Sunday 15th May 2016

Onyema: With Transparency, Capital Controls May Address Market Imbalances Tokunbo Adedoja and Obinna Chima in Kigali, Rwanda Although the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) to hold on to capital controls as measures to limit the flow of foreign capital out of the economy has been widely criticised, the Chief Executive

Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, has said the monetary policy could help address shocks and imbalances in the economy.

Onyema, who spoke in an interview with THISDAY on the sidelines of the just-concluded World Economic Forum (WEF)

on Africa that took place in Kigali, Rwanda, said the policy could work for the country in the short-term, but stressed the need for transparency in the allocation of foreign exchange.

Following the drop in crude oil prices which led to a significant drop in the country's earnings, the central bank

imposed certain restrictions in its bid to preserve the nation's foreign reserves and protect the naira. These measures include a ban on access to forex by 41 items from the official forex window and the introduction of a demand management strategy in the allocation of forex, among others, have not

gone down well with a lot of investors.

But speaking to THISDAY, Onyema said: "Our view is that you cannot copy the western world fully and willingly. We have to look at the peculiarities of our own economy. Economies have been known to successfully

PDP Congresses: North-east Endorses Sheriff for Chairman... Page 12

use capital controls in the short-run to address certain imbalances and shocks in the market place or in the economy, and then transit into a medium to longer term policy that allows for controlled fluctuations in currency.

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NLC, TUC Give FG 3 Days to Restore Fuel Subsidy Damilola Oyedele, Paul Obi in Abuja and Sheriff Balogun in Abeokuta The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have given the federal govern-

ment a three-day ultimatum to reverse its decision to remove subsidy on petroleum motor spirit (PMS), which led to the increase in the pump price of the product to N145 per litre from N86.50 per litre, or the workers would shut down the whole

country at the expiration of the ultimatum NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, who spoke yesterday at a press conference that also included Chairman of La-

bour and Civil Society Coalition (LACSCO), Dr. Dipo Fashina, insisted that the organised labour would make good their threat, should the government fail to reverse the pump price.

According Wabba, "in the event government fails to

accede to these demands on or before 12 midnight on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress and their civil society allies resolve to commence the following actions with effect from Wednesday, May 18,

2016: Mobilise to the streets across the country, ordinary and helpless Nigerians to whom they owe the duty of protection. Shut down all Banks, Sea and Airports, Government and private Continued on page 6

DIVIDENDS OF DIPLOMACY IN THE SHADOWS OF THE SECURITY SUMMIT...

R-L: Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, Mr Jim Ovia, exchanging documents with French investor, Ms. Laurence Breton-Monet, to the applause of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and President of France, Mr François Hollande, after the signing of an agreement to finance new investments in power generation at the State House in Abuja ...yesterday

Buhari: Taking Sambisa, Rescuing Chibok Girls Our Last Major Task EU pledges â‚Ź50m to multinational security outfit, as US spends $250m in 2 years UN hails holistic fight against terrorism in W'African sub-region

Abimbola Akosile in Lagos and Senator Iroegbu in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari stated at the Second Regional Security Summit

yesterday in Abuja that the Nigerian armed forces had considerably degraded the Boko Haram terrorist sect.

Buhari, however, stressed that dislodging the group from the Sambisa forest in

Borno State, where its fighters are currently holed up following heavy bombardment by the military, and freeing the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls were the major tasks still left.

This was as the European Union pledged to support the Multinational Joint Taskforce, a sub-regional security outfit, with 50 million Euros.

Vice President and High Representative of the European

Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Federica Mogherini, disclosed this at the Abuja summit.

The MNJTF was reactivated in the wake of the Boko Haram insurgency to coordinate

the fight against the sect and other acts of terrorism within the West African sub-region.

The United States Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. AnContinued on page 6

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SUNDAY MAY 15, 2016 T H I S D AY

GTBank Autism Consultation in Ogun State This year, Guaranty Trust Bank plc expanded its annual One-on-One consultation for children with Autism and other developmental difficulties to Ogun State.

The programme, themed “Managing Autism: The Next Generation, Consideration and Resources�, took place from the 25th to the 29th of April, 2016, at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, in Abeokuta, the state capital.

