THEWILL MAY 08 - 14 EDITION

VOL 2 NO.19

VOL 2 NO.19 • MAY 08 - MAY 14, 2022 2022 • MAY 08 - MAY 14,

2023 Presidency: Will Emefiele Bow to Pressure, Enter The Race?

Union Bank Plc: THEW ILL NEW SPAPER Q1 ’22 Report Shows Signs of Decline

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OUR STAND:

APC, PDP Must Zone Presidency to South to Save Nigeria

TH EWI LLNI GER I A

T HE W I L L N G

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IS NOW WHOLLY DIGITAL W

Photo: Kola Oshalusi @insignamedia Makeup: Zaron

hile it was commonplace to think a young woman being married to a wealthy older man is just for, well, status symbol, some women are breaking this bias.

One of such women is our cover personality for this week, Shade Okoya. As we all know, she was young when she made the bold move to marry Chief Rasaq Okoya, and while most people expected her to be the trophy wife, Shade Okoya now heads his business empire, proving she is anything but a trophy. Read her story about running the business, raising children in the metaverse age, and hopefully becoming a grandmother soon on pages 8 through 10.

We pay homage to our readers who celebrate Mothers Day; today with some movies to watch with mum, wellness tips for new mums, and gift ideas for lastminute.com shoppers.

VOL 2 NO.19 • MAY 08 - MAY 14, 2022

We also feature some cocktail recipes for you to try at home, and of course, my favourite cocktail, Strawberry Daiquiri (shaken), gets a spot.

Rings are not just fashion accessories anymore; you can track your health, share business cards, and some rings even serve as a key to your door- yes, you read right; a key. See page 15.

Scan the QR codes on this page to visit the website, download a free PDF copy of the magazine or read other issues from our Issuu stack.

Until next week, enjoy your read.

Onah Nwachukwu,

THE ENCHANTING WORLD OF

Editor, THEWILL DOWNTOWN

@onahluciaa

OKOYA

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VOL 2 NO.04 • JANUARY 23 - JANUARY 29, 2022

SPECIAL EDITION • MONDAY APRIL 11 – 16, 2022

Fruits To Help You Stay Hydrated This

Ramadan

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COVER OUR STAND

APC, PDP Must Zone Presidency to South to Save Nigeria

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eating up the polity, to inflame or excite, is a cautionary phrase many Nigerians are used to hearing from the political elite. It is reverberating across the country now.

Why? Because the two major political parties, the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are failing in the cardinal principle of party politics.

More so, this trend, in heating up the polity, is coming at a time when the very fabric of the country is bursting at its seams with agitation for self-determination, separation, secession and widespread insecurity, caused mainly by years of broken promises and unfulfilled dreams, as well as the baleful administrations ran by the PDP and APC for 16 and seven years, respectively.

As agents of mobilisation, enlightenment and reconcilers of the people’s interests at the central government, they appear to be too Machiavellian to listen to the cries for equity, justice, fairness and partnership coming from the people in the South ahead of the 2023 general election.

Indeed, it was in response to the impact of this fearful development that the PDP, on two occasions, set up committees to look into its zoning arrangement. The first committee, led

by Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, was asked to find out why the party lost the 2019 presidential poll.

Even so, the body language of party officials, particularly the National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, who was quoted as saying, a fortnight ago, that all its 17 presidential aspirants are free to canvass support among delegates, just as the National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunaba, said, earlier, that the Constitution gives all qualified Nigerians the right to contest and not be discriminated against, alarmingly show that the party is working towards violating its own agenda by throwing the presidential contest open.

In its report, the committee recommended merit as the criterion for choosing presidential candidates rather than zoning, which has been a stabilising factor and what the founding fathers of the party believed would sustain the unity of the party. But the unwelcome reactions that it generated within the party led the party to set up another committee, a new one headed by Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, with representatives drawn from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Similarly, the APC, which all along had been following the promise of key party officials that the party would shift power to the South in 2023, surprisingly threw its door open to all comers across the country, last week. That was when the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, said the party was yet to decide on zoning. He added that the party would be forced to pick a candidate from the North if the rival PDP picks a northern candidate.

That is why feelers from the two leading parties suggesting that rotation and zoning of the presidential ticket to the southern states of the country will not be adopted for the 2023 election is heating up the polity with the possibility of reversing the modest gains of nationhood.

THEWILL finds this trend alarming and calls for a rethink on the basis of equity, justice, fairness and unity.

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The PDP will make its final position known on the subject at a meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC) that has now been rescheduled to hold on Wednesday, May 11, 2022.

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COVER

APC, PDP Must Zone Presidency to South to Save Nigeria The promise made by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, when he visited Imo State in 2019 that power would go to the South-East in 2023 and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo, that the party would zone the presidency to the SouthWest in 2023, went out of the window, just like that, by the National Chairman’s fiat.

Yet, it was based on these promises that Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State and his Cross River State counterpart, Prof. Ben Ayade, to mention a few, defected to the APC, to give it a foothold in the South-East and South-South where PDP had maintained a firm grip since the beginning of the Third Republic in 1999.

So, Senator Adamu saying the party would be forced to pick a northern candidate if the PDP picks a candidate from that zone is, to say the least, uncharitable as it flies in the face of fairness which should be a hallmark of principled politics.

The statement by Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, an APC governor of Ondo State that the party is toying with fire by changing its stand on power shift to the South in 2023, should be a warning signal to the party of the magnitude of its volte face.

Recall that it was the party’s position on zoning that has made 30 aspirants emerge from the South until Adamu’s pronouncement led Governor Mohammed Badaru of Jigawa State and Senate President Ahmed Lawan to join the 12 others that have so far obtained expression of interest and nomination forms as at last week. As Chairman of the South-West Governor’s Forum and spokesperson of the 17 Southern Governors Forum, Akeredolu’s reaction speaks loudly of the impact awaiting the party, if it fails to uphold its promise.

We wish to remind both political parties that the ease with which their members defect from one to the other during every election cycle is because of their lack of cohesion and inability to reach a patriotic consensus on burning issues concerning the well-being of their members and by extension, the entire country.

What is a political party if its interests cannot converge with that of its members? What is the purpose of pursuing political power if not to deploy it in the service of the people? What is a party without its members?

This lack of political inclusion has often led to widespread apathy among Nigerians with the result that the idea of governance, which deals with involvement of the people in government rather than government that deals with the elected and appointed officials, has made representative democracy an elusive practice in the country.

The result of this misplacement of priorities and PAGE 8

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Some notable business and political leaders from the north have also called for the two leading political parties to support the rotation of presidential power to the south

political alienation is all over the country today: the fragile nature of our multi-ethnic, diverse country; the stunted growth in all sectors of national life; unconcerned and mistrustful people; failed political leadership, particularly since the current republic is marked by its uncaring, misguided, greedy, unfocused, nepotistic and profligate trademark.

It is against this backdrop of insensitivity to the yearnings and plight of Nigerians that resorting to drumbeats of war is always a preferred course of action aimed at addressing salient issues.

Reacting to the situation, some stakeholders have formed a common and united front to agitate for the presidency to rotate to the South after President Muhammadu Buhari’s 8-year stay in office.

To show that they mean business, dominant social and political organisations in the South, such as Afenifere, led by Chief Ayo Adebanjo; Ohanaeze Ndigbo, led by former Nigerian Ambassador to United States of America, Prof. George Obiozor; and the Pan- Niger Delta Federation (PANDEF), led by Chief Edwin Clark, have found common ground with the 17 Southern Governors Forum made up of APC and PDP governors on the demand for rotation of power to the south and respect of the zoning principle.

Some notable business and political leaders from the north have also called for the two leading political parties to support the rotation of presidential power to the south.

To fail to hear their demand and grant it is as good as saying the south and its political leaders do not matter in the political equation of a multi-ethnic and diverse country like Nigeria, where the fear of domination and marginalisation has reached such a level that faith and hope in a united Nigeria, going forward post-2023, could be hard to keep.

It is better to allay the fears and uncertainty surrounding the country’s future now. The two

major political parties can only do this by keeping to their original plan to rotate power and zone the presidency to the South.

For the foregoing reasons, THEWILL demands that the APC and the PDP keep to their agreements and zone the presidency to the South in 2023.

After all, the PDP and the APC provoked such demand by their agenda on zoning. We call on them to respect and keep to it. The interests of the people of the South have converged with that of the party. To do otherwise will only deepen apathy, fuel agitation for secession and self-determination currently gaining traction in the South.

We call on both parties to seize these auspicious moments in our beleaguered country to do the needful. It is time to heal the country of deceit, power mongering, indecision, impunity and lies.

Rather than go back on their agenda on zoning with the possibility of a political backlash against them, they should focus on competence, integrity, character and capacity of aspirants as criteria for choosing their candidates from the South. Only candidates who possess such enduring qualities can see beyond their enclave and govern Nigeria with due process and infuse the country with values of merit, equity, justice and fairness.

THEWILL believes that some of the aspirants on the platform of both parties possess the right qualities that qualify them to become President of Nigeria.

We have entered the month of May when political parties are by statute obliged to conduct their presidential primaries and submit the names of their candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). So the time for these two political parties to formally announce their preference for a presidential candidate from the South is now. It is only equitable that after the North through President Buhari has served out its 8 years, power should return to the South.

Many Nigerians agree that the 2023 general election provides an opportunity to pull the country from the brink of disaster as a result of many years of impunity in government, looming disintegration, widespread insecurity, nepotism, corruption, ravaging poverty and restive youthful population battling unemployment, poor education and bad leadership.

One of the best ways to address this looming tragedy is, in our view, to heed the clarion call for zoning of the presidency to the South in 2023 and electing a new leader with proven capacity to unite the nation, create jobs and wealth for Nigerians and the country.

Heeding this call will kill the continued struggle for secession, separation and self-determination.

It will pull the country away from the precipice of anarchy and restore it to the greatness that it truly deserves.

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NEWS Igbo Traders Endorse Sanwo-Olu For Second Term

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L-R: National Leader, All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; former APC interim Chairman, Bisi Akande; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, and former Governor of Ogun State, Segun Osoba, during APC Stakeholders Meeting in Lagos on May 6, 2022.

Izombe Bomb Explosion: Imo Police Presidential Declaration: Command Begins Investigation FROM SAMPSON UHUEGBU, OWERRI

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he Imo State Police Command has commenced full investigation into the causes of the explosion that occurred at Izombe, in Oguta Local Government Area of the State.

In a press statement, the Public Relations Officer of the Command, CSP Michael Abattam, noted that sequel to a report it received on May 4, 2022 at about 0645 hours, from the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of ADDAA Flow Station, Izombe in Oguta LGA that on the same day at about 0145 hours, a loud explosion was heard outside the company’s premises, making them suspect an attack on the its facilities.

"On receipt of this information, the Command’s Tactical Teams and the Explosives Ordinance Disposal Unit (EOD-CBRN), were immediately dispatched to the scene at Izombe where on arrival the lifeless body of a young man suspected to be a member of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was seen with his two hands cut off," the statement said.

According to the statement, upon close observation it was discovered that the bomb suddenly detonated and exploded resulting in the death of the young man

and others suspected to be fatally injured in the blast.

The Bomb Unit took charge of the scene, carefully sweeping the area and beyond.

In the process, three more Improvised Explosives Devices where recovered.

"One has been detonated and the other two specifically constructed with GSM phones were attached to them and will only explode when the configured number is dialed were still intact.

"After an assessment of the scene of the incident, it was discovered that the distance between the oil tanks, pipelines and where the explosion occurred was about five meters. It is suspected that the target of the hoodlums planned to attack the company's facilities before they met their waterloo,” the statement read.

The police said it has beefed up security in the area, adding that it is working assiduously in synergy with other security agencies to ensure the protection of lives and property in the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Ahmed Barde, commended people of the state for their unalloyed support to the Command and appealed for calm.

Congress: NWC Didn't Impose Delegates Loyal To Adebutu - PDP Chairman FROM SEGUN AYINDE, ABEOKUTA

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he Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Hon. Sikirulai Ogundele, has refuted the allegation by some members of the party that its National Working Committee imposed delegates loyal to Hon Ladi Adebutu on them

election slated to hold on May 29

It would be recalled that some aggrieved members of the party had stormed the PDP secretariat in Abeokuta, protesting the alleged imposition of delegates loyal to Adebutu by the NWC, following the outcome of the ward ad-hoc delegates congress held in the state

The chairman said that there was bound to be disagreement over the outcome of any election of delegates, describing the protest as the "grouse" of some members who were not happy with the result.

The ward ad-hoc delegates are to represent the state at the PDP presidential primary THEWILLNIGERIA

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But, reacting to the protest, Ogundele, who denied the allegation that the NWC adopted delegates loyal to Adebutu only, said that the protest was a reaction of some party members that lost out to the congress.

He said that the party would do everything possible to resolve the issue noting that the protest was an inter-party affairs that would soon be settled among aggrieved members.

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APC Lauds Fayemi

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he All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has lauded Governor Kayode Fayemi for his May 4 presidential declaration, where he revealed his vision of a Nigeria where everyone would rally around for the unfinished work of national greatness that will take the country to its next phase.

In a statement signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, APC described Fayemi’s declaration as a "mother of all declarations," which should be taken into serious consideration while deciding who flies the flag of the party for the 2023 presidential election.

The party however assured that notwithstanding the degree of his commitment to the presidential ambition, Fayemi would not derail from his determination to finish well and strong his current second term as the governor of Ekiti State.

Noting that Fayemi's success in the state is sine qua non to stepping up to the higher and more challenging presidential status, Dipe assured that the governor would not toy with his resume of quality service and his legacy cannot be disparaged by any form of propaganda.

The party described Fayemi as a great democrat, a consensus builder of note and a "comrade at arms" who has paid his dues in ensuring that the Nigerian project does not head for the rocks.

"Fayemi's declaration is rated the best so far. Although he appears to have spoken extempore, he spoke intelligently, he spoke confidently, he spoke determinedly and he spoke with all sense of purpose. For Fayemi, failure is not an option," Dipe said.

Also, reacting to the description by the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti of Fayemi's declaration as a "declaration of failure," APC said the PDP was only lamenting it's constant defeat by APC and remains dazed by the dizzying height Fayemi constantly attains.

"They are traducers. They know the truth that Fayemi is an Omoluabi par excellence and that he represents Ekiti well at both the national and international levels.

gbo traders across 58 major markets in Lagos State last Thursday passed a vote of confidence on the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, endorsing the Governor’s second term bid.

The traders, under the aegis of Ndigboamaka Progressive Markets Association, said that although Sanwo-Olu had not formally informed them of his second term bid, they unanimously support the Governor’s re-election in appreciation of the Lagos State Government’s business policies and infrastructure development which support their trades.

Sanwo-Olu got the endorsement at the 2022 All Markets Conference organised by the association in Amuwo Odofin area of the State.

The President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos, Chief Solomon Ogbonna, led his chiefs to the event, which was also attended by market leaders and traders from all the 58 Igbo markets in Lagos.

In a passionate address to the Governor, the Secretary-General of Ndigboamaka Traders’ Association, Comrade Chinedu Ukatu, said: “Mr. Governor, you have not formally told us whether you are seeking re-election or not, but I want to tell you that all the market leaders seated here today are yearning for a second term for you.

“Anytime you walk, we will walk with you. I have been directed by all market leaders under the auspices of Ndigboamaka Progressive Markets Association in all the 58 dealer markets, to tell you that we have endorsed you for second term to show appreciation for your friendly policy and infrastructure projects initiated to help our businesses.”

Sanwo-Olu described the endorsement as a mark of general acceptance of his administration’s efforts to deliver ‘Greater Lagos’ and strengthen the culture of good governance for which the State is reputed.

The support, he said, comes with an assurance of more development programmes to be expected from his administration.

The governor promised not to take Ndigbo’s support for granted, while re-assuring them of the state government’s continued collaboration to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

Sanwo-Olu said Igbo traders remained prominent players in the economic growth of the state, noting that Lagos’ development narrative would not be complete without the mention of the entrepreneurial spirit of the Igbo.

He said: “This is another moment for our Government to recognise our Ndigbo brothers and sisters for their commitment to the growth and development of Lagos.

Certainly, Ndigbo traders have been part of the good story of Lagos; your entrepreneurial spirit is second to none and the Igbo enterprising spirit has become a case study in Harvard, which is the biggest business school in the world.

“Contribution to the livelihood of your host communities have been acknowledged and in Lagos, we have created together an economy that has continued to grow and position our nation as the biggest economy in Africa. Trading is a veritable link between producers and consumers, which is the area the Ndigbo traders have tirelessly worked to define the growth trajectory of our dear State.

I’m happy that our modest interventions for more growth in this area are visible and being recognised.”

Sanwo-Olu pledged that his administration would continue to protect the business interests of the Igbo people, while promising to make the State habitable for non-indigenes that abide by the laws of the State.

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POLITICS 2023 Presidency: Will Emefiele Bow to Pressure, Enter The Race?

BY AYO ESAN

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he race for the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) received a boost with the purchase of the presidential nomination forms of the party for the astute economist and current Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr, Godwin Emefiele, last Friday by the Rice Farmers Association, Emefiele Support Group and Friends of Godwin, who are all urging the reserve bank chief to run for president.

Emefiele, who had previously said he would not be distracted by calls to join the presidential race, has not accepted the forms as at the time of writing and neither has he or the CBN commented on the latest development.

It would be recalled that the CBN governor has been rumoured to be in the race for the APC ticket to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari since late 2021.

Many prominent Nigerians, who believe the next Nigeria President should be a technocrat and an astute economist, have been looking in his direction and called on him to obtain the nomination form to contest the ruling party’s presidential primary.

Also, former founding state chairmen of the APC had advised the party’s leadership to work towards ensuring Emefiele’s emergence as presidential flagbearer.

