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MAY 2 - MAY 8, 2021 VOL . 1 NO. 12

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INSECURITY

Nigeria on The Brink: Can Buhari, Elite End The Carnage?  Early Warning Signs Ignored  ‘Profound’ Measures Underway —NSA  Economic Implications  The Way Forward —Analysts

WHEN ORTOM WEPT Over Persistent Killings By Herdsmen

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COVER Can Buhari, Elite End The Carnage? the Internally Displaced People’s Camp at the IBB Primary School near the Emir of Minna’s palace.

The result is that the terrorists have hoisted their flag in the communities and forced the people to pay taxes to them.

Sometime last year, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Obadiah Mailafia, alerted the nation of the evil machinations of terrorists who had taken over the forests in the country with the sole aim of maiming, killing and looting across the country.

Also, last year, in November, the usually reticent and revered Sultan of Sokoto, Mohammed Sa’ad Abukakar III, warned about the dire insecurity in northern Nigeria. He described the region as the “worst place” in the country to live in. He called on the Federal Government to “rise up to its responsibility and do well beyond the traditional condemnation, as lip service should stop…”

To underscore the importance of the Sultan’s alarm, elder statesman and leader of the Northern Elders Forum, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, told THEWILL at the time that once the supreme head of Muslims in the country had spoken on a grave issue as the Sultan did about insecurity in the North, it was like a stamp of authority on the matter.

Besides, in 2016, one year after President Buhari’s ascension to power, the Boko Haram had taken a bolder and dangerous step in consolidating its power. That year, it pledged allegiance to ISIS, three years after it had made a similar loyalty to alQaeda.

Buhari

“When Boko Haram made those allegiances, Nigeria should have known that it was blending with international terrorism,” said Clement Mosindi, an international security expert based in Israel, at a recent international zoom meeting, organised

by Nigerians in the diaspora over insecurity and attended by THEWILL. burning national issue.

BY AMOS ESELE AND SAM DIALA

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igeria is right on the brink and the signs are very clear. The handwriting is clear everywhere. The general insecurity that started as a child’s play has blown into a full-scale nightmare. No one knows the likely outcome.

The Boko Haram crisis, which started in the North-East and spilled over right into the North Central region, has lingered for too long, with over 2 million Nigerians displaced since the crisis started more than 10 years ago, thousands killed and maimed by the radical Islamic terrorists.

The activities of other local terrorists, who abduct and kill their victims for ransom, have compounded the problems, with Nigeria now being regarded as one of the most dangerous place to live on earth.

Despite all the propaganda by the Federal Government that the war in the North-East is being won and the terrorists totally decimated, the insurgents successfully hoisted their flag in Niger State last week after occupying some communities, seizing women from their husbands and committing other atrocities without any resistance from security forces.

The state governor, Sani Bello, saw the danger ahead and promptly raised the alarm about the reality that is dawning right under his watch, warning of the implications of the terrorists settling into communities just two hours away from the nation’s seat of power, Abuja.

“The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government,” says Section 14, sub- section 2 (b) of Chapter 11 of the 1999 Constitution on The Fundamental Principle and Direct Principles of State Policy. However, the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari has totally failed to ensure these as it now appears quite helpless.

For the first time in the modern era, the Nigerian elite have crossed the usually divisive religious, ethnic, partisan and sectarian fault lines and achieved national consensus on a THEWILLNIGERIA

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The national consensus on the worsening insecurity in the country now is that the Federal Government, as currently constituted, has been overwhelmed by terrorists and it should seek external help before the unthinkable, most likely an orgy of bloodletting that may sunder the country into an atomistic society perpetually at war with itself, happens.

EARLY WARNING SIGNS IGNORED But the key question that is still festering and begging for an answer is: Does the government truly know what to do about the near broken and failing state of the country? Why did it ignore all the warning signs that were metaphorically as big as any letter of the alphabet on the wall for even the blind to see?

True, terrorism sprouted under late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s Administration and grew infantile wings under his successor, President Goodluck Jonathan, with the scandalous kidnap of over 230 secondary school girls in Chibok, Borno State in 2014 that drew global attention and the hashtag ‘#Bring Back Our Girls’. But there is no denying the fact that terrorism widely expanded under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari because the government parried or ignored all the warning signs that have inevitably led to the broken state in which Nigeria has found herself today. More so, for a government that won election on a three-point agenda of anti-corruption, anti- terrorism and economic development, all of which have been hobbled by the worsening insecurity.

The latest signal was the Tuesday, April 27, disclosure by Governor Bello of Niger State that for over a year, he had been calling on the Federal Government, without success, to help put an end to the activities of Boko Haram terrorists in his state.

“We have been calling on the Federal Government, but all our efforts were in vain. The Sambisa forest was thousands of kilometers away when I was calling on the government for help. Kaure in Niger State is less than two kilometres from Abuja. Boko Haram wants to use Niger as a new base to penetrate the North-Central geo-political zone,” Bello told journalists in Minna, the state capital, when he visited

“Since Boko Haram launched its war in the 2000’s it has not relented. So, when it is fighting ISIS has to assist. Nigeria is faced with international terrorism. Let’s call a spade a spade,” he said, adding, “We are running helter-skelter now because we have decided not to recognise the enormity of the situation.

They come under the guise of herdsmen or bandits.”

Nigeria, alongside Afghanistan and Mali as the worst hit out of 169 countries, which recorded a substantial increase in deaths from terrorism in 2018. From that year, through 2020, Nigeria witnessed increased brutal farmer/ herder conflicts over grazing land leading to wanton loss of lives and properties.

Then in the wake of untamed anarchy, self-help apostles sprang up. Groups like the Eastern Security Network, set up by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra in the SouthEast to a one- man riot squad known as ‘Sunday Igboho’ in the South-West and the regional Amotekun, and most recently EbubeAgu, gained prominence.

Even the #EndSARs protest by Nigerian youths against police brutality was, like other warning signals, a sign that things had got out of hand in Nigeria but, instead, the authorities treated all the insecurity indicators separately as symptoms rather than diseases of a decayed system. According to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, the #End SARS protest shows that the security architecture of the country cannot guarantee policing and security in the country.

Speaking on Tuesday, April 27, at a virtual panel discussion on #EndSARS organised by the University of Notre Dame, as part of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies lecture series, Akeredolu, said; “The #EndSARS protest was not organised to loot and destroy. It was hijacked by hoodlums, particularly in Lagos. A situation where the policing of Nigeria is coordinated from a single centre in Abuja does not augur well for the country. The reason it cannot effectively tackle insecurity in Nigeria.”

SABOTAGE: The depth of sabotage within the lamentably faulty security architecture of the country can be understood in the light of *Continues on Page 4

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education, jobs, girl-child education to resolve the challenges of terrorism.

the recently reported arrest of seven serving military officers said to be aiding bandits in Zamfara State, just few weeks after a retired Colonel and his girlfriend were identified as armourers of bandits terrorizing the state. Ibrahim Dosara, the state Commissioner of Information, who disclosed this to newsmen on Friday, April 16, said the suspects sabotaged military operations by sharing military intelligence, supplying uniforms, arms and ammunition and other facilities to armed bandits.

Apart from the sharing of intelligence with foreign partners, Professor Bola Akinterinwa, a former Director-General of the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs thinks the Nigeria Armed Forces can do the job.

On April 28, a memo from the Office of the National Security Adviser on national security and intelligence meant for security agencies was leaked to the public.

He said: “The best approach is to give capacity to the military, special financial muscle to fund training, buy the necessary weapons so that we will be able to fight independently.”

According to the ONSA, “the correspondence was a routine threat assessment to ensure preparedness of agencies and not meant for public dissemination. In the period covered by the correspondence, threat analysis identified the need to advise airports management nationwide to upgrade existing security measures around the nation’s airports. Regrettably, the unauthorised release of this advisory is likely to raise fear among airport users home and abroad.”

Mosindi said: “No country does it alone when it comes to international terrorism. Even Israel, despite its sophistication militarily, still seeks help from the US. But we must be able to articulate our position clearly to be able to get international support and also galvanize the citizenry.

A journalist with TV Continental, Babajide Kolade-Otitoju, captures the true picture of the act of sabotage in a report.

He said; “One of the most depressing things to watch is the Boko Haram video showing the looting of army weapons, including armoured tanks, Buffalo operational vehicles and MRAPs in Mainok. There are potentially grave implications when the enemy grabs these kinds of A grade weapons. This is just not right at all. It is now very clear there are saboteurs within the Armed Forces frustrating the efforts of decent officers and men. This is really deflating.”

ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF INSECURITY The destruction of Nigeria’s economy, by extension the economic base, is one of the most gruesome effects of insecurity that has plagued the country in recent times. No sector is spared as virtually all the productive channels are on their knees. How and when the country will recover from the deep economic injury inflected by insecurity is yet to be imagined.

All the factors of production are in bad shape. The human capital development which the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund urged the Nigerian Government to give priority attention has suffered a huge setback. Schools are being closed down in many parts of the country, thereby worsening the already state of out-of-school children in which Nigeria comes tops amongst key global players.

The youths in secondary and post-secondary schools whose institutions have been shut to avert terrorists or bandits attacks will suffer a huge setback in their quest to acquire education or relevant skills that will make them productive. The quality of teaching in most schools is bound to drop as teachers stay away from classes or prefer other trades that would not easily expose them to the reach of kidnappers and bandits.

A rise in the unemployment rate becomes unavoidable as has been the trend since Q4 2015 when it jumped from 10.4 percent to 33.28 percent as of Q4 2020, according to data by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Insecurity accounts for the continued rise in inflation with food driving the trend. According to the NBS, an increase in food prices at 20.6 percent has become worrisome as farmers in predominantly agricultural communities affected by insecurity have abandoned their farms. Many now live in the IDP camps where shortage of food, drugs and other basic necessities add to their misery.

Monguno

The office thus was forced to release a statement to “reassure the public and all aviation stakeholders of the safety of our airports.”

“

This money, which is now voted for ‘insecurity’ could have been used for infrastructure and other development

Obadiah Mailafia, a developmental economist and former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria said.

“This money, which is now voted for ‘insecurity’ could have been used for infrastructure and other development. So, we are ploughing money that could have been invested in infrastructure and human capital development into ‘security’.

The most tragic is this … you will find out that most of that money was never used for security. It is pilfered and stolen away,” Obadiah said in an interview with THEWILL. Uche Uwaleke, professor of Finance and Capital Market at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi agrees that the economic consequences of the rampaging insecurity is severe from all aspects. He says it is all-encompassing and touches the key aspects of our lives.

These include “rising poverty level, weak economic growth, rising food inflation, unemployment, capital flight, declining foreign investments, bad PR for the country leading to high country risk, poor credit rating by Rating Services”, Uwaleke stated in a note to THEWILL.

Transportation of goods and services are under siege across the country with the kidnapping of travellers becoming rampant.

The increasing budgetary allocation to defence means an opportunity cost to basic infrastructure needs such as roads, education, health, electricity and others.

To finance its expanding recurrent budgets and tackle insecurity amid sharp decline in revenue, the government has embarked on massive borrowing. Today, the nation’s debt stock has risen from N12.6 trillion in 2015 to N33 trillion as of December 31, 2021.

Experts say that huge parts of the defence budget are misappropriated, thereby creating double economic tragedy for the people.

THE WAY FORWARD In a meeting with the British Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, on Tuesday, April 26, at his office in Abuja, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, gave part of the government’s answer to the situation. He said there were may issues to address. They include deradicalisation,

“The amount of expenditure on the budget that is used for ‘security’ both at the federal and state levels is huge, “ Dr

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“Our borders are porous. Countries are defined by borders. Borders are the first line of defense. There are over 3,000 illegal entry points into Nigeria, causing problems for policing in strategic alliance with our neighbours, namely Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Mali.

“There is need for inter-agency cooperation on intelligence gathering and sharing along the major levels of the DSS, NPF, NIA and IMM.” A retired colonel, Hassan Labo, who was a guest at the Diaspora Conference, suggested funding, training and welfare for all security personnel. He canvassed the establishment of a military-industrial complex to produce weapons and a security trust fund that should be funded with a wide scope of participation on the basis of percentages determined by the income or profit of the participants such as companies in the oil sector, banking, manufacturing and civil servants.

Hon Ade Adeogun, a security expert and Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on National Security, told THEWILL: “We must address the issue of good governance.

Poor governance is the foundation of our situation. We need to reverse the trend so that the government is able to provide for the welfare and security of the citizens. We also need to build the capacity of our law enforcement agencies to maintain law and order. Lastly, as a nation, our leaders have not been acting and speaking in ways that discourage criminal tendencies.”

Colonel Labo said; “I am not a politician, but I know if we think outside the box and together find solutions to the problem of insecurity, we would be able to stop clear attempts to degenerate the country into anarchy with all these herdsmen conflict, banditry and terrorism.”

‘PROFOUND’ MEASURES UNDERWAY — NSA Unfortunately for Nigerians who were expecting a swift and firm reaction to the scary situation that could obliterate Africa’s most populous country, President Buhari, in his uninspiring yet characteristic style, adjourned a key security meeting called on Friday, April 30 to Tuesday, May 3.

The National Security Adviser, Alli Monguno, who explained what transpired at the meeting, said, “Concerned about the persisting security challenges in parts of the country, Mr President summoned a crucial meeting of the National Security Council today (Friday) as he continues to frontally confront the situation in the country.

“At today’s meeting, the President made it abundantly clear that while the insurgents, bandits and criminals are still at it, he has no doubt that the Nigerian security agencies and all of us as a nation will certainly overcome all the current security problems and defeat the forces of evil marauding about in different parts of the country.

“While the criminals continue to test the will of the Nigerian government, the President and the council which adjourned

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COVER of wealth not seek help when it is dying. The way it is now, it is no longer partisanship, all political parties are saying the same thing.”

Professor Wole Soyinka had been saying virtually the same thing for the past one year, saying in the face of the government’s helplessness to deal with the anarchy, the assistance of foreign help should be sought. In a grave statement Monday, April 26, the Nobel laureate who said “Nigeria is at war” called on the president to “Seek help. Stop improvising with human lives.

Youth – that is, the future – should not serve as a ritual offering on the altar of a failing state.”

On Tuesday, April 26, while meeting virtually with American Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, Buhari urged the United States Government, among other things, to consider relocating the AFRICOM HQ from Germany to Africa—near the Theatre of Operation, against the backdrop of growing security challenges in West & Central Africa, Gulf of Guinea, Lake Chad region & the Sahel.

Bello

Akinterinwa

“Nigeria and her security forces remain resolutely committed to containing security challenges in our nation and region, and addressing their root causes. The support of important and strategic partners like the United States of course cannot be overstated,” Buhari said.

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Niger State brought before the Senate on Tuesday by Senator Musa in support of Governor Bello’s disclosure that many communities in the state were under the control of Boko Haram, said the situation had gone out of the control of the Federal Government.

Any government that cannot protect its citizens has lost legitimacy. We should not be ashamed to seek support

today’s critical meeting until Tuesday morning to receive further briefings from the security chiefs, are set and determined to decisively end the assault on the nation and will do all that it takes.

“Mr President is very prepared to take profound measures in the wider interest of the people and the Nigerian nation. There shall be no relenting until peace and security are significantly restored in our communities.”

ALL MOTION, NO MOVEMENT However, Nigerians appear mostly frustrated and seem to have given up on the government’s ability and sincerity in ending this onslaught by radical Islamic terrorists.

All the meetings and consultations of the past have come to naught. Faced with a looming threat of war as bandits, insurgents, unknown gunmen, self-appointed messiahs carve up the country into territories amid a collapsed national security infrastructure with outnumbered, outgunned and unmotivated armed forces and policemen, the Nigerian ruling and thieving elite appear ready to talk to each other to resolve the challenge.

Senators, governors, scholars, amongst several key stakeholders, have joined the get-foreign-support bandwagon.

WHAT THEY SAID On Tuesday, April 27, Senators at a plenary and four governors, namely, Babagana Zulum of Borno State, APC; Sani Bello of Niger State, APC; Samuel Ortom of Benue and Delta Ifeanyi Okowa, both of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, separately expressed concern over the continued killings and abductions nationwide and called on President Buhari to seek foreign help.

The senators who were debating a motion on insecurity in THEWILLNIGERIA

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His colleague from the state, Bima Enagi (APC, Niger North), while contributing to the motion, said Nigerians could not continue to bear the pain of women being raped and forcibly married to Boko Haram terrorists.

Enagi, who said insecurity in the country was terrible, stated, “We cannot continue to allow Boko Haram to hoist flags in Nigerian territories. What is our army doing? What are all security agencies doing?

“It has become so shameful that a great country like Nigeria will be in this type of terrible situation. It seems the Federal Government is handling this insecurity with kid gloves.

People are dying every day and nothing is being done. No serious, concrete situation on ground to confront these people (insurgents and bandits). I don’t know what else this Senate can do other than appeal to the government.”

Ike Ekweremadu, (PDP, Enugu West,) said; “Any government that cannot protect its citizens has lost legitimacy. We should not be ashamed to seek support.”

Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi West), who shed tears while making his contribution, said, it is only ego that is preventing Nigeria from seeking foreign help.

“What is ego when Nigerians cannot sleep with two eyes closed? What is ego when Nigerians are dying every day of hunger and are being killed with no help from anywhere?

This Senate has to meet the President and make him see why he must seek foreign help. Our security architecture has collapsed, let us tell ourselves the truth…,” Adeyemi had lamented on the floor of the Senate.

For Governor Zulum, who spoke with State House correspondents last Monday night, after a meeting he had with Buhari at the Presidential Villa, he said the President should be told the truth about insecurity in the country.

“Few days ago, Damasak was attacked, hundreds of people started fleeing Damasak and now Geidam (in Yobe State) is almost deserted, many people have left Geidam. I think there is the need for us to get support for us to succeed in this war against insurgents. It is very pathetic,” he said.

Benue State governor, Ortom lamented the killing of seven citizens in Abegana area of the state.

For Okowa, “It is either there is a total rejig of the security architecture which cannot be in the immediate or declare a state of emergency, which, of course, is to ask for foreign help and no nation will because of ego, because of pride, because

The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM), is one of ten unified combatant commands of the United States Armed Forces, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart , Germany. It is responsible for U.S. military operations, including fighting regional conflicts and maintaining military relations with 53 African nations.

NIGERIANS REACT That first attempt by the President to seek foreign help, desperate as it is, may be fraught with sovereignty issues akin to jumping from the proverbial frying pan to fire.

But unlike the present consensus among the Nigerian ruling elite to seek external help, opinions are divided on how, who or what form that help should take.

Prof Bola Akinterinwa, Foreign relations expert, thinks that going to the USA with the AFRICOM request is unadvisable, he told THEWILL in an interview.

He said: “AFRICOM must be well understood. If people say we should be asking for foreign help that should not be confused with the call on AFRICOM. That same call was made by late President Umaru Yar’Adua during a visit to the United States in 2007, saying that Nigeria will partner with the US on AFRICOM. Before he left the US, Nigerians were vehemently opposed to it. That was why the US had to re-present the idea 10 years later. Even the African Union opposed the concept when the organisation said it did not want a foreign military base on African soil.”