The 5-day consultation programme was a remarkable success with over 370 children attended to by specialists from Nigeria and the United States of America.

Among the partners in the programme were the First Lady of Ogun State, Mrs Olufunso Amosun, through the Uplift Foundation, the State Ministries of Health and Education, Science and Technology, Blazing Trails International, Texas, USA, College of Medicine, Idi-Araba, Lagos, Patricks Speech and Language Centre and the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Ogun State.

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Cross section of guests at the opening ceremony.

Consultation session by Aliya Gordon, Board Certified Behaviour Analyst, Blazing Trails International Centre.

L-R: Commissioner for Health, Ogun State, Babatunde Ipaye; Wife of the Governor of Ogun State, Mrs Olufunso Amosun; Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Modupe Mujota; Communication and External Affairs, GTBank, Oyinade Adegite.

Wife of the Governor of Ogun State, Mrs Olufunso Amosun.

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Consultation session by Dr. Adebola Campbell, Psychiatrist, College of Medicine Idi-Araba Lagos.

Consultation session by Mrs. Ololade Nnamani, Speech Therapist, Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro Abeokuta Consultation session by Dr. Agboola Akanni, Head, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Neuropsychiatric Hospital Aro, Ogun State.

Consultation session by Afun Bolatito Funmilayo, Clinical Psychologist, Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro Abeokuta

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SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2016 • T H I S D AY T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

PAGE SIX NLC, TUC GIVE FG 3 DAYS TO RESTORE FUEL SUBSIDY offices as well as Markets; Commence indefinite nationwide strike action.

"Fight and resist the machinations and cruelties of the neo-liberal forces in the government as part of the process of saving the government from itself and the generality of Nigerians from slavery."

He said the labour unions further forewarned Nigerians to prepare ahead of the planned strike by stockpiling foodstuffs and other items in order to not be caught unaware.

"Nigerians are therefore advised to stock sufficient

food items that will last for a while for the prosecution of the current struggle against neo-liberal agenda in Nigeria."

Wabba, who presented the position of labour stated that, "the emergency meeting debated extensively the implications of government's unilateral increase in prices of petroleum products, noting government's disinclination for consultation on issues of public interest and its obsession with protecting product marketers at the expense of the Nigerian public.

"The meeting expressed concern about government's

neo-liberal policies which it considered a betrayal of its electioneering promises and observed as follows: During the electioneering campaign last year, the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari, had promised that, if elected president, he would not remove fuel subsidy if there was any at all.”

"After his election, President Muhammadu Buhari had maintained that there was no subsidy in the petroleum product price regime and that even if there was, he did not see how its removal

would be beneficial to the ordinary Nigerian, noting that the slightest product price adjustment often leads to inflationary spiral and unimaginable suffering for the people.”

"On January 18, 2016, the government further allayed the fears of the Nigerian people by reducing the pump price of PMS to N86:50, explaining that the reduction was in furtherance of the implementation of the revised component of the Petroleum Products Pricing for PMS and kerosene," he added.

Wabba was however disappointed that "the Minister

of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had been speaking from both sides of his mouth.”

According to him, “whereas last year, he had strongly canvassed for the removal of "subsidy" in defiance of President Buhari, about a month ago, he claimed the subsidy had been removed through his ingenuity and that Nigeria was saving $1billion from this process.

He said, "organised labour wondered what has informed government's sudden and dangerous policy summersault and its desperate attempt to convince the

public that labour was part of the decision that led to this price increase.”

"In view of the fact that the board of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), which is statutorily vested with powers to recommend prices, has not been reconstituted, the price variation announced by any officer of the agency or outside the agency is not only ultra vires and illegal, it is a criminal imposition on the citizenry".

fices of my brothers, the Presidents of Cameroun, Chad, Niger as well as the Republic of Benin. I am convinced that the great solidarity and good neighbourliness that have been displayed by all countries in the region would be a model for other regions faced with similar challenges.

"Our hope, therefore, is that this meeting would be a turning-point for our collective efforts to achieve a conflict free, peaceful and stable region, where development and good governance thrive.”