They charged the party’s leadership not only to draft Emefiele into the race, but to also give him the necessary support to emerge as presidential candidate, if the party is truly interested in winning the forthcoming presidential election They said they had keenly observed the electioneering campaigns “that have been going on in our great party ahead of the 2023 presidential elections “We have seen how bigwigs and money bags have been jostling for the only ticket available in our party. We are of the opinion that this unwieldy number of aspirants is not good enough for our party and its future.

“In searching for a way out in a manner that will be free of rancour and ensure electoral victory for us in 2023, we have come to the conclusion that our party should draft the CBN governor into the race and give him all the institutional supports to lead APC to the 2023 contest .

“It is very clear that Emefiele’s candidacy is the best for our party because it will not only lead us to victory, but his emergence as the next president will also see his administration continuing, consolidating and expanding the legacies of President Muhammadu Buhari. Our leaders must make this important choice quickly in the interest of the party, our nation and indeed all its citizens,” they said.

However, despite pressure on Emefiele to declare for presidency, he had consistently maintained that he is more interested in helping President Muhammadu Buhari to finish his tenure well and ensure the success of his economic recovery agenda.

While responding to a campaign by Friends of Godwin Emefiele, a political group urging him to give the presidency a shot, and other associations mounting pressure on him, Emefiele in March 2022 said he was more interested in helping President Muhammadu Buhari finish well.

He said “My focus at this time is a robust monetary policy and fighting inflation, which is now a global problem; building a strong financial system in an increasingly uncertain global economy, development finance and supporting farmers and manufacturers in our self-sufficiency and import substitution drive, raising N15 trillion for InfraCo infrastructure financing, building a world-class International Financial Centre in Lagos, as well as supporting the @ MBuhari adm” He said he remained focused on his job and will continue his support for the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal government’s economic recovery drive.

Emefiele said in his career trajectory, right from his days as a young banker, he never asked, nor lobbied for a job.

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Emefiele

The state chairmen of legacy parties that merged to form the APC had opined that Emefiele’s candidature was necessary for the party to avoid the political dangers ahead. According to them, the CBN governor has widespread acceptability to return the ruling party to power at both the centre and state levels in the coming general election.

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Emiefiele, who said he remained humbled by President Buhari’s decision to grant him an unprecedented second term as CBN Governor, insisted he will remain loyal to the President and the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Emiefiele, who said he remained humbled by President Buhari’s decision to grant him an unprecedented second term as CBN Governor, insisted he will remain loyal to the President and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

On the 2023 Presidency and who succeeds President Buhari, Emefiele said he believed it was “the prerogative of President Muhammadu Buhari to plan his succession in line with global best practices for good governance, for the continued peace and progress of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as such he will play his part to stabilise the economy for an orderly transition."

Emiefiele, however, maintained he will leave his faith firmly in the hands of God, in the choice of the leadership of the country in 2023.

His friends had also in a press statement titled "Who is Afraid of Godwin Emefiele?", said the verbal attacks on the CBN governor over the rumoured 2023 bid are uncalled for, since he had not confirmed to anyone that "he is running for President even as he is constitutionally qualified to do so."

However, the statement admitted there was pressure from different groups along with unsolicited campaign for the candidacy of Emiefele in 2023 presidential election.

The statement partly reads “In the past few weeks, there have been media reports on the purported interest of the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, in the 2023 presi-

dential race, leading to stampede by interested parties and vested interests, who are resorting to all sorts of blackmail, sponsored articles and choreographed comments on social media targeted at tainting Godwin Emefiele’s image, impugning his character and legacy.

"Clearly, the negative attacks are being sponsored by those who see Emefiele as a major threat to their political ambition. Truth is, Godwin Emefiele has not confirmed to anyone he is running for President even as he is constitutionally qualified to do so; he has been under pressure in the past few weeks as different groups have been putting up unsolicited campaign for his candidacy”.

Emefiele became CBN Governor on the 6th March, 2014 Prior to his joining the CBN, he spent over 26 years in commercial banking, culminating in his tenure as Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank PLC, one of Nigeria’s biggest bank.

Before his banking career, he was a lecturer in Finance and Insurance in two Nigerian Universities. Mr. Emefiele holds degrees in Banking and Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and is also an alumnus of Stanford University, Harvard and Wharton Graduate Schools of Business where he took courses in Negotiation, Service Excellence, Critical Thinking, Leading Change and Strategy The Presidential aspirants that have purchased the presidential form, who will compete with Emefiele at the APC presidential primary coming up at the end of this month include Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu, the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajuiba, Lagos Pastor, Tunde Bakare, Governor Mohammed Badaru of Jigawa State, his Ebonyi State counterpart, Dave Umahi, and Senator Rochas Okorocha, Governor Yahaya Bello; the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio; Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Ms Unu Onaneye, the only female and Nicholas Felix.

Others who have joined the race and are expected to purchase the form include Governor Ben Ayade, Ex-Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Governor Kayode Fayemi, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, former Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Senator Orji Kalu, ex-Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, and Senate President Ken Nnamani; the Minister of Science and Technology, Onu; and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who is expected to join in the coming days.

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POLITICS NEWS Take Imo APC to Grassroots, Ebere Charges Supporters

BY SAMPSON UHUEGBU, OWERRI

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President Muhammadu Buhari (2nd left); Governor Hope Uzodimma (2nd right); Governor David Umahi (left); Governor Bagudu Atiku Abubakar (right), and others as the President commissions President Muhammadu Buhari Presidential Lounge at Ebonyi State Airport on May 5, 2022.

C’River Thrown Into Wilderness – Imah-Nsa Adegoke FROM BASSEY ANIEKAN, CALABAR

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Adegoke

mah Nsa Adegoke, a frontline aspirant for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party has said that Cross River State has been thrown into the wilderness.

She made this known in Calabar while interacting with chapter chairmen and secretaries of the PDP, as well as media practitioners.

Imah Nsa said the current state of Cross River State should cause any right thinking person to regret what we currently have.

She said the state was shortchanged by someone who changed sides in the middle of the journey but the problem is not primarily the question of sides.

According to her, the problem has to do with the paradigm

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of what our democratically elected persons understand by democracy and the state needs a paradigm shift.

"Cross River State has been thrown into the dark ages. The current state of our dear state as we can see is something that causes any right thinking person to regret what we currently have.

"Yes, our state has been shortchanged by somebody that switched sides in the middle of the journey but we must also ask ourselves that the issue is not primarily the question of sides.

"The problem has to do with the paradigm of what our democratically elected persons who have been in office understand by democracy," he said.

He called on the chapter executives to work together to take back the state.

She promised to entrench an internal process of justice, equity and fairness.

Imah-Nsa also disclosed that she is not an option but the choice as governor because she has the people at heart.

She said we need to reinvent the system where we take care of people who work for the party.

She added that her SHIFT Agenda will reposition the state for greatness and tasked the officials to join her to make the state great.

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We Won’t Impose Consensus Candidate – Cross River APC

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he Chairman of the Cross River State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress Alphonsus Eba says the party will not impose a consensus candidate on the people.

Alphonsus Eba made this known while clarifying the position of the party ahead of the Guber primaries of the party.

He said that the essence of the consensus arrangement is to promote unity in the party.

He said all aspirants should not put money into buying forms and will be encouraged to submit their authority to the party leadership to choose an aspirant.

In his words, "We are democrats. Our processes will remain very Civil and democratic. Our attempt towards building consensus, but not to subvert the right of any aspirant or cowed them into accepting what is not within their whims and caprice.

"It is only to make an appeal because of the harsh economic realities of our times that putting N50m for governorship form and spending 10% of that on administrative charges even though it will make us comfortable, but we are concerned about the unity of our party," Eba maintained.

He said that the process would pave way for the party to dialogue with the aspirant who will emerged and the ticket to be given to him on the basis that he can serve the Interest of all.

He stressed that as it stands the party would not stop those who will oppose this moves.

"We are not going to force anybody to agree with us. We will allow those who refused to listen to us to go ahead with their plan.

"The party has not zone the governorship seat to any senatorial district and everyone has the right to aspire," Eba stressed.

About seventeen persons have so far declared interest to contest for the ticket of the party.

aithfuls of the Imo State All Progressives Congress, APC, have been advised to endeavour to move the party to the grassroots in order to gain more members.

State Chairman of the party, Mr. McDonald Ebere, said this while addressing people of Owerri Zone during their Strategic Leadership Meeting, which held at the party's Secretariat, Thursday.

Enwere, who thanked members of the party for attending the meeting, noted that Owerri gave the Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodimma, a great support during his campaign to become number one citizen of the state.

He revealed that among the zones in the state, Owerri has many State and Federal Constituency aspirants and others who have declared interest to vie for various seats.

"We have Deputy Governor who hails from Owerri Zone. Let us continue to support our Governor,Sen. Hope Uzodimma who has performed excellent. Let us open the doors for people to join our party," he pleaded.

The State party Chairman further urged them to take the party to the grassroots and ensure they win hearts of people from other parties into joining the All Progressives Congress, APC. He advised aspirants to see the excise as a sportsmanship, enjoining them to show example to other zones in the State.

Speaking at the ceremony, Imo Deputy Governor, Prof. Placid Njoku, said he was delighted to be in the midst of Owerri Zone, adding it has all it takes to be in the pivot of leadership of the State.

He said that Governor Hope Uzodimma had a lot of respect for Owerri Zone and that he has done a lot for people of the area whom he said, have shown appreciation.

"We should not make mistake about registration and collection of our Permanent Voter's Cards, PVC's. Let us go and ensure we are registered.This is the time to work hard ", Deputy Governor advised.

He expressed a strong conviction that Owerri zone shall continue to be stronger and united as the 2023 general election is fast approaching.

Speaking, The Owerri zone APC Chairman, Chief Justus Ogu, explained, that the forthcoming election is the only window and door towards changing bad narratives in the political system.

He urged people of the state to ensure they mobilize for support of the All Progressives Congress to ensure the party wins election come 2023. " Governor Uzodimma is a leader who has achieved a lot in the state since his assumption of office".

According to him, in the areas of security, infrastructural and capacity developments, the Governor deserves a vote of confidence.

He appealed to the present administration to give them a zonal office for their political activities, adding that they would be grateful if their request is granted pledging that the APC would be lifted to greater heights.

The ceremony attracted members of the Imo State House of Assembly from Owerri Zone, aspirants, electected officers, Interim Management Committee (IMC) Chairmen and other political appointees.

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POLITICS/INTERVIEW

2023 Presidency: Osinbajo’s Credentials Have Unsettled Other Aspirants – Ajulo Abuja-based Constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Dr Kayode Ajulo, explains why he is supporting the presidential aspiration of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, among other issues, in this interview with AYO ESAN. Excerpts:

He has been visiting the people and party delegates. You must have heard that he visited Edo State. He was in Delta, Oyo, Ondo, Taraba and Cross River States, too.

In fact, he is still on the move. The goal is to connect with the people and talk to them about his aspiration.

Although his declaration of intent was done virtually, he has taken it upon himself to have physical heart to heart discussions with the people.

Prof Osinbajo has been meeting with delegates and the response from them is quite encouraging. All of them came out to support him. You must have noticed that everywhere he goes to, people pose with him for photographs. They resonate well with him. This is quite exciting and symbolic for anybody that understands politics. If the delegates come out when invited and pledge their support, for me and those that are with the Vice president, this is quite remarkable and astounding.

What really endeared you to Osinbajo and what are the qualities you have seen in him that makes you to come out openly to support his aspiration?

First, there is no need belabouring the point that I have been involved in party politics and political administration for some time. I was a National Secretary PAGE 12

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his month, political parties will choose their candidates for the 2023 general election. What are your expectations from the presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC)?

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s presidential bid is basically the aspiration of the Nigerian people, using his person of as the purveyor. We view this development with positive excitement, positive in a sense of positive vibes, positive gustos and assurances. As soon as the Vice President declared his readiness to contest the biggest office in Nigeria, responses across the length and breadth of the country were unmatchable.

of the Labour Party. I also contested an election for a seat in the Senate. With my little experience in politics, let me put it that way; one can easily discern what is happening.

Personally, when we talk of a man who is an epitome of credibility, experience and pedigree, no one other than the Vice President possesses these enviable qualities.

You don’t need a soothsayer to know that considering the many challenges facing the country, the best person to be in the driver's seat is somebody who has been a leading steward at the altar of the Nigerian system, with such credibility, competence, capability and who is without any scandal.

Just to reiterate my recent conversation with an acquaintance; I noted that Prof Osinbajo is well prepared and groomed for the position of the number one citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is not a case of accidental civil servant. The chequered trajectory of the Vice President from the moment he left the University of Lagos for London to study for his Master's degree, returned to the university to lecture, became a professor, was appointed a special adviser and Attorney-General of Lagos State and President of

the World Court, as well as being g a Vice President of Nigeria, will reveal without any iota of doubt that he is well equipped with the requisite technical knowhow and professional competence to run the nation. To allow these endowments slide will be doing a great harm and disservice to the growth of the country.

To be a Vice President for seven years (that is the first time anybody will serve for this long in that position since the creation of Nigeria in 1914). You know, Lord Lugard had a deputy. If I ask you what his name is, I am sure you will not be able to remember it. All the Governor-Generals of Nigeria had deputies, but where are they? Let us drive the point home: President Shehu Shagari had a deputy. How many years was he there?

Four years. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had a deputy; he had how many years of experience? We can say four years before they started having hiccups. At a time, the VP was expelled from the party. He was even sent away from his office, if not for the judiciary that saved him by a whisker.

As it stands, by whatever standard or ramifications, the most experienced person that is today primed for this office is Osinbajo. Besides, when you look at the political THEWILLNIGERIA

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POLITICS/INTERVIEW

“

Asiwaju was a state governor many years ago. I was an undergraduate at the time. Today my daughters are undergraduates. Many things have changed since 1999 when he was governor, but can he say in all sincerity after being out of government for so long that he won’t need some orientation?

You know social justice is about equity, equal opportunities and good governance. That is something that Osinbajo is noted for. Then the rule of law. If we can have someone who will methodically, aggressively and effectively pursue these two concepts, social justice and rule of law, it will be great for us in Nigeria. have seen him as someone that will not shy away from doing this.

I know we will all be better for it.

Since Osinbajo’s declaration, Tinubu’s camp has been very uncomfortable. Some people are saying that since Tinubu is going for the presidency and considering fact that he nurtured him in politics and helped to bring him into the limelight, Osinbajo should not have joined the presidential race. What is your reaction to this?

Let me start from where you said that Tinubu's camp has not been comfortable. Let me say that other contenders’ camps have also been shivering. This is because Osinbajo is someone who has intimidating credentials.

This is someone that none of the other aspirants can match. Are we talking of his intellectual capacity and capability?

and legal intricacies involved, Prof Yemi Osinbajo is the most qualified to sit at the helm of this nation’s affairs.

Although naysayers have been querying Osinbajo’s competence, which is largely based on the erroneous assumption that he would continue the policies of President Buhari, what they all fail to realise is the fact that government, the world all over, is a continuum.

You must continue the government. If the truth must be told, Nigeria voted for APC because of its policies and manifesto. If you pick the policy of the APC government today, it is quite lofty. There is restructuring, there is federalism. Remember the el- Rufai Committee and what it came up with. Thus, for somebody to say he will continue to pursue the policy aggressively, this is a good development. If these things can be done, it will be a great day for Nigeria.

Finally, you said what endeared Osinbajo to me. Upon a careful review of his speeches, particularly his policy speeches, which is a window to his thoughts, I was very impressed. There was a time that I was nursing the ambition of publishing these golden nuggets. There is something you can't take out from his speeches. It is from speeches that you know a person's intentions.

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That aside, I believe Tinubu should not be the focus. The issue should be, Osinbajo and the rest. The rest of them are not comfortable. It is not only about Tinubu's camp.

Whether we like it or not, Tinubu is a leader, a great leader. But our position is that with such experience, he is supposed to be a leader of leaders. He should be an Asiwaju that we call him, that all of us will come for his advice and tutelage.

Asiwaju was a state governor many years ago. I was an undergraduate at the time. Today my daughters are undergraduates. Many things have changed since 1999 when he was governor, but can he say in all sincerity after being out of government for so long that he won’t need some orientation? We don’t need such a person that will want to experiment with Nigeria, but someone that will hit the ground running, and that is no other person than Prof Osinbajo.

Then on the point that Tinubu has helped him. We all have helpers. Some people helped Tinubu, too. The likes of Baba Abraham Adesanya, Kofo Bucknor-Akerele and so on. The first time I met Asiwaju was in 1991. He was with Senator Kofo Bucknor-Akerele. Two of them were senators in Abuja and I know how he deferred to the woman then. I know the way he deferred to Baba Abraham Adesanya, Gani Dawodu, and the leader of the Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo. All of them helped him. I know you must have read the narration of Late Yinka Odumakin. I wish he is alive to now listen to their arguments and you would have seen his reaction.

Asiwaju was helped one way or the other and that’s the

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circle. We all have helpers. But I cannot say that because of this Osinbajo will be too parochial to now deny 200 million Nigerians the opportunity to serve them and lead them well. I believe that when it comes to considering the fate of 200 million Nigerians side by side with the life ambition of one person, the aspiration of over 200 million Nigerians should override the ambition of only one man.

There are many aspirants from the South-West.

Osinbajo, Amosun, Tinubu and Fayemi are all from the South-West. People believe these aspirants will share the delegates from the South-West and that may affect the interest of the region. What is your take on this?

They say variety is the spice of life, I say variety is also the spice of democracy. Democracy is about choice and variety of options. To us, it is quite commendable to have many Aspirants. Those who still want to run should come out, this is the type of freedom we fought for. However, at the appropriate time the best will be chosen and that person is so clear, it is Osinbajo.

