what is the Nigerian dream? It is when you define that dream that an

average Nigerian knows how to fit in.

“Nigeria has no dream or clear-cut vision of what Nigeria will become in the future.

“There is none. Without that vision, we are not going anywhere.

“We need a vision, a Nigerian dream that all of us must tap into. Just tarring roads is not enough. We need a composite picture of the future of Nigeria.”

decision of the “government to credit accounts of the 16 councils for payment of September and October salaries before Wednesday, 14th November, 2012.”

He disclosed further that government, through the agreement, also consented to paying the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) and Consolidated Health Salary Scale (CONHESS) to health workers at the councils.

He equally noted “the method for the payment of both the minimum wage and CONMESS/CONHESS arrears, according to the pact, should be determined by the joint committee of government and NULGE.” The union leader added that all genuine health workers at the councils would be deployed to the newly created Primary Health Care Development Agency.

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated the Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Justin Welby, on his appointment as the Archbishop of Canterbury and Head of the Anglican Communion worldwide.

In a congratulatory letter to Welby signed by his media aide, Dr Reuben Abati, Jonathan said that he was confident the new Archbishop with his inspiring antecedents will achieve astounding success.

The statement reads: “On behalf of my family, the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I write to express warm felicitations to you on your appointment as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

“Your elevation to the position of headship of the Anglican Communion worldwide, at a time of great challenges for the international community and the Church of Christ, is evidently richly deserved.

“I am confident that, given your inspiring antecedents, you will make an astounding success of this divine assignment.

“You can be assured of the prayers and steadfast support of my government and the body of Christ in Nigeria as you assume your exalted office.”

Oke submits petition against Mimiko’s victory

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HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the just- concluded governorship election in Ondo State, Chief Olusola Oke, yesterday joined three other political parties’ standard bearers at the tribunal to challenge the declaration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party (LP) as winner.

Other parties that have already filed their petitions to

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

challenge the election results are the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Accord Party (AP) and the Peoples Democratic Change (PDC).

Oke, who filed a 1,265page petition, stormed the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Akure, the state capital, around 1.05pm

with his legal team.

During the sitting, PDP and Oke will be presenting 143 witnesses.

The party will also challenge election results from 17 local government areas of the state, claiming the poll was marred with irregularities.

The petitioners also urged the tribunal to declare its candidate the winner or order for

re-run since the incumbent governor was not duly elected.

The lead counsel of Oke’s legal team, Barrister Yinka Osokoto, who spoke with reporters, said Mimiko did not score the majority votes.

He disclosed that arrangements have been concluded to invite three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) to join him in handling the case.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Family petitions minister over alleged land encroachment

‘Half of Kaduna’s teachers unqualified’ From Tony Akowe

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EARLY fifty percent of teachers in public primary and secondary schools in Kaduna State lack requisite qualifications while over 2,000 of them secured employment with fake certificates.

Kaduna State governor, Patrick Yakowa, disclosed this yesterday at the 2nd national graduation ceremony of the National Teachers Institute (NTI) Kaduna.

He said his government has also set up a roadmap for the development of education in the state.

The governor said the government has also assessed the needs of its qualified teachers and is in the process of addressing them through aggressive training with the support of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN).

According to him: “the road map was aimed at addressing teachers quality through capacity building, infrastructural development, increasing access and provision of facilities, new quality assurance system and the development of tertiary institutions owned by the state government.

“We are convinced that the teacher is the key factor in any learning situation. We therefore associate ourselves with any effort to develop teacher’s quality.”

Adeboye commissions N300m RCCG parish in FCT From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

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HE General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, yesterday commissioned a N300 million parish at the Jahi District of the the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) .

Speaking during the ceremony, he urged the faithful to take advantage of every opportunity that beckons at them like the blind beggar, Bartimaeus , who insisted on gaining access to Jesus for healing.

Adeboye said it has never happened before that after the holy ghost service, he proceeded to commission a church. He, Therefore, commended them for insisting on inviting him to open the church, which, he said, was yet to be completed.

He, therefore, submitted that “every prayer you pray here today will be answered with fire.”

He admonished them to pray fervently as he recalled that he had the opportunity of visiting a mountain in Southern Korea where he prayed and got lost in prayer, an experience, according to the general overseer, which has paid off today.

He told the worshippers to take the prayer time as a lifeopportunity.

Speaking with journalists after the commissioning, the parish pastor, Michael Izekwe, said “if God has helped us to acquire this type of land for that amount and to build the church for 10 months, the same God would complete the project soonest.”

By Tunde Busari

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•A First Class graduate in Business Computing and winner of the Best Graduating Student Award in the Department of Business Administration of the Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, Miss Cindarella Nnaji with her parents Mr and Mrs Obinwa Nnaji during the convocation ceremony… recently

Bayelsa flood victims eager F to return home LOOD-affected victims in Bayelsa State are desperate to go back to their communities as the flood recedes in snail-like progression. This is coming on the heels of waiting for government’s final package to enable them go and settle in their respective communities.

A visit to some of the camps in Yenagoa, the state capital, revealed that most of the inmates are tired of staying in temporary abodes.

This is even as some alleged that government is trying to force them out of the camps as indicated by the supply of meager materials to the camps.

But government attributed the problem to acts of mischief by some people asked to assist government to ensure proper coordination.

A visit to the camps also revealed that some of the victims had started going back to assess the extent of damage in their communities.

Mr. Nikki Maworuya, the Coordinator of the Sports Complex Camp of the flood victims in Yenagoa said 99 percent of the inmates are set to go back to their various communities but they are waiting for government to provide transport to enable them move.

According to him, though

From Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa

some had returned to their communities but those still remaining have had their names compiled while waiting for response from government.

He also disclosed that four women successfully gave birth to babies.

On some items that are not readily made available even though they were applied for, he said government provided everything.

But investigations revealed that those in charge of providing them were not forthcoming with them.

“Mattresses are there but even when we applied, we

have not received them,” a source who pleaded not to be named, disclosed.

Also commenting on how the displaced persons in the camp are eager to go back to their Communities, Dr. Duenebiyah Udisi, the Coordinator of the BDGS Camp of the flood victims in Yenagoa, also disclosed that they were waiting for a package from the government to enable them take care of their homes that had been ravaged by the flood.

T

Imo denies plan to scrap bureaus

Nigeria intensifies effort to boost literacy T T

By Sam Egburonu

HE Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, has said literacy programme delivery system has improved and the focus now is on equity especially towards reaching women, girl and marginalised rural indigenous population.

Speaking at the opening of the ninth E-9 Ministerial Review meeting in New Delhi, India, while presenting member nations progress report, she said among the E-9 nations, India as host, Egypt, Mexico and Nigeria had adopted clear cut intervention

strategies for reaching out.

In the case of India, literacy programme focuses on rural women, Egypt adopted national campaign to fight illiteracy, Mexico focuses on learning needs of illiterate indigenous groups and in Nigeria, model centres were built mainly for girls as well as the development of primers in 22 minority languages.

The minister said all countries are looking at literacy across the lifespan and therefore integrating literacy learning in schools and non formal education acquired by youth and adults.

The minister also said many countries are exploring new resources for literacy, thereby augmenting the state funding which raised abilities to fund mass literacy in recent years with India recording over 70% increase from the $250 million in 2007 to over $1bilion in 2012.

She called for more collaboration towards becoming a learning community of practice, prioritising literacy in member countries and the establishment of a sustainable system of literacy learning process.

Anambra to revoke Akpaka forest allotment 15 years after HE Anambra State Government yesterday directed owners of plots of land at the Akpaka layout, Onitsha, to immediately comply with terms of agreement reached with government before lands were allocated to them for development or face revocation of their rights of ownership.

The State Commissioner for Lands, Mr C. J. OkoliAkirika, who announced this while on tour of the layout Friday appealed to them to pay their counterpart funds for infrastructural development in the area.

Okoli-Akirika wondered why for more than 15 years

HE Olarinde Oluekun family has petitioned the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple, over alleged encroachment of their lands at new Oguntedo Village, Satellite Town, along Badagry Road in Lagos, by officials of the ministry.

The solicitors of the family, Jide Lawal chambers, complained that officials of Satellite Town administrative office of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing have been trespassing on the family lands and selling them to strangers.

The petition read: “around August 1978, the then Federal Military Government headed

by General Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd) allocated land at Satellite to the family as a replacement of the acquisition of their land in Lagos, now used as Naval Base, Apapa.

“Since they (Oluekun family members) had been in possession of the land, there were private court cases among the family members and some of these cases are still pending in court.

“Recently, the court appointed the official receiver to manage and administer the land. During the prolonged court proceedings, the family had obtained warrant for possession against some illegal persons on the land in July 1989.”

It added that since 1978, it had been exercising rights of ownership over the land.

They called on the minister to use her good office to reverse the development.

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

after the allocation, the allottees had not deemed it necessary to develop their plots.

He frowned at the developments where allottees have failed to pay their counterpart funding, and lamented the springing up of illegal structures and building of structures on drainage channels in the area.

“The quality of some of the construction is substandard and different from specifications approved and are already causing environmental challenges,” he observed.

He stated further: “During the allocation, they entered into agreement with the government. They are expected to pay counterpart fund but majority of them have not fulfilled that obligation.

“The allottees are being given an undeserved grace to ensure that before the end of November they come to develop their property.

Government is entitled to revoke plot of any offender at the expiration of the month,”.

The Commissioner also disclosed that some unscrupulous persons under the guise of youths and land

speculators have been encroaching into the estate by removing beacons and reselling government advertised and allotted lands.

On the delay of roads construction, the commissioner explained that it was a result of allottees’ failure to fulfill the payment of a counterpart fund for infrastructural development of the area.

He said, “The allottees entered into an agreement with government to pay a counterpart fund of N500, 000 each for direct allottees and N700, 000 each for developers who bought from allottees.”

HE Imo State Government has denied allegation that it has concluded plans to scrap all government bureaus and sack some top officials in the affected bureaus.

Reacting to a recent publication which claimed that Governor Rochas Okorocha had directed the Secretary to the State Government , Prof.

Anthony Anwuka and the new Head of Service, Mrs. Nkechi Onumajuru, to work out modalities on how to carry out the exercise, Okorocha said, through his SA Media (Print), Ebere Uzoukwa, that the claims were unfounded.

“The publication is false , unfounded and another orchestrated plan by some disgruntled elements and their collaborators to cause disaffection between His Excellency Owelle Rochas Okorocha and his foot-soldiers,” he said.

Instead of planning to sack, Uzoukwu said his principal, Okorocha, “has taken far-reaching steps to strengthen the wings of his administration with his lieutenants also working in tandem with his developmental concept as enshrined in the Rescue Mission Agenda towards transforming Imo into a model state in Nigeria.”

An Owerri-based publication had carried the report on Thursday November 8, 2012.

The Owerri-based tabloid alleged that the new policy will lead to the sack of some government appointees under a “Policy Reform in Imo.”

NEWS REVIEW

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

•Jang

T

HE deadlock means the six-month old strike has entered its second phase, the first phase that has to do with minimum wage has been resolved. The second phase which commenced a few days ago has to do with payment of salaries for the period of strike. While Gov Jang insists on 'no work no pay' rule, the workers say they will not call off the strike until Gov. Jang agrees to pay the five months owed during the strike period.

The seventeen local government councils of the state were shut down since May 2012 when the organised labour declared the indefinite strike. State chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Jibrin Bachit, told The Nation that not less than five workers' unions in Plateau State are currently on strike which began six months ago.

The workers' unions include Nigeria Union of Local Government Employee (NULGE), Medical and Health Workers Union, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and Nurses and Midwives Association.

According to Comrade Bancit, "The strike was declared as a result of the failure of their employer, the Plateau State government, to implement agreement reached on payment of 18% minimum wage.

The NLC said, "The state government appealed to us for the implementation of fifty percent of the current minimum wage, they told us they would not be able to pay hundred percent. We accepted their appeal on agreement that the state government will review the

It's no work, no pay for striking teachers in Jos The two tiers of government in Plateau State have been functioning in fits and starts; local government tier has been down in the last six months. This is due to the strike embarked upon by a section of workers. The meeting between government and labour leaders recently ended in deadlock, reports Yusuf Aminu Idegu. agreement upward when the revenue of the state improves.

"However, when we it became obvious that the state allocation has improved we demanded for the review of the earlier agreement but the state government refused. That is the cause of the strike."

On its part, the government is of the position that there has been steady decrease on monthly allocation. And that rather than reviewing the salary upward it should be reviewed downward.

While briefing stakeholders of the state during its last meeting at the conference hall of Government House Rayfield Jos, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy

Affairs, Dr. Paul Wai, said, "for obvious reason, the cost of paying the new minimum wage 100% is far beyond what the state can afford. That was why the state government pleaded with the workers that it can only implement the minimum wage by 50%. We also agreed with the workers that the rate of fifty percent will be improved on as soon as the monthly allocation to local government improves.

"The unfortunate situation now is that monthly allocation to the local governments has been on steady decline since then.

"Then the worker came to say the revenue has improved and we should be able to pay the minimum wage in full. All efforts

since then to make them understand that the allocation is rather dwindling was not accepted by the workers."

Dr Paul Wai provided statistics to buttress government's postion: "The total amount of monthly allocation to all the 17 local governments of the state is put at N1.9billion. The cost of paying the minimum wage in full is put at N3.2 billion.

That was why we pleaded with the workers to allow state government pay half of it pending when the monthly allocation improves."

The stakeholders' meeting which was summoned at the instance of the Plateau State government was to intervene

in the dispute and resolve it amicably. A committee of elders of the state was constituted to look into the salary dispute and find a way of resolving them.

The elders' committee chaired by a former governor of the state Rear Admiral Bitrus Samuel Atukum swung into action almost immediately.

After series of meetings with labour leaders and government representatives, the elders' committee recommended an increase on the workers' salaries by 5%. This made it 55% of the minimum wage.

According to the state chairman of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon Emmanuel Loman, the crux of the matter in this dispute is lack of fund."It is obvious from our monthly allocation that we can't pay this money at the local government.

"Now the elders' committee, in order to bring this strike to an end, has agreed to add 5% to the workers' salaries without consulting us, but because we want peace between us and our workers we have to accept the recommendation of the elders' committee even though we are going to pay through our nose.

We don't need to drag this dispute any further, we have accepted to pay 55%."

A retired civil servant in Jos Markus Pwajok opined that; "This governor is so insensitive to workers welfare. He does not care how you feel. It is during his tenure in the history of Plateau State that workers went on strike for 12 months and he does not care. Even this particular strike, I am afraid, will last up more than one year except the federal government intervenes."

The second phase of the industrial dispute between the state government and its work force may drag longer than the main strike as both parties maintain that their positions on salaries during strike are legal and a matter of rights.

Government delegation, the elders' committee, local government chairmen and the labour leaders sat in government house Jos over the dispute but the meeting ended abruptly and in deadlock because government insisted it would not pay the workers for the period they did not work and the labour said they would not work until they were either paid or secured agreement that government has accepted to pay.

While the state government and its workers are fighting, plateau citizens are the ones suffering. The primary healthcare services which ordinary citizens can patronise have been under lock and key. Public schools which the low income earners can afford have not resumed for almost a term. Many families of the civil servants who have not been paid since May this year are feeding from the dustbin. Sadly, they are not better than refugees in their own land and everybody is lamenting.

By AD

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

News Review/World

THE GENERAL PETRAEUS SCANDAL

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IA Director David Petraeus dramatically resigned Friday after allegedly having an affair with his biographer. The alleged affair was uncovered after the FBI launched an investigation into the biographer, Paula Broadwell, for allegedly hacking into the former general's email.

Broadwell, who researched the book 'All In' for three years, had extensive access to Petraeus in Afghanistan. Yet sources told NBC it is unlikely she will face criminal charges after the alleged hacking, stressing that Petraeus himself is under no investigation.

Petraeus stepped down after confessing to cheating on his wife of 37 years, Holly - behaviour he explained was 'unacceptable' for a senior administration official.

He first met Broadwell six years ago when he addressed students at Harvard University, where she is a researcher, and they eventually got to know each other better during mile-long runs.

Broadwell, who served in the military for more than a decade, lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her radiologist husband, Dr. Scott Broadwell, and their two young sons, Lucien and Landon.

In the biography, Broadwell revealed she first met him during his visit to Harvard in spring 2006 when he was a Commander at Fort Leavenworth.

'I was among the students invited by the school to meet with the general at a dinner afterward, because of my military background,' she explained.

'I introduced myself to thenLieutenant General Petraeus and told him about my research interests; he gave me his card and offered to put me in touch with other researchers and service members working on the same issues.' Broadwell added that this was not a one-off as he often 'does a lot of mentoring'.

As she pursued her PhD in public policy in 2008, she contacted him to ask if she could interview him and they kept in touch via email.

'A few months into my research, General Petraeus, who was then leading Central Command, invited me to go for a run with him and his team along the Potomac River during one of his visits to Washington,' she wrote. 'I figured I could interview him while we ran.'

She explained that, after earning varsity letters in cross-country and indoor and outdoor track, she wanted to test him to see if he could keep up with her as she interviewed him.

'Instead it became a test for me,' she said. 'As we talked during the run from the Pentagon to the Washington Monument and back, Petraeus progressively increased the pace until the talk turned to heavy breathing and we reached a sixminute-per-mile pace. It was a signature Petraeus move.'

Promoting the book on The Daily Show with John Stewart in January, she insisted that these milelong runs together were nothing out of the ordinary.

'This is a typical mechanism for him to get to know young people,' she said. 'He's done it throughout his life. That was the foundation of our relationship.'

In another often awkward radio interview in January, host Don Imus said that the pair must have 'obviously' liked each other.

She responded: 'You know, as I said earlier, he has a number of mentees and that's one thing that's different when you compare him to other Senior Commanders.

'But, yeah, we had a lot of rapport.

I think some of that comes from a common ground of having gone to West Point [to the U.S. Military Academy].'

Of her reported rival, she added: 'He is married to Holly Petraeus, who is a wonderful Military spouse and done so much for their children

•President Obama and Ptraeus

The rise and fall of an American war hero United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) boss, General David Petraeus, quit Friday after Federal bureau of Investigations (FBI) probe found he was cheating on his loyal wife 'with married biographer.' By Hugo Gye, James Nye, Beth Stebner and Lydia Warren.

•Braodwell and for children of fallen soldiers, I respect her immensely.'

The book's description explains Broadwell conducted research for three years and was 'afforded extensive access by General Petraeus, his mentors, his subordinates and his longtime friends'. Its website adds Broadwell was embedded in Afghanistan with Petraeus for a year between July 2010 and 2011.

Broadwell graduated with honors from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, and came top of her class in physical fitness.

Petraeus also attended the academy and married his wife Holly there.

She has more than a decade of military service and nearly two decades of work in counterterrorism

•Petraeus with wife, Holly and counterinsurgency.

She is studying for her PhD at Kings College in London, and is also a research associate at Harvard University's Center for Public Leadership. For her studies and the biography, she spent most of 2011 in Afghanistan as an embedded author.

As well as contributing to book chapters, appearing on television interviews and writing opinion pieces for The New York Times and the Boston Globe about leadership and women in defense, she has also worked as a model and demonstrator for KRISS, a .45 caliber machine gun manufacturer.

Last week, Broadwell wrote an article entitled 'David Petraeus's Rules for Living' in Newsweek.

One read: 'We all will make mistakes. The key is to recognize them and admit them, to learn from them, and to take off the rear view mirrors - drive on and avoid making them again.'

Petraeus had been sworn in as head of the CIA in September 2011 after serving as head of the coalition forces first in Iraq and then in Afghanistan.

President Obama accepted Petraeus' resignation but described him as 'one of the outstanding General officers of his generation' as he added: 'By any measure, through his lifetime of service David Petraeus has made our country safer and stronger.'

Deputy director Michael Morell

will serve as acting head of the agency until a permanent replacement for Petraeus is appointed.

In his resignation letter addressed to CIA agents, Petraeus wrote that 'such behaviour is unacceptable' for a senior administration official.

The fact of an affair would not in itself normally merit a resignation, unless the affair created a security risk, for instance if it was with a foreigner or a journalist. Blackmail would also be an issue, though publicly admitting the affair would prevent that.

An affair with a subordinate CIA employee might make a resignation almost inevitable - or it is possible that Petraeus stepped down because he felt his leadership and integrity had been compromised.

One of the most puzzling aspects of the resignation is its proximity to next week's congressional hearings on Benghazi, which Petraeus has said he will not now attend, even though being out of office would not preclude his doing so.

Petraeus admitted he had shown 'extremely poor judgement' in the letter he sent to his CIA colleagues confirming that he was stepping down.

He added that it had been 'the greatest of privileges' to work at the agency, saying: 'Teddy Roosevelt once observed that life's greatest gift is the opportunity to work hard at work worth doing.'

Petraeus, 60, has been married to Holly, née Knowlton, since 1975, after they meet when he was a military cadet at West Point and she was the daughter of the academy's superintendent.

When he was sworn in as director of the CIA by Vice President Joe Biden, Holly held the Bible on which he swore his oath of office.

Mrs Petraeus is head of the Office of Servicemember Affairs, a department of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which is responsible for ensuring members of the military are not taken advantage of by banks and other financial businesses.

The official offered his resignation to Obama on Thursday, and the President accepted the offer on Friday.

Obama issued a statement thanking Petraeus for his 'extraordinary service', saying he had 'served with characteristic intellectual rigor, dedication, and patriotism'.

The President added: 'Going

•Contd. on page 11

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

11

THE GENERAL PETRAEUS SCANDAL •Contd. from page 10 forward, my thoughts and prayers are with Dave and Holly Petraeus, who has done so much to help military families through her own work. I wish them the very best at this difficult time.'

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper had even stronger praise for Petraeus, describing him as 'one of our nation's great patriots' as he added, 'Dave has redefined what it means to serve and sacrifice for one's country.'

Clapper continued: 'Whether he was in uniform leading our nation's troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, or at CIA headquarters leading the effort to generate intelligence used to keep our nation safe, Dave inspired people who had the privilege of working with him.'

Dianne Feinstein, a Democratic senator from California who is chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: 'I wish President Obama had not accepted this resignation, but I understand and respect the decision.'

She added: 'I wanted him to continue. He was good, he loved the work and he had a command of intelligence issues second to none.'

Peter King, the Republican who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, said: 'General Petraeus is one of America's most outstanding and distinguished military leaders and a true American patriot.'

The resignation comes at an awkward time for the President, who is beginning to put together his team for his second term in the wake of his re-election on Tuesday.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has already declared her plans to step down in January, while Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is expected to follow some time in 2013.

Petraeus' departure leaves another vacancy for a key position in the national security establishment.

Morell, who has served as the

agency's deputy director for two and a half years, will be one of the frontrunners to take over on a permanent basis - former CIA director George Tenet was promoted from deputy in the same way after the resignation of John Deutch in 1996.

He is a long-serving analyst who has twice been a witness to history, travelling with George W. Bush on

the day of the September 11 attacks and sitting in the White House situation room with Barack Obama during the mission to kill Osama Bin Laden in May last year.

Petraeus was in charge of the CIA at the time of the terror attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on September 11 of this year, a raid in which ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed

and which has become a political disaster for the Obama administration.

The former CIA director was due to address a congressional hearing on the attack next week, which could raise suspicions that the timing of his resignation was politically motivated.

He will no longer be present at the hearing, which will instead grill

Morell on the agency's failings in allowing four Americans to die during the assault on the consulate and a CIA compound.

Despite his close working relationship with Obama and other Democratic officials, Petraeus was spoken of as a possible running mate for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney this year.

Source: Daily Mail

Paula Broadwell: His alleged mistress

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ROADWELL is the author, with Vernon Loeb, of All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, a glowing 400-page biography of Petraeus, for which she was granted almost total access.

After it was published in January, some said it read more like a love letter to the general than a biography. In a review for Rolling Stone, Michael Hastings called the book "a work of fan fiction so fawning that not even Max Boot-a Petraeus buddy and Pentagon sock puppet-could bring himself to rave about it."

Broadwell, 40, is a research associate at Harvard's Center for Public Leadership-as well as a PhD. candidate in the department of war studies at King's College in London.

She is married to Scott Broadwell, an interventional radiologist. They live in the upper middle class Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, N.C., with their two sons, Landon and Lucien. She grew up in North Dakota, and attended West Point, the general's alma mater, where she graduated with honors.

She has worked for the U.S. Special Operations Command and an FBI joint terrorism task force. Beyond that, her list of accomplishments is long: she earned an MA from The University of Denver's Korbel School of International Studies; an MPA from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and served as the deputy director of

Paula Broadwell, the stunning author of his biography, 'All In,' is allegedly the mystery woman behind the general's fall. By Isabel Wilkinson.

•Paula Broadwell with husband, Scott the Jebsen Center for CounterTerrorism Studies at the Fletcher School at Tufts.

Physically, Broadwell is tall and stunning, with long dark hair and green eyes. According to her biography, she has been a "sponsored ½ Ironman triathlete" as well as a "female model/ demonstrator" for KRISS, a manufacturer of .45-caliber machine guns.

Broadwell first crossed paths with Petraeus in 2006, when he gave

a lecture at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, where she was pursuing her master's degree.

According to the preface of All In, she introduced herself after that lecture and told him about her academic research. He gave her his business card and offered to help. "I took full advantage of his open-door policy to seek insight and share perspectives," she writes in the book.

And so began an alleged relationship, which, if sources are to

27 inmates killed in Sri Lanka prison shootout

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•Pakistani students attend a ceremony to mark "Malala Day" in Lahore yesterday. Nearly 100,000 people have signed an online petition calling for Malala to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and on Friday UN special education envoy Gordon Brown handed a separate millionstrong petition in support of Malala to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. AFP PHOTO

shootout between rioting prisoners and security forces at a prison in Sri Lanka's capital killed at least 27 inmates, while police yesterday that they arrested five prisoners who had managed to escape and were searching for others.

Another 42 people were wounded in the clashes Friday between inmates and army and police commandos that broke out after the rioting prisoners broke into the armory and briefly took control of at least part of the Welikada prison in Colombo. The situation at the prison had returned to normal by Saturday morning.

"The prison is now totally under our control," said Sri Lanka's Commissioner General of Prisons P.W. Kodippili.

Dr. Anil Jasinghe, director of the Colombo National Hospital, said the bodies of 16 inmates were at his hospital.

Kodippili said that security forces had found the bodies of 11 other inmates inside the prison premises and that the total number of deaths stood at 27.

Twenty-three inmates who were injured in the clash were receiving treatment at the hospital, Jasinghe said. Thirteen police officers, four soldiers, a prison guard and a passer-by also were being treated there, most of them with gunshot wounds.

Police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody said authorities recaptured five inmates who had escaped from the prison, which was the site of another riot earlier this year.

Kodippili declined to say how

many inmates may have escaped, but he said search operations were under way to find others who may have fled.

Jayakody said the fighting began when police commandos went to the prison to conduct a search and were attacked by inmates hurling stones. He declined to provide more information. Officials often conduct raids for narcotics and communication devices.

An Associated Press photographer saw prisoners waving rifles atop the prison's roof Friday night.

Other prisoners piled into a three-wheeled vehicle and began driving toward a main city road before security forces outside the prison opened fire. The vehicle stopped, and three unmoving bodies could be seen.

Dozens of security officers then entered the prison, and volleys of gunfire rang out. Prisoners could be heard screaming, "Stop shooting!"

Army troops were called in later to help control the situation.

Kodippili said the inmates had broken into the prison's two armories during the riot and taken weapons stored there. The inmates opened fire at police commandos, who shot back.

He said that security forces had so far recovered 76 weapons taken by the prisoners and that six more weapons were still missing.

A clash between inmates and guards at the same prison last January wounded 28 people.

Those prisoners were protesting the authorities' move to curtail drug smuggling into the facility.

be believed, eventually led to the general's resignation from the CIA on Friday.

With access to Petraeus, Broadwell decided to structure her dissertation around a case study of his leadership. She called it "a study in transformational leadership and organizational innovation influenced by U.S. Army General David Petraeus." In July 2010, when the general was put in command of Afghanistan, Broadwell parlayed her project into a book deal with Penguin Press, and brought in The Washington Post's Vernon Loeb to help report on the ground.

It was then that she "shot [Petraeus] an email and said 'I'm going to go for it,'" she told Stewart.

"I'm not sure he took me seriously, but I showed up in Afghanistan." She embedded there until summer 2011, where she reported on the front lines, observed him closely, and interviewed several crucial members of his command.

Biographers sometimes develop obsessions with their subjects. And, in hindsight, it is peculiar that Broadwell repeatedly referred to Petraeus as a mentor-saying in an interview that he approached her project "from a mentoring point of view." In All In, she writes that he saw her as an "aspiring soldierscholar." In an interview with Jon Stewart, she sounds adoring of Petraeus. "He can turn water into bottled water," she joked. In that interview, she explains that Petraeus's high-school nicknamewhich has apparently stuck with him since-was "Peaches." (After her book tour in January, she was reportedly going back to finish her doctoratewhere, she told The Charlotte Observer, Petraeus was also one of her dissertation advisers.)

Like Petraeus, Broadwell is an avid athlete. At West Point, she ran cross-country and track-and graduated at the top of her class for physical fitness. In an online bio, she describes her hobbies as running, skiing, and surfing. When she appeared on The Daily Show in January-she challenged Stewart to a push-up contest for charity, which she easily won.

Broadwell got to know Petraeus through several five-mile runs that doubled as interviews-a tactic he's been known to use with journalists.

"It was an opportunity for me to interview him on a run," she told Stewart. "I thought I'd test him, but he was going to test me-it ended up being a test for both of us since we both ran pretty quickly. That was the foundation of our relationship."

When he didn't want to answer questions, she said, "He would pick up the pace so neither of us could talk."

Just last week, Broadwell documented Petraeus's "Rules for Living" in Newsweek-which read like the 12 commandments for military leadership and personal excellence. The fifth rule, smack in the middle, states simply, "We all will make mistakes. The key is to recognize them and admit them, to learn from them, and to take off the rearview mirrors-drive on and avoid making them again."

Source: Daily Beast

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News Review/World

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

After the election: The delirium, then the deluge

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RESIDENT Obama's White House tenancy has been extended and Mitt Romney hopefully will exit the political stage to remain in the arena of business, the place where his particular abilities are better suited. He was a somewhat awkward political figure who never could find his true voice because he had auditioned so many false ones. Distilled to its essence, this election was decided on ethnicity and social issues. By a slight majority, the nation shifted left toward the liberal Democratic Party on these issues. On economic and national security issues, there was no contest because there was no real difference between the two candidates.

The result was never as uncertain as the media feigned. Americans so enjoy the circus; thus, an artificial one will suffice when the real thing is unavailable. Months ago, this column predicted an Obama victory. The election was his to lose. By his first debate performance, he almost poured vinegar into the cask of his victory. In the last two debates, Obama recovered the ground lost in the first. When Hurricane Sandy pummeled the east coast, Obama's return to the White House was cemented. Sandy washed many things out to sea. One of them was Romney's chance at an upset.

While masterfully obfuscating the already narrow policy differences between him and Obama on national security and economic issues, Romney never contemplated a natural disaster would expose his flank in a way Obama could not and on an issue that had been a minor footnote in the campaign.

Playing to the burr-hearted Republican crowd, Romney had previously asserted federal disaster assistance was superfluous. In the aftermath of Sandy, Romney's stance on the role of the federal government appeared so misshapen as to be grotesque. People sensed that, in a pinch, Romney would seal the palace gate and leave them in the cold. Conversely, Obama did an admirable job of disaster management.

As so often during the campaign, Romney's own words failed him. This one happened on the eve of voting.

There was no time to recuperate or shift shape. During a campaign notorious for the hot air produced by the candidates, a natural blast would put the finish on things. In 2008, the economic crisis provided the decisive margin. In 2012, a hurricane would fasten Obama's predebate lead. In both cases, President Obama proved to be the beneficiary of events beyond the ability of man to control. Sometimes, fortune is better than acumen.

Predicting Obama's victory was not based on partisan support for him. Due to the president's hawkish economic and national security policies, I remained agnostic about this election.

Still, vaticinating his victory was not a bold stroke. It was the safer bet. Prior to the advent of opinion polls, gambling houses were the prognosticators to which people looked. They were rarely wrong. Even today, the betting lodges are less fallible barometers than the polls which themselves are fairly accurate. The betting houses are deadly serious about their selections. Money is at stake. Unlike pollsters, they cannot afford to be wrong. This time was no exception. All major gambling houses picked Obama. Most did so by odds of 70 percent or more. The smart money was literally on Obama.

The election was determined largely by racial demographics. Some 50 years ago, Vice President Johnson warned President Kennedy the Democratic Party could forget southern support if Democrats pursued civil rights legislation. Johnson was more than prescient. Until then, southern whites were loyal Democrats. Overnight, they became Republicans. Since then, Republicans have employed the "Southern Strategy" of race-based politics whereby they would sweep to victory by claiming

•The man who knows not the difference between day and night is fated to sleep when it's light and plow his fields in the dark. May God have pity on him for the world shall not.

•Romney the southern white vote and controlling the predominantly white western states. Given the vast majority of white voters, this cynical approach gave Republicans a structural advantage in presidential elections. The only Democrats to break their hold were two southerners, Jimmy Carter from Georgia and Bill Clinton from Arkansas.

Electoral demographics began to shift 20 years ago, at first imperceptibly. Now the shift has become decisive.

The black population increases faster than the white; during the past two elections, black voting percentages mirrored this growth rate differential. The Latino population has grown even faster, spreading throughout the West and parts of the South. By and large, non-Cuban Latinos vote Democratic.

Whites are no longer the undisputed supermajority. Within the next decade, whites may no longer constitute the majority of the population. Two of the nation's largest states exemplify the electoral significance of this demographic change. California used to be a contested state either party could win. Today, it votes solidly Democratic in presidential elections in part because of the Latino emergence. Republicans once owned Florida as if they held a deed.

The state is now a toss-up, leaning slightly to the Democrats. Western states like Nevada and Colorado also have shifted to the Democrats as has the southern state of Virginia.

Due to this shift in racial demographics, Democrats hold the structural advantage in presidential elections. A consummate electioneer, President Obama milked that advantage for all its worth. Ever since blacks and other minorities secured their right to vote, American presidential elections have revolved around ethnic identification.

The election validated this primary law of American politics except that the wheel has turned concerning which party now benefits from America's unique brand of tribalism.

Apart from their divergent racial compositions, the other large substantive differences between the two parties were over social issues. Differences over female reproductive rights, gay rights and environmental concerns drew more women and young people into Obama's camp while men and older people hunkered in Romney's.

The election seems to have caused

By Brian Browne both Obama friends and foes to take leave of their better senses. Denizens of the conservative netherworld had worked themselves into such a racist froth that they believed Romney would win in a landslide. Their conclusion smacked more of bigoted conviction than of objective realism. Prominent conservative pundits waxed gleefully that Obama was stuck in quicksand without a life rope in sight. They saw Obama's constituencies as a mongrel sea of dark-skinned immigrants, the craven sons of slaves and sharecroppers, loose women, sexual libertines and other forms of social or ethnic deviants accursed by the Almighty. In their minds, God would not allow such an unwholesome brew to retain power that belonged in the hands of those who saw themselves as the political and sanguineous heirs of the white men who established the United States two centuries ago. In effect, they tried to bribe God with their self-righteous hatred of those they considered lesser beings.

However, God was a bit smarter than they gauged. He did not lift a finger to help them or to skew the electoral calculus in their favor. When the vote was counted, they were sorely done. Their prejudiced wishes would not be turned into fact. Unable to accept failure, they turned venomous, denouncing those who voted for Obama as not "true Americans" but parasitic mendicants who contribute nothing yet seek to eat from the bounty created by an industrious white citizenry. They staked their mental health on the victory of a white counterrevolution to a black revolution that never took place. Having lost such an epic battle against an enemy that did not exist, there was nothing left for staunch conservatives to do but slink into dementia. This they did with spiteful relish. Conservative employers have fired workers and close businesses.

They would rather wreck the nation than see Obama captain it.

In a flight of fancy less hateful but equally as distorted as the conservative delusion were the countless hoorahs authored by pseudo-liberals and blacks claiming Obama's victory was a triumph against steep odds. These stories are attempts to imbue the election result with a moral quality it does not deserve. The plotline sounds good but

to hear it is to be present at the birth of a fable.

This was not young Arthur liberating Excalibur from the stone. Nor was it David felling Goliath with a stone shot from his sling. This was a battle of Goliath against Goliath, a battle of two well-manicured gladiators paid and armed by those who own the stadium in which the fight took place. While one would be crowned champion, the moneyed promoters of the showdown would still be the ones who owned the day. The truest winners of the election would neither be Obama nor the people who voted for him. Those who won were those who control the nation because they control the money and thus control so much of what money can buy, including people and their ideas.

The moneyed elite emerged big winners because they tightly orchestrate the economic policies of both parties. Consequently, the moment after the election, the media wasted no time focusing on the dreaded sequestration or "fiscal cliff." Pursuant to a bargain struck last year, the federal deficit will be reduced by 560 billion dollars in 2013.

Almost everyone acknowledges a reduction of that size would excise 3-4 percent of the GDP, sending the nation down the gut of recession. Obama's proposed solution to avert crisis is the "Grand Bargain" through which the deficit would be reduced by 400 billion dollars next year.

Curiously, corporate media rarely gives numbers and statistics when comparing the Fiscal Cliff and Grand Bargain. The media seeks to scare people using names that make it appear that sequestration will be catastrophic while the Bargain is a rescue operation. The public is being gamed. The economy is growing a meager 2 percent annually.

A rough estimate of the Fiscal Cliff's impact suggests GDP will lose one percentage point per each 140-180 billion dollars on deficit reduction. Apply the same ratio to the Grand Bargain's 400 billion dollars. The result is a 2-3 percent GDP reduction. In other words, Obama's Grand Bargain is likely to cast the nation into recession, just a slightly less steep one. Both proposals are misguided versions of economic orthodoxy. Progressive economics counsels fiscal stimulus through deficit spending. However, progressives have been shuffled off the national stage. Thus,

people are given the semblance of an economic choice that is no choice. Prisoner to a barrage of misinformation, people will be so grateful for avoiding the Fiscal Cliff that they will gladly place their necks in the noose of the Grand Bargain, believing it a fine necklace. Ironically, had Obama achieved the Grand Bargain in 2011, America would now be in recession and Obama likely out of a job. In other words, he has been once saved from his own folly.

Stubbornly, he insists on conjuring a recession that will bear his name. He may get his wish this time. As such, economic fate seems to have conspired for him and against him.

In the final analysis, Republicans did not lose as much as they thought nor did the Democrats gain as much as they believe. While their man missed the White House, Republicans secured their hold on the economic soul of the nation. Republican economic ideals now control the Democratic Party establishment. The Republicans do not need Romney in the White House. On the economy, Obama will do their work for them. While the Democrats can applaud a leftward shift on social issues, they should be asking themselves if their acquiescence to conservative economic orthodoxy is an abdication of traditional liberalism that might soon jeopardise the programmatic foundations of the New Deal-Great Society: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

A Survey of Election Winners and Losers: Winners: 1. Barack Obama: His campaign organisation will be recorded as the most proficient in the modern era. His victory is a personal triumph given the illogical hatred and disrespect of his person he has faced.

2. Wall Street/Conservative Economics: It is hard to lose when both sides of the coin are yours to call. This was the supreme hedge of a bet. Obama represented the interests of the left side of Wall Street and Romney represented the interests of the right. No matter what, Wall Street would be satisfied with the outcome. The worth of fat wallets grows when the economic deflates.

Under Obama, Wall Street will get the economic contraction it wants.

3. Paul Ryan: Although the vice presidency escaped him, Ryan is now positioned to become the face of the Republican Party.

4. Social Liberalism: After a long hiatus, social liberalism has resurfaced with the general public's approval of gay marriage and affirmation of women's rights.

5. Ethnic politics: This might have been the single most important factor in determining the winner. Had Romney not taken a hard-line stance against immigration, he might have been able to win more Latino votes in key states.

The election could have taken a different pivot.

Losers 1. Barack Obama: Should he take the economic course he promises, Obama will be endanger of doing more than authoring a recession. His legacy could that of initiating the disintegration of Social Security and the other popular programs that comprise the modern social compact. Consequently, this was a victory for a black man but not for the black man.

2. Mitt Romney: His political career is over. He tried every contortion and surrendered every principle in shameless pursuit of office.

3. Republican Party: If the party does not moderate its stance on social issues, it may not win a presidential election in the foreseeable future.

4. Progressives: With Obama and other establishment Democrats embracing Republican economic ideology, there is nowhere for genuine progressives to go. They are birds that must remain in the air because they are without nest.

5. Tea Party/ Donald Trump: Both went mad with inordinate hate of Obama. The public, to its credit, basically rejected their shrill expressions. In the end, the election was a defeat of outrageous white racism but not of the economic elitism that racism usually serves.

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COMMENT and ANALYSIS THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

I

Healthcare: Letter to President Jonathan

Can Justin Welby save Anglican Communion? Y

T’S a familiar story of privilege in Britain: a well-connected man receives a top-notch, prestigious education before making his name in the high-paying business sector and is eventually selected to fill one of the most prominent roles in British society. But this version of the story has a twist: the man in question, Justin Welby, quit the life of a business executive in 1987 and became a village parish priest in the Church of England instead—and in remarkably short order has risen to be on the verge of being officially named the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of 80 million Anglicans around the world.

After weeks of speculation from the British media and Anglicans around the world, Downing Street announced Friday on Twitter that a group of clergy and lay people known as the Crown Nominations Committee (CNC) had chosen the 56-year-old to be the head of the Church of England. Beyond his background in business, Welby may seem like a surprising choice for the top job for other reasons. Although he was rumored to be a possibility for the leadership of the Church in September when the 16-member CNC met in a secret location to deliberate on their choices, many felt that he was too young and new to the Church. A bit “undercooked”, as Reverend George Pitcher put it when speaking to TIME before the selection was announced. A bishop for less than a year, Welby’s background seems more in line with that of a top political advisor or a flashy CEO rather than the spiritual guide to millions.

Born in London in 1956, Welby has always had well-heeled connections. His father, Gavin Welby, worked as a bootlegger in the United States in the 1920s, was friendly with the Kennedys and once dated the actress Vanessa Redgrave. His mother, Jane Portal Welby, once worked as a secretary for Winston Churchill. Welby was educated at Eton College, the same elite private boys school attended by Princes William and Harry, London Mayor Boris Johnson and 19 British Prime Ministers including the current incumbent David Cameron. He went on to study law and economic history at Cambridge University before starting a career in the oil industry, first on the international finance team for a French oil company in Paris and then as an executive for Enterprise Oil Plc in London. In 1979, he married his wife Caroline and they started a family.

But Welby’s career path took a sharp pivot after the death of his baby daughter Johanna, who was killed in a car accident in France in 1983. Though devastated by the loss, Welby later said, “in a strange way it actually brought [my wife and I] closer to God.” A few years later, Welby quit his job and enrolled at St. John’s College at Durham University to study theology and become a priest. He quickly climbed the ranks of the Church and was appointed the Bishop of Durham—the fourth most senior bishop in the Church of England— in November 2012. His appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury marks another huge promotion—but it’s an elevation to a post that promises to be extremely challenging.

Worldwide, the Anglican community is made up of dozens of different churches, each with their own autonomy. More than half of all Anglicans are members of conservative African churches. In the U.S., the Episcopal Church has only about two million members and an outlook markedly more liberal than their African coreligionists. On issues such as gay marriage, women bishops and even the economy, Anglican churches can seem as far apart from each other in their beliefs as they are geographically. The diverse network of churches is, however, unified through the

•Justin Welby, new Archbishop of Canterbury

By Megan Gibson

Communion, which, for the last ten years, has been led by the liberal-minded Rowan Williams, who announced his resignation as Archbishop earlier this year after a decade of struggling to resolve clashes within his flock.

It will now be up to Welby to manage the Church’s conflicts, the most severe of which have sometimes threatened to cause schisms.

Many in the Church fear that a move too far to the right or too far to the left by one faction of Anglicans could lead to another faction breaking away entirely. Conservative Anglican groups such as the Convention of Anglicans in North America (CANA) are adamantly opposed to views they feel are contrary to the teachings of the gospels—particularly gay marriage and ordaining women as bishops. Julian Dobbs, a Bishop of CANA, says that such conflicts over theology are “causing huge divisions in the Anglican Communion.” He adds that to prevent irreparable divides, Welby “will need to work hard to establish those historic faith principles that the communion was founded.”

On the other side of the debate are Anglicans who believe that such a move toward codifying the Anglican faith would be at odds with what the Church fundamentally

stands for. “Trying to force us into a common belief system is contrary to being an Anglican,” says Pitcher.

Welby clearly has daunting task ahead, but many feel that if anyone is capable of uniting the liberal and conservative factions of the Communion, it’s him. Church insiders describe Welby as a people-person who’s skilled at seeing all sides of an issue and negotiating with both wings of the Church. He’s also traveled extensively in Africa and worked behind the scenes with many churches there, encouraging communication between them and more liberal churches in the West.

That’s not to say he hasn’t taken stands on certain issues. Welby is on the record as being in favor of ordaining women as bishops and he’s just as outspokenly opposed to gay marriage. And yet he has largely managed to avoid being characterized as either of the right or the left in the Church’s political spectrum. In business and as a leader in the Church, Welby is perhaps most commonly described as a mediator. Vivian Gibney, a former colleague of Welby’s, told the BBC that “one of his main strengths is to find the way forward in negotiation.”

Never mind the elite education and business-savvy; that’s the skill most likely to make Welby the Communion’s saving grace.

Courtesy: TIME

“It will now be up to Welby to manage the Church’s conflicts, the most severe of which have sometimes threatened to cause schisms. Many in the Church fear that a move too far to the right or too far to the left by one faction of Anglicans could lead to another faction breaking away entirely”

OUR Excellency, you will recall I wrote you sometime in September of this year expressing my dismay over the sorry state of Nigeria’s education system. I did promise to write you shortly to express the disenchantment of Nigerians on a variety of issues and this time I have elected to start with health care.

Time and again we have witnessed unnecessary deaths as a result of insufficient and very poor medical services offered all over Nigeria. The most painful scenarios are when the victims of these poor healthcare systems in place and their families know they could have pulled through with better services It beats my imagination that 21st century Nigeria, a country that is one of the largest producers of crude oil in the world cannot offer free medical care to her citizens or even when not free, a quality and well subsidized medical care. There is nothing more shameful than this situation and one would have thought that it should be your first priority to increase the live span of the average Nigerian through quality healthcare.

Every year we lose thousands of people from the increasing occurrences of kidney, heart and cancer ailments and yet we think it is normal. Nigerians raise monies to take their own to India but a responsible government should have taken a bold step to intervene in these sufferings by inviting the Indians health professionals to perform the surgical operations in Nigeria at the expense of the government.

Just recently, the governor of Taraba State Mr. Suntai was involved in a plane crash and I learned he has been flown to Germany for “better medical attention” and my question remains why do we not have a solid system in place to take care of such emergencies? After all these years, it is a crying shame that we still have to rely on the West for medical emergencies such as Mr. Suntai’s crash. I do not know of Mr. Suntai’s personal finances and I am not sure who would pick up the bill for his treatment in Germany but I strongly doubt whether this government would assist any “less important” Nigerian that finds himself in Mr. Suntai’s shoes. This is another glaring example of placing a premium on the life of a few Nigerians over the rest of the people even when in fact these people (the former) have not paid any amount of money for health insurance coverage to this government to warrant any special treatment. My own points of view are simple and they are as follows; 1) Comprehensive healthcare for all irrespective of status- Nigeria must adopt a system that resembles the NHS trust in the United Kingdom but without placing undue burden on the salaries of the working class people. We must take care of our own by investing heavily in the health sector through providing up to date medical training and upgrading available facilities, using those hospitals which “you” people visit in Europe and America as models.

2) It is time to truly perform turnaround maintenance of our health institutions. We need specialist doctors all over Nigeria. We need quality training of medical staff and we need a stable system that does not close because of strikes. I was reliably informed in 2009, that the teaching hospital at Enugu did not have functional indoor plumbing.

Patients and their families had to rely on buying water in order to meet their needs.

Imagine a teaching hospital of that nature without water, what kind of medicine were people practicing there in the first place?

There should be a special task force on revamping these comatose institutions for better efficiency. Re-training of our healthcare workers to respond to emergencies is so imperative.

Ugoo Anieto United States

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Ogochukwu Ikeje ohgeeoh@gmail.com 08084235961 (SMS only)

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Comment & Analysis

E have fallen for Obama, again.

We might as well admit it. The man makes our hearts go pitterpatter. He did it on Super Tuesday when the United States of America, a country brimming with over 300m people, went to the polls and re-elected him. Barack Obama softened us all up that day, just as he did when he made history four years ago, sending us into a swoon.

Late 2008 when he was first elected the name ‘Obama’ was on most Nigerians’ lips. We mouthed it everywhere. It boomed in the marketplace, echoed in the barber’s shop, reverberated in the offices.

The bus driver knew it and, in some cases, even had it painted on his vehicle. Back then I feared we might also print Obama’s face on our textile materials. Some rich and influential people in our midst ate dinner over the name, even claiming to raise funds on its owner’s behalf, an assertion from which the Obama organisation distanced itself.

Congratulatory messages poured out from everywhere. Our president hailed him. Our senators praised him. The House reps expressed their adoration. The entire nation fell for him.

It was not for nothing. Obama was not just the first African-American to preside over the affairs of the most powerful nation on earth; he was also the first firstgeneration African-Americans to do so.

His father was a Kenyan and died as one.

So Obama achieved what many thought was impossible. He lifted our spirits. The

Falling for Obama We should learn from his election smart politician that he is, Obama did not campaign on racial lines but when he spoke of hope in 2008, the African-American community also understood it to mean there was hope for them. So did the Nigerian, and indeed, the African everywhere. If Obama could aspire to such heights, so could we. If Obama could win, so could we. The man of magic renewed hope, and we could not help but say, or at least, feel ‘we can’.

Last week, Obama did it again, besting his hard-fighting Republican challenger Mitt Romney. He sent us all to cloud nine, again, even though much of the hope he spoke about four years ago had slipped away with lost jobs. We were relieved when he rallied to win one of the tightest presidential races in memory with a comfortable margin, after sliding in the poll ratings following a disappointing performance in the crucial first debate with Romney. As he was re-elected, Nigerians were congratulating one another as though the winner were of Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa ancestry or of any of our tribes.

President Goodluck Jonathan has since fired off a congratulatory message, as have our lawmakers. Other leaders have waxed lyrical, praising the system that produced last week’s election and our own Obama as president. One of them wished we could have that sort of election soon.

Even in defeat Romney proved no less a leader. He looked forward to a new and better America under Obama. He not only showed much respect for the man who frustrated his attempt to rule America but also said he would pray for the success of the re-elected president. That was impressive.

Obama was unmatchable in his victory speech, proving that words are as much a crucial aspect of great leadership as is action. He praised not just the man who nearly denied him a second term but also the man’s family which produced Romney’s father, who after serving as Michigan governor also ran for the presidency himself. Obama saluted the Romney family for their public service to

“What use is falling for Obama if we cannot learn from him? Will our politics ever produce respect among our politicians? Without aping him in speech, can our leaders truly rally our people with words even when action fails them? Obama said the best was yet to come for Americans. Is our best also yet to come or is it behind us?”

the American people. The president praised his campaign organisation with enough words and, later tears, to inspire them the way money could not. To his workers he showed respect; to his wife and family love.