Buhari vowed to ensure that the Chibok girls and others held by Boko Haram were rescued. The girls had been kidnapped from their hotel in April 2014 while they were preparing to write the Senior School Certificate Examination.

"Let me reiterate our firm commitment to safely rescue and re-unite the abducted Chibok girls with their families. Our government will not spare any effort to achieve this important mission," he vowed.

He said the MNJTF would be strengthened to rid the region of the last vestiges of Boko Haram.

On the need to address the

root causes of terrorism and articulate a post-conflict development plan, Buhari said, “Only by bringing development to the areas affected by the insurgency and by protecting the victims and the IDPs and refugees, can we assure genuine recovery for conflict devastated areas.”

According to the president, the long-term development of the Lake Chad Region is crucial to reducing the high poverty rate in the basin, a major factor in the recruitment of terrorists. "Implementing the Lake Chad Development Resilience Action Plan (LCDCRAP), which was submitted to donor countries and organisations at the Conference of Parties (COP 21) side event on the Lake Chad, therefore, remains a vital challenge. The total cost of the short and medium term development of the Lake Chad Region is estimated to be in the region of €916 million," he disclosed.

Fielding questions from journalists during the posteven press conference, Buhari spoke on the Civilian JTF, a vigilante group helping in the fight against Boko Haram, and the link between the terrorist group and ISIS. He stated, “Civilian JTF is an initiative of the states where Boko Haram is prevalent. So they have volunteered to assist in stabilising the security situation. Disarming them will not be a problem and for some of them that meet the criteria we can be trained and absorbed in some sort of formal security set up.”

The president added, "Up till now we don't have intelligence if ISIS has been able to send weapons and even money to the Boko Haram.”

Hollande, during the press conference, pledged full cooperation with Nigeria and other countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, especially, in the area of intelligence sharing and resources.

“We acknowledged that Boko Haram has been significantly defeated. However, we must be wary as they will increasingly resort to suicide bombing, which will require a lot of intelligence to tackle," the French president said.

In a similar vein, the president of Gabon, Omar Bongo, called for closer cooperation among the African countries and world leaders in dealing with the terrorism.

“Africa has to close ranks and work together if we are to achieve a conflict free region. Also violent extremism, especially, amongst youths usually found expression in the place of unemployment and social instability,” Bongo said.

The United States Deputy Secretary of State, Blinken, said, “The fight against Boko Haram is a fight for the future and stability of the region,”

advising that the summit should develop a comprehensive strategy to defeat the terrorists not only in the country but also across the region.

He added, "Liberating the communities from Boko Haram is not enough, we have to stabilise and rebuild them and as well as reviving their economic activities. None of us can afford a lost generation and that is why we have given over $250 million to the region in the last two years."

Blinken said, "US is also committed to the rescue and return of Chibok girls and others kidnapped by group.

Boko Haram can be defeated through the people, by investing in young girls as well as boys."

The British Minister of Foreign Affairs and Common Wealth Office, Phil Hammon, said combating terrorism was a global challenge that required cautious optimism because of its complex nature. Hammon also expressed worry over increasing links and cooperation between Boko Haram and ISIS, noting that both groups do not represent the true teachings of Islam.

He said, "Boko Haram claims that they propagate and proclaim Islam. They do not. It’s an alarming of the growing cooperation between Daesh and Boko Haram. This presents a dangerous alliance. We are however, dedicated to cooperate with you to defeat these terrorists that have posed.

"We must be prepared for a long war because defeating Boko Haram extremism could be a complex and long one as we have experienced with Daesh in Iraq. We have trained 1,500 personnels for deployment for the counterinsurgency operations in the North Eats. The UK personnels are also on ground to assist with our experience in dealing with IEDS." Mogherini said the EU would contribute €50 million to the MNJTF to assist in defeating Boko Haram in the North-east and the Lake Chad region.

She stated, "The national contingents operate bilaterally and as part of the MNJTF have since been deployed and are conducting operations. The force however, needs the necessary infrastructure and transport and communication assets to allow it effectively coordinate and command operations.

"In the context of the EUAU partnership, as reconfirmed during the donor conference organised by the African Union Commission early February 2016, the European Commission adopted in April 2016, a financing decision setting aside €50 million from the African Peace Facility in support of the MNJTF against Boko Haram."