Again, it must be noted that not all those that parade themselves as aspirants genuinely want to rule. Many don’t even have a manifesto or vision. I’m speaking from experience. Some obtained the form because they want to retain their seat in the Senate seat. At least it has been confirmed that one of the governors who today is a leading presidential aspirant has secretly gone to pick a form for a senatorial seat. Some of these aspirants just do that to curry favour from a preferred candidate for future appointment as ambassadors. Some others may just want contracts awarded to them. Some have purchased the ticket just to ensure that the indictments against them will be wiped off in order to get reprieve. We all know this. It is always like that. I am even surprised that the number of aspirants is limited to what we have now. I’d expected it to be more than this but at the end of the day, there is always a time when water will find its level.

Nigerians will decide and they will pick the most credible, most experienced candidate and that points to only one person, Osinbajo. Let me tell you that four of those aspirants have already promised to withdraw for Osinbajo and at the appropriate time this will be done.

Only a few days ago, the Southern and Middle Belt leaders insisted that the next president must come from the South-East. Are you excited by this?

Like I said earlier, this is about democracy and democracy is about freedom; Freedom of expression.

Everyone has the right to make any expression but the overriding position here is the need for a credible, free and fair election.

For those campaigning for a Mddle Belt presidency, we know their position. We know their targets and we know who is sponsoring them. But for us, this is not the issue. We are focused. Bring anybody and let them stand side by side with Osinbajo. I want to believe Nigeria deserves the best and that is the best we are giving them.

We are not saying we want a president from the SouthEast, South West, South-South, North-West, North-East and so on. Every Nigerian will come together and be grateful that they made the right choice.

What is your advice to the managers of the APC as they prepare for the primary?

My advice to them is that the party collectively reposes confidence in them to steer the ship of the party and they should know that today, the status of the All Progressives Congress as the ruling party in Africa’s largest population and economy is undoubted. Hence, there is a need for the stalwarts of the party to ensure strict adherence to the dictates of the law and good conscience.

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EDITORIAL

Ending Insecurity in South-East

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he deterioration of security in the South-East geopolitical zone, which comprises Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states, is frightening, so much that the urgent intervention of the security forces and the Federal Government is required to restore sanity to the region.

A recent report by an international human rights organisation, under the aegis of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), revealed that not less than 1,863 people were killed in the South-East in 10 years.

According to the report, 50 persons were killed in 2011; 92 in 2012; 68 in 2013 and 22 in 2014. In 2015, 50 people were killed while 225 suffered the same fate in 2016.

About three hundred and twenty-five (325) people were killed in 2017, while 160 people were killed in 2018.

“In 2019 the figure stood at 114; 110 in 2020 and settled at 647 in 2021, which is 1,863,” the report stated.

From a spate of attacks launched by suspected herdsmen against some communities in Enugu State in 2016, insecurity has worsened in the South-East. At first, accusing fingers were pointed at the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and their foot soldiers, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), who claimed to be retaliating the killings by the herdsmen. But insecurity in the region has assumed an extreme dimension – growing in scale, spread and sophistication.

Aside from unprovoked attacks by the ubiquitous ‘unknown gunmen’, there are cases attributed to ritual killing, political thuggery, kidnapping, cultism and other nefarious activities of hoodlums.

While no part of Nigeria is immune from violence, the deterioration of security in the South-East is particularly worrying. In recent times, Anambra and Imo States, in particular, have witnessed a series of attacks from unknown gunmen, to the extent that some parts of the states have been described as no-goareas because of the prevalence of attacks there.

The significance of the South-East to national development cannot be overemphasized or ignored. Cities such as Onitsha, Aba and Nnewi have emerged as manufacturing and commercial hubs, with export links to other Central and West African countries. Manufacturing makes up 31 percent and 30 percent of businesses in Onitsha and Aba. The unfolding violence in the region, therefore, poses a serious threat to economic development and social stability.

the umbrella of the South-East Governors’ Forum has not yielded any tangible result.

The issue of setting up a regional security outfit, Ebubeagu, in April 2021, is a clear case in point. Till date, all the five states have not set up the outfit; rather, each has its own local security outfit, unlike the SouthWest where Amotekun was set up across the states, which helps them to synergise and tackle insecurity in the area.

There are worries that the inability of the state governors to unite in the area of security in the region shows the extent to which certain forces outside the zone were influencing the affairs of the region. Politicians from the zone are also alleged to be hiding under the cloak of a security situation in the region to attack political enemies using thugs and morally debased youths.

The dramatic surge in the activities of criminals, described as ‘unknown gunmen,’ has not occurred in a vacuum. There are reports that governors have not shown the level of commitment to deal with the situation, as their counterparts in the South-West have done.

Good enough, the region has no big forests with difficult terrain that could frustrate such frontal operations against the criminals. Why the governors are reluctant to take joint action to tackle this menace destroying the region is a matter for concern.

Many prominent leaders have been lamenting the worsening insecurity in the South-East and they have been calling on state governors in the zone to work as a team to tackle it, but this does not seem to have happened.

Clearly, the South-East governors, who belong to three different political parties, are not working toward a common goal. Acting under

The governors, as chief security officers of their respective states, must eschew distrust and lack of cohesion to achieve collective security arrangements that would nip insecurity in the bud in the region

The governors, as chief security officers of their respective states, must eschew distrust and lack of cohesion to achieve collective security arrangements that would nip insecurity in the bud in the region.

They should work with the traditional rulers, community heads, youth leaders and local vigilante groups to identify permanent solutions to insecurity in the region.

Most of the governors are providing security vehicles to the operatives, but that is not enough. They must combine efforts by setting up a central security outfit with well outlined funding and staffing modalities.

We identify with the views of a prominent South-East leader, Valentine Ozigbo, that violence in the South-East demands a holistic response. We also agree with him that tackling unemployment and creating a conducive environment for business will help to eliminate the involvement of the youth in crime. The SouthEast has witnessed tragic waves of violence, which have claimed the lives of hundreds of people, both young and old. This new wave of insecurity marks a turning point in the decline of the people’s values and should be unacceptable to all, the leaders must take steps to intervene.

This is not an issue to be treated with kid’s gloves or swept under the carpet.

As Ozigbo said, “We must address the root cause of this anomaly and not just the symptoms. We must go back to the drawing board, re-assess our value system, emphasise moral values and uphold the sanctity of human life. Importantly, we must assemble as soon as possible.

Leaders of thought, political leaders, traditional rulers, women and youth leaders need to come together and re-evaluate our moral code. We must take steps to arrest this development before it consumes us all.”

We agree with this view.

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

Austyn Ogannah Editor – Olaolu Olusina Deputy Editor – Amos Esele Politics Editor – Ayo Esan Business Editor – Sam Diala Copy Editor – Chux Ohai Cartoon Editor – Victor Asowata Entertainment/Society Editor – Ivory Ukonu Photo Editor – Peace Udugba Head, Graphics – Tosin Yusuph Circulation Manager – Victor Nwokoh Nigeria Bureau: 36AA Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja. Lagos, Nigeria. info@thewillnigeria.com / @ THEWILLNG, +234 810 345 2286, +234 913 333 3888.

EDITOR: Olaolu Olusina @OLUSINA [Letters/Opinions: opinion.letters@thewillnigeria.com]

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OPI N ION

FG: National Census in Wartime?

BY MARCEL OKEKE

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The Director-General of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa-Kwarra, who announced the planned headcount after the Council of State meeting presided over

by President Muhammadu Buhari, noted that the NPC would conduct a pilot census in June 2022, after the political parties would have concluded their primary elections.

borders on stating the obvious to say that the Nigerian economy is in dire straits. Practically all development indices are moving in the wrong direction: public debt and borrowing have risen to unprecedented levels; poverty is spreading like wildfire; consumer purchasing power is plunging just as inflation rate sustains high double digit position. The worsening insecurity has virtually put both foreign and local investors on the run— leading to the drying up of both foreign direct investments (FDIs) and foreign portfolio investments (FPIs). The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Adeniyi Adebayo, lamented this trend recently when he accused other African countries of luring away Nigeria-based companies (with various incentives) to their domains. But who is attracted to (or thrives in) a harsh environment?

Ordinarily, Nigeria is ‘overdue’ to have another national census, having had the last one about 16 years ago under the Olusegun Obasanjo Administration in 2006.

Yet, this is the place and time that the Muhammadu Buhari Administration is choosing to organise a national census— barely a month to the end of its eight-year tenure in May 2023!

A national census is expected to be held at least once in every 10 years, but an enabling socio-political and economic environment has to be in place for any headcount to be deemed credible.

The critical importance of a national census in the overall development process cannot be overemphasized, no doubt.

Most nations of the world (including Nigeria) consider the national census exercise very important because, apart from being one of the indices of modern society, a population census provides comprehensive demographic data on which to base development planning. Unfortunately, previous population censuses in Nigeria have always ended in recrimination and controversy. Even the much applauded 1991 census, adjudged to have been the best so far in the country, led to numerous court cases throughout the federation. The outcome of the 2006 exercise is also widely excoriated and spurned.

ot a few Nigerians were thrown into shock and utter disbelief about two weeks ago when the National Council of State rose from its meeting in Abuja and announced that a national census would be conducted in April 2023, just a month after the general election scheduled for February and March 2023 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Today, terrorists have laid siege to the country, armed criminal gangs are practically everywhere; kidnapping for ransom is the order of the day; social upheavals and dominance of non-state actors constitute a palpable threat to the lives and properties of innocent and law-abiding Nigerians.

The country is, in all honesty, gradually getting overwhelmed by the fallout of this sad state of affairs, including a geometric rise in the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are languishing in numerous makeshift camps across the country, with many others ending up as refugees in neighbouring countries.

An increasing number of casualties and territorial ‘losses’ to terrorists is recorded daily across the country. According to ‘Round 37 Report’ published in August 2021, by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a total of 2.2 million persons (IDPs) were identified in about half-a-million households in the six states of the North-East geopolitical zone.

Also, ‘Round 36 Report’ by IOM in 2020 showed that Nigeria had the third highest number of IDPs in Africa—with about 2.8 million persons. In the last one year or so, this gory situation in the North-East has been replicated in the North-West, NorthCentral and other locations in the country in worse dimensions.

The social dislocations and economic costs of running these IDPs and prosecuting the ‘war’ against terrorism on multiple fronts are better imagined.

Apart from this lingering ‘war’ and its devastating effects, it

Over the years, one of the key problems facing headcounts in Nigeria has been the perception that census figures are used as weapons of hegemony in terms of the advantages they confer on political representation and revenue sharing. Thus, some states and local government authorities see the census as politics by other means. Perceived unevenness in the creation of states and local government areas in the country has not helped matters, as many geopolitical zones feel short-changed based on largely flawed demographic data. This perceived lop-sidedness has continued to pit certain sections or ethnic nationalities against the others, with claims and counter-claims of population/ numerical superiority.

Today, more than ever before, when tribalism, ethnicity, nepotism, favouritism and other clannish tendencies are at play in the dispensing of ‘democracy dividends’, many sections and groups in the country are crying ‘marginalisation’. Incidentally, the dominating groups cling onto the advantages conferred on them by the discredited and/or rejected census figures of the past. And which is why most regions/tribes are receiving the

news of the planned census, a month after a general election and one month to the end of President Buhari’s eight-year tenure, with trepidation and suspicion.

In Nigeria, as of today, governance and leadership seem to be kept in abeyance, as only partisan politics and electioneering are on the front burner in the polity. Since the dawn of 2022, the run up to the conventions of political parties: selection of party leaders; organisation of national conventions to choose candidates from the crowd of aspirants (especially in the two major political parties) as well as the controversies generated by the amended Electoral Act, have all heated up the polity. And in the months ahead, the tension could get worse as electioneering and campaigns by presidential and other candidates go full blast. All these will be going on in the ‘war’ situation where candidates of political parties usually take those of other parties as opponents that ‘could be eliminated’.

In this melee, it is also not unlikely that thuggery, use of mercenaries and other hirelings in the political contests will heighten, thus, wittingly creating ‘jobs’ for the jobless ‘multitude’ of miscreants and street urchins. Obviously, this ineluctable scenario will worsen the ‘war’ situation in the country.

The sequel to all these could be the bedlam and turmoil that is usually the aftermath of elections in the country (court cases and petitions to tribunals) at all levels. This inevitable spill-over effect will most likely linger into the proposed month of the national headcount (in April 2023). And as the census season draws nearer, where is the guarantee for the safety and security of the enumerators and their logistics? What of the millions of people scattered in numerous IDPs across the country? What becomes of the millions of Nigerians who ran into neighboring countries (as refugees)? How about various locations said to be already held/occupied by groups of assortment of terrorists (with many Nigerians under their fiefdom)?

In the face of all these, a more serious question mark on the census plan is the precarious fiscal position of the Federal Government: a huge and rising deficit and ballooning public debt. The country is already in a fiscal fix. As an entity, Nigeria is very ‘highly geared’; and it will be too adventurous for the current administration to embark on an important but costly exercise like a census during its twilight. Moreover, if most censuses organized over the years in peaceful times had almost all been marred by criticism and controversies, what gives hope that the current horrific situation in Nigeria would make for a successful and acceptable headcount?

•Okeke, an economist, sustainability expert and consultant on business strategy, can be reached via obioraokeke2000@yahoo.com

Non-fungible Tokens And Future of Capital Raising in Africa

BY KELLY-ANN MEALIA

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ince January, I have been approached by investors and project owners alike who are looking to get projects funded or deals flowing. At the same time, I have been trying to estimate using available data the gap between infrastructure and energy funding. The figure we have been using is $250 billion a year between now and 2025. Given that the African population is set to double between now and 2050, we can expect that figure to be in the trillions unless the continent finds a way to successfully develop and fund energy projects to universally guarantee electricity access and infrastructure expansion.

Over the past few months, I have made a couple of observations of which the most prominent is that not all deals are made equal. Many investors want renewable projects but only deals above a certain size - $2 million is too small, for example, for many larger investors though this project size timeline is much shorter and can bring immediate impact. A project upwards of $2 billion is more attractive in terms of funding returns but the timeline to project completion could be up to a decade. Overall, there is a hesitancy to engage in hydrocarbon projects even though there are about a dozen markets actively touting their blocks, which, in oil and gas hotspots, could be easily tied into existing infrastructure.

Given the enormous funding gap, I truly believe there is an opportunity to revolutionize how projects are funded. My thesis is that more African energy projects should be crowdfunded either in fiat or digital currency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to ensure that these projects get developed, especially the smaller ones.

This could work in two ways. Firstly, through crowdfunding debt. A project needs to raise debt for a project to start. All agreements and feasibility studies have been completed and the project has a 30-year term agreed with the government.

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return over a two-to-three-year period. The project gets funded, and investors get a great return on their money. Some projects could deliver up to 30% return if successful.

Secondly, through crowdfunding equity. A project needs to raise a percentage equity funding to attract larger institutions who will structure and loan the rest. The owners of the project have already invested all their working capital into completing pre-feasibility studies and there is little scope of sovereign guarantees due to historical mismanagement of funds. Investors can crowdfund to own an equity stake in the project and make the project more attractive to institutions. Equity owners later receive annual dividends over the lifespan of the project. With off take agreements in place from the beginning of the project, this could make the deal even sweeter.

Neither of the above is revolutionary as both strategies are often employed in the start-up scene. However, given the investment gap and how few Africans have a stake in their own energy futures, this could prove an interesting theory.

Then, in my opinion, I started to get a bit creative. I’ve been paying a little attention to crypto, blockchain, web3 and NFTs. I am not an expert by any means and the NFT pump mostly disinterested me until I started to hear about real-world utility.

NFTs can be used to prove authenticity and ownership, and this has instant utility in the world of event ticket reselling and luxury fashion. A few weeks ago, I read a few articles about the tokenization of real estate in Miami whereby investors could “mint” a real-estate token giving them part ownership of the building. There must be an analogue linking of the deed to the token but after that point, the token is on the blockchain and can be transferred to future owners. In this respect, the barrier to entry is much lower. Instead of finding a 10% deposit for an apartment, real-estate NFTs could be minted for as little as the creator sets it at.

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Let us look at the above scenarios with a web3 lens such as energy asset NFT – debt. In this regard, the project raises capital via a cryptocurrency. Ethereum based technology makes sense, especially Polygon or Solana. Investors mint an energy debt NFT in order to raise capital for the project. NFT holders are rewarded through holding the NFT throughout the debt term by earning additional cryptocurrency interest known as distribution. The NFT can be sold at any point to a new owner on the blockchain and the sale can also trigger smart contracts ensuring a royalty to the project owner or the wider community where the project is taking place.

Secondly, let us look at energy asset NFT – equity. This is where things could get interesting. If you tokenise a whole asset – such as a solar farm, oil block, or biogas plant - it means that anyone (with access to a smartphone, WiFi and a cryptocurrency) can own part of a real-life asset. What I like about this idea is the democratization of energy asset ownership. It is not just energy companies, finance institutions, governments that get to get to own our infrastructure but anyone including everyday Africans and those in the diaspora. While NFTs cannot pay a dividend as they only prove ownership, the value of the NFT will naturally rise over time as a project comes online and starts to cash flow. Owning 1,000 tokens of an oil block pre-production will become far more valuable when the asset is producing, especially at $100 per barrel. Token owners can be rewarded in cryptocurrency or fiat when distributions are paid out.

I think the key thing here is transparency in ownership and transparency which sets the continent up for long-term success.

If token holders are also constituents in the project vicinity, it brings an additional layer of accountability and governance.

An NFT could contain voting rights, and future sales generate royalties that are directed back into the local community.

•Maelia is Co-founder and chairperson, Energy Capital and Power.