From the eyes of his country men and women he drew tears of powerful, positive emotions when he told them the task of perfecting their union was moving forward. He spoke of the larger American family which rose from “war and depression” to the “heights of hope” and of a people free to “pursue our individual dreams”. He praised the voters, whether they voted for or against him. He reminded Americans that it is not their wealth that makes them rich, nor do they derive their strength from the country’s superior military. Obama said their much sought-after universities and cultures do not make Americans exceptional. What does, he told them, is their bond.

As he spoke, sustained cheers forced him to pause.

Obama urged his people to be stubborn in hope even when situations nudged them to give up. He dismissed politics as sometimes divisive, as we all saw in his famous duel with Romney, who got more white votes than he did.

Obama rallied his compatriots, calling their country the greatest on earth.

They lapped it all up. And so did we, outsiders. We loved his speech prowess, probably even envied the ability of a fellow black to carry along such a consequential country. For different reasons we fell for Obama.

But what use is falling for him if we cannot learn from him? Will our politics ever produce respect among our politicians? Without aping Obama in speech, can our leaders truly rally our people with words even when action fails them?

Obama said the best was yet to come for Americans. Is our best also yet to come or is it behind us?

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Comment & Analysis

15

Bayelsa versus Rivers The land dispute is a scandal and smacks of feudal politics

B

OUNDARY disputes are, thankfully, envisaged by our laws. That is why the constitution created the National Boundary Commission inured with powers to intermediate in such disputes. Unfortunately, the dispute between Rivers and Bayelsa states has been elevated because of the value of oil lying within the bowels of the disputed land. But even more unfortunate is the attempt to foist a feudalistic intermediation, (some insinuate) simply because President Goodluck Jonathan, who is from Bayelsa State, is currently the President. Yet we are in a democracy and the disagreement between the states is already before a court.

In our view, and we guess that of many Nigerians, the resort to primordial sentiments instead of constitutionalism on this issue, belittles the integrity of our democracy. In this case, the President has unwittingly taken over a matter that is sub judice, and is gregariously seeking to use his official status as the head of the executive to determine same. This development is not good for the image of the President and is not tenable in a democracy either. What is right is for the boundary commission to diligently exercise its constitutional responsibilities and forward its findings to the court, which is empowered to weigh the evidence and make profound pronouncements as the facts of the matter dictate.

To do otherwise is to engage in the abuse of due process. The President and governors who are attempting to foist their stature and personal disposition on the matter need to be reminded to retrace their steps, and allow the unfettered intermediation of the law.

The courts must also rise up to their constitutional responsibilities of enforcing the rule of law, in this matter. If truly the courts sanctioned that the money realised from the oil derived from the disputed land should be kept in an escrow account, the officials of the Rev-

W

ITH the disengagement of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Air Chief Marshall Oluseyi Petinrin, from service, no member of the 16th Regular Course is left in the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

In a country where regional representation or federal character is considered to get to the top, the best may not get the topmost appointment. Air Chief Marshall Seyi Petinrin, being the best in Course 16 of Nigeria Defence Academy, has proved to be a welcome exception. His brilliance shone like a star for all to see from the day we were admitted into the Defence Academy on July 4, 1974.

The Air Chief Marshall, a product of Federal Government College Sokoto, along with 74 others, was admitted as 16th Regular Course Cadets into the NDA. The Course comprised 45 Army cadets, 15 Naval cadets and 15 Air Force cadets. There were also 10 Air Force cadets admitted primarily for flying. Of the eighty five cadets who commenced training in July 1974, the Air Chief Marshall’s academic prowess shone from the beginning. Of the seven candidates admitted from Western State, (Nigeria was operating the 12 state structures then), he came first. Others from the Western State then were the late Major General J. O. Agbola, who died in the Obudu 2006 air crash, the late Flying Officer M. A. Afolalu, who died in a helicopter crash in Rivers State in 1979, the late Lt. Col. O. O. Akinyode, Lt. Commander B. O. Olowu (rtd) and Lt.{NN} O. O. Francis (rtd).

The other members of 16th Regular Course according to states are Major M. A. T.

enue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) that released it to Bayelsa State must be sanctioned.

If the decision to keep the money in an escrow account since 2000 when the dispute arose was administrative, then the President needs to explain who ordered the commission to hand over the money to his home state government. Without a plausible explanation by the commission why the money in dispute was released to one of the claimants, the accusation of bias and undue influence levelled against the President may stand.

The President stands accused because he is from the benefitting state, Bayelsa; and many would argue that if not for his influence, the commission would not suddenly get into an overdrive to pay Bayelsa State the money kept since 2000, when the matter is yet to be resolved.

We also ponder why the courts have been dillydallying over this matter, or were they hamstrung by the failure to procure facts from the administrative

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

•Editor Festus Eriye •Deputy Editor Olayinka Oyegbile •Associate Editors Taiwo Ogundipe Sam Egburonu

•Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Kunle Fagbemi

LETTERS

agencies to resolve the dispute? Considering the potent power of the dispute to disrupt the national economy, we are surprised that more than a decade after, there is no concerted effort to resolve an ordinary boundary dispute. Again, if the boundary commission accepted in a letter that the last official map, unlike the previous maps, wrongly situated the land in Bayelsa State, why didn’t it as a matter of priority do a fresh map since 13 years ago, to save the country the hiccups?

If there should be a descent into anarchy over this dispute, will it not be right to hold the commission culpable for dereliction of duty? To avoid unpleasant consequences, considering the previous history of the region, it is important that the boundary commission is encouraged to quickly do the right thing. The ongoing resort to influence peddling and mudslinging by officials of the two states should be stopped. Our country cannot claim to be practising democracy and availed of modern capabilities in the field of survey and area mapping, yet we prefer anachronistic tendencies of the big man syndrome.

In this respect if truly as alleged by the Rivers State Government, political permutations over the 2015 election are underlining the dispute, that must be condemned.

If the allegation is correct, we remind those involved that they are playing games with the lives of the neighbouring communities, who may resort to violence to settle the dispute. If such disingenuous calculation is at play, then those using the influence of President Jonathan today, would be sure to regurgitate the money paid once a president beholden to the interests of the people of Rivers State gets into Aso Rock. As we have stated, a land dispute is not a rocket science, and can be fairly resolved based on historical fact as can be proved in the courts. To avoid unnecessary rancour among the Ijaw brothers of Bayelsa and Rivers states, their elites must raise law over illogic and the sentiments of feudalism.

The last and our best in NDA 16th Course bows out Gwar, Brig-Gen. U.A. Kingsley, Maj. Gen. H.O. Adoga, Brig-Gen. A. Akpa, Air Vice-Marshall B.G. Danbaba, Capt. M. Audu (late), F.S. Ngbede (late)(Benue-Plateau).

From Kano State, Capt. M.R. Garba, Maj. Gen II Hassan (late), Lt. Col. S. Ibrahim, Col. A.G.S. Fabuda, I. Usman, Lt. Cdr. E.T. Bako. East Central State supplied Major G.G. Mbah (late), Cdr. E. Obiakor, Maj. Gen. G.S. Eze, Maj. Gen. S.N. Chikwe, Brig-Gen. D. Ike, Lt. Cdr. M.O. Ituludiegwu, Major E.O. Amechiokoro (late), Brig-Gen. A.U. Ezeodum while from Kwara State came

I

AM a Kalabari-born Ijaw indigene. All my childhood and foundational school years were spent in the pristine but picturesque community of the Niger Delta. I am sufficiently familiar with the geographical terrain and locations of all the clans and communities at the centre of the boiling feud between Bayelsa and Rivers States.

Soku, Idama and Kula are all villages which are unmistakably located within the boundaries of Kalabari kingdom. They bear similar characteristics. They are riverine rural islands. They are oil- bearing in large commercial quantities. In fact, Soku’s oilfield is a flagship operated by one of the Joint Venture International Oil Corporations.

The thread of common denominator of these communities is a paradox that

Lt. Col. J. Sule, Brig-Gen. F. Alaga, Grp. Capt. D.H. Paul, Lt. Cdr. L. Fabiyi, Air Cdre J. Obasa, Rear Adm. S.L. Baje, Rear Adm. P. Adeniyi. Midwest State was represented by Air Cdre F.R. Obiuwevbi, Lt. Cdr. I. Asekome (late), BrigGen. S.K. Iruh (late), Air Cdre J.D. Ahwin, Col. B.O. Musa, Capt. O.F. Doghor, A. Onabrakpeya and from Lagos State came Lt. Col. S.E. Mepaiyeda, Rear Adm. W. Ademoluti, Brig-Gen. E.O. Ayo-Vaughan, Grp. Capt. J. Awotona (late), Col. K.J. Olu and Brig-Gen H. Agbabiaka.

Those from North-Central

State were Maj. Gen. B. Duniya (late), Air Cdre J.B. Ajeye, Capt. A.J. Dada (late), Col. S. Bargo, Col. G.D. Mamman, Lt. Col. E. Abu while from NorthWestern State came Lt. Col. A.Y. Ibrahim, Maj. Gen. M.I. Gana. North-Eastern State supplied Air Cdre A.I. Usman (late), Col. I.D. Yaro (late), Major M.T. Manga, Brig-Gen. J. Kwasba, Col. H.I. Alli, Capt.

A.H. Gaji and Rivers State B.J. Ofrolade, Major C.U. Njamma (late), Brig-Gen. K. Enai (late), Major F.B. Bowen, Major I. Sele, Major H.A. Brossa (late), Rear Adm. G.J. Jonah. SouthEastern State was represented

by Rear Adm. D.F. Akpan, Wing Cdre E. Oyo-Ita, Lt. J.E. Ogbechie (late), Col. J.S. Inyang, Col. D.R. Abang-Odu, Lt. Col. S.P. Agi At the end of the academic session, Petinrin carted away three major awards as he emerged the Best Air Force cadet, the Best Science cadet and the Best Tri-Service Knowledge cadet. He took the lead from then. Eighty one cadets were commissioned in December 1976.

After commissioning, Petinrin attended the Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughin Airforce Base and

Dirty fight over Soku’s oil wells afflicts other oil-bearing communities regardless of their location whether in Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom or Delta states. They are rich in oil resources and also abjectly poor in development.

Beyond the secondary schools established when Professor Tam David-West was a commissioner in 1977/78, these communities can boost of no other physical symbols of modern development.

The same energy and effort which propelled our elite chiefs of Kalabari National Forum to march the streets should otherwise be properly redirected at unequivocally challenging the governors to judiciously appropriate proceeds of the 13% derivation fund to ad-

equately address gaping infrastructural developmental deficits lacerating various communities across the Niger Delta.

For too long our high profile traditional rulers had kept deafening silence on the perpetuation of bad governance inflicted by a succession of Niger Delta

governors. The governors are not feudal lords to whom we have inadvertently surrendered our collateral mandate to (mis)appropriate and expropriate our commonwealth to satisfy their whims and caprices.

By Revd Asoliye Douglas-West, Lagos.

Celebrating with Obama

T

HE Obama victory in the just concluded United States of America presidential elections dispersed hope to all ends of the earth and stitched us all to joyous dancing mood.

He has brilliance, discipline compassion and fabulous good luck. He makes life feel we are all walking in the

procession of freedom and unending joy. He’s balanced and inspiring. He certainly will make the world more secure in the richness of the vast bonds of love that bind us together through life’s long and tedious world locked in peace and bounty of life.

By Adewale Adeeyo Lagos

Fighter Pilot lead–in–Training at Maxwell Air Force Base both in the United States of America where he qualified in flying colours.

His performances in Armed Forces Staff College and Defence College were also exemplary. He was therefore recalled to come and impact these military institutions.

His staff tours included Military Assistant to the Chief of Air Staff, Director of Evaluation at the Headquarters, Nigeria Airforce and Senior Staff Officer of the Headquarters of the Tactical Air Command. At the Air Weapons School, Air Chief Marshall Petinrin served as both the Group Operations Officer at the Air Weapons School and, later, its Commander. This is similar to his appointment as a Staff Officer 1 Operations at Headquarters Training Command, Kaduna and much later as its Air Officer Commanding (AOC).

Tri-Service tours at the DEFENCE Headquarters included Director of Electronic Warfare and later as Chief of Defence Communications.

These varied but rich experiences saw him rising to the inevitable and definitely enviable office of the Chief of Air Staff and subsequently as the Chief of Defence Staff.

All members of the 16th Regular Course are proud of you and as the “last man standing” wish you a peaceful retirement.

Brig-Gen Sola Ayo-Vaughan (rtd) Social Sec. 16th Course Lagos

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16

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Comment & Analysis

Ropo Sekoni ropo.sekoni @thenationonlineng.net

A

NY of us in this country, particularly in the Lagos area are surprised at the reaction of employers and employees of Okada Mass Transit System to the Lagos State traffic law. Why should anyone be surprised that okada businessmen and some of the respectable citizens that have to rely on this mode of transport are up in arms against a law that is designed to bring sanity to vehicular movement in a city that can pass as the most clogged urban space in the universe?

Why should anyone be amazed at the amount of noise by politics-forthe sake-of-power-and-privilegeonly advocates calling for fire and brimstones on the governor of Lagos State duly elected by citizens to facilitate development in the state? The ubiquity of low taste and absence of long-term planning on the part of most of the middleclass men that have managed the country should be enough to disabuse the minds of okadaphiles of the belief that okada transport system is necessary or inevitable.

The story of okada and of many other aspects of our country’s banalisation of important aspects of modern life is similar to that of a physically-challenged person being criticised by a casual critic. The casual critic said to the physically-challenged that the load on his head was not properly placed. The man in return admon-

Of our ‘dumbing-down’ culture (1) Citizens need to get angry to insist that governments do the right thing ished the critic to look down (instead of up at the load on his head) for the root of the problem. The root of the noise against the good people of the Lagos State House of Assembly and Governor Fashola who made and signed the recent traffic law is an outcome of decades of Nigeria’s trivialization of values that drive and sustain modernity elsewhere.

Okada did not just spring up at a time when there was no government.

It is one of the regrettable legacies of military dictatorship. Like the current constitution that emptied the country of its federal values, okada came into being under the nose of military dictators. In most countries with forwardlooking rulers – military or civilian— okada as a mode of mass transit would have been prevented through right policies and legislations from surfacing in the first instance. The carefree attitude of military rulers when okada transportation emerged and of succeeding governments until Abuja and Port Harcourt blazed the trail of legislating against okada is still at work in other areas of our national life. The recent effort by the government of Lagos State to push the lever of transformation from primitivism to modernity is expected to be resisted not only by okada transporters but also by opportunistic politicians and even honest professionals who are not conversant with the historic duty of the middle class in modern times.

The role of the middle class since the Renaissance and more especially

since the Industrial Revolution is to work to improve the quality of life of the individual and of the society through establishment of standards and practices that are capable of refining the life of the citizenry. Since governance moved from feudal lords to members of the middle class, standards have improved generally at the hands of middle-class men and women in government and society. Such time-honoured middle-class values as commitment to personal security and safety; promoting intersection between individual’s success and the success of society as a whole; and acceptance by government of responsibility to provide transportation and communication infrastructures have been overlooked or ignored by government and cultural leaders in our country for too long, until a few governments recently started to take the risk of restoring some of these values. The scapegoating of Lagos State government for taking bold and brave steps to restore order to the transportation sector in the state is understandable. It is the result of decades of dumbing down of values that are central to sustaining modern life.

Why would people who grow up not having safe roads to travel within and between towns in most states of the union not feel bad that Lagos State is trying to move the country’s most populous city from chaos to order?

Why would citizens with no regular access to train or bus feel uncomfort-

able about okada mode of transportation? Why would citizens that migrate from villages without any trace of modern means of livelihood and living not feel angry that okada is being demonized in Lagos, the city that they have come to see as an anything-goes city that belongs to nobody?

Why would citizens who migrate from villages where governments have no interest in how they get to their farms and places of work not feel scandalized that Lagos State feels obliged to regulate a chaotic transport system in the city? Why would citizens who travel on unsafe roads in 14-seater buses named Federal Government Assisted Mass Transit System not feel out of sort in a Lagos that says okada transporters must do their business in a way that is safe for majority of the citizens and residents of Lagos? People who have been degraded over the years cannot but feel cheated that any government in the country, particularly in what they think is a free-for-all state, certainly need help and re-education to grow out of the cultural inferiority they have been thrown into over the years.

But the way out of the problem created by okada business is not to look for reasons to justify keeping okada as an acceptable mode of transporting citizens across the state.

Okada should not have happened in the first place, but it is never too late or too risky to put an end to an unsafe business for citizens at large. Lagos State Government should be con-

gratulated for embarking on a national project that is long overdue for remediation. If legislating against indiscriminate use of okada makes citizens angry, it may not be a bad thing at the end of the day. Citizens need to get sufficiently incensed to pluck the courage to insist that federal and state governments across the country should do the right thing: provide proper infrastructure for proper mass transportation. It is senseless to expect any responsible state government to feel good about an inherited policy to move over 17 million people by okada. Citizens need to be angered to the point that they are ready to tell their governments to do the right thing: provide transportation and communication infrastructure to encourage entrepreneurs to put more buses and taxis on the roads, to convey citizens in a dignified and safe manner.

That Keke Marwa or Keke NAPEP is used in India or okada is used in Benin Republic is not a sufficient reason to rely on this mode of transportation in Nigeria. Trains, buses, and taxis are used in most countries of the world to transport citizens. Civilisation or modernisation is about copying good practices, not bad ones. Encouraging okada as a mode of transporting the masses in one of the most populous cities in the world is an illustration of a culture and government that have lost the will to protect citizens.

To be continued next week.

This government cannot fight corruption Femi Orebe femi.orebe @thenationonlineng.net 08056504626 (sms only)

‘C

ONTRARY to the thinking in some places, it is greed, not poverty, which leads to corruption; corruption, in turn, then produces poverty that proves intractable if we try to address it through the distortions caused by corruption itself. Corruption causes its apostles to place self interest above the interest of the whole community, state or country and to become totally confused about the priorities that they should be pursuing in their positions of responsibility and influence.’ Those were the exact words of Ambassador (Dr) Christopher Kolade in his lecture on: POSSESSORS AT THE GATE’ which he gave as Guest Lecturer at the Golden Jubilee anniversary of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile –Ife, on Thursday, 8 November, 2012.

I had actually completed my week’s article a day earlier knowing I had to honour my invitation to that august occasion holding at Ile-Ife but a considerable part of all that had to change after listening to the world acclaimed Management guru and Diplomat. Having finished listening to him, I decided that this article should be more pedagogical than excoriatry. This is not to suggest that corrupt elements in our country do not deserve being thoroughly denounced for the horrors they put us through. It is rather my hope that bringing Dr Kolade’s lecture to the public space will make them see the futlity of their acts and spur some Pauline conversion into probity in them..

NNPC is a cesspool of corruption Said Dr Kolade: ‘In Nigeria, we possess a land that has been created

by Almighty God, and, into which He has poured endowments of such superior quality that its human occupants should have no difficulty accessing the basic requirements for living a reasonably good life. The resources of this nation, he wrote, to which human beings have added very insignificant value, are more than enough to take good care of our true needs and that we can earn the respect of others through our performance rather than by how much wealth we display.’ In his view, ‘as soon as man begins to look for ways of feeding his greed, he enters a territory of discomfort. Whenever man tries to eat more than his system requires; whenever man puts on more clothes than are appropriate for the prevailing weather conditions; if he tries to ride two horses –or drive two vehicles at the same time, his situation becomes unsustainable. Concluding he said: ‘By the same token, trying to acquire more material wealth than one needs merely adds to ones troubles’.

These are the very things our rapacious political elite, especially of the PDP clan, and those they use to perpetrate and safeguard corruption in this country do not seem to appreciate.

Those trying to rubbish the Ribadu committee report, and who egregiously insulted the President to his face, confident they are above official rebuke, are to that Task Force, exactly what the one before them is to the House Report on the oil subsidy scam. They are nothing but mere quislings and lackeys of the Jonathan government but it still must come as a great surprise that otherwise respectable persons, who have chalked up truly distinguished service to the nation, could permit their integrity to be so easily roasted. Nothing con-

firms their slave assignment more than the claim by Dr Doyin Okupe, the President’s spokesperson, that the report required full assent of all members –confirming that subterranean reports of goings on in the committee were being passed on to the presidency. His statement to the effect ‘that the committee needed to have some clarifications and due process from the originating ministry’ and the minister’s confirmation that she has set up a committee to reconcile the committee’s perspectives with that of a guy who did not attend the committee meetings for any length of time, merely confirms A C N’s early fears that the government was only shopping for men of integrity to leverage on in their socalled anti-corruption efforts. But one should have thought they knew Ribadu better.

Given how effectively the Ribadu report shriveled the integrity of both the government and that of PDP as a party, the co-ordinated attempt to rubbish the report should not come as a surprise. Nigerians have come to know that under their watch, i.e, since 2001 up to 2011, the country has lost about N16 trillion and that the Petroleum Minister,at her whim and caprice, but like some before her, awards oil blocks without due process. No wonder the U.S Council on Foreign Relations says the PDP lives and thrives solely on rentiering from the oil and gas sector. With the country’s entire security apparatti fully under its authority, and, plus additional muscle from erstwhile militants, daily oil theft, says the report, has now reached an alarming rate. This must be the height of any government’s incompetence.

Without a doubt, if the forever smart Petroleum Minister was so keen on appointing those two members to the highly lucrative

membership of the NNPC board, why was it so hard for her and the President to insist that they both resign their membership of the Ribadu Committee? After all, this is a committee they both tout as important, even strategic, to reforming the oil and gas industry.

At the rate this government recruits otherwise well regarded individuals to their ineffectual, anticorruption feints, only to attempt to mess them up, there will come a time soon when fewer numbers of men and women of integrity will be available for use in these their serpentine schemes Truth be told, and Ledum Mitee, Chairman of the NIETI has since confirmed this, President Jonathan actually did not need a Ribadu Task Force to tell him he sits atop the most corrupt phase in the entire life of the NNPC. And without a doubt, I make bold to say that it is a consequence of his contesting the 2011 Presidential election which he ought not to have dared given that he participated in the discussions/ meetings at which his party, the PDP, approved rotational presidency. That precisely is the juncture at which corruption took over in the country. I am not by this suggesting that he introduced corruption; far from it, but given the enormous cost at which his victory was secured, it became obvious there must be a pay back time. And the election financiers have remained totally unrelenting. After all, nothing goes for nothing. They will not stop until they bankrupt this government or liquidate the nation itself. They are behind the oil subsidy scam just as they will be ready to do anything to vitiate any Jonathan attempt to sanitise the oil industry, in particular. There is currently the notorious case of a company, presumably not registered

with the Corporate Affairs Commission, but which allegedly got paid oil subsidy in two tranches with its name conspicuously left unannounced to the Nigerian public.

It was also the same reason the President gave Nigerians the ungodly, 2012, New Year gift of removing the so-called oil subsidy with all the attendant consequences on the citizenry.

Report after report has shown that the NNPC is nothing but a cesspool of corruption and long before the Ribadu report, NEITI, a statutory body authorized to conduct forensic audits of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, has laid bare the stinking organisation that goes by that name. For instance, between 19992008, it conducted three cycles of forensic audits each of which showed gross debauchery but because PDP is all about rub my back, I rub yours, nothing came out of those reports to conduct which so much money must have been expended. NEITI has reported a loss of $9.8 billion or N1.373 Trillion during that period in recoverable funds which should have been paid into the federation account; yet states are languishing for lack of much needed funds. Or to what extent can a state tax its impoverished citizenry in search of enhanced IGR? To conclude in the words of Dr Kolade,’ if these leaders will see themselves as gatekeepers –custodians, not only of our material fortunes, but, more importantly, as guardians of our values and standards’, it should be possible for them to rethink their predatory and acquisitive nature which includes storing riches for their unborn generations, like the biblical fool, not knowing who, in the end, will inherit it. And in the words of Pastor E.A. Adeboye, they should better know that all these - their wealth and possessions - are worth nothing to God and should therefore change unless they want to head to eternal fire..

Comment & Analysis

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

17

Nigeria on my mind as Americans voted Tunji

Adegboyega tunjade@yahoo.co.uk 08054503906 (sms only)

N

IGERIA was on my mind when the Americans went to the polls on November 6 to elect a new president. Of course, I had expected the election to be peaceful and devoid of deployment of any troops. Of course too, I had no doubt that a winner was going to emerge without much rancour unlike what we have here in Nigeria. Of course I had also not expected the Americans to contest the outcome of the polls; the winner being magnanimous in victory even as the loser was expected to accept his fate with equanimity, realising that there is always a next time. This is of course because they see the process as free and transparent.

All these came to pass by the time a winner was emerging Tuesday night, when results from areas that mattered most had been declared, such that it was mere formality by the time the entire results came in. Incumbent President Barack Obama of the Democratic Party trounced his challenger, Mitt Romney of the Republican Party by 60,782,354 votes (50.4 percent) to Romney’s 57,884,882 (48 percent).

Obama also floored Romney at the Electoral College with 303 votes against Romney’s 206. All Obama needed was 270 of the 538 Electoral College votes and by the time he

Postscript, Unlimited!

By

Oyinkan Medubi 08187172799 (SMS only) puchuckles7@gmail.com

O

NE of the best things about looking over your shoulders is that it helps you measure your next step in relation to your previous one. If the previous steps have been too small, you can gently coax and persuade your feet to please take larger size steps so you can get to your neighbour’s yard before nightfall. If, as happens to most of us, the feet appear to be going faster than the brain, then you find yourself again gently persuading your feet to go, shall we say, a little slower so that you don’t find yourself ‘putting your feet in it’ too much. That’s when a husband goes at the wife: ‘Did I ask you to write to the president about my financial troubles?’ ‘Did you have to proclaim to the whole world that I was having financial troubles?’ ‘Did I even tell you that I was having financial troubles just because your house keeping money is short by a few miserable thousands? You this woman, be careful yourself o; don’t be putting your foot in your mouth o!’

I am aware though that most people who have to look over their shoulder do so because there is someone aiming an invisible rifle at them and they don’t know which of their fat shadows that rifle is going to shoot at. And it’s mostly because they have done something wrong, such as performing illegal

US election shows we still have a long way to go had crossed the 270 votes mark, it was clear he was the winner of the election, even though his popular votes were as at then less than that of Romney.

This was a thing that unsettled people like Donald Trump, a wellknown Obama hater who called the election process a ‘disaster for democracy’. “This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!” he tweeted. Trump called for a revolution. “More votes equals a loss…revolution!” Trump said in another tweet. Trump represented the typical American business interest but he knew the limits of his frustration as he reportedly deleted his angry reaction from Tweeters.

I am sure many of our top politicians watched the proceedings from the comfort of their mansions, courtesy of the CNN, Al Jazeera and other cable networks. The same thing happened in many other countries because America’s presidential election is not an American affair alone; it is a global affair. Everyone was interested in the outcome because it has ramifications not for Americans alone but for the world.

For instance, Nigeria has joined other countries in congratulating Obama. This is despite the fact that America has reduced its crude imports from Nigeria by over 700,000 barrels per day. Obama has America uppermost in his mind in whatever policy necessitated this drastic cut in crude imports from Nigeria.

One question that I kept asking myself is what lesson did our politicians learn from the election? This

might be a rhetorical question in the sense that that was not the first of such rancour-free, transparent election they ever watched. Although it took some time for Romney himself to come up with his concession speech, the fact is that he still did and his speech was short, sharp and straight to the point. He said he had congratulated the president on his reelection; greeted his (Obama’s) wife, their children and even supporters. You could see in his speech, despite the fact that he lost, that America was also uppermost in his mind. “The nation, as you know, is at a critical point. At a time like this, we can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing….I so wish – I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your

hopes to lead the country in a different direction. But the nation chose another leader. And, so Ann and I join with you to earnestly pray for him and this great nation”, Romney said.

This was an election in which all interested Americans worldwide voted. No one made a fetish of polls as we are wont to do here. And really, what is the big deal in organising elections? Elections become akin to bones in the mouth of old people when there are sinister motives. If people who voted from across the globe were able to collate the results without disputes, how come those of us in Nigeria give all kinds of excuses, like bad terrain, to delay election results? It is in the process of waiting for results from so-called

’Aso Ebi’ for Obama

L

EST I forget, we have to mark this victory of our ‘son’ who has been given another shot to lead the world in a big way during his inauguration in January.

Towards this, we have organised a lot of activities, including performances by different masquerades that will entertain at the occasion. The fuel subsidy thieves and the beneficiaries of the scam are not left out as they are expected to cough up part of their ill-gotten wealth that our government has the wisdom but lacks the courage to collect from them.

Yours sincerely is in close contact with President Obama’s kith and kin in Kenya and I can authoritatively tell you that I have the mandate as

their sole representative in Nigeria to collect money for the ‘Aso Ebi’ (identical dress). If you are interested (as I guess you must be), please send the money ($500 only) for the dress to this account: Bank 419, account name: Pro-Fraud Monsters, account number 000419. Limited stock available; so pay now to avoid the last minute rush! Only those wearing the ‘Aso Ebi’ will be admitted into the venue of the inauguration. And, please, don’t allow yourself to be conned; ignore others who may purport to be rendering the same selfless service for ‘our son’. Yours sincerely is the only accredited person given that franchise in Nigeria. See you there!

difficult terrains that figures are falsified; that is if the entire results do not get lost on the waters. The current US population is above 300 million and we had slightly over 118milion who voted during the election, representing a turn-out of about 60 per cent of eligible voters. In Nigeria, we are never close to the 118million that voted in that election, yet, we hardly get it right.

And that is deliberate. That, too, is the reason why people hardly perform after ‘winning’ elections here.

Now, tell me why Obama would not perform when he knows that he fought a battle of his life to remain in office. In the heat of the electioneering, he joked that he had grown gray hairs in the White House. That is evidence of hard work, it is also a lamentation that he has not been able to do as much as he loved to. How many of our own elected officers have grown such gray hairs for Nigeria? A colleague jocularly said what they grow in Nigeria are pot bellies.

That is what leaders who are working hard in the wrong direction (like our own leaders) grow. It is only in a few places that we have such keenly contested election here.

Most people just come into office here via election results that had been written long before the polls; all that is required is for the favoured candidate to work to the answer at the polls. Sometimes they are so overzealous about it that they end up having more voters than people registered to vote. And our legal luminaries throw ethics to the dustbins; dust their gowns and prepare for legal contests that end up as no contest after all.

Meanwhile, they’ve made their billions!

Looks like the best is long since gone People, our glorious past is clearly behind us and nothing but a glorious chaos stands before us clones of themselves, their girlfriends or their spouses. Or, it may be because they stole some meat from the soup pot. No, I’m joking.

Mostly, it is because they probably stole some meat from the soup-pot.

When we in Nigeria look over our shoulder, we are not looking out for any rifles (those come from within) nor are we looking out for how not to put our feet in it. No, none of that. We look over our shoulder in nostalgia at the age of our innocence. The age of our innocence was the age when we all believed that we had a country, a place we could call our own, a place where no one in particular felt out of place.

It was a place that accommodated everyone’s names within its walls without flinching. It was also a place where one’s brawns, mixed with a little brain, got one a good living off the land.

Then, there was no creed, no religion, no race that was looked down on. I remember growing up in a vigorous Kaduna in the swinging sixties with every tribe and religion in Nigeria represented on my street and with very little consciousness of the differences between us. Indeed, those differences were for referential purposes only.

Now, it appears that Kaduna has become a hotbed of a one-sided religious passion and fervour, a place where people are regularly killed in the name of God. From my recent visit to the city, I could see that the place has indeed grown, physically. However, there was a sombreness to it that could not be shaken

off as my guide pointed out the areas that I used to know so well, buildings old and buildings new, all of which were there but now wearing colours of great unease.

This is the new Nigeria. Yes, I saw that too, the New Nigerian Newspaper (NNN) building where I had some teeth cut in writing and reporting in many months of training. It was just sitting there where it had always been, but now forlorn, the building that is, not my teeth. Gone was its vibrancy.

Barack Obama’s recent second victory acceptance speech titled ‘The Best is yet to come...’ includes the following: I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you live. It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.

I want to believe the forefathers of the Nigerian state also had something vaguely resembling this in mind. I think they sort of hoped that you and I, wherever you may be reading this, may be able to stand anywhere, shoulder to shoulder across our various divides, doing our best to raise this country up from its supine position. In this venture, what should count are the things which will not let anyone

down in moments of stress. No, not a rich parent, no; it is character and skill. These were the things which marked our glorious past, the things we now peep at over our shoulders hoping that somehow they would once again catch up with us and even catapult themselves right into our present and future like magic.

Sadly, our present is riddled with an insatiable craze for money that has every one of us tearing our hairs and eyes out as we aim for each other’s jugular. The civil servant preys on the innocent populace, the teachers on their hapless students, the traders and businessmen on their buying public and the police and politicians on the entire country. Believe me, you cannot get a more disorganised food chain than this, certainly not what God had in mind, but who am I to complain.

Good thing is, we are all partakers of the results of this penkelemesi.

Daily, I find that I have to weave through all the barracudas to get a few comforts. Thanks very much; I get by with prayers and fasting. But it gets worse; Masters and Ph. D holders are even now seeking to become drivers in Dangote’s firm. Ha! Now, that is just something, isn’t it, when intellectuals are vying for positions that require lower-level skills. But these strange goings-on are not altogether new, are they?

They have been happening for a long time. It’s just that they seem to be getting stranger by the day. First, we had military rule. Ideally, the security is supposed to bring up the

rear in any organisation. But here we were, rear-ended and up-ended, we stood on our heads with our feet in the air for so long we learnt to stop thinking. For one thing, we were even afraid to think lest we be arrested for that treacherous exercise.

Then we had marauders called politicians, who looked like they had been trained by the devil himself, take over the reins of the nation’s politics. Since they came, they have not only been looting, they have been mauling the country’s spirit, norms and ethics to bits and pieces, going at the tearing like maniacs. For one thing, they wake up from their nationally sponsored slumber only when they hear money mentioned. For another, they have succeeded in planting the seeds of tribal and religious bigotry deep within each of us so much so that everywhere you go, you are required to state clearly where on earth you come from and what creed you belong to. It is not enough that you are simply called a Nigerian. There used to be the Nigerian, now there is just a northerner, a south-easterner or a southwesterner.

People, our glorious past is clearly behind us and before us stands nothing but glorious chaos.

Every group is now engaged in battering the other, propelled by fears and primitive, destructive or acquisitive instincts or all. No nation can survive on that. It is only when a people’s fears lead it to a more altruistic collaboration that it can get understanding. With understanding will come individual and collective wisdom which can lead the group out of the path of destruction into the realm of statehood.

18

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Comment & Analysis

Genocide; ‘Biafran’ culpability and Achebe’s impressions

By Olufemi Shogunle

I

N the maelstrom of reactions to Chinua Achebe’s new book, amongst is a noteworthy opinion that Achebe’s book presents us with an opportunity, perhaps for rational enquiry into some of some of the events that led to the rise and fall of ‘Biafra’, and its aftermath. It seems that to further understand Achebe’s position; the viewpoints of other persons mostly of Igbo origin may be examined.

ABC Nwosu has alleged there was pogrom, genocide and mass starvation of innocent children in Nigeria in 1966 and in ‘Biafra’ from 1967 to 1970. Undoubtedly and most regrettably, children suffered from the effects of the Nigerian Civil War while the blockade of ‘Biafran’ territory was a reality during the Nigerian Civil War, but it is grossly unfair and inaccurate for anybody to give the impression that the starvation of children was a deliberate policy of the General Yakubu Gowon led Nigerian Federal Government and for Achebe to have amplified his baseless and queer impression that Chief Obafemi Awolowo sought to exterminate Igbos in order to improve the fortunes of the Yoruba people.

Achebe has consistently had kind words for Aminu Kano in both The Trouble with Nigeria and in his biography authored by EzenwaOhaeto, where at page 138, Achebe recollects an encounter with the Nigerian delegation at a conference he attended in Kampala, Uganda, as roving ambassador of ‘Biafra’. He states “I remember very well seeing Aminu Kano on the Nigerian delegation sitting in front and looking so distressed. This is one of the strongest impressions the man made on me, compared to people like Chief Enahoro who was leader of the delegation swaggering as conquerors, and even Asika. Aminu Kano seemed to be so different; in fact, he seemed to be looking out of the window. While his colleagues were speaking arrogantly and bent on our surrender, Aminu Kano was calm and in pain”.

The well-orchestrated pogroms in the North in 1966 during which thousands of Igbos and other southerners were slaughtered were, to say the very least, indefensible, and deserved redress. Chuks Iloegunam in the very well researched book, Ironside [the biography of Major General AguiyiIronsi] details in pages 172 to 183 the pogroms in Northern Nigeria.

He states on page 175 that “People have been hard to convince that Mallam Aminu Kano played a principal role in organising the genocide perpetrated against Ndigbo in 1966, simply because of his position as a politician of the talakawa or common folk. And these doubters include those who readily believe the complicity of politicians such as Adamu Ciroma, Umaru Dikko, Suleman Takuma, Mamman Daura, Inuwa Wada and others. But [Iyorchia] Ayu is right in mentioning him, as a notable party to the bloody conspiracy. This fact was confirmed by Hajia Gambo Sawaba, one of the foremost women politicians in Nigeria and a member of Mallam Aminu’s defunct Northern Elements Progressive Union [NEPU]….” Perhaps Achebe, who is only human after all, has a major problem with his impressions and is better suited to writing fiction and fantasy rather than analysing reality.

A well, publicised statement that

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•Gowon

•Ojukwu

•Awo

‘’It would appear that the God of Africa has created the Igbo nation to lead the children of Africa from the bondage of ages by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, President of the Pan-Igbo Federal Union. (The West African Pilot of July 8, 1949) and another that ‘’Igbo domination of Nigeria is only a matter of time’’- Charles Dadi Onyeama, a prominent Igbo lawyer [later jurist] and member of the Central Legislative Council, 1945. (Pg. 204 ‘’Ethnic Politics In Kenya and Nigeria’’ by Godfrey Mwakikagile), together with the flawed execution of the Five Majors’ coup, the perceived triumphant attitude of Igbos after the coup, the alleged ‘Ibonisation’ policies of Ironsi, and the notorious Decree 34 certainly created suspicion but cannot justify the unrestrained and calibrated violence unleashed in reaction against Igbos and other southerners.

But given the regional sensibilities and ethnic fraught politics of Nigeria, it is important to note the opinion Bernard Odogwu [Head of Intelligence, Biafra] expressed before the ‘return match’ coup of July 1966 and later published in “No Place to Hide - Crises and Conflicts inside Biafra”; “First I ask myself this question, ‘What will be the position as soon as the present mass euphoria in welcoming the ‘revolution’ in the country fades away?’ There is already some rumour here within diplomatic circles that January 15 was a grand Igbo design to liquidate all opposition in order to make way for Igbo domination of the whole country. What then is the Igbo man’s defence to this allegation in light of the sectional and selective method adopted by the coup plotters?

“Although, sitting here alone as I write this, I am tempted to say that there was no such Igbo grand design, yet the inescapable fact is that the Igbos are already as a group being condemned by the rest for the activities of a handful of ambitious Igbo army officers; for here I am, with the rest of my Igbo colleagues, some thousands of miles away from home, yet being put on the defensive for such actions that we were neither consulted about, nor approved of. Our Northern colleagues and friends now look on us Igbos here as strangers and potential enemies. They are now more isolated than ever before. Their pride is hurt; and who would blame them?

“Secondly, I ask myself the questions posed to me this afternoon by

my colleague: What would I do if I were placed in the position of the Northerner? What do I do? How do I react to the situation? Do I just deplore and condemn those atrocities or do I plan a revenge? I do not blame the Northern chaps for feeling so sore since the events of the last few days. They definitely have my sympathy, for it must have been shocking to say the least, for one to wake up one fine morning to find nearly all one’s revered leaders gone overnight. But they were not only Northern leaders as such, and I am as much aggrieved at their loss as any other Nigerian, Northern or otherwise. I am particularly shocked at the news that Major Ifeajuna personally shot and killed his mentor, Brigadier Maimalari. My God! That must have been Caesar and Brutus come alive, with the Brigadier definitely saying ‘Et tu Emma’ before collapsing……… “…….As for the new man at the helm of affairs, Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi, he too like the majority of the Majors is an Igbo, and that has not helped matters either.…..

“Granted that he is such a good soldier as he is reputed to be, the question is: ‘Are all good soldiers necessarily good statesmen? Again how well prepared is he for the task he has just inherited?’ I do hope that he is also as wise as he is reputed to be bold, because if you ask me, I think the General is sitting on a time bomb, with the fuse almost burnt out. We shall wait and see what happens next, but from my observations, I know the present state of affairs will not last long. A northern counter-action is definitely around the corner, and God save us all when it explodes.”

Major General’ Alexander Madiebo, the Commander of the Biafran Army, in the informative and comprehensively detailed book; the Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War, at pages 46 to 50, relates how he obtained advance information about the planned pogroms of 1966 and accordingly briefed Aguiyi-Ironsi in the presence of Mobolaji-Johnson [then Governor of Lagos State], to no avail. Aguiyi-Ironsi labeled Madiebo a rumour monger. Ironically, the February 1966 coup had been widely celebrated, even in the North, but after the selective execution came to light, together with the failure to try the coupists, and unsuitability of Aguiyi-Ironsi’s policy decisions, es-

pecially Decree 34, were noted, Northern reaction became, in the Nigerian context, inevitable, inasmuch as the actual fighting troops of the Nigerian Army were predominantly northerners.

The conduct of some Federal troops during the Civil War certainly was not all wholesome. The Asaba massacre was a major disgrace. The indiscriminate bombing by hired Egyptian pilots, which was similar to but not on the same scale as Nazi Germany air blitz of London, Allied forces carpet bombing of German cities and USA destruction of Nagasaki and Hiroshima with atomic bombs, all during the Second World War, USA large scale napalm bombing during the Viet Nam war, etc, was unfortunate. But only very few Igbo persons, Achebe and ABC Nwosu inclusive, have ever addressed the problems faced by ‘minorities’ in ‘Biafra’. Arthur Nwankwo in the excellent book, Nigeria: The Challenge of Biafra frankly states on page 71 that “Suspicion of collaboration with the Federal troops made the Biafran non-Ibos victims of molestation and even torture and death from over-zealous Ibos. Understandably, these unhappy events turned these people against the Biafran state which they identified as an Ibo state. It must, however, be placed on record that among the Biafran scientists, leaders, propagandists and soldiers were many Efiks, Ibibios, Ijaws, and Ogojas who excelled in their work, and who received Biafran state honours for their services”.

It is quite understandable that ‘Biafran’ die-hards harbor grudges against Chief Obafemi Awolowo, SAN. From all indications, the erudite, learned, sagacious, versatile and eminent Chief, a practical economist of note, was responsible for the change of Nigerian currency during the civil war. The effect of this change was of ruinous and catastrophic effect to ‘Biafra’. According to Alexander Madiebo [in the Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War, pages 381-382] “The Biafran financial disaster, if not a total collapse of the change in currency by Nigeria in January, 1968, was the most important single reason why we lost the war.

At the end of the financial chaos which followed in Biafra, we had lost over 50 million pounds which would have made a world of a difference in our favour if properly

utilised for the execution of the war’. By this currency change, amongst other reasons, Awolowo’s greatness as a national leader in his commitment to the unity and progress of Nigeria above and beyond ethnic boundaries and loyalties is manifest, despite Achebe’s insistence to the contrary, immediately after Awolowo’s demise.

Another excellent novelist, Cyprian Ekwensi, in The Nigerian Civil War 1967-1970, History and Reminiscences [edited by General HB Momoh], states at page 508 that “ Now, another thing which helped Biafran propaganda which I have talked about was credibility. If I tell you now that I contested for Senator in my village and I had 300,000 votes-the whole population of my village is about 30,000-I had 300,000 against my opponent who had 500,000, now how do you prove it? Don’t you see?

When you are telling someone something which is unprovable, he has two choices. One, to believe you, and two, not to believe you.

If he believes you it will be on your past record of truth. If he doesn’t believe you it will be on your lack of credibility. Now, Nigeria committed a lot of lack-ofcredibility acts. They would say there would be a conference for peace tomorrow and they would be bombing the town in which the peace conference would be held tonight. So as the outside world saw them as people who were showing us their might rather than bringing back a strayed part of the Federation into the fold again. We gave the number of children dying per day as 1,000. Can you prove that? Can you disprove it?

But can you believe it? That is propaganda. And we said 2 million Biafrans were killed in the war in 30 months. So, when we started returning to Lagos one of my friends saw me and said, “Ah! I thought you’ve died. Okoko Ndem you are alive-they said all of you died-2 1/ 2 million people died.” Now Nigeria couldn’t disprove that thing.

So that is part of the secret of propaganda. That is, working with probable facts rather than convincing facts”.

He also confirms, at page 509, that relief flights were utilised to smuggle arms into Biafra; “What a risk we were taking! If that thing blows up everybody goes. Arms, part of this way; milk and corn flower (sic) part of the other way; rice and all those other things”.

He also reveals that Uli Airport, at a point in time, handled 40 flights per night, bearing ‘relief materials with arms built into them”.

When asked the question, “Most of the information going out of Biafra was exaggerated. Why was this so?” Ekwensi replied: “Have you ever heard of the statement, ‘All is fair in love and war?’

Is that wrong? Are you saying it is wrong?” [Page 510].

On malnutrition of children, he states: “It was there. I had a friend named Charles Ogonna who had seven children. The children’s colour changed to gold because of malnutrition and their bellies became very big. You see a child with a fat belly and yet he is hungry.

Don’t you see-what is in that belly?

So it did affect; there were no regular meals. In every situation in Nigeria or Africa somebody will take advantage of it. The relief materials were being sold in the market.

Continued on Page 65

POLITICS

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

•Jonathan

•Shekarau

Boko Haram: Is the end in sight?

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NSECURITY, no doubt, has been a major challenge to the leadership of Nigeria since the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war in 1967. Administration after administration, both military and civilian, have had to adopt several methods and strategies aimed at ridding various parts of the country of one banditry or the other at various times in our history as a people.

For President Goodluck Jonathan, it has been particularly tasking as he had to confront three near insurgencies in one reign aside from the many communal clashes his administration had to cope with.

First it was the senseless killings unleashed on the Plateau by rampaging ethno-religious adversaries slugging it out in what became known as the indigene-settler dispute. The killings are yet to stop till now even after claiming a serving senator, a state legislator, several eminent personalities and thousands of helpless citizens of the state.

The Jonathan administration also inherited the crisis in the Niger Delta where militants were up in arms against both the government and multinational oil companies over what they called the abandonment of the people and lands of the area to suffer untold hardship inflicted upon them by the exploration activities in the area. It took the lauded amnesty programme of the administration to stem the tide of insurgency in the creeks.

The emergence of the militant

Boko Haram’s recent call for peaceful negotiation with the Federal Government has raised several issues in the polity. In this report, Dare Odufowokan looks at the implications of the proposed peace initiative Islamist sect, Boko Haram, on the scene took many Nigerians by surprise because the group’s violent activities blossomed just as the bombings in the Niger Delta were receding.

The sect, which claimed to be out to islamise the entire northern part of the country has continued to wreck havoc in many states in the north ever since, while several efforts by the government have failed to bring about the much needed peace in the region.

Rather than abate, following the killing of its leader, Muhammed Yussuf, in 2010, the sect’s activities assumed an alarming dimension when it introduced suicide bombings in its agitation across the northern part of the country.

But in what appears to many as a surprise move, the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, on Thursday November 1, 2012, announced its readiness to end its campaign and allow peace to reign in the region on some conditions though.

The conditions include the arrest and prosecution of ex-Borno State Governor, Modu Sheriff; the proposed peace talks holding in Saudi Arabia; compensation for families of its members killed in the course of its terrorist acts; the rebuilding of its mosques and the release of all its members in the

custody of security agencies.

The sect also named a former Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, Dr. Shettima Monguno, a former Yobe State Governor, Bukar Ibrahim; Ambassador Gaji Galtimari, Aisha Alkali Wakil and her husband, Alkali as “trusted” Nigerians it would be ready to negotiate with in Saudi Arabia.

“We are not actually challenging the state, as people are saying, but the security (forces) that are killing our members, children and wives.

“We are highly offended but if this government is sincere, everything (the attacks) will come to an end. We want to dialogue but government must show sincerity in its handling of the situation,” the sect annouced in its first ever conciliatory gesture since hostilities broke out fully, two years ago.

The Presidency on its part said the proposed ceasefire by Boko Haram was a welcome development, if it was intended to achieve the objectives of peace and security. Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, said the position of President Goodluck Jonathan had been that he was ready for dialogue if members of the sect could come forward.

“Yes, I have seen the story in which the Boko Haram is reportedly declaring a ceasefire and the

opening of dialogue. I think it is important to restate the position of government in this matter. The Federal Government is committed to peace and security for the benefit of all Nigerians. If what the proposed ceasefire is intended to achieve are the objectives of peace and security, then it is a welcome development,” Abatti responded.

At that point, the stage appeared set for a return to peace and not a few Nigerians rejoiced accordingly. But the joy was to be shortlived as barely 24 hours after Boko Haram’s peace offering, unknown gunment killed Major General Muhammad Shuwa (rtd), a civil war hero, as he was preparing for Jummat prayer that fateful Friday, in Maiduguri.

Reports have it that four youngsters, acting in the manners of Boko Haram gunmen, posed as “visitors” to the General and gunned him down along with a guest.

Military spokesperson, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, did not mince words when he alleged that it was the handiwork of Boko Haram insurgents. But Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, a spokesman for the terrorist group, said, “We have no hands in the killing of Gen. Shuwa. We didn’t have problem with the man; we could not have killed the late general for no rea-

son.”

But coming just hours after the sect said it was ready to start talks with the federal government, there are new concerns over the sincerity of the group in pursuit of its plannned peaceful negotiation.

A serious question is now begging for an urgent answer as the federal government prepares to either accept or reject the olive branch extended by Boko Haram. The haunting question is, “Who killed General Shuwa?”

Various schools of thought have been coming up with answers to this question. While some analysts point to the possibility of factionalisation within the ranks of the Boko Haram sect, others are of the opinion that some oblique forces are capitalising on the situation in the north to settle political, economic and even private scores?

“The group cannot deny having a hand in the death of the General. I think they are out to just buy some more time to regroup after the several encounters they had with the JTF left them scattered and unarmed. The federal government should know better than to trust criminals.” This was the view of one of the schools, which recalled that few weeks before he was killed, Shuwa exposed some of the activities of this sect and even said he may be killed by the group. “Just like he predicted, he was gunned down,” they point out, alleging that they killed him to stop him from spilling more information.

Another explanation is that there now exist two Boko Haram groups. While one is cornered and ready to seek negotiation, the other is still very much interested in bloodshed.

“Take a good look at the way the announcement came and you will agree with this theory. It was not the usual Boko Haram spokesman who made the announcement, rather it was the second in command to Shekau, the new leader.

“Also, Muhammed Ibn Abdulazeez spoke to journalists in English as against the usual Arabic language used by spokespersons of the sect. Shekau is yet to confirm what his deputy said and the known spokesmen of the group are yet to come out and say something. There may be a split in the house of Boko Haram.