President Buhari, he said, may be well-intentioned in making the request, “but with all due respect, he does not know the implications.” He said the same hostile environment that greeted Yar’Adua remains unchanged.

Tracing the frosty relationship between the US government and Nigeria over security issues right from America’s refusal to sell missiles or allow Israel to do so to Nigeria to fight Boko Haram, and even going as far as blocking a private arms company, Akinterinwa warned that, “America will want to help you on its own terms.”

So what kind of help should Nigeria seek? “If they want to help,” he replied, “they can provide intelligence. They have the satellite to do all that.”

Also opposed to the presidential move is the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC. Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the 2nd national security summit organised by the union, president of the organisation, Ayuba Wabba, said the idea to bring AFRICOM to Nigeria would be counter-productive.

He rather called on the Federal Government to provide all the necessary support for the Nigerian military to combat the various forms of insecurity.

According to him: “We are concerned about recent plans to relocate the U.S. African Command from Germany to Nigeria.

While we welcome intelligence sharing and ammunition to support our Armed Forces, we warn that it will be counterproductive to replace our army with foreign soldiers.”

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NEWS

President Muhammadu Buhari (2nd left), Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN, (left): NSA Maj Gen Babagana Mongonu (3rd right), Chief of Defence Staff, General LEO Irabor (2nd), and Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru Gmabo(right), during the Security meeting held at the State House in Abuja on 30/4/2021

Terrorism: Invite Akpabio for Questioning, PDP Urges DSS

BY AYO ESAN

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he Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) has charged the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to immediately invite the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to name politicians in the All Progressives Congress (APC) that are behind the acts of terrorism and banditry ravaging Nigeria.

The PDP, in a statement issued Friday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, stressed that there is a self-professed evidence that Senator Akpabio was privy to certain terrorism-related information which he must be made to share with the DSS as well as other security agencies.

“Our party’s position is predicated on comments made by Senator Akpabio at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja on Thursday that the acts of terrorism in our country are “politically motivated” and that they are handiwork of infiltrators from neigbouring countries. “ It is instructive to state that Senator Akpabio’s revelation provides more insight into the alleged affiliation of APC leaders with terrorist elements, who had reportedly infiltrated our nation after being imported from neighbouring countries by the APC, as political mercenaries, to assist it in unleashing violence to rig the 2019 general elections,” PDP said.

The party urged Nigerians to note that the APC and its leaders have failed to account for these mercenaries and have remained silent despite widespread demands by Nigerians asking the APC to return these killers to wherever they brought them.

PDP said, “Moreover, Senator Akpabio’s position also points to the shocking unmasking of a member of the APC - led Federal Executive Council, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, as a terrorism apologist.

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“ It is quite revealing that despite Pantami’s confession of being a terrorism apologist, the Buhari Presidency had granted him official cover, while the APC had continued in its conspiratorial silence in the face of escalated killings and occupation of parts of our nation by terrorists.

“Our party can also recall how the APC government, instead of going after the assailants, rather blamed the 43 rice farmers, who were last year beheaded by terrorists in Borno state, accusing them of not getting permission before going about their legitimate business in their own vountry. “ Nigerians can also recall how some governors elected on the platform of the APC where seen having photo-ops with gunwielding bandits in addition to their vehement opposition to

I

PDP’s call on the Federal Government to impose a national emergency on security.”

PDP further said that the stance of the APC and its administration have continued to embolden terrorists to escalate their activities to the extent that our nation now ranks third in the world terrorism index.

It said “ now that Senator Akpabio has shown that he has certain information regarding the spur for escalated acts of terrorism in our country, our party urges the DSS and other security agencies to immediately invite him for questioning so as to expose the politicians in his party that are behind the ugly situation in our country.”

NSE: Investors Gain N485.7bn in One Month

nvestors Gain N485.77bn in One Monthnvestors in the Nigerian stock market gained N485.77 billion in the month of April, as trading ended in a positive territory on Friday, April 30. The 22 trading days in the month also recorded an increase in the NSE-All Share Index.

Data from the month-end market statistics of the NGX Exchange sent to THEWELL showed that the market capitalization ended with N20.85 trillion as against N20.37 trillion recorded on the first trading day of the month on April 1.

The NSE-All Share Index also recorded a corresponding increase from 38,916.74 on April 1 to 39,834.42 on April 30.

At the end of the last weekday of trading on Friday, a total of 328,385,041 shares in 4,388 deals, corresponding to a market value of N3,108,807,046.19, were traded.

Compared with the previous NSE trading day (Thursday, April 29), Friday’s data shows 21 percent rise in volume, 53 percent rise in turnover, and 13 percent rise in deals.

Daily market statistics published by The Exchange also revealed that 111 equities participated in the trading of Friday which ended with 22 gainers and 23 losers.

Regency Alliance Insurance Co. topped the gainers’ list with 10 percent share price appreciation closing at 33K per share.

Least on the losers’ table was Sunu Assurance.

FBN Holdings recorded the highest volume of 95.2 million traded shares, followed by Access Bank (44.33m), United Bank for Africa (22.15m) and Honeywell Flour Mill (18.23m).

The overall year-to-date index recorded a loss of 1.08 percent.

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NEWS EFCC Arrests Banker For Alleged N34m Fraud

AYO ESAN he Lagos Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, said it has arrested one Elizabeth Modupe Osunjuyigbe, an employee of Access Bank Plc, for an alleged fraudulent diversion of funds to the tune of over N34m (Thirty-four Million Naira).

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L-R: Country Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing, Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria (SCBN), Mrs. Dayo Aderugbo; Managing Director/CEO, SCBN, Mr. Lamin Manjang; Managing Director/Executive Director Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Chief. Olusegun Awolowo, and Executive Director, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking (CCIB), SCBN, Olukorede Adenowo at a meeting between SCBN and NEPC in Abuja on 26/4/2021.

Air Peace Records First Landing At New Anambra Airport

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR iggest domestic carrier, Air Peace, on Friday, made history as it became the first airline to land at the Anambra International Passenger and Cargo Airport.

With two of its aircraft: an Embraer 145 and a Boeing 737, Air Peace performed a very successful demonstration flight to launch flight operations into the airport loc ated at the Umuleri axis of the state.

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The new Anambra Airport is a project initiated by the Anambra State governor, Willie Obiano and has recorded impressive execution in just one year and three months.

Obiano had earlier promised, that the Cargo Airport in Umueri, Anambra East Local Government, will be ready for use in April when he led the joint committee of the National Assembly on inspection of the project recently.

The governor said his administration was determined to deliver the airport in view of its enormous economic importance to the state and southeast zone and Nigeria at large.

Speaking at the unveiling of the airport , the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for approving and enabling the project.

Onyema noted that the airport was one of the “fastest airports to be approved even for a test-flight.”

The airline operator stated: “What we have here is the widest runway ever and could land a Boeing 777 and an Airbus 380. This is the first time an airport would be doing a test-run with a Boeing 737. It used to be very small planes before.”

Onyema added that the airport would generate numerous jobs for Nigerians and significantly impact Nigeria’s economy.

Incidentally, Allen Onyema, CEO of Air Peace, established in 2013, is from Mbosi town in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State.

CACOL Bemoans Spate of Insecurity

BY AYO ESAN he Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, (CACOL) has bemoaned the spate of insecurity in the country and call on the government to rise to the occasion and ensure the security of lives and property of Nigerians.

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A statement by its Director, Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo, on behalf of the organisation’s Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, stated : “In the last couple of weeks the spate of insecurity in the land had been on the increase. We are daily being faced with gory sights of hapless Nigerian being either killed or kidnapped in various parts of the country.

“This week alone, there have been multiple attacks on lives and properties in the country which claimed at least 15 cops, five soldiers, and 20 civilians. This was apart from the killing of abducted students of Greenfield University in Kaduna, amongst other callousness freely exhibited by either terrorists or bandits in different parts of the country.

“From all indications, it could be noticed that there is gross darkness in the land when it comes to security of lives and properties in the country today. From the north to the east the story is the same. There is virtually no safe haven when it comes to security in the country today.

“Since the unfortunate outbreak of insurgency in the country, which has since risen to astronomical level Nigerians of different hues and shades have expressed one form of disenchantment or the other as it concerns their fears over the state of helplessness and insecurity that have THEWILLNIGERIA

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pervaded the land. It is noteworthy that, many Nigerians including senators and governors have been calling on the President, to seek foreign help to put a stop to the ceaseless bloodshed and kidnappings nationwide.

“The Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, his Niger State counterpart, Sani Bello and Samuel Ortom of Benue State, in separate interviews warned that insecurity in the country was getting out of control. The governors, therefore, urged the Federal Government to act fast as 21 people were killed across the country.

“The insecurity in Niger State was brought to the fore at the Senate on Tuesday as Senator Musa in his motion corroborated the governor’s statement, saying many communities in the state were under the control of Boko Haram. He said, “About 42 communities across the two local government areas of Shiroro and Munya have so far fallen under the Boko Haram control with about 5,000 villagers already displaced in the last three days. They have kidnapped many and their wives seized from them and forcefully attached to Boko Haram members”.

“This is why CACOL, as a civil society organization is lending its voice to the call on the President who incidentally is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces to fully take charge of the appalling security situation in the country. The primary responsibility of government is to secure the lives and properties of its citizens and the President cannot shy away from this responsibility. The whole security architecture of the country should be rejig and if need be, the President should not be too arrogant to seek foreign help who can assist with the needed personnel and technological knowhow needed to fight this seemingly insurmountable battle.”

The suspect, who was arrested on Friday, according to an official statement, allegedly sent a fraudulent request sometime in January to the Branch Service Manager of Access Bank, Adeola Odeku, Lagos State, to issue a draft of the sum of N31, 330, 165. 00 (Thirty One Million, Three Hundred and Thirty Thousand, One Hundred and Sixty-five Naira) in favour of one Best Timland Nigeria Limited.

EFCC said its investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly forged a solicitor’s letter dated January 19, 2021 directing the bank to issue the draft in favour of Best Timland, claiming that request was for the payment of rent to the landlord of one of the bank’s branches in Akwa-Ibom State.

The suspect will soon be charged to court, the anti-graft agency disclosed.

U.S. Announces Priority Appointments For Student Visa Applicants

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he U.S. Mission said on Friday that it will prioritise student visa applicants and ensure Nigerian students resuming this Fall get visa interview appointments well in advance of their program start date.

U.S. Mission Country Consular Coordinator, Susan Tuller, who stated this said the Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos will make every effort to assist student visa applicants in a timely fashion while keeping personnel and customers safe.

“As we continue to prioritize the health and safety of our staff and customers, processing student visas remains a high priority for the U.S. Mission in Nigeria,” Country Consular Coordinator Tuller said. “We will increase the number of student visa appointments in May and June to ensure that we can offer appointments to as many students as possible. If your U.S. studies are scheduled to begin this Fall, we encourage you to schedule your appointment as quickly as possible.”

Tuller explained that all student visa appointments must be booked through the U.S. Travel Docs website at www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/, warning applicants against the use of third-party services, including touts, and fixers who broker visa appointments.

According to her, agents or third parties often seek to benefit by charging a fee for their services and they may not always provide the correct information, which can harm an applicant’s chances of qualifying for the visa.

“Both Nigeria and the United States benefit when Nigerian students study at one of our world-class educational institutions. To prepare for your U.S. educational opportunity, we encourage you to check out EducationUSA Advising Centers at our American Spaces in Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan, and Calabar, or at educationUSA.state.gov,” she added.

Nigeria sends more students to American colleges and universities than any other country in Africa and is the eleventh largest source worldwide of international students to the United States. In academic year 20192020, a record-breaking number of nearly 14,000 Nigerians pursued graduate and undergraduate degrees in the United States.

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FEATURES

When Ortom Wept Over Persistent Killings By Herdsmen

The Abagena Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp In Makurdi Local Government Area Of Benue State, last week, came under attack by people suspected to be Fulani killer militia. In this article, AUSTINE JOR writes that the attack has continued to generate diverse reactions with Governor Samuel Ortom weeping openly at the continuous loss of lives from the Fulani herdsmen attacks.

“Though the victims are not from here, having come from different parts of the state, we were able to mobilise and chase the attackers away as we had no weapons

gony and anguish were the feelings after a visit by THEWILL to the community that has become home for Internally Displaced Persons at Abagena, an IDP camp situated along the Makurdi -Lafia road in the Benue State capital.

Seven dead bodies had so far been counted with many others injured when Governor Samuel Ortom visited the camp.

As a panacea to the nagging security issue, the cleric called for the establisment of a State Police as well as an approval by the federal government for the acquisition of firearms by Nigerians to protect themselves against the marauding killer herdsmen.

The camp, which houses close to 2,000 IDPs, according to findings by THEWILL, was created in 2018 when over 50 Benue communities were attacked by persons suspected to be Fulani militia.

Ortom, while addressing angry youth, who protested and blocked the Makurdi -Lafia road with the dead bodies, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to live up to his responsibility of protecting Nigerians even as he betrayed emotions by weeping openly at the continued killings of his people.

Pastor Shikaan, who is also the Chairman, Benue State Pilgrims Welfare Board, equally called for the immediate proscription of Fulani herdsmen and their associations and declare same as a terrorist group, insisting that the people can no longer fold their arms and watch the Fulanis continue with the killings fiesta in the country.

A few of such camps still exist in the state, findings further revealed.

He described the attack on the IDP camp as inhuman, barbaric and unacceptable.

In what seemed like a new dimension to the renewed attacks by the marauding herders, dozen of them, it was reported, stormed the camp in wee hours, killed and injured many, while many, who scampered for safety are yet to been seen by relatives, it was gathered.

The Governor, who called for urgent action against the activities of militia herdsmen across the country, said if the Federal Government had taken the issue of militia herders seriously, it wouldn’t have escalated to this level.

“The situation is getting out of hand, and each time people are killed by this Fulanis, I called them Fulanis, because they are not bandits, and each time people are killed by Fulanis, the Federal Government comes out to condemn, but for how long do we continue to keep on condemning without action, I think the killings we have in Nigeria today are far more than what happened during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and it is most unfortunate that the Senate is just watching, the House of Representatives is just watching and I ask: If this is going on, what is the president Still doing in office ?

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“As a host community, we had to take the risk owing to the fact that these our brothers have been living at this camp for over four years outside of their ancestral homes and so coming to attack with the aim to killing them amidst their plight got some of us mad,” he revealed.

Findings revealed further that most of the IDPs deserted the camp amidst a downpour treking several kilometres to perceived safety grounds.

The attack on the IDP camp has also forced the IDPs to desert the camp, a development THEWILL confirmed when our correspondent visited last week.

He lamented that, in the last two weeks, over 70 persons had been killed in Makurdi Local Government alone while various communities across Benue are suffering from the activities of the militia herdsmen.

Locals who spoke to THEWILL expressed shock over the very sad development. According to one of them who would not want his name mentioned said it took serious efforts by the community to halt the killings, saying it would have been more disastrous.

Meanwhile, in his reaction to the attack on the IDPs, Senior Pastor of the Spirit Life Christian Assembly. Thomas Shikaan, called on President Buhari to, as matter of urgency, resign from his position over his inability to curb the insecurity in the country.

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Shikaan, in an exclusive interview with THEWILL in his Makurdi office, said it was shocking, the invasion of an IDPs camp in Makurdi recently, by the killer Fulanis where scores of the IDPs were butchered to death and many injured in wake of the attack.

The man of God equally took a swipe at members of the National Assembly whom he accused of playing to the gallery regarding issues bordering on insecurity in the country,, saying the Federal law makers ougtht to have long ago initiated an impeachment process on the President for failing to protect lives and property of Nigerians.

“One of the cardinal points on which we voted him was for him to come and secure the country based on what he told us but has he been able to resolve that? No and so, I want to advise him to resign so that someone who has the capacity can come in and tackle the situation headlong,” the cleric said..

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POLITICS

Lingering Doubts Over Electoral Reform

BY AMOS ESELE

agencies.

called on the NASS to do the needful.

or a man who boasted about winning all six senatorial elections he has participated in since the dawn of the fourth republic in 1999 and then caped it by becoming the President of the Senate in 2019, Ahmed Lawan should be taken seriously in his magisterial pronouncements. That, however, is not the case with his promise to deliver to Nigerians a brand, new and inclusive Electoral Bill by the end of March 2021.

Among the issues on the front burner in the envisage electoral reform of which the amendment of the Electoral Act is one, are pre-election, election to post-election matters.

They range from violence, voters buying, militarisation of elections, to financial autonomy for the INEC, tighter regulation of campaign funding, Diaspora voting, gender parity and inclusion for People with Disabilities, PWDs.

He said; “We hope to release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election immediately after the Anambra Governorship election scheduled to hold on 6th November 2021.

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At the Public Hearing called by the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters for inputs into the Electoral Act 2020, held in early December, Senator Lawan had assured an expectant nation that a new Electoral Bill would be ready for presidential assent by the end of March 2021.

He said; “We’ve resolved to abide by the legislative targets and agenda that we’ve set for ourselves. We shall work assiduously to pass the Electoral Act 2020 before the first quarter of 2021. We also intend to pass the PIB before the second quarter of 2021,” Then the boasted; “As an active participant in the Electoral System since 1999, my experiences in the six elections (1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019), that I’ve contested and won have been different. What is perhaps common is the demands of our people that their votes should count.

Even when they lose, they want to see that the game is fair.”

His audience comprised the civil society coalition who had been pushing tirelessly for the passage of a new Electoral Act to reduce, if not remove completely the deficiencies in the country’s elections. Others were INEC officials, political parties, professional bodies, women organisations, youth, persons living with disabilities (PLWDs) and security THEWILLNIGERIA

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The stakeholders, particularly the coalition, had expressed their fears that the delay or refusal by the National Assembly to pass the reworked Electoral Act, may seriously tie the hands of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deploy technology in the form of electronic voting deliver a transparent election in 2023.

Indeed, the electoral umpire had been using off- season elections as it did in Edo and Ondo governorship polls recently, to test -run electronic voting. With the Anambra governorship poll approaching in November, 2021, the commission could have another chance to improve on the zip-file version of electronic voting it started in the two previous governorship elections it conducted last year in Edo and Ondo. Then in 2022, the commission will have time to perfect observed challenges when it conducts the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun, few months to the general elections in 2023.

A month after, things appear to have unraveled. On Tuesday, April 28. At a one-day public hearing on the National Electoral Offences Commission (Establishment) Bill 2021, organised by the Senate Committee on INEC, on that day, the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu expressed hope for a binding legal framework that would enable the commission conduct future elections in the country and

“In order to do so, there should be clarity and certainty about the electoral legal framework to govern the election. We are confident that the National Assembly will do the needful in earnest.”

A former Minister of Transportation and a member of the Board of Trustees of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Ebenezer Babatope calls for purposeful electoral reform. In an interview with THEWILL, he said: “Well, electoral reform is a good thing. Reform that is good is a reform that will give the people of Nigeria the freedom to choose those who will guide them in the elections and the freedom to choose those who in fact will plan to reshape the future of the country. This is because right now, people are being chosen at will and that is very bad. We should have election that will give the people of Nigeria the chance to elect those who should govern them.”

For Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, the NASS is playing games on electoral reform.