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www.t hew illni g eri a. c om VOL .2 N O.1 9

Okonkwo

MAY 08 - MAY 1 4, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R

Union Bank Plc: Q1 ’22 Report Shows Signs of Decline

BY SAM DIALA

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nion Bank of Nigeria Plc recorded operating results that indicate signs of decline in its 2022 unaudited first quarter report – a trend that draws from the 2021 full year results of the bank. The Tier-2 lender had seen moderate improvements in some parameters in recent years before sliding into decline in the 2021 annual report which snowballed into the review period.

In the Q1 2022 interim report released to The Exchange and published on its website, the 105-year-old first generation bank recorded a drop in profit before tax (PBT) from N6.46 billion to N5.84 billion reflecting a 9.5 percent decline. Profit after tax (PAT) also declined: from N6.20 billion in Q1 2021 to N5.55 billion in the review period as seen in the bank’s unaudited financial statement for three months of the year.

Total gross earnings, on the other hand, recorded an increase of 18 percent from N36.8 billion in the corresponding period to N43.5 billion in Q1 2022; as net interest income also jumped to N12.8 billion from N10.2 billion in Q1 2021 to Q1 2022 respectively.

However, the bank’s assets base dropped slightly from N2.6 trillion in Q1 2021 to N2.58 trillion in the first quarter of 2022, representing 0.8 percent. Assets growth is important for a business organization, especially, a financial services institution in a competitive environment like Nigeria is currently facing.

“For a bank, there is no period that people will not need money. It is either for food or health. So, once they continue to invest in those areas (that are strategic), they will get returns,” said Professor of Finance and Accounts at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Muhammad Mainoma. According to Mainoma who is the immediate President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), assets base is an indication of how efficient a business organization is in its

Providing Managers With Necessary Framework For Hybrid Work

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR ach year, Microsoft’s Work Trend Index provides a data-driven analysis of key changes within the working world. According to Ola Williams, Country Manager for Microsoft Nigeria, Managers now hold the key to

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a thriving hybrid work culture in Nigeria.

Highlighting Microsoft recent study, Ola posited that for most working professionals across the world, the past two years have been characterised Continues on page 33

investment strategy.

Union Bank’s assets decline reflected in the credit facilities to the customers. The report revealed a drop in loans and advances at amortised cost from N868.9 billion to N853.2 billion, showing a 1.8 percent decline. Deposit from customers also declined during the period: it fell from N1.36 trillion to N1.32 trillion according to data from the Q1 2022 unaudited financial statement, reflecting 2.9 percent. Net interest income after impairment charges for credit losses recorded a positive outcome in Q1 2022 to N13.0 billion from N10.2 billion in Q1 2021.

Commenting on the results, Emeka Okonkwo, CEO said: “In 2022, we renewed our focus on turbocharging productivity and ensuring we fully leverage the strength of our digital channels, regional network and talent to maximise the bottom line.”

“Our efforts are gaining momentum and notwithstanding a challenging economic climate in Q1 2022, our Net Interest Income after impairment grew by 27% compared to the same quarter in 2021 from N10.1 billion to N12.9 billion. Gross Earnings are also up by 18% to N42.9 billion against N36.4 billion in Q1 2021. This was bolstered by improved asset yields, treasury trading income and revenues from our alternate channels.

“We are steadily seeing increasing customer adoption with a 36% YoY increase in active users on UnionDirect, our agency banking network, and increasing transaction volumes with a 20 per cent YoY growth across our digital channels.

“Interest Income grew by 41 per cent from N22.2 billion to N31.4 billion as our earnings asset base expanded with a more viable loan Continues on page 33

MORE INSIDE Elumelu Seeks ‘Reimagined’ US Relationship with Africa PAGE 35

Katchey Laboratory Will Complement Free Trade Agreement In Africa - Abiodun

CSCS Grows Revenue by 39.2%, Pays N3.7bn Dividends

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he Board of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc has proposed a total dividend of N3.7 billion to its shareholders, reinforcing the value accretion to its equity owners, who have seen notable rise in share pric e of the Company over the past year. The dividend proposal, which was announced at the Company’s 28th Annual General Meeting that took place today in Lagos on Friday, May 6, 2022 was unanimously

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MAY 08 - MAY 14, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

ICT/BANKING Providing Managers With Necessary Framework For Hybrid Work

Union Bank Plc: Q1 ’22 Report Shows Signs of Decline

Continued from page 16

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by surprises at every turn – but for many, one of the most unexpected developments has been the decision by management to make a full-time return to the office.

Combining insights from studies of thousands of people, trillions of productivity signals in Microsoft 365 and labour trends on LinkedIn, the Index has become a benchmark for organisations looking to better understand their employees in this era of uncertainty.

Stating further, Ola emphasised that it would seem that a greater insight into what workers are thinking is exactly what is needed. She however, noted that findings from the Index show Nigerian companies may be missing an opportunity where their employees are concerned.

"It didn’t take long after lockdown began easing for businesses across the country to return to the office. But this means many Nigerian professionals are missing out on the benefits of a more flexible work environment".

"Many of their global counterparts who have had the opportunity to experience working from home over the past couple of years are showing a clear preference for hybrid work.

What’s more, there is an added danger of a potential disconnect between business leaders and employees. This was a key trend highlighted in the 2022 Work Trend Index.

In fact, there’s a growing consensus among managers that leaders have lost touch with staff", Ola added.

Although the number of Nigerian executives who are prioritising culture as part of their business strategy has increased since COVID-19, the overall number of business leaders who say culture is a top business consideration is still less than half. It is easy to see how this current dynamic has come about – particularly around the issue of returning to the office.

Leaders have spent the past two years under crushing pressure, shepherding their people and organisations through uncertainty amid unprecedented economic challenges. And while there is no question technology helped preserve productivity during the pandemic, the Work Trend Index shows fears about lost gains have factored into the pullback to inperson work. This is especially the case in a country like Nigeria where a lack of steady power supply poses significant challenges to remote work.

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However, globally employees feel they have benefitted hugely from remote work, particularly when it comes to prioritising their health and well-being. And in Nigeria this is translating into growing expectations around flexible work – especially among skilled employees. So much so that it has prompted a steady increase in remote work vacancies since 2020.

It means that leaders now have a new and urgent challenge in an uncertain economy and labour market: exploring the potential for flexible work in a way that balances business outcomes with emerging employee expectations.

According to the Work Trend Index, a big part of the answer to this conundrum lies with line managers. The past two years have taught us that culture will stand or fall with managers. As the people who embody the culture for every organisation, managers are a critical bridge between evolving employee expectations and leadership priorities.

But to make matters more complex, many managers feel stuck between leadership and growing employee expectations, and they feel powerless to drive change for their team.

From the outset of the pandemic, Microsoft’s research has highlighted the challenges faced by managers navigating the hurdles that have arisen since COVID-19, perhaps the biggest of which is maintaining a strong company culture.

Now the Work Trend Index shows they also feel they are lacking the influence and resources to make changes on behalf of their team.

It’s clear that if organisations in Nigeria want to unlock the potential of flexible work, they should begin by equipping managers with the resources and training they need to manage the transition.

While policy is set at the top, leaders need to decentralise decision-making and empower managers to make change on behalf of their employees’ individual needs. Developing clear guidelines and agreements, like the ones in this template put together by Microsoft, can provide managers with the framework needed for hybrid work.

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portfolio. Our NPL ratio is flat at 4.3 per cent (from December 2021), well within the regulatory limit, while cost to income ratio dropped from 79.4 per cent in December 2021 to 73.9 per cent in March 2022.

“We will continue to drive cost optimization to ensure consistent improvement in efficiencies. With a Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 15.6 per cent, our capital position remains strong.

“On the innovation side, we launched SpaceNXT – a purposebuilt hub created to encourage innovation and foster collaboration within the Nigerian tech ecosystem.

This remains a space where Union Bank desires to maintain a leading position.

For the rest of H1 2022, we will continue to focus on driving productivity, mining targeted opportunities across regions and optimising our digital platforms to deliver improved customer service and acquisition.”

The declining trend in the bank’s assets and profitability began to manifest in its FY 2021 financial statement when its PBT dropped from N26 billion to N20.7 billion showing a decline of 25.6 percent.

Similarly, PAT dropped to N17 billion in 2021 from N18.7 in 2020, reflecting 10 percent drop. However, total gross earnings in FY 2021 showed an 8 percent growth from N164 billion in FY2020 to N177.3 billion in FY 2021. Assets base grew to N2.6 trillion in FY 2021 from N2.2 trillion in FY2020.

Union Bank recorded a 26.5 percent rise in operating expenses to N10.5 billion in Q1 2022 from N8.3 billion in Q1 2021 with cost of diesel and power increasing to N865 million from N633 million reflecting 36.6 percent increased cost. Earnings per share declined from 23 kobo in Q1 2021 to 21 kobo in Q1 2022 or 8.7 percent.

The Bank contravened some banking regulations in 2021 which attracted a total penalty of N207 million for the year, as against N10 million penalty paid in the previous year, 2020. Details of the banking regulation which the lender contravened in 2021 were N1 million for late substitution of pledged maturing securities.

The bank was also penalised N2 million for non-provision of short codes to customers to enable them block their accounts upon notice of fraud threats and N4 million for violating the CBN circular prohibiting financial institutions from giving foreign currency facility to customers that do not earn foreign currency. A whopping N200 million penalty was imposed on Union Bank for contravening the CBN regulation on Crypto Currency.

Nigeria’s youngest commercial bank, Titan Trust Bank Limited, in December 2021 acquired 89.39 per cent equity in Union Bank Nigeria Plc, in a transaction stakeholders expressed would improve the financial institution’s corporate governance.

In a notification to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the banks said investors of Union Global Partners Limited, Atlas Mara Limited, and other

“

We will continue to drive cost optimization to ensure consistent improvement in efficiencies. With a Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 15.6%, our capital position remains strong

shareholders had reached an agreement with Titan to divest their shareholding in the premier financial institution. It said then that the agreement, which was subject to regulatory approvals and other financial conditions, will, upon completion, transfer 89.39 per cent of Union Bank’s issued share capital to Titan.

Commenting on the deal: Chairman of Union Bank, Beatrice Hamza Bassey said: “On behalf of the Board, we congratulate all the parties involved in reaching this phase of the transaction and the Board looks forward to supporting the next steps to ensure seamless completion of the process following regulatory approvals.

“We are grateful to our current investors whose significant and consequential investments over the past nine years facilitated the transformation of Union Bank, one of Nigeria’s oldest and storied institutions. Today, the Bank is well-positioned with an innovative product offering, a growing customer base of over six million and consistent year on year profitability. This is a solid foundation for our incoming investors to build on as we move into a new era for the Bank.”

Titan Trust’s chairman and former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Tunde Lemo, said the board and other stakeholders “are delighted as this transaction marks a key step for Titan Trust in its strategic growth journey and propels the institution to the next level in the Nigerian banking sector.”

He added: “The deal represents a unique opportunity to combine Union Bank’s longstanding and leading banking franchise with TTB’s innovation-led model which promises to enhance the product and service offering for our combined valued customers.”

According to the Union Bank’s Managing Director, Emeka Okonkwo, this deal “marks a significant milestone in the journey of the 104year old bank.

“While thanking our current investors for their unwavering commitment to the bank over the years, we welcome our new core investor, TTB. We recognize the strategic fit between the two institutions and expect that this deal will deliver the best outcome for our employees, customers and stakeholders. We look forward to collectively writing the next exciting chapter for Union Bank,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of Titan Trust, Mudassir Amray, described the deal as a significant leap in the market share of the two-year-old financial institution at the time.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Effective Management of Small Businesses

BY TIMI OLUBIYI

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Nigerian entrepreneur

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any people are unaware that the small business sector in Nigeria can have a significant impact on both the environment and the economy. The sector could also provide the country with rapid industrialisation and non-oil industrial export gains. All that is required is more structure, framework, support and participation from government, entrepreneurs, politicians, policymakers and academics. Nevertheless, it is painful that despite this potential and opportunities, small businesses in Nigeria are failing at an alarming rate. Clearly, the COVID-19 pandemic, rising cost of fuel, inflation and insecurity have had harmful effects on them.

Owners of small-sized enterprises are multifunctional and while they are often constrained by day-to-day operational demands, it is important to encourage them with ways to help their businesses to become more sustainable. My focus is to continue to target the sector with knowledge of best practices in my own space. Therefore, this piece is primarily to address leadership deficiencies and stress that leadership is critical and can be a great indicator of an organization's success or failure in the country.

No matter how small or micro a business is, the owner-manager or operator adopts a certain leadership quality to lead or govern the business. This is what is referred to as the leadership style that the business leader has, even though effective leadership is lacking in many of these businesses. As simple as it sounds, leadership style or qualities impact strongly on decision-making and the business outcomes in any scenario, it equally impacts employees significantly.

To mention, it is vital to note that true leadership in any business or organization is informed via the combination and use of power and authority.

While power is the capacity to influence people to accomplish goals, authority refers to the legal rights that follow a person who holds a certain position or office. What gives issues in small businesses majorly are the unethical behaviours around power and its dispensation.

Most small business operators and entrepreneurs exhibit absolute control over all business, workplace decisions and enjoy imposing commands on staff and the management if any. More so, most of the business owner-managers, operators and entrepreneurs, particularly those based in Lagos State, continue to instill fear in their staff by threatening them with a sack and other forms of punishment. Many workers in these small businesses, although they may not show it openly, become worried as a result of this issue. This weighs them down and also affects their morale, motivation and performance in the short and long run.

When operators/owner-managers lead or run a business they apply the combination of their personality, life experiences, communication style, decision-making preference, level of emotional intelligence, education and overall perspective to the way the business is run. These attributes are typically what inform the leadership style (power) available in the business, whether it is nano, micro, small, or medium-sized. So, the question is does leadership style affect small businesses? The answer is yes, leadership style does.

Workers are never involved in the decision-making process. They are expected to follow the leaders’ decisions, choices and orders because they (leaders) have a huge amount of influence over them. These business leaders bring all the decisions and commands to the subordinates; whose responsibilities are mainly to align.

So, it is fair to conclude, based on context observations and obvious perception, that small businesses around are typically run-on autocratic leadership style, characterised by the authoritative and forceful work environment and imposing commands in the daily business operations. Note that with a large enterprise, there are several hierarchical levels, so the conduct of a CEO does not immediately affect the employees.

However, in small businesses the owner has a direct influence on their staff and decisions are only goaloriented.

Other forms of leadership styles are available, but

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Owners of small-sized enterprises are multifunctional and while they are often constrained by dayto-day operational demands, it is important to encourage them with ways to help their businesses to become more sustainable

they are underutilised for a variety of reasons, the most imperative is the environment, characterised by labour issues, where individuals must be pushed to do the correct thing. While this is a valid reason, largely most of these businesses are unaware of the impact an autocratic leadership style can have on business performance and staff morale.

Good relationships with the employees have been noted as one of the key factors for business success. Consequently, being flexible by displaying and combining a variety of leadership styles within a business by leaders can also improve the performance of small businesses, instead of sticking to the predominant autocratic leadership style that is widespread. For instance, different leadership styles can be adapted for different scenarios in the business for outcomes and deliverables.

In some cases, leaders can adopt the democratic leadership style, also sometimes known as participative, which builds on consensus through the participation of staff and team members to achieve a goal or make a decision within the business. It is moderately the opposite of the autocratic leadership style and useful in a structured business entity where staff are educated and rational. Employees feel motivated to participate in decision-making and that can enhance their performance. Rather than extracting inputs from staff from a participative leadership style and then considering it when making a decision, a laissez-faire leader willingly submits to team members in making decisions. This form of leadership style is the extreme

opposite of autocratic leadership and is equally useful.

A laissez-faire leadership style may be a very fruitful and effective method to manage staff or team made of a highly talented, highly specialized individuals within the business.

It has been captured that initiative and creativity behaviours are achieved by staff with this form of leadership style in businesses be it small medium or even large firms. Because with sufficient job experience, a person learns a variety of things that eventually reflects in behaviour and character.

Furthermore, it is believed that the more experience one has, the smarter and wiser one becomes. The Laissez-faire leadership style gives this platform, it does not have to be an autocratic style predominantly.

For micro-entrepreneurs with a staff or two the coercive leadership style which generally expects instant compliance with instruction and commands may be suitable because of the lack of structure and that not too educated employees are engaged for duties.

This method is especially effective in times of crisis, in other businesses like during a major emergency or rowdy session. While it is similar to the autocratic leadership style, it differs somewhat but is oftentimes used interchangeably since both require the use of force.

Other forms of leadership available that entrepreneurs can use to support the autocratic leadership style, if the business is structured and formal, are the transactional leadership style and the transformational leadership style. Transactional leadership style is set up for rewards and incentives for specific outcomes from employees, simply agreement basis. Next, is the leadership style that transforms called the transformational leadership where the collective, collaborative, or participative approaches to leadership are all taken at the same time.

Although there is no ideal leadership style for a business, the key is that there is a leadership style suitable for each scenario or situation in the business, therefore entrepreneurs must understand this and swap to apply the appropriate style to each situation.

This is essential to obtain the best business outcomes, achieve best practices and promote ethical behaviours within the business. If this approach is adopted by many of the struggling businesses, they can still be hopeful.

•Dr Olubiyi is an entrepreneurship and business management expert. He can be reached on the Twitter handle @drtimiolubiyi and via email: drtimiolubiyi@gmail.com THEWILLNIGERIA

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MAY 08 - MAY 14, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

BUSINESS NEWS Elumelu Seeks ‘Reimagined’ US Relationship with Africa

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Group Chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, and Special Assistant to the United States President and Senior Director for Africa, Ms Dana Banks, during the Fireside Chat hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace and The Heritage Foundation in Washington DC last weekend.

CSCS Grows Revenue by 39.2%, Pays N3.7bn Dividends Continued from page 16

approved by elated shareholders, who commended the Executive Management for an incredible performance, despite the challenging operating environment.