“The denial was also made by Abdulazeez. Where are the known spokepersons of the sect?

Are they for or against Abdulazeez’s announcement?

These are questions we must get answers to before we take the peace offer serious lest we allow the sect to buy time and return to wreck more havoc,” a leader of the Arewa Consultative Forum and former minister said.

Raising fears that fifth columnist may be the ones working to prevent a peaceful resolution of the Boko Haram crisis in the country, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police, Senator George Akume, declared that the agitation by Boko Haram has been hijacked by some elements outside the membership of the sect.

The foremr Benue State governor recalled that the agitation by some Boko Haram elements was a mere protest before it was hijacked by some enemies of the government which has turned the agitation into an insurgency.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Politics

Inside the Bayelsa, R In the last two weeks, Nigerians have been treated to the bitter public war of words between Rivers and Bayelsa States over the Soku oil wells. In this piece, Managing Editor, Northern Operation, Yusuf Alli and Assistant Editor, Akin Orimolade examine the issues tearing the brother states apart.

A

FTER about 66 years of mutual suspicion, the bubble has finally burst between Rivers and Bayelsa States over the Soku oil fields in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers. The lingering but suppressed anger between the two brother states, which had heightened since 2002, is now a street fight with President Goodluck Jonathan not spared the mudslinging by the parties.

The raging dispute is the first ‘open’ confrontation by the two states which used to be one entity. Since fate joined the people of the two states together by Decree 14 of 1967, signed into law by ex-Military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon on May 27, 1967, the parties had peacefully cohabited as Rivers State even though their ethnic groups, tongues, and boundaries differed.

In spite of their age-long cold war, they became the political brides whose ‘wild votes’ from the creeks determined the fate of presidential candidates in the Second, Third and Fourth Republics. For quite a while, Rivers State boasted that it churned out the highest number of votes at the 2011 election for Jonathan (a Bayelsan) to win the presidential poll. The votes from this axis very often tip the balance for the ultimate direction of political power in Nigeria.

In their topsy-turvy history, the people of the two states have quietly tolerated each other to the extent that the founders of what is known as Rivers State (Commander Alfred Diete-Spiff and Chief Melford Okilo) came from Bayelsa State. Despite this history of cohabitation, the gulf between the ethnic groups in the Old Rivers State is as deep as the oil basins they are fighting over.

Their initial pre-occupation was to liberate themselves from the Government of Eastern Nigeria where they were notable minorities and whose voice never counted.

But after 19 years of existence, the differences among the people of Old Rivers State became obvious to the extent that the military regime of former Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha had to create Bayelsa State out of this old Rivers State by Decree 36 of October 1, 19996.

•A drilling rig in the Soku Oil filed

It was a case of liberating a tiny minority from a major minority group. The creation of Bayelsa State has rekindled agelong rivalry among the ethnic groups in the two oil producing states. The battle for oil revenue from the Federation Account has compounded the boundary war which might transcend the present political actors in office with the prospect of a long-drawn legal battle ahead.

HOW DID THE CRISIS START? According to findings, the border crisis actually started during the colonial era in 1946, about a decade before oil was discovered in Oloibiri in Bayelsa State. Investigations confirm that it was a nasty hostility which unsettled the colonial masters on the future of the Niger Delta. When the animosity became intense, the Governor of the then Nigeria (Protectorate and Cameroons) issued an Order in Council in 1946 which was later made a Public Notice No.71 of May 1, 1951 when the crisis did not abate among the ethnic groups. The order (made public in 1951), now in the National Archives, was signed by the colonial Acting Chief Secretary to the Government, H. F. Marshall. The order, which provides insight into the cold war, reads in part: “In exercise of the powers conferred upon him by Sub-section (2) of Section 5 of the Nigeria (Protectorate and Cameroons) Order in Council 1946, His Excellency, the Governor has been pleased to direct that the boundaries of the Degema Division of the Rivers Province shall be those described in the Schedule hereto.”North- The Southern boundary of Ahoada Division from the point of junction with Eastern boundary of the Brass Division to the point of junction with the Western boundary of the Ogoni Division to the point of junction with the Western boundary of the Calabar Province.

“East - The Western boundary of the Calabar Province from the junction with the Southern boundary of the Ogoni Division to the sea at the mouth of the Andoni River.

“South- The sea from the Western boundary of the Calabar Province at the

mouth of the Andoni River to the Eastern boundary of the Brass Division at the mouth of the Owangatoro or Santa Barbara River.

“West - The Eastern boundary of the Brass Division from the sea at the mouth of Owangatoro or Santa Barbara River to the junction with the Southern boundary of the Ahoada Division. “Note -The boundaries of the Brass and Ogoni divisions of the Rivers Province are described in Public Notice No. 146 of 1948 and the boundaries of the Ahoada and Port Harcourt Divisions of the Rivers Province are described in Government Notice No. 1577 of 1949.”

By 1954, it was apparent to the colonial administration in the Rivers-Bayelsa axis of the Niger Delta that it might not be able to resolve the boundary disputes among ethnic groups. In a 1954 document, titled “Nembe-Kula Administrative Settlement”, the colonial masters foresaw the present crisis between Rivers and Bayelsa when it advised any aggrieved group to go up to the Supreme Court to clarify any boundary issue in order not to have a breach of the peace in the area.

The settlement document, which was signed by L. Barrow (District Officer, Degema) and J.B. Craig (District Officer, Brass) reads: “The Administrative boundary between the Brass and Degema and between the Nembe and Kalabari Native Authorities is the Santa Barbara River. “To the West of Santa Barbara River, Kulas shall not introduce strangers nor collect rents but shall have right to continue in occupation of the following places without payment of rents: Kuroghaliri (alias Konyeboko); Pukokiri; Owukubu; Adlamuama; Ikriko-Idei-Kiri; Nyounkiri (aliasOwinkiri); Charlie-Kiri; and Tweniboko (alias Toni).

“To the East of the Santa Barbara River, Nembe shall not introduce strangers nor collect rents but shall have right to con-

•Dickson

tinue in occupation of the following places without payment of rents: Darapagamo and Goldsmith-Kiri. “Nothing in this order shall preclude either party from taking action in the court to establish any right or title which it may claim. “Such actions must, however, be taken in the first instance in the Nembe Native Court if it concerns anywhere in the West side of the Santa Barbara River and in the Kalabari Native Court if it concerns the East side of that River. Either party may then apply to the Supreme Court. “Unless and until it is supervised by any court judgment, this order must be obeyed by both parties and contraventions will be treated as conduct likely to provoke a breach of the peace.”

ORIGIN OF THE SCRAMBLE Before the discovery of oil, it was gath-

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11 2012

Politics

a, Rivers oil war

•Protesting, Kalabari Chiefs in Abuja

•Amaechi

ered that the scramble for boundaries was informed by craze for collection of land rents, control of some areas to attract favour from colonial masters, coastal access to white traders and fishing right, which is the economic mainstay of the Niger Delta.

Now with abundant oil, the boundary war has shifted from the right for polluted fish to royalties from sweet crude and accruing jumbo revenue from the Federation Account. The more oil wells a state has, the more it smiles to the bank even if the masses will not benefit from the oil wealth.

In an interview with our correspondents, former Security Adviser to the Rivers State Government, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, said: “When you talk of the border problem between Nembe, Kula and Kalabari, that has taken over 100 years. It was there

before the colonial masters came. The colonial masters did some interventions.

“What were they fighting for at that time? They were fighting for fishing right and they killed themselves over fishing right but the administrators at that time were wise. They took several decisions from time to time which aided the communities, which brought peace within the communities. Between 1926 and 1929, there was a big problem between the Nembe people and the Kula and, to an extent, the Kalabari people.

“The district officer at that time decided to demarcate the boundaries for them and the boundaries were put at the West of Santa Barbara River for the Brass Division and degrees were issued, documents were written and that led to the demarcation of various divisions in the area. Then, callboard map came out 1945. The callboard map was the first mark that covers the different district or area and this took care of the various local areas in Nigeria including the Brass Division and the Degema Division.”

GENESIS OF THE PRESENT CRISIS Although the seed of the present crisis was sown on October 25, 1999, it could be traced to the release of the 11th edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria in 2002, and the printing of the map by the Federal Surveys of Nigeria.

As soon as the map came out, Rivers State suspected foul play leaving the administration of ex-Governor Peter Odili to protest to ex- Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who was the Chairman of the National Boundary Commission (NBC) during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The Government of Bayelsa State under ex-Governor DSP Alamieyeseigha, in a letter dated October 25, 1999 petitioned the Director-General/ Secretary of the NBC requesting the de-

marcation of the inter-state boundary between Bayelsa and Rivers states.

Bayelsa also made its petition available to the NBC with delineation documents showing that the boundary between the Brass (Nembe) people of Bayelsa and New Calabar (Kalabari) people of Rivers should be San Bartholomew and not Santa Barbara River. The Rivers State Government, however, fought back through it State Boundary Commission by submitting memoranda Volumes I and II to the NBC on March 20 and 30, 2000.

To resolve the matter, the Obasanjo administration directed that a meeting be held by Rivers and Bayelsa with officials of the NBC and Federal Surveys. A Joint Field Team (JFT), headed by the SurveyorGeneral of the Federation, was set up to “carry out the field tracing and provisional demarcation of the boundary.” But it was learnt that in defiance of the JFT, the Surveyor-General went ahead in 2000 to produce the 11th Map while investigation into the boundary dispute between the two states was still in progress.

The same map became effective in 2002. In a June 20, 2002 letter to Atiku by the then chairman of the Rivers State Boundary Commission, Sir Gabriel Toby, the state said the 11th map was unacceptable because it fundamentally altered the boundary of the state. He also explained what transpired between the two states and the NBC and Federal Surveys.

The letter said in part: “The boundary between Rivers State and Bayelsa State at the Southern sector had been fundamentally altered by shifting the boundary from its being west of the Santa Barbara River to the San Bartholomew River.

“The Surveyor-General of Rivers State was directed to immediately bring this anomaly and material distortion to the attention of the Surveyor-General of the Federation requesting for immediate withdrawal of the said Administrative Map 11th edition from circulation.

“The Joint Field Team met at Abuja on 4th and 5th May 2000 and studied the delineation documents to be used on the field.

“Officials of the National Boundary Commission, Federal Surveys and officials

21

from Bayelsa and Rivers again met in Port Harcourt on 16th October 2001 and constituted a Screening Committee to screen all delineation documents submitted by the two states at Abuja on 29th and 30th November 2001.

“The screening exercise, attended by all the parties, took place at Abuja on 3rd and 4th of December 2001 and all the submitted documents were categorised as primary documents, secondary documents or accepted for information only for purposes of field exercise.

“The Joint Field Team, headed by the Federal Surveys, was formally inaugurated by the National Boundary Commission at Yenagoa, Bayelsa State on the 11th of December 20111 and it was agreed that the field work should commence on the 21st of January 20o2. A technical sub-committee headed by the Chief Project Survey (a staff of Federal Surveys) was also set up to work out the modalities and requirements for the field exercise with Surveyors-General of both states.

“The foregoing succinctly establishes that there is a dispute between Rivers and Bayelsa as to the boundary in the Southern sector between Nembe and Kalabari axis.

“It is important to place on record that the Administrative Map of Nigeria, First and Ninth editions, also prepared by Office of the Federal Surveys 1977 showed the boundary between Nembe and Degema (Kalabari) as being the West of Santa Barbara River.

“It is very disturbing that the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation which has fully participated at every meeting organised by the National Boundary Commission for the demarcation of the boundary between the two states and which is well aware of the dispute between the two states in this axis and which is in fact the Team Leader of the Joint Field Team can unilaterally produce an Administrative Map of Nigeria totally at variance with its last edition(or in fact any previous edition ever) during the pendency of the dispute.

“The 11th edition which on the face of it is stated to have been published in the year 2000 only recently came into circulation. “The Government and people of Rivers Sate seriously doubt that the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation of which Federal Surveys is a part can carry put the grave responsibility of an unbiased arbiter in demarcating the boundary between the two states working in conjunction with the National Boundary Commission.”

HOW THE 11TH MAP WAS ARRIVED AT AND NATIONAL BOUNDARY COMMISSION INITIAL INTERVENTION Following the petition of Rivers State, the National Boundary Commission, in a letter of July 3, 2002 (NBC.SEC. 4/S.75) signed by its then Director-General, Dahiru Bobbo, admitted inadvertent misrepresentation of Bayelsa/Rivers Interstate Boundary in the 11th Map due to pressure and asked the two states to maintain the status quo pending corrections in the 12th Edition.

The letter, addressed to ex-Governor Peter Odili, said: “With reference to the letter Ref, No RSRC/002/37 dated 20th June 2002 addressed to His Excellency, the Vice-President. Chairman, National Boundary Commission, I wish to inform Your Excellency that I have discussed the issue with the Surveyor-General and wish to state as follows: “That the National Boundary Commission has taken note of the state’s observation on the inadvertent misrepresentation of the Bayelsa/Rivers interstate boundary at the San Bartholomew River as shown on the map.

“The error was as a result of the delay in inputs from Rivers State during the production of the Edition and the pressure to quickly publish the long overdue 11th Edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria.

“I am to assure Your Excellency that your observations have been noted and that necessary corrections shall be reflected on the 13th Edition currently under production. I am to further assure you that the boundary line as reflected on the Continued on Page 54

22

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Politics

Jonathan, Lamido’s new bond President Goodluck Jonathan was in Jigawa State early this week, where he continued his message of peace as the basis for national development, reports Kolade Adeyemi

F

OR the people of Jigawa State, the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan raises hope for better things to come. Between November 5 and 6, the President left the rigours of work in Aso Rock for Jigawa to celebrate the achievements of Governor Sule Lamido, who has been making outstanding efforts to lift Jigawa up to envisaged status of the “New World.”

It was, indeed, a warm reception for the President as the people of Jigawa came out en masse, with joy to receive Jonathan who Lamido described as a dynamic and exceptional leader.

The President’s first point of call was Hadejia Emirate where a colourful Durba was organised for him by the Emir of Hadejia, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar Maje, who expressed joy over the president’s visit to his emirate and thanked him for all the federal government’s projects cited in the state.

The Emir who presented a white horse to the President, called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to rehabilitate the Kano-JahunHadejia Road for easy vehicular movement.

The President also had meetings with Jigawa stakeholders at the Government House where he assured them that his administration will always partner with the state government to ensure that Jigawa get the desired development. Among the requests made by

the people of Jigawa State include facilities for flood control, erosion and the need for Green Belt along Jigawa borders. The Jigawa stakeholders urged the Federal Government to pursue the Green Belt project for northern borders with vigour, noting that Jigawa should be given special attention since it has proved to be the most exposed state in this regard. They are of the opinion that the Green Belt policy, if adequately realised, will complement the Jigawa State government’s afforestation programme.

They also reminded the President of the need for improved water supply in Dutse and to order the rehabilitation of federal roads in Gaya-Kafin Hausa-KatagunGanawa, Kwanar DumawaKanya Babba-Babura-Niger border and Kano-Gumel-MaigatariNiger Border. The stakeholders also stressed the need for the completion of Hadejia Valley Irrigation project and the establishment of a Federal College of Education in Jigawa.

The President was full of excitement when he saw the newly constructed National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp in Fanisau, named after former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, whose government established the NYSC scheme. In his address before commissioning the camp, Jonathan dramatically called two corps

•Warm reception for Jonathan in Jigawa

members and asked them their feelings about the new camp—and their remarks which was full of praises for Governor Sule Lamido stimulated the crowd. According to the President, the Jigawa NYSC Camp ranks among the best out of the 15 permanent camps in the country so far. He used the opportunity to urge state governments, which have not been able to build permanent camps for the NYSC programme, to do so.

The camp, which cost about N800 million, was built with stateof-the-art facilities. It has an administrative block with fully furnished offices, 31 staff quarters, asphaltpaved access roads with street lights, standard athletic ground,

two hostels for male and female corps members consisting of 16 blocks each, class rooms, boreholes, lock-up shops, eatery halls, 200KVA standby generator, standard athletic track, football pitch, basket and volley ball fields.

From the NYSC Camp, Jonathan proceeded to lay the foundation for the Dutse International Airport in Gidan Bawa, estimated to cost N5 billion. Another gigantic project commissioned by the President is the newly built Ahmadu Bello state secretariat at the cost of N9.5 billion.

Mr. President described the secretariat as a monumental structure, adding that it showed the zeal of Governor Sule Lamido to ensure

smooth running of government activities. According to him, Lamido is among the governors who have made significant performance, noting that the Federal Government will continue to do what is expected, so that Sule Lamido can accomplish his ambition of taking Jigawa State to greater heights.

Jonathan who also spoke on the need for peace and order in the country, described the rampant killings in the country as primitive, saying that some people take as a hobby killing innocent citizens and destroying properties, pointing out that those who indulge in such dastardly acts and their sponsors are uncivilized.

Giving the benefit of the doubt W

E live in a country where there is a penchant to impute ulterior motives to whatever someone writes on virtually any issue. Consequently, the following caveat is in order. I hold no brief for Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, wife of the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi. I don’t know her and have never met her.

Nonetheless, I am using her recent experience to examine a growing and worrying trend in our society; a tendency to tar everyone in the public eye with the same brush without the benefit of the doubt. A knee-jerk reaction on the part of Nigerians is always to believe negative reports about those in the corridors of power, a demonstration of the fact that there is no love lost between “them’’ and “us.’’

When news broke that Mrs. Ajimobi had been caught in London allegedly in possession of 400,000 pounds in an attempt at money laundering, the story went viral on the social media. The allegation reportedly first appeared in PM news, hardly a mainstream newspaper; nonetheless people read it and ran with it. As incredulous as the allegation sounds, not a few people believed it because we have become used to officials in high places looting and taking their loot abroad for ‘safe’ keeping.

The general reaction was that there must have been some truth to the allegation. Even those who had their doubts sought refuge in that well worn cliché that we are so used to in these parts: there is

Aderemi Oyewumi

no smoke without fire. However, in Mrs. Ajimobi’s case, it turned out that there was no smoke, let alone fire.

The allegation was the figment of some mischief maker’s imagination. According to Mrs. Ajimobi’s testimony, she had taken her daughter to school in London and was not in any way involved in money laundering. Luckily for her the Metropolitan Police reportedly denied that she was arrested in London. Unlike the Nigeria Police who would have dilly dallied and dragged their feet, the London Met set the records straight. Governor Ajimobi himself mounted a spirited defence of his wife and was said to have sued the offending newspaper for N1billion to prevent the story from gaining traction. After all it was Lenin, the Russian revolutionary, no stranger to propaganda, who said: “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.’’

In the race to be the first to break ‘breaking news’ and reap the rewards in higher circulation and profits, there is a tendency for newspapers not to allow the facts to get in the way of the story. The media ought to do their homework by checking and cross checking facts before publishing stories especially those that have the potential of landing them in court for libel.

The knee-jerk reaction of Nigerians in believing allegations of official corruption is often a reflection of the rampant corruption by public officials resulting in public

•Ajimobi

resentment of those in the corridors of power. The perception is that they are in office for self-serving reasons and not in the public interest. Ever since the restoration of democracy in 1999 there has been a quantum leap in the looting of public funds. Consequently, most Nigerians, impoverished by decades of official neglect, tend to believe any allegation of financial wrongdoing against pubic officials no matter how ridiculous, outrageous or outlandish it may be. Unfortunately, by tarring everybody with the same brush, some innocent people are bound to suffer in the process. Reputations built over

decades could be tarnished just on the basis of one wild unsubstantiated allegation.

Public officials, particularly politicians, are partly responsible for the lack of trust between government officials and the governed as a result of their conduct. They are arguably the most distrusted segment of the Nigerian population. Hardly anyone believes politicians when they are accused of corruption and they seek refuge in saying that the allegation leveled against them was “politically motivated,’’ their favourite default position. There is so much public skepticism that even when some of them are truly innocent of the charge against them, the general perception is that there must have been an iota of truth in the allegation. Any opportunity to denigrate those in positions of power is often seized upon by a frustrated citizenry fed up with bad governance. It is instructive that Mrs. Ajimobi herself said that the allegation leveled against her was the price she had to pay for being the wife of a politician.

People tend to believe whatever they read in newspapers or on the internet forgetting that stories are sometimes planted for ulterior motives. With the advent of social media, news spread much faster than was previously the case.

Given its power to make or mar reputations, the media bears a heavy responsibility to be extra careful in checking their facts before going public with their stories.

The same applies to those who use social media. When newspapers

publish stories that are proven to be false, apologies are not often made in screaming headlines like the original story, but in small print usually tucked away inside the newspaper, not on the front page.

Once an allegation of financial impropriety is made against a public official, it immediately sows the seeds of doubt in the public mind about the integrity of the accused. In other words, the accused is usually considered guilty until proven innocent. And even after the accused has been proven to be innocent, the whiff of scandal continues to linger in the nostrils of inveterate skeptics. That’s the nature of the society we live in.

It is another reminder for those in the corridors of power to be very careful in conducting their affairs as there are those who are waiting in the wings ready to pounce at any opportunity.

Until such a time when trust is restored between the government and the governed through good governance public officials are potential victims of all manner of allegations. They should consider it an occupational hazard they have to live with. Despite the negative public perception, not all politicians are rogues and not all public officials are rogues, it is just that those who are have given the rest a bad name. These are the people the Yoruba call amunibuni. We should avoid rushing to judgment and learn to give people the benefit of the doubt.

• Dr Oyewumi lives in Abuja

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11 2012

Politics

Political Politics

Ali Sheriff more victim of Boko Haram than sponsor —Duhu

turf

with Bolade Omonijo boladeomonijo@yahoo.com

Obama, America and the rest of us

Alhaji Umaru Duhu, Adamawa State chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has risen in defense of former Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, who was alleged to have links with Boko Haram.

He spoke with Adetutu Audu on the origin of the sect, and absolves his party man. Excerpts:

T

HE BOT chairman of your party (the ANPP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, was alleged to be the master mind of Boko Haram. He has not personally made a public statement on that. Can you give us an insight into his thoughts?

It is rather unfortunate that the name of our respected party leader is being peddled as having links with the Boko Haram sect, even when it is common knowledge that he is the group’s number one target. The allegation is not a new thing. Some others have made futile attempts in the past to insinuate same. Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has not deemed it necessary to join issues with the embattled Senator Ahmed Zannah, because he knows that, the man is only playing the ostrich. In the fullness of time, the truth about the whole matter will be known.

The JTF which arrested the suspected king pin are in a better position to tell the world in whose house they made the arrest. I agree with you that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has been on a virtual trial by the media over the issue of Boko Haram. I also agree that some people are bent on rubbishing his integrity, using the Boko Haram issue. I think it is rather unfortunate that people find it convenient to trivialise a very serious security challenge like Boko Haram by playing politics with it. Some are pointing accusing fingers at others instead of defending their culpability, any time our security op-

eratives come near bursting the case.

The Federal Government is not sleeping over the matter, and they have at their disposal very vital information on the matter, beyond what you and I have.

The Inspector General of Police has said they are making investigations. I am aware the State Security Service is doing its own part of the job. The JTF, who are on ground, may have their own findings, even as some citizens may volunteer facts. I am sure if we are patient enough, the real perpetrators may not have too long to hide from the hands of justice. But I want Nigerians to be fair to Ali Sheriff, by allowing security operatives to do the job, and not subject him to trial on the news waves or on the pages of newspapers.

As somebody close to Sheriff, would you say he is capable of supporting Boko Haram, and what becomes of his celebrated ECOMOG militia?

What many people do not tend to understand is that Boko Haram did not start during Ali Modu Sheriff’s tenure as governor. It is a phenomenon that developed over time since around 1995. I have heard people propounding theories that, Boko Haram metamorphosed from local political militia. One needs to look at the sophistication and modus operandi of Boko Haram to know that it is one group that does not operate on frivoli-

A

•Duhu ties. Unlike the political thugs, who are often ragtag, Boko Haram looks a more organised group. It has been easy distinguishing between Boko Haram and political assassinations because of the caliber of people being targeted.

Ali Sheriff has lost his own blood brother, his cousin, three of his most intimate friends, his party men, the governorship candidate of his party and many other associates, while all those trying to link him up with the issue have not lost even the dogs in their houses. It is illogical to associate a man who from all ramifications is a victim with sponsorship of the same group that has traumatised him. I have a security report, which investigated the first crisis in 2009, under the chairmanship of Air Chief Marshall Paul Dike, the former Chief of Defense Staff, which completely exonerated Ali Sheriff. I also have the report of the Ambassador Gaji Galtimari Committee, which investigated the same incident, in which the former governor was given a clean bill of health. It is therefore baffling, when laymen who do not necessary have adequate Continued on Page 24

Political

ripples •Okorocha

•Ojukwu

Between Bianca and Okorocha

A

MBASSADOR Bianca Ojukwu, whose utterances and activi ties since the demise of her husband have been subjects of intense controversy within some various caucuses of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), stepped into another hot fire recently, when she allegedly claimed that the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, was installed the Chief Executive of the state by the leader of Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).

As is expected, Okorocha, through his aides, had fired back, advising the ambassador to concentrate on her job and stop meddling with the Imo State government. That is not all, Ripples gathered that Bianca may also have been warned by some APGA leaders over her utterances and activities, some of which some members alleged were anti- party.

Oyinlola and the N18.38billion loan blame

A

23

S the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Osun State Government to investigate a loan of N18.38 billion by the immediate past administration pronounced ex-Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola guilty of leadership failure, the question on most lips is whether the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national secretary had no competent advisers?

The commission, which was chaired by Prof.

Femi Odekunle, had blamed the former governor for heeding the advice of the state assembly at a “non-emergency circumstance’’ and sought him to be sanctioned for “irrational application of parts of such loan and for directing certain obvious reckless disbursement of the loan”.

It also blamed the former governor for approving an “unthinking Memorandum of Understanding that had turned out to be a fraud against the state”.

Given these pronouncements, the puzzle Is whether Oyinlola had poor advisers or...

LL over the world, decision makers, as well as the common but educated people, stayed glued to their television sets to monitor last Tuesday’s presidential election of the United States of America. As the sole surviving superpower, no one could ignore the development. Besides, the arrival of Barrack Obama on the scene in 2008 had alerted everyone to possibilities in the USA. He became the first black man elected to the most powerful office in the world.

On November 6, he offered once again to consolidate his hold on power and prove that ascendancy in that country is transparent.

But, he had to fight a good fight to scale the hurdles. The combination of the Republican Party and its candidate, Mitt Romney, could not be easily defeated. Romney fought hard.

He ran a good race. He shook the incumbent and showed that in that country, it is not a one-way track.

The outcome of the election was not as interesting as the run up to it. Every issue was discussed. Each candidate was weighed. Every pronouncement was verified and the national interest took precedence over all other things. It was America, after all. Besides, the rules were known to all.

Almost all Americans understand the dichotomy between the popular and electoral votes. They know, as the Al Gore experience bore out in 2000, that you do not occupy the White House simply because you have more votes than your opponents. You need, by some strange and weird calculations, electoral votes that reflect the diversity of the American nation.

In the process, it is shown that everybody matters. The youth and the aged have to speak out; the Hispanics and Blacks must be heard, while the rich and the poor must be brought on board. As such, both Obama and Romney ran huge bills canvassing support. It was obvious that traditional support areas for the Republicans and Democrats could not do the magic. Romney, a Mormon, was trying to break another barrier and free the society, just as Obama was determined to prove that the black man is not bereft of ideas.

Interestingly, within hours, the results started pouring in. No one cried foul even when the machines chose to malfunction in some parts of the country. There was no allegation of manipulation in anyone’s favour. All through the exercise, no thought was spared any electoral commission or even the polling officials. It was not an issue whether gun-totting security men were needed to safeguard materials. No one ever speculated that some areas could be denied voting materials or others over-supplied.

I had looked forward to the effect of Hurricane Sandy on voting in the New Jersey and New York areas. It turned out a non-issue, even with the warning that things could go awry again within 24 hours of the voting. It was a civic responsibility and the voters would not, at any cost, be denied that right.

And the result. It was such a close race, at least by the popular votes cast. Only one per cent separated the candidates.

Yet, it did not stop Romney from promptly congratulating Obama. He did not have to wait for the full votes to be in. As soon as the president crossed the magical 270 votes mark, the Republican challenger accepted that the game was over.

His moving speech drew tears from some and showed how the American system works. And, in victory, Obama was gracious. He stretched forth his hands and recognised that the Romney cannot be ignored.

In any case, the fact that the Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives is an indication that it is not total victory for Obama and his party. There have to be bipartisan cooperation if the society is to move forward.

The figures, the intrigues, the sweat and the speeches all indicate that the celebration would have to stop in days and Obama must role up his sleeves if he is to go down in history as a great president who rose to meet the challenges that the election has brought forth.

Just immediately after the American election, China also made a bid to change leadership, but the choreography showed the difference. As it is in the Catholic Church where the cardinals decide for all, the Central Committee of the Communist Party had the only say in the matter. All that others had to do was salute and clap like happy spectators at a soccer match.

In our country, 2015 is just around the corner. Simple issues like producing a credible voter register, logistics, where to keep sensitive materials, the roles of security forces, honesty of poll officials, vote counting, tally and announcement are still serious challenges. There is, the truth be told, nothing transparent about the Nigerian electoral system despite last year’s constitution amendment.

Some of our leaders (or rulers), who would be attending the Obama inauguration in January, are already planning how to pervert the process next time. In the USA, the people spoke, their voice was heard, the system responded and the future is thus bright. Can the same be said of Nigeria? When would our elections reflect the General Will? Until we get the electoral process fixed, there can be no meaningful development. We can only keep dreaming of our place in the world by 2020. Or even 2090.

24

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Politics

Kwakwanso, Shekarau, others renew rivalry over governorship seat •Kwakwanso

F

OR Kano State Governor, Musa Kwakwanso and his predecessor, Ibrahim Shekarau, the year 2015 presents another opportunity to test their might on the political battlefield.

It is no longer news that the two politicians have not been the best of friends, at least politically.

Their rivalry dated back to the early 2000, during Kwakwanso’s first stint as governor from 1999 to2003, after he reportedly demoted Shekarau from the position of permanent secretary in the state civil service to a school principal over alleged insubordination.

Within a spate of three years, Shekarau, who many had thought was down and out, contested the 2003 governorship election against his former boss on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and to the surprise of everyone, had a relatively easy victory at the polls.

Many Kano indigenes had attributed his victory to two factors: fate and the ability to connect with the average man on the streets, who regard Shekarau as incorruptible and ‘one of our own’.

On his part, Kwakwanso, following his loss, simply moved on. An ally of the then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, he was appointed to the powerful portfolio of the Minister of Defense, a position he held for about four years.

From 2003 to 2011, Shekarau

Following reports that Kano State Governor, Musa Rabiu Kwakwanso, may contest the 2015 presidency, expectations have heightened among political gladiators in the North West state over who takes over his seat. Remi Adelowo reports held forte as governor, enjoying a near cult-like status in the state.

It is also on record that he was the first Kano State governor to serve two consecutive terms in office.

However, his desire to handover to a trusted ally, Suleiman Fakai, failed to materialize, as Kwakwanso, who had retreated from the political scene, and whom many had also written off politically, staged a comeback to win the 2011 governorship election.

Fakai’s loss dealt a major blow to Shekarau’s rising political fortune. It was indeed two huge losses in a row, with the former governor, who had earlier been picked as the presidential candidate of the ANPP coming a distant fourth in the race.

Presently in Kano State, one recurring topic of discussion among political stakeholders is the likely entry of Kwakwanso into the presidential race. The governor, sources disclosed, has allegedly confided in a few close aides that he may give the presidency a shot in 2015, having come to the conclusion that there is nothing more for him to prove in the state politics.

Reports that Kwakwanso could join the race for the 2015 presidency, The Nation gathered, may have cleared the coast for top politicians in the state to begin early preparations on who takes over the Kano Government

House.

This development, according to a member of the House of Representatives who prefers to remain anonymous, will renew the intense political rivalry between the governor, who is yet to anoint any aspirant, and his predecessor. Shekarau, who, it was learnt, is still firmly in control of the structures of ANPP in Kano State and may support the candidacy of Fakai once again in 2015.

Fakai, the Commissioner for Local Government in Shekarau’s cabinet, according to sources, has remained loyal to the former governor despite the latter being out of office.

For some ANPP members who are not disposed to Fakai flying the ANPP ticket, they are, however, rooting for Alhaji Kabiru Gaya, a serving two-term senator and former governor of the state between 1999 and 1993.

They cite his level-headedness and broad appeal as his strong points, adding that while he has remained loyal to the party, he remains arguably, the only man in ANPP with the clout and stature to give any candidate put forward by the ruling party a run for his money.

Other names being bandied around within the political circles as nursing governorship ambition include first term senator, Bashir Lado Garba, four-term member of the House of Representaives, Farouk Lawan,

governorship candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), in the 2011 elections, Lawal Ja’faru Isa and Ibrahim Abacha.

Garba, a member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was elected into the Senate in 2011. The young man, who is in his mid-40’s, proved with his election that he has come of age in politics, as he defeated heavyweights to clinch the PDP ticket and in the general elections.

Though he has not declared intention to contest the governorship, there are unconfirmed speculations that quite a number of political and traditional elites are putting pressures on Garba to give the race a shot.

One major factor believed to be working in his favour is his closeness to the power bases in the state, in addition to his noncontroversial image. And according to insiders, finance will surely not be an issue for the senator if he decides to throw his hat into the ring.

Quite wealthy in his own right, Garba, a big player in the oil and gas sector before his foray into politics, is also a nephew of the Abacha family, who sources allege, still controls huge financial wherewithal.

Until he got embroiled in the fuel subsidy probe bribe scandal, Lawan in the opinion of not a few PDP members in Kano State was a governor-in-waiting. Reports had it that the lawmaker was pre-

•Shekarau vailed upon to step down for Kwakwanso in 2011, and had actually been assured of the governorship ticket in 2015.

But for his political associates, his alleged involvement in a bribe scandal may not negatively affect his governorship after all. “Has he been found guilty of the bribe scandal,” asked one of his loyalists. “Until that happens, Lawan remains the leading governorship aspirant in Kano PDP.” Also likely to join the race is Kwakwanso’s deputy, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. An ardent loyalist of his boss, it remains unclear if the governor will throw his weight behind him when the chips are down.

Despite his unsuccessful attempt last year, Jafaru Isa, a retired Brigadier General, The Nation gathered, still has his eyes on the coveted seat. The former military administrator secured the CPC ticket in a bitter contest with Ibrahim Abacha, a situation which left the party badly fractured culminating in its dismal showing at the polls.

Perhaps except himself and his coterie of supporters, not many people are giving Isa any chance to spring a surprise. According to sources, apart from the fact that his party structures in the state remains weak and uncoordinated, the retired one-star army general lacks the financial war chest to prosecute a governorship campaign.

Ali Sheriff more victim of Boko Haram than sponsor —Duhu

Continued from Page 23

knowledge of the metamorphosis of the sect into a violent group, begin to make analysis and even apportion blames. Ali Sheriff does not have any fear of being investigated, whenever his attention is called on any particular issue, including the issue of Boko Haram. We should not crucify a man just because some other people detest him for whatever reasons.

All those who investigated the matter are luckily still around, and they have not disowned the reports they made. I can confirm to you with authority that Ali Modu Sheriff is not capable of, and never masterminded Boko Haram.

On the issue of political thugs, I know that politics tend to breed a lot of miscreants, who may parade themselves as belonging to a particular party or individual. At public functions, they shout all sorts of slogans and commit mischief. This is a common denominator in Nigerian politics. But Sheriff has never supported any such acts.

Those who claim to be his boys or claim to act on his instructions are on their own. If there are any evidences linking anybody with any crime, that person should answer for his sins, and not try to link same with Sheriff. This group, which you call ECOMOG, may be a coinage by some people, and if they exist, at all, they belong to that category.

We observe that most of the people being killed are from a particular political party. Does this not connote more of political assassinations than Boko Haram?

I have said it before, that there is more of politics in some of the cases than there were other crimes. We have to accept the reality of the existence of Boko Haram. But politics have overshadowed them, to the effect that, we now have political assassinations and armed robbery, operating simultaneously with Boko Haram. So far, the ANPP in Borno State has suffered more casualties

•Duhu

than all the others put together.

As I speak with you, all those killed are of the ANPP, some of whom were closely related to Ali Sheriff.

Only a few days ago, his closest ally, Alhaji Mustapha Floma, was assassinated in cold blood. It is obvious that ANPP members are the targets of killings, and yet nobody wants to believe us, rather, people tend to align with those who torment us, obviously to get even with Sheriff, who is the leader of the party.

We understand Senator Ahmed Zannah has dragged the Federal Government and the JTF to court to clear his name. Is that not an indication that the senator may have been misrepresented?

It is left for the Federal Government to appropriately define the issues involved and address them. But it is rather amusing that the man is jumping the gun. No formal charges have been brought against him yet. Like I said earlier, we should allow the security

operatives to investigate, without any attempt to blackmail, cajole or intimidate them. Even the major suspect has not been charged to court yet.

Of course, if there is any misrepresentation, the government will apologise to him. If on the other hand, he is found culpable, then he should carry his cross. The act of going to court, or crying wolf in the media, or even trying to implicate others cannot acquit him, rather it is the proof of innocence, and the onus is upon him to do so.

What would you say on the call by the Boko Haram sect that Ali Sheriff must be arrested as a pre-condition to cease of fire?

In my understanding, they did not call for his arrest because he is their sponsor, rather it is to avenge the perceived wrongs he committed against them. It is common knowledge that he has been fighting a running battle with the group since 2009, when the crisis snowballed into violence. This call has been made before, and it is left to see the basis against which he will be arrested

INSIGHT

25

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

An arm and a leg for quality education

E

ACH for their own reasons; September and October are months that make stakeholders in the education sector either happy or sad when it draws near. For most students, it is end of the long holiday merriment and back to rigorous academic work.

For parents, it is a time when their wallets will be depleted, as hundreds of thousands of naira, sometimes millions, will be paid in school fees and other sundry charges. For teachers in public schools, it is back to the job they love to hate because of the perceived poor pay and harsh conditions of service.

For the owners of private schools, it is harvest time as they rake in millions of naira from parents. With increase in prices of petroleum products, PHCN bills and other economic changes as excuses, private school operators are hiking fees daily.

But what is the state of education and what does it cost to have good quality education? These are the two questions that have continually assailed the minds of most Nigerians.

Three types of schools A month-long investigation by The Nation revealed that there are three types of schools in the country today.

There are the public primary and secondary schools where the condition of service of the teachers are relatively poor, the infrastructure is in a bad shape and the pupils come to school when they like, they dress shabbily and most of them are indulged by their parents who frown at their wards being disciplined by the school authorities. Also common are sexual and other forms of harassments by either students or teachers.

In the second category are the private schools that are slightly better than their public counterparts. Here the teachers are paid better than those in public schools, but the pay is not regular, teachers are the authorities on all subjects, and masters of all. For instance, a graduate of English may be found teaching History and Government alongside English and Literature-inEnglish. Most of these schools are just one building or at most a block of flats; they

Education is the key to advancement in life. Head of Investigation Desk OLUKAYODE THOMAS and OLAWALE DOWUDU in this report ask examine what it costs to have a good education in Nigeria today. have no space for any extracurricular activity or sports. Like the public schools, most of these schools lack basic amenities such as science laboratory and information tech-

nology equipment and other facilities.

This category of school is populated by children of middle class professionals and well-to-do traders.

The third category is the elitist one in Lagos, Abuja and a few sprinkles across the nation. These schools are at par with any secondary or primary school anywhere in the world in terms of teachers' salaries, environment of learning, equipment and facilities, information technology, but they are outrageously expensive, even more expensive than most private •Continued on Page 26

'We're reforming Lagos schools' So, how much would you say that the state government has spent so far on primary, secondary and tertiary education in the state?

Billions! Last year alone, the budget was about N74billion and it all went into the different aspects of our education system. If you take it from that premise alone, you can imagine how much is spent in totality. It included infrastructural development, training, building of schools, intervention in the Lagos State University (LASU) programmes, curriculum development, grants to lecturers, library development, salary payments, buying of books, e-library, computers; it is really a huge investment.

With all these, would you say that private schools are ahead or at par with public schools in the state?

No, they are not. Now, private schools have an edge and these are the reasons: First, they do not have the large number of students we have to contend with in our respective classes. So, attention span of teachers in private schools vis-à-vis concentration on students is not as difficult as we have in public schools. Now, people flock into the state each day, and their children must be admitted into our public schools. And you know Lagos is like a melting point where they all come into and we cannot send them back. So, we end up having our classes over-crowded even with our facilities that we have to be expanding with respective needs.

Now, when they come without anything to sift the chaff from the wheat, we then face serious challenges which as you know a private school with limited number of classes might not be faced with.

So, what's the fate of public schools in the state likely to be in the next ten years?

I can tell you it's going to be an Eldorado.

That's why we are passionately laying a founda-

The Lagos State Education Commissioner, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, in an interview with JOKE KUJENYA catalogues the challenges and concerted efforts by the state government to redress the issues, among others. tion which we believe our successors in the nearest future will be left with no other choice than to build on what we have laid down. Lagos belongs to all of us just as the future of the children. That is why we are also passionately ensuring as much as possible that the right things are being done the right ways.

You know also that now we screen our school children as an acid test to determine their readiness to learn. For the ones who are not ready to move on, we counsel and encourage them to repeat their immediate class. We do the screening on the days they are doing their regular examinations like English Language, Mathematics and Economics in the GCE. When we find that they have met a particular set score(s), then, we will say that they are eligible to write their 'mock exam' and then go ahead to write the actual exam. But if a student does not pass the

•Oladunjoye

screening, he or she is not eligible to write either the mock or the final exams.

And what is the state doing about those who have turned their private residences to schools?

Seriously, what we recently did was to ask Department for International Development (DFID) from the United Kingdom to come and help the private school owners categorise the setting up of such for us. And this was a conscious move. It is not that we don't know what to do. But for clarity and thorough professionalism, we are inviting them to bring in the model of UK, Canada and other requirements of what it entails to set up a private school for our children. We want the owners of these schools to know if what they are presently doing is in international best practices so they won't think that government is not just trying to witchhunt them. We are working on that. And when that is done, I will even benchmark myself and then we will be able to categorise them as 'A', 'B', 'C' & 'D' nothing beyond that as the case may be.

If anyone trying to set up a private school does not fall into any of those classifications, sorry, no apologies, no school for such people. The same also applies to already existing private schools so-called. Anyone that does not fit in, their school is gone. We realise that we have to be careful of habitually closing down schools and leaving our children to wander on the streets. That way, the goal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be defeated.

26

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

INSIGHT •Continued from Page 25

universities in country.

What this invariably means is that only less than five percent of Nigerian parents who are super rich can afford to send their children to these super expensive schools.

And that is even for those who prefer to educate their wards at home.

Investigation shows that virtually all categories of professionals such as journalists, doctors, lawyers, civil servants, bankers, oil industry executives and other educated Nigerians send their children to private schools, while majority of others who are in the low income bracket send their wards to dilapidated and poorly staffed public schools.

Situation before now A concerned parent whose three kids

Counting the cost of good education attend St. Saviour Primary School, Ikoyi, Mr. Ali Hassan (not real name), where they pay over N500, 000 each per term said it was never like this in the past. Mr. Hassan, born into a prominent Lagos family, said, "When I was a student at St. Gregory School, Obalende, the only difference between I and other pupils was that they bring me to school in the morning with a Mercedes Benz, then during the holiday, I travelled to United Kingdom and the United States for holiday. But in my class then there were kids whose parents were policemen, not just police officers, security men, drivers, petty traders, and other classes of low-income earners and blue col-

lar workers. We were all friends and studied together in love. Those kids are now top earners in banks and oil companies."

He lamented that things have changed drastically and education, just like other facets of life, has fallen.

A marketer, who is now a school proprietor, Mr Chris Udoji, said it is a big headache today deciding which school to send your child because getting a good school where children can get good education and sound moral training is difficult. Udoji argued that most Nigerians are under the impression that once a school is very expensive, it must be very good, "but most of those

What does education cost elsewhere?

OLUKAYODE THOMAS reports on what it costs in other lands to get good education.

VENEZUELA Education is free at all levels in Venezuela, a petroleum-producing country just like Nigeria. According to Enerique Fernando Arrundell, the country's Ambassador to Nigeria, "We have no illiterate people. We have over 17 new universities totally free. I graduated from the university without paying one cent, and take three meals every day, because we have the resources."

In 2010, Venezuela ranked 59th of 128 countries on UNESCO's Education for all Development Index. Nine years of education are compulsory. The school year extends from September to June/July.

Venezuela has more than 90 institutions of higher education. Higher education remains free under the 1999 constitution and receives 35% of the education budget, even though it accounted for only 11% of the student population.

On 14 May 2009, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez approved lists of books for schools to educate young citizens on socialist ideology. The "Revolutionary Reading Plan" will feature theorist Karl Marx, revolutionary Che Guevara, and liberator Simon Bolivar.

UNITED KINGDOM Education is compulsory for all children from their fifth birthday.

State-run schools and colleges are financed through national taxation, and take pupils free of charge between the ages of three and 18. The schools may levy charges for activities such as swimming, theatre visits and field trips, provided the charges are voluntary, thus ensuring that those who cannot afford to pay are allowed to participate in such events. Approximately 93% of English schoolchildren attend such schools.

There are also a small number of statefunded boarding schools, which typically charge for board but not tuition. Boarding fees are limited to £12,000 per annum.

University education, however, is not free, as students pay as much as nine thousand pounds per annum in tuition fee, this exclude living expenses. The good news here is that students can get loan to finance education and pay after graduation.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA According to United States of America Finance Minister, "Per-pupil funding for kindergarten to Grade 12 students is to increase from $8,200 in 2009/10 to $8,301 in 2010/11."

Additional grants are given to a particular school on a case-by-case basis. For example, if there is only one school in a large area and very low enrolment, they get increased funding to keep the school open.

If a child does not attend a public school and chooses a private school instead, the $8,300 public funding is given to the private school. This transfer policy is criticised as contributing to the "erosion of public schools."

CHINA China has a vast and varied school system.

There are preschools, kindergartens, schools for the deaf and blind, key schools (similar to college preparatory schools), primary schools, secondary schools (comprising junior and senior middle schools, secondary agricultural and vocational schools, regular secondary schools, secondary teachers' schools, secondary technical schools, and secondary professional schools), and various institutions of higher learning (consisting of regular colleges and universities, professional colleges, and short-term vocational universities). In terms of access to education, tuition-free primary education is, despite compulsory education laws, still a target rather than a realised goal throughout China. As many families have difficulty paying school fees, some

children are forced to leave school earlier than the nine-year goal.

SAUDI ARABIA When Saudi Arabia formally became a nation in 1932, education was largely limited to instruction for a select few in Islamic schools.

Today, public education-from primary education through college-is open to every Saudi citizen.

According to the World Bank database, public spending on education is 6.8 percent of GDP, and public spending on education as a percentage of government expenditure was 27.6 percent Development of syllabi is based on Islamic values leading to the development of male and female students' personality and to their integration in society as well as to the achievement of scientific and thinking skills and life characteristics resulting in self education and lifelong learning. Education is free at all levels.

GHANA There are both public and private schools available at all levels. Public schools are those that are supported by government funding, thereby minimising the cost of attendance for students. Public schools at the primary and junior high levels are considered Basic Education and are virtually free of tuition fees, thereby requiring parents to pay only for other expenses such as uniforms, school supplies, transportation, and feeding. At the senior high level, however, public schools charge tuition fees, which vary depending on the quality of the school. This poses problems for many qualified students who are unable to pay tuition fees, subsequently denying them of education past the junior high school level.

SOUTH AFRICA The Constitution stipulates that everyone has the right to a free basic education, including adult basic education and further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must progressively make available and accessible.

Education continues to receive the biggest share of the country's budget with an allocation of R165 billion to the departments of basic education and of higher education and training for 2010/11, R17 billion more than in 2009/10.

AUSTRALIA Australian parents spend, on average, a total of $50,000 on their child's education and childcare according to a report by The National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling.

Even public education isn't free. Children at a government school pay the cost of uniforms, excursions, home computers and internet costs, musical instruments and sport uniforms if they join the school band or soccer club.

Australian Scholarships Group, a not-forprofit provider of education savings plans, estimates the total cost of putting a child through a government primary and secondary school to

be around $110,000. This includes tuition fees and levies (including fundraising contributions), uniforms, school bags, music and sport materials, computer costs as well as incidentals like private tuition, camps and extracurricular activities The government's Education Tax Refund allows parents claim up to 50% of child's education expenses.

Other claimable items include text books, stationery, laptops, internet costs and other school-related items KENYA Affordable secondary education remains elusive despite government introduction of subsidised learning.

Many public national and provincial schools have not benefited from subsidised education.

Most schools in this category charge as high as Sh50, 000 above the education ministry guidelines and fail to account for how they spend the government subsidy of Sh10, 265.

Many schools charge more than what the government recommends for a year for just one term. The introduction of the subsidy came with a recommendation from the education ministry that public day schools should be free and boarding ones to charge a maximum of Sh18, 627 a year.

THE GAMBIA Gambian children start their schooling at the age of 4 or 5. There are 6 years of primary education, the first 5 are sometimes free depending on the school, but each child has a school uniform, school shoes, a bag, books, pencils. Some stay at school at lunch time, but most go home for lunch.

In the last year of primary school (grade 6), most schools charge a small fee to cover examinations.

There are many variations, some primary schools charge a small fee for each term, maybe £2.50, some may charge a little more, but during primary schooling the main costs are clothing and school equipment.

GERMANY Every child in Germany must complete at least 9 years of education. Those who drop out of Gymnasium must enrol either in the Hauptschule or in the Realschule. After which, it is either work, more education in the Berufschule, the Fachoberschule or the preparatory classes for university or college.

By the age of 18, all students should have finished their secondary school.

Another very important point: German children attend school only in the morning and therefore, there is no lunch and usually no after-school services either.

The school system is free at all levels, except at the university level, where a small fee (about 500 Euros per semester) is required.

•Hacking, a costly pastime

expensive schools turn out students who are morally bankrupt, lacking all the good values.''

He recalled that some years ago, it was easy deciding the school to send your child to because "18 out of 20 were good. Even Federal Government Colleges were no big deal then, it was just the name, there wasn't much difference between them and other schools.''

He revealed that a good secondary in Lagos today, like British International School, will cost about N2.5 million per annum, while Regent in Abuja will cost about $22,000 per annum. Below them are schools like Rainbow College which costs about N1.2million per annum for a day student and about twice that amount for boarding students.

Ranked below them is a school like St. Gregory and others that have been returned to the missionaries who were the original owners.

Udoji said while environment and buildings are important, "What make a good school are teachers, and there are a few good teachers today, and they want their reward on earth. School owners today do everything to poach the few good ones because they know the parents will bring their kids to such schools.''

Government allocation and state of public schools Sad as it is, what Udoji described above is the state of public schools today. This beggar's belief considering the billions spent on education on public schools yearly by government at all levels. In the last five years alone, governments at federal, state and local government levels have spent trillions on education. While figures at the local and state levels are not readily available, federal allocation in the last five years shows that in 2008 it was N210.5 billion, 2009 was N183.3 billion, 2010 (N295.3 billion), 2011 (N365, 888 billion) and 2012 N400.15. The allocation for 2012 excludes money budgeted for Universal Basic Education Commission, Petroleum Technology Development and Education Trust Fund.