He said in a national television interview last week; “There is no suspicion about the capability of the National Assembly to give Nigerians an electoral act that will lead to the conduct of a free and fair election. With the way things are in the country, they know Nigerians have lost confidence in the government. The National Assembly will say one thing today and do another tomorrow. It is part of the game to deny Nigerians a fair election.” *Continue on Page 10

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POLITICS *Continued from Page 9

Lingering Doubts Over Electoral Reform

Among civil society organisations, the suspicion keeps growing that the NASS do not intend to give Nigeria the required electoral reforms.

elections, however the President of the country refused to sign the bill on the premise that it was too close to the elections.

“Hopeful? My doubts are expanding day by day. This is the middle of April and we have not seen any increased pace in action,” reportedly said Dr Akin Akingbulu, executive director, Institute for Media and Society (IMS), one of the partners in the European Union sponsored democracy and governance project for Nigeria.

“We therefore believe and hope that they will keep their words to amend the bill in good time ahead of the 2023 elections. The need for electoral reform cannot be over emphasized as it will promote electoral credibility,” Fijuabi said.

“I don’t see much on the horizon to support their commitment. If they were genuinely committed, we will see acceleration in their approach, at the various levels. “If we apply history as our guide, we should begin to suspect that the current exercise could be made to go the way of its immediate predecessor: drag, delay, end up not completing the process.”

Ms Mufuliat Fijabi, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Women Fund is somehow hopeful. “Yes, we should be hopeful. I know that there seems to be an unusual silence on the part of the National Assembly but we need to keep hope alive especially, since the National Assembly also made a commitment to enact the electoral reform bill in good time before the 2023 elections,” she told National Democracy Report, a publication of the International Press Center, Lagos.

“It will be good to be hopeful; but this has to be with continuous engagement with stakeholders to encourage the National Assembly to fulfil its commitment to the electorates. I will like to draw our attention to the attempt by the 8th Assembly to amend the law before the 2019

According to her, the issue has nothing to do with what she believes but the willingness of the NASS and President Buhari to see beyond partisanship and do what is patriotic.

“Well, I don’t think it’s about what I believe. Rather, it should be about whether the President, the ruling party and the leadership of the National Assembly are willing to give Nigerians true democracy and an enabling environment for civic participation. They made a promise when elected to make Nigeria better and so, we need to hold them accountable to that. I mean, we all are aware about the need for electoral reform of which the Electoral Act is part of and its importance for a credible and sustainable electoral process.

“The National Assembly should be responsible and responsive to the yearnings of the Nigerian people for a credible electoral system. Our legislators should be conscious of the historical and national imperative for electoral reforms. If they are not committed to giving Nigerians this, it then means that we may not move as much as we expect to in the build -up to the 2023 elections.

“The flaws and malfeasance that characterised the 2019 general elections were too apparent and pervasive to ignore.

The onus is on the National Assembly and the President to expedite actions towards the reform of the electoral system.”

President of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Alhaji Yerima Shettima thinks the current NASS is embarking on a wasteful exercise on electoral reform.

“We should adopt the Justice Mohammed Uwais’ report, he told THEWILL in an interview, “that is already before us, we do not need to waste resources. The Uwais Committee has done wonderfully well and we should adopt its report.

Doing that is better than to constitute an electoral reform committee and start wasting resources. Unfortunately for us the resources are not even there now for us to waste.”

Report of the Electoral Reform Committee otherwise known as the Justice Uwai Electoral Reform Report came in the aftermath of the 2007 general elections when the Federal Government established a 22-Member Electoral Reform Committee, chaired by Justice Mohammed Uwais, retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It recommended, among others, INEC’s independence, creation of Electoral Offenses Commission, unbundling of INEC, gender parity, inclusion of youths and people with disabilities in the electoral process.

One month after the promise by the leadership of the NASS to deliver on electoral reform, six months to the Anambra State governorship election, one year and five months to the Ekiti and Osun governorship polls in 2022 for INEC to testrun changes in the Electoral Act and a year and two months to the conduct of the general election in 2023 is a long time in the annals of legislation for the doubting Thomas’s to be proved right by the elected representatives of the people.

If Allowed to Serve, I’ll Strengthen Housing Institutions - Iniama

Prominent Estate surveyor and a former governorship aspirant in Akwa Ibom State, Mr James Iniama, speaks with UDEME UTIP about infrastructure and housing development in the state. Excerpts:

but what we have missed in the course of our existence are viable industries. Such industries would have provided employment to the youth and added value to the economy of this state.

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Today we have Governor Udom Emmanuel, who is not loud but deep and purposeful . He discovered where Attah stopped in the development of Ibom Airport and continued from there.

Today Akwa Ibom state has an advantage that most other states in Nigeria don’t have.

s an Estate surveyor, are you satisfied with the Federal Government Housing Scheme in Akwa Ibom State?

One cannot talk of being satisfied with the contributions towards housing until our housing needs are reasonably met. The gap is still too wide. And if the gap is presumed to be as wide as it is, there is still more to be done. I use the word presumed because I am unaware of the fact that we have a proper data base that is a product of our enumeration survey that clearly states our housing stock, needs and types that can give us opportunity to plan for the provision of housing that meet various social classes in our individual states.

On the other hand, there is a need to control our developers so that we don’t abuse the Land Use Act. These are the things we have to do in the housing sector before anybody begins to talk of being satisfied.

Holistically, what is your view of Akwa Ibom, in terms of infrastructure, from its creation in 1987 till date?

I think we have to look back from where we were when we became a state. We have to look back from September 23, 1987 for a better assessment. Where were we before that date? We were part of the mainland of former cross River State, which included Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Oron, Itu and Ikot Abasi. To the best of my knowledge, those were the towns and urban areas we had within. But if you thought of an ideal structure of a town, you would discount some of them because they lacked the infrastructure and the development character of typical towns.

I remember that upon the announcement of the creation of this state, we were all happy. The first governor was Colonel Tunde Ogbeha. We received him at Okpokong Bridge and we erected

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Iniama

So, one cannot be satisfied because you still find many Nigerians homeless. Some are sleeping on the streets, while others occupy substandard houses in our cities. In some Communities, you still find Nigerians who live in squalour. So, my point is that we cannot say that anybody is satisfied with the housing needs of our people. There is a lot to be done in the housing sector. If there will be easier access to land, cheaper cost of capital for construction and strengthening of the mortgage institutions in Nigeria, we would do better than we are doing today in housing plan for our people.

The Ibom Deep Sea Port project was discussed during Attah’s tenure. Today it is about to be realised through Governor Emmanuel. We can also mention the Free Trade Zone in Akwa Ibom. We have done well, even in the private sector where I belong.

a commemoration flag bearing AK and I remember the joy with which we escorted the new military governor to the state capital here in uyo.

The new governor assumed duty in the office of the then chairman of the Uyo Local Government Area. Today that building houses the Press Centre in the Akwa Ibom Government House. The building is historic. I hope we left some relics of that building so that we can remember. The streets in Uyo were impassable. I still recall vividly what some of the roads looked like in those days.

One of the early challenges that Ogbeha had was the dualisation of the Ikot Ekpene Road and the provision of street lighting for the road, which was within Uyo metropolis. We should be thankful for the sacrifices of landlords in uyo who offered their property to accommodate government ministries and parastatals when the state was created. Landlords donated their properties for government to take off in the state until late Idongesit Nkanga had the vision to build what is known now as the Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat.

From the professional background, Obong Victor Attah saw the need for Akwa Ibom to have a capital city that is well planned and organised. I would say that the state has come a long way,

Some indigenes of Akwa Ibom have complained that the Federal Government awarded contracts for the construction of new housing units to non-indigenes and the latter bungled the jobs by failing to execute I accordance with specifications.

What do you think the government should do in this regard?

I don’t know how to discuss this matter. If a contract is awarded, usually there would be approved drawing and specifications.

So, I doubt that government project could be executed outside the specifications provided in approved drawings. I doubt it. I also know that for every contract there is a supervising engineer, architect and quantity surveyor, as well as an estate valuer. But I would not find myself competent to comment on why such government projects are not executed in accordance with the specifications because I have not seen the drawings to compare with what is on the ground.

I know that contracts are awarded in compliance with the provisions of procurement acts. So, what if a contract is advertised and no Akwa Ibom indigene is competing for it? Should the government wait till Akwa Ibom indigenes can compete? It is unfair to think so. What if an Akwa Ibom indigene competes for the contract and he does not satisfy the requirements? Must it be waved just for an indigene to compete? Never. I would rather say that we should educate ourselves in any housing contract. Most of us are not even aware of the advertisement of those contracts that are published in the National Tenders Journal. Some times in national dailies. If we are businessmen, we should be seeking knowledge of business opportunities and get prepared to compete. We cannot say the project should not continue because it is in my village and no indigene bid for the job and it was not awarded to an indigenous contractor. Such mindset is not progressive.

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POLITICS

Anambra Governorship: Aspirants Jostle for PDP’s Ticket in that election which Nwoye lost. It was the first time state was going to be ruled by a youth, but that development did not take place as the internal contradiction and infighting in the party aborted it.

Today Nwoye, who was the APC candidate in the last governorship election, has returned to PDP where he is now a top contender for the party’s ticket.

Nwoye

Ozigbo

And as Peter Obi concluded his second tenure and joined the PDP, where he was made the Vice -Presidential candidate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential election, he beckoned on Sir Henry Oseloka Obaze, who served as secretary to the state government in his administration, drafted him into the race for the PDP ticket, which eventually was clinched by Obaze who consequently contested for the governorship and lost. Today, his running mate in that election, Chidi Onyemelukwe, is one of those fighting for the ticket of the PDP.

A survey of the aspirants indicates that Dr Obora Okonkwo, a very wealthy man, who recently floated an airline, has promised to fix Anambra State if give the ticket. This is the second time Okonkwo is positioning himself to take part in a governorship election in the state.

FROM CHARLES OKEKE, AWKA

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o fewer than 16 aspirants are already scrambling for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, ahead of the Anambra State Governorship Election scheduled for November 6, 2021.

Dr. Godwin Maduka, a former APGA Chieftain, who joined the PDP sometime ago, hails from Umuchukwu, Orumba South Local Government. He is rich and well connected, although, this is the first time he is taking part in competitive politics under the PDP. He is a medical doctor based in the United States of America. Not unlike the other contenders, he has promised to fix Anambra State and take it to a higher level.

The aspirants, who are drawn mainly from the Anambra South Senatorial zone, have since been screened even as the outcome of the screening exercise is being awaited.

Speaking on this development in Awka, the Chairman of the PDP in the state, Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu, said aspirants who purchased the expression of interest form from the party had been screened.

Another top contender is Val Ozigbo, the former Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp. He is also rich and well connected. He has promised to create jobs and is allegedly enjoying the support of a handful of wealthy influential persons. This is the first time Ozigbo is making a bid for the PDP governorship ticket.

Aspirants who have reportedly undergone the screening exercise include Senator (Iyom) Uche Ekwunife; Chief Obiora Okonkwo; Hon. Chris Azubogu; Valentine Ozigbo; Winston Udeh; Godwin Ezeemo; Barrister Emeka Etiaba, SAN; Dr. Ifedi Okwenna; Ugochukwu Uba; Tony Nwoye; Dr. Godwin Maduka; Mrs Chidi Onyemelukwe; daughter of late Dr. Alex Ekwueme.

Onyemelukwe was the running mate to Henry Oseloka Obaze, the PDP candidate during the 2018 governorship election.

It was learnt that each of the aspirants have since launched discreet strategies to scale through both the screening exercise and the scheduled primaries that will take place in Anambra State.

It should be noted that over the years, the battles among the contenders for the PDP ticket have been very intense, acrimonious and competitive. In 1999, Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju cracked a hard nut to clinch the PDP ticket and the story was the same in 2003, when Dr Chris Ngige, the present Minister of Labour and Productivity, against all the odds and permutations of that period, emerged as the PDP candidate, after Dr. Mbadinuju was shoved aside and denied the second term ticket, a development that compelled Mbadinuju to embrace the less fancied party under which he contested and lost.

However, in 2007 Dr Andy Uba, who was then a key Aso THEWILLNIGERIA

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Okonkwo

The Deputy State Chaírman of the Party, Chief Asolo, also gave the assurance that the party’s ticket would not be given to people who were described as fair weather politicians.

Asolo spoke during a worship conference organised recently for statutory delegates by one of those eyeing the PDP governorship ticket in the state.

Since the exercise to select the PDP candidate for the Anambra State November 2021 governorship election began, a crucial question borders on the issue of who among the aspirants is better equipped and positioned to emerge victorious at the end of the entire exercise. There is also another important question: Who is the person that has the capacity to beat Soludo, who is likely to emerge as the candidate of the ruling party?

Rock officer, with all the power brokers and the presidency, as well as the then leadership of the PDP backing him, had a smooth ride as he clinched the party’s ticket and proceeded to win the governorship election of that year, an election which was later set aside on the pretext that Peter Obi had not concluded his first term before it was conducted. This development did not vitiate the fact that Andy Ubah has been a governor, either defacto or dejure, as the case may be.

In 2010, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof Charles Soludo, emerged on the Anambra political scene and threw his eloquence, influence and intellectual prowess around and clinched the ticket of the PDP. The party was eventually beaten at the poll by the All Progressive Grand Alliance which then had Mr. Peter Obi, the incumbent governor, as its candidate.

Soludo has since joined the APGA, where he is making a fresh bid to govern Anambra State.

In 2014, Dr Tony Nwoye, a dogged fighter and one-time chairman of the PDP in Anambra State, joined in the race for the PDP ticket and eventually clinched it, leaving his contenders, many of who allegedly worked against the party

Engr. Chris Azubogu, a two-time serving member of the House of Representatives, who hails from Nnewi town, is also forging ahead in the race for the PDP ticket. He is young, energetic and would likely count on his experience as a long-serving member of the House of Representatives.

The same goes for Senator Uche Ekwunife who is also making a fresh bid for the PDP’s ticket. It is still unclear how far she will go in the race , considering the fact that she is married to a indigene of Nri in the Anambra Central Senatorial zone.

Chief Godwin Ezeemo, an industrialist and the former governorship candidate of the PPA, a less fancied party, has since joined the PDP where he is jostling for the ticket of the party. Ezeemo hails from Umuchu, Aguata Local Government, one of the local government Areas in Anambra South Senatorial Zone, where the Anambra State governorship position has apparently been zoned by the leadership of APGA and other key stakeholders in Anambra politics.

The race for the PDP’s ticket is already a crowded and costly one. One good thing about it all is that most of the aspirants are fully equipped, materially and otherwise, to wage a successful battle to clinch the ticket of the party.

So far, the party’s supporters are looking forward to a free, fair and successful screening and primaries scheduled for June. Emerging feelers indicate that the leadership of PDP may settle for a consensus candidate at the end of the entire exercise to prevent the constant crises that have bedeviled the party over the years following the outcome of its selection process.

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POLITICS/INTERVIEW

‘PDP Will Win 2023 Presidential Election With Little Campaign’ In this interview with AYO ESAN, Chief Bayo Dayo, who is a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, speaks on the issue of reconciliation within the party, the defection of Otunba Gbenga Daniel and former House of Reps Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, to the ruling All Progressives Congress, the general insecurity in the country and the chances of PDP winning the 2023 presidential election, among other issues of national importance.

Excerpts:

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e learnt that the crisis rocking the Ogun State chapter of the PDP has been resolved. How was that achieved?

Many years ago, I wrote a personal letter to the National Secretariat of the party, telling the NWC that the only way to move forward in Ogun State was to unite members of the party. I begged them to come to the state and do this for us. Unfortunately, nothing was done.

Some other leaders of the party and I started having a series of meetings with Adebutu, since he was ready for genuine reconciliation. Eventually, most people realised that we would not go far unless we stayed together. The Buruji Kashamu’s faction split into many groups. In the end, we all understood that until we worked together, we would not achieve any success. So we came together and started talking.

That was how it started.

As of today, all the splinter groups are now together.

Both Buruji Kashamu’s group and Ladi Adebutu’s group are now united. I am very happy for that because now I know the PDP has a very bright future in Ogun State.

It appears the task before the new exco of the PDP in the South-West is how to resolve similar crises in other states, such as Lagos, Ekiti and Osun State.

How soon can there be peace in these states?

PAGE 12

Dayo

About a year ago, some elders of the party and I met Hon. Ladi Adebutu and and we told him there was a need for reconciliation. We also went to our leader then, Sen. Buruji Kashamu. He said we should hold on, that it was not yet time for reconciliation. That led to a disagreement between Kashamu and I because I knew the only solution to the Ogun State problem was genuine reconciliation. So we parted ways.

I know that the two major groups in Ekiti State are now united. I learnt they are now working together.

I know there are two factions in Lagos State, but whoever means well for the party must understand that there is no way out other except the two groups work together. If somebody is planting something and somebody is uprooting it, how can that thing grow?

If we want the party to grow, we must all ensure genuine reconciliation among ourselves without anybody telling us to do so, if, indeed, we want our followers to enjoy the dividends of democracy. That is the only way out. My advice to all the state chapters in the South-West is to work together and talk to one another because the APC is the party that is ruling us now, except in Oyo State. So we shouldn’t divide ourselves. We must work together. Until we work THEWILLNIGERIA

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POLITICS/INTERVIEW together, we cannot achieve anything great.

Just recently, the APC admitted some members of your party, including former Speaker, House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and former Governor Gbenga Daniel, into its fold. What is your reaction to this?

I don’t have much to comment about them, but all I know is that Otunba Gbenga Daniel has lost relevance. He is no longer relevant to modern day PDP. He was very much relevant when he joined the party in 2002. And I can tell you that he was a great mobiliser, but that was then. He has been struggling in the PDP since 2011. Even when he was a sitting governor, he couldn’t have it his own way. You can then imagine now that he is no longer the state governor. Although everybody is important and he was one of our leaders, he has lost relevance. I can tell you that we are not feeling his absence. We will not feel his absence in Shagamu. We will not feel his absence anywhere in Ogun State because all his followers are with us.

in the South-West.

The South-West recently tasted and felt the impact of the general insecurity in the country. What is your reactio to this?

When we talk of security, it is nothing to talk about in Nigeria these days. Only few weeks ago, a friend of mine was kidnapped.

I don’t know how many millions of naira they took there before he was released. We thank God for his life, but can we continue to live like this?

We want a government that can contain this insecurity.

We want a government that will push these foreigners that are in our country back to their own countries.

Nigerians have lived together for ages and we never heard of these things.

We need a leader that can shut our borders to these foreigners that do not mean well for our country.

What are the chances of the PDP winning the 2023 presidential election?

We do not need so much campaign. We have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. People are now wiser. You don’t need to go to rural areas to talk to them. You don’t even have to do much talking. All you need is simply to ask them whether they want the suffering to continue. Who wants the present situation in the country to continue? Nigerians have never had it so bad. Everybody knows that it is when we have a good government that we can be happy. Look at the local government secretariats. Everywhere is dry and nothing is going on. All the money that should go to local governments is being spent by the states.

The nearest government to the people is the local government council. If the local government councils are not functioning, how can we the people enjoy the dividends of democracy?