The N3.7 billion dividend, which translates to 83.7 per cent payout ratio, reflects the resilient profitability of the Company, notwithstanding the impact of lower trading activity on most Exchanges in the Nigerian capital market and inflationary pressures.

Consolidating on its diligent earnings diversification drive, the Company grew revenue from core operations and ancillary services by 39.2 per cent to N6.4 billion from N4.6 billion in 2020, as it almost quadrupled earnings from ancillary services from N526million in 2020 financial year to N2.2 billion in 2021 financial year.

Notably, income from ancillary services contributed 33.3 per cent and 21.5 per cent of operating revenue and total income for the year respectively, underpinning Management’s strategy towards diversifying and strengthening the earnings fundamentals of the Company, with the ultimate objective of creating sustainable and superior wealth for shareholders and its broader stakeholders.

Addressing shareholders, Mr. Oscar Onyema, OON, Chairman, Board of Directors of CSCS Plc said; “Notwithstanding the volatile operating environment and moderated capital flows, as reflected in the subdued capital market activities, the earnings fundamentals of your Company remained resilient and indeed stronger than ever. This fact is evident in the impressive revenue growth of 39.2 per cent, driven by stellar growth in ancillary income.

The equity market recorded one of the weakest secondary market activities in the past few years, with the average daily trade value of N3.9billion, some 10 per cent below the trading activity recorded in 2020 financial year, explaining the tepid transaction THEWILLNIGERIA

fees. Albeit income from ancillary services recorded a significant boost, contributing N2.2billion or 21.5 per cent of total income in 2021FY, from N526million or 11.3 per cent of total income in 2020FY. This performance reinforces the capacity of the Management in delivering on the Board’s vision result of diversifying the business and enhancing the value accretion prospect to shareholders in a sustainable manner. More importantly, my colleagues and I on the Board of your Company, are excited at the prospect for new offerings arising from strategic partnerships and new initiatives. In our oversight role, we are working with the Management to invest relevant resources towards exploring new frontiers for growth, especially as these initiatives are expected to foster retail investor penetration and broader capital market growth.”

While commenting on the outlook for the business, the Chairman noted: “typical of a pre-election year, 2022 comes with its unique macro challenges but I am optimistic on the earnings capacity and overall resilience of our business, as we hope to consolidate on the strong foundations and extract synergies opportunities with our participants and partners in sustaining the positive trajectory of the business. Hence, with the support of shareholders and other stakeholders, CSCS would continue to deliver superior performance and create wealth for shareholders.

In the same vein, Mr. Haruna JaloWaziri, the Chief Executive Officer, CSCS Plc said; “Reflecting the ingenuity of our participants and more importantly quick adoption of new remote access technologies, the Nigerian capital market remained active through the prolonged COVID-19 crisis. The collaboration of our regulator and participants has been incredible in sustaining our operational protocols and IOSCO PFMI standards.”

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Katchey Laboratory Will Complement Free Trade Agreement In Africa - Abiodun FROM SEGUN AYINDE, ABEOKUTA

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gun State Government partnership with Katchey Company Limited - producer of laboratory equipment and consumables will compliment the African Continental Free Trade Agreement(ACFCTA) as it open its laboratory station in the state The laboratory complex expected to house manufacturing of laboratory equipment and consumables, training center for laboratory analysts and bio-engineers among others Governor Dapo Abiodun who stated this in Abeokuta, said that the establishment of the firm's station in the state would supplement ACFCTA entered into by Nigeria and other African countries to allow free trade across the continent He hailed the laboratory maker firm for building its station in the state, noting that the country hasn't been able to tap into the free trade zone because most of the goods expected to be exported were not certified worthy of export Abiodun said that the state had again fulfilled its public private partnership with the citing of Katchey's laboratory in the state to make goods that are meant for export be certified for the international market.

He disclosed that the laboratory complex was a welcome development in the health sector of the country, especially at a time the globe was affected by COVID-19.

"COVID-19 made us realize how unprepared we were for a medical emergency, it is my joy that this initiative will strengthen our health sector," he added The governor called for more investors to partner with the state, saying that his administration was looking forward to partnering with the initiative particularly through the Olabisi, Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital and the School of Health Technology.

Speaking, the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uche Ogah and his counterpart in the Trade, Industry and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, who both commended the initiative by the company which they said would promote self sufficiency in the country, said that the Federal Government would continue to do all it can to end medical tourism.

he Group Chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, has called for a ‘reimagined’ U.S. relationship with Africa, stressing that a strong private sector is critical for peace and development in the continent. He also said that Washington needs to shift its focus from aid that inevitably encourages dependency to support for institutions that help empower a burgeoning population through businesses and the jobs Elumelu who said this during the Fireside Chat hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace and The Heritage Foundation in Washington DC recently, explained that young people who are engaged in bettering their own lives and their communities will reject the lures of extremism and crime.

“Entrepreneurship, peace and conflict are linked one way or the other”, Elumelu said, while calling for a ‘reimagined’ US relationship with Africa in the pursuit of a viable private sector through youth empowerment.

Asked what the United States can do to improve Africa’s governance, Elumelu replied that “people are beginning to wonder if the U.S. is still there for Africa because of the foray into Africa by other world powers.”

Yet America remains admired and respected, he said. According to him, a critical step would be to make sure aid makes it past the “last mile” to its intended recipients and purposes; another would be supporting institutional infrastructure that helps address sustainability; and U.S. policymakers and financial institutions should impress on African leaders how their own political goals and private sector success are linked.

Overall, there needs to be a “reimagining of what Africa needs” — a necessity demonstrated by a dangerous level of youth unemployment that is not improving, Elumelu said, adding that the recent string of coups across Africa should serve as a “wakeup call” for the urgency of addressing the social and economic conditions that lead to political instability.

Across Africa, governments often see the private sector as a competitor, which abets instability, he said. Leaders must understand that only the private sector — particularly small and medium-scale enterprises — can catalyze economic growth by creating jobs. At the same time, the “enabling environment” of government-involved infrastructure demands massive investment.

Investors, however, are reluctant to finance or build projects in countries plagued by theft, insecurity and corruption, he said, so a “mighty private sector” will place increased demands on political leaders to improve their countries’ governance.

“The private sector makes innumerable contributions to securing peace,” Lise Grande, USIP’s president and CEO, said in introducing Elumelu. It provides jobs and economic opportunities, promotes education, advances institutions that protect the rule of law, and helps to address the social pressures that lead to extremism and democratic backsliding, Grande said.

“Those pressures include a soaring population, observed the Heritage Foundation’s Joshua Meservey: 60 percent of Africans are younger than 25 and by 2035 the continent’s working class will likely be larger than China’s or India’s.

“By necessity, peace and security are in a symbiotic and simultaneous relationship with greater economic growth and investment,” Dana Banks, the US National Security Council’s senior director for Africa, who appeared with Elumelu, added later.

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Brand executives

BRAND AND MARKETING

End of OOH Advertising As We Know It

BY HENRIETTA IGBEKEA

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ut-of-Home advertising has come a long way from the static billboards and paper posters to the tech-savvy and effective channel of advertising it has become for businesses both small and large. OOH as it is called, has witnessed major growth in the last few years and will continue to expand due to the introduction of digital technology which encourages businesses to add more creativity and boldness into their adverts.

In the past, changing a billboard was a laborious and tiresome job. To place a billboard in the first place requires so much time and a lot of money and once it is placed, you are stuck with what is up there for the proposed duration. But now that digital has been introduced into the mix and is easily accessible, the possibilities for advertising have increased dramatically. Billboards are now interactive and constantly changing with the ability to showcase more than one advert at a time.

The OOH of the future tilts towards the incorporation and use of technology and as technology keeps advancing, businesses will need to seek new means to reach out to their existing and potential customers to increase their brand awareness even with traditional advertising mediums of television, radio, and newspaper still around. As the marketing world evolves, so does customers' reaction to adverts. Customers now have more control over the adverts they see, and this innovation is largely aided by some technology companies.

Samsung for instance has ceased advertisement showcases on default apps (S21 Ultra) and now has a detailed guide on how to remove and block pop-up ads. I will say, companies that wish to stay quick-moving in OOH advertising need to embrace the improvement and innovation digital technology incorporation has brought.

As the OOH industry increasingly becomes an important part of many companies' marketing strategy, and as the chance of advert placement increases, new technologies are incorporated into

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As the OOH industry increasingly becomes an important part of many companies' marketing strategy, and as the chance of advert placement increases, new technologies are incorporated into OOH advertising to further enhance its attraction to businesses and brands

OOH advertising to further enhance its attraction to businesses and brands.

There is the digital out-of-home (DOOH) with digital screens that allows both the marketer and media planners to use programmatic OOH to change ad messaging for more relevance. With this smart billboard, displaying fresh content can be automated and done in seconds. You can also update your advert to reflect the time of day, traffic situation or changes in the weather, at no production cost after first investment.

This technology can also let you deliver a more personalised message for your brand using the power of storytelling. And by strategically planning your ads by location and time, the customer is not seeing the same image over and over, rather they are following different parts of the story while they go about their business, ensuring they will remember who you are and how you can serve them.

And then there is the virtual reality technology used

for experiential OOH. Experiential OOH focuses on creating remarkable and distinctive experiences to draw attention and sustain engagement with a brand. This technology is used to captivate the audience and give them the chance to meet with the brand ambassadors or even see the product in action.

By integrating OOH and technology seamlessly, the industry can expand its reach and maximise the impact of advert messages. And there is endless opportunity for creativity, context, and relevance when OOH is paired with technology, much of which could not be possible with static displays, and this is further expected to boost the OOH market growth.

As witnessed over time, there is never an advancement without challenges bedevilling it.

And with OOH advertising, there are a few worth mentioning.

First is the issue of perception of the medium. Many advertisers and agencies think of OOH as a noncore, secondary and almost an afterthought medium of advertising. Planners, here, either neglect it or will not place it on the same level with other media during planning. They see OOH as supplementary to other media instead of the prominent medium it is.

Secondly is the issue of measurement. The accuracy of measuring reach, frequency, real-time exposure, and other effects is one of the difficult problems facing OOH advertising. The inability to connect OOH advertising investment and its impact on business or brand objective has contributed to the low attributions the medium gets. Unlike the digital and broadcast advertising medium where numbers could be provided for metrics such as reach, impressions and frequency, OOH platforms struggle in this regard. The difficulty in measuring the OOH medium makes it less desirable to use.

Lastly, is the cost. The amount of money involved in engaging OOH advertising is quite huge and this discourages a lot of brands. But what they fail to see is that it is worth every penny if the ads are well planned and placed.

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• Ajereh •Alisigwe

•Okoye

• Peters

• Obidi

•Adekoya

• Duncan •Agwu

DIVORCED, BACK IN SINGLES CLUB •Nwafor

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•Ezeonu

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ONCE MARRIED, NOW SINGLE

JULIUS AGWU

D

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r Sidney Esiri, otherwise known as Dr Sid, son of late Nollywood actor, Justus Esiri, got married to Simi, founder of Schick Magazine, a Pan African beauty and lifestyle magazine, in 2015, in what turned out to be one of the biggest weddings of that year.

Unfortunately the marriage packed up five years later.

Trouble started in their paradise when the singer's music career started dwindling and he couldn't maintain his wife's status as a silver spoon kid. Simi could not cope with the change in her husband’s fortune and new role which it thrust upon her. She allegedly became violent overnight as she struggled to fit into the role of breadwinner.

At a point, she prevented her husband from having any contact with his children before she eventually moved out of their home. The two quietly went their separate ways. Much later, in an attempt to debunk allegations of domestic violence, she confirmed that her marriage had ended in 2020.

MOFE DUNCAN

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aul and Anita Okoye’s marriage was rocked by some allegations, particularly of infidelity, before it finally collapsed in 2021. It was first rumoured that the couple had broken up after Anita packed her things and relocated with her children to the United States of America, precisely Atlanta, on the pretext of studying for another degree. A few months later, she filed for the dissolution of the marriage at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja where she demanded for the sum of $15,000 (N7.8M) monthly as spousal support.

The couple met many years ago in Jos when Paul was still an up-and-coming music artiste. After 10 years of courtship, they got married in an elaborate and flamboyant ceremony in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State in 2014. Their union is blessed with three children, Andre, Nathan and Nadia.

SIDNEY ESIRI

PAUL OKOYE

SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN tells the concluding part of Nigerian entertainers and celebrities who were once married but are now back to the singles club

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andsome actor, cum model, Josbert Thomas Kwamina Eyimofe Duncan, professionally known as Mofe Duncan, is among the actors who are still enjoying the singles club after years of marriage. It was all going well between the actor and his beautiful Indian born wife, Jessica Kakkad until Jessica revealed that they were no longer married. The couple got married in 2015 in a well-attended ceremony in Lagos State. But, the marriage packed up in 2018. The two only opened up about the crash of the marriage in 2019. No cogent reason was given for the collapse of their union. After parting ways, the two remained friends and always wished each other well on social media. The actor however debuted another lover in 2020 but he is yet to walk down the aisle with her.

omedian and actor, Julius Agwu enjoyed marital bliss with his wife, Ibiere, for 14 years before he decided to walk out of the marriage for reasons best known to him. THEWILL gathered that Julius had stopped fulfilling his marital obligations to Ibiere before leaving her and their children for an undisclosed location where he now lives alone. Sources claim that many people tried to persuade the comedian to return to his family, but in vain. The couple was married for over a decade and Ibiere was quite supportive of her husband while it lasted. She stood solidly by him at a very critical period in his life: when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2015.

Three tumours were found in Julius’ brain and he had to undergo surgery. Ibiere nursed him till he fully recovered and was strong enough to appear on stage again.

Ibiere has since reverted to her maiden name, Maclayton and she has been taking care of their three children alone.

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YEWANDE ABIODUN

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eteran actor, filmmaker and producer, Emeka Ike is one of those few who were unfortunate to experience a broken marriage.

The breakup of his marriage was the most controversial issue in the entertainment industry for several months at a stretch at the time it happened.

The father of five from two different women officially got married in 2000 to a DutchNigerian teacher named Suzanne, who is the mother of his first four children, Michael, Chinonso, Jayson and Adanna. In 2015, she filed for divorce at the Lagos Island Customary Court and accused her husband of molestation, torture and incessant beating. She complained that her health would be at risk if she continued to live with the actor.

Emeka who was the president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria at the time denied the allegations.

He stated that he had never beaten his wife and alleged that some members of the guild were the brains behind his marital issues. The divorce proceedings became messy and dragged on for two years. The marriage was eventually dissolved in 2017 and the actor was given custody of his four children, while their mother was granted the right to visit them anytime.

In addition, the actor was paid N300 which was the amount he had paid as the bride price of Suzanne when they got married in 2000. The divorce mess affected the actor so much that he took a break from acting for a while.

Two years after the divorce, Emeka found love again in the arms of a South African model, Yolanda Pfeiffer, who was based in Germany. The two met at an award ceremony held in Germany and fell in love immediately. They had a low-key marriage and welcomed their first daughter, Oluchi in 2019.

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ctress Yewande Abiodun joined the league of the single's club as recently as April 2022. The actress enjoyed nine years of marital bliss before her marriage packed up as a result of emotional abuse and infidelity on her husband's part. The actress alleged that she was the financial backbone of her marriage while it lasted.

Abiodun Isola Thomas packed his things and left their matrimonial home without looking back. His wife had to relocate to her father's house with her children and she has been living there since then.

A few days after opening up about her failed marriage, she took to the social media to defend her husband, pleading that her fans should stop trolling him as she has forgiven him for maltreating her.

The actress has since been taking care of her two children single handedly and not giving a romantic relationship thought again for now.

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KORRA OBIDI CHINEDU ANI EMMANUEL

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ollywood actress cum entrepreneur, Susan Peters was once married, but she is now back to the single's club. Her marriage to her Dutch lover, Dr Koen Croon, ended because of the distance between them. Susan was unwilling to leave her robust career as an actress and relocate abroad to build her marriage which forced her husband to indulge in extra-marital affairs in her absence.

When she got to know, she tried to patch things up, however, the marriage eventually collapsed. The two love birds got married in a traditional wedding ceremony held in 2015 in Benue State. The couple later had their civil marriage at Ikoyi Marriage Registry, Lagos State in the presence of some of their colleagues in the industry. A few months after their wedding, the actress became pregnant but eventually lost the pregnancy. Not long after that, the two decided to quietly go their separate ways.

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roadcaster, actor and comedian, Chinedu Ani Emmanuel, popularly known as Nedu, of Wazobia FM Radio and his wife, Uzoamaka Ohiri, got married in 2013. However, things did not turn out as expected in the marriage. One thing led to another and the two lovebirds decided to go their separate ways in 2018.

Ohiri was the first to accuse her husband of domestic violence.

She stated that the actor battered

U

S-based Nigerian dancer, Korra Obidi and her American husband, Justin Dean, painted the picture of a perfect couple such that her fans were always thrilled to watch their show of love on Instagram. However, the fans were

MICHAEL COLLINS

EMEKA IKE

SUSAN PETERS

MAY 08 - MAY 14, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

her a few weeks after she was delivered of their first child through Cesarean Section. Chinedu revealed that their marriage was plagued by many issues. He carried out a paternity test on his children because of his wife's infidelity and it was discovered that he wasn't the biological father of their first son. In 2019, he secretly remarried Funmi, a long time friend, in the presence of a few friends and family members. shocked to find out that their union was not perfect after all when Justin announced that he was done with the marriage a few months ago.

Justin accused his wife of infidelity, narcissism, lack of accountability and abuse of their older child. He also complained of being turned into a puppet, claiming that she often threatened to divorce him unless he obeyed her instructions.

Justin blamed the social media and obsession with fame as part of the reasons for the collapse of his marriage. Many thought it was a joke at first until he reaffirmed his decision to get out of the ‘toxic’ marriage.