SEE THE CONCLUDING PART ON www.thisdayive.com

BUHARI: TAKING SAMBISA, RESCUING CHIBOK GIRLS OUR LAST MAJOR TASK thony Blinken, told the conference that his country had contributed over $250 million to the on-going fight against terrorism, in addition to other resources.

In a related development, the United Nations Security Council, in a statement yesterday in New York, hailed the Second Regional Security Summit and the efforts of the regional leaders to present a united front against terrorism. The Security Council condemned the abuses and atrocities being perpetrated

by Boko Haram, warning that the culprits may be charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Second Regional Security Summit in Abuja was attended by President of France, Francois Hollande, and seven regional leaders, including the presidents of Chad, Cameroun, Niger, Benin, Senegal and Gabon.

Though, other Western countries and institutions were represented at the summit, Hollande was the only Western leader present, underscoring France’s crucial involvement in the fight against terrorism in the continent.

Hollande had hosted the First Regional Security Summit in Paris on May 17, 2014.

Speaking at the summit yesterday, Buhari said he had significantly fulfilled his promise to rout Boko Haram, which has wreaked havoc in the Nigeria’s North-east since 2009, and spread its activities to countries within the Lake Chad Basin.

He said, “When I started, our first task was to improve our security infrastructure and strengthen our regional and international alliances.

We have degraded Boko Haram and squeezed them into a small enclave in Sambisa forest. What remains is the dislodgement of terrorists from their hideouts from the Sambisa forest and liberate the Chibok girls and others.

Boko Haram now resorts to hit and run tactics.”

Buhari stated that the country’s military operations against terrorists had followed acceptable international standards. “We have not only observed human rights and international humanitarian law in our military operations, we have also diligently implemented several proactive programmes. Today, we have achieved significant outcomes. Boko Haram is no longer a cohesive force, but a group of self-seeking individuals pursuing personal

glory," he said.

The president listed some of the feats recorded at both bilateral and multilateral levels since the Paris summit in 2014 to include recovery of all the territories occupied by the terrorist group; establishment of special military units

by Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon to prosecute the war on terror; admission of Benin Republic to the group to strengthen the regional coalition; establishment of the Regional Intelligence Fusion in Abuja and its operation; and strengthening border security among member states.

Buhari said the regional alliance had also set up the Inter-Regional Coordination Centre (ICC), based in Yaounde, Cameroon, under the aegis of the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC), to coordinate and disseminate intelligence and security information to all member states. It has reactivated the MNJTF with 8,500 officers and men, drawn from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin, with headquarters in Ndjamena, Chad, he said.

He stressed, "These achievements would not have been possible without the steadfast support, invaluable contributions and sacri-

ONYEMA: WITH TRANSPARENCY, CAPITAL CONTROLS MAY ADDRESS MARKET IMBALANCES "So, our view really is that it could work in the short-term if there is transparency in the allocation of foreign exchange.

There need to be transparency not just at the Central Bank of Nigeria's level, but at the banks' level. Not just transparency as to who has received what, but what are the rules around who gets what.

"Is it first-in, first-out? Is it last-in, first-out? Is it by pro rata? Those are the kind of transparency that international investors and even the indexers like MSCI for example, would like to see in order to continue to keep us within the index and in order to continue to consider us as a viable investment destination."

The NSE boss, who also said he was concerned about the volume of foreign portfolio outflows from Nigeria's financial markets as revealed in banks' returns on forex utilisation published weekly, urged investors not to panic.

He said the economy would come out from its challenges stronger.

Onyema, however disclosed that the foreign portfolio investors were moving into countries such as Egypt and Vietnam, because of the perceived higher returns in those markets.

He explained that the NSE was certainly concerned about the exit of foreign portfolio investors.

Onyema added: "A lot of these foreign portfolio investors are actually institutional money.

These are monies that are tracking an African index, a global emerging market index or a frontier market index and they have investors that are expecting returns.

They consider country risk; they consider opportunities in deciding where they put money. As you know, we live in a global village. So, if you are running a frontier market fund for example, Nigeria is one of many countries you can put money.