Dayo

The elders alone cannot do this job. The youths will do the job for us. The youth are now wiser. If a leader is heading somewhere, they know what is good and what is bad. They will say you can go where you are going, but we are not going with you. Many of Daniel’s people are left behind in the PDP because they know the party has a very bright future.

“

The security situation in Nigeria right now is not encouraging. We want a change of government. We want somebody who can take us back to where we were coming from. If you don’t know where you are going, you must know where you are coming from.

We need somebody to take us back to 2015. That is all we need now and the people know it will be worse if they don’t follow the PDP.

The government we have now is like an aeroplane that is running on auto-pilot. The plane flies itself. This country is being run by the Grace of God. No expert in any field is running this country now. So we don’t have much to say other than to stick together.

If we are united in the PDP, Nigerians will know that we are serious. Once they know that we are serious, they will follow us.

We don’t need any campaign

The issue of zoning came up recently when a committee set up by our party to review the 2019 general elections said the presidency in 2023 should be thrown open to all the zones. What is your take on this?

You know we are in the opposition for now. So we must pick somebody from the North or the northerners will not vote for us. We need their votes. That is

what we can do now as an opposition party. We need somebody we can vote for, somebody who is popular in the North. We can then pick the vice presidential candidate from the South. That is my own thinking and that is what I think can assist our party. I am sure we have people that are reasonable in the North, people that are loved in the North and equally loved

The government we have now is like an aeroplane that is running on auto-pilot. The plane flies itself.

This country is being run by the Grace of God. No expert in any field is running this country now. So we don’t have much to say other than to stick together.

If we are united in the PDP, Nigerians will know that we are serious. Once they know that we are serious, they will follow us. We don’t need any campaign.

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

Some people are calling for self determination.

Don’t you think such demand is dangerous for the unity of Nigeria?

I believe Nigeria is three countries put together as one. The cultures of the Hausas, the Igbo and the Yoruba are different. These are three countries put together. Let the northerners have their own country.

If we want to go there, we shall apply for visas. If they want to come to the South, let them apply for visas. Let the easterners have their own country, too.

The East and West can even work together, but the South and the North cannot. We are not together.

Why did the British colonial administrators lump us together when they knew our cultures are different?

If we can go our separate ways peacefully without going to war, it is better. In other parts of the world, people have opted for division without going to war with each other. That is actually what we should do.

Let us leave in peace. Let the northerners live the way they want it and let the Igbo, Yoruba and other tribes live the way it pleases them. If that is done I believe there will be peace.

Let every tribal group be on its own. That is the solution to all the problems of this country.

Nigeria is not one country. A single tribe is holding on to all the powerful positions in this country. What can you say to that? There isn’t petroleum in the North, yet northerners are in control of the oil that we have in the South. They are the ones controlling the NNPC and Customs. There is no river that can take a ship in the North, but northerners are the ones controlling the Nigeria Ports Authority. Is that okay? Let us stay in the South and they stay in the North and do whatever they like there. I don’t think it is an offence.

If I tell my neighbour that I don’t want to come to his house and he should not come to my house, is that an offence? But we must go in peace. We don’t need to fight a war before going our separate ways.

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MAY 2 - MAY 8, 2021 www.thewillnigeria.com

EDITORIAL International Workers’ Day: Ngige and Labour Matters

W

orkers all over the world commemorated the International Workers’ Day on May 1. While the greater majority of workers in many countries had cause to literally roll out the drums and celebrate their struggles and gains in the year, their comrades in this part of the world were not in a position to do so for obvious reasons.

In Nigeria, workers, who are clearly the wheel that has consistently oiled the economy of this country for decades, have had to endure serial infractions on their rights from government in recent time. A case, which readily comes to mind, is the recent conflict between organised labour and the Government, which has led to a series of strike actions across almost all the sectors of the economy.

Chris Ngige, has become a clog in the wheel of organised labour’s yearning for a harmonious and mutually rewarding relationship with the Federal Government.

Ngige’s aloofness and lack of diplomacy in handling serious issues affecting workers’ unions and the general public have become his greatest undoing. The minister has not been reaching out enough to Nigerian workers and has been misrepresenting their interests.

His body language, some critics claim, often suggests he is not prepared to speak and act as a conciliator during trade disputes involving government and organised labour, but clearly shows that he has vested interest as a member of Buhari’s cabinet.

Between 2019 and 2020, workers have resorted to constant strike actions and protests in reaction to abuse of workers’ and trade union rights, as well as unilateral decisions and seemingly anti-people policies by a Federal Government that had become progressively hostile and reluctant to create an enabling environment for the attainment of sustainable development.

Perhaps a more damning argument is the fact that under Ngige, Nigeria is still far from attaining a recognisable labour standard, as obtainable in other parts of the world. The key to sustainable development is labour productivity. Judging by the minister’s penchant for portraying trade unions as rebellious groups of people, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that Nigeria will achieve the desired level of sustainable growth.

Failure on the part of the Muhammadu Buhari Administration to meet the demands of workers has also called to question the roles played by its executive appointees. In this regard, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr

According to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose from 27.1 percent in the second quarter of 2020 to 33.3 percent at the last quarter of the same year. This figure indicates

that more than 23 million Nigerians were unemployed at the turn of the year.

Although the report also implies that there is an increase in the population of the unemployed, obviously aided by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is nevertheless indicative of failure on the part of the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to fulfill its main objective of achieving full labour force participation in the economy through job creation, employment generation and skills development under Ngige’s watch.

As a former governor and senator of the Federal Republic, the minister is expected to deploy his wealth of experience to bear positively and fruitfully on his work in the labour ministry, but this has not exactly been the case.

Currently in his sixth year at the helm of the labour ministry, Ngige must understand that there is an urgent need for a critical selfappraisal. We condemn his style of leadership and his arrogant approach. Labour matters demand total understanding of the principles of labour-government relations and not the master - servant approach the minister has been adopting.

We urge him, in the spirit of the International Workers’ Day, to strive to improve on his relationship with Nigerian workers, as well as on his performance in office in the coming years.

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Publisher/Editor-in-Chief - Austyn Ogannah Editor - Olaolu Olusina Deputy Editor - Amos Esele Politics Editor - Ayo Esan Business Editor - Sam Diala News Editor (Online) - Felix Oboagwina 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] PAGE 14

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OPINION Ganduje’s Move to Dismantle Barriers Against Northern Nigeria

BY MOHAMMED BILAL

I

read a damning but factual analysis about the condition of education in northern Nigeria. The piece, entitled, ‘Northern Nigeria Not Educationally Disadvantaged,’ was written by Majeed Dahiru, a columnist with The Sun newspaper and published on April 7, 2002. However, I can’t but agree with his submission that the northern political establishment appears to be very comfortable with an illiterate population.

In the article, Majeed had argued that northern Nigeria does not qualify as educationally disadvantaged. To be regarded as educationally disadvantaged, a people that are willing to be educated must be seen to be institutionally and systematically denied access to education on the basis of their religion, ethnicity or geography by the state.

However, when a people are “unwilling” to be educated on the basis of their cultural and religious orientation, despite the effort of the state to take education to their door step, such people are best described as educationally backward”.

Going further he wrote; “To accept the designation of oneself as educationally disadvantaged on the basis of the biological accident of being domiciled in a particular ethno-geographic part of Nigeria is an inherent form of self-discrimination that the Muslim North has adorned as a badge of honour for a very long time..”

Mr Majeed had also in his article enumerated some of the several government interventions and deliberate policies which were aimed towards assisting northern Nigeria to catch-up educationally, including former President Goodluck Jonathan’s bending over backward to fund with federal money the establishment of Tsangaya Almajiri schools across northern Nigeria, a project that was discontinued by successive northern governors, after 165 such schools were built out of the 400 planned.

in the Muslim North prepared sending their children to the primitive Almajiri Tsangaya, where the parents happily shy away from taking any responsibility for the child.

The Almajiri child would be left to cater for himself, remain malnourished, dirty, isolated and in destitution become a ready tool in the hands of potential criminal elements.

As Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State once remarked, “We are ready to spare our last kobo henceforth to ensure our children remain in classes, to avoid becoming ready tools in the hands of criminal elements.”

Virtually, governor Ganduje has remained “the last man standing” in the efforts toward discouraging the apathy of an average core northerner towards western education.

If other northern governors had shown half of the interest Ganduje is dissipating to change the negative stereotype of northerners towards education the situation could have improved for the better.

In this 21st century, it is shameful and worrisome to behold the presence of underage kids looking haggard, filthy, malnourished and unkempt in the streets across Nigeria in the name of seeking Quranic education. For God’s sake, no one should tell me it is an integral part of Islam.

This form of child abuse is clearly the negative orientation and primitive culture of the Hausa-man in particular.

However, in his determination to fight against the menace, Ganduje remains the only northern governor who has summoned the political will to declare free and compulsory basic secondary education in his state. He has gone as far as making it an offence against the state for any parent-guardian who fails to enlist his or her child in primary school.

Majeed observed, “Over a century after the amalgamation in 1914 and several decades after independence, the gap in education between the south of Nigeria and the north has not been narrowed but geometrically widened. The gap is wider 58 years later than was the situations= at independence.”

The governor has also advocated and implemented the combining of western curriculum with Quranic education. Going further, the administration has established three major Tasangaya schools to reform the Almajiri system of education in the state, as well as recruiting the traditional Mallams (teachers) into the system.

Again one can’t help but totally agree with Majeed that the gap in educational and technological advancement between northern and southern Nigeria is not on a new phenomenon.

Also, to effectively manage and coordinate the mega schools, in such a way as to suit modern realities of education, the administration of Ganduje established the Quranic and Islamiyya School Management Board, which is the first of its kind in the country.

For instance, by 1960, the North with over half of Nigeria 50 million population had 41 secondary schools against the South’s 842 schools. Can you imagine that? The truth is that most parents

Time and again, Ganduje pronounced: “Begging for alms or food is not part of Islam, much less that of a minor, it is absolutely a

BY ALIYU IBRAHIM

cultural humiliating orientation that must be discourage in this 21st Century”.

On the social scene, worried by the seemingly absence of social integration and assimilation to bridge the gap effectively, he introduced ambitious programmes and policies towards dismantling the barrier erected in discouraging socialisation between the Hausa communities and residents of southern origin in the state.

The age-long settlement called ‘Sabon Gari’, which means ‘strangers quarters’ where residents of southern origin were herded or confined, away from the major towns in most Hausa states, Kano State in particular, has been abolished by the governor.

At present, no matter where you come from, irrespective of ethnic or religious background, you can reside anywhere that is convenient for you, without the fears of being harassed or intimidated on account of tribe or religious differences.

Perhaps Ganduje had observed that the segregation of living environment between the northerners and the southerners had negatively disrupted rapid assimilation of the two groups.

The ugly trend has in reality distorted the development of a modern social development, where perhaps the northerners could have tapped from the civilisation which the southerners brought along with them, in terms of attitude, technological expertise, a burning thirst for western education and much more.

Unfortunately, for ages, those radically different societies had existed without any attempt of encouraging gradual integration and assimilation by local authorities in the state and the entire northern states in general.

By way of conclusion, it is inspiring, encouraging and illuminating to note that, the Abdullahi Ganduje administration has so far ensured the astronomical enrollment of pupils into primary schools by 80 percent, that is, from 750,000 to 2.9 million pupils per annum. It also approved the employment of over 7,200 university graduates in various MDAs; employment of 9,840 health, sanitary and midwives; sponsoring of 25,000 teachers to acquire higher qualification in addition to employment of 1,196 women teachers.

This is apart from 3,600 lecturers and undergraduates that were since sponsored to France, Turkey, Egypt, Ukraine, Sudan, Britain, China and other local universities within the country to acquire first, second and doctorate degrees in various fields of academic endeavour, to mention but an abridged record.

•Mr Bilal, the Managing Director of Royal Publicity Publishing Company, wrote in from Jos, Plateau State

Time to Distinguish Between Pirates and Princes

“If we are to have a ruler, we should know, who that person is, otherwise, there would be no distinction between pirates and princes” _ JOHN LOCKE {1632-1704} A few months from now, the All Progressives Congress Party will be holding its 2021 National Convention. As expected, local, state, regional and frontline national political stakeholders are building up their respective political strategies, permutations and allied interests-aggregations, on how best to reposition the fortunes of the party. These unfolding developments are coming, ahead of the 2023 presidential and general elections whose roadmaps are already being laid by the leadership of the APC, who understand the dynamics of power-game, power-play and balance of power.

For the All Progressives Congress, sustaining and retaining her hold on the three-tiers of governance is of utmost concern. However, one leading political figure, who understands, applies the principles and laws of political power and deploys same to very good advantage across population-sizes, population-patterns and populationdistributions, is a former Governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume, who is currently Nigeria’s Minister of Special Duties & Inter-Governmental Relations.

This urbane man of all seasons has the emotional, cognitive, investigative and social intelligence infrastructure, as well competencies to function effectively as the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress Party, if offered the opportunity to do so or chosen by a collective consensus of the party leadership and esteemed members.

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This is even as the All Progressives Congress is very much mindful of the potent powers and strengths of the opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party, from whom it snatched political power in the 2015 and 2019 general elections, respectively, dramatically ending the latter’s 16 year-old on governance at the centre.

Already, there are growing numbers of seemingly qualified candidates, who have indicated their interest in the position of national chairman of the APC. This move makes the context healthy, even as it is an expected norm across board in all political parties at a time like this. The degree of interest shown in the position may have been informed by the fact that the majority of those warming up to contest for it are merely seeking political visibility or relevance.

The present APC leadership at the national level, no doubt, has faced some challenges, which were traceable to personality clashes, that almost put the party in disarray. All segments of the party were enmeshed in different shades and colours of crisis, from the ward, local government, state, zonal to national levels, culminating in litigations, both genuine and frivolous.

A prominent member of the All Progressives Congress Party and seasoned political analyst, who favours anonymity, captures these experiences and lasting impressions most vividly when he said, “almost everybody who is somebody in the APC hierarchy were not happy about the last administrative leadership style of the Comrade Adams Oshiomole led NWC and approach to crucial matters of political interests-aggregation in the not too distant past before the emergence of the current caretaker committee chairman of the party, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State.

“These administrative leadership dysfunctions and lapses at the national level, hopefully, have now been corrected by Buni, who

had been midwifing the affairs of the APC national leadership with discipline, good culturing and civilised behavior”.

To quote Comrade Frank Ezike, “before the All Progressives Congress was rescued from its crisis laddered state by Governor Buni, the issues of behavior- discrepancies and disconnect between the national leadership of the APC as a party and the various states chapters in the federation, resulted in major stakeholders of the party either directly or indirectly being denied democratic licence or access to express their electoral optional choices, guaranteeing fairness, equity and justice for all”.

It is the candid opinion of Ezike that, “a well-balanced and consummate political leadership figure” like Akume be endorsed via election or general consensus as the national chairman of the APC, in order to give the party a “well-defined direction and positive sense of purpose” Alhaji Bashir Salisu, an influential APC member from Kano State, who also doubles as the North-West Zonal Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, says that, in view of the fact that the North-Central geo-political zone’s strategic political significance in determining the electoral successes of the APC in the forthcoming 2023 presidential and general elections, having a strong political personality like Akume in the position will be an added advantage to the party.

According to Salisu, the North-Central geo-political zone is the most strategic geo-political zone with multi-cultural and multiethnic electoral investment opportunities. It is populated by almost all the major and minor ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.

•Continues online at www.thewillnigeria.com

PAGE 15

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Aircraft Maintenance: Nigeria Loses Over N150bn in 6yrs PAGE 33

Rescuing Manufacturing Companies from Grips of Insecurity

First Bank Clarifies Boards’ Reconstitution

PAGE 34

PAGE 35

FG’s Borrowing Spree Signals Rally in Low Interest Environment

BY SAM DIALA

T

he yawning appetite of the Federal Government for borrowing will most likely ignite a rally in the low interest environment in the year. This will also set the pace for a corresponding downturn in the stock market, which has seen unusually bullish trends amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the public presentation of the details of the national budget in Abuja last January, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed that the Federal Government would borrow about N709.69 billion from domestic and foreign sources, including multilateral and bilateral finance organisations, to finance the 2021 federal budget deficit of N5.2 trillion.

Since 2016, the government has been battling with acute revenue shortage arising from volatility in oil prices in the international market. It has not achieved its revenue budgets, while recurrent expenditure is fully executed. Government has therefore embarked on a borrowing spree to finance its expanding recurrent budget. The unmitigated culture of profligacy and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, seem to compound this challenge.

In recent times, bargain hunters deserted the equity market for the fixed income market to invest in government securities Treasury Bills and Bonds which offered handsome yields.

About three years ago, treasury bills were sold at double-digit rates and this attracted many investors who showed interest in it, including banks and other institutional investors.

According to reports, some smart investors at the time approached banks to obtain loans to invest in T-bills.

Consequently, the Central Bank of Nigeria restrategised and gradually began to slice the rates. It also blocked the use of loans for treasury bills investment.

Treasury bills are short term debt instruments used by the CBN to borrow money from the public on behalf of the federal government. The apex bank also uses treasury bills to control money supply in the economy.

In a strange move “to revamp the economy through real sector growth”, the government inauspiciously ‘decreed’ deliberate low-yield returns for the T-bills and bond instruments to discourage the influx of investors to the safe fixed income market haven. This ignited sustained the CBN’s dovish position, which spurred a rally in the equities market that, in turn, provided a safe haven for investors fleeing low T-bill and bond yields.

The development triggered a sharp downturn in the fixed income market with a rate crash that made T-bills and bonds a deserted window, thus creating an unprecedented low interest environment as the government focused more on external loans and pension funds for borrowing.

For instance, more than N435 billion worth of unsuccessful transactions were recorded in the Nigerian T-bills auction conducted by the CBN on November 11, 2020 on behalf of the Federal Government. The trend of limited attractive instruments had forced investors to bid as low as 1 per cent each for the 92day and 182-day bills and 1.9 per cent for the longer 364-day maturities.

Rates on T-bills plunged further as CBN settled its stop-rates at

PAGE 16

•As Stock Market Gets Set For Bearish Trend Auction date

Marginal Rate 91 days

182 days

364 days

April 28, 2020

2.000%

3.500%

9.750%

April 14, 2020

2.000%

3.500%

9.000%

March 31, 2021

2.000%

3.500%

8.000%

March 17, 2021

2.000%

3.500%

7.000%

March 10, 2021

2.000%

3.500%

6.500%

February 25, 2021

2.000%

3.500%

5.500%

February 11, 2021

1.000%

2.000%

4.000%

January 28, 2021

0.55%

1.30%

2.00%

January 14, 2021

0.50%

1.00%

1.15%

December 30, 2020

0.03%

1.00%

1.21%

December 16, 2020

0.04%

0.50%

1.13%

TREND OF T-B AUTION RATES IN 2021 Vs 2020 0.04 percent, 0.15 percent and 0.3 percent for the 91-day, and the 182-day and 364-day maturities as against 0.34 percent, 0.5 percent and 0.9 percent in the previous stop rates auction.

In September 2020, the CBN reduced interest rates on savings deposits from 3.9 per cent to 1.25 percent.