There are also allocations by other agencies, states, local governments, UNESCO and other donor agencies, spending on education in 2012 may probably exceed one trillion naira, yet the state of our public schools are below acceptable standard anywhere in the world.

Attempts to get how much of this budget is spent on each pupil were bluntly refused by government officials who claimed they don't have such figures. An official of Lagos SUBEB who does not want his name in print revealed that "The state government (Lagos) runs a free education programme and so it is not possible to quantify the amount of money spent on each child. The government caters for the provision of infrastructure, textbooks in core subjects and teachers salaries in public primary schools in the state."

The official was honest to admit that "Because of the free education programme of the state government, the resources available cannot cater effectively for the provision of qualitative education and so we encourage public spirited individuals and corporate organisations under the PPP Initiative (Private Public Partnership) to join hands with the government to intervene in critical areas of the education sector."

Save for a few schools renovated by corporate bodies, majority of the schools in Lagos and other states are in terrible shape.

Most lack basic learning facilities and essential amenities like toilets, play grounds, and amenities that could enable the schools produce rounded students.

With average salary of graduate teachers in public schools at N48, 000 per month after deductions, and about N150, 000 for those on grade level 15, most of the teachers in these schools are there because they don't have alternatives, they are ready to quit once they get better corporate jobs, or teaching jobs in private schools that pay higher.

To make ends meet, most of the teachers engage in other forms of business which they give priority over their teaching jobs.

All manners of private schools Because of the fall of standard in public schools, most parents who have the financial •Continued on Page 67

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Being married is wonderful –Muma Gee –PAGE 34

Glamour

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

29

nails Keep your

Yvonne Vixen-Ekwere •Bernie Mjalli

looking beautiful

N

AIL care is extremely important because your hands are always visible. Have you ever given a thought to why some people seem to have such gorgeous and inviting nails? How your fingernails look can tell or reveal a lot about you; if your whole being is healthy it will radiate on your face and fingernails.

The entire skin, especially your fingernails, need to be taken good care of, they need to be pampered. Painted fingers are meant to suit and enhance looks. The essence of nail treatment and painting is to make the hand look sexy, cute and pleasant.

However, a good number of women nowadays abuse their nails in a bid to beautify them. Apart from having nail polish of different colours, some use wrong colours.

Do not go for colour because others are into it, rather go for colour that suits your look and that blends with your wears. Too much nail polish of different colours will create a negative meaning.

Though, so many people are into the use of artificial nails (extensions), it's not ideal. If you have been using extension for a while, it is advisable that you do away with it for a while.

The frequent use of extensions can cause damage and swelling to the cuticles.

Here are tips and tricks to great nail care

•Moisten your hand and nails with lotion, it strengthens the nails.

•Keep your nails trimmed, either artificial or not.

•Do not tear your cuticles, this will break the layer of the skin and cause injury; instead look for remover or cuticle clips.

•Minimise the use of extensions (artificial) nails.

•After washing with harsh soap, moisten your hand with cream moisturising lotion.

•Your nail polish should be determined by what you wear and the occasion

Glamour

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

31

1 Favourite shoe designer

Tinsel actress and 2012 outstanding actress, Amaka Anioji, discloses her favourite things to Kehinde Falode

Not a stickler for brand names, I usually buy what fits and is trendy, and of courses qualitative, but I patronise Christian Loubotin and Manolo Blahnik.

2 Favourite bag designer Prada, Chanel and Louis Vuitton

3 Favourite wristwatch DKNY and Guess

4 Favourite perfume Glow by Jlo (Jennifer Lopez)

5 Faviourite Nigerian designer I really like a lot of Nigerian designers but Deola Sagoe comes to mind

6 Favourite pet Dog

7 Favourite holiday destination Bahamas and Rome

Amaka’s

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10

8 Favourite nail polish Not really huge on brands but I like Deborah Lippmann

9 Favourite jewellery Costumes

10 Favourite car Toyotas and Peugeot for durability on Nigerian roads

32 ‘

Glamour

R&B singer Macy Gray is calling her latest album 'her love letter to Stevie Wonder'. While most artistes remake one or two songs, Gray has remade the superstar's entire 15th album, 'Talking Book'. The 10track classic includes some of Wonder's biggest hits: "Superstition," "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and "I Believe."

In this interview she discusses what motivated her to do the project, the most challenging aspect of tackling the album, if Stevie Wonder has reacted to it, her upcoming acting role, and much more.

W

HAT motivated you to do this type of album?

I was with a producer in Poland of all places and he was telling me about a song he thought I should do, he was pitching me some real underground obscure stuff.

He goes “Really what you should do is remake an album, I don't think anybody has remade an album like people do movies.” I said “Oh wow, that's cool, I never heard of that either”.

He started giving me all of these weird albums I've never heard of, but I just wanted to just do an album I knew inside and out. “Talking Book” was one of them. I just know that so well and I just love it so much so we just ended up with that one. We talked about some other ones, but it just so happens that this is the 40th anniversary of it, it was made in 1972.

I was reading some quotes where you mentioned this was one of your top 5 albums growing up and how it shaped you growing up musically. How do you feel like it had an impact in your life?

I just remember learning from him that you can write a song about anything. He had a song there called “Big Brother” and he has all of these crazy love s o n g s a n d “Superstition” is on there. He just has a really interesting way of putting his perspective into songs, they're not all about love or all political. I thought he was always a really awesome writer. It's just a really beautiful album that has three classics on there. We kinda dissected it and learned about the songs and I discovered just how great of a musician he was. He uses all of these crazy chord changes, like master or doctor of music kind of stuff! I just didn't know what a genius he was until we actually went

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

MACY GRAY

My love letter to Stevie Wonder through the album. It was cool to discover all of that.

As you were going through, were there any songs that were most fun or most challenging to cover?

It was all pretty challenging because of what we were doing and I was nervous about it not coming out right and people would hate it. I just had to block all of that out to make the record, that was the biggest thing.

Have you h a d a chance to have any interaction w i t h Stevie about the project? If so, what does he think of it? If not, what do you think he would say about it?

I don't know, I hope he is proud of it. I haven't heard from him yet. I don't know if he even listened to it or what, it's weird. I'm going to track him down before I leave out of town and find out.

So this was one of your top 5 albums growing up, what were the other 4?

It was “Purple Rain”, that was huge.

“The Score” by the Fugees. Led Zeppelin “II”. 2Pac's first album.

That's a very diverse list!

Yea, I listen to a lot of music.

Other than the album, I've been reading you've been touring worldwide. How's that been going?

The shows are awesome, that's one thing in my life that I actually do pretty well. So that always goes very, very good for us. We're going back out in the winter in November and I imagine we'll be doing the States again early next year.

Besides the success you've had here in the States, you've had a ton of success through your career overseas. Do you feel like there's a different love and appreciation for your music overseas?

Yea, it's like night and day. We just did Australia and were selling out like 4,000 seat venues, same thing with Europe and Japan.

Over here, I don't really know why it's not so great. People ask me what I think is the reason, but I really don't know. I know it's more of an openness, like I know in America, it's just us in the States. But if you're in Europe,

you have Spanish speaking people, French speaking people, all these different cultures. You can be excited when you jump on the train and you're in a whole other country in an hour. I think they're just open to different kinds of music because their cultures are so close together. That's my lame theory, but I really don't know what it is.

In addition, you've got a role in the upcoming movie “The Paperboy”. Talk about that.

I got offered the part and my role is “Anita”. It's a very nutty, crazy murder mystery. Matthew McConaughey's character is investigating an old murder in a small town. It was cool, it was really awesome being on the set with legendary actors.

Nicole Kidman is in it, Zac Efron, David Oyelowo, Scott Glenn, and John Cusack. It was crazy, I don't want to say surreal, but it was exciting. I felt like I was at Disney Land or something. It was pretty dope.

A lot of people know you for your music, but you've had a lot of acting roles over the years.

What originally led you to acting?

Antoine Fuqua got me into acting. My first record came out and it was funny because people wanted me in their movie. A couple of people wanted me, but Antoine came to the studio and hunted me down. He took me to Mr. Chow's and gave me this script. I thought it was crazy because I had never been in a movie before and all of the sudden he wanted me in a movie with Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington. I was like “This dude is out of his mind!” I got myself with a coach and I worked hard on it and I studied and I got some advice from some of the actors in the movie and I just did the best I can do. After that, I started getting other offers. It really just fell from the sky because I never thought I had the face for it or anything.

So you've got this cover album coming out, earlier this year you released another cover album. In the future, will you be getting back to original material?

Yes, my next original album is almost done, we're like six songs deep in it. Hopefully the album will be out early next year.

We have a couple of collaborations you've had through the years we'd love to hear the story of the creation on. The first is “All I Said” with Guru from his “Jazzmatazz” album that was produced by The Neptunes.

That was a real honor for me that Guru would ask me to be on his record. He was like royalty and untouchable. That was huge. Pharrell wasn't big yet, he was kinda new and he was a kid like 19 and I just remember how he was dressed. That was the first time I had seen him. The way he wore his hat, I thought he was a really interesting guy. He was really excited about being in the studio, like hyped. I just remember watching him. He hadn't really exploded yet. It was pretty dope to be in the room with the two of them.

Talk about your collaboration with Anthony Hamilton on “Love & War”.

We all had a little crew that we hung out with together and we were always in the studio trying to do stuff together. He just kinda threw me on that track, I think I just happened to be there that day.

We just started making that record, it was spontaneous for me, I think he had been working it for awhile.

Source: YouKnowIGotSoul.com

THEATRE

t

BIGSCREEN

With VICTOR AKANDE

e k y I im J , i r a u B ia d a N run for orphans

•Nadia Buari

victor_akande@yahoo.com

PAGE

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Tel: 07029013958

S

CREEN goddess and multi-talented entertainer, Stella Damasus, has dissociated herself from the bandwagon of movie stars trying their luck at music. The mother of two has told anyone who cares to listen that her career in music dates back to the early 90s, even before acting.

Stella, who just released a new single titled 'Love Me Quick', stressed that there shouldn't be comparisons between her and some actors who are trying but have had a failed shot at music.

“Those who think I joined the bandwagon of movie stars trying to play music must be new in the industry.

They should be reminded of the music video of 'Love Song' I did with Jaiye (my late husband) and the band. I was a studio singer at Klink Studio from 1995. That is where I was trained by Sammy Okposo, Zubby Enebeli, Manny Eke, Thelma, Demola Olukotu and the rest.

“I also started singing in Jazzville before Jaiye and I set up our band called Synergy.

After he died, I set up Gig Factor. Then I did respective duets with Segun Arinze, Mr. Cool, back-ups for Sammy's album, collabo with Blakky and OGD All Stars.

“I have done a lot of songs with Tim Godfrey and Extreme Crew. Three years ago, I did the Christmas songs and videos for Africa Magic. In addition, I have done shows for MTN, ECONET, Worldspace, Keem Bello Osagie, American Embassy, Aisha Babangida's first wedding, Peugeot, Leo Stan Eke and Delta State Convention among others,” Stella explained.

K1 vs Pasuma: Ripples in fuji music scene

•Stella Damasus

Goldie set to flood African market with next album

L

A

FTER her exit from the Big Brother Amplified house, Susan Harvey n on popularly known as Goldie has bee up king hoo es a tour of other African countri on the collaborations with various artistesm. continent for her forthcoming albu ing Goldie hopes to build on the seemy brit popularity she gathered as a cele ed with her plifi Am ther Bro Big of housemate ay for the yeterw und are next album and plans ted across ribu dist be to m albu ased to-be rele Africa. tes on “I am collaborating with a lot of artisng to keep tryi n bee e hav I m. my upcoming albu since you most of my plans in the wraps, but acts from or maj lot a that asked, I can tell you on it. It will Nigeria and around Africa will be t for it. There wai is say can I t be a new me, wha die squealed. will be some singles out soon.” Gol culture pop the onto ce rgen Since her eme cut a large radar a few years ago, Goldie has ical mus her for aim chunk accl cerebral, accomplishments. Colourful and th, sensuality dep and ngth stre ical mus Goldie's as a high and serenity have appropriated her k. water mar

E-mail:

plus

GISTS

Stella Damasus dissociates self from bandwagon

T

WO of Africa's finest, Nigeria's Jim Iyke and Ghana's Nadia Buari, according to reports, have been scheduled to be part of a charity marathon race for Ugandan orphanages. Information reveals that both screen idols will storm Uganda in an international film festival themed The Nile Diaspora.

Billed for Kampala and other towns in Uganda from December 815, 2012, Nadia and Jim, reports say, will be given awards in different capacities. Omar Oyin Bala, representative of the African Film Consortium and the festival's West Africa representative, also confirmed that the marathon race is to help raise funds for devastated orphanages in Uganda.

Expected to attend the festival are Tonya Lee Williams of the Young and Restless, the CEO of Reelworld Film Festival in Canada amongst others have confirmed their attendance. African Magic's East Africa regional head has also shown immense support for the film festival.

SOUND TRACK

•Goldie

Dada Aladelokun

OVERS of fuji music across the world would hardly hear K1 sing the praise of any are in suspense over the reported sour musician without first mentioning Pasuma. relationship between King Wasiu I know in the course of time, the truth will Ayinde Marshal (K1) and his younger come to the open.” member of the Arabambi musical family, In most entertainment and even liquor Otunba Wasiu Alabi aka Pasuma. joints, such unanswered questions have The music scene was shaken to its kept lips busy as many continue to wonder foundation when days back, Pasuma if Pasuma would hold his own without released into the market, an audio CD affiliation with K1, his perceived pillar in entitled, 'Oga Nla' in which he vehemently the industry. denounced the Arabambi family where he However, K1 in his response to the had held the title, Arabambi 2. development, simply In the CD, copies of which are still being said: “I have nothing circulated, Pasuma minced no word in against Pasuma maintaining that he was no longer a because he is old member of the Arabambi family under K1's enough to take leadership. any decision”.

“Don't call me Arabambi 2 any longer; I am no longer a member of the Arabambi family. Henceforth, call me Oga Nla; that is my own family,” he emphasised in the album.

He went further to clarify: “Many may think that I am fighting with K1 or K1 is fighting with me, there is nothing like that.

There is nothing like disagreement between us. It is just that I felt I needed to belong to •K1 my own family. So, our fans should not read any meaning to the development.”

However, despite his painstaking explanations in the CD, keen watchers of the development are not convinced as fans in particular, continue to ask questions such as: What could have suddenly happened between father and his son? For years, both K1 and Pasuma have remained together against opponents in the genre. What has now turned them against each other?

A fuji music fan told The Nation in the week: “Pasuma has not told us the whole truth about what is happening. It is hard to believe that he can just turn his back on K1 like that because they have been together in •Pasuma the industry. You

34

Entertainment

Being married is wonderful

e e G a m —Mu

Gift Iyumame Uwame, popularly known as Muma Gee, is getting prepared for her music concert, tagged 'Help Save a Life Relief Concert with Muma Gee'.

Having spent close to two decades on the scene, the River State-born artiste has remained one of the most sought-after in the industry.

In this interview with AHMED BOULOR, this eccentric, but talented artiste reveals the secret that has sustained her over the years, among other issues.

Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Ateke Tom, Yemi Blaq provide succour to flood victims

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HAT is the focus of your concert?

The focus of this concert and the Muma Gee Foundation is that we will definitely make noise and campaign until the United Nations comes to our aid. A lot of people have been suffering and they've been rendered homeless as a result of the recent flooding in some states in the country. If the United Nation's does not come to our aid, the side effects of the flooding will pose a huge health hazard to our people living in areas affected by the flood, especially those in the Niger Delta.

This is the time for us to pull resources together and call on well-meaning Nigerians to contribute their quotas towards making life more meaningful to those affected by the recent floods. We want the United Nations to come to our aid, and I know if this has had happened in Sierra Leone, the UN would have intervened. I am surprised because nobody is taking into consideration the plight of the people that have been affected by the floods. People are in need of help, they are in need of warmth and succour. However, I would like to use this opportunity to thank the Ahoada West Local Government Council for supporting the concert and for also lending their voice to help save the lives of people affected by floods.

Are your colleagues in the entertainment industry helping in any way to pass across this message?

We have not really sought the help of others in the entertainment industry because this is more like the beginning of the whole process of trying to get help for displaced people. But we hope that the few that get to hear the message we are putting out will contribute their own quota towards making life more meaningful to displaced persons affected by the recent floods.

What happens after the campaign?

We held a concert, tagged “Help Save a Life Concert with Muma Gee”, on Sunday, November 4, 2012, at the Ahoada West Local Government in Rivers State. It was powered by the local government. There will be th another one on the 18 of November at the Aztech Arcum in Port Harcourt. I also have a theme song that is dedicated to this cause, it is entitled 'Iji'. The song will be released and th launched on the 18 of November.

Why did you decide to stage the concert on your birthday? th The 18 of November is supposed to be my birthday, but we decided make that day unique by launching the album for the victims. The song is especially dedicated for the flood victims, and we will be looking at how much we will be able to raise to be able to assist them and get to rebuild their lives all over again.

Let's talk about your forthcoming album…

Cuts in…My forthcoming album is entitled Motherland and I have a video for my latest single, 'African Woman'.

The album was originally due for release in February, 2013, but I had to halt production to put together some songs to add to the album, including the theme song 'Iji', which means flood. The idea is to raise funds for affected victims.

The theme song will be launched with other songs on the Motherland album on my birthday, which will also coincide with “The Help Save a Life Concert with Muma Gee” concert.

The concert will witness performances by Prince Eke, Arthur Pepple, Kamboye Sinclair, JJC, Fingerman Flash, Burna Boy, Prince Hezekiah and Romeo without Juliet among others.

I hear you have a foundation; when was it set up and what is the focus?

The Muma Gee Foundation was set up n 2002, and we have been involved in a couple

39

O

I have always tried to look different from others ever since I started doing music. Most people describe my style as bizarre, while others see it as creative and African of campaigns. We had campaigns on HIV/AIDS sometime ago. We've also been concerned with aged people and the girl-child in the society. But we feel more moved to be involved in giving a better life to people displaced by the recent flooding. And that is why we are doing what we are doing now in order for us to get the message out there. I think God has blessed me so much, and He has also placed me on a pedestal where I can use my status to rally round and give support to those in need. I have a plan to mobilise those in the music industry, and luckily my husband is an actor, so he will take care of mobilising those in the movie industry.

What is motivating you in this latest effort?

I have always been a passionate person when it comes to humanitarian services, and that is because of what I think God has created me to be. I get easily moved because I am an emotional person. I wouldn't say this is a doctored venture, it is just happening now and I am being swept away by the plight of the people affected by the recent floods. When I started my career as an artiste, I used to make it a point of duty to visit the motherless babies' home. On the other hand, it is not everything you do that you go public about

because service to humanity is between you and God. Do you apply any of the survival strategies learnt while you were part of the Gulder Ultimate Celebrity Showdown in trying to give succour to those affected by floods?

I have always been a very daring person.

And as a daring person, I try to go beyond my limits. We got pictures and clips of the damage done by the floods, and we had to be daring enough to take such pictures because of the nature of the terrain. I am naturally made strong, and that is why sometimes when I perform, people ask me where I get my energy from.

Despite the fact that hip-hop seems to have taken over the airwaves, you have managed to remain relevant. What is the secret?

What makes me wax stronger is the uniqueness of my style as an artiste, which I call the 'Afrotastic Skillashy style'. And the fact that I promote African values and heritage with my songs even makes me to wax stronger than others, though you may want to say that too much attention is not being paid to such style of music for now.

Come to think of it, hip-hop is African, but it is more youth-oriented. My latest album will tilt towards current times, as I intend to make it more contemporary. But it will still have traces of the past.

You're also into fashion designing. Do you design your dresses?

Yes I do…

How long have you been in the trade?

I have always tried to look different from others ever since I started doing music. Most people describe my style as bizarre, while others see it as creative and African. It has been me all the way, and I hope to open new frontiers for myself in the world of fashion in years to come.

We also learnt that you have ventured into acting…

Yes I have…

Did you embrace acting because your husband is a thespian?

No. Not really. I had always been into acting before I started music; I read theatre arts at the University of Port Harcourt.

Acting was a platform to define myself and I later evolved into music. But music was, and has always been my first love and I naturally chose it despite the fact that I was trained to become an actor.

A recent report had it that you and your husband won a multi-million naira movie project. How true is this?

I am sorry… I am not in the right frame of mind to answer that question. I will comment on that when the time is ripe enough.

What has it been like being a wife?

It has been a wonderful experience and I pray that God grants me and my husband more exciting days ahead.

NE time agitator for the rights of the people of Niger Delta, Ateke Tom has distributed relief materials to victims of flood ravaging communities in Bayelsa and Rivers States. Represented by his Nephew, Richard Akinaka in company of Nollywood act, Yemi Blaq, relief materials worth millions of Naira were distributed to flood victims in Ahoada East Camp, Port Harcourt Rivers State and BDGF camp, Yenogoa, Bayelsa.

Speaking on behalf of Tom, Akinaka said that on seeing the conditions of the people, he has decided that he will still visit to donate

more materials to alleviate their suffering. Tom, who is planning to set up a foundation targeted at alleviating the suffering of the people, said that he has taken it upon himself to use his resources to empower people from different age groups.

“Life doesn't offer many second chances and it's always a pleasure to be part of an opportunity to give back to underprivileged or disadvantaged people. The reward of the smiles on their faces and the joy in their hearts is immeasurable,” Blaq stated. The relief materials distributed include bags of rice, beans, garri and toiletries for each camp.

NMS: Housemates party in style

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T was an exciting day for the 16 housemates of the 2012 Next Movie Star last Saturday, November 3. After the 10-day training and grooming session culminating in their exclusive media unveiled earlier in the week, the organisers of the celebrated reality television show hosted the housemates to a grand welcome party.

Held at events and entertainment centre, The Place, in GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, the housemates were chauffeured in a glittering white limousine, Anchored by 2011 NMS first runner up, Tomiwa, and Soundcity presenter, Adams, also an alumnus of the NMS, with support from Boma McAke and Urchmouth, the show was as colourful as it was captivating especially the drama sketch put up by the housemates.

While welcoming the

guests, Sam Uche Anyamele, Associate Producer for this year's show, declared that the idea of the welcome party was conceived to properly introduce the housemates to the public while also affording them the opportunity to wine and dine with their families and friends before entering the house proper. “We felt it expedient to put together a welcome party whereby the housemates can mix and mingle with their own people before the competition proper begins.

This is the point at which the housemates say goodbye to their friends and family members.” Anyamele went on to talk about this year's theme, Spotlight Beckons, recalling the various successes recorded by alumni of the show over the past eight years, and advising the current housemates to aim for the skies in their aspirations,” he said.

THE NATION SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

CHRISTOPHER NWOSU'S MEMOIR

‘Life as an Igbo boy growing up in Ibadan’

VINTAGE

COLEEN Pregnant COLEEN ROONEY indulges her passion for fashion in a stylish photo shoot

PAGE 35

'I'm in love with

Golden Eaglets'

36

37

NATION SPORT & STYLE SUNDAY, November 11, 2012

NATION SPORT & STYLE

NATION SPORT & STYLE

VINTAGE

COLEEN Pregnant Coleen Rooney indulges her passion for fashion in a stylish photo shoot

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OLEEN Rooney has shown off her glamorous side once more after posing in a series of stylish retro outfits for her latest Littlewoods.com range.

The pregnant 26-year-old clearly isn't ready for wearing maternity wear just yet.

Showing no sign of her baby bump, the wife of football star Wayne Rooney looked as stylish as ever as she showed off her latest range of clothes for the popular online retailer.

It's not yet clear when these photos were taken, but she was at her glammed up best.

Sporting bouffant hair, she wore a series of slinky 60s vintage outfits - including a red floor-length dress.

She said: 'The 60s is my ultimate fashion era. I really love that old school glamour and it was really exciting emulating this look for my shoot.'

Colleen has b e e n a Littlewoods.com style adviser since 2010, and her latest collection is her sixth range for the online brand.

Head of women swear buying at Littlewoods.com, Julie Donnelly, praised Coleen - saying: 'Coleen has a strong resonance with our customers as they can relate to her as a mother, wife and ordinary' woman.

'Her collections for Littlewoods have gone from strength to strength, leadi ng the way in offering trend-led, stylish pieces which are wearable and easy to style.’

FINALLY OUT Britain's Olympic golden girl Jessica Ennis reveals she was bullied at school

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ESSICA Ennis the pint sized Olympic heptathlon medal winner who wowed crowds this summer in London with her sporting prowess. and walked away with gold, has revealed she was bullied at school.

Standing at just 5ft 5 inches, with her incredible muscles on display and angelic faced steeled with determination, Ennis became a symbol of Britain's success in the London 2012 games and a poster girl for a new generation of girls who wanted to be just like her.

But in her memoir, Unbelievable, Ennis reports that it was her very athleticism and small stature that the bullies who taunted her focused on.

Now a national celebrity, aged just 26, with numerous endorsement deals and glamorous photo shoots under her belt, it is hard to imagine Ennis as anything other than composed and confident.

But Ennis told the Guardian: 'I was just different. I was such a scraggy little thing. And there were these two big girls who just used to pick on me.'

She also confesses her training made making friends hard: ' 'everyone else drifted away. Every year, I'd be

training with a different group, because people didn't stick at it.' The book, ghost-written by sportswriter Rick Broadbent, implies this experience of bullying in her childhood is what has spurred Jess on to achieve so much in her athletic career.

Ennis told the Guardian that her mother's pre-competition text, which she even sent before the Olympics races, is still 'Don't let those big girls push you around.'

The heptathlon is one of the most extreme and varied events in the Olympics, made up of seven events the 100 m hurdles, high jump, shot put, the 200 meter sprint, long jump, the javelin throw and the 800 meter race, it requires immense physical and mental strength and endurance to complete.

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T is the book that everybody has been talking about and now its influence has even spread as far as the Premier League.

Everton Football Club have taken Fifty Shades Of Grey and re-imagined it for a racy calendar that features some of their squad.

Leading the way is goalkeeper Tim Howard who channels Christian Grey as he sits slumped provocatively against the changing room wall.

Wearing nothing but a towel, the American shot stopper has his tattooed chest and arms on show as he flashes a bit of muscular thigh.

The calendar, which is called 12 Shades Of Blue, has been made to raise vital funds for the club's official charity, Everton in the Community, which is in its 25th year.

The entire starting line-up shed their kit for the initiative and they did it all with the blessing of their straight talking manager David Moyes.

Tim, 33, enjoyed doing the photo shoot and said: 'Shooting the calendar was lots of fun and myself and the other boys were happy to help out.

'It's a great feeling to do something to help other people and I hope sales of the calendar raise a good amount for the charity.'

The photo of Howard gives an idea of what can be expected, while Phil Neville's ripped six-pack is on the front cover.

The limited edition print, which is the first to be produced by a Barclays Premier League club, is available from 22 November.

MODEL

BEHAVIOUR

Everton's Tim Howard strips off for the sake of charity It costs £10 and all proceeds go towards Everton in the Community's ambition of generating £1million for underprivileged and vulnerable people on Merseyside.

Everton has always been a club eager to try innovative things to raise money for charity, such as when they launched a limited edition pink kit to raise awareness for breast cancer.

Muhammad

ABUBAKAR SADIQ MUHAMMAD, TOP DIPLOMAT SPEAKS

DRESSED

TO THE NINES Abbey Crouch goes 'bear-faced' for Children in Need

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S a model she's used to sitting in make-up to ensure she is ready for her close up.

But now Abbey Crouch is the latest star to show off her bare-faced beauty in a candid snap.

The mother-of-one has shunned foundation, done away with her mascara, and left the lip gloss at home for the au natural snap, leaving an amazingly flawless complexion on display.

Abbey, 26, is seen pouting at the camera, with her blonde tresses pulled over her naked shoulder.

The look is in stark contrast to the glamorous dressed up style, that fans are used to seeing her sporting.

Model Jodie Kidd is equally breathtaking in her stripped back shot; the 34-year-old model shows no sign of a wrinkle or even a blemish on her make-up free snap. Lulu, Sian William and Julia Bradbury have also supported the Children in Need 'Barefaced campaign' and have braved being photograph without the help of beauty products.

wants amendment to personal 10-storey, 139-bed hotel

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The images were shot by celebrated photographer Rankin and the five women join Heidi Klum, Louise Redknapp and Caroline Flack who have also been seen in make-up free shots.

The TV presenter spoke about her experience and told the BBC: 'I was extremely honoured to be asked to get involved. While I was initially apprehensive to bare all at the shoot, it was a great experience.’

Christian Vieri's new girlfriend suffers an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction

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Gray Neville

HEN you're on holiday in a warm and exotic place, it's easy to forget about everything and everyone around you. But Christian Vieri's girlfriend got so comfortable on vacation in Miami, she suffered a little w a r d r o b e malfunction.

The new mysterious girlfriend of the former Italian football player was spotted on a trip to the beach showing off a little more than she

probably anticipated through her seethrough top. The unidentified girl covered up her paisley printed bikini top with a white mini-skirt and a crochet black top during a walk on the beach with the former football star.

But she appeared unaware that her bikini top had moved during the walk and she accidentally showed off a bit too much flesh.

Boyfriend Christian didn't seem to notice the incident either, as he walked a little behind her across the beach.

O R M E R Manchester United star Gary Neville has clashed with his old club over plans to build a hotel with a rooftop pitch.

The England coach already has planning permission for a 139-bed hotel and supporters' club i n the shadow of Old Trafford, but has now submitted amendments which include the 16m by 12m artificial area.

Manchester United has already objected to Neville's development, on the grounds that it would obstruct views of their stadium's east stand. In a report to the council, the club said: 'The tall landmark building would obstruct key views towards the stadium's east stand.

'The east stand is the principle elevation and forms a highly visible focal point on approach to the stadium and any development proposal that fails to acknowledge the stand's significance as a consequence of inappropriate scale and massing should not therefore be accepted.'

In May Manchester United lodged a stinging five-page objection letter against the hotel, leisure and retail complex. They claimed the development has insufficient parking and say that even if those issues were resolved, 'MUFC shall continue to oppose and object to the proposed scheme due to its impact on the Old Trafford landscape, highway safety and the club's holistic vision for the continuing enhancement of the area surrounding the stadium'.

'I'm in love with Golden Eaglets'

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HE recent conquest by the Golden

By Morakinyo Abodunrin Eaglets in Conakry where they humiliated their Guinean counterparts in if they can maintain the kind of discipline I have front of their home fans with a 4-0 margin win seen both on the pitch and outside.” would never be completed without a slice of the He may be a diplomat but Muhammad diplomatic support enjoyed by the team actually knows his football like the back of his Walter Bagehot, the Briton who reportedly hands and he actually revealed his family's w r o t e e x t e n s i v e l y a b o u t l i t e r a t u r e , obsession for the beautiful game of football. government, and economic affairs during his “I played football too while growing up but as lifetime, noted that 'an ambassador is not simply an agent, he is also a spectacle.' No you can see now, I didn't take it as a profession,” wonder, Mr. Abubakar Sadiq Muhammad, the stated the smart and athletic-looking Minister Plenipotentiary and Head of Chancery Muhammad.

“I knew the present national Under-17 coach, at the Embassy of Nigeria in Guinea, practically fell in love with the Nigeria's budding Manu Garba, during my undergraduate days at the University of Maiduguri-though he was my superstars!

“It was a wonderful and heart-warming junior then. Most of my colleagues with whom I experience having the Nigerian Under-17 team played football in secondary school as well as the here in Guinea,” said Muhammad, a proud university up to NUGA were also his classmates. alumnus of the University of Maiduguri. “I was So it was a kind of reunion with Manu in have fond passion for really looking forward to meeting the officials C o n a k r y . ” I football and the same and the players and we are very happy about goes with my children the fact that they did our who like football very c o u n t r y much,“he said. proud.”

“You could see Diplom how my second son ats are (Khalifa Sadiq) has o f t e n been all over the accused of place with the d o u b l e Golden Eaglets and speak but that should tell you the sincerity something about of purpose how much they i n love football. He Muhammad' is here in s voice was Conakry because as clear as o f t h e crystal as he unfortunate poured his out ea Boko Haram incident st Guin to the Nation ts again le g in Maiduguri. His elder brother is a E n e Sport & Style Gold a t h i s expans back in school in Maiduguri and they have been ive office inside t h e E m b a s s y o f exchanging messages on Blackberry about the activities of the Golden Eaglets.

Nigeria in Conakry.

“My first son (Mohammed Sadiq) is very Said he: “I want to put it on record that in a very long time, we are seeing young guys who passionate about football and he has even told me are putting smiles on the faces of all Nigerians that he wants to go and try his luck with the any of the junior national teams anytime he's on and I'm very impressed.

“The performances of the Golden Eaglets so holidays.”

Charity indeed begins at home for far have been excellent and thanks to their officials and Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Muhammad, for despite his privileged position for putting this team together. I'm so impressed in the Foreign Service, his soccer-mad children are schooling back in Nigeria. with the level of discipline in this team.

“I preferred my children to school in Nigeria “With what i have seen, this team will eventually qualify for the African Under-17 for obvious reasons. They just left the secondary Championship in Morocco and will also do well Contd. on page 38

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

PAGE 38

'I'm in love with

Golden Eaglets' Contd from page 37 schools and because they are still in their formative ages, I wanted them to stay back home to imbibe our culture.

“Secondly, I'm here in Guinea which is a Francophone country and since they are not versed in French, it would be difficult for them to cope with their studies here. Importantly, I don't subscribe to the fact that we must send our children abroad in order for them to be successful later in life. I schooled in Nigeria and at the University of Maiduguri for that matter which many does not regard as one of the best university in Nigeria. But whatever I'm today, I owe it to the fact that I schooled in Nigeria and I don't see any reason why my children cannot school in Nigeria .

“I don't want my children to fall into wrong hands by leaving on their own abroad; at this stage they need proper guidance culturally and religion wise. After their first degree, they can go

abroad for their second degree if I can afford it,” explained Muhammad as he sheds more light on bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Guinea Excerpts.

On challenges facing Nigeria's foreign mission I don't think any Embassy of Nigeria anywhere would not be ready to assist Nigerians in foreign lands.

Sometimes, some of the challenges boil down to the exigencies of the office as well as the number of staff strength and disposition of the embassy at a particular time. Frankly, no embassy would not want to extend courtesy to Nigerians thought it might not be able to give 100 percent due to certain limitations.

On influx of Nigerians in Guinea There is an influx of Nigerians to Guinea at present and some of them see the embassy as a place where they can come and get money to proceed abroad! The challenges are always there including the attitudes of Nigerians but

generally, things are getting better. Though we have some Nigerians with consular problems but by and large, they are behaving as expected of Nigerians.

On bilateral Relationship between the Nigeria and Guinea We have a very cordial relationship with Guinea.

President Alpha Conde of Guinea has been to Nigeria on two occasions- first for ECOWAS meeting as well as for the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan. Works are going on for joint Nigeria-Guinea commission and plans are now at an advanced stage for President Conde to visit Nigeria very soon. Both Nigeria and Guinea have cooperated at the sub regional, continental and international levels and this relationship can always be better.

On difference between Ambassador and Charge D' Affaires The Ambassador is the representative of Mr. President in a foreign country. He is the representative of the Nigerian government and this is usually by an appointment. On the other hand, the Head of Chancery is an official who takes the place of an ambassador but he is not an ambassador because he's not designated so! The relationship between an Ambassador and Head of Chancery could be likening to that between a Minister and a Permanent Secretary. In case there is no Ambassador as we have here in Guinea now, there is Charge D'Affaires-somebody in charge of the embassywho acts as the senior representative of his or her country where there is no ambassador.

On life in the Foreign Service I have been in the Foreign Service for about 25 years now. I have received several assignments and I have served in Libya. I've had attachment in Malta, Sierra Leone at the beginning of my career. I'd worked in Egypt too and here I'm at present in Guinea. Each of these countries has their different challenges but I think the toughest was in Libya during their recent political problem. You know we had a lot of Nigerians in Libya then and that gave us some consular problems because we had to evacuate a lot of them. I think we had about 50,000 Nigerians there in Libya...

Libya was not their final destination as almost all of them wanted to travel to Europe. Most wanted to cross over to Europe and that is why you see a lot of Nigerians ignorantly travelling to places like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia thinking they can cross over to Italy, Spain without any problem. It is unfortunate that some of them die along the way trying to cross even through the desert from Niger. Again, many travel to Libya since the uniting Africa was the centre piece of the late Muammar Gaddafi's foreign policy. It was difficult for him to send away some of these illegal immigrants since he wanted to be seen as the custodian of African unity.

Christopher Nwosu's Memoir

'Life as an Igbo boy growing up in Ibadan’ I

By Taiwo Alimi

N spite of the fact that former Flying Eagles' power player, Christopher Nwosu now lives in Europe after his illustrious football career home and abroad, he still holds fond memories of his humble background in the sprawling ancient city of Ibadan, in the western region of Nigeria.

In an electronic conversation from his base in Belgium, the member of the famous Nigeria Under-20 team to the Saudi '89 World Youth Championship (WYC), intoned that his memories as an Ibo boy growing up in a predominantly Yoruba community, are of affection, warmth and excitement.

Now settled in the Belgian city of Hasselt, after initial professional stints at Stvv FC and Beerschot FC in Belgium (1989 -2002), Nwosu relives fond memories of his early schools days at the primary and secondary levels in Ibadan, Nigeria. He also rekindled his brilliant football feat at Abadina College, Ibadan, where he cut his teeth in school football. “Oyin' as Christopher, who speaks German fluently is fondly called by his admirers, recalls how he was nicknamed by his numerous fans in Ibadan while playing in the school team.

Hear him: “l'm grateful to God for all He has done for me through soccer. Whenever l talk about my soccer background, l always remember Ibadan and that humble beginning. It all started from Agbowo, Ibadan, very close to the University of Ibadan where l started playing football for my school, Abadina College. ”Because of the manner l played and the fact that many fans enjoyed my style of play, l was nicknamed 'Oyin', meaning honey and an adaptation of my Igbo name, 'Onyemechi'. ”Whenever I hear the name 'Oyin' I will know that person knew me and must have been watching me right from my roots in Ibadan. ”Everything about my game then was so sweet because I simply enjoyed the game and expressed lots of passion for it. I don't get tired easily and could overrun the whole field, l was like a one-man riot squad and so the nickname became even more popular than my real name.”

The stand-in captain of the 1989 Flying Eagles team that came back from four goals down to beat Russia via penalty in what is today known as 'Miracle of Darman' speaks on other issues: Excerpts...

Best moment in football Like the whole nation and sporting press described it in the year 1989 when we won the silver medal in the U- 20 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, I believe the biggest moment

Nwosu people cherished and still tal ked about up till today is the 'Darmman Miracle'. I feel great that I was part of it. I even captained the team then. Nigerians were all behind us then and we were able to come back home with the silver medal. Whenever I remember that time I have goose pimples all over me and thank God for the opportunity given to me at that time. I feel great and happy that I also played in the U- 17 level, U- 21 and the Super Eagles too.

Worst moment in soccer One of the saddest moments of my soccer career was failing to make the Super Eagles squad of 1994 that played in the U.S.A '94 World Cup. I was part of it in the preliminary stage but in the World Cup proper I was not selected to the main squad that represented the country. Maybe my efforts were not good enough then or probably the coaches then didn't believe too much in me. But I have left that behind me now and I thank God for the modest achievement I made in soccer before I quit soccer in 2007.

Losing to Portugal in the 1989 U- 20 World Cup final We were all sad but we were willing to win then. We tried

our best in the match and we believed it wasn't our lucky day anyway. I also believe that the second place was the best for us that time. We believed that 2-0 loss was too big for Nigerians to swallow at that time but we thought we could come back from behind like we did against Russia which we rallied back to beat via penalty from four goals down in the quarter-final. We were also ready to take on Portugal since we also defeated hard-fighting USA in an explosive semi-final which ended 2-1 in our favour but against Portugal in the final luck was not on our side.

Club career in Europe The first team I played for abroad was Stvv Football Club of Belgium between 1989 and 1994 after which I joined Beerschot also of Belgium between 1994 and 2002. In between I played half a season for Real Madrid. My last team was Kastell which I played for between 2002 and 2006.

After quitting competitive football I got my UEFA Grade B certificate coach, which enabled me to coach Runkst VV FC for two seasons and quit the club in 2007.

Aspirations I have a lot of ex-international players that I would say served as motivation for me to join the coaching business in Nigeria. Austin Eguavoen had done a great job while handling the Super Eagles. Samson Siasia was doing a great job with the Flying Eagles now having done so in 2005 Junior World Cup in Holland. He also led Nigeria to the final of the football event of the last Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Dan Amokachi was also doing a great job with Coach Amodu Shaibu now. So I also wish to assist my country in any capacity deemed fit by the country's football administrators. We should be able to give back to the country that made us any way. So I have the ambition and the aspirations to give back what the country has given to me. I don't mind whether in the youth category or the senior level, I just crave to do something to assist the game here in Nigeria.

I hope one day I will have the opportunity to do so like Samson and the rest are doing.

Youth football I am planning to raise my own football academy if it is possible in Nigeria. I am currently a scout for some clubs in Belgium and through this, if I discover budding talents. All the same, I hope to help them in the country too, through my academy. I am also using this opportunity to charge the government of Nigeria to do more for the youths of this country that have the talents and ready to make football a profession. This will help reduce to a large extent, the problems of youth unrest and militancy as being experienced in some parts of the country.

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Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Ebenezer Obey's sidekick out with new single

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Ludacris set to premiere new video on ‘2012 MTV EMA Red Carpet Show’

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TV recently announced that Ludacris will be on the red carpet in Frankfurt to exclusively world premiere his new music video for “Rest of My Life”, featuring Usher and David Guetta. Hosted by international presenters Tim Kash, Louise Roe and Sway, the “2012 MTV EMA Red Carpet Show” will premiere Sunday 11 November at 9PM CAT, and will give viewers a front row to all the pre-show action, featuring interviews with A-list artistes and celebs.

The “2012 MTV EMA Red Carpet Show” will premiere on MTV (DStv Channel 130) at 9PM CAT on Sunday 11 November.

Ludacris will make a special appearance during the main show, alongside socialite, Kim

Kardashian; and Grammy nominated musicians and actors such as Nick, Kevin and Joe Jonas; Brett Davern of MTV's popular scripted show “Awkward”; the cast of “Geordie Shore” (MTV UK's #1 show of all time); and supermodels Anne Vand Isabeli Fontana.

The show will be hosted by supermodel, entrepreneur and hometown girl Heidi Klum.

The19th annual MTV EMA will broadcast live from Frankfurt's historic Festhalle on Sunday 11 November at 10 PM CAT on MTV channels around the world.

The “2012 MTV EMA” will feature incredible performances

by Taylor Swift, Muse, No Doubt, Carly Rae Jepsen, fun., Rita Ora, Alicia Keys, Pitbull, The Killers and Psy.

Charity Pictures set December date for new movie

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HARITY Pictures, the producers of the flick titled It is Well have set a date for the premiere of the bespoke movie.

According to Adewunmi, all is set for the premiere of the new flick come Sunday December 2nd, 2012 at the prestigious Balmoral Hall, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos. The producer who is not a greenhorn in the industry quips that his company and other partners will not spare any cost nor compromise standards but will employ the best hands to drive

home the message of the film.

The Producer who doubles as the Director, Adeola Adewunmi, in his reaction, said “No man is worthy of taking the glory and the place of God because they are just men and nothing but men. We have started the story since 2010, we could not accomplish it that year and the following year because of the huge resources it entails, but we thank God today because we want to believe that this is God's time and His time is always the very best. I assure you that this production is what we are all waiting for.”

The new flick parades stars like Jide Kosoko, Akin Lewis and other actors such as Doris Simeon, Mercy Aigbe, Yomi Fash-Lanso, Antar Laniyan, Lanre Omiyinka a.k.a Baba Ijesha, Helen Paul and Adeola Adewunmi.

•Ludacris •Obey

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Monalisa Chinda, Ramsey Nouah, storm New York for Unguarded

ATURDAY, 3rd of November, in New York, the likes of Ramsey Nouah, Monalisa Chinda, Emem Isong, and Uche Jombo Rodriguez and her hubby, Kenney Rodriguez, all turned out for the premiere of a new movie titled Unguarded, held at the Gold Ballroom of Hotel, Pennsylvania located in midtown, Manhattan.

Filled with fans of the artistes present to enjoy what the producers had promised would be the best movie of the year, the premiere kicked off at about 8.30pm.

Ungaurded is a story about a man (Ramsey Nouah) who fell deeply in love with a girl

Joseph Benjamin is African Actor of the Year!

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POSTLE David Olaleye, an American based backup singer for Evangelist Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi, who recently breezed into the country has released an album into the Nigerian market.

He revealed in a chat that, "When the gifts of God began to manifest in my life, I was invited to join the band of Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey in 1975 ( the interreformers band ). I played with the band for 17 years, and terminated with the band in January 1992 after I heard the full time calling of the Almighty God into ministry. While being a member of the inter reformers band of Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, I was also at the same time, the choir master of the church since 1970 until 1987."

Speaking further, he said, "I started playing for a gospel life band right after I left the Inter Reformers Band and did rural evangelism and crusades across Nigeria. In the year 2000, I traveled out of the country for evangelism.

I'm still in the business of playing gospel music in the United States and Canada.

Apostle David said that this album is coming with two others, The City of God and The Joy of Redemption, between April and May 2013. My collection of songs of praise are rich in worship with many prayerful songs that drive away sorrow, pain and agony of any form that you may have encountered in life" he informed.

OLLYWOOD hunk, Joseph Benjamin has won the coveted prize at the 17th African Film Awards (aka Afro-Hollywood Awards) which took place at Stratford Town Hall, London.

The actor emerged as the African Actor of the Year in an impressive event that attracted movie stars, producers and other stakeholders.

Joseph who has continued to build his brand on the big screen and has recorded a huge success in a short time, was nominated alongside Ghana's Van Vicker and South Africa's Jafta Mamabolo.

(Esosa Edosonmwan), and was ready to take the next step only to find out that she had other plans which definitely didn't include him. She leaves him devastated and damaged. From that point on, his actions are unforgivable until he meets someone special (Uche Jombo).

The movie is produced by Chisom Oz-lee of Best Icon Productions and directed by Desmond Elliot.

•Monalisa

Ennyhollar set to collaborate with LKT

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K-based Nigerian artiste, Ennyhollar, is back in Nigeria to promote her works as she hopes to take her pride of place in the ever competitive music scene. The talented songstress has two singles titled 'Aye Allaye' and 'I love You' which she hopes to massively promote in the coming weeks.

Ennyhollar also hopes to swell her increasing pool of fans as he is set to collaborate with LKT on the remix of her song titled 'Aye Allaye'. The talented singer is excited about this recent development and she says she can't wait to hit the studio with LKT. “First of all, I am glad to be

•LKT

home because there is no place like home. I came back majorly to promote my singles 'I Love You' and 'Aye Allaye'. I am also glad to inform you that I will be collaborating LKT on the remix of my song 'Aye Allaye' and I can't wait to hit the studio to do the remix.” Ennyhollar informed.

Meanwhile, Ennyhollar is getting ready to fly to Gambia to perform as song she wrote for the Gambian president. The invitation is coming at the behest of the Gambian ruler who heard the song through his younger sister, who incidentally is Ennyhollar's close friend.

•Ennyhollar

Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

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m r o f r e p to e c a f 2 , j n a Db with live band at TOP10MICS

•Yibo Koko, Kate Henshaw and Dan Foster

More talents emerge as Nigeria's Got Talent heats up

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FTER claiming the Best African Act for his song Oliver Twist at MOBO Awards 2012, Kokomaster, Dbanj and 2face Idibia will on Friday, November 30, 2012 at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos perform for an hour with a live band at the mother of all concerts, TOP10MICS. Artistes are known to perform to a CD and a skeletal band but the major highlights at this year's concert would be lengthy live performances by the headlining acts. Femi Kuti and Sir Shina Peters will equally do the same as they are already used to such performances.

Industry stakeholders are hesitant if the Kokomaster would be able to perform for an hour with live band but sources inside his camp gave their word that he is more than ready.

There are also rumours the GOOD Music act is releasing some hit singles

before the day.

Producer of this year's TOP10MICS, Omoh Talabi, and the face behind many blooming concerts in Nigeria has been working closely with the Kokomaster at Koga Studios as the MOBO winner prepares for this memorable concert.

The concert will also feature performances from DJs Jimmy Jatt and Neptune, disc jockeys who know their onions in the industry. Ace comedian, Basket Mouth will host the concert, radio presenter, Yaw will also be at the concert.

The producer of the concert, Omoh Talabi, shared his thoughts “I have produced many concerts but I dare say this year's TOP10MICS will be astonishing as it promises to be a remarkable concert. People should look forward to seeing the stars perform for longer periods with live bands as that is the makeup of big concerts these days.”

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“You did your composition well, your swagger na die,” said Kate Henshaw and Yibo Koko who were so thrilled and impressed with Ogechukwu's violin composition.

The highly entertaining show also saw more exciting and dynamic acts take on the stage with their mind-blowing talent display. There was the unrelenting Heroes Comedy Dance Group, Chuka Solace, a rapper who impressed with his lyrical prowess.

Samuel the Dance, whose hope is to further his education

and assist his mother with the prize money, presented an impressive act.

The Sisters, a Benin dance group, also had a shot at success, as well as the singer, Pretty Brown, from Abuja who tried her hands on rapping and singing. The night closed with Edet, the skater from Calabar who gave an exhilarating performance.

The Airtel-sponsored first season of Nigeria's Got Talent began to air September 16 and will run until December 2012.The Got Talent franchise worldwide, which is in its sixth year, has produced many notable performers in the last couple of years including Diversity, Bianca Ryan and Britain's Got Talent's 2009 1st runner-up, Susan Boyle, whose debut album became the fastest selling UK debut album of all time.

Exquisite Teens: Youth magazine with a touch of difference

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new teen magazine, Exquisite, has hit the newsstand. For a teen magazine, Exquisite is loaded with exciting articles about life as a teenager. They include the Health Tips page on 'Bad eating habits that harm your D'Banj, Okposo, Lynxxx, Daddy teeth', which is very Showkey, Ice Prince and others on insightful', Jokes, cartoon, An parade, the event will also feature Tymeout with Tee A regulars, Madam appeal for Godly Modesty, Skill Acquisition, Teen Asks, Princess and MC Abbey, as well as host Tee-A in his multiple characters. Check Your Grammar, Other performers are to be announced Biography of Great Men-Ben next week.

Carson's Story, Poems-Words The event is produced by TeeCan Kill, True Life Experience A's First Class Incorporated, and 15 our Secrets to with support from The Success- Pro Advice for Beat 99.9FM, Loya Milk, your Career and life.

Qatar Airways, The Biography on Nokia and Great Men-The Ben BlackHouse Carson's story is a Media (BHM). must read for all.

Apart from the fact that Ben's Carson storyGifted Hands is very inspiring, it is also particularly interesting and engaging.

I bet most young people who never had the opportunity to go through •Tee-A with Princess

A-list quartet for ‘Tymeout with Tee-A concert’

HE startling line-up for the forthcoming Tymeout with TeeA concert has been announced with artistes such as D'Banj leading a quartet of A-list performers billed to perform at the event set to be staged st on the 1 of December.