"So, what are the things that would make you put your money in Nigeria? The first thing is that you have to consider the economy of that country, you have to consider the ease of bringing in your money and taking it out, you have to consider the growth opportunities in terms of the companies you actually want to buy into, you also have to consider the limitations on your portfolio or the portfolio policy, for example, some companies would say you can't take more than five per cent stake.

"So, these determine how you allocate money. In Nigeria, as you know, we have had commodity price shocks which have really affected the economy. This is because our economy depends quite a bit in terms of foreign revenue on

crude oil. Whereas the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is diversified, government's revenue is really tied to crude oil. And because government plays such a big role in our economy, when the government sneezes, the economy catches cold."

Continuing, he said: “So, the stock market is just reflecting what is happening in the economy. And so, these investors have currency risk that they feel they do not have clarity as to how that currency risk would play out.

So they are rotating out of Nigeria into other countries like Egypt, Vietnam and the rest of them.

"We note that because of the way financial markets are working right now globally, you do not want to limit your market to only a domestic affair, but you certainly do not want it to be dominated by foreigners. You want a good interplay between the various types of investors in terms of foreign versus domestic; in terms of holding period - short versus long; in terms of investing philosophy - contrarian versus momentum, and the rest of them.

"All of that playing together helps to establish deep and liquid market and markets that gives investors the confidence that they can easily come in and out. So, we are concerned, we are monitoring the situation,

we are talking to investors, both domestic and foreign and we have ramped up our efforts in terms of government relations to report what we are seeing and to look for new ways and solutions that would continue to make our market attractive to all investors."

Responding to a question on efforts by the NSE to bring back retail investors to the market, Onyema advised stock market investors to develop a solid investment plan, just as he stressed the need for them to always engage professionals to guard them.

In addition, the NSE boss also advised investors to take a portfolio approach to investments and also long term view to investing.

"Stick to your plan. And over long period of time, no assets class gives you a higher return than equities.

So, equities must form the foundation of your portfolio.

However, you must diversify.

You must have exposure in fixed income, real estate and other asset classes in order to balance the fluctuations in your portfolio.

"So, my advice to investors is that this is a great time to buy, stocks are on sale, but do not do a one-off purchase, do it as part of a portfolio and continue to monitor and build your portfolio and take a long term view. Again, use professionals," he stressed.

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SUNDAY COMMENT

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

SUBSIDY REMOVAL: A TOUGH, BUT NECESSARY CHOICE The removal of subsidy has become inevitable in the prevailing economy

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fter months of prevarications, the federal government last week finally announced the end to the corruptridden regime of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, with the official price now pegged at N145 per litre. Even when we think the decision could have been better-managed, it is a policy choice we wholeheartedly endorse. We, however, hope that the authorities will be prepared to deal with the consequences of this difficult but necessary choice in a constructive and civil manner.

Already, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have already served notice of their intention to resist the decision. But Vice- President Yemi Osinbajo has already explained that the federal government was left with no choice in the face of foreign exchange earnings that had dwindled to $550 million a month.

To be sure, there are compelling arguments to make removal of subsidy at this point very tricky.

Those opposed to the idea usually cite its potentially inflationary impact and the multiplier effects that place a disproportionate burden on the poor. This is a legitimate concern especially in an economy with high incidence of poverty, erratic power supply and inadequate public transport system.

As we have argued on this page several times, subsidies can make political and social sense when they allow a government to pursue strategic objectives beyond the remit of the market and are well targeted. However, the fuel subsidy regime in Nigeria has been largely captured by an importation cartel and is simply unsustainable. Besides, spending a substantial slice of the national budget to service the consumption of one single item is detrimental to the development of any nation.