In a letter to all banks, referenced BSD/DIR/GEN/LAB/13/052, dated September 1, 2020 and signed by CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision, Bello Hassan, the apex bank said it had “noted with satisfaction the recent declining trend in market rates in the banking sector, following the implementation of policies aimed, among others, at stimulating credit flow to the real sector”.

The CBN had announced late 2020 that a total of ₦850.41 billion worth of T-bills were set to mature in the first quarter of 2021 and will be re-issued between December 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. It said the sum of ₦76.82 billion would be available for the 91-day period, ₦176.86 billion for the 182-day period while ₦596.73 billion would be for the 364-day period.

The T-bills would be issued in tranches with the first tranche rolled out on March 11, 2021, while the last tranche is scheduled for May 27, 2021. During the period, the apex bank will issue TBs worth N92.05 billion on 91 days tenor, N79.64 billion on 182 days and N398.7 billion on 364 days.

A breakdown of the programme revealed that in March, the apex bank plans to sell N135.96 billion worth of T-bills, comprising N5.9 billion worth of 91 days bills, N22.39 billion worth of 182 days bills, and N107.67 billion worth of 364 days bills.

In April, CBN plans to sell N253.68 billion worth of T-bills comprising N37.29 billion worth of 91 days bills, N28.1 billion worth of 182 bills and N188.29 billion worth of 364 days bills.

In May, CBN plans to sell N170.71 billion worth of T-bills comprising N48.84 billion worth of 91 days bills, N29.15 billion worth of 182 bills and N92.72 billion worth of 364 days bills

Compared to last year, the CBN has effected an upward adjustment in the T-bill and bond yields, apparently to attract investors back to the fixed income market and to patronise government securities as the federal government. This reflected in the Q1 and Q2 2021 issuances which showed a rise in the rates as against the trend in Q4 2020.

While 91-days tenor recorded a maximum yield of 0.4 percent in Q4 2020, it hit up to 2 percent in Q1 2021. Similarly, 182-day tenor attracted a yield up to 3.5 percent in Q2 2021 compared to a maximum of 1 percent in Q4 2020. The trend followed in 364 maturity tenors which reached 9.75 percent in 2021 against 1.21 percent maximum in Q4 2020.

The government in January 2021 announced its plan to take over about N895.5 billion in quoted companies and deposit money banks, as “special borrowing” to fund crisis-related expenditures, a move that drew the irk of concerned Nigeria’s stakeholders. The amount represents unclaimed dividends (standing at N158 billion) and dormant bank balances (N737.5 billion) in the affected financial services sub-sectors.

Some experts project a slump in the stock market as government, through the CBN and the Debt Management Office, embark on aggressive borrowing that appears unending.

“It’s bound to happen. With the disturbing trend in inflationary and forex pressures, the CBN will be compelled to change policy stance in favour of tightening.

When this happens and yields rise, portfolio managers shift preference to fixed income securities to the detriment of the stock market,” said Uche Uwaleke, professor of Finance and Capital Market at the Nasarawa State University, in a note to THEWILL. The doyen of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Sam Ndata, confirmed the anticipated reversal in the low interest environment following reversal of the trend. He said, “It is a pattern that every reversal of a low interest rates environment that is an upward review of T-ll and bond rates will eventually affect the stock market bearishly.”

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AVIATION

Aircraft Maintenance: Nigeria Loses Over N150bn in 6yrs

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR ith about N25 billion spent annually on aircraft maintenance by local carriers, investigation has shown that all the Nigerian airlines put together may have spent a whopping sum of N150 billion in the last six years in that respect.

W

THEWILL gathered that this amount could have been saved if the Ministry of Aviation had, within the period, kept its pledge of establishing a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility for the industry.

It is now six years after the ministry made the promise, yet nothing is on ground to show the implementation of such a plan is ongoing or about to commence.

Over the years, airline operators have been groaning due to the high cost of aircraft maintenance. For instance, to carry out comprehensive C-check on an aircraft involves a huge financial outlay that ranges between $1 million and $2 million (between N470m ad N940m), depending on the scope of work involved.

Further investigations revealed that, at least, 70 aircraft are flown by eight scheduled operators in the country at the moment, just as the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has imposed a calendar limit for a C- Check at every 18 months.

According to a report by Statista on the revenue of the global aircraft MRO market, it was estimated that the aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market generated some $80.38 billion in revenue worldwide in 2018. The global market is expected to generate over $119 billion by 2027.

Another report by Mordor Intelligence, titled, ‘Growth in Passenger Air Traffic in Africa,’ disclosed that in the past 10 years, the African aviation industry had experienced a healthy air traffic growth rate and ranked as the second fastest-growing region in the world.

It stated that African airlines witnessed an 11.2 percent rise in traffic in Q1 of 2016, compared to Q1 of 2015, registering

a total of 15.2 million passengers for 2016.

On the other hand, the report claimed, Nigerian airports have an annual capacity of about 10 million passengers, while their nearest competitors have a maximum capacity of 2.5 million passengers per annum.

It further revealed that the growth in air passenger traffic across Africa is expected to drive the demand for new aircraft deliveries of over 1,100 aircraft (which is spread over 10 years of manufacturing).

It, therefore, opined that ageing African aircraft fleet is expected to see intensive usage, decreasing the time before the next MRO, thus improving the demand for aircraft MRO in Africa.

Given the anticipated increase in demand for aircraft MRO, according to the report, the setting up of an MRO facility in Nigeria is expected to be a profitable business over the forecast period. The qualified investment is expected to cut down on the availability of spare parts for carrying out the MRO activity, thereby, restricting the business ability of upcoming MRO facilities in Nigeria.

The report states, “Besides, West Africa lacks the availability of a full-fledged MRO facility. Thus, the opening of an MRO facility in Nigeria is expected to act as the needed opportunity for stakeholders and venture capitalists of different airlines and aircraft owners to invest in the MRO facility.

“A single, complete MRO facility in Nigeria is expected to lead to the repopulation of aircraft traffic in Nigeria, in addition to a drop in airfares, crude oil prices and lifting of the foreign exchange ban on the aviation industry. Africa is expected to have a delivery of 1,000 aircrafts, while its 650 commercial aircraft fleet is expected to make regular visits to the MRO facility.

“The MRO facility to be constructed in Nigeria is also expected to receive aircrafts from foreign airliners for MRO. Being the only complete MRO facility in the area, the opportunity for the new MRO facility to capitalise the

market and build a vast customer base is expected to hardly be of any trouble during the forecast period, under the current market scenario.”

Commenting on the absence of the MRO facility in Nigeria, the Chairman, Ex-workers of Nigeria Airways, Engr.

Lookman Animashaun, lamented that Nigeria lacked an MRO because the country had not shown seriousness about having it.

The aviation expert said, “Honestly, I must tell you that we are playing to the gallery. If truly we are serious as a nation, we should have got MRO now. We should have built on what we had in Nigeria Airways then, rather than liquidating it.

Animashaun warned that without a sustainable MRO in the country, the aviation industry would continue to experience capital flight.

He stated that in most cases when an aircraft is due for heavy maintenance, it would be taken out.

“The aircraft will remain there and the next thing we are going to hear about the aircraft is that it can’t be sent to Nigeria. That is one of the reasons we are having low capacity in the industry as at today,” he said.

On the way forward, Animashaun called on the Federal Government and individuals to build MRO facilities urgently.

“This is a country where the weather has been so nice to us, unlike in Europe without good weather. It is good for us to have an MRO now,” he said.

In his views, a former Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu, observed that building aircraft maintenance depots had been on the list of government programmes as far back as the 1980s.

Noting that public-private partnership had been trending for a while in the global commercial aviation sector, he said that government could not regulate and still be the sole operator of aircraft and maintenance at any level.

Explaining further, Ojikutu said the delay in building an MRO facility in the country might be due to the absence of a clear understanding among those responsible for policy administration in government.

He added that the government could not be thinking of concessioning a part of commercial aviation and still desire to keep another. “Government cannot be a regulator of the industry and still be the sole operator. It either excises itself from the ventures or it is a minority shareholder of not more than 20 percent. It could also consider involving foreign technical and financial investors 30 percent, credible Nigerian investors 30 percent and the balance of the 20 percent for the Nigerian public,” he said.

Ojikutu confirmed that the cost of aircraft offshore maintenance had always been exorbitant and it ranged from $500,000 to $2 million, depending on the required level of maintenance.

“If you imagine about 50 aircraft in a year for whatever level and at an average of $500,000 to $1m for an aircraft, you might be looking at a total average of $25 million to $50 million. The question to ask is: do these airlines and aircraft operators make such earnings annually in returns to the Central Bank of Nigeria or we still have to find money for them from the public reserve? That is the dilemma of our country in distress and now bleeding”, he said.

Meanwhile, efforts made to reach out to the Director of Press at the Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, proved abortive as requests made to him were not responded to as at the time of filing this report.

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COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

Rescuing Manufacturing Companies from Grips of Insecurity

BY CANICE OPARA he high rate of insecurity in the country is a serious cause for concern to manufacturing companies and other operators in the real sector of the economy.

The menace which was first noticed in the early years of Nigeria’s return to democracy has grown into a monster.

T

For instance, it started with the kidnapping of foreign oil companies’ workers for ransom by the Niger Delta militants who were demanding for resource control in their region.

Later was the localized Boko Haram menace in the North East demanding for institution of Islamic country/ideology amid its total rejection of Western education.

These problems have escalated into greater dimensions.

Nigeria is now facing increased insecurity crises in form of terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, herdsmen attack on farmers and other cases of insurgency resulting in unwarranted killing of innocent citizens across the country.

The impact.

These challenges, put together, have affected the activities of manufacturing companies, with some either shutting down completely or relocating their operations within the country.

Others have left Nigeria for other West African countries.

It is on record that Boko Haram insurgency has led to many manufacturing companies withdrawing their presence in the North or shut down operations amid worsening insecurity.

Among the challenge to corporate bodies include the damage to telecoms masts thereby making communications difficult in those areas.

Manufacturing companies operating in other parts of the country but depend on agricultural produce from the troubled region, find it difficult to get raw material supplies as farmers no longer go to their farms for fear of attack by herdsmen. This situation has resulted in many firms losing revenue, as their goods cannot be sold.

With all these, and the rampant kidnappings on major highways in some part of the country, at times caused by dilapidated spots, some roads have now become nogo areas, making traveling difficult, thereby reducing production capacity The result of this is the death of economic activities as agricultural produce and finished goods have been badly affected. This means no significant investments in the North-East region for now and, perhaps, in some other parts of the country badly hit by insecurity.

It is this very worrisome security perception that made Nigeria ranked 148th out of 163 countries by the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2018.

BACKWARD INTEGRATION AND BEYOND The development has serious impact on manufacturing companies which adopt the backward integration policy – that is local sourcing of raw material. It also affects the raw material producing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which feed the larger manufacturing outfits.

Then, for those companies that managed to get raw materials from other areas, they produce and sell at a high cost to the end users, who bear the brunt of insecurity. This also impact the companies’ top and bottom lines.

Some of these locally-sourced raw materials include rice, sorghum, wheat, groundnuts, cashew nuts, sugar cane, and many others.

It is pertinent to point out that insecurity has worsened the plight of companies as foreign investors are now scared of investing in Nigeria which is a minus to local companies that would have benefited from them, in a way or the other.

At the end of the day, efforts at trying to create jobs for the

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“

Manufacturing companies operating in other parts of the country but depend on agricultural produce from the troubled region, find it difficult to get raw material supplies as farmers no longer go to their farms for fear of attack by herdsmen

teeming unemployed in the country through these companies, is defeated; there will be no meaningful development in such devastated areas as most infrastructures there would have been destroyed and no new ones built.

NIGERIAN BREWERIES The case of Nigerian Breweries, a company that gets most of its local raw materials from the North, and has a location in the Kaduna South Local Government Area of Kaduna State as well, gives a good picture of the effect of insecurity on manufacturing firms.

According to Chief Kolawole Jamodu, chairman, Nigerian Breweries during his address at the 73rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2018, the loss recorded by the company was due to harsh business environment, such as low customer’s purchasing power, lack of expected improvement in the state of social infrastructures like access roads and power and insecurity.

Guinness Nigeria in 2019, recorded a low performance as it posted revenue of N131.49 billion in 2019 as against N142.97 billion in 2018. Profit before tax in 2019 was N7.1 billion as against N9.9 billion in the previous year.

The chairman cited hostile operating environment where distribution is affected by widespread insecurity across the country.

“The nation’s socio-political and economic environment remains increasingly challenging for the company resulting from poor multiple taxation and high interest rates, insecurity, infrastructure significantly under-developed as getting out imported raw materials and the general poor state of our roads and transportation network, are prevailing.

“The challenges enumerated above have in no small measure contributed to the high cost of doing business in Nigeria and a drastic reduction in consumer purchasing power. For most companies, margins continue to decline with profitability under immense pressure”, the company Chairman, Babatunde Savage said. This is only a glimpse into how insecurity has affected manufacturing companies’ businesses in Nigeria.

EXPERTS’ VIEWS Industry experts believe that a lot needs to be done to curtail the insecurity situation in the country, so that manufacturing companies could operate viably.

Ambassador Ayoola Olukanmi, Director-General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), at a recent conference on review of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy in Abuja, said there is the need for significant improvement in security across the country in order to ensure confidence of foreign investors in the Nigerian economy.

While also reacting to the recent figures on inflation rate in the country released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which showed a surge from 17.33 percent recorded in February 2021 to 18.17 percent in March, as well as the rising cost of food, Olukanmi said “Most significant in this regard is the issue of insecurity, which is spreading across the country and its consequences on agricultural production.

“Steps must be taken by the government to arrest the trend. In all of these, perhaps most important is the issue of insecurity. An enduring solution must therefore be found to the problems of banditry and other sources of insecurity across the country”.

Similarly, engineer Frank Onyebu, Chairman, Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN), Apapa Branch, in one of his write-ups recently said drastic measures have to be taken to tackle “our worsening security challenges. There is a symbiotic relationship between unemployment and insecurity just like there’s a relationship between security and the economy”.

Also, Olumide Adesina, a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Society, in a report by The Africa Report, recently said, “It’s critical to note that certain aspects of Nigeria’s financial markets are largely affected by the prevailing violence sited in the northern part of Nigeria … investors hearing such news about Nigeria’s rising insecurity and unrest, are changing their plans because issues of rising security are paramount to international investors”.

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BUSINESS NEWS Airline Operator Canvases N500bn Aircraft Leasing Coy

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

F

or local airlines to survive and keep afloat in their flight operations, there is need for the Federal Government to set up aircraft leasing company, up to the tune of N500 billion, that will help to strengthen the airlines in the country.

Capt. Ibrahim Mshelia, the Chairman, West Link Airlines who gave the advice recently pointed out that it, is not a good situation whereby airlines will be looking for dollars to pay for their lease, adding that local airlines operate in Naira and that they should also pay in Naira.

L-R: Chief executive officer, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Mr Temi Popoola; Group managing director, FBN Holdings Plc, Mr Urum Kalu Eke, and Managing Director/CEO, Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc, Mr Haruna Jalo-Waziri, during the 2021 Nigerian Investor Value Awards in Lagos on 26/4/2021. PHOTO: PEACE UDUGBA

First Bank Clarifies Boards’ Reconstitution

BY SAM DIALA

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ess than 48 hours after the Boards of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings Plc and First Bank Limited were suddenly dissolved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the first generation bank has issued a statement on the current structure of the Boards.

According to the bank, the Board of Directors of First Bank of Nigeria Limited now comprises of Mr. Tunde Hassan-Odukale as Chairman, Mrs. Tokunbo Martin’s, Mr. Uche Nwokedi, Mr. Adekunle Sonola, Ms. Isioma Ogodazi, Mr. Ebenezer Olufowose and Mr. Ishaya Elijah B. Dodo.

Others are Dr. Adesola Adeduntan as Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gbenga Shobo as Deputy Managing Director, Dr. Remi Oni as Executive Director and Mr. Abdullahi Ibrahim as Executive Director.

In an official statement issued Friday by First Bank, it stated that “further to the press conference held by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele CON on Thursday, 29 April 2021, the Boards of FBN Holdings Plc and First Bank of Nigeria Limited were dissolved and reconstituted, pursuant to its power under Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.

According to First Bank, Dr Adesola Adeduntan has since resumed work as CEO in line with the directives of the CBN. “We can confirm that the Bank is cooperating with the Central

Bank of Nigeria and other regulators while the operations of the Bank are not hampered or hindered in any way and are in fact running smoothly”, First Bank added.

Meanwhile, members of Nigeria shareholders’ associations have expressed divergent views on the sudden dissolution of the boards of both First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings Plc and First Bank Limited by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Leaders of the organised investors’ groups who spoke to THEWILL also differed in the decision of the CBN to reinstate Dr Sola Adeduntan as managing director of First Bank Limited, twenty-four hours after the bank announced his removal and the appointment of Mr Gbenga Shobo as Adeduntan’s successor.

The National President, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr Boniface Okezie, described the CBN’s action as inappropriate and setting a wrong precedent.

He argued that the CBN should have directed First Bank to reverse the appointment of Mr Shobo if it did not follow due process because the board has the authority to decide on who to retain or remove.

“The CBN has no right to dissolve the board of the Holding Company because it is a different entity from First Bank Limited which is a subsidiary of the Holco (Holdings Company).

“The board has to discharge its responsibility to the shareholders because there is no smoke without fire.

24 NAMA ATCs Get NCAA License, 30 Others Re-certified

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

A

s part of efforts geared towards efficient of air traffic management in the country, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has obtained licenses for 24 newly recruited Air Traffic Control officers from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The licenses were granted by the apex aviation regulatory agency recently after the ATCs have successfully completed the necessary training and examination on Aerodrome and Approach Control The new air traffic controllers are currently being posted to strategic aerodromes in the country according to their need.

Similarly, NAMA has also recertified a total of 30 air traffic controllers in different categories air traffic control including Terminal Approach Radar, Area Procedural Control and Area Surveillance Control after passing the required proficiency/ rating tests and certified mentally fit in line with Annex 1 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and part II of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulation (NCAR).

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In an official statement issued by NAMA, the Managing Director of NAMA Capt. Fola Akinkuotu recalled that from year 2020 to date, the agency recertified a total of 194 air traffic controllers in addition to their periodic training and retraining, targeted at keeping them up to speed with latest skills and technology in air traffic management to ensure they remain competitive with their peers globally.

In the statement which was made available to THE WILL, Capt Akinkuotu also revealed that, in order to reduce delays and congestion in the nation’s airspace the agency has commenced the construction of Aerodrome and Approach Control simulator at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos as a pilot project to be replicated in Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt.

The aviation expert who noted that the safety of the Nigerian airspace remained a cardinal goal of the agency also enjoined air traffic controllers to continue putting in their best in order to justify government’s huge investment in building critical infrastructure as well as capacity of personnel.

Speaking during a chat with exco of Leaque of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC), Capt Mshelia said “We recommended that N500 billion should be set aside by government in 2013, as a leasing company for local operators to access and bring their planes in” .

“The lessor is supposed to be Nigerian leasing company, so we will be paying here; all the income will be domiciled here and it will help to strengthen our naira. It will be only parts and training that we maybe worrying about. If we intensify our things properly, we can even have our trainings reduced to Nigeria as we have all the airplanes simulators here”, the pilot emphasised.