Executive producer Tee-A announced recently that D'Banj, a critically-acclaimed live performer and entertainer, will make his debut on Tymeout With Tee-A at the concert on December 1.

“He's excited to be on the show, and we're very excited too. We've done a lot of D'Banj skits and fans have been asking for him. So I'm very glad he's joining us for this spectacular show on December 1.”

D'Banj will be joined by other big names drawn from different genres, including rap giant, Ice Prince, the monstrously popular ghetto star, Daddy Showkey, beloved gospel star, Sammie Okposo, and ladies' man, Lynxxx.

'We're putting the best together, to make sure guests enjoy a fantastic concert experience' says Tee A. 'It's our special way of thanking our fans for a good year, giving them an avenue to dance and laugh, while witnessing a historic live recording of the show…'

The red carpet event will hold at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, on Saturday December 1, 2012.

Apart from the big music stars

T was a weekend of breath-taking performances as talent hunt show, Nigeria's Got Talent, continued its series of semi-final rounds, with the ultimate aim of discovering that talent worth the sum of N10 million.

In the words of Adaora Mbelu, the Project Manger, the search has led to some interesting discoveries. “Over the last two weeks, I have seen talents from another realm and this has made me have great respect for the talents on the show.

The show is getting hotter as many of the contestants are bringing much more than we expected,” Mbelu said.

Amongst other incredible semi-final acts that featured at the show, Ogechukwu Godwin stood out with his amazing violin performance of Nigeria's popular hit song, Dami Duro.

Mercy Michael

with reading the novel will certainly have a swell time reading the two-page summary in the magazine.

The health page is particularly interesting, as it teaches the young ones on bad eating habits that harm their teeth. This page is very insightful, especially for teens who indulge in unhealthy eating habits, like eating sticky sweets after dinner, regular consumption of snacks and sugary acidic food or drinking, which we are told can cause tooth decay. The page also provides tips on having healthy teeth, such as rinsing your teeth after every meal.

The teeth will also be healthy, the write-up says, when two to three hours gap is giving between meals to allow for acid level in the mouth to come. Teens will definitely be better off with the information provided on this page.

I given recommend Exquisite Teen for teens seeking better knowledge about living. It's tasteful and doesn't contain crude sexual insight, but is entertaining and educative. Also the article subjects differ and are constantly of interest.

However, 'Exquisite Teens'

is not without its own flaws.

Poor production quality sure makes the Magazine lessattractive and not readerfriendly. It is also not much of a read on the beach or in the office. The photos are very bad, making it a hard sale for prospective advertisers.

For a better deal in the future, Exquisite magazine will do better with improved packaging, especially on the following sections: 'Most Embarrassed Moment' and '9JA Fashion in Picture'.

Again, the poor picture left little to be desired about the magazine. I doubt if any of the designers will be glad to see their collection in Exquisite Teens.

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Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

CINEMA GUIDE

BIG

LAGOS

PICTURE

Supported by: SILVERBIRD CINEMAS

•Hoodrush Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 145 Mins Taken 2 (Rating: 15 Movie of the week) Featured Actors Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 91 Mins •The Dictator Featured Actors Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris and Ben Kingsley Genre Comedy

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OR years, the North African Republic of Wadiya has been ruled by Admiral General Haffaz Aladeen, a childish, lecherous, misogynous, antiwestern and anti-Semitic despot who surrounds himself with female bodyguards, refuses to allow Wadiyan oil to be sold internationally and is working on developing nuclear weapons.

After the United Nations Security Council resolves to intervene militarily, Aladeen travels to the UN Headquarters in New York City to address the council. Shortly after arriving, he is kidnapped by Clayton, a hit man hired by his treacherous uncle Tamir.

Tamir then replaces Aladeen with a mentally-challenged political decoy named Efawadh, whom he intends to manipulate

A satirical portrayal of The Dictator

into signing a document democratizing Wadiya and opening the country's oil fields for business.

For Aladeen, the journey to reclaiming his throne leads to discovery of certain values which changes the game entirely.

The Dictator is a 2012 comedy film co-written by and starring Sacha Baron Cohen as his fourth feature film in a leading role. The film is directed by Larry Charles, who previously directed Baron Cohen's mockumentaries Borat and Brüno. Cohen is starred alongside Anna Faris and Ben Kingsley.

The Bourne Legacy:

A compelling race for survival

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N continuation of the Bourne series by Robert Ludlum comes The Bourne Legacy. Aaron Cross is a member of Operation Outcome, a U.S. Defense Department black ops program which enhances the physical and mental abilities of field operatives through pills referred to as "chems."

Cross is deployed to Alaska for a training assignment, where he must survive certain activities and traverse rugged terrain to arrive at a remote cabin. The cabin is operated by an exiled Outcome operative, Number Three, who, upon arrival, informs Cross that he broke the previous mission record by two days.

Meanwhile, the Blackbriar and Treadstone programs are publicly exposed, leading the FBI and the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency,

Ezra Kramer, Deputy Director Pamela Landy, Blackbriar supervisor, Noah Vosen, and Treadstone clinical researcher, Dr. Albert Hirsch.

To prevent the Treadstone investigation from finding and revealing Outcome's top-secret scientific advances, Byer decides to end Outcome and kill not just its agents but the scientists involved.

Directed by Tony Gilroy, Jason Bourne, is not visible in the Legacy, as actor Matt Damon, who played Bourne in the first three films, chose not to return for a fourth film. However, there are various pictures of Damon as Bourne seen throughout the film.

Running Time 83 Mins •Single and Married Genre Drama Running Time 105 Mins •Family on Fire Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 126 Mins •The Bourne Legacy Featured Actors Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 135 Mins •Savages Featured Actors Aaron TaylorJohnson, Taylor Kitsch and Blake Lively Genre Drama Running Time 131 Mins •Brave Featured Actors Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 100 Mins •Ice Age 4 Featured Actors: Ray Romano, Denis Leary and John Leguizamo Genre: Action/Adventure Running Time: 94 min •Madagascar 3D Featured Featured: Actors Ray Romano, Denis Leary and John Leguizamo

PORT HARCOURT •Taken (Rating 18) Genre Action/Adventure Single And Married Genre Drama Running Time 141 min •Safe Featured Actors Jason Statham, Catherine Chan and Chris Sarandon Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 95 min •The Bourne Legacy Featured Actors Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 135min •Resident Evil Featured Actors Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory and Michelle Rodriguez Genre Suspense/Horror Running Time 95 min •Step Up 4 Featured Actors Kathryn McCormick, Ryan Guzman and Cleopatra Coleman Genre Romance Running Time 99 min •Ice Age 4 Featured Actors Ray Romano, Denis Leary and John Leguizamo Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 94 min

The Amazing Spider-Man Featured Actors: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans Genre: Action/Adventure Married but Living Single Featured Actors: Funke Akindele, Joke Silva, Joseph Benjamin, Tina Mba, Femi Brainard, Kiki Omeili, Yemi Remi Genre: Action/Adventure Men in Black III Featured Featured Actors: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin

ABUJA

•Hoodrush Genre Comedy •Taken 2 Featured Actors Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 91 mins •The Dictator Featured Actors Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris and Ben Kingsley Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 83 mins

•Ek Tha Tiger Featured Actors Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Bella Boyd Genre Romance •Single & Married Genre Action/Adventure Ted Featured Actors Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Seth MacFarlane Genre Comedy •Family On Fire Genre Action/Adventure •The Bourne Legacy Featured Actors Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 135Mins •Resident Evil Featured Actors Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory and Michelle Rodriguez Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 95 mins •Savages` Featured Actors Aaron TaylorJohnson, Taylor Kitsch and Blake Lively Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 131 Mins •Step Up 4 Featured Actors Kathryn

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Glamour

43

‘Why I am passionate about teenage girls’ If you call Esther Ileogben a 'jack of all trades, master of all' you may not be far from the truth. The designer who runs with the brand Estito is a lawyer, TV presenter, make-up artist and much more. She spoke to YETUNDE OLADEINDE about her passion for teenage girls and how she made her mark with Nollywood.

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HAT is happening to your label, Estito, at the moment? A lot has been happening to Estito as a label and brand. Our ready-towear collection is in full swing. Here you would find trendy ankara jackets, wearable dresses and chiffon stuff. The cropped jacket m a d e with ankara is in vogue now, and then you also have a number of trendy patterns in bright colours. In addition, you would find the two shades of ankara mix and match getting some attention too. So, I would say that the fashion scene at the moment is getting more competitive and quite exciting. For standing out, the label has a number of awards and recognitions to its credit.

One of such is the award as best and most creative designer which I got recently from the Great Women Achievers group. So, in a few days from now, we will be having what I call the sales party and it starts mid-month.

Why are you interested in running a foundation for the less privileged?

The Foundation for me is a way of giving back to the society. Last year, we worked with 25 widows and we had a charity workshop where cash and foodstuffs were also distributed. At the moment, we are focusing on teenage girls to empower them with skills acquisition. We get them through referrals from people we have worked with in the past but we always make sure that the people we are training merit it. The motive is to empower young girls who would in turn help to transform their families.

Is your husband also in the entertainment business?

He is a very wonderful man, very supportive and the best husband any woman can ask for. Whenever I am down, he does those things that I am supposed to do. We met when I was active with Nollywood. He was working on their special effects, while I did the cos-

tume and make up. That was about fifteen years ago. One thing led to the other, and as they say, the rest is now history.

He is into the production of documentaries, jingles and film production.

What was your experience like working for Nollywood?

Here, make up transcends the physical because you have to make up the character too. I actually understudied Dike of the House of Silhouette. There I learnt the ropes. I was also part of Tade Ogidan's productions, RMD's Out of Bounds and Sam Adora's The Snake. I was actually one of the top make-up artists in the early times of Nollywood. I also provided costumes, some I made myself and we bought others. At a point, I went for training on bead stringing and made good money from this. Most times, I just look around and think of something new, something different from what other people are doing.

What inspired you to become a TV presenter?

I worked on a programme on television and the programme aimed at promoting living right, getting fulfillment in building yourself personally and other issues that affect the society. In addition, I am also a motivational speaker and I help to facilitate a number of youth and women groups especially in churches.

What is your personal style?

In my wardrobe you would find a variety of things. I take my dressing seriously. I have a personal style which I blend with accessories. I also love perfumes a lot; I wear Caroline Herrera, 212, White Diamonds and Fifth Avenue by Elizabeth Taylor.

Glamour

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Social

ADETUTU AUDU (E-mail: crownkool@yahoo.com, Tel: 08023849036)

Salawa Abeni throws lavish th 30 birthday for daughter

Adeojo notches higher

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HE septugenarian behind Elizade Motors and Toyota Nigeria, Chief Micheal Adeojo, is not resting on his oars despite that old age is catching up with him.

The highly successful businessman is set to move into another business terrain-hiring private jets for commercial purpose.

The new business venture is coming after the successful completion of his Elizade University in his hometown, IlaraMokin, Ondo State.

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HESE are surely sweet moments for Waka Queen, Salawa Abeni.

The woman who had toiled hard to train her children threw a lavish birthday bash in honour of her daughter, Okikiola, fondly called Candy, who clocked 30.

To really make it a birthday to remember, QSA, as Salawa is popularly known, invited both the young and old in the entertainment industry to rock with the celebrant at the upscale Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

Candy is a child who is dear to the Waka Queen's heart, especially the fact that she is the one that taught her how to speak good English. Another of Okiki's siblings, multi talented artiste, Sherif, popularly called Big Sheff, was around to felicitate with his sister.

Mudi set to move to permanent site

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HESE are definitely the best of times for celebrity designer, Clement Enajemo, owner of the Mudi label.

The gist in town is that the Delta State-born fashion designer has shelled out millions of naira to acquire a parcel of land behind his present Anthony Village office location.

If everything goes on as planned, Mudi will be at his permanent site by the end of the year. No doubt, the creative designer had made success of the needle and thread trade.

To say that Mudi eats, dreams and breathes fashion is like repeating the obvious. He makes no pretence to anyone that his world revolves around his fashion business and not even his wife can come between him and his job.

Secret pain Nkiru Anumudu endures

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KIRU Anumudu belongs to the class of celebrity ladies who dominate the society scene in Nigeria. Over the last decade, she has become a formidable personality and a force to reckon with.

She has achieved this feat on account of her intimidating fashion style and consistent attendance at A-list parties. In Lagos, it is considered almost unpardonable to host a party without having Nkiru in attendance. She always dazzles people with her style, which has the signature of limited edition designer outfits, shoes, bags and jewelry. Not to mention her legendary heavily made-up face, her major style 10.

Like most celebrity ladies, Nkiru has had her fair share of pain and agony. She has had to battle rejection from other society women. She has also striven to prove to these women that she can hold her own at any point in time. Somehow, most of these women have failed to see her in this light. This is because they tend to hold this perception that Nkiru is incapable of being loyal to her friends. But sources close to her are always quick to say she is misunderstood by many people.

Quite unlike many society women, Nkiru tends to play the disciplined card. She manages the garage arm of the family's near-moribund automobile company in Surulere.

She is said to be in the habit of castigating other women who had gone under the surgical knife. But not a few people know that she is a victim of a Botox operation that went wrong. Although, the result of the operation gave her a scary look, she was later compensated with thousands of dollars when she threatened to press charges. When she is not supervising her family's automobile garage, Nkiru is busy attending social functions.

Nowadays, she derives a lot of pleasure from her involvement in charity activities.

Glamour 45 Folake Akinruntan takes social circle by storm

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Nana Otedola shuns soiree

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ANA, the beautiful wife of chairman of Zenon Oil, Femi Otedola, has shunned soirees and informed sources say that the lady who runs popular dry cleaning outfit in Lagos, Garment Care, now concentrates on her business and the home front.

Nana enjoys stepping out with her husband at parties. And Femi is so passionate about his wife that he named one of his ships after his wife.

Kodjo Williams now focuses on business

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TYLISH former chairman of the Nigerian Football Association (NFA), Kodjo Williams, is a man whose lifestyle makes him a sought-after celebrity. His very short tenure as the chairman of the NFA wasn't without its drama, but after his 15-year-old marriage to his orthodontist wife, Remi, crashed, the man who loves to keep fit despite being in his 50s has been conspicuously missing from the social scene.

Kodjo, sources say, now focuses on his business, Kojo Motors, and shuttles between Nigeria and overseas, where he also has other business interests.

OLAKE Akinruntan, delectable wife of Prince Femi Akinruntan and Executive Director of Finance at OBAT Petroleuml, has stepped up her social game.

In the last few months, she has stunned many beyond words, as she now steps into high society events like a veteran. From all indications, the reserved lady of style is more than ready to rock the world; she has grabbed the limelight with so much dexterity.

Folake, daughter of Madam Elsie Owoade, proprietress of Elsie Beauty Parlour, one of the wave-making beauty parlours in Ibadan, is now savouring the delight of high octane events in the company of her everbusy husband.

Osas Ighodalo set to cause stir

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ORMER Miss Black USA, Osas Ighodalo, is set to cause a stir on Africa Magic's popular soap,Tinsel .The New York-born NigerianAmerican actress is already at work in Lagos filming scenes for her new role in the series.

On Tinsel, Osas, plays a free-spirited and forthright Adanna, an art student from the US who travels to Nigeria to find her inspiration.

A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Osas has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism and dual m i n o r degrees in Entrepreneurship and Theatre. She a l s o holds a Masters degree in Fine Arts in Acting from USINESSWOMAN and socialite, Dayo the Actor's Studio Drama School at Ekong, nee Akin Taylor, is leaving no Pace University. stone unturned to celebrate her 50th The determined performer has birthday. Come November 20, the amiable appeared in theatre productions woman will be celebrating the milestone with such as The Coloured Museum, a thanksgiving service at Pastor Wole Revenge of the King, and the Oladiyun-led church, CLAM. The party train award-winning off-Broadway play, will later move to the upscale 10 Degrees Platanos & Collard Greens, among event centre in Oregun, Ikeja. Already asoothers. Osas who is also a modelebi is in circulation to make the day cum-dancer is a devoted camgrand. paigner for social causes, focused Dayo, who is also a pastor in on raising awareness around the church, has taken it upon malaria and heart disease. herself to rehabilitate drug addicts.

Dayo Ekong plots golden jubilee shindig

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For Funmi Goka, it's all work and no play

F

UNMI Goka is the first woman to attain her current status and the only female top shot in AGIP Oil. Before being the deputy managing director of the oil company, the cerebral lady, a lawyer by training, was a recurring decimal on the social scene; most top notch parties were hardly complete without her graceful presence.

Funmi in her 50's and married to a Ghanaian, after assuming the position suddenly beat a retreat.

Those close to her said it is not unconnected with added responsibility. She only makes a few appearances at events that are of utmost importance to her and to that of the organisation.

46

Glamour

&

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL (08033572821) raphseg2003@yahoo.com

Celebrities honour Senator Domingo at son's wedding

P

ENULTIMATE weekend, the Senator representing Edo North in the National Assembly, Senator Obende Domingo, hosted the creme-de-la-creme of the society at the wedding of his son, Uje Rotimi, to his heartthrob, Nadine Ogechi. The solemnisation of the holy matrimony took place at the Foursquare Gospel Church, Surulere, Lagos, while reception followed at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.

BY OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL

•Sen. Domingo Obenbe and wife Oluremi

Couple; Bride Nadineogechi and Uje Rotimi

•Bride parents, Mr and Mrs Ugochukwu

•Mrs Stella Nafor, Mrs Josephine Agbonlahor and Princess Evelyn Okunbo

•Sen Gbenga Obadara and Gbenga Kaka

•Hajia Abiodun Yuguda and Amb. Kema Chikwe

•Hon Emma Ibeshi and wife

•Senator Gbenga Asafa and wife

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

47

VOL 1 NO. 037

Outdoor advertising: Challenges and prospect C

ONTINUOUSLY, rationalizing advertising spend on media, taxes the various conventional media vehicles on the critical issue of relevance and value-addition. For advertising media products and services providers at times like this, value-focused marketing is imperative. To the extent that insight on intricacies peculiar to various media vehicles will help marketing efforts by media platform, it beneficial to learn from on experienced professionals. The following is an excerpt of a paper on the value of outdoor advert media, challenges and prospects for practitioners by the President of Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Mr. Charles Chijide, at a seminar.

We at MC&A DIGEST see this is a good piece for our readers in the business of outdoor advertising. Happy reading: Characteristically, out of home advertising is focused on engaging the target audience when they are out of their homes (in other words, when they are on the move). The role outdoor advert media are challenged to play bestows on them so much responsibility which has necessitated a lot of aggression, creativity, persuasion and target audience engagement abilities. It is also very obtrusive in nature, ranking the highest need for a measure of OPPORTUNITY TO SEE, among advert media vehicle options. For well over 50 years, dedicated practitioners have consistently deployed this unique media vehicle for the development of advertising in our local market.

From a humble beginning when the conventional billboards and posters were all there was to date, a lot has happened to up the standard and quality of services delivered by this sub sector. We now have global standard digital display panels in Nigeria. Today, we can boast of well over 100 different outdoor media formats displaying across the country.

In all, the growth indices evidenced upon outdoor advertising business and practice are open to common perception. As mentioned earlier, there is a clear manifestation of local presence of global and innovative outdoor advertising products in Nigeria and a huge upscale in the level of professionalism in the quality of service delivery within the industry today. Today, the business and service of outdoor advertising is handled by trained professionals and focused entrepreneurs.

Gone are the days when outdoor advertising service was delivered by the barely literate and artisans. The leadership of OAAN has invested so much in improving the image perception of outdoor advertising practice in Nigeria. Our National association is now a registered member of the world outdoor advertising body, FEPE. Among our goals is enabling practitioners and personnel of our registered corporate members access to global practice standards, new learning and insight and the opportunity of interacting with global practitioners through international workshops and seminars. I can tell you outdoor advertising growth potentials in this market are enormous.

However, so much needs to bring to fore, as very essential learning for aspiring practitioners and the ordinary Nigerian, to enable a good appreciation of the challenges investors and practitioners face, in their quest for survival as practitioners and the optimization of returns on investment, for the entrepreneurs and investors in outdoor advertising practice. To put the revelations that will follow in perspective, let us look at the practice standard in developed economies.

Globally, outdoor advertising service delivery and business operations face similar constraints, as a result of its nature. And put briefly, the constraints are: (1) Space (2) Statutory regulations On space, for instance, at least 1,500 cities and communities prohibit the construction of new billboards. The States of Vermont, Hawaii, Maine and Alaska in the same US, prohibits all billboards. In Brazil, the City of Sao Paulo, in 2007, banned all billboards within the city. In South Africa, there is an operating manual known as South African Manual For Outdoor Advertising Control (SAMOAC), compiled and published by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Directorate in 1998. This document is a 124 page manual put together based on a pains-taking research project – just for the definition of outdoor advertising, the extent and impact of outdoor advertising and its impact on environmental beautification and tourism.

Nobody or group of people engage in any form of outdoor advertising in South Africa without express referral to the contents of this document. I like to read this quote from the forward from SAMOAC:

“Outdoor advertising and information transfer fulfills an essential function in modern society. It directs guides and informs as to locality, product, activity or service and contributes to economic growth in general. However, if outdoor advertising is not controlled properly it could have a very real impact on tourism resources and the human living environment, as was experienced in countries such as the United States of America. Most advertisements are aimed at the road user and may therefore also impact on the road environment. Control measures are therefore needed to ensure that road environments will be conducive to safe and pleasant driving.”

The portion I just read captures the reasons for statutory regulations on outdoor advertising, world over. To a great extent, the need for environmental protection is a good reason for government intervention in billboards erection and outdoor advertising generally – such as is contained in SAMAOC. Take our local environment, for example, the landscape and skyline in major cities and busy towns across Nigeria suffered all sorts of “pollution” from billboard structures due to indiscriminate erection. Billboard cluster resulted in menace, such that outdoor advertising made no since due to the abuse owing from indiscriminate erection of boards.

The other part of government control on outdoor advertis-

ing has to do with rates and levies due government agencies and department for the use of permitted outdoor space (also worldwide). Such payments are statutory and ordinarily come through as permits for display of advert messages and use of public space. In properly structured society such levies are collected directly by the municipal or local government councils with jurisdiction over the geographic space billboards are erected and the advert message displays.

World over, the two areas of government intervention stated above remain the key consideration for every outdoor service provider. So as investors or practitioners, managing the incidences of these key components will go a long way to determine the extent of any outdoor advertising business. However, if we add “…in Nigeria” to the topic of this paper, the theme of this forum changes dramatically, immediately because of the peculiarities of the Nigerian market. In other words, localizing the challenges facing outdoor advertising, throws up so many oddities that also require the attention of practitioners and entrepreneurs driven by success.

As we know, any business concern that does not yield adequate returns on investors' interest and compensate her human resource is not a successful business. So< return on investment will remain the most important measure of success. In the face of that, let us run through the peculiar challenges facing outdoor business in Nigeria, as follows: 1. Government policies/ regulation: in addition to global standards of statutory intervention, the local scenario is one of seeming confusion among governments and their agencies.

For instance, state governments have technically usurped the local governments' right to outdoor advert levies through their agencies. But because this arrangement is not harmonized properly in some quarters, outdoor advert agencies find themselves subjected to dual level payment – one to the state government agency and the other to the local government who insists to be

paid. This all add up to multiple taxation of some sort, and doubles the cost of such corporate bodies' operations.

2. Quality of human resource – outdoor advertising practice is still evolving from the days of old when it was lacking in adequately educated practitioners. But to mention, the industry will be better serviced by a continuous growth in the number of adequately educated practitioners. The good thing is that the trend is growing and the situation is looking better. We like to emphasize, from the standpoint of OAAN that our focus is on achieving high level of professionalism in the industry. We therefore encourage corporate bodies' consideration for staff training and retraining, and the engagement of highly educated personnel at entry level.

3. Corporate organizational structure – there is the need to cut cost of operation by considering the concept virtual office and outsourcing. The traditional office setting as we knew it in the 1960s through to the 80s is no longer practicable in today's business environment. Infusion of technology, sharper focus and competences on the basis of comparative advantage will make better meaning in cost-efficient business management today.

4. Financial discipline among business owners – business ownership and financial discipline is not one of our strong points in this environment. A lot of small and medium size businesses in this economy are organized around “the owners” so much so that there is no clear distinction between the personal finances of the owner and that of the business. Such practice leads to financial impropriety, indebtedness and business failure.

5. Clients' commitment to payment terms and pattern – clearly, not all that glitter is gold in real sense. You would be shocked to know how much is owed to outdoor advertising companies on account of these magnificent and spectacular displays you see in Lagos and Abuja, by the clients. As a result of clients' indebtedness, most of the agencies are reeling in crippling debt that are threatening their survival. Coupled with the huge investment on those hoardings, the impressive digital display panels, payment to government agencies and cost of operations, debt management is one of the major concerns for any investor in this market. We at OAAN are working towards an acceptable financial management system between our member-companies and their clients that will support healthy business relationship.

6. Industry practice – underhand dealings and compromises for selfish reasons. This is straightforward. We know of unwholesome practice by some service providers, especially those non-OAAN members. In order to make quick gains, the y compromise industry ethical and practice standard to get businesses. Their most potent tool is outdoor advert rates. They drop rates so badly the unsuspecting client shuns standard practitioners, not considering the dangers of unprofessional service delivery. What happens most times with such arrangement is substandard service delivery, abandoned hoardings and disappointment. So, we implore all those intending to practice in this market to uphold set industry standards.

7. Innovation, research and strategic planning – lastly, the outdoor advertising practice will do better with research and strategic planning. As in all professionally driven business venture, the need for deep market and consumer insights is the bedrock for success. We must at all times be able to tell what the trends are at the market place, gauge extent of efficiency and effectiveness, understand the target audience expectation, traits and habits. Outdoor advertising businesses must begin to look at introducing more of strategic planning and research for greater effectiveness and ultimate market performance.

In rounding up, the ingredients for successful business management are globally same – diligence and commitment. As we say in business management thinking global and acting local is the only difference in the small details you find from market to market. Therefore, investors and practitioners must begin to widen their scope in quest for innovative business thinking.

Outdoor advertising business is the fastest growing among the three conventional advert media options today. It is also the most resilient to change in the 'new media world' driven by digital media. In the new direction, practitioners and investors in outdoor advertising must be challenges by innovative thinking, training and retraining, exposure and new business ideas, to drive success.

48

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

People think being on television is posh, but...

D

IANA Mary Nsan is a huge media magnet on Cross River State Broadcasting Corporation (CRBC) and her puritanical devotion to her job has stood her out amongst her peers.

She walked away with the title at the annual Planet Awards last year and moments after we rounded off this interview at the cafeteria of CRBC, she received yet another call that she has actually been selected once again.

So, what makes Diana Mary Nsan so good at her work? â&#x20AC;&#x153;It would be very difficult for me to say that I'm this or that good on my job without sounding offensive,â&#x20AC;? the French graduateturned-broadcaster said in a rare interview with The Nation on Sunday. â&#x20AC;&#x153; Diana speaks candidly about her love for journalism, fashion and sundry issues.

Tell me, what can make you get angry?

I hate being taken f o r granted and that I'm a foolish person. There is tendency for some persons to feel that way because they think you are a child at heart or you are too playful. But there is a

She is unarguably Cross River State's queen of the tube after being crowned for the second successive year as the Female On-Air Personality (OAP) of the Year. Morakinyo Abodunrin spoke to her recently need to draw the line between when play stops and when work stops.

Why do you still describe yourself as a child at heart when you're already grown up?

Describing me as a child at heart has nothing to do with how old I'm right now. I may be 100 years of age and still feel good as a child. A child is happy-go-lucky; a child has a forgiven spirit; a child is a jolly good fellow; a child is a merrymaking person and I think I still do feel that same way despite my present status.

Tell, how good are you with your work, because I understand you're one of the best on air personalities on CRBC? It would be very difficult for me to say that I'm this or that good on my job without sounding offensive. But let me say that I'm good at my job because I'm so passionate with what I'm doing. I get satisfaction with what I'm doing...I'm a journalist and an on-airpersonality. So, how good I'm? I do get a lot of feedbacks from people in general that 'you did a good job' time and again. I would like to say t h a t

when it comes to doing my job, I'm very real and I'm not good at acting the script. Just get the light on, set the camera rolling and I'm ready to roll and that is real me. I love investigative journalism, I have a programme called Uncensored and I'm real on the set. Generally, people always think that being on television is posh and glamorous but I'm a kind of person that likes her hand dirty while doing her work. I like to get to the bottom of a story and that is the kind of difference and passion that I bring to the job. I like to hear people saying that 'this is different, this is new.' I'm very spontaneous, my job is not only a job for me but me living my life!

Being on television has its glamour and style, how fashionable is Diana Mary Nsan?

Yes, I agree with you that television has this element that we often refer to as show business but I'm the type that always wants to keep the show aside in order to get the job done. I may still have my trendiest hair on, get my nails manicured, but in the midst of all these, I'm still real because I don't mind getting my hands dirty while doing my work.

But I love being comfortable in what I wear. For instance, I don't like high-heeled shoes because I'm always on the move but would rather prefer something like Wedges that can elevate me and still give me some elegance. I like to match my colours very well and I like to do this so that even a fashion editor would be impressed. I like T-shirts and jeans a lot. Oh! My God, I like my Ankara (local fabrics), very fashionable Ankara. I pay attention to details, like putting on my fedora, good wristwatches, bracelets and I do the basic make up. I could wear a simple dress but the colour must be such that turn heads on.

You read French in school, why broadcasting and not a career in the foreign service for instance?

Some professions are flexible and it is all about passion, I think broadcasting is one of them. Being a graduate of French only enhances my job as a broadcaster and journalist. Nigeria is surrounded by Frenchspeaking countries and Cross River State especially shares border with many French-speaking countries, so studying the language has really helped me in many ways. Let me sight a recent example, Cross River State is a pilot for conservation and reduction in emission of gases and I had to go to so many neighbouring communities and border towns with Cameroun where the only language they could speak is French.

There is a lot of interaction between Nigeria and Cameroun when it comes to our reserved rainforest, so French comes into play and I really like the fact that this has enhanced my job.

Studying French does help because it makes to be versatile and there are some jobs that you won't even be considered at all if you don't have knowledge of French.

You have been a broadcaster for about a decade now, what are the challenges you have had to grapple with?

Frankly, I would have dropped out if not for the passion I have for the job. The challenges are quite enormous. I'm a presenter and sometimes I see a story that I could do but the funds to do it might not be available. I need training and retraining because I want to be on the same page with my contemporaries. I like a journalist who is a 'one-stop shop.' A journalist who could handle her camera without a cameraman, a journalist who could do the editing alone and all that stuff. I wish journalists are paid really well and I want to use this medium to salute all other journalists because I know what they take home is not commensurate with what they put in. Journalists risk so much but I think some of us are in it because of the passion we have for it.

Let's leave journalism, how do you define style?

Essentially, I think style defines who you are. Simplicity of some people is seen in their style. Being a rich person doesn't mean you have to pack everything on your body to show people that you a woman of means and style! You can wear something simple and still look stylish but unfortunately, a lot of people choke themselves all in the bid to show that they are stylish. Unless I'm on the news, my make up for the day is basically the one I've done from home and nothing more. I like keeping things simple. The television environment should have changed me but I'm not that kind of person. I'm sure you are looking at my face; there is no much drama.... so style is an expression of whom you are.

Who are your role models?

That is a nice one, but I won't mention anybody who is not in Nigeria because my role models are all women who have been outstanding in this part of the world. I admire them for different things, maybe not in totality because I don't know what goes on behind the facade we see outside. One of the women I admire greatly is my mother and not just she is my mother. She is very domesticated and she manages the home front so perfectly. She is God-fearing and I really like her for all these.

I like Abike Dabiri-Erewa because she started from the same profession I'm now and I'm really impressed with the fact that she is making huge impression as a member of the House of Representatives. She has pushed journalism beyond the boundary and shown people that journalists can hold their own anywhere.

I equally like a woman in my state here, Mrs. Elenda Osima Dokubo, the former executive secretary of Calabar Carnival Commission. I like Elenda because she has an encouraging spirit and she is a woman who despite her exalted position can condescend to the level of the ordinary person on the street. I admire Elander for her deep strength in character. And the last person is the very distinguished Senator Florence Ita-Giwa because she is a strong woman. She holds her own in the midst of men and because she is fashionable.

What is your take on this, are women sexually harassed on the job or is it the women that are sexually harassing men?

Okay. Broadcasting is like any other job in the entertainment industry because they are closely related. But it's not funny when people begin to associate this sex thing with the entertainment industry. Every industry has its own seedy side, the medical industry and even in the church, there is the sexual side too. Let me reframe your question for better appreciation of what I'm saying, so that I can arrive at something.

There is this belief that TV presenters or On-Air Personalities are very loose or indecent, but that is totally incorrect. Can we say the two-year-old girl who was raped by a man is in this industry? Are we saying the house girl who is being harassed by her master is in this industry?

Sexual harassment happens everywhere but for a woman, you must know what you want. Of course, men would make passes, but sex and broadcasting don't go together. This job is just the platform to show what you are capable of doing. Sex is an agreement between two consenting adults, but in this my environment, there is no sexual harassment, trust me.

New WOMAN

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11 , 2012

49

with

YETUNDE OLADEINDE

molaralife@yahoo.com

Just marking the 'Love' time

A

Every woman needs to understand how to cope with stress because it is a part of daily living. As a career woman you must be coordinated to balance home and career. If you do not have answers to managing home and career, then a lot of tension would take over, making you very disorganised. One way to ease tension is to opt for massage which you can do yourself with certain equipment or seek the service of a professional. By Oladeinde Yetunde

M

ASSAGE is the manipulating of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue using various techniques, to enhance function, aid in the healing process, decrease muscle reflex activity, inhibits motor-neuron excitability and promote relaxation and well-being.

The process actually involves working and acting on the body with pressure structured, unstructured, stationary, or moving tension, motion, or vibration, done manually or with mechanical aids. Usually, the target tissues include muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, skin, joints and other connective tissues as well as lymphatic vessels, or organs of the gastrointestinal system.

Massage can be applied with the hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearm and feet. There are over eighty different recognised massage modalities. The most cited reasons for introducing massage as therapy have been client demand and perceived clinical effectiveness] In professional settings massage involves the client being treated while lying on a massage table, sitting in a massage chair, or lying on a mat on the floor. The massage subject may be fully or partially clothed or unclothed.

Massage techniques include stroking, rubbing, kneading, pressing and tapping.

So how can you get a great massage you ask? Massages should be given on a massage table which the person should be lying down on. If you don't have a massage table other substitutes can be used such as a rigid horizontal surface: bed, floor or ordinary table.

Ease tension with massage In order to allow the hands to glide easily over the skin, oil should be used for lubrication oil is a much better lubricant than cream. If you can't get the special aromatic and medicinal massage oils, almond, seed and olive oil can also be used.

The atmosphere should be generally warm and pleasant; this gives the recipient a feeling of relaxation and ensures that they do not become too cold and uncomfortable. You could also use soft music and a delicate essence to create atmosphere.

When doing a full-body massage a particular order should be used to ensure that body parts are not left out by mistake. The patient receiving the massage should be lying face down.

First we start at the legs, massaging from the foot up to the buttocks, doing each leg separately.

Then we move on to the back, working from the lower back region (lumbar region) to the neck, and then do both arms but one at a time. After doing the neck you should tell the patient to turn around facing upwards, and start the massage at the legs again the same order should be used as above and finish it off with a gentle facial message.

Next you can massage the abdomen using slow circular movements in a

clockwise direction. When the massage is over, the person should be given something to cover themselves up to avoid catching a cold and left to relax and sleep if they wish.

You can also do some stretching exercises and get up gradually off the massage table. This is important because during the massage the muscles were worked and the stretching would reduce the chance of the person getting injured pulling a muscle.

Massage is also effective for women during and after pregnancy.

Every pregnancy and birth is unique.

And every woman faces different challenges as she recovers from the experience. Most women endure some degree of low back pain because their abdominal muscles, which help to support the lumbar spine, have not yet regained their strength. Many women suffer from gastrointestinal problems after labor and delivery, including constipation. Women who choose to breastfeed might experience neck, back or shoulder pain, from sitting in one position for long stretches of time.

Whether a woman is nursing or not, she might have painful breast engorgement. These are issues that can be alleviated with postpartum massage.

In addition to these problems, some women may be recovering from a Cesarean; for them, massage can help to produce a healthy, pliable scar that will have minimal impact on the body's ability to move and function.

Along with the physical issues of recovering from pregnancy and birth, there are psychological issues as well.

Postpartum "blues" and depression can occur at any time during the year after a baby is born. And many new mothers feel overwhelmed by their new responsibilities, stressed out-and guilty at the idea of taking time for them.

Massage can be a wonderful, healthy way to help a new mother destress, so that she can be her best self for her family There is no issue with massage at any time post delivery although some care needs to be exercised to avoid pressure on the uterus which can induce uncomfortable cramping and pain do not enhance a massage experience. However, a careful medical history is needed to make sure there are no complicating factors.

T a distance you would think that Dare and Kanyisola are having a great love feast.

Unfortunately that is not the true story here.

When you comb their emotional archives, you would be shocked to find a different picture of the twosome. On the surface, you could almost wish to be in their emotional shoes. They have learnt to plant smiles, whether plastic or not, in the right direction.

Unfortunately, it is actually a mismatch and they are just marking time together. Sitting pretty on an emotional love bomb that may blast any time from now. Well this can happen to any pair and you are just wondering what the problem is. Dare actually is the sore thumb in this arrangement. On her part, Kanyisola tried to make it work, introducing all kinds of packages to make love flow within their emotional empire.

Unfortunately, she realised that it would be difficult using her â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do It All Yourself" strategies because it takes two to tango. So, it was only natural for her to feel exhausted, drained, frustrated and unhappy with her man and the relationship. She then came to the realisation that it was time to stop this pattern and start experiencing what it's like to have a real man in her life.

If you are feeling this way then you may just desire a change.

The song on your lips would be different and all you want would be a change, a change to fill the vacuum in your love life. Wanted! A man or woman who's committed, engaged, and does his part and more to make sure you're both creating an incredible life together.

It would definitely be time for you to get off the roller coaster, and start to get things back on track for yourself and your relationship. But if it isn't that bad, then you can bring the emotional pieces back again. You can bring your relationship back on track by inspiring your woman or man's love and devotion. To make things better you would need to identify any and all the destructive patterns in your relationship, and stop them dead on the spot. You also need to stop being the "Do It All Yourself" woman or man in your relationship, and learn to sit back and have your partner start thinking about and caring for you and your relationship.

Once you have addressed out this stage then you also need to stop letting your relationship problems get you down. The next phase would to discover what it takes to trigger your partners desire to be engaged in your relationship again. Once this is done, you can be sure of enjoying what a real loving and supportive relationship is like.

Women also need to know that there is a difference between "inspiring" a man and "convincing" him to do what you desire in a relationship. When you inspire, you are doing things to feel better about yourself, and you're committing yourself to understanding your man and nurturing your relationship.

When you convince, you talk or do certain things to manipulate a man into feeling a certain way. These are often emotionally charged conversations that can leave you both feeling drained. You also quickly realise that a man isn't going to feel warm and fuzzy about you because you're telling him how unhappy he makes you.

Most times, he wants to feel that it's easy to please you and that you can feel good about yourself without much "work" on his part. That's right. He wants to be with a woman who is a genuinely happy person, with or without him.

When a man says that a woman makes him happy, what he's usually really saying is that he feels it's easy to make her happy. So the question now is, what can you do to get back to the contented, joyful woman you used to be? You must, therefore, seek ways to be happy, with or without him.

To have a healthy relationship, you must be a balanced partner. Here the person in question is expected to be generous, have a forgiving heart, argue positively and is always ready to appreciate the other person.

You can only do this when you learn to accommodate your partner's differences and weaknesses. Great and exciting soul mates do well when they find themselves concentrating on the good sides of their partners as well as celebrating them.

50

Etcetera

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi

POLITICKLE

deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

Sons and Looters

CHEEK BY JOWL

OH, LIFE!

THE GReggs

The writer here advertises a virtual bookshop where the reader is guaranteed to find a listing of books on contemporary issues. To aid perusal, a summary of content is also provided in the hope that the reader will be thus minded to place a spontaneous order or two. A knowledge of titles from the African Writers Series might be handy but a penchant for subtle humour would just as well do.

CRIME and Puny Men by E.F. See-see A history of prosecution of big-time offenders but small names by the anticorruption agency.

The Flood Between by Komatoze Statz North, East, South and West, the waters rage. And the government slumbers.

Bokotown and Other Stories by Suside Bomba Politics and religion fuel conflict as the seeds of violence are sowed among a peace-loving, multi-cultural people by bomber-cyclists from northern space.

Sons and Looters by Aloa Tuku-Alli This thriller underlines familial connection as D.H. Lawrence’s early romance classic. It also seeks to establish something critics may view as similarly ‘obscene’: the father-child tie in oil dealing.

A Gramme of Wheat by I.M.N.T. Famin What portion per man it may dreadfully come down to months from now given the government’s rhetorical commitment to future address of the effect of this year’s series of flooding across the country.

Ebbele’s Travels by Jonahson Rueluck Get on Ebbele’s winding trail of gargantuan expense and Lilliputian ramification.

2015 by U.S. de Amerigo Big Brother warns of an African giant’s chaotic disintegration preceded by tension, then turns around to deny prescience.

One Man, One Weapon by T.H.E. Asasin Is it every man for himself as a wayward country winds down to election year via social and bureaucratic disorder?

The Imprisonment of Boy George, and other plays by Wik Justis Sistem Of bizarre incarceration of a ruling party official and an early release topped by even more bizarre celebration by associates and followers.

The Second Term by Jonahson Rueluck The top cat brightens at the prospect of extending juicy tenure by all means and bristles at dissent. In search of the winning formula: six-year term, seven years or direct re-election a la a sponsored INEC. Wuruwuru by Hook O. Crook The national way, from official processes to personal ambition, which the young must shun and the adults unlearn.

One Man, One Child by Jonahson Rueluck Presidential suggestion for optimum development maligned, apparently, by patriots spurred more by the African culture of natural multiplication than the shortcomings of the Malthusian population theory.

A Wail in the Night and other stories by Alez La Crumble Apartheid-like conditions at the centre of government breed overnight fratricidal cum genocidal activities in the north and resource control agitation in the south.

The Old Baba, and the Meddler by U. Segy Bizbodi Former youthful Head of State and octogenarian President, the Baba (of vindictive disposition), pontificates on issues failed at and meddles to a frustrating degree.

Messages: lessons from Ghana by Kufi Esienn and Tokz Olojkokro The smaller West Coast neighbour is held to skewed Nigerian light as big brother. And many officials and citizens concur.

The Dutyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by A. K. Ama No, not by a long stretch here, especially tapping the minds of the compromised parent or corrupted youth.

Not Even God Is Ripe Enough (to catch a country in freefall) by Badda, Beer et al.

Confuse not the lover with a country in divine matters, for the fate of the latter infinitely matters more in the scheme of things global.

America: Whose America? by Janky Tokunbuh Was Tupac wrong and Obama the one? The black man is on the march, or not.

Chief, The Dishonourable Minister by T.N. Onjuko As many of the minister’s ilk are, were and will be. Blame not the trappings of power or style. Finger, instead, the average man’s propensity to dominate.

The Misinterpreters by S.W. Lurate Sentiment and flamboyance blur general vision, warping interpretation of the application of deep thinking to problem-solving by a few.

Oil Man of Abuja by Jon Munonie Always in your face: the power-player ready to kowtow to leaders in blind pursuit of oil blocks and power.

Jokes Humour Blue Disease “I HAVE a serious problem, Doc,” says a patient who plays football. “My left leg has turned blue.”

The doctor asks him to take off his jeans, examines him briefly and concludes that the patient would die if he doesn’t have his left leg amputated above the knee.

“Are you crazy?” says the patient. “How could I let you do such a thing to me?”

“You want to die?” asks the doctor rhetorically, at which point the patient has to agree to have his lower leg removed.

Two weeks after the operation, the patient comes back. “Doc, I don’t know how to say this, but the thigh has turned blue, too.”

Again, the doctor tells him that if he wants to live, his left thigh must be cut off too.

Naturally, the man is reluctant.

“Look, you want to die?” asks the doctor, and the patient has to agree with the operation. After two weeks of walking with support, the patient returns to the doctor and says, “I think something is very wrong with me. My left buttock appears blue!”

After confirming the patient’s fears, the

doctor gives him the bad news: If he wants to live, his other buttock has to go. Of course, the patient does not want to hear about it.

“You want to die?” asks the doctor.

“But, how do I pee and carry out other necessary functions?”

“We’ll install plastic pipes, and there will be no problem,” said the doctor.

So the patient lost his buttocks, but a while after the operation the unfortunate man enters the doctor’s office again. He is very angry.

“Doctor, the plastic pipes turned blue!”

“What?”

“Can you tell me what the hell is happening??”

The doctor examines the patient more carefully and says, “Hmmm, I don’t know. Could it be the blue jeans?”

QUOTE People who know how to employ themselves, always find leisure moments, while those who do nothing are forever in a hurry.

— Jeanne-Maire Roland •Culled from the Internet

T

URNING a Writer ’s Fountain short story into a novel: You’ve written a fine short make it lean and fit for consumption. In other story but you think it has the potential to grow words, you have to successfully expand a short into a great novel. Think of what you have to story into a much longer tale.

You should begin by providing more do as the opposite of the editing process which involves removing the ‘fat’ from a story to motivation and history to the main characters by employing the five key story elements: Believe this: Action, Background, Conflict, Development, •“Flushable” toilets were in use in ancient and Ending (the ABCDE formula).

Rome.

Action: Start with something happening to draw •According to an Old English system of time the reader into the story. units, a moment is considered to be one and a Background: Provide context for readers to half minutes. understand how the characters came to the •According to National Geographic, Mt. current situation.

Everest grows about four millimeters a year: Conflict: The characters must want something the two tectonic plates of Asia and India, they don’t have and work to achieve it which collided millions of years ago to form (sometimes against each other). the Himalayas, continue to press against each Development: The bulk of the story describes other, causing the Himalyan peaks to grow the characters’ struggle to get what they want. slightly each year.

Whenever it seems they have the goal within •A typical bed usually houses over six billion reach, give them something more difficult to dust mites. overcome until they reach the climax.

•“Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson was the first Ending: The thing that happens after they reach video to air on MTV by a black artist. their goal. In a romance, the hero and heroine •Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger bought the reach their happily-ever-after situation. In a first Hummer manufactured for civilian use mystery or thriller, all the loose ends are tied in 1992. The vehicle weighed in at 6,300 lbs up. In a literary story, the ending may be rather and was seven feet wide. ambiguous.

THE ARTS

51

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

The secret behind my name Beautiful Nubia Beautiful Nubia is not just a veterinary doctor trained at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, he is also a published poet, a songwriter and a band leader. In this interview with Edozie Udeze, he harps on the need to grow a viable music industry that can churn out the best songwriters in the world and lots more

W

HAT does EniObanke music festival mean to

you?

Yes, we started the music festival since three years now.

It is a festival of root and folk music from anywhere in Africa. We do not discriminate.

Musicians also come from all over Nigeria. Because we are based here in the South West, it may seem that what we showcase is more of Yoruba folklore music. But it is not intentional; we have to start from an area we know, an area we are equally familiar with.

And then slowly we keep building from there. Essentially, we use the platform to showcase authentic Nigerian folk and root music and play them in different locations as part of the festival. Generally, we play folk-derived music like highlife, Afrojazz, every thing music that has traditional background.

We also give opportunity for young voices, up coming musicians to be part of it. It is to give them their own ample opportunity to showcase what they have. Some of these young ones can be allowed to play what we call commercial pop music.

When they do this, the media can see them, then, they can get some airtime or later be signed on. You see, if you are an established artiste, sometimes you forget the struggles you went through.

I think it is a bit easy when you create a platform for the younger people who are still struggling to air their own views.

How do you get sponsorship for this show?

I have basically been using my own money to finance the shows, with support from friends and well-wishers. My own personal friends and friends of the Art have been of immense assistance to us.

At times some of my fans would be of help. However, the basic money has been from my company, EniObanke. You know, it has not been easy, I won’t lie to you, because I am not a man of large pocket. But I am also blessed with a lot of people who are ready to give their talents to make it work.

Beyond this, what is Beautiful Nubia doing now musically?

Well, I have been playing this music now for about 15 years. I have just released a new album. Although it is not out officially, it will soon be in the Nigerian market. Officially it was supposed to be out on November 1. But again, I have been busy, very busy playing all over the place, keeping the industry alive and busy.

Our shows are not the noisy type. We do not make noise about our music, for when we do not play around the country, we play in the universities. We also play at private shows, social events. Our approach to this has always been very modest. But beyond that, I have been very busy in the music circle, with a new album that is almost out. The title of the new album is Ori Ojori. It is the same style we have been playing over time. People have always asked me how do I define my music? But I say it is difficult to define, yet people try to define it.

My job is to play it. But I know it derives from traditional folk music.

How do you set your themes and compose your lyrics?

There is a part I usually do. The music is basically inspirational. I can not really explain it. If a song comes to me, I write it.

Melody comes to me naturally. Sometimes I try to fuse it together to get what I want. The part of it that I do actively is crafting the music. I decide what goes where and I ensure that the parts come out well.

Above all, I am very good at arranging the parts to form good folklore music.

My very strong points are writing the songs and arranging them in parts.

This is what defines someone’s music – songwriting and the arrangement of the music. It is a gift and I am a vessel for that gift.

There is no defined sector for songwriting in the industry. How can this be

corrected?

Yes, I think eventually we will get there. We do not have that for now. But what you have just said now is very important point in the industry.

We have been saying for a long time, that we do not have infrastructure for music here yet.

We think we do, but we do not.

This is one of the infrastructural pieces we need to advance further in the industry.

In Nigeria, some of us are strong as songwriters, some as singers. But people lump everything together. They write their own songs, they arrange and sing them and move on.

They produce and market it and do everything. This is not proper. This is why we often do not have that point of finesse in what we produce. This is why we are having songwriting workshop as part of this festival. I am really teaching them how to write songs. You have to have the gift because if you do not have it you’ll see yourself struggling to cope with it. But if you have a gift and are a little bit confused about how to craft a song, you can be put through.

I can teach you how to craft a song, how to know what to include to make a good song.

This workshop in a way can help us to groom a group of song writers that will then infuse this professionalism into the sector. They can write and co-write songs. Sometimes you don’t have to do the whole work. If you write half of a song and get stuck, find another writer and say oh, I have this idea and then you work together.

At the end, you’ll have an art bearing two or three names there. There is nothing wrong with that. It happens all over the world. Don’t people coauthor a book or produce a film? I think we are evolving just the way the country is evolving too, and so we’ll get there. Where there is a lot of chaos, there is an opportunity for growth. There is much for us to do, to fix the infrastructure and get them working. And that’s what I am committed to. That is what we are to do.

Now, is there any relationship between song writing and poetry and literature?

The best songwriters anywhere in the world are poets.

•Beautiful Nubia on stage.

Songwriters are poets. I am a published and performance poet. Many people in England know me as a performance poet.

I have performed in different parts of the world as a poet. I do my poem from memory, I act them out and I sing them on stage. If you are good with words, song writing becomes easier for you. Yes, again, if you do not read very well, you cannot be a good song writer.