Despite just giving birth when their controversial marriage saga started, Obidi packed her things and moved to a new apartment to start all over again. Her husband insisted on having full custody of his children, but she placed a restraining order against him, preventing him from seeing his children. She also accused her husband of being interested in the money she was making off Instagram.

The estranged couple is blessed with two daughters, June and Athena before their marriage packed up.

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ichael Collins Ajereh, also known as Don Jazzy, might be one of the best record label owners, but he has been unlucky in marriage. The founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mavin Records surprised his fans when he revealed that he was married at age 20 to a United Kingdom based model cum writer, Michelle Jackson. His marriage to Michelle lasted just two years because he gave priority to his love for music above his marriage. He decided to take his time so that he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

Hopefully, he will find his missing rib very soon and settle down for good.

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ollywood actress, Chiege Alisigwe came into the limelight in 1998 and became one of the most-sought after actresses in Nollywood, but she has been less fortunate with romantic relationships.

She got married to a police officer, Tony Ebbe in 2002 but the marriage couldn't last more than three months. She was pregnant with her first child when she packed out of her matrimonial home. She later gave birth to a baby girl, Monachimsoaga Alisigwe, who is now 20 years-old. After her marriage broke up, the actress blamed the collapse of her marriage on her wrong choice of partner, inexperience and incompatibility. She took a break from her acting career to focus on her Non-Governmental Organisation and has not returned since then. The mother of one is however hopeful that the right man will find her one day and she would give marriage a shot again.

ANN NJEMANZE

UCHE IWUJI

CHIEGE ALISIGWE

MAY 08 - MAY 14, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

OBINNA NWAFOR PAGE 40

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ne of those whose celebrated marriage couldn't stand the test of time is comedy merchant, Damiola Adekoya, otherwise known as Princess. The rotund comedienne tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony held in 2013 to her longtime friend, Jeremiah Adeshola, who is a movie producer.

They got married at the Federal Marriage Registry, Ikoyi. A lavish reception followed at the Balmoral Event Centre, Oregun, Lagos.

The wedding was witnessed by Mrs Bimbola Fashola, the then First lady of Lagos State and Erelu Bisi Fayemi, the first lady of Ekiti-State.

Unfortunately, the marriage crashed two weeks later. It packed up due to negligence and maltreatment on the part of her husband. The comedienne slipped into depression afterwards and it took the timely intervention of her friends and family to help her get over it. She has since been unlucky as far as relationships are concerned as she is yet to find Mr Right to settle down with again.

NGOZI EZEONU

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ollywood actor, Obinna Nwafor, also known as Saint Obi, has been married twice.

His first marriage was to a cleric’s daughter a few years ago, but the marriage ended in divorce. His second marriage to Lynda Amobi, his estranged wife, was the most celebrated.

The two got married in December, 2006 at her hometown in Anambra State.

Their marriage was blessed with two boys and a girl before it ended. The talented actor had it rough while parting ways with her. They had a messy divorce case, which has been in court for a couple of years now and Lynda has been frustrating all attempts to dissolve the marriage.

Obi initiated the divorce proceedings. He filed a case at the High Court of Ogun State with suit number HCT/128/2019 where he alleged that an attempt was made to take his life. He claimed that Lynda and her brothers, Micheal Amobi and Chukwumobi Amobi, were behind it. The actor also claimed that his wife prevented him from seeing his children as she allegedly "imprisoned" them by hiring mobile police officers to prevent him from gaining access to them. The mother of three, who is a top shot at MTN Nigeria, has reverted to her maiden name while trying to clear herself in the messy divorce case.

DAMILOLA ADEKOYA

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ollywood actress, Uche Iwuji’s marriage to Juwon Lawal, the Chief Executive officer of ABD Fuels Plc lasted two years. Uche and Juwon were introduced in London by a mutual friend who runs Giselle Home Limited, a real estate company. They became friends and later started a romantic relationship. In 2012, the two lovebirds formalised their relationship at the Ikoyi Registry.

In 2014, the actress was accused of infidelity after she was romantically linked with the managing director of a commercial. Her husband was abroad when rumour of her alleged illicit affair with the banker started spreading. He had to abandon his business deal and returned to Nigeria. He found a lot of dirty and implicating messages on his wife's phone, which proved that the allegation was true. All explanations by the actress fell on deaf ears as he decided to end the marriage. They were first economical with the truth to the public but it was soon discovered that the union ended as a result of the allegation. Lawal quietly packed his things and relocated abroad, abandoning his wife and their son.

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ollywood actress, Ann Njemanze, also known as Domitila, has also been married twice.

The mother of one was once married to her colleague, Segun Arinze and the marriage produced a beautiful girl, Renny Arinze, in 1997 before it packed up in 2010. The couple cited irreconciliable differences as one of the reasons for the break-up. Ann had dreamt of a fairy-tale life after her wedding, but she was disappointed as her marriage was far from the one of her dreams. At one point, she confessed that she couldn't cope again and decided to call it quits.

Three years after going their separate ways, she found love in the arms of a man who was five years younger than her. Unfortunately, her second attempt at marriage with Silver Ojieson also hit the rock and she is back to the singles club.

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eautiful Nollywood actress, Ngozi Ezeonu was married before she rose to stardom in Nollywood. Her marriage however crashed in 2013 and she filed for divorce at the Ikeja High Court with suit number ID/429/HD/2013. The divorce process ended in 2015. However, no cogent reason was given for suing for a divorce. But it wasn't untill 2020 that her marriage breakup became public knowledge. The actress' marriage to Edwin Ezeonu lasted for 14 years and it produced three children. Her husband returned to work one day and met an empty house. It was his landlord that told him his wife had moved her things and his children to a new apartment. Edwin revealed that he had a premonition that the actress was trying to get a new apartment, he warned her against dividing the family, but she still went ahead with her plan. According to him, he has been a responsible husband even after they went their separate ways, he was still paying his children's school fees and sending feeding allowance, but the actress never supported him in catering for the family.

Edwin opened up about their divorce saga after the actress gave her daughter, Ogechukwu Edwina Ezeonu out without his consent. He warned her to stop using his name and said that he had nothing to do with his daughter's marriage since he wasn't the one who gave her out in marriage. It seems the actress is enjoying her status as a single mother.

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STORIES BY IVORY UKONU

Folorunsho Coker’s Second Marriage Bites The Dust T

GOODLUCK JONATHAN AND THE PRESIDENTIAL HENCHMEN H

e may not have declared his intentions to return to Aso Rock the seat of power as Nigeria’s next president, but speculations are rife that former President Goodluck Jonathan may likely do so soon. Although he is still a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, it is believed that he is being wooed to join the ruling All Progressives Congress and not a few are of the opinion that he just may be the joker in President Muhammadu Buhari’s bag of tricks, what with talks of a consensus candidate in the air.

While some pundits believe it would be a good idea for him to return to Aso Rock as he is the timely bridge needed to unite millions of Nigerians who are already divided along ethnic and religious lines, others believe that with his current standing as an international statesman, his candidacy will help repair and boost Nigeria’s terribly bruised image. Whatever anyone thinks, some people would rather have Buhari extend his tenure than for Jonathan to return to the Aso Rock Villa.

But for the purpose of this piece, three presidential aspirants and a former governor have been selected for clearly standing out from the pack. They are Sule Lamido, a former Minister of External Affairs and erstwhile governor of Jigawa State; former Senate President, Bukola Saraki; erstwhile chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Adams Oshiomhole and former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, just to mention a few.

Also, of the aforementioned, only Lamido has openly decried Jonathan’s rumoured defection to APC to run for president. Lamido claims that he is being persecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for standing

by Jonathan in the 2015 general election and is of the opinion that if Jonathan leaps to the APC, it will not only be viewed as greed on his part, but it would amount to a wasted effort on the part of those who were persecuted but THEWILLNIGERIA

chose to stand by him (Jonathan) while he and his wife were eviscerated on all fronts. To this end, Lamido strongly believes that Jonathan will incur God’s wrath if he still goes ahead to defect to the same party that made his tenure as president, hell.

While the remaining three have not exactly voiced out their opinion like Lamido, the mere fact that they openly did everything within their power to prevent Jonathan from emerging president in 2010, speaks volumes today. At the height of late President Musa Yar’adua’s administration, during the period of his prolonged absence due to ill health, a strong movement emerged to prevent him (Jonathan) from taking over as president in line with the constitution. The movement was spearheaded by Saraki when he was the governor of Kwara State and the leader of the Governors’ Forum.

Saraki’s current presidential ambition actually began in 2008/2009, when he nursed the idea to rule the country in the event of Yar’adua’s demise. Joined

by Ibori who positioned himself as a powerful political player in the Yar’adua administration and possibly Saraki's would-be vice, they both recruited Oshiomhole who was promised the presidency in 2014 after Saraki must have completed his tenure as president.

The ambitious group grew with Saraki conveniently and coyly showing enormous solidarity with the Yar’adua family as a staunch loyalist. Unfortunately, Hajia Turai, the then former first lady could see through Saraki and knew that he wasn’t only dishonest but his phantom loyalty was for his own selfish interest.

The intensity of the lobbying assumed such a frightening dimension that it forced the National Assembly to agree to allow the ailing president to remain in Saudi Arabia or any foreign country of his choice for as long as he

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he Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Company, Folorunsho Coker, is back in the singles’ club. Just when everyone thought his second marriage to Aisha Rimi, a member of Rimi Partners, an Abuja -based law firm specialising in corporate legal services, business advisory services and government relations, would outlast his first, it ended up making a dry run while it lasted.

Folorunsho was first married to Folake Akindele-Coker, the boss of foremost fashion design label, Tiffany Amber. Folly Coker as he is fondly called, ended the marriage, which produced three children, abruptly. Still dazed by the manner with which her marriage ended, Folake retained her ex-husband’s name and still does to this day.

While she is still single and is currently in a relationship with a serving governor of a South-West state, Folly moved on quickly and jumped into another marriage with

Jonathan

wishes, while nursing his health, without losing his job. Undeterred, Saraki went on a wild goose chase to Saudi Arabia in search of Yar’Adua to further his cause, while Ibori remained in Nigeria to hold forte by coordinating with a few politicians to mount resistance against Jonathan’s ‘plot’ to take over power. But as they say, man proposes, God disposes. Their plans never came to fruition. Jonathan became president against their wish. 13 years later, Saraki is still trying to be president. Oshiomhole not only has the appellation of ousted chairman of APC, he now wants to be president. A tall ambition you might say. Ibori on his part spent time in jail for appropriating the wealth of Delta State to himself, returned to Nigeria and is currently fighting to retain political relevance in Delta State. Will Jonathan damn the consequences, defect to the APC and run again for president? We all wait with bated breath.

Aisha. Aisha also used to be married to Lateef Bello Osagie, a sibling of Hakeem Bello Osagie, a former Chairman of United Bank of Africa. No sooner had her marriage to Lateef ended than she hooked up with Folly and married him. They resolved to give their second attempt at marriage their best shot and make their new ‘partnership’ work. But that wasn’t to be as findings reveal that Folly’s manabout-town nature allegedly contributed greatly to the demise of the marriage.

In fact, early in the marriage, Folly and his wife managed to keep the union together, but seeing that they could no longer continue to patch things up, they both finally decided they had had enough of each other.

Pundits are however of the opinion that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission investigation

Coker of Aisha’s involvement in the diversion of the sum of N3 billion from the account of Lagos State Government Number Plate Production Authority, when Folly was the managing director, was allegedly the beginning of the end of their marriage.

Sujibomi Ogundele Joins Lottery And Gaming Business

Ogundele

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he lotteries and gaming business seems to be the ‘new oil’ in Lagos at least, as most businessmen have found it to be a profitable venture and are now investing heavily into it.

About two weeks ago, Bamidele Onalaja of

Revolution Plus Properties Limited added it to his long line of business concerns and even attended the ICE London for some networking alongside officials of Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority led

by Funmilola Olotu, the Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Lotteries and Gaming. ICE London is a global network of gaming professionals looking to source products or service solutions in the gaming industry.

The latest entrant to this ‘new oil’ is Sijibomi Ogundele, the acclaimed king of luxury real estate entrepreneur and promoter of the Sujimoto brand. Via his recently launched HomeWin, Sujimoto claims he wants to alleviate the deep-rooted poverty in the country where with just N500, anybody can play their way into fortune and win over a hundred million naira in 100 days, as well as a house worth over 50 million naira. Hopefully, his aspirations for his new business venture are met in the same manner as his hopes and high expectations for his Lucrezia de Medici, a 14-floor luxury building he has been erecting for the past three years.

Dayo Benjamins-Laniyi Eyes Senate

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ompere extra ordinaire, Dayo Benjamins-Laniyi, has declared her interest to represent the members of the Federal Capital Territory in the Senate come 2023.

The 57-year-old preacher who likes to refer to herself as a ‘Voice’ has already picked the nomination/ expression of interest form and is hoping to fulfill her ambition on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Dayo who said she is in

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the Senate race to win, disclosed that her major reason for nursing her Senate ambition is to include the actualisation of the national motto: Unity, Justice, Peace and Progress, as represented by the multidimensional classification of the FCT, insisting that she would not only be representing the FCT in the 10th Senate, but the entire country.

Among other things, she promised to meet the sociopolitical needs of

the FCT, to redefine the indigene/non-indigene dichotomy and to foster unity among all the different segments making up the Nigerian nation. Dayo who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of the Doxa Digital Communications and Events Management outfit, is a serial entrepreneur with vast experience in interventional advocacy through her media outreaches and community mobilisation. Benjamins-Laniyi

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STORIES BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

Veno Marioghae, Airtel at War Over Copyright Infringement

BABATUNDE OLAOGUN IN POLICE NET OVER FRAUD

Olaogun

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he alleged fraudulent lifestyle of popular socialite, Babatunde Olaogun, has finally caught up with him.

Olaogun, who is the boss of Royalty Lounge, Ikeja, is presently cooling his heels in police net after being arrested by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police.

Olaogun was arrested for defrauding a lady, Chidinma Vivan Okwenna, of the sum of N3.5million. He met Okwenna through the social media. They exchanged contacts and became friends. Olaogun claimed to be

a seriousminded businessman as he continued with his friendship with Okwenna.

A few months after meeting her, Olaogun requested mint currency notes to the tune of N5million from Okwenna, claiming that his boss needed it for a high profile function. The two met at one of the branches of First bank in Abuja where she rallied round and was able to get him the sum of N3.5 million.

He then generated a fake alert from his Zenith bank account, which he showed to her and hurriedly left the bank saying he was going to attend a meeting.

Later, he blocked Okwenna on all social media platforms. He blocked her mobile phone number, too.

After Okwenna tried in vain to contact him, she reported to the police and they started a manhunt for the fraudster. By then, Olaogun had taken off from Abuja to Lokoja where he went to hide before he was eventually caught and

arrested. It was gathered that the socialite had used the money to transact business after leaving his victim and he only had N24, 000 in his Zenith bank account.

This is not the first time that Olaogun would be sending fake alerts to his victims. In fact, he is an expert in generating fake bank alerts. In 2018, he generated a fake alert for Kevin Otenuga, a dealer in laptop computers.

He purchased goods worth N4.6million from him and took to his heels. Fortunately for Otenuga, Olaogun was apprehended and most of the goods were recovered and he was thrown in detention for some months.

When the going was good for the embattled businessman, he aspired to contest for an elective position in the Lagos House of Representatives under the Ifako /Ijaye Federal Constituency in 2015, but had to step down due to financial reasons. Then, he was warming up to open his hospitality business, Royalty Lounge, Ikeja in 2016 and was spending most of his resources on the lounge.

In 2019, he vied for a seat in the Oyo State House of Assembly, representing Ogbomosho North Constituency under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, but he did not win. It was gathered that Olaogun's flamboyant lifestyle and the pressure to maintain his status in the social circle pushed him into fraud. His chain of businesses weren't given the desired financial standing that could foot his celebrity status.

Meet Judy Austin, The Lady Threatening Yul Edochies' 17-Year Old Marriage

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he social media was agog about two weeks ago when Nollywood actor, Yul Edochie, announced his second marriage to Judith Muoghalu, professionally known as Judy Austin.

Since the announcement, many have been eager to know the woman troubling the actor's 17 year marriage to his first wife, May Edochie. Judy Austin is also an actress and a younger colleague of Yul Edochie. She gave acting a shot after meeting Sylvester Madu, who is a model and movie producer in 2013. Madu gave her the first role in his film, Secret of Riches which he was directing in Asaba, Delta State. She was auditioned by the producer after he convinced her that she could act. She has since featured in several movies.

Judy is also a budding singer and businesswoman. She owns a boutique in Enugu State. The Anambra State-born actress has two children, a boy and a girl from her previous marriage which broke down irreparably a few years ago.

Judy met Yul around 2015 while on location. They became close and started working together. They both

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featured in an advert for a perfume the two to God for judgment. She brand in 2017. The following also unfollowed her husband on year, Judy shot her first movie, Instagram. While the actor's famous Native Girl, which was practically father is yet to utter a word about sponsored by Yul who directed the his last son's action, Yul's brothers movie. She even visited Yul's father have publicly washed their hands though as a friend and business off his current status. partner while they were shooting her first movie. The movie brought them closer and they started dating but it was kept secret from Yul's first wife, May. Yul performed some traditional marriage rites in Umuoji in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State when Judy became pregnant. Yul's attention became divided but his focus was more on Judy and her children, being the new wife.