Explaining further, Capt Mshelia lamented that some African countries have been able to set up such facilities simply because Nigeria has not put its house in order.

He noted that such facilities, which is now domiciled in one of the East African countries should have been set up here in the country because Nigeria is where the market is.

BY

Citing example with himself, Mshelia stated that he has also been trying to get land for his Flying School here in Nigeria, all to no avail.

“Since five years I have applied, I don’t have the land. So, what do I do? I will be compelled to go back to Ghana.

And that is exactly the option I am looking at now. I went through Phase 3, submitted all the manuals. It is remaining to get a place and prepare for the demonstration, I have not been able to get that. The NCAA cannot do anything, it is neither their fault nor mine. It is the fault of the policy; we don’t want to grow our own things. That is why these deliberate policies are in place”, he said.

Corroborating Capt Mshelia, the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Musa Nuhu, has equally observed that the issue of aircraft lease has remain one of the major challenges to airlines in the country.

Capt Nuhu had earlier, opined that Nigerian airlines are not really benefiting from the Capetowm Convention decades after adoption.

Concluded in Cape Town on 16 November 2001, the primary aim of the Convention and the Protocol is to resolve the problem of obtaining certain and opposable rights to high-value aviation assets, namely airframes, aircraft engines and helicopters which, by their nature, have no fixed location.

Explaining why Nigerian airlines are not benefiting from the agreements, Capt Nuhu said “Nigeria is not benefiting very well because we have cases where people go and lease aircraft and come to Nigeria. They don’t pay and they don’t want to release the aircraft. So it creates a bad reputation for the Nigerian market”.

“That is why I tell you, when you do things. It is not one person. You are damaging the reputation of the country. So when you go now and you want to lease aircraft, they will say that when the aircraft is due to return, you will go and bring one court injunction and you damage the reputation of the whole country. It is damaging. Since II came, I have successfully dealt with three cases with Capetown Convention”, Nuhu said.

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L-R: Dep Inst lGen Adm Ilom Ign on Con

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EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW We Have Lost Over $100bn to Insecurity – Mailafia leaders. This is really where we are today.

Under this circumstance, where do you see Nigeria in the next 5 years?

We have desertification, we have flooding, and ecosystem collapses as well, then dependence on one commodity whose value in the global financial market is very uncertain. We have an elite who are extremely selfish, incompetent and very corrupt and who are ruling on the basis of nepotism and you get that feeling that there is an agenda which Chief Olusegun Obasanjo called ‘Fulanization’ and ‘Islamization’. There are killings everywhere without regard to age or status, raping of women – our daughters and sisters are raped and the videos are sent around, this is an abuse of humanity.

Mailafia

Five years looks extremely long. No system can survive the kind of pressures that our system is currently undergoing.

Something, sooner or later, will have to happen. People have had enough. They know the country cannot take it anymore.

The system will definitely collapse. I am not speaking as an alarmist; I am not even speaking as a politician. I am speaking as a Development Economist and as a Policy Scientist who is looking at these things and the way the system functions. This system is programmed to collapse. If we continue on the same path trajectory, it will not survive.

Dr Obadiah Mailafia, renowned international Development Economist, one-time deputy governor at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former chief of staff of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), is a prominent Nigerian statesman. In this interview with SAM DIALA, the exofficial of the African Development Bank Group, bares his mind on the colossal loss of lives and resources due to the spate of insecurity that has plagued and eclipsed Nigeria in recent times, especially in the last six years.

He also proffered a way out.

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ir, what do you consider the major economic consequences of growing insecurity in Nigeria?

The economic consequences are very dire. This thing has been going on for almost 10 years now and it is getting worse. Not too long ago, I did some basic calculations and I discovered that what we have lost due to insecurity, if we are to quantify it in monetary terms, exceeds $100 billion. And how did I calculate this?

First is the amount of expenditure on the budget that is used for “security” both at the federal and state levels; just evaluate that amount.

Secondly, this money, which is now voted for “insecurity” could have been used for infrastructure and other development.

So, we are ploughing money that could have been invested in infrastructure and human capital development into “security”.

able to go back to their farms. And this is the planting season.

You can imagine the long-term cost. People are worrying if there might be famine this year. Even where farmers have planted, their crops have been destroyed and they get discouraged. So, you have phenomenal rising prices. People now work not to earn income but to feed the families, to survive.

The fourth aspect is the goodwill we have lost, especially internationally. A lot of the money that would have come into this country through foreign direct investment and portfolio investment is lost. This is because, once people hear that a school has been raided, children have been taken away, an entire village has been blown up and there are scares of bombs here and there, of course, the investors would not want to bring their money.

There are those that would want to brave it …?

Those who are brave to bring in money go into sectors that are capital intensive, they are near the coast and they can quickly leave. They are not investing in greenfield projects that have long-term gestation (to create jobs). They are not interested in other sectors. That goodwill that is being lost, if you calculate it, it amounts to a lot of money.

The fifth point: there is capital flight. By nature, capital flight in Nigeria is something you can’t really determine the precise figure because nobody has done a technical study on it. But to know that a lot of money leaves the country, you look at the unstable exchange rate, the high inflation rate, instability, the disequilibrium … even the elites are converting their money into dollars. Again, if you put all these together, the extent of economic damage is very huge.

The most tragic is this: ask the people, you will find out that most of that money was never used for security. It is pilfered and stolen away. That is one level.

Somebody once wrote a book on Trust. Trust is very important not only to business but to nation-building and the economy generally. When we trust each other, we are comfortable doing business with each other. In a situation where you have killings and destruction, there has to be automatically an erosion of trust.

And once that trust is eroded, it translates into reduced business activities and slower growth of our economic development.

The second level is to estimate the amount of damage done in all these areas where there has been wanton insecurity: There is a distraction from and destruction of economic activities, especially in the agrarian sector. There is destruction of infrastructure: a lot of buildings have been destroyed – schools, clinics – as a result of insecurity. That is the second aspect.

So, what we are talking about is nothing less than $100 billion lost within the last couple of years. It is not only the quantitative aspect in the breakdown of trust, there is destruction of human relations, destruction of infrastructure, capital flight, degradation of human capital – a lot of our young ones and the highly gifted are leaving the country en masse.

The third level is the impact on rural farmers. Insecurity has become so dire that people are so scared; a lot of farmers are not

This (insecurity) is really a project from hell and supervised by a deputation of demons from the pit of hell who call themselves

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There is growing concern over the existing players and institutions that have endured and continued to support the fragile system. Are you equally worried about their fate?

I put my trust in the indomitable courage and in the resilience of the great Nigerian people. Nigerians are able to get there.

When it comes to the economy, they are not looking for handouts. They are looking for a peaceful environment to help themselves and their families. But, what we are going through right now, we have never experienced before. Not even during the Nigerian Civil War. What we are going through today is unprecedented: That we elected a government that is actually a foreign government; it is not a government of our citizens — Building railways to foreign countries of which we know nothing; building refineries in other people’s countries, using borrowed money from the Chinese, for which they have challenged our sovereignty.

If this is not madness, I don’t know what madness is. I don’t know who will make them account for this combination of folly as well as wickedness. I don’t know how else to describe it. It is totally unforgivable, totally unacceptable.

You cannot abuse the people up to that level. You cannot brutalize an entire country and hold them to ransom to that extent. And you created an atmosphere of fear. There is a culture of silence that has descended upon the country. Everybody is scared. Nobody wants to speak out. Nobody wants to stick out his neck. That fear is reinforcing primordial sentiments.

We can only pray for a change of heart that they will commit sincerely to political reform of this country, and to rebuilding the institutions, so that they are more democratic and more accountable; to bring out people together, based on a national agenda. Not to divide our people on the basis of nepotism, on the basis of sectional agendas.

We will only hope they will see light and they will make change because if they don’t, people at this point have no option other than to resist them. And People are going to resist them.

What people do not realize is that Nigerians are a very ancient people. If you look at the Middle Belt, you see civilization that is traced to Egypt of the Pharos. They invented iron before the Greeks and the Romans of old. If you look at Ile-Ife, it is 1,000 years. The Benin Empire is almost 2,000 years old. The Efik people have a similar system of writing as the Jews and the Hebrews, the Kanem-Borno Empire – these are very ancient civilizations of over 1,000 years.

They are not going to sit back and watch people who came to Nigeria just 200 years ago. They are not going to sit back and be destroyed by foreigners who came only 200 years ago … and believe that their race is superior, (that) they are born to rule, they can lord it over us because the British in their collective stupidity came here and told them they were a race very superior to the others and were born to rule over the rest of us. It is the greatest self-deceit of the century. And they will later find out they have lived in a very big lie. The ancient cultures of Nigeria are very strong; they will resist and they will defeat them.

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INSIDE:

•Entertainers Who Relocated Abroad For Greener Pastures 40 •Nollywood Actors Drum Up Support For Baba Ijesha 42

DR TORNGEE MALU

Changing Lives, Transforming Bodies THEWILLNIGERIA

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Nigerians Among Best Plastic Surgeons Globally – Malu

Renowned plastic surgeon, inventor and founder of Renew Aesthetics Clinic, Dr Torngee Malu, speaks with IVORY UKONU about his job and his foray into politics, among other issues. Excerpts:

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our attempt to secure a senatorial seat under the Social Democratic Party in the 2019 general elections didn’t yield the desired results. Why is a successful plastic surgeon like you interested in politics?

I want to be in a leadership position where I can help to correct some societal problems and solve other people’s problems. My dream of becoming a plastic surgeon was to change and improve people’s lives through their bodies and by extension, the lives of the less privileged. So, changing lives is beyond the glamour and the money that comes with it. I came from a very poor background. I was raised by my uncle who is also a professor of medicine. He is my mentor. He changed my life by giving me the opportunity to go to school. The same opportunity I got is what I want to give to people all around me. As much as plastic surgery solves a lot of problems, it doesn’t take care of the need of the common man on the street. I was once a common man on the streets until God used my uncle to change my life.

I am interested in politics not for myself, but because I count myself blessed and privileged. My career has given me so much than I ever thought I could have and I am very okay with what God has given me and my family. But life is beyond you and your family; it is about how many lives one is able to affect. That is why, despite the fact that I am doing very well in my practice, I want to positively impact on more lives through political leadership.

Don’t you think you could make greater impact without having to get in the ‘ring’?

I am doing the best I can already within my senatorial district and even beyond, but I believe that I will actually make greater impact on my senatorial district when I get into a position of authority. Yes, plastic surgeons make a lot of money, but, like I said before, money is not everything.

There is something about policies. Policies affect lives much more than money. Being in a position of authority will afford me the opportunity to effect policies that will change lives, in terms of health, agriculture, education etc, and also help other people to build their own wealth. My uncle didn’t give me money, but he helped me to build a career. That is what leadership can help people to achieve.

Having lost out in the election, are you looking at giving it another try?

Yes, I will try again. I want to follow what I believe in Who will manage your practice if you eventually win, given that most of your clients prefer your personal touch?

Doctors don’t retire. Once a doctor, always a doctor and you remain a doctor for life. Anywhere you are, you can practice. I know that being in a position of authority will be challenging. It will make me to be less available for surgeries. Fortunately my hospital, which is purpose built, is well structured to carry on with minimal supervision

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and with capable hands who are learning from me. I know people still prefer my personal touch and I hope that I would be able to attend to them personally, from time to time. But I would rather teach others who are interested, my skills and then focus on changing lives at a bigger level.

Only a few people are aware of your philanthropic gestures. How did this aspect of your life come about and what prompted it?

It stemmed from the same passion for changing lives, which was nurtured by my uncle. I mention him a lot because he played a big role in my life. He changed my life. When I look back, I realise that at one time, it didn’t look like I stood a chance of succeeding, but he gave me the opportunity. Now you can see how far I have come. I have seen that a lot of people equally need that opportunity and that is why I try to help as many people as I can. It started shortly after I graduated from the university. I picked up two boys whom I raised. Both of them are now graduates. There are may other people who have benefited from my assistance, especially in the area of education.

After the general elections, I started a local cooperative scheme that gives out small loans to people. I have invested millions of naira in that venture, basically to help people to start up business, manage their business and to help them discover their God-given talents and exploit it.

I also have a non-governmental organisation that trains people on basic skill acquisition and make them independent without having to rely on support from the government. It gives me joy to do these things.

It is a good thing you got more international training and exposure in your field and chose to come back home to set up private practice. Most people in your shoes wouldn’t have returned home There is no place like home. It does not matter how well you are doing in a foreign country, you are still a secondclass citizen in that country. But when you think about others more than yourself, it becomes a valid reason why you should come back home and put in your best. Beyond that, I think that Nigeria is a very blessed country. There are more opportunities in this country than any other place in the world. I decided to set up private practice in Nigeria because I saw an opportunity for growth and for affecting human lives positively.

Why plastic surgery/body enhancement and not any other field of medicine?

I would rather call what I do beautification and not body enhancement. This is because most beauty procedures do not need enhancement. It is more of renewal or bringing out the inner beauty that is hidden by virtue of habits, such as late-night feeding, which causes excess tummy fat. I don’t not consider taking fat out of the body as body enhancement. I would describe it as fat removal instead.

That procedure helps to bring out the beauty in the person which is what we are known for at Renew Aesthetics Clinic. We make people look better. We renew people’s physical bodies in a way that one will remain natural and beautiful. I choose this field of medicine because I deal with a lot of women and I see how a lot of them suffer from body shaming. They lose their self-confidence, not THEWILLNIGERIA

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by their doing but, perhaps, by having several kids, which alters a woman’s body, or some other things that makes them feel uncomfortable with their bodies. I help them to like their bodies again and restore their confidence. That positively affects everything around them.

Why do you think a lot of Nigerian women and men suddenly found the need to aesthetically alter their bodies?

Like I said earlier, I do not like to use the word alter.

I prefer to use the phrase, ‘aesthetically improve their appearance’ because when you use the word ‘alter’, it attracts a stigma. As a child you keep growing. Between the ages of 16 and early 20s, you may probably look your best, but after that period, say in your late 20s or 30s, nature, time, environment, habits set in and these factors are responsible for altering the body. So, what we do is to try and restore the body. I think both Nigerian men and women have realised that there is a solution and whatever we start in Nigeria, we always go for the best. That is why I think the best plastic surgeons in the world are Nigerians.

Personally, I have clients that come in from the United States of America, Canada and Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, Ireland and Austria, as well as from other African countries. Because they see the result of my work, they would prefer to get their body works done here.

Before now, a lot of Nigerians preferred to travel out of the country for these procedures. But when they discovered that they can be done here and with excellent results, they decided to stay back and get it done. Those who travel out of the country come back here to get their body fixed.

There is hardly any month that we don’t have people coming from the USA and Europe for surgery here. It is because they have seen that it can be done locally and you will get the same result as you would get abroad.

Have you at any time felt that your efforts didn’t turn out well or your client wasn’t satisfied?

We have developed many good techniques that are not practiced elsewhere in the world. We started the scarless liposuction technique because we didn’t like the scars that usually appear on the back of patients. So we developed a technique where you don’t have to see liposuction marks.

It is very technical and quite difficult to achieve, but it always turns out well. In terms of client satisfaction and efforts not turning out well, this happens more frequently than most people know. It can happen to any good plastic surgeon. But I must say that we have a very dynamic team.

What we try to do is to give the best that everyone’s body can carry and that is very important.

What are some of the most important things you consider before allowing a client on your operating table?

First is the client’s expectation. Is it realistic or not?

Secondly, the medical condition of the person is of utmost importance. The client has to be medically, psychologically

and physically fit for the surgery. I avoid anyone with liver and kidney problems. Then there are those who are on some kind of compulsory medication. That is why the need for a proper consultation before surgery cannot be overemphasised. It is important to sort out the health condition of the client and the expectations of the client. That way we are able to determine whether the client can undergo surgery or not.

Some people won’t go under the knife because they are afraid of the after effects of plastic surgery as they grow older It is even better to go under the knife so that you can live longer because as you remove fat out of the body, a lot of problems also go out with it. Many of those who couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs because of fat are now able to do so because they removed the fat surgically. They have a better life style. Some have had very difficult relationships and after going under the knife, that has improved. So it is better to do it and have a better life.

Does your philanthropic gesture also involve procedures on people who have suffered body disfigurement?

My philanthropic works in health mostly involves children who need medical attention. Because I am in surgery already, there are some areas in medicine I cannot dabble into. So I try to partner with people, who are helping children like the Aisha Foundation based in Abuja. The foundation helps children who are sick with cancer, afflicted with other ailments or are simply unable to pay their medical bills. I would really love people to partner with her. She is doing a fantastic job with the foundation.

Aisha Khaled is a young beautiful lady who is doing a great job changing children’s lives Let’s talk about some of your procedures. Considering that breast augmentation requires an insert, can the

“

Managing unrealistic expectations of clients who have failed to understand that everyone is different and everyone is beautiful in their own way. All we try to do is to bring out a better version of you through these procedures, but some fail to understand this, no matter what you do

insert remain there permanently, especially with improved technology?

Breast implants are not permanent, despite improved technology. They can be taken out after 10, 15 or 20 years.

For someone who desires a Brazilian butt and doesn’t have enough fat to do a transfer, how would you go about it?

Many people actually have enough fat for a Brazilian butt, but they don’t just know that they do. When they come in for consultation with me, that is when they realise this.

What has been your greatest achievement?

Changing lives such that people are amazed at the transformation. The smile on client’s faces when they come for a follow up checkup….that for me is my greatest achievement. As I speak with you, I saw a patient earlier today who was operated on six weeks ago and the transformation is something else. You can tell from her smile that she is satisfied.

What is your greatest challenge on the job?

Managing unrealistic expectations of clients who have failed to understand that everyone is different and everyone is beautiful in their own way. All we try to do is to bring out a better version of you through these procedures, but some fail to understand this, no matter what you do. For instance, they may be so fixated about fat transfer to the hips but fail to understand, even after explaining to them, that no matter what you do in trying to transfer fat to the hips, the fat will be lost over time. Satisfaction for a job well done comes from expectation. Some people have a very wrong expectation of their outcome in different levels. Some want to look like another person whose frame is completely different. I try to advise these set of people from the beginning that it is not always possible because God has made everyone unique and it is not possible to have the same body with another person. Then there is another expectation that clients have, which is that immediately they come out of surgery, they expect to see their final result and this is very difficult to erase from their minds. Such people need a lot of convincing to make them understand that the result will take time to manifest, at least within the first six weeks after operation, as it isn’t automatic because of the bruising and swelling.

It is difficult for clients to be patient but then they see the ultimate result and are happy. But there is still another set of people that will never be happy, no matter what you do. With such people, you just learn to deal with it.

Also, this job takes a lot of time and I would really love to spend more time with my children and my wife, Lois.

What does your wife do?

Besides taking care of our children, she runs a logistics business we own together, Area Bus. What was the turning point for you that made you leave University of Abuja Teaching Hospital after putting in 10 years of service?

I was dissatisfied with the entire government system. I realised that the longer I stayed in a teaching hospital, the more I wasted my talent. So I made up my mind to leave. I knew that I could do better than I was doing at the teaching hospital. I had more to offer, but many people didn’t understand why I had to leave. I tried to change things while I was there, but I discovered that I was just kicking against the wall because the government had its own system of doing things and it wasn’t going to get better.