If you read well and wide enough you can then write well.

But the problem with some of our songwriters is that they do not read and so they are limited with words.

Where were you trained and

PHOTO: EDOZIE UDEZE

why Beautiful Nubia?

I grew up in Ibadan and attended all my schools there. I read veterinary medicine at the University of Ibadan. I graduated in 1992 and worked as a vet for 10 years. Then I decided to go into music full time. I know I’d be a musician in life. Even though then I knew I’d learn a trade to fall back on. So, I went to learn music as a profession. But as a vet, I learnt how to manage funds, which is helping now to manage my own funds as a musician.

When I began to play music, I tried to find a name that’d suit my person. And

so I settled for Beautiful Nubia. And so I added beautiful so that when people call me beautiful I’ll strive to be perfected. The Nubia thing has to do with African civilisation where the people of Nubia were champions. And I love Africa and I wanted to prove to the world that the people of Nubia gave the world civilisation.

This was how I got to be known as Beautiful Nubia.

Many years ago, the Nubia people ruled the world, people with dark skin and so on.

So, that’s the beauty there.

But my real name is Olusegun Akinlolu.

52

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Arts/Reviews

Books

Book of conscience Oyegbile’s book for presentation T to the rescue

•Onyemere

S

ATURDAY October 27th was a momentous day for Ifeanyi Onyemere as he launched his book, Before You Lose That Job, at the Protea Hotel, Oakwood Park, Lekki, Lagos.

A specialist in life and organisational performance, Onyemere said he wrote the book in order to let people know the importance of multiple streams of income.

“I worked in the banking sector for 13 years," he said.

"During that time, I found out that when people were terminated or lost their jobs one way or the other, life would take a downward turn for them. They would no longer be able to maintain the lifestyle they were used to before. If they were living in a posh area before, they would move to a poorer area and become unkempt.”

According to him, in the first two years of him work-

By Joe Agbro Jr.

ing, he noticed the ugly trend associated with losing a job voluntarily or otherwise and realised that the only way out of the problem was to have multiple streams of income.

“When you are employed, you have to be prepared to lose the job at anytime by choice or termination. I therefore conceived the idea of this book to help people prepare for when they lose their job. The whole essence of my book is to let people know that they must have a Plan B when they get employment and they must start preparing for life after the job while they are still on the job, not after they lose it.”

Onyemere isn’t just about talk and no action, as he quit the banking sector by his own volition to focus on his own business.

He said: “Because I realised the invaluable importance of multiple streams of in-

come, I began to seek other means of income even while I was employed and it got to a stage whereby I was making more money from my external engagements than in my paid employment. At that point, I knew I could afford to leave the job.”

When asked how he was able to combine being employed with his own personal businesses, he had a ready answer.

“The answer to that is to discover yourself to know what you love. So, when you are doing what you love, it will be easier for you to do it. The other key point to combining several vocations is time management.

If you are able to plan your time well, you can do many things together. A lot of people waste a lot of time at owambe parties and other fruitless endeavours. Such time should be spent instead on more important things.

HE Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, is to be the special guest of honour at the public presentation of the book, Home Away From Home...History of Ogbomoso people in Jos on Tuesday, November 13, at Eko FM Multipurpose Hall, Ikeja at 11 am.

The book written by Olayinka Oyegbile, Deputy Editor, The Nation on Sunday, is a chronicle of the history of Jos through the eyes of Ogbomoso people who arrived there as traders in the 19th century. It takes a dispassionate look at the development the city has witnessed and how Ogbomoso people through their business acumen helped develop the city. It also took a cursory look at the Action Group (AG) crisis which erupted in Jos in 1961 involving the late Chief Ladoke Akintola, the then Premier of the Western Region and a prominent son of Ogbomoso and the late Obafemi Awolowo, the Leader of Opposition.

The presentation is to be chaired by Senator Ayo Adeseun, Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, while the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Oladunni Oyewumi, is the Royal Father of the Day. Others expected at the event are Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola, Majority Leader, House of Representatives, former Governor of Oyo State, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala. The Chief Presenter is Prince Abidoye Ayoola, while the five local government chairmen in Ogbomosoland are co-presenters.

•Oyegbile

Behold Onuora Nzekwu Onuora Nzekwu, the author of Eze Goes to School, and his daughter, Nwanneka Ofodile, at the NLNG Nigeria Literature Prize programme last week.

Nzekwu is known for his primary and secondary books which have been making impact in Nigerian literary circle.

Eze Goes to School is one of his most pupular books.

Nzekwu was at the programme to identify with ideals of NLNG and to commend the management for giving time to Nigerian literature.

It is interesting to note that Nzekwu’s book made the long list of this year’s entries.

The author of Eze Goes to School says he is still strong enough to write more books.

Three cities bubble for EMUfest

E

NIObanke Music Festival (EMUfest), the brainchild of Nigeria’s foremost contemporary folk and roots musician, Beautiful Nubia, enters its third year with events planned to hold from November 13 – 18, 2012. Live music concerts are scheduled for Lagos, Ile-Ife and Ibadan and will feature many established and emerging artistes including the host Beautiful Nubia, and other legendary figures such as Jimi Solanke, Orlando Julius Ekemode and Pa Chris Ajilo. The organisers are throwing the gates open for all music lovers to attend all the events for free. This is generating a lot of excitement amongst fans, especially youths, on social media.

While live performance has always been the main focus of the festival, there is a little twist this year with the addition of a festival roundtable discussion focus-

By Edozie Udeze

ing on new income streams for the modern musician which will hold on November 13, a songwriting workshop to be led by Beautiful Nubia on November 14, a Talent Night for showcasing and discovering new artistes on November 15 and a celebrity soccer match between arts/entertainment journalists and celebrities from the music and film world on November 14. All these are to be hosted at EniObanke Arts Centre, 19 Adekunle Fajuyi Way, Ikeja GRA. The festival proper begins with a concert at the Amphitheatre, OAU, Ile-Ife on Friday, November 16, followed by another in Ibadan a day later at Alliance Francaise, Iyaganku. Both events will run from 4 – 9pm each day. The festival will be rounded off with a grand concert on Sunday, November 18 at the EniObanke Arts Centre. Two prominent jour-

nalists are slated to receive awards for their long time support to the music industry at this grand finale, which will start at 1pm and end at 10pm.

EniObanke Music Festival (EMUfest) is the first ever folk and roots music festival to be held in Nigeria. Its main purpose is to celebrate, showcase and re-position authentic Nigerian and African music, and to promote the use of music as a tool for societal reformation and economic growth. Commenced in 2010 with performance by 10 music artistes/groups at 3 different venues, EMUfest is poised to become the most innovative, youth-oriented, grassroots music festival in these climes.

As part of the show this year, the EniObanke Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to Pa Benson Idonije, a foremost music critic and writer and Late Ogbonna Amadi of The Vanguard Newspapers for his

•Members of Emufest rehearsing for the festival.

contributions to entertainment reporting in Nigeria.

The award night will hold in Lagos on the 18th of November.

There will also be a workshop on songwriting and a

roundtable discussion on the essence of the festival. The talent hunt night is to discover and encourage budding artistes who want to take to music. Beautiful Nubia said all these are to be

PHOTO: EDOZIE UDEZE

done in order to create more awareness and opportunities in the entertainment industry in the country. “The youths need to be encouraged to be at their best,” he said.

53

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Oil spillage: Five years after, Ogoni community still lives in pain

Sivibilagbara River

T

HE recent visit by Amnesty International to Bodo community in Ogoni, Rivers State was not only to pledge their commitment to the campaign against Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) over the devastated oil spillage in the area, but to refresh their memory on the unforgettable tragedy that took place five years ago and to reawaken their consciousness that the struggle for the oil-rich environment continues.

However, the visit reminded the community of how important their environment was before the spillage. Some of them, especially women, who could not hold back their emotions cried openly at the market square where they gathered to welcome the Amnesty International personnel.

Meanwhile, before the arrival of the representative of Amnesty International to the market square, elders of the community took them around to see the affected oil spillage sites which include Sivibilagbara River and Tene-ol water side. At the sites some fishermen who lost their fishing business to spillage spoke on their experiences and expectations, but one recurring cry among them was the heap of abuse on Shell.

Emmanuel Kuru, an ex-fisherman, said he has been running away to visit the site since the incident occurred in 2008 because he didn't want the site to remind him of his past: “I don't want to die on time, that is why I have been avoiding a visit to Sivibilagbara River where my boats and fish ponds were destroyed by Shell facilities. I collapsed and became frustrated the day I heard that crude oil has polluted the water and killed all the fishes at the River. This unexpected situation forced me out of business with nothing to fall back on since 2008 when the first oil spillage occurred, with another spillage taking place in December 2009 and destroying my family means of livelihood.

“My family has been eating from hand to mouth; the worst of it is that Shell has been singing in various electronic and printing

The Bodo community of Ogoni, Rivers State was recently reminded of its past when Amnesty International came calling. Our reporter Precious Dikewoha was there. media in Nigeriam, saying they have done a clean up in Bodo community. But I want to tell you now that Shell has not visited Bodo community since the spillage occurred, and has not in any way paid compensation to anybody. My children are out of school because I could not afford to mobilise their school fees. When I was fishing in this River, ask everyone here, I was somebody you could call a man. I mean someone you could be proud of, but today, look at me living under the shame of abject poverty.”

Emmanuel Kuru also said if it is in his power to send foreigners away from Nigeria, by now the name Shell would have been history. "I hate shell with passion, they are very lucky that life has placed me where I cannot have the power or authority to send them packing. If not, their activities in Nigeria would have been history. In fact, each time I hear the word Shell or I am passing and I see people discussing about Shell, that day I will be unhappy. If I tune my radio and a newscaster or presenter mentions the word Shell I will immediately change to the next station because I don't want to hear anything about them."

Another fisherman who testified before Amnesty International was Pastor Christians Lekova Kpande, who said the money realised from his fish ponds was being used to assist his ministry and the helpless members of the church. He, however, regretted that since the oil spillage occurred in his community his ministry has been struggling to stand, with his family members surviving by the grace of God. “When you look at the faces of the people of Bodo community you will know that the people are living in abject poverty, the youths are walking shadows; no job or

other means of livelihood. It is only the wealthy families that can afford to send their children to good schools and eat good food. In fact, we are nothing but slaves, when the incident took place, those of us who were fishermen thought we would be compensated, at least, to start another business, but surprisingly, Shell, even the state and federal governments, did not show any concern about the plight of those who lost their fishing ponds and boats to the spillage, God will never be happy with Shell."

A 70-year-old woman, Madam Grace Kpobari, told Amnesty International that Shell killed her husband who was a great fisherman. “My husband died after he heard the news that all his fish ponds were submerged by flood of crude oil and when he visited the River and discovered that crude oil had taken over the position of water, he gave up the ghost. Since then, I have been shouldering the responsibilities of taking care of my children. I have not received any compensation from anybody and it is inhuman treatment to our people.”

Briefing the Amnesty International at Sivibilagbara River and Tene-ol water side, the immediate past chairman of Bodo Council of Chiefs and Elders, Chief Mene Hyacinth Leema, told Amnesty International that Bodo community is one of the communities with rich deposit of oil and mineral resources.“ What the fishermen told you are real truths of our present life reality. Bodo community has a natural abundant mangrove significant to the belt of Niger-Delta and comparable to vegetation anywhere in the world. But

since 2008 after the inhuman oil spillage in the area caused by the activities of SPDC, life has become a mirage and the people of the community were abandoned to their fate which has forced both men and women in the community, including the youths, to become idle and hopeless in their own land.”

After those brief comments at the water side, the Amnesty International with members of the community and the representative of Centre for Environment, Human Right and Development (CEHRD) hurriedly drove back to the community market square where members of the community and Bodo Council of Chiefs and Elders were anxiously waiting for them.

Delivering the address at the market square on behalf of the community, the chairman, Bodo Council of Chief and Elders, Chief Mene Sylvester Kogbara, thanked Amnesty International for making time to visit Bodo community and also informed them that the people of Bodo Community are economically frustrated.

Chief Kogbara said: “With a deep sense of humility and responsibility I convey the warmest appreciation and profound gratitude of Bodo people to Amnesty International that is the only solace that this community has got in the face of an obliterating disaster which has ruined our survival and existence and rendered extinct the consummate ecological heritage of the Bodo people. Our God-given aquatic zone became creek of oil, our farm lands were submerged by flood not of water but of crude oil, which had its destined home either in the crust of the earth or in the Shel galvanised pipe lines. May I inform you that it has today assumed the height of a legal Everest, for the Bodo people to prove the onus that a mangrove and aquatic range of such unimaginable dimension that constituted the uterus of the infinite content of the gulf of Guinea. The reason why the heart of Bodo people yearn in embracing you is that in April 2010 you dispatched a team of your apostles to Bodo after the flood, they swam in the oil, bathed in the crude and exhumed relics of the hitherto Bodo wealth and heritage. Their valour, strength and courage have recorded for posterity “The true Tragedy”, if what is written remains, then the content of the report which you published on November 10th 2011 shall forever cast a spell on Shell for the evil and calamities that they have wrought on the Bodo people. We thank you because Amnesty International has fixed the authentic image in the true tragedy the crime of Shell in Bodo as a permanent image on the screens in every home in Europe, West and the wider world. In terms of publicity and propaganda, Bodo has taken the world by storm, flying on the benevolent wings of Amnesty International.”

Chief Kogbara, however, added: “Five years after this level of tragedy in Bodo, it has not resulted into discussions at any level of government to consider us as those deserving any form of humanitarian assistance. Yet we face accelerated death rates, explosion in very unusual forms, thus the second phase of the tragedy is the length of time and the condition in which the Bodo people have been abandoned.”

After listening to the speech presented by the community through their chairman, the Secretary General, Amnesty International, Mr. Salil Shetty, said the plight of Bodo people is clear and quite understandable and promised to carry out a strong campaign against Shell.

Mr. Salil Shetty said: ''We have come to see the problem between you and Shell, and with what we saw, to be frank, we are not happy that the people of this community have been helplessly abandoned after Shell spillage that did not only pollute the environment but brought poverty in the land. We are going to carry out more campaigns against Shell, and before the community, we are standing here to inform Shell that we are watching."

54

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Politics

Inside the Bayelsa, Rivers oil war Continued from Page 21 said Edition of the Administrative Map shall in no way have any bearings on the current efforts of the National Boundary Commission to determine the correct boundary between Bayelsa and Rivers states.

“It is our hope that the current effort at the demarcation of the Bayelsa/ Rivers interstate boundary shall be concluded as soon as possible to enable its reflection on the 12th Edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria currently under production.

“Let me reiterate that as agreed at our previous meetings, the status quo on the boundary shall be maintained until the correct boundary is determined after the completion of the current demarcation exercise. This letter is endorsed to your Bayelsa State counterpart for his information.”

ISSUES AT STAKE BETWEEN THE TWO STATES After waiting for 10 years without any redress on alleged misrepresentations of its interstate boundary on the 11th Map, the battle has shifted to the Supreme Court which ruled that the status quo should be maintained. The question is: Which status quo?

Is it the 11th Map officially adopted by the Federal Government in 2002 and which is in favour of Bayelsa State or the 10th Map as inferred in the NBC letter to Odili? This is the crux of the matter between the two states and they may have to run in and out of the court to get the correct interpretation.

But in line with the 11th Map in use by the Federal Government, Bayelsa State has had interstate boundary ceded to it with the accruing Soku oil wells and high revenue yield. During a protest march to the Government House in Port Harcourt by Kalabari monarchs, Rivers State Deputy Governor, Tele Ikuru said the problem started when the National Boundary Commission and Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) technically ceded about 80 percent of the oil and gas bearing communities and settlements in Akuku Toru Local Government area to the old Brass Division in Nembe, Bayelsa State by shifting the boundary demarcating Degema Division from the old Brass Division to River Sombreiro, in the 12th provisional edition of the Administrative map of Nigeria.

The Deputy Governor said money in the escrow account, pending the resolution of the dispute, is now being paid Bayelsa State. He said so far, N17 billion proceeds from the Soku fields in the escrow account had been paid to Bayelsa State.

On his part, His Royal Highness, Disreal Gbobo Bob-Manuel II, Owukori IX, Amanyanabo of Abonnema, who spoke on behalf of others, said they were in Government House to protest against the sudden shift in the boundary between the two states. He said the boundary that divided the two areas had been there for over 100 years, adding that the colonial masters recognised it. The monarch said with the sudden shift, they had moved over 90 per cent of AkukuToru Local Government Area to Nembe.

CLAIMS AND COUNTER-CLAIMS Not even an emergency ceasefire session called by President Jonathan has been able to douse the tension between the states.

Allegations put in the public domain border on alleged plans to annex some parts of Rivers State to secure more oil wells for Bayelsa. The claims and counter-claims are bringing out more revelations. According to the Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, besides the currently disputed Soku oil fields in Akuku-Toru Local Gov-

•Dickson

•Amaechi

ernment Area of the state, Bayelsa State had initiated a plot to adjust more boundaries that would rob Rivers State of about 71 oil wells in its favour.

Amaechi, who dissociated himself from any ongoing political campaign towards the 2015 election, however, commended President Goodluck Jonathan for the statesmanly role he had played so far in the oil well/boundary row between the two states.

“As we are talking now, they have given 46 oil wells belonging to Rivers State to Abia State. At the same time, apart from claiming that Soku belongs to them, the Bayelsa State government is fighting hard to extend the boundary to somewhere near Abonnema in order to take over another 71 oil wells belonging to us.

“The president advised us not to talk to the press on the Soku issue and he wants the right thing to be done and we will support him. Since Rivers people are happy with the way President Jonathan is handling the issue, we have to obey him by not talking to the press. But since you asked, I have to say it out. As a state and as a people, we have one common destiny; we will fight for our right.”

He said Rivers State, which used to be the number one oil producing state before is now third following the ceding of its oil wells to neighbouring states in the Niger Delta.

But Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, denies plans to annex any part of Rivers State because of oil wells. He said Bayelsa was only demanding its share of derivation based on the 11th Map of Nigeria. The governor in a statement said: “The attention of the Bayelsa State Government has been drawn to media reports credited to chiefs and elders of some Ijaw clans of Kalabari extraction in Rivers State, alleging attempts by some persons to forcefully annex communities and ancestral lands as well as oil facilities and installations in Kalabari land to Bayelsa State for the purpose of claiming derivation entitlements.

“The government of Bayelsa State wishes to react as follows: Firstly, we assure our Ijaw kith and kin in the Kalabari clan of Rivers State that there is no such move to forcefully annex any territory or people into Bayelsa State. We further wish to state that the Ijaw strategic interest demands that Ijaws wherever they are should be supported and strengthened and not to be forced into Bayelsa State.

“That the purported claim is an attempt by detractors of the Ijaw nation to create unnecessary strife and hostility within the Ijaw ethnic family to our collective disadvantage.

“The true state of affairs is as follows: That by the 11th edition of the administrative map of Nigeria published in 2000, Bayelsa State as a state was entitled to derivation and other claims from crude oil production in respect of oil exploration carried out within its territory as stated in the said map.

“It is important to note that the claim of a state to derivation on account of oil production within its territory is different from ownership of land by families, communities and even clans. Whereas the claim of a state is based on territorial boundaries contained in the administrative map, that of a clan, family and community is based on traditional history, possession and other forms of ownership.

“Therefore, it is very common in the Niger Delta, owing to the way and manner states were created, for communities or clans to be in one state while part of the ancestral land is in another. The family, clan or community does not cease to be traditional owners of such lands, while the state in which the land forms a part exercise administrative control over such land and therefore, entitled to derivation.

“By the said 11th edition of the administrative map of the Federal Republic of Nigeria dated 2000; Bayelsa State is entitled to derivation in respect of all the oil wells within the state territory.

“The government of Rivers State has been receiving derivation revenue over several oil facilities and installations which are clearly within Bayelsa territory from 1999 till date in spite of the clear boundary delineation in the said map.

“We acknowledge the long standing dispute between the Ijaws in Bayelsa in Nembe clan and the Ijaws in Kalabari clan in Rivers State over traditional land boundaries. The claims predate the creation of Bayelsa State. However, the present issue is not about Nembe people laying claim to Kalabari land or of people trying to annex Kalabari land and communities as part of Bayelsa State.”

THE BACKLASH ON JONATHAN Bearing the brunt of the missiles being thrown by the two states is President Goodluck Jonathan on whose roof at the Presidential Villa the rockets are falling.

The crisis has deteriorated to the extent that it is being linked to the jostle for the presidency in 2015.

Some are suggesting that Jonathan, who many suspect is interested in a second in 2015, will not be too pleased by any political complications to his ambition arising from his own backyard. Rumours of Amaechi running as Vice President with Jigawa Governor Sule Lamido

have been floating around for a while. But Amaechi says he was not privy to any campaign or agreement with anybody to be Vice President.

He said: “I heard that there are vehicles moving round the country with my poster as running mate to Governor Lamido. I have no plans for 2015. I don’t know who those sponsors are. I have no ambition because, I am exhausted.

Can’t you see?

“Those carrying those vehicles campaigning for Amaechi for vice-president are on their own. They should stop because I have no ambition. I have not attended any political meeting or gathering that has to do with 2015 presidential election.”

While Amaechi might be circumspect and strategic in unfolding his 2015 ambition, he cannot deny that there is a cat and mouse relationship between him and the President. As the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and defacto chairperson of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, Amaechi and his colleagues in the PDP held the President by the jugular before Jonathan could get the party’s presidential ticket in January 2011.

It was a negotiated ticket which earned the governors automatic second term tickets. Without the deal with the governors, it would have been difficult for Jonathan to defeat erstwhile presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, who had a hurricane-like campaign machinery.

The governors, led by Amaechi, pushed their luck further to checkmate Jonathan when the PDP wanted to elect its national officers. Although they later bowed to his choice of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the National Chairman of the party, it is obvious today that the governors are in control of the party machinery as they have put enough checks in the party executive to keep Jonathan at bay anytime.

Amaechi later emerged as a kingmaker in the party when his candidate, Sam Jaja emerged as the Deputy National Chairman of PDP contrary to the preferred candidate of the President, Uche Secondus.

The game plan manifested itself when in the heat of the fuel crisis in January; Sam Jaja made scathing remarks which hurt the government. The same Amaechi had also clashed with First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, over the demolition of Okrika Waterfront in Port Harcourt.

Up till today, Amaechi has not shown enough ‘remorse’ to be in the good book of the presidency. The boiling point in Jonathan-Amaechi frosty relationship was the loss of second term ticket by exGovernor Timipreye Sylva, who is a close ally of the Governor of Rivers State. It was an open secret that Amaechi gave backing to Sylva despite the fact that the Presidency did not want the ex-governor of Bayelsa back.

Some people, including close aides of Amaechi, are alleging that the presidency may be paying back the Rivers State governor in his own coin. But Jonathan, who has lived mostly in Rivers State and got a beautiful Dame, has denied having any ulterior motive in the crisis between Bayelsa. Though he was the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State when the petition to the NBC was written against Rivers, the President insists he has no vested interest in the boundary dispute.

Although he has offered to play the role of honest and impartial peace broker, his skills in this area will be sorely tested given the high stakes involved in the oil wells dispute. With the added flavor of 2015 presidential politics in the mix, the whole dispute is shaping up to be very combustible if not properly handled.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

55

Murder in beer parlour —PAGE 57

The real Alajo Shomolu, an unsung hero The late Pa Alpheaus Taiwo Olunaike was popular for his business acumen, sagacity, accuracy and ingenuity in thrift collection. His popularity was folkloric and he entered the Yoruba literary genre as Alajo Shomolu. He was so famous many thought he was just a myth. His death recently made many to know he was human. Taiwo Abiodun visited his household last week and reports

•The late Alajo Shomolu’s house

A

T the front of No 81, Olorunkemi Street, Shomolu, is a big banner ‘dancing’ to the rhythm of the wind as it blows it sideways, ‘dancing’ along with it is the big photograph of the late septuagenarian, Pa Alpheaus Taiwo Olunaike a.k.a Baba Alajo Shomolu with the words ‘Adieu Baba Alajo Shomolu’ announcing the glorious exit of a man whose appellation became a phenomenon in Yoruba literature books and wise sayings.

His name and exploits were so famous that it became like a legend with many believing the Alajo (thrift collector) was a

PHOTO: TAIWO ABIODUN

mythological figure in the realm of the Greek mythological and legendary stories. For instance, when it is time to praise anyone for ingenuity, he/she is hailed as being clever as the thrift collector from Shomolu who sold his vehicles to purchase a bicycle!.

It was such that made many think he was a myth, for many could never understand why a man would sell his vehicles and use the proceeds to buy a bicycle.

Many used him as a metaphor to describe an intelligent person. It is common to hear that someone is as intelligent as the thrift collector from Shomolu who for a period of three years collected thrift from

•The late Alajo Shomolu as a Lay Reader

thousands of his clients without documentation yet when he wanted to pay back, he gave each according to his deposit without making any mistake in the amount or the names, this was even reflected in a Yoruba crime novel written by Oladejo Okediji titled Agbalagba Akan in which the principal actor, Lapade clothed himself with the ingenuity and famous thrift collector in Shomolu saying (Ori mi pe bi Alajo Shomolu ti o fi odun meta gbajo lowo egbegberun eniyan lai ko oruko kankan sile, nigba ti o fe sanwo ko si sii owo san fun enikeni).

Did Alajo Shomolu really exist?

The question on many lips is: Did the

man, Alajo Shomolu really exist? Was there ever anyone with the appellation or the name? Who is Alajo Shomolu?

The man of the legend existed. He was named Alpheaus Taiwo Olunaike (a.k.a Alajo Shomolu). He died recently at the age of 97. He breathed his last on August 11, 2012 at his famed Shomolu residence in Lagos. He was buried on September 22, at the Church of Nigeria Cathedral, Isonyin, Ijebu in Ogun State.

He was born a triplet, something that was forbidden in Yoruba land of his time because such triple birth was believed to •Continue on Page 56

56

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Life

‘He sold his two Molue buses to buy bicycles’ •Continued from Page 55

bring ill-luck in those days.

Consequently, the first of the three children was forcefully taken away from their mother and buried alive. His twin partner, Kehinde died at infancy but luck smiled on Taiwo. He lived and became the legendary Alajo Shomolu.

Taiwo practised his trade at a period when there was no calculator nor computer to aid his calculations yet he could tell his clients exactly what their balance was without any reference to any documents. Such was his mental acuity that his clients trusted his accuracy and many wished to be like him, according to Oyeniyi Sikiru, a tenant who had spent over 30years in the late thrift collector’s house.

Since the announcement of his death, his residence at Shomolu has become a Mecca of sorts, as many people from the academia and other wolks of life thronged the place in order to verify whether the man, Alajo Shomolu really existed. Till the moment of writing this story the place is still besieged by all and sundry seeking to have a glance at either the house or wanting to know the life history of the unsung hero.

Learning the ropes The one storey building was said to have been built by the late Alajo Shomolu in the sixties. He was said to have built the house from the proceeds he realised from the thrift business.

According to one of his children, Mrs Bose Ukueje, her father first went into tailoring but when he was not successful as a professional tailor he changed and went to learn thrift collection in Cameroun. In 1954 he returned to Nigeria to establish the business.

Thrift collection is a method of daily collection called ‘Ajo’ in Yoruba land. He was a smart man who was able to understand the needs of small time traders. He began his operation in the Shomolu area of Lagos, hence the nickname Alajo Shomolu. He started at a time small markets were thriving, when market needed banking services, but received little or no attention from commercial banks. The thrift services took a fixed amount of money from market women and men every day, and paid back in lump sums to them at the end of the month, the commission is less one day’s contribution and this served as earning for his services.

It also afforded contributors to get loans for their business without any collateral. It was the precursor of micro banking in the country.

Alajo Shomolu and his vehicles The story of Alajo Shomolu selling his vehicles to purchase bicycle has assumed a life of its own so much that many thought it was a legend and far from the truth. It sounds ludicrous but The Nation found out to it was true after all! According to the Alajo’s cousin, Dare Osifeko, ‘’Yes, it is true that he once sold his vehicles to purchase a bicycle, and that

•Bose one of his children

Late Olunaike (a.k.a Alajo Shomolu)

was in the 70s.’’ This was also confirmed by his daughter, Bose.

The duo however, debunked the claim and the side talks that the old man sold the vehicles because he was going bankrupt.

According to them, the notion that he sold his vehicles to escape bankruptcy was a misconception and misrepresentation of facts. “It is the story of his life that he sold the vehicles. It was true that my uncle had two Molue buses which were being used for commercial purposes then, and they were given out to be managed but nothing was forthcoming. Instead he was having losses, you know how these drivers behave and lie, and with their fraudulent activities would come back to the owner to tell tales of woes and stories instead of bringing money. Later.

Baba was angry, he then seized the two Molue buses from them and kept them in the front of his house. By then he was already in the thrift business. He had a bicycle which he was using for his business, but after selling off the two buses, he went to purchase two Raleigh bicycles and added them to those ones he had before for his business. The whole Shomolu and Bariga went into frenzy. It became the talk of the town that Baba Alajo Shomolu had sold his motor vehicles to

buy a bicycle. While many praised the old man’s business acumen, others were of different opinion thinking it was out of stupidity and frustration.

However, the business boomed, he became prosperous, popular and a folklore hero. His fame went throughout Yorubaland that he sold his motor vehicles and bought bicycles, this became a household song.”

Defending the business acumen, sagacity, and the mental alertness of her father, the daughter said the late Baba Alajo possessed the uncommon native intelligence that he had no record of how much his customers deposited, neither did he write down their names nor the amount each deposited yet anytime he wanted to pay back he would not make mistakes neither in their names nor the amount of money deposited. For three years, he collected money from his customers, did not write down their names and when it was payback time, he paid everyone according to their deposits without record!”

Godwin Ukueje, who is one of his in-laws and from Delta State, praised the old man’s sense of native intelligence and mathematical calculation and said, since he had packed into his new house at Shomolu which is very close to the old man’s place,

he had no cause to settle rifts as the old man had never been found wanting. ’’He pays his clients anytime of the day. He was my in-law, he did not take me as a son in -law but as his own son. I got to know him in 1996 when I married his daughter, Bose. He made me to love the Ijebu people. They use to say that the Ijebu are bad, but Baba was not like that for he made me to love the Ijebu people, he took me like his own son. He was hardworking. No customers ever fought here while demanding for his money. When the old man was sick, I came here to assist and stayed with him before his demise.”

One of his clients, Olatunji Olaniran, who lives on the same street, said he was one of the old man’s customers. He said the old man was very simple, approachable and ready to give assistance. “Even if I needed N200,000, he would not hesitate to give me. He would go into his room and just bring out the money.” asked whether the late Alajo kept money at home, Olaniran, laughing, said, “I don’t know where he keeps his money o.”

The business runs in the family Thrift collection has become a family trade as all the children are

into it now, according to Bose. She said “My father was honest to a fault, and they (all his customers) know this. That is why people are still coming here to pay their condolences. In fact, we who are his children are into the business too, and that is what they know us for. About four of us are Alajo. The Kabiyesi (traditional ruler) of Isonyin was here to pay his condolence. After the burial, the media and men of high integrity have besieged the house to pay their tributes.

Refusal to retire According to Bose and her cousin, the late Baba Alajo refused to retire, even when he clocked 75.

He rode his bicycle until he could not go out again. Bayo Osidipe, a relation who works with a new generation bank, acknowledged that he drank profusely from the old man’s fountain of knowledge.

He said, “I developed interest in the banking industry because of him. I believe it is for the betterment of the society, and it is a matter of interest and choice. The fact is that since he was in the industry and unblemished, we love it, as the system has been modernised, unlike that of yesteryears.”

Osidipe confirmed reading about the exploits of his uncle in books. He said. “I will say as old

Continued from Page 55

Life

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

L

IFE for the family of Shaakaa in Mbagen, Buruku Local Government Area of Benue State will never be the same again following the brutal killing of their son, Terzungwe Shaakaa, by a policeman attached to the Command Headquarters, Makurdi.

Terzungwe’s road to death began as an argument in a beer parlour. The fateful day was October 11 th . The incident has pitched the civil society against the Benue State Police Command, and attracted negative reactions from members of the public.

According to the elder brother of the deceased, Emmanuel Shaakaa, “I was sleeping in my house and at about 10-11pm, some of my friends and neighbours phoned me that if I don’t come out some people will kill my brother, that they have beaten him to a state of coma near our house.”

He added that after hearing this, he rushed to the scene of the incident. On getting there, he saw his brother in a pool of blood, “When they saw me approaching, they spoke in Tiv and warned that if I come near they would kill me. There was a lady among the three men, bringing the number to four and the lady spoke to them and asked why they wanted to kill the young man, but they warned her to keep off the matter.”

Shaaka added that those assaulting his younger brother then called the State Arm Robbery Squad (SARS) operation vehicle from State Criminal and Investigation Department (SCID) and moved his younger brother to the CID Makurdi office where they locked him up in the cell in his state of unconsciousness with all the bruises and blood over his body.

He added that after initial inquiry, he found out that one of the three men who were in mufti was a policeman. He was later identified simply as George and attached to the office of the Benue State Commissioner of Police, as a computer operator. He is said to also be a student of the University of Agriculture Makurdi, (UAM).

Justice by whiff of sentiment It was said that George had a disagreement with the late Terzungwe Shaakaa in the course of drinking in a nearby beer parlour, and that when the deceased was on his way home George (the policeman) invited some of his colleagues who consequently beat him to a pulp and locked up him in a cell.

According to Emmanuel, things took a different dimension the following day when the elder sister of late Terzungwe, Christy Shaakaa, a journalist visited the police CID headquarters to find out why his brother was detained.

“The Investigating Police Officer (IPO), one Andrew Awen, directed my sister to the complainant, George who works in the office of the Police Commissioner to go and sort things out with him and the matter would be over. But when my sister met with George, he referred her back to the IPO that whatever he (IPO) told him, they should settle, but when my sister demanded for the bail, the IPO told her to come back the following day which was Friday. When Christy came on Friday the IPO again said she should come back on Monday.

57

Murder in beer parlour A businessman was allegedly tortured to death by a police man and dumped in mortuary where his long dead father was recorded as bringing his body there. Uja Emmanuel reports on this bizarre drama from Makurdi

•Shaakaa However, when she returned on Monday the IPO again gave an excuse that he had not written his report on the case file to his boss, so he fixed the next day, Tuesday. On the appointed date Awen said President Goodluck Jonathan was visiting Benue State, so all policemen are on special duty and she should therefore, come back on Wednesday.

But when Christy brought food for her brother who was pur-

ported to be locked in the cell, she was deceived and given all kinds of excuses. At this point she became suspicious. As luck would have it she ran into someone she had known at the CID. After explaining her plight to the person, she was taken to a senior police officer who put a call to another police officer only to confirm that even before her complaint, her brother had died!

When the matter became contro-

versial with the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Daniel Ezeala, a DSP, first reacted and told the public through the media that thedeceased hit his head on the wall and died. He was alleged to have committed suicide when he peeped through the window and on seeing his sister, had shouted “I will die, I will die.”

However, after series of protests from lawyers and other con-

cerned citizens, the PPRO issued another statement, claiming that the late Terzungwe was beaten to death by other inmates, and that very soon the killers of the victim would be charged to court.

Attempts by the deceased sister Christy to see the Commissioner of Police was allegedly frustrated by George who is being protected by his colleagues.

Left with no choice, Christy and other family members identified the body of their brother at the mortuary of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Makurdi.

The family of the late Terzungwe had already contacted a lawyer, Ucha Ulegede, who has taken up the matter with a resolve that justice must be done. He called for the arrest and prosecution of George.

Also, the Nigerian Human Rights Commission, Makurdi has also stepped into the matter with a promise to expose the cover up of the police.

Records at the mortuary showed that the policemen deposited the body there on Tuesday night and recorded that it was the father, Mr Shaakaa, who died since 1988 that brought the body!

The older brother of the deceased, Emmanuel, however, told The Nation, that even though his brother is dead, killed by the same police who are paid to protect him, he wants justice to be done.

He expressed shock that the police will attempt to cover up a case of murder by their own officer, claiming at the mortuary that it was the father of the deceased who was long dead that deposited the body. He said this was enough evidence that there is a conspiracy reminding his brother’s death.

At press time, efforts were being made to petition both the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 4, to demand for a thorough investigation into the mystery surrounding the death of Terzungwe.

‘He sold his two Molue buses to buy bicycles’ Continued from Page 56 as I am, I also read it in books. I have read it like fables, but I can say authoritatively that it is not a fable but real story and I often heard it. The story behind his selling the vehicles is not farfetched.”

Oyeniyi Sikiru, a tenant who had been in Alajo Shomolu’s house since 1983, testified to the old man’s honesty and dedication. “I am a tenant in this house since 1987, important people used to come here to borrow money. The old man was very honest to a fault.”

Olaniran Olatunji, who said he knew Baba for over 20 years, said

“I used to operate thrift with Baba, I contribute N2000 daily. When I was building my house, he was happy, I once came to collect N180.000 from him, if you want to collect your money he would just go into his room and give you your money.”.

An old couple, Pa Lateef and Mrs Esther Kuku, are neighbours living on Olorunkemi Street with the late Alajo Shomolu, Pa Kuku was still mourning his friend and his wife’s customer, he said that he was a friend to the late thrift collector while his wife was a customer of the man. “I used to see him with his native gobi cap as he used to blow his trumpet anytime he arrived to collect his daily

contributions. He was a jovial man we are going to miss, we even chattered a vehicle to attend the burial.”

Once duped However, there is no man who does not have his ups and downs.

The late Alajo Shomolu had his own baptism of fire. According to Elder Emmanuel Osilaja, “I have been hearing about his story as the popular Alajo Shomolu since I was living in Isale Eko. When I now came down to this area, Shomolu in 1980, I could see he was honest. In fact, he had to sell his house at Abule Ijesha to offset his debt and pay his clients when the 419s came to dupe him.

If he were another person, he

could have told them stories and would not pay, but he made sure his integrity was intact , and sold his house to pay his clients.”

The legendary Pa Taiwo Olunaike popularly known as Alajo Shomolu was a Lay Reader in the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion where he was also entrusted with the church’s account for three decades.

Unfortunately, most of his things that could have served as a memorial have been discarded. For instance, many would had loved to see his legendary bicycle.

58

Your HEALTH THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

A

healthy body makes an active mind. But when the reverse is the case the individual is usually not at his or her best. Hereditary factors, lifestyle and some other factors usually predispose people to certain aliments.

Experts, however, advise that it is better to prevent certain illnesses if we can. For many, the fear of diabetes is the beginning of wisdom. It is for this reason that they avoid certain foods and drinks even though they would have loved to taste and eat them on daily basis.

So what is the big deal about diabetes, you ask? It is a disorder that talks about the body's ability to change glucose (sugar) into energy. Glucose is the main source of energy for a person. When food is digested it converts into proteins, fats, or carbohydrates.

The food that affects the blood sugar is carbohydrates. When digested, carbohydrates convert to glucose.

Examples of some carbohydrates include bread, potatoes, corn, and pasta. If you have diabetes you can eat carbohydrates, but the intake must be limited. The glucose that is made from the carbohydrates is transferred to the blood and is utilised by the cells for energy. To have glucose transferred from the blood into the cells, insulin (a hormone) is required. Insulin is made by the beta cells

e h t h t i w g n i Cop complications from diabetes

By Yetunde Oladeinde

n the pancreas (organ that produces insulin). Those who have diabetes cannot perform this process. Their pancreas is unable to produce proper amounts of insulin for the body.

The most important thing about diabetes is to know which type you or your loved one has. Once you know which form of diabetes you have you can build a treatment plan with your doctor.

Diabetes is a common group of chronic metabolic diseases that causes high blood sugar (glucose) levels in the body due to defects in insulin production or function.

Diabetes is also known as diabetes mellitus, to distinguish it from a relatively rare metabolic disorder called diabetes insipid us that doesn't affect blood sugar.

Symptoms of diabetes occur when a lack of insulin or insulin resistance stops glucose from entering the cells and fuelling and energising the body. The resulting spike in glucose can result in symptoms such as increased hunger and thirst, weight loss, fatigue, and frequent infections. Long-term complications include kidney failure, nerve damage, and blindness.

Interestingly, diabetes is categorised into two main categories and one subcategory, but all are typified by problems of insulin resulting in high blood sugar levels in the body. The first type of diabetes is categorised as an autoimmune disease and occurs when the body's misdirected immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Although genetic or environmental triggers are suspected, the exact cause of type 1 diabetesonce referred to as insulindependent or juvenile-onset diabetesis not completely understood.

Experts, however, inform that the second type of diabetes most often develops gradually with age and is characterised by insulin resistance in the body. It is because of this resistance that the body's fat, liver, and muscle cells are unable to take in and store glucose, which is used for energy. The glucose remains in the blood. The abnormal buildup of glucose (blood sugar) can result in hyperglycemia and impaired body functions. Type 2 diabetes occurs most often in people who are overweight because fat interferes with the body's ability to use insulin, but it also can occur

in thin people and the elderly We also have what is called gestational diabetes, defined as blood-sugar elevation during pregnancy and is known to affect about three to eight percent of women. Left undiagnosed or untreated, it can lead to problems such as high birth weight and breathing problems for the baby. Gestational diabetes usually resolves in the mother after the baby is born, but statistics show that women who have gestational diabetes have a much greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes within five to 10 years.

There is also what experts call Prediabetes. This condition is marked by blood sugar levels that are too high to be considered normal but are not yet high enough to be in the range of a typical diabetes diagnosis. Prediabetes increases not only your risk of developing diabetes but also heart disease.

Once you discover that you have diabetes, then you need to manage it properly. A lot of people with diabetes need to make healthy food choices, stay at a healthy weight, and move more every day.

Taking good care of yourself and your diabetes can help you feel better. It may help you avoid health problems caused by diabetes such as heart attack, stroke, eye problems, nerve damage, kidney problems as well as gum disease and loss of teeth.

When your blood glucose is close to normal you are likely to have more energy, be less tired and thirsty and urinate less often. In addition, you would find yourself healing better and having fewer skin, or bladder infections. High blood glucose can harm your heart and blood vessels, kidneys, feet, and eyes.

The goal for most people with diabetes is below 130/80. To cope well, you will also need to eat healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, fish, lean meats, chicken or turkey without the skin, dry peas or beans, whole grains, and low-fat or skim milk and cheese. You would be at your best when you eat foods with more fibre such as whole grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice, or pasta.

BUSINESS

59

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Wema Bank seeks national bank status ...set to receive N35bn capital injection

W •Head, Legal Division, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Ms Tinu Awe, Executive Director, Market Operations Technology, NSE, Mr. Adeolu Bajomo, Managing Director/CEO, Vita Foam Plc, Mr. Joel Ajiga and Technical Director, Vita Foam Plc, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi at the Bell Ringing Ceremony in commemoration of the company’s 50th anniversary at the Exchange recently

•From left: Joyce Folake Coker, Human Resources Director, PZ Cussons Nigeria, Lolu Akinyemi, Finance Director, Alex Goma , Managing Director, and Gloria Young, Nigerian Actress at the Relaunch of Morning Fresh by PZ Cussons in Lagos, recently

Firm completes acquisition of OML 30

S

HORELINE Natural Resources Limited, a special purpose private Nigerian company formed between a subsidiary of Heritage Oil Plc and a local Nigerian partner, Shoreline Power Company Limited, has successfully completed the acquisition of a 45% participating interest in a producing oil mining lease in Nigeria (“OML 30”), together with a 45% interest in other assets under the joint operating agreement for OML 30 (the “Acquisition Assets”), for a total cash consideration of US$850 million, net of costs (the “Acquisition”).

The remaining 55% participating interest is held by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (“NPDC”), a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (“NNPC”). Completion of the Acquisition (“Completion”) was effective as of November 1, 2012.

OML 30 is located onshore in the delta region,

less than 50 kilometres east of Warri in Southern Nigeria.

The licence covers 1,097 square kilometres and includes eight producing fields with oil and gas contained in numerous stacked reservoirs, and the Acquisition Assets include a 45% interest in the segment of the Trans Forcados pipeline between the Eriemu Manifold and the Forcados River Manifold.

Following completion of this acquisition, the operatorship of OML 30 will transfer from Shell to NPDC. NPDC is a proven oil field operator in Nigeria and has the full confidence of Shoreline Natural Resources to work as its partner to develop OML 30 to unlock its full potential.

Standard Bank and J.P. Morgan provided instrumental support in financing the acquisition consideration for OML 30, and Standard Bank has been mandated by Shoreline Natural Resources to arrange a long-term lending facility to refinance the

acquisition facility.

According to Mr. Kola Karim, Director, Shoreline Natural Resources, “We are very glad to have received the consent of the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to finalize the completion of the OML 30 acquisition. At a time when the Nigerian Government is promoting indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector we are happy to be part of this move.”

Echoing similar sentiments, an upbeat Dr. Ladi Bada, Managing Director of Shoreline Natural Resources added that “We are happy to be participating in the development of OML 30 along with our partners NPDC. It is an exciting opportunity with significant upside. We are confident that in collaboration with the operator we will increase value for all the stakeholders, local communities and the nation at large.”

EMA Bank has hinted of plans to reapply for a National Banking License in view of a proposed tier 1 capital injection of around N35billion by December 2012.

This development, which financial analysts see as cheery news, follows a 29% increase in gross earnings and 56% increase in operating income by the bank for the year end as disclosed by its management in Lagos.

Speaking on the bank’s performance and plans, Segun Oloketuyi, Managing Director/CEO of Wema Bank, remarked that despite the daunting dynamics of the operating environment, the bank remains committed to scaling growth positively whilst adhering to best practice in riskmanagement and corporate governance and without compromising on the bank’s values of integrity, professionalism and exceptional service delivery.

According to Mr. Oloketuyi, “The past 3 years have seen Wema Bank evolve into one of the leaders in the retail banking space through a well-structured transformation process that has seen the implementation of sound corporate governance and risk management frameworks to further engender a stronger and more dynamic business model. We are thus confident in our resolve to translate challenges into opportunities and maximising value for all stakeholders.”

He further added that plans

Stories by Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf and Bukola Afolabi

were at advanced stages to conclude on a N35billion tier-Capital raising exercise which commenced a few months ago with a firm commitment of N15 billion by a core investor already in place.

“We expect to begin the process of seeking regulatory approval as soon as all necessary plans are finalised”, he stated.

A review of the trend of Wema Bank’s financial performance shows a positive, upward trend since 2009 when the new management took over with gross earnings growing 35.02% to N25.64billion as at December 2011.

Although gains in earnings and various cost-containment strategies were largely wiped off by one-off impairment charges on assets culminating in an after-tax loss of N7.6bn in December 2011, the bank has however fully realigned its books for positive performance.

Nevertheless, a growth of 9.45% to N222.24billion was recorded in total assets in 2011 whilst an aggressive focus on cleaner loan books and better risk management has seen a significant reduction in NPL ratio from 56% in FY2010 to 14% in FY2011 (NPL now 4.5% as at Q3, 2012).

On the injection of additional capital, Oloketuyi expressed optimism that it will enable the bank achieve optimal business results by driving volumes as more risk as-

sets and investment securities are financed in the short-tomedium term. The additional capital position will also enable Wema Bank seek regulatory approval for a National Banking license to further take advantage of opportunities in other commercial hubs in the country.

In the long term, Oloketuyi said Wema Bank expects to maintain robust liquidity and ensure efficiency in investments whilst continuing to focus on attracting and retaining the best talents in the industry, efficient customer service delivery, supporting key business areas of SME banking, retail and commercial banking and the achievement of superior returns in order to become the leading retail bank in Nigeria.

Oloketuyi also praised the effort of the staff and continued support of all stakeholders whose undying commitment and loyalty has helped the bank steadily regain its pride of place amongst banks in Nigeria.

He also stated that the bank will continue to focus on its key areas of strength, develop innovative, cutting-edge banking services whilst also supporting the development of communities in which it operates.

Established in 1945, Wema Bank is Nigeria’s most resilient and oldest surviving indigenous bank offering diversified financial services through a network of 130 branches, ATMs, various alternate channels and the Internet.

NDIC boss advocates financial stability

F

ROM the Managing Director of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, has come a blessed assurance that the nation’s banking sub-sector is moving in the right track as such, old and prospective investors need not despair.

The NDIC boss made this declaration over the weekend during the NDIC special day at the Lagos International Trade Fair.

According to Ibrahim, who was represented by Suleiman Olarewaju, said the safety, soundness and stability of the financial sector cannot be downplayed in the economy of any nation.

At the risk of sounding immodest, he said the NDIC, established by the Federal Government in 1989, with a mandate to provide financial guarantee to depositors of the insured financial institutions in the events of

By Bukola Afolabi

failure, has helped to restore public confidence in the nation’s banking system.

Expatiating, he said, “The Corporation despite the daunting challenges in the financial market had paid cumulative insured deposits of N6.682 billion to depositors 48 depositors’ money banks (DMBs) inliquidations as at 31 st December, 2011. In addition, a cumulative liquidation dividend of N77.384 billion had been paid to depositors whose claims were in excess of the insured amount in the 48 closed DMBs as at 31 st August 2012 as against N73.553 billion that was paid during that same period last year.”

Specifically, he said, the cumulative sum of N2.45billion had been paid to depositors’ of the 103 closed Microfinance Banks (MFBs) as at 31st August 2012,

an increase against the sum of N2.25 billion that was paid to the insured depositors’ of the closed (MFBs) as at last year.

Besides, he said, the NDIC paid cumulative liquidation dividend payment to shareholders of Alpha Merchant Bank, Nigeria Merchant Bank and pan African Bank, Nigeria Merchant Bank and Pan African Bank (in-liquidation) worth N373.04 million.

“We have also drawn public attention to the fact as knowledge based scheme, deposit insurance has been facing low level public awareness in most jurisdiction worldwide. In that regard, the NDIC has mapped out a number of public awareness initiative, including the participation in this year trade fair aimed at sensitizing the banking public and other stakeholders.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

INSIDE BUSINESS

Japan: An economy on fast lane W

HILE the jury is still out as to the impropriety or otherwise of the Hiroshima bombing, Japan, one of the epicentres of the Second World War holocaust, like the proverbial Phoenix, has since risen from the ashes to become the world’s third leading economy coming after China and USA. It is anybody’s guess how Japan, largely devastated by the events of the Second World War is today one of the world’s leading economies.

The lofty heights attained by the country not only speak to the ingenuity but to the sincerity of purpose which are the trademark of the average Japanese.

During a recent visit to Tokyo, the capital, our correspondent had a first-hand view of how things work in the city famous for its breathtaking skyscrapers which dots the landscape vis-à-vis its out-of-this world technology, to mention but a few.

Japan’s enduring legacies In a country of 126.97milion people, the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) is estimated to be $5,855 trillion while GDP per capital is $34,300 according to 2011 estimate.

Unlike Nigeria where there are no industries, the ratio of industries in Japan is 22.5% while services are 71.6%.

In Japan, unemployment rate is as low as 9.1% and inflation is as low as 4% unlike Nigeria where soaring inflation has rendered naira and the economy worsted.

Nigeria is ranked 30th in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) as of 2011, and its emergent, though currently underperforming manufacturing sector is the third-largest on the continent, producing a large proportion of goods and services for the West African region.