In 2021, Judy welcomed her first son, Star Dike Munachimso Edochie. It was the fear of getting exposed that forced Yul to announce that he had a second wife who had welcomed a son for him. His announcement was greeted with criticism Austin while his first wife, May left

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Afolabi

WHY TAIWO AFOLABI CELEBRATED 60TH BIRTHDAY IN LONDON

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he Chairman of Sifax Group, Taiwo Afolabi rolled out the drums on Friday, April 29 to celebrate his 60th birthday. The man of means and substance spared no cost in marking his landmark age by jetting to London for the event. Family and guests were feted at the Ballroom of the Sheraton Grand Park Lane, Piccadily, London where the event took place. The serial businessman who has his hands in maritime, logistics and hospitality business celebrated the day with his twin brother, Kehinde Afolabi who is also a businessman.

The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, was in attendance and the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafadeen Tunji Ishola were in attendance at the grand event. Many were not surprised that the multimillionaire chose London as the choice destination for his landmark birthday celebration. This is a tradition that he has been observing for some years now. Even if it's a low key celebration, the business mogul will take time off his busy schedule and fly to London to celebrate.

Having worked round the clock just to ensure his chain of businesses functions smoothly, Afolabi normally goes on a short vacation in April.

The only time he couldn't observe his London birthday celebration was during the pandemic when a ban was placed on traveling abroad. As a philanthropist, Afolabi identifies grassroots soccer tourney as one of his veritable platforms to give back to the society, hence an under 17 boys and girls football tournament that takes place every April 29 held in his honour.

t seems that the copyright unauthorised commercial infringement war between and derogatory use of music. talented singer, Veno According to the musician, her Marioghae-Mbanefo and one of song was used without her the telecommunication giants in permission which amounts to Nigeria, Airtel is far from coming stealing and willful deprivation. to an end anytime soon. The She demanded that Airtel cease music act had instituted a lawsuit any further infringement on against the company for the her copyright and pay the huge unauthorised use of her song, sum of money as compensation.

Nigeria Go Survive, which was However, the telecommunication released in the 80's. Marioghaecompany denied the allegations.

Mbanefo had released the song According to the head of legal when the country was passing services of Airtel, Joachim Okere, through an economic crisis as he described the singer's claim as a result of crashing oil price, a defamatory statement geared corruption, infrastructure decay at damaging the company's and brain drain. Late Nollywood reputation. They demanded an icon, Enebeli Elebuwa was apology or a retraction letter and featured in the video as Andrew also threatened legal actions. who wanted to check out of the country. The song became an instant hit as it encouraged those willing to scamper abroad for greener pastures to stay and build their country.

Marioghae-Mbanefo slammed a suit on the telecommunication company for using her 37 years old song to promote and advertise, The Voice Nigeria, a singing reality show sponsored by the telecommunication company. The singer demanded the sum Marioghae of N50 million for the

Steve Thomspon Maduka Accused of Being a Deadbeat Father

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mbattled socialite and boss of Royal Hairs, Steve Thompson Maduka has been accused of being a deadbeat father. The businessman, who was married to a dark-complexioned lady, Chichi, in 2014, has allegedly been shirking his financial obligations to his estranged wife and two children.

Maduka enjoys showing off on social media, especially whenever he travels on business trips. He displays pictures taken outside the country and his luxury cars without caring about the welfare of his family. He allegedly enrolled his two children (both boys) in a neighbouring school where the standard of education

Maduka

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is not at par with his ostentatious lifestyle. He hardly gives his exwife money for child support, but he often shares cash on Instagram to his followers.

Most of his responsibilities are allegedly being shouldered by his ex-wife despite the fact that they are legally divorced and one of the conditions given for the divorce to sail through, is to provide adequate child support for his estranged wife so that his two children will not suffer.

Maduka and his first wife separated in 2017 after spending three years together as a couple.

Their divorce proceeding took place in 2020 after which his wife was granted custody of his two children. One of the reasons why the marriage broke up was an alleged infidelity on the part of the businessman. When his first wife couldn't take it again, she packed her things and moved from her matrimonial home.

The businessman jumped into another relationship not long after his divorce proceeding was completed and staged a flamboyant wedding ceremony, which was attended by many celebrities at the Monarch Event Centre, Lekki, Lagos.

Unfortunately the marriage with his expectant second wife has allegedly packed up.

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SHOTS OF THE WEEK Photo Editor: Peace Udugba [08033050729]

L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Sultan of Sokoto, HE, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar and Sokoto State Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma; flanked on the left by his son In-law, Henry and right by the daughter, Oprah Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, during a sallah homage to the Sultan’s palace on May 2, 2022.

Chioma, when the couple were joined in holy matrimony in Owerri on April 30, 2022.

L-R: Assistant Manager, Health, Safety & Environment, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited, Samuel Azanor; Winner, 2022 Safety Speech Contest, Jude Ajato and Chief Operating Officer, Lekki Port, Laurence Smith, during the celebration of the World Day for Safety and Health 2022 in conjunction with the EPC Contractor, China Harbour Engineering LFTZ Enterprise at the port site in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos on May 4,2022.

L-R: Head, Corporate Communications, Unity Bank Plc, Mr. Matthew Obiazikwor; Member, Recycling Scheme for Women and Youth Empowerment (RESWAYE), Mrs Omotola Johnson; Founder, RESWAYE, Doyinsola Ogunye; Member, RESWAYE, Silifat Jimoh, and Group Head, Risk Management, Unity Bank Plc, Mr Chris Nwambu, at the presentation of a cheque of N500, 000 to RESWAYE, during World Earth Day, 2022 in Lagos on May 4,2022.

L-R: Managing Director, Prezicon Nigeria, Maya Omar; Executive Secretary, Eurocham Nigeria, Esther Awoniyi; D/G, Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), Dr. Chinyere Almona; President, Eurocham Nigeria, Mary Ojulari, and Chief Customer Officer, Allianz Nigeria, Patience Ugboaja, during a courtesy visit of members of Eurocham Nigeria to the office of the Director General, LCCI in Lagos on May 4, 2022.

Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Bureau of Local Government Pensions, Mrs Olubukola Adeniregun (L); receiving a Car key from the Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Mr Tokunbo Talabi (R), and the Head of Service, Dr. Nafiu Aigoro (middle), during the presentation of brand new Official Cars to 38 Permanent Secretaries in Ogun State, at the Governor's Office Arcade Ground, Oke-Mosan, Ogun State on May 5, 2022.

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ARTS

The Glory And Tragedy of Africa them fathering children – Mulattos – through African women slaves or mistresses.

Segu by Maryse Conde Narrative Landscape Press, Lagos: 2020, 497pp

Just as you had the changing physiognomy of the residents of the ancient city itself, there was also changes in the architecture and sartorial preferences. With the writer’s eye for detail, Conde recreates all of that so beautifully making readers feel the pulse, the smell and sights of the ancient city as if they were right there.

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n one of his lectures at Freedom Park Lagos sometime in 2013 NLNG poet laureate Tade Ipadeola told his listeners that right from the very beginning, Africa has always given to the rest of the world. From the first contact with either Arabs from North Africa and beyond or Caucasians from Europe, the African continent – sub-Saharan Africa that is – has always been welcoming with open arms.

Like the Islamists, the Christian preachers were no less enthusiastic in finding converts for their religion in Segu. But unlike the fanatical Islamists, they were more tolerant of the locals adopting gentle persuasion than putting infidels to the sword. But there was one exception when Naba a Bambara from Segu was executed for sorcery. While the Muslims conquered territory after territory under the banner of Mohammed the Prophet, Europeans carried out their own campaign with the motto “the plough and the cross.”

Perhaps because of this generosity (or was it naivety?) the visitors began to systematically plunder the continent for its human and natural resources, reducing the population by several millions and shipping them as slaves to plantations in the Americas and elsewhere. But the most damaging of all was literally leaving the natives nothing to call their own, leaving them rootless, severing them from their original culture and imposing new ones on them.

History books on slavery in Africa have devoted thousands of pages to this ignoble period in the continent, following caravans from North Africa across the desert down to the hinterland then back again; next were the rigs from Europe, muskets and Maxim guns showing the way into homes and palaces, felling emirs and sultans, deposing Obas, Osei Tutus and Mansas. But none of those publications match in terms of scope, ambition and historical sweep, the power of Segu by Maryse Conde.

There were converts aplenty, substituting their traditional names for Christian and Muslim monikers, adopting the affected speech and manner of their conquerors and some finding their way to schools modelled on European institutions or Islamic education.

Though it is reputed to be the first authentic African novel, Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is no match to this historical novel about a certain period that was at once tragic and glorious for the once powerful kingdom of Segu. While Things Fall Apart deal specifically with culture clash between the Igbos of South east Nigeria and Europeans, Conde broadens her canvas to include Africans in the diaspora, from Segu itself to neighbouring cities and empires from Ghana to Yoruba land up to Sokoto Sultanate.

Conde’s second publication after Heremakhonon (1976) is a historical tour de force that recounts the history of one of the greatest empires in West Africa in the late 18th century. By this time,too, slavery was coming to an end, it had been abolished by the English. Even so, the French and Portuguese continued the trade in collaboration with African chiefs and warlords. But there had to be a replacement for the inhuman traffic.

Something had to be done. Trade in palm oil that would oil the wheel of Industrial revolution that had started twenty or so years before in England.

It is a story well told by a non-African black born in far-away Caribbean. No wonder Maya Angelou, African American poet, memoirist and civil rights crusader wrote so glowingly of Segu.

The novel, she is quoted in the blurb is “rich and colourful and glorious. It sprawls over continents and centuries to find its way into the reader’s heart.”

Bowled over by the sweep and range of Sugu, The New York Times Review of Books declared Segu as “the most significant novel about black Africa published in many a year.”

Both praises are well-earned by the author – and for good reason. Segu opens with a major character and noble man Dousika Traore, in quiet contemplation at home. News filter in that a foreigner had arrived the city, which causes something of a stir and commotion among the locals. Time was 1797 and Segu was at the height of its power, having subdued neighbouring towns and cities. In short, the dominant tribe in Segu – Bambaras – were feared and respected by all.

But then, it was not the foreigner who caused the most problem in Segu. It was the new religion from the Orient – Islam.

Supercilious like camels in their relationship with the natives, proselytizers of Islam looked on the people of Segu as a duke will the unwashed. They consider them barbaric forever steeped in their fetish ways. Unless one became a convert, you were nothing but dirt before the jihadists.

Of course, there was bound to be a collision between the old ways and traditions of Segu and the new one Islamic crusaders wants to impose on the citizens. Of course, the first casualty is Dousika himself. Like Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son in Things Fall Apart, Dousika’s first son Tiekoro from his wife Nya is the first convert and he is parceled off to an Islamic scholar El-Hadj Baba Abou in Timbuktu. At the time in Segu, the nobility were allowed concubines who were sometimes slaves or presented as gifts from other aristocratic families to cement and strengthen their relations.

When Dousika’s chief diviner, Koumare, tells him his other first son Siga from his Fulani wife must accompany Tiekoro

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on his religious quest, he does not object. Thus the two halfbrothers set out for and settle in Timbuktu – both with opposing views about the new religion already pitting brother against brother and so on.

Being a Bambara, Tiekoro is scorned by the more civilized students of El Hadj Abou. They laugh at him. The scholar himself is equally scornful of his new student but brightens up suddenly when Tiekoro informs him he has some money to pay for his tuition.

“Where is it,” El Hadj asked. “For the first time,” Conde tells readers, “a smile lit up the teacher’s austere countenance, and he seized the pouch.”

Tiekoro and Siga’s odyssey in this far away city, far from their beloved Segu will shape their future lives, one going as far as Fez and the other finding solace in religion that he so much professes. Self-exiled to different parts of the world, both long for a return home to Segu. They do but as different individuals, different from what they were when the left.

Segu is not so much about the peregrinations of the brothers and their sons but the interaction between the natives and visitors. On one side you had the Fulanis, the Arabs, the Tuaregs, Bedoins and Moors from North Africa. On another side were the English, French, Spanish and Portuguese many of

Born on February 11, 1937 at Pointe-a-Pitre in Guadeloupe, a group of six islands in the Caribbean and an overseas region of France, Conde was the last of eight children. By her own account, she started reading from a very early age and even writing a play at 12. Her education took her to the Sorbonne in Paris, then teaching jobs in Ghana, Guinea and Senegal and three or so universities in California, Virginia.

First published in 1984 in French as Segou by Editions Robert Laffont, it was translated into English by Barbara Bray for Viking Penguin in 1987. The Nigerian edition by Narrative Landscape Press in 2020 was made possible by UBA Foundation under the Read Africa project. UBA has done the continent and readers who had heard of the novel but not read it a great service. But the greater service is by none other than the author herself.

Like the people in Segu after Christianity and Islam, Conde has had influences in four or more continents becoming, in the process, something of a world citizen. True, Segu won her world recognition and prestigious awards. But this combination of diverse influences certainly helped in writing Segu.

In one interview, for instance, reflecting on how the diverse infulences in her life contributed to writing the novel Conde explained thusly: “To be part of so many worlds—part of the African world because of the African slaves, part of the European world because of the European education—is a kind of double entendre. You can use that in your own way and give sentences another meaning. I was so pleased when I was doing that work, because it was a game, a kind of perverse but joyful game.”

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ARTS

U.S. Mission Promotes Preservation of Nigerian Rock Art The U.S. government continues to support the preservation of Nigeria’s rich heritage through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation and other partnership mechanisms.

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n Thursday May 5, 2020, the U.S. Mission in collaboration with the National Commission for Museums and Monuments and the Trust for African Rock Art, launched a unique traveling exhibition, “The Ancient Rock Art of Nigeria” at the National Museum in Lagos.

Sponsored by the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, the exhibition seeks to raise awareness of the importance of preserving Nigerian rock art — a cultural treasure at risk.

Delivering remarks during the opening of the exhibition, Acting U.S. Consul General, Brandon Hudspeth, highlighted the commitment and continued support of the U.S. Mission towards preserving Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage.

Hudspeth noted that the scope and depth of the various Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation projects in the country has helped to strengthen collaborative efforts in the preservation of Nigeria’s cultural heritage, both for future generations and for tourism.

Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Professor Abba Issa Tijani; Acting U.S. Consul General Brandon Hudspeth; Executive Chairman, Trust for African Rock Art, David Coulson; with Vice Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Kabiru Bala, during the launch of the unique traveling exhibition, “The Ancient Rock Art of Nigeria” at the National Museum in Lagos.

“I am proud to say that since the program’s inception, Nigeria has received 10 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation grants worth $1 million with projects spread across the country. This achievement shines a light on Nigeria’s historical and cultural heritage. It is also a symbol of the high regard in which the United States holds Nigerian culture,” Hudspeth added.

In his remarks, Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Professor Abba Issa Tijani, described the impact of AFCP projects across Nigerian museums. “The U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation has been yielding great results in terms of capacity building, documentation and digitization of our rich cultural heritage. This is just the beginning. We look forward to many more productive partnerships with the U.S. government,” Tijani said.

Photographic display of monoliths during the rock art exhibition at the National Museum in Lagos.

Executive Chairman, Trust for African Rock Art, David Coulson, explained that the aim of the travelling exhibition is to engage communities living near the rock sites on the beauty of rock art as well as the perils it faces from both human and natural forces.

“It is essential that we increase involvement of community members in efforts to preserve and benefit from their rich cultural heritage,” Coulson added.

Hosted at the National Museum in Lagos, the exhibition includes monoliths from museum storage rooms which have not been on public display for decades, over 50 photographs, 3D reproductions and thematic videos.

A key component of the project is the preservation of rock art in Cross River and Jigawa states, ensuring its conservation through proper documentation and the provision of basic infrastructure.

The National Commission for Museums and Monuments and the Trust for African Rock Art are the main partners providing expertise and leadership for the implementation of the project.

By involving Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria and the University of Calabar, the project has strengthened a national network responsible for the conservation and promotion of the ancient rock art of Nigeria.

The exhibition will be open to visitors over the next four weeks in Lagos before travelling to the National Museum in Calabar in July and the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in September.

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Some of the monoliths during the rock art exhibition at the National Museum in Lagos.

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FEATURE

Tackling Security Challenges in Imo

BY SAMPSON UHUEGBU

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he protection of lives and property is everybody's business. In fact, no one derives joy when his neighbourhood transforms into a killing field overnight due to the activities of criminals.

Whenever there is a breakdown of law and order, law-abiding citizens become uncomfortable and apprehensive because the development could escalate to the point of becoming a serious threat to life and property or portend grave danger to the state.

When a community is afflicted with insecurity, nobody feels safe to go about their normal business. No matter the motives of the perpetrators, human lives are bound to be lost and valuable property destroyed.

Tackling insecurity, especially in Imo, which used to be one of the safest and most peaceful states in Nigeria, requires a tactical approach, as well as a comprehensive overhaul of the security structure of the state.

As far as the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Recovery agenda of the Hope Uzodimma administration is concerned, insecurity remain the greatest obstacle to the attainment of its laudable objectives.

Is it not shocking that the so-called ‘unknown gunmen’ have continued to attack government-owned facilities, often departing the scene of the attacks without being apprehended?

Isn’t it a wonder that the identities of those sponsoring these unprovoked acts of aggression are still unknown to the security agencies? Who are those selfishly fanning this ember of violence in a once peaceful Imo? What are their reasons for doing this?

It is on record that operatives of the Imo States Police Command have tirelessly worked in concert with other security agencies in the state to arrest the criminals, yet the attacks have continued. The situation keeps worsening as if no frantic effort had been made to curb it.

In retrospect, life in Government House was not exactly a bed of roses for former Governor Rochas Okorocha. Okorocha had a tough time fighting crime during his tenure. Determined to flush out hardened criminals from the state, he threw in every tool in his possession into the fight, put in place effective strategies that ensured that he emerged victorious and successfully whittled down the crime rate in the state.

Okorocha tackled crime headlong, with an uncommon courage. He never resorted to apportioning blame or pointing accusing fingers at innocent politicians in the state and claiming that they had been sponsoring terrorist attacks across the state. Anybody who does this is indirectly giving the impression that he is panic-stricken and lacks the capacity to tackle the problem.