What would you say must have significantly shaped you to be who you are today?

Jesus Christ. Whatever I am today is as a result of knowing Jesus. I discovered Christ through my uncle, but from the moment I met him, he changed my life. He guides me, leads me in everything I do. Jesus told me when to resign from my government work and what next to do.

How do you let off steam when you aren’t working?

I just stay at home and spend time with my family. I love playing with my children. I love being at home. I love my wife so much. So when I am not at home playing with my children, I am out with my wife on a dinner date. My life is that boring.

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BY SHADE METIBOGUN

WALE ADEBAYO PAGE 40

DEKUNLE FUJI: Olajide Samuel, also known as Dekunle Fuji, became popular after he sang his hit single “Mo like Jesu gan”. Dekunle didn’t plan to leave Nigeria, but circumstances beyond his control compelled him to travel to the United States. According to reports, after his hit song became an anthem in many churches, he was invited to perform at Pastor Paul Adefarasin’s Interdenominational yearly programme tagged “The Experience”. His performance flopped that night as his instrumentalist couldn’t remember anything they had rehearsed. The disappointment made him take a break and he traveled to the US where he unfortunately lost his memory and Passport. Dekunle, who is now based in Maryland, USA, took a certificate course in nursing and became qualified to practice after he overcame his challenges. But he still performs and he has released some singles.

JOSEPH BENJAMIN: When handsome actor, model and voice-over artist, Joseph Benjamin, appeared on the entertainment scene more than 20 years ago, we were wowed by his charming looks, deep baritone and impeccable role interpretation that kept the audience wanting more. Little did we know that he would quit acting, dump his role as a master of ceremonies and abandon the Nigerian entertainment scene for a better life somewhere else. Following his breakup with his wife and mother of his two children in 2016, Benjamin relocated to the United States of America and has continued to showcase his talent on the entertainment scene there. He further honed his skills at the Nevada Bridge Production, a top film production outfit in America and has proven himself with his short acting stint in the Hollywood series, ‘GreenLeaf’ and then tried out singing as well as motivational speaking. Benjamin is fully entrenched in the genre that made him a household name in Nigeria and it doesn’t look like he will be paying Nollywood a visit any time soon. Apparently, the former Project Fame reality show anchor turned a new leaf after his moved to the US. He is now a devoted Christian and has been a constant worshipper in his church

YOMI GOLD

WALE ADEBAYO: Actor Wale Adebayo, a.k.a Sango, came to the limelight after featuring in the epic movie titled Sango.

He was also a regular face in one of Nigeria’s most popular soap opera, ‘Super story’. Wale however relocated to Dallas, United States of America in 2015. He left the scene when he wasn’t getting remunerated properly for his acting roles.

Despite the challenges he encountered as an actor in Nigeria, he didn’t stop acting after leaving the country. He tried his hands on a few productions, but things obviously didn’t work out as planned. This made him to venture into other business, which seemed to yield positive results as reflected in an interview he granted a few years ago, saying his status and that of his family changed after relocating abroad.

TOYIN ADEWALE: Bold and beautiful Toyin Adewale is the mother of gifted singer Mayorkun. She was very active in Nollywood before she called it quits and relocated to the United States. Many were surprised when she left the country because she is an easy going and lovely soul. Besides, her catering business and acting career were doing quite well.

She reportedly left to join her husband in the USA.

where he serves in the music department. That is why he has effortlessly been able to do a bit of singing in the gospel genre. His attention is now on his music career, especially after releasing a soul lifting debut single, ‘I pour my love’ which has received massive streaming, airplay and accolades from music lovers. Although this is not his first attempt at music, he had in 2016, released a single titled ‘Joy.’ It wasn’t as successful as his recent effort, which seems to be catching the fancy of Christians and those who love inspirational music.

JOSEPH BENJAMIN

LARA GEORGE

TOYIN ADEWALE

LARA GEORGE: Contemporary gospel artist, Lara George was one of the biggest gospel artistes in Nigeria before she decided to relocate to the United States with her family a few years ago. The beautiful mother of two now lives in Atlanta with her family. Despite quitting the entertainment scene in Nigeria, she is still actively involved in music in the US. She recently released a new gospel album titled “Daddy’s girl” which is already ruling the airwaves and major music platforms both in Nigeria and Internationally.

Entertainers Who Relocated

DEKUNLE FUJI

Some of them ruled the industry when the going was good and achieved fame, the kind they never thought was possible. But fame and celebrity status was not enough to keep them from relocating to various parts of the world in search of the proverbial green pastures. However, this has not stopped a few of them from breezing into the country once in a while to make appearances in movies and even produce their own films. TheWill chronicles 13 of these entertainers who left Nigeria in search of brighter prospects abroad.

YOMI GOLD: Yomi Gold started professional acting in 2010 and he is known for acting romantic roles in the movies.

Many did not know that he was shuttling between Nigeria and the United States of America to feature in movies before fame found him. He was dating a US-based nurse at the time and always appeared to be going back and forth because of the lady and for the purpose of overseeing some of his business deals in that country. But Yomi decided to relocate after his friend died because of the poor health system in Nigeria. He moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he is living his life to the fullest. He still shuttles Nigeria to transact business. The actor became a US citizen after marrying his United States based wife Victoria.

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BUKKY WRIGHT BUKKY WRIGHT: Oluwabukonola Ajokeade Wright was the toast of movie producers when she was still active as an actress. Her role as Suara’s wife in the popular television series, ‘Super Story’, earned her many awards and accolades and also made her a regular face in a lot of Nollywood movies. Despite her achievements, she left all and relocated to Texas in the United States of America. Many were disappointed with the news of her relocation, wondering why an actress with a robust career and flourishing business would relocate in search of brighter prospects. Sources, however, stated that Bukky moved to join her son who was in the US military.

AKINLAMI BABATUNDE JULIUS: Popularly known as Elenu, the comedian who hit the limelight after winning Ayo Makun’s Open Mic Night Competition now lives in the United States with his wife. He was an item in the Nigeria comedy industry before he moved abroad for greener pastures. The comedian hasn’t completely quit comedy after changing residency. He turned his social media page to his comedy stage where he posts comedy skits and other funny comedy videos.

THEWILLNG

GBENRO AJIBADE EMEKA SMITH

TUNDE OWOKONIRAN

EMEKA SMITH: Comedian Emeka Smith came into the limelight after winning Ayo Makun’s Open Mic Night Competition in 2006. The gifted laughter merchant enjoyed the spotlight before he decided to relocate to London in the United Kingdom. His wife, Prisca, was the first to leave the country for Dublin, Ireland. She moved shortly after their wedding in 2013 while the comedian went to join her a few years later.

TUNDE OWOKONIRAN: Tunde Owokoniran, aka Tilapia, is Odunlade Adekola’s protégé. Before his relocation to the United States, there was hardly a film Odunlade appeared in that you wouldn’t find Tunde. He rose to prominence through his acting prowess and of course, with the influence of his boss, Odunlade Adekola. However, when the ovation was loudest, he left the scene. He bid the industry farewell in 2016 after his wedding to his US heartthrob, Tunmise Akinwinsola. The actor and his beautiful wife now live in New Jersey and they are blessed with two beautiful children. Upon his relocation, Tunde acted in some movies but later concentrated in other areas of interest.

THEWILLNIGERIA

OLALEKAN OLAYADE

DORIS SIMEON: Light-skinned actress, Doris Simeon became a household name after featuring in a Yoruba movie titled, ‘Oloju Ede’. Her role in the movie earned her a nomination for the best supporting actress at the Africa Movie Academy Award. Despite climbing the ladder of success and fame, she still left Nigeria in 2019, thus abandonig her career as an actress and even closed her beauty salon in the Ogba area of Lagos. Doris now lives in Maryland, United States of America. She embraced crocheting and hair styling as a means of livelihood after leaving Nigeria and she is doing well for herself. It was said that she moved abroad in order to be closer to her son who was taken away from her after her marriage with Daniel Ademinokan crashed.

AKINLAMI JULIUS

DORIS SIMEON

Abroad For Greener Pastures

OLALEKAN BABATUNDE OLAYADE: Olalekan Babatunde Olayade, alias LKT, was a popular music artiste who started his career with fuji music in the 1990s before switching to hip pop much later. He rose to prominence in 2007 after featuring in Olu Maintain’s hit-song, ‘Yahooze’.

The infusion of fuji free style by LKT gave ‘Yahooze’ a new vibe and sensation that made him a toast of music lovers. In 2015, he married his longtime friend, Biodun who was based in the United States. He stayed briefly thereafter in Nigeria before relocating finally to London to be with his wife.

GBENRO AJIBADE: Handsome model cum actor, Gbenro Ajibade, moved to Atlanta, Georgia after his marriage to actress Osas Ighodaro crashed in 2019. The actor has since moved on and is said to have found love again with a Caucasian lady. It was reported that Gbenro left Nigeria in order to get over the pain and disappointment he suffered from his failed marriage. Gbenro was a member of the cast of the popular soap opera, ‘Tinsel’. He is now concentrating on his international modeling career.

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BY SHADE METIBOGUN & IVORY UKONU

I

t’s one year since former beauty queen, Helen Ajayi and society lady, Nkiru Anumudu, lost their soulmates.

Both ladies recently deemed it fit to mark the one-year anniversary of their heart-throbs’ passage at separate events held in Lagos between Wednesday, April 21 and Monday, April 26, 2021.

Lady of style, Nkiru Anumudu, was the first to open the doors of her Ikoyi home, which she virtually transformed into paradise on earth, to her friends, family and well wishers last Wednesday, as she celebrated the life and times of her

late husband, Chief Willie Anumudu.

Late Anumudu, who was the Chairman of Globe Motors, died on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 after a brief illness. He was to be airlifted to Germany for treatment on the same day before death struck unexpectedly.

The remembrance event for late Dr Tosi Ajayi, founder of First Medical Centre, which took place on Monday, April 26, actually began at the Ebony Vaults and Gardens where family and friends had a brief ceremony at the graveside. An evening of tributes and reception followed at RF Gardens on Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi. Celebrities in attendance at the very classy affair include Helen Ajayi’s close friends and fellow socialites, such as Mo Abudu, Ruth Osime, Pat Faniran, Karen Koshoni, Bunmi Tejuosho, Dede Mabiaku, Nimi and Yinka Akinkugbe and her relative, Anthony Prest.

During the event, the ex-beauty queen reflected on memories of the beautiful moments she shared with her soulmate before death snatched him. She said, “Dear doc, in loving you, I am gifted with memories that can never die. As we celebrate your life today, I give God all the glory, I Give him all the praise.”

Late Dr Ajayi’s death had reportedly led to a squabble between Helen and his estranged wife and children, causing his burial to be delayed for 10 months.

Two Oyo Queens Dump Alaafin

Makinwa

Toke Makinwa Nabs a Spot on New York Finance List of Entrepreneurs to Follow in 2021

Alaafin and some of his wives

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Nollywood Actors Drum Up Support For Baba Ijesha

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ust a few weeks after the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi gifted one of his young wives, Memunat Omowunmi, a beautiful home, two of his young beautiful wives have allegedly dumped the 82 year-old monarch and moved out of the palace. No significant reason has been given for their exit, but not a few people have expressed the opinion that the two erstwhile queens were not quite happy with the house gift to their fellow queen, claiming that the gift was meant to spite them. The exit of the two queens comes almost a year after one of his most popular queens, Ajoke Badirat, otherwise known as Queen Ola, left the palace under very controversial circumstances. Just a few months ago, another young queen, Anu, left the palace and shortly after, cried out on social media over alleged threats to her life. It doesn’t look like the Alaafin is bothered about some of his short- lived marriages, knowing that the exit of the young queens would create room for more. Recently, he added another young and beautiful wife of Igbo extraction to his harem.

Ironically, the two older queens of the Alaafin have chosen to remain with the aged monarch despite his frequent acquisition of young women

Olarewaju

Anumudu

Ajayi & Children

One Year After, Ajayi, Anumudu Remember Late Soulmates

edia girl and lifestyle influencer, Toke Makinwa, has added another feather to her cap. She has just been mentioned by New York Finance as one of the top entrepreneurs to follow in 2021. She was mentioned alongside entrepreneurs like Tai Lopez, Hannah Roper and Grant Cardone who are notable global brands in the International scene.

According to The New York Finance, Toke wasn’t fulfilled in her banking industry so she took a leap of faith and started a career in the media and business world. She is the proud owner of three businesses, TM Beauty, TM Luxury, leather and Goods Company and the Toke Makinwa brand. This is besides being a media personality on radio and television. This is not the first time that the beautiful lady would be acknowledged for her contribution in the business world. Last year, she was among Yahoo finance’s top entrepreneurs to follow in 2020. Her failed marriage notwithstanding, Toke has been able to prove that she can transverse the business territory and create a lasting legacy for herself and her brand.

arly last week, popular Nollywood actor, Olarewaju James, also known as Baba Ijesha, was arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly sexually molesting a 14-year-old girl when she was just seven years-old. As expected, his arrest and detention generated reactions from his colleagues and fans. Many of them did not believe the actor could commit such an offence. They felt that Nigerians were too hasty to judge and pronounce him guilty when the law was yet to do so. Most of them are not only sympathetic to his plight, they believe he was set up and committed no crime. Some of the actor’s colleagues who have been drumming up support for him include a former member of the House of Reps, Rotimi Makinde, who said James should be shown love and given the benefit of doubt since he has not been pronounced guilty in any law court. Makinde noted that James was being condemned from different quarters because of his status as an actor.

Also, an actress, Biodun Okeowo, aka Omo Butty, declared her support for Baba Ijesha and called for the CCTV footage of the unimaginable act so she could confirm if he was guilty of the alleged offence or not. Similarly, Bimpe Akintunde, another actress from the Yoruba movie genre in a series of posts on her social media handle, accused Nigerians of “cancel culture”. According to her, cancel culture shouldn’t be the first approach to allegations. People should learn to hear from all parties involved before passing judgment.

Another actor, Yomi Fabiyi, also called for the CCTV footage of the alleged rape case and requested that it should be posted online. In a recent development, Tonto Dikeh and Kehinde Adams, also known as Lege Miami, were almost at each other’s jugular over the allegation against Baba Ijesha.

Dikeh had asked her followers to join her call for justice for the alleged rape victim by reposting and tagging foreign and local authorities. She also boasted of ensuring that James never sees the light of day if found guilty. However, her rants didn’t go down well with Adams who called her a nonentity. Adams begged Nigerians to allow the police to conduct a proper investigation before pronouncing the actor guilty. He also called for the CCTV footage of the act and accused Dikeh of disparaging Baba Ijesha. However, after castigating Dikeh, Adams made a U-turn and posted a video apologising to Nigerians before retracting all he said. Bimpe Akintunde has also apologised to Nigerians for supporting the embattled actor.

Meanwhile, the news making the rounds is that Baba Ijesha may be released soon because the alleged offence, which was committed seven years ago and was not reported at the time, had become statute barred under the law. Besides, as captured by the CCTV footage, no sexual intercourse took place. Baba Ijesha’s supporters believe that he only assaulted his alleged victim indecently. Similarly, many Nigerians have begun to sign petitions against the purported release of the actor.

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SHOTS OF THE WEEK PHOTO EDITOR: PEACE UDUGBA [08033050729]

L-R: Special Adviser to Ekiti State Governor on Development Partnerships, Mrs Margaret Fagboyo; Executive Director, Gender Mobile Initiative, Miss Omowunmi Ogunrotimi; Keynote Speaker/Ekiti State First Lady, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, and Ekiti State Commissioner for Infrastructural and Public Utilities, Engr. Bamidele Faparusi during Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State (left), and The Deputy Chief of Mission, United States the official launch of Campus Pal, a mobile platform for sexual harassment reportage and case management in Embassy, Kathleen FitzGibbon, during a meeting held in Abuja on 26/4/2021.

Tertiary Institutions, in Abuja on 27/4/2021.

L-R: Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila; Co-Founder and Chairman, Marcelle Ruth Cancer Centre & Specialist Hospital, Bolaji Odunsi; Co-Founder and CEO, Marcelle Ruth Cancer Centre and Specialist Hospital, Modupe Elebute; Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu of Lagos State and General Manager, GE Healthcare Sub-Saharan, Africa, Eyong Ebai at the official unveiling of Marcelle Ruth Cancer Center & Specialist Hospital in Lagos on 26/4/2021.

L– R Mr. Wasiu Kuye, Board Secretary, Ogun State Universal Basic Education Board; Mrs. Afolake LokuloSodipe, representative of the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Ogun State; Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Nestlé Nigeria PLC, and Dr. Israel Orire, representative of the Commissioner for Health, Ogun State, during the commissioning of a water and sanitation project at Salvation Army School 2, Edu, Agbara in Ogun state on 28/4/2021 PHOTO: PEACE UDUGBA.

L-R: Director of Accreditation, Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, Dr. Tosan Erhabor; Executive Chairman, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, Engr. Valentine Buraimoh; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, EL-Lab Medical Diagnostic and Research Centre, Prince Elochukwu Adibo; Wife of the Managing Director, EL-Lab Limited, Mrs Chioma Adibo; Director General/Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria National Accreditation Systems, Pharmacist, Celetine Okanya, and the President Muhammadu Buhari (right), receives the 2nd Vice President of the Pan-African Parliament/ Representative of Honourable Commissioner of Health, Lagos State, Mr. Lanre Jenrola during the Member of Parliament of Mali, Hon Madame Haidara Aichata Cisse during the latter’s visit to the State House in Abuja on 29/4/ 2021. presentation of ISO15189:2012 certificate to EL-Lab by NINAS and MLSCN in Lagos on 29/4/2021.

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ARTS

BY MICHAEL JIMOH

I

t is rare to have anyone write a book and do the cover illustration all by himself unless that person is a writer and also an artist. Chuka Nnabuife is both. It is even rarer for anyone, in the last 33 years of his career, to have been an art critic, cartoonist, curator, exhibitionist, journalist, poet, special features and story illustrator, studio artist, writer and managing director of a company.

In between, he contributed to the BBC African Journal as an art critic, published two poetry collections, participated in more than two dozen group and solo exhibitions, curated about half a dozen (famously national historical photography exhibition of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo from his younger years through his military career up until his last days as president in 2007.)

Nnabuife had a spell in quite a number of newspapers and magazines, ranging from Osun Voice in Osogbo to Diet, The Guardian and The Nigerian Compass in Lagos, Eminent People, Grapevine and Starwatch magazines also in Lagos.

He has been MD of ANPC since 2014, never mind the acronym sounds like the name of a political party.

If any Nigerian journalist has a claim to having made the rounds in newsrooms – print and eletronic, tabloid and mainstream media - across towns and cities in Nigeria, the artist cum writer is one. It possibly explains why last weekend, April 24, the commodious premises of ANPC was filled with guests honouring Nnabuife’s invitation to be part of the public presentation of his recent books Homeland Catalysts: More Than Just Anambra Narratives, The Nigerian Civil War: Holes in our Bubbles and Mbize: Rage of the Red Earth.