Spending a substantial slice of the national budget to service the consumption of one single item is detrimental to the development of any nation

Letters to the Editor

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S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR TOKUNBO ADEDOJA DEPUTY EDITORS VINCENT OBIA, FESTUS AKANBI MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, EMMANUEL EFENI, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR OLUFEMI ABOROWA DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS PETER IWEGBU, FIDELIS ELEMA, MBAYILAN ANDOAKA, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS HENRY NWACHOKOR, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI GENERAL MANAGER PATRICK EIMIUHI GROUP HEAD FEMI TOLUFASHE ART DIRECTOR OCHI OGBUAKU II DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

ven if all the sharp practices associated with it are discounted, the fact remains that Nigeria does not have the capacity to sustain petroleum products subsidy. For an economy that is getting weaker and weaker due to exogenous factors beyond the control of the country, the “luxury” of sustaining a warped subsidy regime is not only deceptive, it is tantamount to merely postponing the evil day while wasting scarce resources.

We are well aware that this decision is not cost-free.

But Nigerians should be objective in assessing the policy against the reality on ground. For several weeks now, motorists across the country have been queuing desperately at petrol stations to fuel their vehicles. At the black market where the product is readily available, the cost is prohibitive as many pay between N150 and N300 per litre. To worsen matters, most of the access roads in major towns are blocked as a result of long vehicular queues at fuel stations.

In several instances, law and order have broken down as Nigerians struggled to fill their tanks, power generating sets and other fuel consuming machines. That is why we believe that with proper structure and incentives for the private sector, local refining of petroleum products is the only way out of this perennial crisis.

Now that subsidy has been removed, we expect private investors in the sector to build more refineries such that Nigeria could even begin to export refined products and bring to an end the shameful practice of petroleum products’ importation which hurts the economy. But the federal government will have to be deft in managing the fall-out of this decision even as we appeal to labour and the civil society to understand the rationale behind it.

The arcane argument that subsidy removal will impoverish the poor workers is not supported by any evidence. In actual fact, it is the elite and super businessmen who benefit most from subsidy. To therefore insist on protecting a false “I-feel-alright” feeling and refuse to take the bitter pill could spell danger to an ailing man. We therefore commend both NUPENG and PENGASSAN for their understanding of the issues involved and for backing the decision.

All factors considered, we believe that the removal of petroleum subsidy makes strong economic sense and given the dwindling price of crude oil in the international market, there could be no better time to do it than now.

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (950- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

Between Imo State Government and Peace Transport

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henever I set out for a journey to Port Harcourt or Bayelsa, Peace Park along Control Post, World Bank road, usually provided me with the conducive boarding point to these towns.

Recently, I was utterly taken aback when I went there to board a bus to Bayelsa but was told that the place had been under lock and key for over a week on the orders of Imo State Government through the Environmental Transformation Commission (ENTRACO) and Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA). I asked fellow passengers if ENTRACO and OCDA had such powers to close down a private business duly acquired.

Other fellow passengers were equally aghast if not dejected by the action of ENTRACO. So many passengers were stranded with forlorn looks on their faces bemoaning their fate. Some passersby told us to go to Arugo Park to board

vehicles for our journey to Bayelsa which most of us found nauseating and inhuman. I need somebody to give me answers to few posers here. Does ENTRACO and OCDA, by extension, the state government have the right or powers to close a legitimately acquired business? A man who is into transportation business, bought a land or few plots of land and he converted those lands into parks for his business, does the state government have any right to close his business and direct him to a designated park created by the government?

If Peace Mass Transport Company, the owner of Peace Park has been paying its taxes as and when due, does government have any right to interfere in his business? Has Peace Park contravene any rule guarding transportation business in Imo State, and is closing the company’s park the solution? The governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, must as a matter of urgency call ENTRACO, OCDA

and other agencies of the government that have been bringing opprobrium to him to order. The governor may not be aware of the activities of these agencies, but Imolites and Nigerians living in Imo State apparently presume that he knows and sanctions the activities of these agencies. ENTRACO and OCDA on their own are needed to sanitise the environment of Imo State that is fast turning into a slum but ENTRACO and OCDA must abide by the rules and regulations setting them up and go about their activities with restraint and human face.

The governor may be on his second term and therefore, does not need the votes of Imolites again; he should not forget that there is life after political office. The brazen manner ENTRACO and OCDA go about their activities these days may likely make the days of Willy Amadi pale into insignificance.