Previously hindered by years of mismanagement, economic reforms of the past decade have put the country back on track towards achieving its full economic potential. Nigerian GDP at purchasing power parity more than doubled from $170.7 billion in 2005 to $413.4 billion in 2011, although estimates of the size of the informal sector (which is not included in official figures) put the actual numbers closer to $520 billion.

Correspondingly, the GDP per capita doubled from $1200 per person in 2005 to an estimated $2,600 per person in 2011 (again, with the inclusion of the informal sector, it is estimated that GDP per capita hovers around $3,500 per person).

While Nigeria literally lives in darkness on account of the perpetual power outage, Japan enjoys 936.6bilion kilowatts of electricity generation.

Unlike the ‘dead’ Nigerian railway system, Japan railing system operates underground and generatesY5million (N10million) daily All these data accounts for the economic growth Japan has enjoyed in recent times. Though regarded as the most expensive country in the world, an average citizen leads a comfortable lifestyle.

The country has over 99% literacy rate.

But what really makes Japanese economy tick? You may tend to ask.

Statistics indicates that Japan economy thrives on two major industries: automobile and electronics industries. These are the twin pillars that have sustained Japanese economic growth since the 1970s.

Though in 2011, Japan experienced a devastating earthquake, yet Honda, one of the major brands of

Nigeria has a lot to learn from Japan’s fast-paced economy with GDP growth rate of $5,855 trillion and per capital income of $34,300 among other promising socio-economic outlook. Bukola Afolabi, just back from Tokyo, its equally famous capital and one of the world’s acclaimed cities, provides useful insights on what makes Japanese economy tick

•Tokyo skyline

Japanese cars registered a ¥215 billion profit for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012.

Also, small family-run businesses have also contributed to the growth of the Japanese economy, helping it become the second largest in the world at its height. Japan also relies mostly on raw materials such as oil, foodstuffs and wood.

Investigation by The Nation revealed that Japanese cars, electronic devices and computers are exported to countries like China, USA, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Germany and Africa, especially Nigeria.

Nigeria/Japan economy: A comparative analysis Comparing Nigeria and Japan’s economy, in a manner of speaking

is like comparing sour grapes.

Japan’s foreign reserves are estimated to be $1.06trillion compared to Nigeria’s which is far lesser. Its foreign debt is $2.719trillion yet the economy is booming.

Japan’s exportation has now made it the 5th largest importer and exporter in the world.

Investigations revealed that exports have had a historical significance to the Japanese economy. Japan imports raw materials and pays for them by processing the raw materials, thus adding value to them before exporting the output.

In recent years, Japan has been the top export market for 15 trading nations worldwide.

Commenting on Japan’s automobile and electronics industries,

“

Statistics indicates that Japan economy thrives on two major industries: automobile and electronics industries. These are the twin pillars that have sustained Japanese economic growth since the 1970s. Though in 2011, Japan experienced a devastating earthquake, yet Honda, one of the major brands of Japanese car registered a ¥215 billion profit for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012

”

Fujimoto Takahiro, a professor at the University of Tokyo who studies the tradition of craftsmanship (monozukuri) in Japanese industry, draws a distinction between two major approaches to manufacturing.

“Both are assembly industries, and on the surface both may seem to be plagued by the same six hardships but in fact there are significant differences between them. First is the “modular” approach, typified in recent years by the electronics industry. In this approach, personal computers and flat-screen televisions are produced by assembling key components like display screens and CPUs. The second “integral” approach, best represented these days by the automobile industry, involves assembling tens of thousands parts in an optimal way to ensure a smooth and comfortable ride,” he said.

He continued, “With the modular approach, a corporation needs to come up with the concept for an original new product, including its design, and gather together the key components from around the world.

It then has to assemble the product in low-cost regions and export the finished product. Japan has failed to adapt successfully to this kind of multi-stage process, and this weakness has led to the collapse of its electronics industry. Its automobile companies are much more

resilient. This may be because their emphasis on teamwork makes them well-suited to the integral approach, in which development and production sites work in tandem to hone product development, and production plants make continual improvements to quality.”

Expatiating, he said: “The Japanese automobile industry has thus shown its distinctive brand of resilience. Even so, some people are asking whether the industry’s recipe for success will continue to be effective as electric vehicles and other new forms of mobility emerge. My view is that although new market players will make competition more intense, the automotive industry is unlikely to collapse in the same way as the Japanese electronics industry.”

Automobile brand like Toyota has also contributed immensely to the growth of the country’s economy.

Toyota is one of the top leading automotive brands in the world. In the annual ranking of top 100 global brands by BusinessWeek and Interbrand in 2008, Toyota figured in the sixth position.

According to the survey, Toyota’s brand value has increased by 6%, to reach $34.1 billion in 2008.

In addition, it is the highest ranking automotive brand name in the world. It is ranked well ahead of its competitors like Mercedes, BMW, Continued on page 61

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Japan: An economy on fast lane Continued from page 60

Honda, Ford, Hyundai, Porsche and Nissan.

While brands like Ford has been faced with a number of troubles, including a failure to meet its goals for SUV mileage gains or to exploit its well-regarded Escape hybrid, subsequently, the brand value of Ford fell by 12%, to $7.9 billion in 2008.

Toyota’s luxury car, Lexus, also has an independent ranking in the top 100 global brands. The brand value of Lexus was around $3.6 billion, with a ranking of 90.

Compared with Nigeria where GSM is the order of the day, Japan’s telecommunication industry is based on CDMA where no SIM cards are used.

Though the country is known to be a major producer of cars, however, to own a car in the country is not as easy as one may think.

“Before a car is sold, the prospective buyer must have ensured that a space where the car would be parked has already been bought and paid for,” says Nakamura, a car dealer in Tokyo.

He added, “So if you don’t have a permanent parking space either in your house or any other place, the car will not be sold to you. This is to curb traffic and indiscriminate parking.”

A run of bad fortune The tsunami, which affected Japan in 2011, had a great effect on its economy. “Japan lost much of its electricity generation when it shut down nearly all its nuclear power plants after the earthquake. The economy shrank .5% in 2011 as manufacturing slowed due to the crisis,” says Fujimoto.

However, recent data indicates that the economy is back on track.

On Japan’s importation and exportation, a study stated, “The belief in the need to promote exports is part of Japan’s self-image as a “processing nation.” Today, Japan plays a competitive role in international trade, although it still maintains protectionist policies in numerous industries, particularly in agriculture.”

Minuses It is, however, instructive to note that there are still few industries in Japan due to the high cost of labour.

Many of the manufacturing companies have moved their factories to nearby Asian countries where labour is very cheap. This account for the reason some Japanese cars are manufactured outside Japan.

The success of Japan economy could also be attributed to its workforce.

In the view of Mr Hatayama who owns a financial firm in Tokyo, many Japanese works till they get old, up to 70years old.

“In spite of the fact that government raised the retirement age from 60 to 65, yet many people still work beyond that age. Many of them feel bored staying at home so they prefer to work till they get old.”

For instance, there is an agency in Japan which places older workers into jobs all over the city. Its oldest client is 80 years old. The client retired at 75 but came back last year because he was bored at home and wanted some cash. The agency boss (who is 74 years old himself) says they have no upper limit.

“Our clients work until they disappear naturally,” he said.

Visitor-friendly Like other citizens who study abroad, many Japanese are scholars outside their country yet few of them understand English.

So any visitor who speaks Eng-

lish to them is always treated with respect. They are very polite, shy, friendly and accommodating.

Security conscious Japan is also largely a wireless society and to curb crime, closed circuit cameras (CCTVs) are installed at every nook and crannies in around pubs, public places like supermarkets, car parks, recreation centres, banks, and many other places.

Fat pay checks That average Japanese earns good salary is not an understatement. According to Kiyato Nagamoto, who works for an accounting firm, he said, “An average Japanese, whether educated or not earn Yen250, 000 (N500, 000) monthly. So in local parlance, average Japanese is a rich man.”

A Nigerian resident in Japan desirous of bringing somebody from home to work as a maid in Japan, should be ready to cough out Y180,000 (N360,000) monthly.

Coins and more coins Probably, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi took a cue from Japan economy when he recently declared the intention of the apex bank to introduce coins into the Nigerian currency. This is because in Japan, their currency is denominated in fractions such that spending coins is unavoidable.

As high as Y500 is denominated in coins while the paper currency starts from Y1000 up to Y10, 000.

So for a train ticket, a passenger pays equivalent of N160 to N190 per ride in coins depending on the distance and only machine dispenses the ticket and change. Though many Japanese owns a car, yet few of them make use of it. They prefer to travel by train while some ride bicycles to and fro their places of work.

Patriotic fervour Japanese are so proud of their currency that no transaction as little as it might be is done in US dollars.

No shop accepts any foreign currency. A visitor is expected to change whatever foreign currency he brings into the country into Yen, the country’s currency, to pay for goods and services.

Hard lessons for Nigeria Many of these analysts, hold the view, and very strongly too, that Nigeria stands to benefit from Japan’s socio-economic model.

According to Dr Ayo Teriba, an economist, there is no basis for comparison between Nigeria and Japan but as far technological advancement is concerned, Nigeria sure has a lot to learn from the latter.

“Nigeria and Japan are incomparable because what do we have to compare? Nothing. If we want to talk or compare with Japan, we missed that opportunity 50 years ago. Japan is the third richest country in the world. They are one of the world’s superpowers. If you talk about a developed country Japan has all the attributes you can think of. They have everything for themselves unlike us. It is like comparing lion and cat; you can see that is not going together. We still have a long way to go. But we can learn from them, adapt, if possible, useful lessons on building enduring socioeconomic legacies,” he stressed.

Echoing similar sentiments, Dr. Austen Nweze, a lecturer at Pan African University, while emphasising that Nigeria was at par with countries like Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia in the 60s, however, regretted that things have gone pretty bad.

Nweze recalled that "Japan after the Second World War set out to remake their destiny with a clear focus on human capital development, infrastructure and technological revolution. But you can barely say the same for Nigeria.

We were doing well in the 1980s but not anymore."

INSIDE BUSINESS

61

NNPC/Chevron lift communities with N1.3 bn I TSEKIRI communities may have begun to reap the rewards of being good host communities to some of the multinationals and corporate bodies operating in their neighbourhoods, what with the different largesse that have come their way in recent times.

One hundred infrastructural projects worth over N1.3billion were bequeathed to these communities recently, courtesy of NNPC/ Chevron Joint Venture in Delta state.

The projects were executed by Itsekiri Regional Development Committee (IRDC) funded by the NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture in line with the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) between the committee and the joint venture.

The projects were housing and training centre aimed at taking care of the shortfall of modern accommodation and skill acquisition centre in the communities.

In his remarks at Ureju – one of the benefitting communities, Chief Ayiri Emami, Itsekiri RDC chairman, commended the NNPC/ Chevron Joint venture for collaborating with the leaders of Itsekiri communities to bring better life to the people. “Chevron has been a very reliable partner and majority of the development taking place in our communities are due to the Global Memorandum of Understanding we signed with the NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture.

Emami, who stated that IRDC cherishes its partnership with Chevron, said the committee will continue to work with the oil company and its NNPC partner to consolidate and enhance the implementation of the GMoU and its benefits.

Papa Olomus Amofor Ejomobu, the head of Ureju community, said his community was very grateful to IRDC and Chevron for the block of flats built in the community. He said the project will go a long way to solving the problem of lack of modern accom-

•Chief Solomon Ogba, NDDC Commissioner, commissioning one of the projects at Ureju communities with Chief Ayiri Emami and Mrs. Christiana Okhawere of Chevron Nigeria Limited Stories by Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

modation in Ureju. Some of the communities which benefitted from the housing projects are Jakpa, Gbokoda, Egoro, Aja Amita, Bateren, Omadino, Ebrohimi, Deghele, Kolokolo, Madangho, Ijaghala and Obaghoro.

The skill acquisition centre is located in Warri. The projects were executed by indigenous Itsekiri contractors.

Chief Solomon Ogba, NDDC Commissioner and the Secretary of PDP in Delta State, said he was impressed with the ‘level’ of Chevron’s investments and support to the development of Itsekiri communities.

He added that his participation in the commissioning event has made him to fully appreciate the efforts being made by the NNPC/ Chevron Joint Venture to develop communities close to it operations.

While addressing the communities, Chevron’s General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Af-

fairs, Mr. Deji Haastrup, commended IRDC and other stakeholders whose efforts led to the successful completion of the projects.

He said the execution and commissioning of the projects restate the fact the GMoU has continued to meet its objectives of making communities play a leadership role in their own development, and ensuring huge empowerment and capacity building opportunities for their people.

“I salute the leadership of the RDC for its unyielding resolve in fulfilling the objectives of the Global Memorandum of Understanding which we signed in 2005. I believe the 100 housing and training centre projects we are commissioning today and those we had earlier commissioned are significant efforts towards realizsing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and addressing the need for comfortable shelter and training centre in our communities,” Chevron’s PGPA GM added.

Experts laud investment potentials of wonder plant

A

T a time the country is desirous of creating additional streams of income, the immense economic potential of the commercial plant, Jatropha Curcas, popularly known as the wonder plant, needs to be explored, experts have argued.

Firing the first salvo was Acting Rector, Osun State College of Technology (OSCOTECH), EsaOke, Dr. Augustus Oke, who holds the view that the wonder plant can solve the country’s economic and environmental challenges.

Speaking at the First Regional

Conference on Biofuel for Local Economic Development with the theme, “Tilling the Soil of Opportunities in Agricultural Biotechnology for Local Economic Development,” Dr. Oke said the plant has the potential of creating a viable cleaner and environment-friendly alternative source of energy for the country, as well as solve the country’s other economic challenges, such as unemployment.

Highlighting the wonders and unique attributes of Jatropha, Dr. Oke who spoke on “The Importance of Local Technology Research to the Development of Agricultural Bio-

•From left: Tunji Olugbodi, Managing Director, Verdant Zeal Communications Ltd, Akinola Salu, General Manager, Distribution, DStv and Patrick Dumme, DStv Event Manager, during the 2012 Marketing World Awards in Lagos recently

technology of Biofuel Production” explained that alongside its ability to absorb carbon and its rich seeds which contain extractable biodiesel, the waste from the plant can also be used as organic fertilizer to enrich the soil.

He further informed that this extractor, which was developed with about 85% raw materials available in Nigeria, is easily maintainable locally and can produce at a capacity of 2-5 tonnes per week, depending on the available raw materials.

In a lecture titled: “Prosperity from Climatic Change through Carbon Credit Financing from the Cultivation of Jatropha,” Mrs. Tinuola Thompson-Ajayi, National President, Professional Women Bankers of Nigeria, spoke on the market advantages of cultivating Jatropha, stressing that “Jatropha is a money plant. I think it’s a money tree; every aspect of it you touch brings out money.”

Echoing similar views, Dr. Moses Awodun, an expert researcher in Jatropha plant from the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), said the wonder plant has been shown to be a highly viable alternative source of energy which has become a household name in places like Brazil and Mexico.

Expatiating, Dr. Awodun informed the audience that Jatropha is a soil-enhancing crop that aids food cropping, and that there is an increasing demand for Jatropha seeds locally and internationally.

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Business

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

I’m ready to die for SEC– Oteh Beyond Y

OUR award as the most historic woman of the year 2012 is coming at a time when you are receiving lots of attacks I have received a lot of attack recently, but when I got the letter that the Anambra State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists wanted to honour me as the most historic woman of the year, I almost shed tears. This is because despite what people are doing to bring you down, there are people somewhere who are appreciative of the good work we do.

I am not afraid to say that I will always do the right thing as the Director-General of the Security and Exchange Commission. I am not moved by what people are doing trying to pull me down, so long as I know that I am doing the right thing. In the past, we had a capital market where people wear suits and sit down to steal money belonging to peasants, but when I came in I told myself that all these have got to stop. We must sanitise our capital market and build a trust that will let the poor man put his savings in it and be assured that it will not be stolen by people.

What I am doing at the SEC, I am ready to die for. I’m not afraid to die so long as I am doing the right thing, and I’m very emboldened by the fact that people are watching, no matter the level of conspiracy against one, people are seeing your efforts and at the right time, one will be rewarded for every good work.

How best could you describe events happening at the SEC? A lot is happening and we are trying to grow people’s investment, not by our words but by our actions, and today we have a market that is a world class market.

That is why today our equities market, on daily basis, is flocked by values from international investors, which make up 80 percent.

We Nigerians must enjoy the fruit of our hard work, if market prices are low today, and we have some money to save, we should try and put that money in the market so that it will grow your finances and you will have more money.

Are there differences between the capital market you met and the capital market we have today?

We always say at the SEC that, let us learn from the horrible things that happened in the past; our people suffered in the past because there was a lot of misrepresentation.

Even up to 2010 it was still happening. People were told that their money will just double, and many of our people are crying because they sold their houses, they took their life savings and put them there. That is not what we are saying today.

We are saying if you want to invest, you must ask questions. It is not enough for us to just tell the people that once you put your money, it will double. Ask questions, if you are told it is Lever Brothers or Nestle, you will know they have a distribution network everywhere

Ms. Arunma Oteh, Director General, Security and Exchange Commission, (SEC) who has been in the news over her leadership style was an award recipient in Anambra State recently. In this interview with Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, she speaks on development at the stock market and other sundry issues

Talent

By Adetayo Okusanya Email: adetayookusanya@hotmail.com

Crawl, stand, walk, run

T

• Oteh

INTERVIEW and you will make enquiries to know about the market price.

And you must go to meet financial experts and ask them questions before you invest. It is your right to ask questions, but please don’t wait for people to come from other countries and invest today and when you are ready to invest, it would be that prices have gone to the top. Last year when we went to Rivers State, the deputy governor there told us a story. He said his father told him that if you have N10,000 and you cannot save, when you earn N100million you will still not be able to save.

What that means is that you do not have to wait until you have all the money before you begin to save money.

How much have you done to spread the gospel of savings to Nigerians?

Here at SEC, we value journalists a lot. I cannot talk enough about the importance of saving and investing, but those of you who write, who present programmes on TV and on radio probably do more in sending the message about saving and investing, about borrowing long term, listing your companies on the Nigeria Stock market.

For us it is very important that we partner with journalists. One of the new initiatives we have for journalists is that we will have a Journalists Academy this year.

This is because we feel

that the more that you are familiar with the Nigerian capital market, the more that you can report back, so when we publicise about the Journalists Academy through the Anambra Council, we encourage journalists in Anambra to apply in your numbers. I think it is on 10th of December that we are going to have the Journalists Academy, but most importantly, next week, we will be publishing a new initiative which we call the SEC award for Journalists, it is an essay competition on the Nigerian capital market, and I encourage you to try and participate in this essay in your numbers.

Saving and investing is very critical to building a nation, and no nation can develop without a strong capital market, if you want medium to long-term money for businesses, it comes from the capital market. One, it creates wealth and helps you to train up your children, so that you can retire and still live well. Everything that is negative in the economy affects the capital market because capital market is about the state of the economy.

What effect do you think that the flood this year will have on the economy?

I feel that Nigeria as led

by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, a number of very senior private and public sector officials who have been constituted to scout for money to help these people, will do a good work and help save whatever negative impact it may have on the economy. We have Nigeri-

ans who have lost their homes and means of livelihood because of the flood, but I know that efforts are in place to see how they can be rehabilitated. This also has to do with agriculture in the country as most farmlands have been submerged and we are hopeful that the federal government will support agriculture. As you know, the federal government is very supportive of agriculture, as agriculture provides 42 percent of our GDP and also 70 percent of employment and, therefore, when something like flood happens, it is important that urgent steps be taken.

Most companies especially in the South East do not get quoted on the stock market, what is the reason for this?

Traditionally, Igbos are known for investing in their children, in real estate and in growing their businesses. I think there are areas where we can learn and do better.

We must know that if we must only control our businesses, we will not grow as fast as we hope. We have a town like Nnewi that has some of the greatest businesses in Nigeria, and some of those businesses need to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, so that they can be like Honeywell, Dangote and the rest. We need to encourage our businessmen to move from the culture of controlling their businesses themselves and let others buy into them, so that they can grow. But Igbo people are known for enterprise, but we need to step our games up.

ODAY, I am in a very reflective and celebratory mood.

I will be celebrating two anniversaries this month.

The first is the day I returned to Nigeria to live out my dream of being an entrepreneur, contributing to the development of professionals in Africa, November 14, 2011. The second is the day my very first company, READINESSEDGE, became registered as a legal entity, November 17, 2010. I am reminded of my recent words to a class of new hires in a financial institution.

“Time is but the continuous passage of existence in which events pass from a state of potentiality in the future, through the present, to a state of finality in the past.”

There was a time when these two life altering events were nothing but ideas with potential in my mind. Now, they are things of the past and a part of my history. It is such a powerful thing to bring an idea to life. It is like giving birth to a baby, but as you know, giving birth to a baby is the first step and it only takes nine months to accomplish.

What comes after is so much more tasking. You must painstakingly nourish, nurture, nurse and groom the baby into adulthood, and that takes decades to accomplish. It took companies like Apple ten years to become phenomenal successes. Closer to home, friends like Ayotomi Rotimi and Funke Bucknor have been running their enterprises, Exclamations and Zapphaires, for about a decade as well.

So, I feel very young and giddy in my spirit this month.

I feel like a toddler. Have you ever watched a toddler learn how to crawl, stand, walk or run? What we, adults, take for granted is such a feat and a monumental achievement to someone so young. It takes so much effort, energy, concentration and will power to do something one has never done before. It does not come naturally.

Toddlers, when learning to walk, fall so many times.

However, they never, ever, ever let that deter them from giving it another shot. Rather, they learn from their mistakes and literally keep their eyes glued to the ball… the prize. They are true advocates of the saying “If at first you don’t succeed, keep trying until you get it right”. This is what makes the achievement of each of these developmental stages such a big deal to them. You can see the absolute, unadulterated joy in their eyes. They clap and strut around with pride.

So, I am very clear on the fact that the journey ahead may be long and I must make adequate provision to be in it for the long haul. I am typically a “the glass is half empty” kind of girl, but I have been working on my optimism lately and choosing more and more to see the glass as being half full.

A good friend of mine always tells me how important it is for one to stop and take the time to acknowledge and celebrate one’s accomplishments along the way. No matter how small such may seem. Crawling on one’s hands and knees seems miniscule when you compare it to running or flying, however, it is a start. More importantly, there can be no running without crawling.

Toddlers focus their energies on short term milestones.

They focus first on achieving their first crawl and are confident that if they can crawl once, they will be able to do it again. If you only measure yourself using the end point, your sense of pride and accomplishment will be long in coming and you will most likely get discouraged and disheartened by challenges that may come your way in the short term and, believe me when I say, they will come. You must build short term milestones into your dream to give you the opportunity to celebrate minor successes that build up to you major success.

So I celebrate today, because I feel like a toddler who has just learnt to crawl. Now, I must learn how to stand. In living life by DESIGN and not by default, every step counts…even baby steps. The end of the year is fast approaching and perhaps like me you may not be exactly where you planned to be. Look on the bright side. You are most likely better off than when you started the year, and even if you are not, there is always something you can DO to move “YOU” in the direction of your dream. Sometimes it really does not matter whether you crawl, walk, run or fly. All that matters is that you are making progress.

• Okusanya is CEO of ReadinessEdge

C

onsumer Watch With

JILL OKEKE

63

jillokeke@yahoo.com, 07069429757

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

Are you getting value for your pre-paid meter?

P

RE-PAID meter was introduced in Nigeria d u r i n g t h e government of President Olusegun Obasanjo in order to guide against charges of energy not used, notorious estimated billings, wastages in electricity consumption and apparently to make energy affordable for everyone in Nigeria.

Nigerians were promised then, that within three years, pre-paid meters would be made available to anyone who desired it. However, eight years down the line there have been different complaints from the consumers, ranging from non-availability of such meters, extortions by Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) officials to install the meter, outright demands of bribes by PHCN officials to provide the meters, indiscriminate deductions in the name of service and maintenance charges from the accounts and indiscriminate inflating of energy bills, the latest being in the month of June this year.

Chief Sam Rewane is so bitter with PHCN that he is threatening to take them to court. "Why should they be deducting such amount of money from my account?" he fumed. "They will surely refund me every penny they have stolen from me by the time I finish with them."

Chief Rewane uses the prepaid meter in his residential house and he claims that precisely in September when he travelled to his home town Okitikpukpa in Ondo State, he paid N50,000 into his prepaid account. “After one week in my country home I left for Abuja to return to Ondo again only to find out that PHCN had deducted all the money in my account." Asked if he was owing PCHN any money before he paid the money into his account, he replied, “No.” Still fuming, he said he was not a heavy consumer of electricity as only one bedroom in the house has air conditioner and according to him, the entire house and compound remains under lock and key any time he is not in town.

“It can only be possible if Chief Rewane left some electrical equipment on in his house unknowingly," says Mr. Christopher Peters of Alausa PHCN zonal office.

Explaining further, he said PHCN pre-paid card can be likened to telephone recharge card which is pay-as-you-go.

PHCN charges N12.45k per unit when a consumer is on a single-phase meter and N16.56k for consumers on a three- phase meter. “This bill he explained only went up in June, as previous consumers on single phase meter paid 7.30k while those on a three phase meter were paying N11.10k. Other charges being

Cadbury set to reward consumers Page 64

paid by pre-paid consumers included maintenance fees, which according to Peters had been scrapped two months ago as people were complaining so much against it. However, there are fixed charges consumers have to pay every month whether they consume energy or not.

One of those is N500 per month which was N75 previously until June when it went up to N500.

Does the pre-paid meter come free? asked the reporter.

Responding, Mr. Peters explained that the single phase meter costs N25,000 while the three phase meter cost N55,000. What determines which phase a customer pays for is the estimated maximum load in the premises the meter is to be installed.

However, it seems that the N25,000 and N55,000 Mr. Christopher spoke of is only on paper as most consumers interviewed claimed to have spent much more than that to get their energy meters and have them installed.

Mrs. ChiomaUchendu of No. 20 Adekumbi Crescent, Off Toyin Street, lkeja said she was told by a PHCN official that the official price of a three phase pre-paid meter was N55,000 but if she wanted it that month she should pay N10,000 extra. "Of course I paid as I wanted to be on prepaid meter that month to avoid indiscriminate

billings.”

In the case of Tunde Oni, he was given a form and asked to buy a bank draft of N25,000 as he wanted a single phase meter. After submitting the draft at his local PHCN office he was asked to come back after one month for a receipt that will enable him get the meter. “I went back after one month and was asked to come back after another month. By the third month, I had to part with another N10,000, and I got my meter."

Posing as a potential customer, this reporter went to Alimosho PHCN area office at Abule Odu on lsheri/Egbeda road to obtain a pre-paid meter. Getting to the customer service desk, the reporter was given a PHCN 'Application for Electricity Supply and Agreement Form' to fill. The first part of the four pages detailed form is for the customer's personal details, while part two is for official use. The second and third pages of the form stipulate the conditions and regulations of power supply. Part three of page four is to be completed by the owner of the premises where the meter will be installed, while the last section of the page is for PHCN officials.

The PHCN official attending to the undercover reporter explained that a bank draft of N25,000 or N55.000 Continued on Page 64

How to tell when honey is pure Page 64

NUTRITION

Tips

Composition of milk

M

ILK is composed of milk fat, lactose (milk sugar), protein, minerals, and water. The nonfat portion of milk is termed skimmed milk, even when not separated from whole milk.

Colostrum, the first milk from the mammal after bearing young, is much higher in all constituents except lactose. It contains the immune globulins- the carriers of antibodies to protect the young from infectious diseases.

The composition of cow's milk is influenced by several factors which are: * The breed of cow * Time between milkings * Season of year * Feed, age and the health of the cow.

MILKFAT: this consists of triglycerides containing at least 52 kinds of fatty acids. Approximately 67% of the fatty acids in milkfat are saturated, while 33% are unsaturated. The milk fat fraction of milk contains all the substances that are soluble: milkfat itself, hipoprotein, some enzymes, phospholipids, and vitamins A,D,E and K. PROTEIN: Milk protein is complete in that it contains all eight essential amino acids in the correct amounts.

Milk protein has two major components: casein, in celloidal suspension and whey protein. Casein, the reference protein for nutritional studies and the principal protein of cheese, makes up about 25% of milk. The whey proteins are lactalbumin and lactoglobinand, and are similar to the blood proteins, albumin and globin.

LACTOSE: The principal sugar of milk, lactose is found in milk from nearly all mammals and in no other natural foods.

MINERALS: Cow's milk is relatively uniform in mineral composition. It contains significant quantities of all of the minerals essential for human nutrition except copper, iron, and maganese.

64

Consumer Watch

A

DULTERATION of honey has become r a m p a n t , a n d professionalised that only a very few people can differentiate between genuine and fake honey.

Just recently at Balogun market, Lagos, I saw a man pushing a wheelbarrow filled with what looked like honey. On closer look, I saw honeycombs, bee wax, dead bees, in fact all those things associated with real honey. Other people had also gathered round the man who was shabbily dressed as if coming out from the bush where he had scooped the honey and gathered the honey combs.

The honey with all the things in it looked so real that other traders and buyers alike wanted to buy.

Due to what I have heard of honey adulteration, not that I doubted the genuineness of the honey, I asked the seller whether it was pure honey. Of course the man responded in the affirmative and even asked me to taste it for confirmation. I did, it tasted right, so I paid and he bottled some for me.

On the way home, I felt happy that I stumbled on pure honey which had been quite elusive. On getting home, less excited now, I tasted the honey again and was not convinced about the genuineness. I poured some into a glass of warm water and saw my honey floating on top of the water like oil. I tried all other tests to confirm whether it was adulterated and failed woefully. I could not believe that I had been tricked. How? I asked myself several times. The honey looked and tasted so real. And so the story goes. Many people have fallen prey to these fraudsters who parade adulterated honey or sugar syrup as pure natural honey, not minding the various side effects or ill health it will give to the consumers.

Most honey hawked around has been discovered to be adulterated. The sellers add sugar cane syrup to the honey so as to get a larger quantity. In some cases, they process sugar cane and some other ingredients to give the colour and texture of real honey. In this case, they will not even add any honey at all, just sugar cane and things like "Eku" vegetable. This vegetable called "Eku" by the Yorubas draws and is the preference of adulterated honey merchants.

These simple methods, however, can help you differentiate pure natural honey from the adulterated one.

•Pure honey if poured in a glass of water will go to the bottom of the glass and will move sluggishly if the glass is titled sideways until it is properly mixed. Whereas, adulterated honey will look like blood clot on the bottom of the glass even when the glass is shaken.

•Adulterated honey when poured in a glass of water leaves an oily layer on top of the water and on the sides of the glass but pure honey has no oil in it.

•Pure honey stored in a clean bottle maintains its original colour and flows freely from the bottle at any particular point in time while adulterated one will form different layers or completely change from the original colour and become difficult to come out of the bottle until when it is warmed or vigorously agitated. This is quite different from wax blockage.

Natural honey has its own specific aroma. The aroma does not change and can never be the

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11 , 2012

Cadbury set to reward consumers

How to tell when C honey is pure same with adulterated one. The only hitch here is that you must know the aroma of the pure honey before you venture into differentiating original honey from the fake product.

Pure honey when tasted must flow freely on the tongue.

Adulterated honey will taste harshly or effects slight scratch on the upper mandible.

Pure natural honey from

•Hone

Nigeria has brownish golden colour. In other countries you can find honey in other colours depending on the specie of bees.

Honey As Food It is an excellent energy food because it contains sugar that can be used quickly by the body.The sugar in honey has been predigested by the bee which it's easily absorbed into the blood stream. It is the only food which can give instant energy because it goes straight to the blood stream when consumed. Pure natural honey contains mineral salts and other materials needed by the body.

It is the only form of sugar food that does not need to be refined.

Basically it contains vitamins A, B B2. In addition, it is enriched with calcium, iron, copper, magnesium and phosphorus. It is used in tea, coffee, pap, oats, garri, com flakes etc. Being one of the most easily assimilated food, it's widely used in baked foods like bread, cake candies e.t.c.

Honey is also used in food preservation as no bacteria can thrive on honey.

Honey As Medicine Honey has a lot of healing properties due to the antibiotics found in it. Today in many hospitals, doctors pick honey as an effective and inexpensive substance for healing surgical wounds and arid bed sores.

Pharmaceutical companies use honey to produce cough syrups among other drugs. Honey is used in curing rashes, hypertension, boils, asthma, insomnia, constipation, cough, ear ache, burns, wounds, gastric ulcers etc.

Honey as Cosmetics The use of honey as an ingredient in making cosmetics is widely gaining ground.

Cosmetologists and manufacturers of beauty products say that the benefits derived from honey as a beauty product cannot be quantified.

Are you getting value for your moneyPre-paid Meter?

Continued from Page 64

depending on the meter phase required by the customer had to be purchased by the customer from the bank.

Thereafter, the customer comes back after a month for the receipt of the meter and another one month is given before the meter can be installed. “Can I get it done faster?” pleaded the reporter. "If you find something for me, why not," replied the official. “How much can I give you and how fast can I get the meter installed?” asked the reporter. “If you give me N5,000 and you pay for your meter today, within two weeks I will install the meter in your house," said the official, beating his chest to stress the point.

Some of the customers at the PHCN premises said they had bought their bank drafts over two months but were yet to get their

meters installed. An electricity consumer angrily quipped that the pay-as-you-go meter was no longer giving PHCN officials avenues of getting bribes from customers as they cannot disconnect people's light on the pretense that the customer did not pay for light. "That is why PHCN officials are not eager to install the meter," she concluded.

Affirming the consumer's position, Mrs. Ngozi Okorie, who said she runs a cold store on Sunday Adeogun Street at Alausa, said it took her a long time to get the meter.

Reacting to what the two women said, a PHCN official said they were insincere. "The pre-paid has made our job easier as it has reduced the number of customers that come to our office to complain." If you are using a prepaid, we cannot disconnect you if you don't charge your card, but we

still visit the premises to monitor the meter unit, to check the vending slip, card number and to check the unit bought.

Mr. Jumbo lju, however, said he prefers the old meter as he claims it is cheaper for him. He said he lives in a three-bedroom flat in a block of four flats but has found out that his electricity bill is cheaper than what his neigbours on pre-paid cards are paying. “I have air conditioners in my rooms, but at the end of the month I pay about N4,000 because the old meter makes room for negotiations with PHCN officials while the pre-paid is stiff.”

Mr. Pekun Adeyanyu, the Principal Manager Public Affairs, lkeja Electricity Distribution Company, however, reiterated that that pre-paid meter makes their job much easier as they do not go to consumer's houses to disconnect electricity or remind them to pay their bills.

ADBURY (Nigeria) Plc has commenced a unique national consumer promotion tagged 'Cadbury Bournvita Yummy Life Promotion', which aims at delighting, rewarding and providing a superior life for their consumers across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

As a company, according to the Managing Director, Cadbury West Africa, Mr. Emil Moskofian, “We have invested hugely in ensuring our products are of consistent high quality and our brand initiatives provide the targeted stakeholders with value that can be of great benefit to them in many ways. The Cadbury Bournvita Yummy Life Promotion is not an exception to this philosophy.”

To show the uniqueness of this promotion, the brand has gone ahead to design a special limited edition promotional pack for the 450g jar and the 900g jar. These promotional packs would make it easy for consumers to identify, purchase and participate in this promotion where everyone can have a yummy life and win free products and airtime from now till January 17th, 2013.

The prizes range from N1million in cash for 11 winners, N250,000.00 in cash for another 11 winners, N100,00.00 in cash for 65 winners and N500 airtime of any GSM network for a whopping 300,000 winners. Winners will emerge weekly in addition to the consistent winnings every time a consumer buys 450g or 900g jar of Cadbury Bournvita.

“Cadbury Bournvita will continue to demonstrate its leadership position in the food drinks market and will remain the pride of the pack for consumers. We also urge Nigerians to participate in this promotion and enjoy Cadbury Bournvita's yummy nourishment for non- stop vitality,” enthused Moskofian.

Five foods that sabotage your sleep

I

F you're having trouble sleeping, what about a midnight snack? It can be a good idea. But be careful to avoid these five foods that can *prevent* you from getting a good night's rest: 1. Preserved and smoked meats.

Slap your hand away when it reaches to make a ham sandwich as an evening snack. Ham, bacon, sausages, and smoked meats contain high levels of the amino acid tyramine, which triggers the brain to release norepinephrine, a brain stimulant that makes us feel alert and wired.

2. Chocolate. Love an evening cup of cocoa? That sundae in front of the TV? Be careful of chocolate in all its disguises. Many people are increasingly sensitive to caffeine as they get older, and even the little chocolate chunks in chocolate chip ice cream could zap you just enough to prevent ZZZZs. Chocolate also contains tyrosine, a stimulating amino acid.

3. Energy drinks. Red Bull and other energy drinks are high in caffeine as well as the amino acid taurine, which boosts alertness and adrenaline. Recent studies have shown that even if you drink energy drinks early in the day, the combined high dosage of taurine and caffeine can make it hard to sleep, or to sleep well, later on.

4. Tomato sauce, chili, pizza, and spicy foods. Digestive disturbances are a common source of sleep problems, but many people fail to make the connection. Acidic and spicy foods can cause reflux, heartburn, and other symptoms that interrupt sleep.

5. The nightcap. A drink or two may make you feel more relaxed after dinner, but it comes back to haunt you -- literally -- a few hours later, by preventing you from achieving deep sleep. And because alcohol both dehydrates you and makes you have to pee, it wakes you up, too. Wine is high in the stimulant tyrosine as well.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

65

WORDSWORTH T

News Review/World

Suicide blasts in Syria kill at least 20 troops

EBERE WABARA

08055001948

ewabara@yahoo.com

Bayo Oguntuase’s critique (2) I

N the same vein, the Americans talked about building “a more perfect union” while George Orwell wrote that “some animals are more equal than others.” We all know that “perfect” and “equal” are absolute superlatives. Some writers even write or refer to “editorial comment” of a newspaper or magazine.

Hence grammarians say that “the adjective is the enemy of the noun while the adverb is the enemy of the adjective”. Copy and sub–editors use words of strong impact and dramatic significance, all for special effect and strong drama. Hence journalists write about “bombshell” instead of “shocker” or “nasty shock” or “surprise packet”. This reminds me of what Louis Turner and Jon Ash wrote in their interesting book entitled “The Golden Hordes” (on page 200): “The financial backers of Haiti’s Habitation Leclerc (a pleasure reserve) include Mick Jagger, Alain Delon, the late Aristotle Onassis and other multinational business tycoons.” Last year you also argued that “business tycoon” is tautologous.

I disagreed—it is not. In strict grammar, “end” is correct. But “month– end” is not. “Weekend” is also correct. “End of the year” is allowed but “year–end” is not.

Language can be fun but it is not always logical.

Another special note: “annals of history” is correct too. Example: “A great deal has been left unwritten in the annals of history.” But these phrases and words are incorrect: “I can’t remember”, “very great”, “alright”, “monies”, “Moslem”, “Quoran”, “machineries”, “very best/level best/possible best”, etc. “Annals of history”, like a “living witness” or “consensus of opinion”, is not pleonastic. They are setphrases.

Let me take this opportunity to restate the fact that “centre round” is incorrect. To make ourselves understood clearly, we must first make sure that each one of our words makes the right “dictionary” sense. And, if we can think of more than

one word that makes the right “dictionary” sense, then we can choose the one that we consider to be the most vivid and precise.

“Centre on/upon” or “centre in” (for precision or exactness) is the correct phrase known to Standard English. We also correctly say or write: “World War I”,” World War II” (not “First World War”, “Second World War”).

You must try to read Andrew Fergus’ book entitled “What they are doing to your child at school”.

It is an interesting, educative book. Fergus made it known that all over the United Kingdom, traditionalists (trads) and trendies are fighting in classrooms over correct usage. I am a traditionalist and “l love everything that is old”. I am very happy when you remarked: “I have found out, overtime, that you have a deep attachment to some expressions especially those of celebrated and often archival authors and speakers.” The truth of the matter is that Dr. Samuel Johnson, through his Dictionary, published in 1755, removed all improprieties and absurdities from the English language. In short, he (like a number of current priests of usage and literary sophisticates) became a linguistic legislator attempting to perform for English those offices performed for French by the French Academy.

The current generation of collegians and university graduates are just literate– literate enough to be dangerous!

They are not educated in the broad sense of the word. Besides, they are killingly monolingual. It is sad and saddening. An awful lot of them can’t write grammatical paragraphs.

“As and when”, “if and when” are tautologous or pleonastic.

In these phrases, one of the words in the pairs can be omitted. However, “as at when” is a piece of journalese. Besides, it is the height of illiteracy to write “as at when”.

“Congrats” is used in spoken or informal E n g l i s h .

“Congratulations on your success” is correct.

‘White elephants’ are also called ‘loop projects’: useless/senseless/crazy/ silly projects.

Concluded.

Baba Oguntuase is a septuagenarian language activist based in Lagos. …Media gaffes “That the must-read ‘Wordsworth’ is a two-year column in this medium is unbelievable! I join my fellow beneficiaries of the column in saluting your efforts. We await more from you. (08062925996) “Good day and bravo for the good work you are doing. What do you make of Nigerian coinages like ‘pick my call’, ‘trafficator’, ‘forkaniser’…?

(Prof.

Okolie, University of Benin/070316677944)” My views: you either answer or make a call.

‘Trafficator’ and ‘vulcaniser’ (forkaniser!) do not exist.

“Please, correct the view that ‘severally’ is the adverb of ‘several’ rather than the opposite of ‘jointly’/’collectively’ (THE NATION, Pages 21 & 52, October 7) Kudos for your good work.

(Komolafe G. O. / 08037277985)” Two headline errors from DAILY SUN of November 7 weakened The Voice of the Nation: “Kaduna bomb victims for burial in (on) church premises” “Ahead South Africa 2013: Lobbists (Lobbyists) will ruin your Eagles” “We most certainly have not heard the last about the governor’s convoy crash and the woes and blood it left in (on) its trail.” “…the huge confidence reposed on (in) them by the populace.”

“They are the products of what some people did or did not do over a period of time but whose climatic effect culminated into (in a) catastrophe.”

“But, while the former south-south governor may have been a rebel among the army of Jonathan’s political faithfuls.…”

Sylva—a rebel without a strategy: political faithful (not faithfuls).

“He stuck to his gun (guns) and propped himself up as one of the candidates in the election.”

“Ward chairmen pass ‘no confidence’ vote on (in) councillors”

WIN suicide bombings shook a southern Syrian city yesterday, killing at least 20 regime troops, an activist group said.

The early morning blasts in Daraa targeted an encampment for government forces in the city, were followed by clashes between regime forces and rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Its chief, Rami Abdul-Rahman, said at least 20 soldiers were killed in the blasts but the claim could not be independently verified.

The state-run news agency SANA said the

explosions caused multiple casualties and heavy material damage, but did not provide further details.

Daraa was the birthplace of the uprising against Assad, which erupted in March 2011. The conflict began largely with peaceful protests against Assad's rule but turned bloody after rebels took up arms in response to the regime's crackdown.

The crisis has since morphed into a vicious civil war and in recent months, rebels have driven regime forces out of much of a pocket of northwestern Syria and are battling troops in several key cities and towns. The fight has also taken on dangerous

sectarian tones between a mainly Sunni opposition and a regime dominated

by Assad's minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

"I heard two very loud explosions and a third smaller one followed by bursts of gunfire," said Mohammad Abu Houran, an activist in Daraa. He said the first two were likely car bombs and the third a mortar shell or rocket propelled grenade.

Abu Houran said black smoke could be seen over the high-security area, which was sealed off.

Heavy shooting could be heard from the area for about 10 minutes after the explosions, he added.

•TURKEY, Sanliurfa : Syrian nationals throw a bag as they cross the border between the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain anf and Turkey's Sanliurfa province town of Ceylanpinar, on November 10, 2012. AFP PHOTO

Genocide; ‘Biafran’ culpability and Achebe’s impressions Continued from Page 18 They were not given to the relief centres and refugee centres. We had our refugees too. So people were selling the relief”.

He confirms that “People were stealing and selling the food. You could buy it in the market but you couldn’t get it in the relief centres”. [Page 510.]

And yet, the main targets of the relief efforts, children, were dying from starvation, while some Biafrans profited from the theft and sale of relief food.

The irresponsible and refusal of the ‘Biafran’ authorities to agree in very good time to land corridors for day time supplies of relief materials, especially food, to be administered and distributed by international aid agencies manifest in ABC Nwosu’s reference to ‘human pride and human freedom’ as the reason for “Biafran’ stubbornness in not compromising in food and relief allied negotiations and rampant theft of relief materials are fundamental and callous ‘Biafra at all costs’contributive factors to the unfortunate starvation of innocent children,

a fact that ‘Biafran’ die-hards pathetically refuse to countenance. To utilise Nwosu’s words, ‘these sick and twisted minds’ are those ‘Biafrans’ that sacrificed ‘Biafran’ children to starvation due to overweening and foolish pride, and those that stole and sold relief materials for gain.

In the foreword to thought provoking book, Reflections on the Nigerian Civil War, Facing the future [1969], by the courageous Ralph Uwechue, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe states that “I commend this book to those who are interested in resolving the Nigerian crisis with realism”, but the likes of Ojukwu, Nwokedi, Achebe and Nwosu, defiant hardliners, definitely were obviously not interested.

Uwechue at page 139 states; “It is here perhaps that the question of the responsibility of a timid Ibo elite comes in. The Biafran masses, enslaved by an extremely efficient propaganda network and cowed by the iron grip of a ruthless military machine, had neither the facts nor the liberty to form an independent opinion. The case of the elite was different.

Biafra’s choice was clear after the double losses of (a)

territory, with the fall of Biafra’s major towns, Enugu, Port-Harcourt, Calabar, Onitsha, Aba and Umuahia and, (b) war funds, with the exhaustion of Biafra’s treasury in February 1968 caused

by Nigeria’s switch to a new currency which suddenly rendered practically valueless some thirty million pounds in Biafran hands.

Those who had access to the facts knew that the time had come to seek a realistic way to end the war and save millions of defenseless Ibos and innocent children from disaster. In private they expressed this view but proved too cowardly to take a stand and tell Ojukwu the truth.

On the contrary, they allowed themselves to be used for the public denunciation of those who took the risk of calling for a halt. Yet, when their cherished handiwork was threatened with collapse, these front-line advocates of ‘fighting to the last man’ were the first men to flee”. It is not unreasonable to suspect that Achebe and Nwosu remain defiant ‘Biafran’ propagandists who also believe their inaccurate and often times fictional handiwork.

- OLUFEMI SOGUNLE.

66 CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

IHEANACHO

NWOSU

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Iheanacho, Maria Ogechi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Romanus Maria Ogechi. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AKANFE I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Akanfe, Grace Olayemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ajayi, Grace Olayemi. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

ESAN

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Esan, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Olatunbosun, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Akinyede, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa O. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OGUNLOTE I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Oguntole Opeoluwa Atinuke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. AdebanjoOlaitan Opeoluwa Atinuke. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Osuji Jude Ekechi, Nnanna Ekechi and Osuji Jude, now wish to be known and addressed as Jude Ekechi Nnanna. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

JOHNSON-AGIRI I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Johnson-Agiri Adebukola Adenike, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Agbaminoja Adebukola Adenike.

All former documents remain valid.

Lagos State government, First Bank of Nigeria Plc. and general public should please take note.

KARUNWI

I,formerly known and addressed as Adebanke Omolabake Karunwi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs.Adebanke Omolabake Karunwi-Ogunlade.

All former documents remain valid.

ITTF, NTTF and general public should please take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Mr. Nwosu Emmanuel Odinaka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Nwachukwu Emmanuel Odinaka. All former documents remain valid. National Youth Service Corp, University of Benin, Benin City and general public should please take note.

OLOKO I,formerly known and addressed as Oloko Suleiman Christopher, now wish to be known and addressed as Oloko Suleiman Owolabi. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

OLAITAN I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Olaitan Modupe Blessing, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chukwudi Modupe Blessing. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ADENEKAN I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Adenekan Adebunmi Abosede, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Kikiowo Adebunmi Abosede . All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OJO I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Ojo Titilope Eunice, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Bankole-Fashae Eunice. All former documents remain valid. Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State and general public should please take note.

FEYISETAN I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Olusola Falilat Feyisetan, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olusola Falilat Bayo-Ajagbe.

All former documents remain valid. PCN and general public should please take note.

OTO-OBONG

CHANGE OF NAME ORIMOGUNJE I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Orimogunje Olamide Comfort, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ajayi Olamide Comfort. All former documents remain valid. LASU, NYSC and general public should please take note.

EKE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Eke Mabel Ifeoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chibueze Mabel Ifeoma Ehighibe. All former documents remain valid. Nigeria Prison Service and general public should please take note.

OKECHI

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Okechi Gold Ucheoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ikechukwu Gold Ucheoma.

All former documents remain valid.

School of Midwifery, Umuahia, School of Nursing and general public should please take note.

ILOEGBUNAM

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Iloegbunam Nneka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Enukeme Nneka. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Miss Oyewo Ayodele Odunola is the same person as Oyewo Oyewede Odunola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Akinola Ayodele Odunola. All former documents remain valid.

Oyo State Civil Service and general public should please take note.

SHODIPE I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Shodipe Olajumoke Esther, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adegboyega Olajumoke Esther. All former documents remain valid. Ogun State College of Health, NYSC and general public should please take note.

POPOOLA

JOHNSON

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Popoola Olubukade Adebola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olajide Popoola Olubukade. All former documents remain valid. OYOSUBEB and general public should please take note.

AKINPELU

I,formerly known and addressed as Dr. Adeseye Adeola Johnson, now wish to be known and addressed as Dr. (Mrs.) Adeseye Adeola Soile.

All former documents remain valid.

College of Medicine, University of Lagos and general public should please take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Ohabuiro Stella Nkechiyere, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ovwori Stella Nkechinyere.

All former documents remain valid.

OYOSUBEB and general public should please take note.

ILORI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olushola Sherifat Abass, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olushola Sherifat Makanjuola. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AKINDELE I,formerly known and addressed as Habiba Taiye Akindele, now wish to be known and addressed as Habiba Taiye Gbadamosi. All former documents remain valid.

LUTH and general public should please take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Akinpelu, Kehinde Zainab, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adeogun Kehinde Zainab. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Ilori Alice Afolashade, now wish to be known and addressed as Adejimi Alice Afolashade. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

ILO I,formerly known and addressed as Ilo Raimot Oriyomi, now wish to be known and addressed as Wahab Raimot Oriyomi. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public should please take note.

FASHINA I,formerly known and addressed as Mr. Fashina Abayomi Bamidele, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Thomas Olumuyiwa Abayomi. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ADENIJI I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Adeniji, Adesola Olanike, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Thomas Adesola Olanike. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

EZEBUIRO

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Chinyere Adaku Ezebuiro, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chinyere A. Christian Amajuoyi. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

MICHAEL I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Juliana Michael, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Juliana Frank Ediea. All former documents remain valid. Federal Ministry of Education and general public should please take note.

OLEGEME

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss OLEGEME CHIZOBA EUGENIA, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. ANOZIE CHIZOBA EUGENIA. All former documents remain valid. general public should please take note.