It is horrible that up till now, no one can reliably say where the gunmen are operating from, what they really want and why they are doing. These men of the underworld are either making their grievances known or they are seeking attention.

It is Governor Uzodimma’s duty, particularly to the people of Imo, to unravel the mystery surrounding them and their mission to the state.

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Uzodinma

As the Chief Security Officer of Imo, Governor Hope Uzodimma has what it takes to successfully tackle the security challenges facing the state, which have seriously affected social and economic activities, if not completely grind them to a halt. Contrary to common belief, insecurity does not yield dividends to those that are behind it. Victims suffer great losses and pain. It also scares away prospective investors, who are supposed to engage in economic that will beneficial to the state and its residents.

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Okorocha tackled crime headlong, with an uncommon courage. He never resorted to apportioning blame or pointing accusing fingers at innocent politicians in the state and claiming that they had been sponsoring terrorist attacks across the state. Anybody who does this is indirectly giving the impression that he is panic-stricken and lacks the capacity to tackle the problem

It is alleged that those behind this security crisis in Imo are not even indigenes of the state. But it does not matter whether they hail from the state or not. What matters is the fact that the lives and property of the people of Imo are under threat.

More security personnel have been deployed to Imo to smoke out the faceless gunmen. It is now the duty of the citizens to assist government to tackle this problem completely.

As far as the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) is concerned, Governor Uzodimma is a stakeholder. The party holds him in such high esteem that it believes that he can lead the governors of South-East states to meet President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss how to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) , Nnamdi Kanu, in

order to restore normalcy, which has clearly eluded the SouthEast. The economy of the geopolitical zone is grounded.

Nothing is moving any longer. Schools, Markets, Shopping malls nowadays close down on Mondays in compliance to a persistent sit-at-home order imposed by IPOB to press home its demand for the release of Kanu.

Imo residents are yet to recover from the losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and End-SARS protests which ravaged the country. Governor Uzodimma should persuade his fellow governors in the South-East to have a meeting with President Buhari. Uzodimma should take this bold step for the sake of Ndi Imo. The state has lost promising persons and property in the mayhem that was unleashed by suspected criminals and unknown gunmen.

Not only that, there seems to be a mass exodus of investors and captains of industries from Imo and other South-East states to the South-South. We cannot afford to continue losing them to the worsening insecurity in the region.

The tension in Imo is now a source of worry to the residents whose daily activities are being partially paralyzed.

Everybody embraces peaceful- coexistence and tranquility.

Imo needs an accelerated development which anchors on industrialisation and human- developement. Our socioeconomic advancement should not be politicised. We have been lagging behind in all departments of the economy.

Time to put Imo in order is now.

Governor Hope Uzodimma is the father of the state. He is expected to leave no stone unturned to stop these inhuman attacks on peaceful and law-abiding people by hoodlums. The people of the state are worried over the unprecedented killings and bombing of facilities.

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SportsLive Cyriel Dessers: Underappreciated At Home, Desired Abroad

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

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more. These can be used as a substitute to physically watching a player perform, when that is not available. It therefore cancels out Eguavoen's excuse outrightly and makes him out as not grounded on modern coaching attributes.

At the time, Dessers was on loan at Feyenoord, one of the Eredivisie league's top sides, from the Belgian club Racing Genk. He had made the summer move to afford himself more playing minutes than he was getting at Genk, where the form of his compatriot, Onuachu, often relegated him to the substitutes' bench. Confident in his capacity to offer more than simply delivering as a "Super Sub" for Genk, Dessers moved to Feyenoord in August last year and by January, his sterling displays for the Dutch side had seen his goal contributions climb to 14, with 12 goals and 2 assists in his first 28 outings in the season 2021/2022 season. He was not immediately slotted into the starting XI of Feyenoord, as he desired when he left Genk. These goals came from starting as a sub in 22 of his 28 appearances for the Rotterdam based side. Yet, there was no denying his efficiency in front of goal.

However, by his own admission, Eguavoen was oblivious to all of these. This was most apparent when he elected to fill in the vacant slots in his squad after the inability of Osimhen, Onuachu, Dennis and Ighalo to honour their invitations was official. Dessers form more than justified being given an opportunity to get more caps for his country of choice and, at a time when the country sorely required a clinical striker, it seemed a nobrainer to let him reprise from club goal-scoring with the national team. Instead, Eguavoen went shopping for striker reinforcements elsewhere, settling for the duo of Peter Olayinka of Slavia Prague and Henry Onyekuru of Olympiakos, to whom he issued late callups. Understandably, for a player born to a Dutch father and Nigerian mother and who chose to play for Nigeria but has only ever managed to be selected once, this did not sit well. Dessers took to social media to vent his frustration before thinking better of his action and deleting his post. The early exit of the Super Eagles from Cameroon 2021 bore evidence of the fact that they could have benefited from Dessers form.

When queried about the choice of leaving a talent like Dessers out in the cold, when he could have potentially made a difference, especially in the absence of several first-team forwards, Eguavoen's defense was cold and untenable. Eguavoen explained that he had spoken to the President of the NFF about inviting Dessers but that he was yet to witness the former Heracles attacker in action and that he would like to get a better look at him before including him in his selection. Since there was no time to get on a train to Holland to observe his performance, Dessers was not getting a call-up. He then used that reasoning to defend picking Olayinka and Onyekuru instead. He watched Olayinka feature in the Champions League game against Inter while Onyekuru was included in the team because Onyekuru had always been around with the team going back to the previous THEWILLNIGERIA

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Dessers

n January, THE interim handler of the Super Eagles, Augustine Eguavoen, was faced with a selection decision for the squad to take to the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon.

He had picked a class of players that suited his game plan, strategy, tactics and formation for the continental competition and invites had been sent out to these players after the stamp of approval from the football governing body, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

What should have been a smooth process of welcoming all invited players and getting down to the business of preparing for the preliminary rounds of AFCON was scuttled with a striker shortage. Napoli's Victor Osimhen contracted COVID-19, Racing Genk's Paul Onuachu was injured, Watford and Al Shabab refused to release Emmanuel Dennis and Jude Odion Ighalo respectively.

It was in this fix that a story about Belgian-born Super Eagles' forward Cyriel Dessers made it to the headlines.

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Dessers is favoured to win the Conference League Player of the Tournament at the end of the season. It will crown a glorious season as it will be deserving of the player, who also was voted Player of the Month for November and took him the prize for Goal of the month for the same month

coach, Gernot Rohr. Bringing up the 40-man list that Rohr picked before it was parred down is important as Eguavoen relied mostly on it for selection due to the proximity of his appointment with the start of the AFCON in Cameroon. And, like Rohr did before him, Eguavoen, who was presented with a better chance of giving Dessers a second cap, was excusing himself with rationales that are porous.

In the first instance, the 21st century application of technological advances presently remove the constant need to physically travel for the purposes of monitoring player performances. Eguavoen, in his capacity as Nigerian coach, even in an interim capacity, can liaise with Feyenoord to obtain performance data, which teams currently capture using several Artificial Intelligence algorithms. This will afford him a much more in-depth look and detailed indices on the player's attributes, capacities, potentials and form to enable him decide how best Dessers will fit into his squad for the AFCON. Furthermore, there are online sources that offer video compilations of every player's contributions to matches they play on request. There are also data sources that breakdown a player's game to the most precise figures from ball touches, pass accuracy, goal attempts to shots on goal, shots on target, dribbles attempted and completed to ball recoveries, fouls, expected goals, every other detail a coach will ever need any much

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A proof of this mistake that Eguavoen made to leave out Dessers from AFCON is the current form of the forward.

Feyenoord's participation in the maiden UEFA Europa Conference League has been a blessing for Dessers. The form of goal-scoring that earned him the joint-top scorer award in the Eredivisie in the COVID-19 affected 2019/2020 season with 15 goals for Heracles, which drew the attention of Rohr to invite him for the only game he featured in the Green and White for Nigeria, appeared to have suffered with his move to Genk. There, behind the imposing Onuachu, he failed to shine for the Belgian side until Feyenoord came for the loan-move.

Dessers rediscovered his scoring boots, especially in Europe. With that has come acclaim and record-setting.

Currently, he has scored 10 goals in 11 matches to leave Feyenoord just a point away from reaching the final of the Conference League. These 10 goals also shot him into Feyenoord’s record books, as no striker has ever scored that many for the Dutch side in any European competition. Ever. For a club boasting a historical pedigree of some of Europe's excellent strikers as Pierre van Hooijdonk, who had the previous record of nine, Dirk Kuijt, Harry Bild, and Robin van Persie, it is extra significant what Dessers has accomplished.

The 27-year-old forward scored a brace against Ligue 1 side Olympique Marseille in the first leg of their Conference League semi-finals to better their chances of reaching the final, which will be the club's first European final in two decades. His spectacular matchwinning performance earned him the UEFA Conference League Player of the Week award to add to his growing accolades. His double made him the first player in the newly formed Conference League to score 10 goals.

Dessers is also the competition's all-time leading scorer, having previously shared the lead with AS Roma's Tammy Abraham, who has scored eight goals. Dessers is favoured to win the Conference League Player of the Tournament at the end of the season. It will crown a glorious season as it will be deserving of the player, who also was voted Player of the Month for November and took him the prize for Goal of the month for the same month. All these could make Dessers one of the most sought-after players when the next transfer window opens in July. Which is why the fans swung into action to keep the Nigerian in Rotterdam.

A clause in his loan contract requires Feyenoord to pay €4 million to sign him on a permanent deal before the end of the season. However, because Feyenoord cannot put down such a large sum unless another key player is sold in order to keep the books balanced, a group of the club's fans have taken matters into their own hands and have already crowd-funded over €50,000 to help the Pride of the South seal the deal for their new hero at De Kuip. In reaction to an optimistic statement attributed to club manager Arne Slot, a Dutch businessman and multimillionaire Dennis de Roo stated his desire to cooperate with Feyenoord in supplying the money for the acquisition. This is unprecedented for a Nigerian player. The Rotterdam supporters recognise his value, which cannot be said of his countrymen, and took it upon themselves to keep him with money from their own pockets. Although there are as yet unconfirmed reports that FIFA is against such unconventional crowdfunding plans and has banned the move outrightly, it was a beautiful experience to witness the irony of a player that is underappreciated at home, in Nigeria and Belgium, but desired to be retained by all means in Netherlands.

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www.thewillnigeria.com • May 08 - May 14, 2022

Northern Leaders Should Support Power Rotation to South M ost countries operating a form of representative government codify their fundamental political principles into a Constitution.

It is through this document they operate their governments with regular amendments making it relevant and modern, for whichever age it finds itself.

In Nigeria, for instance, we have the 1999 Constitution enacted in May 1999. It also inaugurated the Fourth Republic. Foisted on Nigerians by the military with all its attendant flaws, it is the law of the land and is referenced copiously when necessary to clarify infractions and litigate cases accordingly. Yet, as with most countries in the world, there are several operational agreements that are unwritten but binding on the parties involved, though not with as much force as a written document itself. These unwritten laws between vested interests are sometimes referred to as gentleman's agreements and they are hinged on the integrity of both parties to actually abide by its terms of reference.

In Nigerian politics, one such agreement that is crucial to the country’s survival and unity is on the verge of collapse: zoning and rotational presidency. It threatens to take down with it the last thread holding the fragile country together.

And the major political parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are on the verge of reneging on that gentleman’s agreement. For me, the blame lies squarely with the PDP for sowing this distasteful seed because they have been playing games since last year over emphatically zoning their presidential ticket to the South though the party’s constitution is explicitly clear on the matter.

Nigeria is one of the most diverse countries in the world today with more than 250 ethnic groups spread across the 36 states of the federation and the six geopolitical zones. Political leaders have always placed a premium on the country’s unity and given all tribes and regions a sense of belonging in the Nigerian project. They have done this by entrenching zoning and rotation in electing officers into political office, as well as candidates during elections.

As a believer in the positive strides that Nigeria can make at home, continentally and internationally, I believe it is in my responsibility to draw the national consciousness to this subject while intimating the APC and PDP of their duty to the preservation of the country's unity and existence, all of which are under threat due to actions by some of their top ranking members. To do this unambiguously, let us take a brief look at how we came about the unwritten agreement of zoning and rotational presidency.

When the G34, a group of prominent Nigerians, led by late Chief Alex Ekwueme, brokered the return to civilian rule with the General Abdulsalami Abubakarled military government in 1998/1999, most of the politicians in the group became founding members of the PDP. One of the core principles of the party was an agreement that the presidency of Nigeria would rotate between the North and the South after the constitutional two-term limits. To pacify the South west after MKO Abiola, a Yoruba, was denied an election he won on June 12, 1993, another Yoruba, Olusegun Obasanjo was elected in 1999.

The opposition followed suit and picked another South-West opponent, Chief Olu Falae, to run against Obasanjo. Chief Obasanjo won. After eight years (2007), with former Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, ahead of the class of candidates vying for the presidential ticket of the PDP, the zoning and rotational agreement returned to the table of discourse.

It must have been a difficult pill for Odili to swallow.

The consummate politician had organised an extensive pre-convention campaign that had taken him across the country and saw him meet delegates from all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. However, the party's hierarchy intervened, with the insistence that with the South having controlled power for the two terms of Obasanjo's presidency, it was only fair that power should go back to the North.

They prevailed upon Odili to sacrifice his ambition, while the party propped up the perennially sickly governor of Katsina State, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.

He was just on the cusp of finishing his second term in office. Needless to say the integrity of the agreement was maintained and Yar'Adua became president until his unfortunate death in office in May 2009. The constitutional crisis that almost resulted from a power vacuum created by Yar'Adua's demise was hinged on the argument that the North had not fully served out its share of the two-term rotational presidency. It took the National Assembly's application of the "Doctrine of Necessity" to see the then Vice President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan succeed Yar'Adua and finish their first term.

When the time came for elections in 2011, Jonathan's candidacy was troubling for the rotational agreement all over again. There was a vehement streak of oppositional forces that were insistent on the terms of the agreement, which were not fulfilled with Yar'Adua's untimely demise. Party stalwarts from the North vehemently opposed handing over the party's ticket to Jonathan to the point of fanning threats of violence in the Niger Delta, the region of the country's mainstay of oil wealth. Therefore, with the groundswell of popular support in Jonathan's candidature around the country particularly in the South and with the need to also appease the neglected people of the oil-producing region with one of their own, the PDP settled for Jonathan as a compromise candidate to keep the peace.

The mollified segment of the party from the North that accepted this compromise, settled with the office of Vice President going to Mohammed Namadi Sambo while waiting for the next roll of the dice, when the top position will undoubtedly return to a northerner. The deal was that Jonathan would serve a single term and support a northerner to succeed him. However in 2015 when Jonathan went against the zoning arrangement and forced himself on the party as presidential candidate, the party lost key stakeholders in droves. They decamped to the APC. APC’s candidate, Muhammadu Buhari won decisively, defeating the incumbent in the process. The rest is now history.

With Buhari's two-term presidency next year, attention has once again turned to debate on the zoning system of the presidential flag-bearers of the major parties.

The crux of the current issue relates to the aspirations of some presidential wannabes from the North in the PDP, who believe that their party's fidelity to the

unwritten agreement of zoning will be anticlimactic for their chances.

It will be partial and insulting to southerners for these major parties to apply political expediency and calculations as a ruse to scheme for the emergence of two northerners as flag-bearers and jettison the gentleman's agreement of zoning and power rotation.

Already, aspirants of northern extraction in the PDP are angling to force the hand of the party to refrain from zoning. Their argument is that the party itself could miss out on another eight-year period if it blocks northern aspirants. For one, elections anywhere in the world except in dictatorial regimes, depends on numbers.

The north has it.

The PDP’s calculation has also lately forced the APC, which had previously stated its decision on zoning to rethink its plan, and it is seriously considering choosing a northern candidate as presidential flag-bearer, a move capable of heating up the country and throwing it into a needless crisis and threatening its fragile unity.

This politicking with the destiny of the entire country is irresponsible and self-serving and cannot be allowed to stand. The same political compromise through zoning that made Obasanjo, Jonathan and Buhari victorious in 1999, 2011 and 2015, respectively, must be retained for Nigeria’s political and economic stability.

This compromise must be extended to the Igbo, whose origin is in Delta, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi and Rivers States in the 2023 presidential election because it is the only major tribe that has not governed the county since the end of the Nigerian Civil War. It is true that Nigeria could have suffered dismemberment, were the Yoruba not placated and compensated for the unlawful and unjust cancellation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. The renewed agitations for their own Republic of Biafra by the South-easterners is gaining traction because of an understandable sense of alienation in their own country, making it seem as if they are still been punished for sins post-civil war.

Today, the core South-East is a hotbed of agitation for tribal self-actualisation and this has placed the gunpowder-laced area on the tenterhooks. Any inflammable situation, like a political miscalculation of abandoning zoning by the two main political parties and choosing two Fulanis from the North will support the belief that there is a calculated plan to Islamise Nigeria.

This could push the country to the brink of crisis and a breakup.

All state governors from the South, who were mainly elected on the platform of the PDP and APC, have unanimously called for the two leading parties to zone their presidential tickets to the South in the interest of the country’s unity, stability and prosperity.

To ignore this and set up another election that would foist another Fulani on the country for another potential eight-year presidency could damage the country’s unity and oneness beyond repair. A house or country divided against itself cannot stand. Success and progressive growth comes from uniting together in trust and equity. To do the contrary will only foster anarchy, hatred and disintegration of the country.

A word is enough for the wise.

Political leaders have always placed a premium on the country’s unity and given all tribes and regions a sense of belonging in the Nigerian project. They have done this by entrenching zoning and rotation in electing officers into political office, as well as candidates during elections

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