Monarch of the author’s constituency, HRM Igwe John Ozulumba, Eze Dum Dum 11 of Ubuluisiuzo in Ihiala local government area, was in attendance. Naturally, he was the royal father of the day. Chief Cletus Mbaji, CEO of Lake Petroleum, was represented by Chief Ray Udeagbala as chairman of the book presentation.

There were also commissioners and SSAs on hand, namely Chief C Don Adinuba, Commissioner for Information and Strategy and Mr. Uzo Maxim Uzoatu, SSA to Governor Willie Obiano; Chief Mrs. Ibeneme, former Commissioner for Works and Housing stood in for APGA gubernatorial aspirant, Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo. SSA on Secondary Education, Dr. Paul Ifeanyi, was also chairman of the book presentation committee.

The list of guests at the event could read as the Who is Who in Anambra state, from the judiciary to the clergy, corporate top dogs and the academia. For instance, one time Chief Judge of the state, Professor Peter Umeadi, gave the event a magisterial presence. Reverend Fathers Peter-Andrew Ibeazor and Blaise Ejikeme sat all through the event from start to finish.

So did Dr. Uche Nworah, MD/CEO of Anambra Broadcasting Service, his counterpart from Anambra State Signages and Advertising Agency Sir Jude Emecheta, Dr. Simeon Onyemaechi, Executive Secretary Anambra State Health Insurance Agency and many more.

There was also the out of state guests. Mr. Jahman Anikulapo, Nnabuife’s former editor at The Guardian flew in from Lagos. A number of Arts editors, Ozolua Uhakeme of The Nation and journalists from Lagos and elsewhere turned up for one their own. If anything, their presence in Awka that Saturday demonstrated the camaraderie between the host and his guests from out of town.

And so, for close to six hours beginning from midday on that day at the ANPC Garden in Awka, the event centre witnessed a different kind of crowd. Of course, there were more than two dozen red cap chiefs, commissioners and

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HRM Ozulumba & the author Nnabuife

Nnabuife has been all of that, starting from when he began as an intern in the graphics section of NTA Enugu in 1987 to now as MD of Anambra Newspapers and Printing Corporation (ANPC.)

Chuka Nnabuife: Eclectic Man of Arts and Letters

sundry government officials. There were also a handful of professors and doctors.

For instance, Professor Chuma-Udeh Ngozi of Odumegwu Chukwuemeka Ojukwu University reviewed one of the three publications, Homeland Catalysts. It is a collection of Nnabuife’s columns written between 2014 and 2019 called Catalysis in National Light newspaper. From his assessment, the professor was clearly wowed by the book, describing it as “compelling, concise, clear, consistent, committed Homeland Catalysts is a bridge between the highly reported metropolitan news and the miserly and most often unreported rural items.”

Indeed, early in his review, Prof. Ngozi recalled what many of those listening to him at the event would have felt about the author, declaring that the cover of the book under review “exposes the author for who he actually is! Chuka’s first and main calling is visual arts. He is an artist extraordinary. The drawing on the book cover depicts the average Anambra character in pursuit of the Anambra dream. The silhouette of men walking towards an obvious goal like people on a collective adventure speak volumes. It represents homebound sojourners.”

It is often said that people sometimes have an inkling of the contents of books they never read just by browsing reviews.

It is so with the don’s evaluation of Homelands Catalysts.

In any case, close followers and watchers of the political situation in the state with the motto “Light of the Nation” have not forgotten so soon what transpired since inception of democracy in 1999. For as the reviewer reminds us in his

assessment, “the state has been a theatre of big battles… big, bold, brazen things have happened in the state. From the drumming of war and raw fisticuffs that has marked partisan politics to the fury and rage of labour unionism, Anambra state has recorded fights including epic ones such as the abduction of a sitting governor and the torching of the State House.”

His co-academic, Professor J Eze of the University of Nigeria Nsukka took on the second publication, Nigeria Civil War while Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, Deputy President-General of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo had a go at Mbize: Rage of the Red Earth.

In his address, Nnabuife demonstrated to all the stuff he is made, a man who cannot quite detach himself from his first love, his first calling (Arts) and the creative process he endured in the course of writing the books, likening himself to a potter at his wheel.

“Not all clays make a potter’s wheel,” he began by addressing the guests. “Some clays engage his wheel but fail to yield the desired pot. Some lumps of earth land on the creator’s wheel and immediately show him the masterpiece in them. As he plies and pedals, the hidden treasure emerges from the imagination of the potter, through the piece of earth in his hand to the wonderful creation the beholder savours.”

No one can deny that even while engaged as the number one man of ANPC, Nnabuife was quietly beavering away, shaping and rearranging his thoughts and ideas that have now morphed into three publications that will engage readers and critics for some time to come.

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MILESTONE

Mike Adenuga: ‘The Bull’ @ 68

BY MAGNUS ONYIBE

H

ow can one possibly be shy and bold at the same time? some people may wonder. That is a contradiction, isn’t it?

But that’s probably one of the attributes that makes Mike Adenuga Jnr such an enigmatic figure.

But that is what he often does whenever he is able to escape the drudgery of work to spend time with friends.

The truth is that what the telecoms czar lacks by shying away from being physically present in public events, he makes up by embarking on bold ventures that positively disrupt the traditional norms in industries in favor of the masses. Take, for instance, his launch of GLO cellphone service and his innovative introduction of per second billing which disrupted per minute billing hitherto operated by competitors like MTN and Econet (now Airtel).

In the course of the meal, he shares his vast knowledge of Nigeria’s socioeconomic intelligence and foibles with friends at the table, even as he also feels the pulse of our country and the world via the informal, yet incisive views and comments of others in the gathering.

How can a multi billionaire in dollars who often wines and dines with friends, some of whom are rich and powerful like him , as well as ordinary folks like yours truly , be referred to as elusive? Such mischaracterization by the folks who don’t know him well, and thus sometimes erroneously interpret his shyness as elusiveness, is a public perception deficit that often gets corrected as soon as observers get close enough to know him better.

By that singular action, GLO founder, Mike Adenuga Jnr demonstrated unequivocally that he is on the side of Nigerian masses that before then had been under the yoke of not so pocket friendly per minute billing.

Admittedly, most invitations extended to the ljebu-Igbo, Ogun state-born serial entrepreneur, to social gatherings are usually turned down. That’s because attending parties and even hosting one is not his cherished predilection.

And that proclivity, which indeed appears like an oddity, is jejune. But Adenuga, makes up for that shortcoming with the milk of human kindness that flows freely in him through personal philanthropy which he spreads freely amongst friends and the needy.

But unfortunately for his burgeoning crowd of admirers who would like to see their idol hugging friends and shaking hands at social gatherings, (pre-COVID-19 pandemic) such pastime is not Adenuga’s idea of socializing. And those who know him well can attest to the fact that demurring from hobnobbing at parties does not make the founder of GLO, who is also an oil/gas and banking services mogul in light of the fact that he is the chairman of Conoil; a leading petroleum exploration/ downstream fuel retailing company; and a major share holder in Firstbank, less of a personable and humble man that he truly is.

My contention is that, through his highly impactful business ventures in telecoms, oil/gas and financial services sectors of Nigerian economy and indeed that of a handful of African countries, Adenuga touches the lives of folks from the top of the social ladder to the bottom rung by providing them employment and decent livelihoods.

So in that sense, Adenuga’s influence and affinity to the hoi polloi can be said to be staggering.

His love for the masses is also evidenced by his massive sponsorship of sports in Nigeria, a record that’s second only to that of M K O Abiola, the acclaimed pillar of sports in Africa before his demise.

That’s not all because, Adenuga also remains one of the greatest supporters of the full panoply of Nigeria’s performing artistsmusicians, movie actors and standup comedians-most of whom are brand ambassadors of GLO, his giant telecoms enterprise.

Even as Adenuga is generally known to be shy, it only belies his hard fighting spirit. When it comes to business, his associates would affirm that he is as tough as nails and just as he can also be as ferocious as a charging bull.

A poignant reminder of how tenacious Adenuga can be is the cold shoulder he initially received from the government of then President Olusegun Obasanjo, OBJ which in 2001, owing to THEWILLNIGERIA

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That prestigious honor was conferred on him by no less a personality than the president of France - the affable globalist, Emmanuel Macron, who jetted across many oceans, from Paris to Lagos, during his maiden visit to Nigeria as President of France, to accord Mike Adenuga the privilege of personally placing the Medal of Honor and garland around his neck.

Being a man of immense wealth who is friends to some of the most powerful people in the top echelon of public and private sectors of Nigeria and across the globe, such as president Macron of France, (a country renowns for high culinary culture, etiquette and finesse) one might assume that Adenuga, would not wash his bare hands to relish the meal of Banga-palm kernel soup and eegun-mashed plantain (an Itsekiri tribe delicacy) with friends.

Before delving into his bold initiatives in the world of commerce and industry , let’s first dwell on his somewhat shy, and some would add ,reclusive tendencies that critics refer to as anti-social trait for the simple reason that he is hardly seen at social events.

The assertion above is underscored by the fact that, typically , a tycoon of Adenuga’s calibre, especially of ljebu heritage (a tribe whose knack for parties is legendary) should be a constant personality at the high octane shindigs that frequently hold across Yoruba land, from Lagos to Ibadan, Abeokuta and Ijebu-Ode amongst others.

highest national honor ‘Commander of the Legion of Honor’.

Talking about elusiveness.

Has anyone really been able to truly determine Mike Adenuga’s financial net worth? Not really.

And that’s probably simply because most of his investments, especially in oil&gas and telecoms are not quoted on the bourse -Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE. Not many people are also aware that the man nicknamed ‘The Bull’ by his admirers, apart from his huge stakes in oil/ gas and telecoms sectors, also owns a substantial chunk of shares in first and a second generation banks, just as he also has major interest in a five star construction firm in Nigeria.

an unresolved technical issue denied him a GSM license when he first made a bid for it in his quest to be the first indigenous cellphone service provider in Nigeria.

But rather than be cowed or deterred by the monumental setback, especially as his humongous investment was stranded in government coffers ($20m USD nonrefundable deposit); a misfortune that could have upended a lily-livered investor, Adenuga manifested a rare chutzpah and grit.

As opposed to being despaired, he was bold enough to put up a fierce fight for the license until OBJ capitulated and awarded him, not just the GSM license that he coveted and failed to obtain initially, but he was also rewarded with a national carrier license which competitors such as MTN and Airtel(then Econet), that had moved ahead of GLO in the course of its set back , had been eying .

Such is the tough mettle that Adenuga, a sort of alchemist is made of, although he spots a charming look and even exhibits a soft mien accentuated by his engaging personality.

Following his per second billing strategy which was the masterstroke with which he made cellphone call cost more friendly to the pockets of users in Nigeria, Adenuga and his brand GLO became endeared to and enamored with Nigerians who were beside themselves with joy after being unshackled from the unbridled mercantilism of foreign-owned cellphone service providers that had pioneered the service in Nigeria.

By manifesting the two extreme tendencies of being shy and bold at the same time, it’s not surprising that some observers would refer to him as a maverick. However, I would argue that rather than being a negative trait, being bold and shy at the same time reflects the fecundity of the mind of the grandmaster of telecoms in Nigeria.

Apart from being the first to receive the highest honor bestowed on any individual who is not, and has not been the Vice President of Nigeria or Chief Justice of the Federation, ‘Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, GCON’, Mike Adenuga has also had the privilege of being the only Nigerian to have received France’s

The opaqueness of his financial worth is the reason various wealth evaluators, depending on the template used, often tag him as the second richest man in Nigeria,so on and so forth .

For all that the self-effacing yet enigmatic businessman par excellence has contributed to our country, the economy of France and indeed the world , the epithet-Mike Adenuga Jnr Centre is now etched in gold on an edifice seating next to a French cultural monument -Alliance Francais which has just sprouted at his behest, at the intersection of Osborne Road and Alfred Rewane Road (old Kingsway Road) in Ikoyi, Lagos.

As it is usual of the man his friends like to call the grand master of telecoms , the location of the French Cultural centre-Alliance Francais which is one of the swankiest neighborhoods in the ever bustling city of Lagos, where Adenuga’s coterie of businesses are headquartered is significant.

In what appears like another trace of contradiction, Alliance Francais which is actually a learning centre for the ordinary Nigerian folks who may be keen on drinking from the rich fountain of French language and culture is located in an exclusive neighborhood. And guess what? The property is not in any way burlesque, but rather it is decked out in a baroque style with ornate interior.

So in a quintessential Mike Adenuga manner of ensuring that the average Nigerian gets a window into the domain of the opulent , he has made it happen that an enclave for the masses, lavishly constructed had to be ensconced in the sanctuary of the high and mighty.

As Mike Adenuga Jnr clocked 68 years on planet earth on April 28, the question in my mind is: would age slow him down from literarily pulling more rabbits out of his entrepreneurial hat? I think not. So my fingers are crossed.

Magnus Onyibe, entrepreneur, author and a development strategist, an alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA as well as a former commissioner in Delta state government sent this piece from Lagos.

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SportsLive

Kamaru Usman: Unveiling The Nigerian Nightmare

BY JUDE OBAFEMI n the night of Saturday, April 24, after what was an intense buildup to an epic rematch at the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the fighter who is currently the undisputed pound-for-pound men’s Mixed Martial Arts fighter, Kamaru Usman, a.k.a The Nigerian Nightmare, proved his mettle by retaining his title as the champion of the UFC Welterweight division.

O

In defending his title, Usman improved on the record he set during his first fight with Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal, which ended in a second-round knockout victory against the American. That rematch was the main event of UFC 261 from VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. Usman made sure to end with a massive right hand that proved too much for Masvidal.

It was a clear demonstration of his nickname, which he proudly ties to the land of his birth and the place of his origin. In 1987, 11 days into the month of May, the Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, who is a former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler, was born in Auchi, the second largest city in Edo State, Nigeria.

Kamaru was only eight years-old in 1995 when his family migrated to the United States. The fighter, whose victory over Masvidal marked the fifth successful defense of his Welterweight title, had only eight years of the Nigerian experience before he was taken from his roots and brought up in the dense suburban feel of the Texas metropolis. However, never for once in the many years that followed did the Nigerian essence and spirit leave him. He may have physically left the country, but, in essence, he stayed true.

Usman’s participation in the activities that would eventually bring him recognition and fame across the globe began in his second year at Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas, where his wrestling career kicked off. His school coach had difficulty with the pronunciation of his first name, Kamarudeen and Usman got his first nickname, “Marty” which was an easy extraction from the first name and a lot easier on the anglicised tongue.

The nickame easily became an alternate reference for Usman in the amateur stage of his wrestling, which was encouragingly prodigious. He left high School with a record of 53 wins and only three losses to set the stage for the rest of his competitive fights. Frustrated by disappointment with his team at William Penn University, Usman transferred to the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where his talents were put to excellent use to win them their first-ever team title in 2008.

The toughness and brawn that was to transform Usman into the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ were already apparent before he turned professional. For every year he was at Kearney, he finished top 3 in America and was a two-time national finalist.

Usman became the NCAA Division II national champion at 174 pounds in 2010. He wrapped up the season with a 44–1 record that included 30 straight wins to put his name out as a force to reckon with.

It was about his time that the sad occurrence of his father’s trial was resolved with a conviction against the older Usman who had run afoul of the authorities. Muhammed Usman, although previously charged in Tarrant County for theft and drunk driving, was convicted in May 2010 of various offenses, including health care fraud and money laundering. He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and ordered to pay the sum of $1.3m in restitution.

Usman focussed on his sport, though, and was past 23 when he took up freestyle wrestling. There is a possibility that there could have been no ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ if this was the path he took and if he made a definitive career out of it. But, at the time, it was his path and it led him to become a resident of the United States Olympic Training Center. He had his eyes on representing America at the 2012 Olympics in London, United Kingdom. Usman was on course to achieve that goal before

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Usman

He was born into a family of five, comprising a military father, a teacher mother and two male siblings who grew up to be Kashetu Usman, a Doctor of Pharmacy and Mohammed Usman, a second Usman family fighter in the MMA.

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Usman became the NCAA Division II national champion at 174 pounds in 2010. He wrapped up the season with a 44–1 record that included 30 straight wins to put his name out as a force to reckon with

injuries forced him to turn to MMA. Again, fortune smiled at the emergence of Usman as the Nigerian Nightmare. The title had previously been trademarked by a different Nigerian, who had made waves for himself and made a mark for the most populous black nation on earth in the American National Football League. That person was Christian Okoye. As a former American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1987 to 1992, Okoye was famous for his powerful running style and ability to break tackles.

When Usman requested to run with Okoye’s trademarked title, the latter, who was forced by multiple injuries to end his NFL career and was inducted into the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2000, did not hesitate to grant him permission.

With the force of that blessing, Usman waded into professional MMA with a debut fight in November 2012. By 2015, when he decided to try out The Ultimate Fighter bouts, Usman had compiled a record of 5–1.

Usman began TUF at a time he faced several challenges, with resilience, determination and unmatched zeal. He debuted with an unanimous victory over undefeated Titan FC Welterweight Champion, Michael Graves. Another unanimous victory in the semi-finals put him over a former WSOF Welterweight Champion, Steve Carl. He overcame Hayder Hassan on July 12, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale via submission in the second round.

The Nigerian Nightmare came into TUF tougher than nails

and taken all comers, winning a six-figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was also awarded the Performance of the Night award for his display at the final. He was going to carry this form into the UFC. From 2015 to his last 2021 fifth defence of his Welterweight crown, there was not a force powerful enough to slow down the momentum of the Nigerian Nightmare. An unanimous decision over Leon Edwards on December 19, 2015 was followed by a one-sided victory for Usman over Alexander Yakovlev on July 23, 2016.

For his second fight in 2016, Usman took out Warlley Alves on November 19, 2016 by a unanimous decision. It was the same story against long-time KOTC Middleweight Champion, Sean Strickland, on April 8, the following year. A seven-match unbeaten Sérgio Moraes tried his luck against Usman on September 16, 2017. He was out via a one-punch knockout in the first round.

The story was the same for each challenger that he faced and on August 18, 2018, he was announced as a back-up for the UFC 228 main event match between long-time champion Tyron Woodley and undefeated challenger Darren Till. With the tally of a nine-fight winning streak in the UFC, Usman faced UFC Welterweight Champion, Tyron Woodley, next on March 2, 2019 in the co-main event at UFC 235. That was where he emerged, from their one-sided fight which he completely dominated for five rounds, as the Welterweight Champion.

He defended it four times against Colby Covington at UFC 245 in 2019; Masdival for the first time in 2020 as a stand-in for Gilbert Burns, who contracted COVID-19 before their due date, then against long-time teammate and two-time No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu World Champion, Gilbert Burns, on April 24, 2021 at UFC 261 in Florida. And for the fifth, he sent Masdival to the canvas in the presence of his proud father, who had been released from FCI Seagoville on March 16, 2021.

That has been the nightmarish experience of his challengers.

It has taken that eight year-old Usman to the pinnacle of his chosen sport and engraved the title, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ in gold as far MMA and UFC are concerned. Although, there are other notable Nigerians making a name for themselves while letting the world know they are Nigerians, such as Israel Adesanya and Sodiq Yusuff. Usman eclipses them all in the sheer pedigree of his career and his reputation as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world currently.

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