ADEYEMI I, formerly known and addressed as Adeyemi Rafiu Anifowose now wish to be known and addressed as Ajibola Rauf Akanji. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Oto-Obong Francis Etuk, now wish to be known and addressed as Otto Francis Etuk. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ABASS

RASHMOORE I, formerly known and addressed as Rashmoore Abass Olayinka, now wish to be known and addressed as Olayinka Rashidi Abass. That my date of birth is 18th of January, 1973. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

ADEGBEHIN I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adegbehin Remilekun Simidele, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adeyekun Remilekun Simidele. All former documents remain valid. NYSC, LAUTECH and general public should please take note.

AJAYI I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ajayi Olabisi Olajumoke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adebileje Olabisi Olajumoke. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ONILEGBALE I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Onilegbale Kehinde Taibat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Lawal Kehinde Taibat. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AROWOSEGBE I, formerly known and addressed as Raphael Adewale Aiki Arowosegbe, now wish to be known and addressed as Raphael Adewale Oluwakayode Adekunle.

All former documents remain valid.

Apapa Local government, Lagos State and general public should please take note.

MADUAGWU I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chidinma Sylvia Maduagwu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Sylvia Chinma Odiaka. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

BALOGUN

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Balogun Aishat Temitope, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Fabowale Aishat Temitope. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public should please take note.

OHABUIRO

OLOWONIYI

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Olowoniyi Kehinde Mary, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Fagbamigbe Kehinde Mary. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

LADELOYE I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Ladeloye Olanrewaju Nike, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ademola Olanrewaju Nike. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public should please take note.

IBRAHIM

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Ibrahim Rukayat Adebukola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Saka Aberi Rukayat Adebukola. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ADESIKUN I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Adesikun Olufunmilola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olugbade Olufunmilola. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

MAIGAMU

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Arukatare Maigamu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Arukatare Adeyemi. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

ADAMU

I,formerly known and addressed as Alimatu Adamu, now wish to be known and addressed as Fashina Omoniyi Adebola. All former documents remain valid. PostPrimary Schools and general public should please take note.

APPIAH

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Appiah Mary Ajua, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Uvoh Mary Ajua. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OLADIPO I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Oladipo Omoshalewa Abidemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Garuba Omoshalewa Abidemi. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AZEEZ I, formerly known and addressed as AZEEZ HAMMED KEHINDE now wish to be known and addressed as JIMOH HAMMED KEHINDE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMER 11, 2012 CHANGE OF NAME CHANGE OF NAME CHANGE OF NAME ALEX I,formerly known and addressed as Alex Ogbonnaya Oti, now wish to be known and addressed as Alex Ogbonnaya Ejike. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OLUKANNI I,formerly known and addressed as Olukanni Lydia Olabisi, now wish to be known and addressed as Oladimeji Lydia Olabisi. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

OPARA

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Livina Ndidi Opara, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Livina Ndidi Ndudiri Eric Nwachi.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

ADIO

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Adio Shadiat Temitope, now wish to be known and addressed as Adewunmi Shadiat Temitope. All former documents remain valid.

PHCN and general public should please take note.

ADEAGBO I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Bisola Oluwatoyin Adeagbo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Bisola Oluwatoyin Oloyede. All former documents remain valid. S.I.A.O. (Chartered Accountants) and general public should please take note.

IWUNDU I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Iwundu Josephine Ndidi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ukachukwu Josephine Ndidi.

All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and general public should please take note.

AHUWANYA I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Ahuwanya Chioma Adamma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onuoha Chioma Adamma. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

DIAGI I,formerly known and addressed as Diagi Gloria Izenose, now wish to be known and addressed as Emmanuel-Ibanga Gloria Izenose.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

SURE I,formerly known and addressed as Charity Saye Sure, now wish to be known and addressed as Charity Paul Kish. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

DAVID I,formerly known and addressed as Annabel David, now wish to be known and addressed as Godfrey Annabel. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

DENLOYE I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Opeoluwa Olayemi Denloye, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Opeoluwa Olayemi Ilugbusi. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

NWADIKE I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Nwadike Juliana Nneka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Okere Juliana Nneka. All former documents remain valid.

Imo State Polytechnic and general public should please take note.

LATEEF

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Bukola Zuwaibat Lateef, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Omobukola Zuwaibat Ogunleye. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

BABATUNDE I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Babatunde Kubrat Bukola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Mansour Kubrat Bukola Bukola. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ADEGBEYE I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Adedeji Kehinde Adegbeye, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Shopitan Kekinde Adegbeye. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AHANOTU

I, formerly known and addressed as AHANOTU JUSTUS UGOCHUKWU now wish to be known and addressed as AHANOTU JUSTUS UGONNA..

All former documents remain valid.

Fidelity bank and general public take note.

ADEREMI I, formerly known and addressed as Miss ADEREMI TAWAKAHT TOPE now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. AYANKOYA TAWAKAHT TOPE.. All former documents remain valid.

LAUTECH, NYSC and general public take note.

ADAMS

I, formerly known and addressed DR.(MISS) VICTORIA OLUBUNMI ADAMS now wish to be known and addressed as DR(MRS) VICTORIA OLUBUNMI NWADIEI. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

KORU I, formerly known and addressed MISS KORU TARIYE DORCAS now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OGIRIKI TARIYE DORCAS. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

DIKE

OWASUNLOYE I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Victoria Modupe Felix Owasunloye, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Victoria Modupe Ayodele Jeremiah. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

AHANEKU

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Ahaneku Chinasa Mirian, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ukwuoma Mirian Chinasa. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

EZEOCHIRI

I, formerly known and addressed MISS LYDIA AMARACHUKWU DIKE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. LYDIA AMARACHUKWU AMGBARI. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Chidiebere Ezeochiri, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chidiebere Uba. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public should please take note.

OFEIMU

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Oyovwikona Edith, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Edith Okporo Success Uchechukwu.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed MISS OFEIMU CAROL EJEMEN now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OKODUWA CAROL EJEMEN. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, GRACE OLUWADAMILOLA AJAYI and NWOGU JOSHUA AMARACHI S. are one and the same person, now wish to be known and addressed as GRACE OLUWADAMILOLA AJAYI. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, COLLINS ASHIKEM and ISHATEINUNIMYE ASHIKEM are one and the same person, now wish to be known and addressed as COLLINS ASHIKEM. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, GODWIN UKELEWO EMEKA IROKA EDWARD and GODWIN CHUKWUEMEKA EDWARD are one and the same person, now wish to be known and addressed as GODWIN UKELEWO EMEKA IROKA EDWARD. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

MATHEW

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS MATHEW YEMISI CATHERINE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS YEMISI CATHERINE ODU. All former documents remain valid. PHCN and the general public should please take note.

OKOROKWO I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ARA NINA OKORONKWO, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS NINA EBERECHUKWU NWANEKEZI. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

OYOVWIKONA

FAMOUS I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Famous Glory Diemoye, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Glory Diemoye Kune. All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and general public should please take note.

ENYOLU I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Angella Okwunna Enyolu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Angella Okwunna Dimewuzie. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ONYI I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Onyi Vivian Ebere, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ezem Vivian Ebere. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public should please take note.

OYELEYE

I,formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Oyeleye Christie Motunromoke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Akinwunmi Christie Atoke. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

ONOVO I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ONOVO BLESSING NNEAMAKA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS IGWE BLESSING NNEAMAKA. All former documents remain valid.

NYSC, and the general public take note.

ADENUGA

EREWA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss ADENUGA EUNICE OLUWAGBEMINIYI now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. OLOFINLADE-ADENUGA EUNICE OLUWAGBEMINIYI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

ESINULO

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss OYINKANSOLA ARIN LADIPO now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. OYINKANSOLA ARIN OGUNGBEMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS JOYCE EREWA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS JOYCE SEGUN OLOWO. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and the general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Esinulo Ugochi Chijioke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onwuka Ugochinyere Chijioke. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

LADIPO

AINA

OGUNYINDE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss AINA OLUWATOYIN ADENIKE now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. ALABI OLUWATOYIN ADENIKE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

JEGEDE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss ATILOLA SILIFAT OMOLARA now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. OLAWALE SILIFA OMOLARA. All former documents remain valid. Odo-Otin Local govt and general public take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Olusola Oluwatoyin Ogunyinde, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olusola Oluwatoyin Adunola. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Jegede Josephine Oluwaseun, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ola Josephine Oluwaseun. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

ODO I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ODO JOY CHIDUBEM now wish to be known and addressed as MRS AGBO JOY CHIDUBEM. All former documents remain valid. UNN, NSYC, and the general public take note.

AGWONYE I, formerly known and addressed as MISS AGWONYE LYDIA ONYINYE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS NNAMANI LYDIA ONYINYE. All former documents remain valid. IMT, NYSC, and general public take note.

ADEEKO

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adeeko Opeyemi Juliana now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Akinjisola Opeyemi Juliana. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

ATILOLA

OISE I, formerly known and addressed as Miss OISE PEARL AIDELOBA now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. IDIALU PEARL AIDELOBA. All former documents remain valid. LAUTECH, NYSC and general public take note.

LAWAL I, formerly known and addressed as Miss LAWAL OLUYEMI MOREMI now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. DAKILAWAL OLUYEMI MOREMI. All former documents remain valid.

O.A.U. and general public take note.

ADVERT: Simply produce your marriage certificate or sworn affidavit for a change of name publication, with just N4,500. The payment can be made through - FIRST BANK of Nigeria Plc. Account number - 2017220392 Account Name VINTAGE PRESS LIMITED Scan the details of your advert and teller to gbengaodejide@yahoo.com or thenation_advert@yahoo.com For enquiry please contact: Gbenga on 08052720421, 08161675390, Emailgbengaodejide @yahoo.com or our offices nationwide.

Note this! Change of name is now published every Sundays, all materials should reach us two days before publication.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2012

67

Counting the cost of good education •Continued from Page 26 muscle now send their wards to private primary and secondary schools.

Like every other things in Nigeria, the proliferation of schools has led to a sharp fall in standard, with many schools sited in unhygienic environments that are not conducive for learning.

With the connivance of government officials at all levels, sub-standard schools are registered with majority of them being run as business enterprise, with proprietors doing everything possible to minimise expenses and maximise profit.

Parents too are not unaware of the fact that the standards are below par but because many of them are "miracle centres", so called because students that attempt school certificate examinations in these schools are guaranteed 90% chance of success.

Many parents' strive to send their wards to these "miracle centres'', not minding the exorbitant amounts charged by proprietors.

Abuja parents and high school fees Parents in different parts of the country complain about expensive private schools, but investigation revealed that those in Abuja pay more

compared to those from other parts of the country. Abuja parents pay as high as N1.5m to N2.5m per session for good secondary schools in the city. One of such schools is Pacesetters Academy, Wuse, said to be owned by a politician from the South-South. It charges above N1m per session including other fees. At the Nigerian Turkish International School, Abuja, students pay over N1.5m per session. White Plain British School, Jabi, Capital Science Academy, Lugbe, and Loyola Jesuit College are other very expensive schools in Abuja.

In some Abuja schools, fees are paid in US dollars and one of such is the Regent Schools. Pupils in nursery pay about a thousand dollars.

Annual fee for students in years 711 is about $10,000.00!

Concerned about the outrageous fees charged by owners of private primary and secondary schools, Minister of Education, Prof.

Ruqayyat Rufa'i, recently said the Federal Government would meet with owners of private schools, to dialogue on the "prohibitively" high cost of fees being charged.

Rufa'i said at a public forum, "in Nigeria today, if a child is going to a private secondary school and gets admission to the public universities,

his parents may have paid more to sustain him or her in a secondary school than a university.

"But because of the complaints that it is becoming unbearable for Nigerians, we probably will call and hold a meeting with them and see how to make it a little bit more uniform, these high school fees are going out of control. I assure you that we will call a meeting of the owners of these private institutions and discuss with them how to move forward. We may have to do that because it is getting out of control." But this seems to be just talks since the Minister made the statement, nothing has changed. In fact, one could safely say it has gone from bad to worse. The owner of the Prime Scholar's Academy, Abuja, Dr. Titilayo Shittu, blamed indiscriminate issuance of license to all manners of people, including traders who have no passion for education as being responsible for astronomical increase in school fees.

"I tell you, if you don't really have passion for education, you cannot run a school because education is not a money-making venture. Some of these people are not bothered about quality. That is why where a school uniform is made could deter-

Kings ransom for private varsity education

T

HE cost of university education for Nigerian students and parents that pay the bills gets higher by the day. Universities in the United Kingdom where Nigerian kids love to school have jerked up fees for her citizens to nine thousand pounds per annum as maximum fee payable by a British citizen.

Fee payable by foreign students, including Nigerians, varies from school to school, but it is higher than what British citizens pay.

The fee does not include living expenses, for those in love with America's top grade universities like Harvard, foreign students pay as high as $37,576 as tuition, health services fee $930, student services fee $2,360, room $8,366, board $5,264, subtotal, $54,496 per annum.

Estimated personal expenses $3,454, estimated travel costs $0$5,000, total billed and unbilled costs, $57,950 - $62,950 per annum. In addition, health insurance coverage is required at a cost of

$2,168 unless the student is covered under the family's health plan.

For those who prefer countries closer to Nigeria like Ghana, top Ghana universities charge between $5000 and $7000 for foreign students, depending on the course of study.

At home, students in federal universities still enjoy "free education'', but they pay for accommodation, library, health care, caution and other minor expenses.

State-owned universities are more expensive, students pay between N80, 000 and N250, 000 per annum as school fees. The fact that most of them are non- residential makes cost of living very expensive.

It is the private universities that are really expensive. With its Spartan rules where students are treated as if they are still in secondary schools or in concentration camps, their fees could be as low as N500, 000 and as high as N1, 000,500.00 or higher in some cases depending on the chosen course of study. At Babcock University, students that intend to study ac-

countancy pay N938, 000, Mass Communication N700, 000 and Nursing students pay the highest of about a million naira. At Redeemers University, a Law student pays above N700, 000.00 At Covenant University, students of Mass Communication pay N449, 000, accounting N525, 000, engineering N544, 000, Biology N526, 500 Parents who wish to send their children to Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State must be ready with N700, 000.

The most expensive course at Idahosa University is Law, and a student pays N680, 000, while at the Lead City, Law is also the most expensive at N550, 500; at Ajayi Crowther University parents pay about N600, 000.

All other private fees are believed to be within this range except ABTI University owned by former Vice President Abubakar Atiku which is believed to be the most expensive, students pay well above a million naira per session for all courses.

mine where they enrol their children.

That is not reasonable. Government must do the right thing by strengthening its unit and ensuring that passionate educators are given operational licence," Dr. Shittu told journalists recently.

Desire by parents to give their children quality education led to many parents sending their children to schools in foreign countries; the preferred destinations by parents are United Kingdom, United States and

•Prof. Bola Ikulayo, University of Lagos

Ghana. It is estimated that about 71,000 Nigerian students in Ghana will pay approximately N160 billion as tuition fees this year alone, this is 40 per cent of the 2012 education budget.

Studies show that in 2010 about N246 billion was spent by Nigerian parents on their wards schooling in the United Kingdom, this is about 60 per cent of the 2012 education allocation.

The Director of the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB), Mrs. Hindatu Abdullahi, recently said that the Federal Government spent more than N900 million to sponsor 150 students abroad last year.

Experts' opinion Renowned professor of education, Philomena Bola Ikulayo of the University of Lagos sees everything wrong with our education system.

According to her, education is sound knowledge acquired for good value, "What we need to strive for is educa-

Secondary Schools: The Premier League Some secondary schools in Nigeria are as expensive as private universities 1. ATLANTIC HALL, POKA, EPE, LAGOS. The fee covers the costs of return flight each year; boarding is N2.5 million.

2. AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, VICTORIA ISLAND, LAGOS. The JSS 1 - 3 pays $15,400 and SSS 1 - 3 pays $15,400 per annum.

3. LEKKI BRITISH INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL LEKKI, LAGOS. The day students in JSS pay $10,500 and day students in SSS pay $12,000. Boarders in JSS pay $18,000 and boarders in SSS pay $19,000.

4. GREEN SPRINGS SCHOOL, ANTHONY, AND LAGOS. The tuition fee for day students is N1.1 million while for boarding students it's N1.9 million per annum.

•Babcock Univeristy students

tion that will make children responsible and useful additions to our society, education that is worthy for its own use. A totality for the good of the person and others, like springs of water that benefit everybody."

She added that "Children today want to fly before they walk. Parents pay to get children into special centres to get good grade into university. This led to post -JAMB examination, because children that score high in JAMB were doing badly in schools, that was why we started post-JAMB because we discovered a lot of manipulations in JAMB examination.''

One of the favourite sayings of Chief MKO Abiola was, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." Perhaps it is with this in mind that most parents spare no efforts to get the best for their wards.

But this could be better if our public schools are better managed and funded.

5. CORONA SECONDARY SCHOOL, AGBARA, LAGOS. School fee is N760, 000 including development fee of N75, 000

which is paid once on entry.

6. DOWEN COLLEGE LEKKI, LAGOS. The college pupils pay as much as N600, 000 per annum.

7. LOYOLA JESUIT COLLEGE ABUJA. Students pay N631, 500 which covers tuition, uniforms, sandals, textbooks and supplies, room and boarding.

8. CHRISLAND COLLEGE IDIMU, LAGOS. Students pay up to N750, 000 to N1 million annually.

9. BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL LEKKI LAGOS. The students pay up to N402, 500 per annum.

10. WHITESANDS SCHOOL, LEKKI LAGOS. Students pay as much as N400, 000 per annum.

•Fees correct as time of publication, contact the schools for other specifics

68

WORSHIP THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

H

OW did it all start?

The ministry started in November, 25 years ago, even though I have been in ministry longer than that and I have every course to give thanks to God. The important thing is that we followed the blueprint that was prepared for us. We can only be thankful and not boastful because it is by God’s mercy that we are not consumed.

Many expected you to join the Nigerian Baptist Convention since that is your background. Why did you decide to start the church?

I was raised in the Baptist Church, a very good church movement and I owe a lot to them. I had a very good foundation in the word of God. My father was a deacon in the Baptist Church. I went to Baptist primary and secondary school and so, I am Baptist in my formation.

I had an encounter with God when I started reading the Bible and I realised that on the day of Pentecost, something happened to the disciples. Then I started having the desire that if the Apostles had to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit, I also needed the Holy Spirit in my life. I just started praying at home when one day, I experienced the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

I actually thought that I was the only one who had that encounter and I didn’t know where to go because it was very foreign to my theology at that time. So, I went to meet one foreign missionary woman, a Danish, who was our neigbour and told her what had happened to me and she told me that she heard that people still received the gift of the Holy Spirit but she didn’t know much about it.

I also remember that there was another Baptist boy who I felt should know something about it, and I spoke with him about it. Somehow, I got involved with another Christian fellowship that embraced such teaching and that was where I started moving in another direction because at that time, it was not something that was well embraced in the area where I was raised.

With that and other encounters when the Lord released me into ministry, I knew that this was an emphasis. I did not want to establish a church or ministry. I went into full time ministry in Sep-

tember 1986 and I started my own ministry in January 1987, and later that year, in November, I started the church. In between that period, I was doing crusades and evangelism in East Africa. I travelled a lot in that area and later the Lord said I should set up a church and raise leaders. I actually did not want to establish a church. With this type of experience, an appointment was set up for me and I met the late Pa LG Elton who was one of the fathers of the pentecostal movement in Nigeria, and he prophesied on me and most of the things that we are doing right now were prophesied by him in 1986.

I said to him, ‘Papa, please send me to one of your children in ministry who is older and more matured in ministry. I am just a young man just coming up and I am not sure if I am ready for this task.’ But he shocked me. He said to me, ‘The Lord wants you to go on your own.’ It was like a bombshell because I did not think I was qualified. When I left him, the Lord opened the doors in East Africa and I began to minister there. When I was planning to go and consult him again to know whether I was on track, he had died and the Lord confirmed to me that I should not build on another man’s foundation. With all humility, I must say that we started very little and gradually, the Lord began to encourage us.

Twenty-five years down the line, what have been your major challenges?

We have always been growing and the buildings have always been too small.

We are here today and run four services and our branches are growing. For me, my quest has not been numbers, but to build men and women for God. The Bible says that on the last day, our work will be tested by fire. It does not make sense for you to Pastor 5,000 people and at the end of the day, God says only 20 of them are of quality.

One of the challenges that we are also facing is the challenge of the nation. If you look very well, you will discover that there is high level of corruption in the nation and majority of this is in the church. People have itching ears and don’t want to hear sound gospel. A lot of our gospel work in Nigeria today

‘The problems with today’s church’

•Bolanta

The General Overseer of Restoration Bible Church, Kaduna and President of the Mercy Home Orphanage, Maternity and Vocation Centre, Rev. Tunde Bolanta, spoke to Tony Akowe on the challenges of ministry in the last 25 years

INTERVIEW is built on shaky foundation.

It is all about quick result and we are no longer taking time to build men, and when you want to build quality men, people challenge you.

Just like we say, something of quality in the market can be expensive and people will prefer to go for cheaper things because they don’t want to pay the price for more expensive ones. Unfortunately, the Christianity of today is built around the man of God, but we are attempting to build it around God so that every child of God knows how to find God for themselves.

Today, Christianity has been reduced to modernised herbalists, which is not built on the word of God. We have all kinds of services today in our churches while the word of God is relegated to the background. It is now all

about the handkerchief, the oil, etc and when you build on this, the foundation is not solid. The place we are in this nation today, we need every Christian to know God. How did you come about setting up an orphanage, especially when churches are not known to venture into such areas?

In the early part of our ministry, my wife and I worked a lot in Denmark and helped to break a lot of grounds. We had it in our heart that we were supposed to touch lives. We had the opportunity of seeing some social works in a place they called Betesta which is a rehabilitation centre. We went in there to see what they were doing. We knew we were supposed to do something to touch lives in our society and so we started praying because you can’t be in an environment like Nigeria and do nothing.

When I shared the vision with some people, they felt it would be a drain pipe. It is quite expensive and we have spent a lot. When we started initially, we had to put quite a lot of money from our pocket and we still do that and then God began to raise people from the church here and some of our friends outside.

As a church, a percentage of our income every week goes to the orphanage and that is why when you look at the children, they don’t look like orphans. There is also a primary and secondary school for them. Some Muslims have come to give us money for the orphanage and that is when you know that something is from God. When we first started, we had so many problems, and I did not tell anybody about it but only prayed about it. One Muslim woman came with the exact amount of money that we needed. Our sign-

board had even been removed and it took her sometime to locate the place. That raised the faith of the staff working there. We also have a clinic there where we have delivered over 3,000 babies.

It is challenging, but it also gives us joy. Before we built the orphanage’s primary and secondary schools, we were sending them to schools outside. I just woke up one day and said we were spending too much money sending them to school outside and the Lord told me to start something. I told one of the boys working with me then to start the foundation and the boy told me, ‘Oga, there are no blocks,’ and I told him that the ‘Lord said dig.’ They started digging and laughing and one woman came there for something else and saw us digging.

She gave us some blocks with which we started the building. That is faith and I have always said that when you work in faith, you don’t need to manipulate the people because God responds to faith.

It has not been easy, especially when you know that there are people around and one phone call can solve your problem. That is why sometimes, established ministries can have problem because you will keep going to men without allowing God to talk to these men. You become the Holy Spirit challenging them day and night, and sometimes when it is too much, they run away. So, we have seen the hand of God there.

What are your plans for the next 25 years if Jesus tarries?

If Jesus tarries, the blue print is in His hand. We hope to continue to touch lives.

There are things that God has revealed to us which we have written down. We have the Hope Village, which we are developing right now for different things; we also have a new sanctuary which we are building.

I hope to continue to go to the nations because one of the callings on my life is to go to the nations to encourage ministers. We have the Ministers Apostolic Network International where we encourage ministers. We are not trying to build an empire because it is all about the Kingdom of God. When you get to Heaven, you will not see a Restoration Church or Baptist or Anglican or any other church. It is just going to be a Kingdom.

NEWS

Cleric supports talks with Boko Haram

T

HE Pastor-in-charge of Providence Baptist Church, Lagos, Rev Julius Oduola, has backed the Federal Government’s decision to dialogue with the radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

He said it is always better to seek peace at all costs than resort to confrontations and armed resistance.

Acknowledging the group has engaged in unprecedented terrorist acts, Oduola said it is still best to engage them in dialogue for lasting peace.

He spoke last Friday with reporters on the anniversary lecture of the church with the theme,

By Sunday Oguntola

“Our people’s security and welfare: The role of the government and the church.”

The lecture will be delivered

by Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Dr Matthew Kukah, on Saturday at the Lagos Airport Hotel.

Oduola urged the Federal Government to seize advantage of the sect’s willingness to dialogue to end terrorism in the nation.

According to him: “Dialogue is always the best way to resolve conflicts, not confrontations.

When the militancy in the Niger

Delta was becoming unbearable, it was the offer of amnesty that bought peace.

“If God is helping Boko Haram to ask for talks, I think we should embrace it. Confrontations will only lead to more deaths and loss of billions.”

While emphasising the need to seek peace at all costs, he pointed to ongoing clashes in Syria, saying, embracing talks would have ended the struggle.

He assured that the lecture, which will be chaired by eminent administrator, Dr Gamaliel Onosode, will examine what the government can do to bring about peace across the nation.

‘Churches are not amusement centres’

T

HE Badagry District Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, Lagos, Rev. Henry Ogbonnaya, has advised clerics not to turn churches to cinema houses.

He spoke last week ahead of the annual Ebenezer convention of the church with the theme “more than conquerors”.

The Convention holds at Evangel College, Okokomaiko, Lagos.

Ogbonnaya lamented that several church leaders have diluted the word in a frantic bid to attract more people.

He said turning services to jamborees and churches to amusement centres negate the mandate of God for the church.

According to him, ministers are

By Sunday Oguntola

called to preach the truth and not amuse or make people feel good.

He said: “As ministers of God, our main duty is to preach the word of God, win souls into God’s kingdom and not involve in worldly amusement.

“We need to be serious and totally committed to God’s work because whatever we tell the people or pronounce is considered holy and followed by the congregation. Therefore, ministers of God should not mislead their followers.”

Guest ministers expected at the convention include Bishop Bernard Azare, Rev Theodore Effiong, Rev Emeka Eze, Mazi Ohuabunwa and others.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMER 11, 2012

69

There can be law without justice but there can be no justice without law.

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THE NATION SPORT SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

SPORT EXTRA

Obafemi declares war on Real Madrid

L

EVANTE forward Obafemi Martins says he is expecting a war on the pitch against Real Madrid when the two sides meet on Sunday in La Liga.

Los Blancos lost the same fixture 0-1 last season, and their winless run away to Los Granotes now stretches to more than four years.

Martins stated that he fully expects Real Madrid to go all guns blazing in order to put an end to their horrible run at the Ciutat de Valencia.

"Real Madrid are coming to our home to win, because they lost last year in Valencia," Martins told reporters.

"We expect a war, because this year they want to do better, but we have to play our own game."

The 28-year-old striker refused to discuss who of him and Cristiano Ronaldo was faster, but said that he hopes his team-mate Sergio Ballesteros can get the better of the Portuguese ace just like the last time around.

"Ronaldo is a great player, one of the best in the world, though I wouldn't like to say if he's first or second.

Nations Cup: Ajilore tips Eagles for glory

S

UPER Eagles midfielder Oluwafemi Ajilore has tipped Stephen Keshi's Super Eagles team for a glorious outing in 2013 Nations Cup in South Africa.

The 26-year-old player also warned the team not to consider any team a minor.

"In a tournament like this, you just need to pray for luck and be determined," said Ajilore.

"I think we have advantage not in the group but to shock critics. Nobody is considering Nigeria as one of the favourite. Everybody talks about Cote d' lvoire, Ghana and Zambia and that is why the invited players must remain low and go to the tournament with high hope of going for the gold."

"Of course I believe we can win the tournament in South Africa but only hard work and determination can do that." â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are not favourite but we can the champions."

'I think Keshi can break the york, as a former skipper of the team who lifted the trophy last, and now as the chief coach of the team, so he has a lot to prove and to improve on."

"And the bottom line is that, the team need support from everybody. I wish them the best of luck.

Odibe targets Super Eagles return

D

NIPRO central defender Michael Odibe still dreams of playing more games for Nigeria, eager to make his mark when he is invited.

Odibe has one cap to his name when he was invited by former Super Eagles coach Samson Siasia for a friendly match against Sierra Leone at Teslim Balogun last year.

But a permanent switch to Dnipro does not seem to be an option for Odibe, who wants to return and star for the Super Eagles in South Africa 2013 Nations cup.

"Super Eagles is a dream of every foreign based player, I don't know why I have not been invited but I just need to keep working hard and see what happen from there.

"I don't want to believe I am not too good for a selection the team but I just think the coach need time to test every player he invited. I am always confidence of my chance in the team but I don't know when it will come.

"Playing at the Nations Cup will gladly be a priviledge for me. I want to keep convincing the coach at every games I play maybe I can be part of the team to South Africa."

Apparently, the former First Bank of Lagos player is frustrated with Juande Ramos rotation policy despite giving his best at every given chances.

"Sometimes, you just need to accept every decision taking by the coach," said Odibe.

"We started well in the Europa game but I think we need to brave up, we need to give more of what we have been given and that is the only way to progress to the next round.â&#x20AC;?

Arsenal's woes continue with Fulham draw A RSENAL made hard work of the visit of Fulham Saturday, with Mark Schwarzer saving a late penalty in a 3-3 draw at the Emirates Stadium.

Second half goals from Dimitar Berbatov, for Fulham from the penalty spot, and Olivier Giroud, with a header for the hosts, added to four goals in the first period in an entertaining and even contest.

Late drama saw Schwarzer save a penalty taken by Mikel Arteta, after Sascha Riether was harshly adjudged to have handled the ball when it was fired at him from close range.

It would have been tough for Fulham to accept defeat had Arteta managed to score from the spot, given the amount of attacking opportunities the visitors had themselves and also given the nature of the penalty. Riether tried to move his hand out of the way as substitute Andrei Arshavin hit him with an attempted cross.

Schwarzer dived low to his left and tipped the penalty onto the post, leaving the desperate Arteta wishing the ground would swallow him up as two more points went missing for the Gunners.

Even before today's draw, Arsenal had made their worst start in the Premier League under Arsene Wenger, and now they have taken just 16 points from their opening 11 games. They were looking for a positive result after last weekend's defeat to Manchester United and the midweek Champions League draw with German side Schalke in which a two goal lead was also surrendered.

It was a similar story as Arsenal took an early lead with Giroud heading past Mark Schwarzer with a bullet header from a corner to make it 1-0 in the 11th minute. It looked like it would be an easy afternoon for Wenger's side as they doubled the lead through Lukas Podolski, who made it 2-0 with a simple finish from a clever Arteta pass.

Arsenal should have killed off their opponents with that 2-0 lead but Fulham would not lie down and accept a beating as they fought their way back into the game with two goals in just over ten minutes before half time.

Chelsea's Nigerian midfielder Victor Moses (L) vies with Swansea City's English midfielder Wayne Routledge (R) during the English PremierLeague football match between Swansea City and Chelsea at Liberty Stadium in Swansea yesterday. The game finished 1-1. AFP PHOTO/IAN KINGTON

ARSENAL UNITED KINGDOM, London : Arsenal's French player Laurent Koscielny (Top) vies with Fulham's Steve Sidwell, during an English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Fulham at the Emirates Stadium yesterday. The match ended in a 3-3 draw.

AFP PHOTO

DOUBLE DELIGHT

Chelsea, Liverpool war at Stamford Bridge

C

HELSEA will be looking for three points which will send them back to the top of the Premier League as they welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool are searching for only their second away win of the season as they close in on the top half of the table.

Chelsea have been superb at home so far this season with Manchester United the only team to take points away from West London. Chelsea have played five

Keshi picks nine for Venezuela

N

ine home based professional footballers have been selected to join up with the 11 foreign based earlier picked for the international friendly against Venezuela, November 14 in Miami, Florida, United States. The list was announced lunch time Saturday by Assistant Coach Dan 'the Bull' Amokachi on behalf of Head Coach Stephen Keshi.

Leading the pack is home-based skipper, Chigozie Agbim, who recently moved from Warri Wolves to Rangers International, expectedly Sunshine Stars skipper, Godfrey Oboabona, also made the cut, same for left back Benjamin Francis, who has been in impressive form at the national team's camp.

Towering Warri Wolves centre back Azubuike Egwueke, Solomon Kwambe, who is gradually establishing himself in the right back position, Kano Pillars centre back, Zango Umar, light skinned Heartland of Owerri midfielder, Henry Uche, former Golden Eaglets skipper, Sunday Mba of Warri Wolves and dare-devil Rangers International of Enugu winger, Ejike Uzoenyi, complete the list of home based stars for the friendly.

Earlier on Saturday morning before the team was announced for the trip to the United States, the team had a field day in its last preparatory game for the friendly by defeating Water FC of Abuja, an

amateur side by 3-1. It will be recalled that when both sides clashed October 5, this year in the run up to the Nations Cup cracker against Liberia, the national team was held to a 1-1 draw.

This time the Eagles decided to prove their superiority by totalling outclassing the Abuja side in the encounter. Sunday Mba served notice of what to happen when he blasted wide after being set up by Uzoenyi in just the second minute of the encounter. In the 6th minute of the encounter, Azubuike strayed forward to head home an Uzoenyi corner kick but a Water Fc blocked it with his hands.

....As Man City tame Tottenham at Etihad

games and they have won four matches to go with that defeat.

Defensively they have been a little vulnerable as they have conceded six goals but they have drowned that out with 13 goals meaning an average of over two goals per home game.

If they win and Manchester United draw or lose their match then Chelsea will go back to the top of the table.

Expect Chelsea captain John Terry to return to the side after serving a four game ban for being found guilty of racial abuse. Frank Lampard will miss the game after picking up a calf problem in the Champions League away match at Shakhtar Donetsk.

Left full back Ashley Cole may also struggle to get fit for the game as he was left out of the mid-week Champions League match with a hamstring injury. Chelsea have no suspended players and an otherwise fully fit squad.

Liverpool have been extremely inconsistent both home and away this season which is something

Hernandez nets hat trick for Man United win

J

AVIER Hernandez inspired a Manchester United comeback as the visitors came from two goals down to win 3-2 at Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

Andreas Weimann scored either side of the interval to give the hosts an unlikely lead but half-time substitute Hernandez scored twice and had a shot turned into his own net by Ron Vlaar to keep United clear at the top of the Premier League. United dominated much of the opening period with Villa content to sit back and soak up the pressure and hope to hit the visitors on the counter-attack.

It looked to be paying off as Antonio Valencia and Paul Scholes both failed to test Guzan with longrange chances and the Villa defence managed to shackle the threat of

Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie for long spells.

Villa hit the front in first-half stoppage time when Christian Benteke shrugged off Chris Smalling and squared for Weimann to beat David de Gaea with a perfectly hit first-time shot.

The Austrian was on target again five minutes after the restart as Stephen Ireland found Gabriel Agbonlohor in space on the left and he drilled in a low shot to give Weimann a five-yard tap-in.

But United responded well and Hernandez timed his run onto a Paul Scholes pass to perfection and managed to dig the ball out from under his feet before beating Guzan on 58.

Brendan Rodgers has targeted to sort out quickly. Liverpool have only won one away match this season but they have also only lost one match and draw their other two games.

For a side with only one recognised striker they have scored eight goals but the defence has been problematic and conceding the same number meaning a goal difference of zero.

A win takes Liverpool to 14 points, the same total as Newcastle currently in tenth place.

Liverpool are missing defender Martin Kelly who is out indefinitely with knee ligament damage, midfielder Lucas who suffered a thigh injury at the start of the season and striker Fabio Borini who broke his foot while away with the Italian Under-21 squad, Borini will not return until the New Year.

Chelsea have a brilliant record so far this season with only one defeat, to Manchester United, and two draws, they have won all of their other games. They have scored a combined total of 22 goals which makes them the second highest scorers in the league behind United.

Liverpool have won only two games this season with five draws and three defeats. They have conceded eight goals away from home which is double the tally of Chelsea.

Meanwhile, Roberto Mancini's men will switch their attention back to their Barclays Premier League title defence as Tottenham visit the Etihad Stadium today.

City's form has not reached the heights of last season but they remain the only unbeaten side in the Premier League and are well placed in a leading pack with Manchester United and Chelsea.

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THE NATION SPORT SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

SPORT EXTRA RESULTS ENGLAND Arsenal 3 - 3 Fulham Everton 2 - 1 Sunderland Reading 0 - 0 Norwich Southampton 1 - 1 Swansea Stoke C. 1 - 0 QPR Wigan 1 - 2 West Brom GERMANY Augsburg 1 - 3 Dortmund Munich 2 - 0 Frankfurt Dusseldorf 1 - 1 Hoffenheim Freiburg 0 - 0 Hamburger SV Schalke 2 - 1 Werder Bremen SPAIN Vallecano 3 - 2 Celta Vigo FIXTURE ENGLAND Man City v Tottenham Newcastle v West Ham Chelsea v Liverpool ITALY Palermo V Sampdoria AC Milan v Fiorentina Chievo v Udinese Genoa v Napoli Lazio v AS Roma Parma v Siena Torino v Bologna Atalanta v Inter Milan SPAIN Valladolid v Valencia Bilbao v Sevilla Mallorca v Barcelona Athletico M v Getafe Levante v Real Madrid GERMANY Wolfsburg v Leverkusen Greuther v Monchengladbach Stuttgart v Hannover

Go for gold, Uduaghan charges Delta Athletes to EKO 2012

T

he Delta State Governor, D r E m m a n u e l Uduaghan , yesterday charged the state contingent to the 18th National Sports Festival who arrived Asaba, to be resilient and ensure that they come out tops of the medals table.

Mr. Yemi Akintaye, the leader of the team bearing the torch, presented it to the Governor in a ceremony that was also witnessed by the State Deputy Governor, Prof Amos Utuama (SAN).

Speaking after he received the torch at about 1.30pm, the Governor charged the state contingent to be discipline, and diligent in their preparations and at the competition proper as that is the only way they can make it to the top.

According to him, Delta State has dominated the sports scene in the country and has the potentials to win the Lagos festival. He said that the administration was committed

to sustaining the state's enviable position in sports.

He promised to reward all victorious athletes adequately saying: â&#x20AC;&#x153;do not cheat, win convincingly and do not give room for doubt or for anyone to rob you of your victory.â&#x20AC;?

In his remarks at the ceremony, the chairman of the State Sports Commission, Mr. Amaju Pinnick, said that the state team was ready for the sports fiesta.

He commended Governor Uduaghan for the huge investment in sports and assured that the team will reciprocate the gesture by emerging tops at the festival.

GLO GOLF TOUR: Torgah, Korblar lead the pack in Asaba

T

HE competition to pick the N15million prize money at the Asaba leg of Glo Golf Tour became keener on Saturday, as PGA Nigeria and Ghana top players jumped to the top of the

Musa scores brace in CSKA win

A

HMED Musa, Saturday, scored a brace in CSKA Moscow's 3-1 away victory over Kuban Krasnoder in the Russian Premier League.

The Nigerian international forward scored a goal in each half of the game to help CSKA extend their lead at the top of the Russian Premier League.

Musa latched onto a through ball from Alan Dzagoev to open scoring in the 35th minute. The lead however lasted for only nine as Aras Ozbiliz converted a penalty to level the scores, after CSKA's goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was

Ruth Orioka, Lady captain of Ibori Golf and Country Club Asaba teeing off at the Glo Golf Tour

By Taiwo Alimi adjudged to have brought down Ibrahima Balde.

Musa struck again in the 51st minute to restore CSKA's lead after slamming in a rebound of Dzagoev's shot which was saved

by Kuban's goalie, Alexander Belenov. CSKA sealed the win with another goal six minutes later, as Swedish midfielder Rasmus Elm curled in a screamer from 30 yards out.

CSKA are now four points ahead of Anzhi Makhachkala, who face Lokomotiv Moscow on Sunday.

leader board after Round 3 play on Saturday.

At the end of 54-hole at the lush Ibori Golf and Country Club Asaba, Ghana PGA No 1, Vincent Torgah and counterpart in the Nigeria PGA Order of Merit, Emos Korblah, are on top of the leaderboard with two shots separating them.

While Torgah carded a third round score of 2-under par 70 buoyed by a par 5, hole 3 eagle finished on 218 for 54 holes, Korblah followed closely behind in second place. Koblah, who was highly favoured to maintain his prime place in Nigeria Order of merit signed up for 70 to make a total 3day score of 220.

Former number one player, Andrew Odoh, who trailed in fifth place on Friday moved up two spots on Saturday to clinch the third place on leaderboard with 5 over-par after an improved performance in the day's play.

Cameroon's Ebela Desire is also

looking good for the tournament's top prize. After some promising play of level par on Thursday, he recovered from a poor play on Friday to clinch the fourth place by Saturday.

Ebela is still a force to reckon with in the golf space in West Africa, recording one of the best scores on day three of the competition. His 1-under 71 pushed him to the fourth position behind, Nigeria's Andrew Odoh.

Minna-based resident professional and Director of Operation of Nigeria PGA's, Martin Odoh, older brother to Oche, also found a spot among the top five going to the final round of the competition.

The Asaba leg play will go into the wire today, final day before the Glo Golf train move to Sagamu from next Thursday and in Abuja from November 20th before the grand finale in Oturkpo from December 6, 2012.

042

11-11-2

QUOTABLE "It is either Prof. Achebe is twisting the fact or he is interpreting the context to serve his own purpose. But this is an unwarranted controversy because the facts are there for all to see. Will he deny that there were killings in the North, which culminated in counterkillings? Or is Achebe going to deny that there was a conflict of leadership and seniority between Gowon and Ojukwu? In what context is he perpetuating the view of genocide?"

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 7, NO. 22106

A

S heart-stricken Republicans tried to explain their unambiguous defeat by Barack Obama, some turned to the heavens. Hurricane Sandy, the explanation went, stopped Mitt Romney’s momentum in its tracks, gave Obama an exquisitely timed commanderin-chief moment, and blacked out media coverage of his opponent for several crucial days.

The hurricane was merely the latest reason to wonder: have the fates been smiling on Barack Obama? It’s hard to look at his stratospheric rise from obscure state senator to leader of the free world in just four years and not think that he might have benefited from a string of extremely good fortune.

True, Obama has faced plenty of obstacles in life. Unlike Mitt Romney, he was not born into great wealth; he is not a member of what Warren Buffett calls the “lucky sperm club.” And his race—not to mention a last name that is easily confused with Osama—undoubtedly hurt him with some voters as he ascended through American politics.

At the same time, think about the political luck that has come Obama’s way in the last year alone: in a race framed around fears of increasing economic inequality, the president drew an opponent who evoked the Monopoly millionaire. While Obama’s admen sought to portray their rival as a hopelessly out-of-touch plutocrat, Romney kept writing their copy. He tried to make a $10,000 bet during a debate, said he was “not concerned about the very poor,” and blithely wrote off 47 percent of the electorate as freeloaders. As he moved to the right to secure the Republican nomination, Romney got tangled up in sexual politics, suggesting that companies could deny women contraception. He offended Hispanics with his hardline stance on immigration. And on the night of the most important speech of his career—his address at the Republican convention—the spotlight was stolen from him by a buffoonish Clint Eastwood.

Then, just as Romney was looking stronger—and more moderate—late in the campaign, Obama got an endorsement from Colin Powell, perhaps the country’s most iconic centrist. As if that wasn’t enough, Hurricane Sandy sparked a politically valuable bromance between the president and Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey. The storm also led to an endorsement from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg—who said that, in Sandy’s wake, he wanted a president who took the problem of climate change seriously.

“Give me generals who know something about tactics and strategy,” said Napoleon Bonaparte, “but best of all give me generals who are lucky.” Was Barack Obama in 2012 simply a lucky general? Or was there something more at work than mere good fortune?

While Obama’s rise through state and national politics was marked by key moments of serendipity, he time and again exhibited a pattern of meticulous planning—laying the groundwork for, and preparing to take full advantage of, whatever good fortune came his way. “What sets the really good politicians apart from the average ones is the ability to recognize opportunities, prepare for it, and capitalize on it,” says Chris Sautter, a longtime political consultant who did early polling for Obama as he was plotting his political ascent.

As a state senator, for instance, Obama made a savvy, forward-thinking move: he managed to get the lines of his district redrawn, pushing its boundaries north into neighborhoods populated by affluent white liberals. By then, he was already eyeing a Senate seat and understood he would need a broader base of support.

In January 2003, Obama jumped into a crowded Democratic-primary race. The leading candidate, multimillionaire Blair Hull, looked like a shoo-in. That was until his divorce papers were unsealed, revealing an allegation that he’d threatened to kill his wife. The revelation was certainly an advantage for Obama—but once it happened, Obama was poised to benefit because of the broad constituency of blacks and wealthy liberals he had begun putting together as a state senator.

In the general election, Obama was pitted against Jack Ryan, a telegenic banker whom many considered the frontrunner. But Ryan’s candidacy imploded when his divorce records were aired publicly. They revealed that Ryan had pressured his wife to accompany him to sex clubs. With Ryan out of the race, Republicans were left with eccentric conservative Alan Keyes.

Obama sailed to victory.

Even Obama knew he had been lucky in the

—Gen. IBM Haruna (rtd) berating Professor Chinua Achebe, for accusing Gen. Yakubu Gowon and late Chief Obafemi Awolowo of genocide against the Igbos during the civil war.

The Fortunate One

Sure, Obama’s lucky. He also relentlessly seizes his chances and makes every one of them count. By Daniel Klaidman

•Obama

campaign. “[T]here was no point in denying my almost spooky good fortune,” he would later write in The Audacity of Hope. “I was an outlier; a freak; to political insiders, my victory proved nothing.”

Before winning the election, Obama had one more bit of serendipity. Aides to John Kerry, who was then the Democratic standard-bearer, reached out to Obama to offer him an invitation to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic convention in Boston. But here again, it was Obama’s assiduous preparation that put him in a position to exploit his good luck. Despite his rich baritone, Obama had not always been a riveting speaker; he was too earnest and wonky.

Yet, by the time he ran for the Senate, he’d carefully studied the cadences of black preachers and teamed up with David Axelrod, who counseled him to be a more emotive orator.

For all of Obama’s fortune in drawing weak, scandal-prone opponents, he finally drew the short straw when he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. Going up against the mighty Clinton machine was a true proving ground. And prevailing was another indication that Obama’s rise represented something more complicated than a freakish alignment of the stars.

Arguably, Obama got lucky again in the general election, when his opponent John McCain looked erratic by suspending his campaign following the collapse of Lehman Brothers. But what may have been politically fortuitous in the short term was a millstone around his neck once he was elected. The economy was losing 700,000 jobs a month, and if Obama didn’t find a way to break the trend, the country was in real danger of falling into a depression.

Yet Obama, who had spent the transition reading biographies of Lincoln and FDR, under-

stood that crises also gave presidents opportunities. So while the sick economy would course through his entire term, obscuring many of his most impressive achievements, he was also laying the foundation for his political salvation.

One of the toughest decisions he had to make early on was whether to bail out Detroit.

The country was suffering from sticker shock and simmering over government bailouts. And yet Obama and his advisers understood that letting GM collapse could have led to the loss of as many as a million jobs. What they probably also knew was that the president’s reelection might end up hinging on the northern belt of Ohio, which is heavily dependent on the automobile industry.

In the fall of 2009, Obama was at a low moment in his presidency. Populist rage was exploding over Obamacare and bailouts, fueling the rise of the Tea Party; the president’s poll numbers were plunging to new lows; and the White House was already fearing losing Congress in 2010. According to Jonathan Alter’s The Promise, with another critical health-care vote looming, Rahm Emanuel asked Obama, as the two men sat together in the Oval Office, “Are you feeling lucky, Mr. President?” Without missing a beat the president responded: “My name is Barack Obama, and I’m sitting here. So yeah, I’m feeling pretty lucky.” Six months later, health-care reform passed Congress with the slimmest of margins and no Republican support.

The commando operation that led to the death of Osama bin Laden has been characterized by some as Obama’s greatest stroke of fortune. After all, had it gone awry, it could have been a catastrophe for Obama’s presidency and American morale. But in many ways the raid on Abbottabad, Pakistan, was the classic exam-

“Obama is a preparation freak,” says one member of his cabinet, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “He makes his own luck”

ple of opportunity meeting preparation. First, a strong argument can be made that the chance to get bin Laden only came about because Obama personally reenergized the hunt. Bin Laden’s trail had gone cold, and the Bush administration’s efforts had grown listless. Almost as soon as he came into office, Obama got the word out that finding bin Laden was a top priority. He began pushing his national-security team to come up with creative, new approaches to the manhunt, and once the intelligence community received its first big break, Obama and his team pursued a data-driven review of their options that would have made Romney proud. The final decision to launch the assault was not a cavalier role of the dice; it was a calculated risk backed up by one of the most elaborate and meticulous intelligence operations in American history.

The killing of bin Laden was a stunning military and moral victory for the country. But for Obama, governing at a time of such extreme partisan animus and still coping with a torpid economy, a second term was hardly assured.

No president since 1936 had won reelection with unemployment above 7.2 percent. Once again, however, Obama was blessed by the weakness of his rivals. And once again he had the skill to exploit it.

The GOP primary field was a freak show that turned into a circular firing squad, which along the way managed to alienate all of the key constituencies Democrats had put together in their 2008 victory: women, Latinos, and even a healthy portion of the white working class, increasingly embittered by rising economic inequality. Obama made the most of the opportunities presented by this Republican rush to the right. To take one example: when Texas Gov. Rick Perry flared up as a brief challenge, Romney responded by taking a hard line on immigration and adding the infelicitous term “self-deportation” to the political lexicon. Hispanic voters were offended, and Obama savvily took the opportunity to solidify their support by unilaterally pushing through a version of the Dream Act—which halted deportation for as many as a million young, otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants. On Election Day, not surprisingly, Hispanic voters overwhelmingly opted for Obama.

Romney’s most important self-inflicted wound came in the form of the infamous “47 percent” video, in which he wrote off nearly half the electorate as moochers. Uncanny good luck for Obama? Partly. But the president had also carefully prepared to take advantage of this kind of divine intervention. Going back to the earliest days of the campaign, Obama and his political team had decided their best plan of attack against Romney was to paint him as an avatar of the 1 percent, the Thurston Howell of the private-equity business. The tape played right into a narrative that the Obama campaign had already laid down—giving it instant resonance.

“It reinforced the whole case they had spent months laying the foundation for,” says David Corn, the Mother Jones reporter who broke the story.

One of the key traits that allows Obama to capitalize on good fortune is his tendency to take the long view of politics. The Colin Powell endorsement is a case in point. The general’s benediction came at the best possible moment, as Obama was trying to build steam heading into the last two weeks of the campaign. In that sense, it may have appeared lucky. But Obama had been consulting with Powell closely throughout his term. The two men met frequently in quiet White House sessions on a wide range of national-security issues, sometimes to the consternation of the Pentagon brass. There are few Washington wise men with whom the president is closer. Powell’s endorsement was likely not in question— only its timing.

As Republicans lick their wounds in the wake of their electoral drubbing, they may be tempted to blame their woes on Obama’s luck.

But that would be self-defeating. They’d be better off finding solace in the fact this is the last time they’ll have to run against Barack Obama, a man who is so skilled at both creating and seizing on good fortune. “Obama is a preparation freak,” says one member of his cabinet, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “He makes his own luck.”

Courtesy: Newsweek

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