The General Manager of ENTRACO

(Comrade Jeff Nwoha) is a young man who is well-learned and still has a lot to offer Imo State in future, he should not allow roughnecks, hoodlums and mostly illiterate fellows who populate the taskforce of ENTRACO to mess him up and soil his image. Few days ago, the manner these ENTRACO boys rough-handled a motorist for a little traffic offence almost made onlookers to shed tears. The neatly dressed man was dragged out of his Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), his trousers ripped open save for his inner wears that helped conceal his private parts after the man was thoroughly pummeled.

Most of the boys who operate in ENTRACO are not learned, so they are used to rough lifestyle and thuggish way of enforcing compliance. I return to Peace Park brouhaha. Peace Mass Transit Company has parks in almost all the states of the federation. The one in Abuja , along Utako Road, is massive.

Malam Nasir el-Rufai, onetime Minister

of FCT, even in his apogee in power did not tamper or disturb Peace park in their business. El-Fufai, with all the powers he exercised as FCT Minister, was also circumspect enough to know that he could not chase away a man who legitimately acquired his land no matter what he used the land for.

Is Imo ENTRACO telling us that if Peace Park had used that parcel of land for hotel business or petrol filling station, ENTRACO would be disturbing its activities? Imo State has a lot of hotels and filling stations here and there which their owners converted their lands as they suited them. The owner of Peace Park converted his own land to parking and loading bay of his business; for as long as he pays his taxes and complies with the laid down rules and regulations governing Imo State, the State Government has no right to close it.

––Ifeanyi Maduako, Owerri.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

ABUJA REGIONAL SECURITY SUMMIT

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igeria hosted the Second Regional Security Summit for the West Africa sub-region in Abuja yesterday, which was attended by the French President Francois Hollande and seven regional leaders, including the presidents of Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Benin, Senegal and Gabon. Below are some of the personalities that attended the summit

Photos: GODWIN OMOIGUI

L–R: President Francios Hollande of France and President Muhammadu Buhari at the 2nd Regional Security Summit at the transcorp Hilton in Abuja ...yesterday

L-R: President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon; President Paul Biya of Cameroun; President Francios Hollande and President Muhammadu Buhari at the summit

European Union Representative, Foreign Affairs, Ms Frederica Mogherini

L–R: President Francios Hollande; President Muhammadu Buhari and President of Benin Republic, Patric Talon

President Francios Hollande (right) and former President Olusegun Obasanjo

President Francios Hollande (right) with US Deputy Secretary of State, Antony Blinken

L–R: President Francios Hollande; President Muhammadu Buhari and President Idris Derby of Chad

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

ABUJAREGIONALSECURITYSUMMIT

Buhari: Terrorism Respects No Borders • Hollande: Boko Haram Still a Threat • Nigeria, France Sign Defence, Power Agreements Demola Ojo withagencyreports President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said that terrorism has taken on an international dimension with effects beyond national borders. Buhari said this during a joint press conference he addressed with visiting President Francois Hollande of France at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Hollande on his part restated threat posed by the Boko Haram terrorist group reiterating that more needs to be done to totally defeat the terror group.

“International terrorism now with the help of technology and millions of volunteers respects no borders ,” Buhari said at a Regional Security Summit that drew participation from leaders of neigbouring countries.

Cameroonian President, Paul Biya; Chadian President, Idriss Deby; Beninese President, Patrice Talon and Nigerien President, Mahamadou Issoufou attended the second Regional Security Summit.

The summit is a follow-up to an earlier one held in Paris two years ago, which focused on bolstering cooperation among Nigeria Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Benin in the battle to defeat Boko Haram.

British Foreign Minister, Philip Hammond; U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Tony Blinken and delegations from the European Union and West African and Central African blocs were also present.

The Nigerian President decried the effects of the raging conflict raging in the North-eastern part of the country.

“It is a lot of concern for people of conscience to learn that in Nigeria we have more than two million Internally Displaced Persons most of them women and children,” he said.

President Buhari gave credit for the success so far recorded by his administration in the antiterrorism fight to the help of G7 nations, including France adding

that support has come in the form of training Nigerian military personnel and the provision of military hardware among others.

But he said the main problem now is rehabilitation of destroyed infrastructure such as schools, health clinics, roads and bridges, as well as the displaced population.

“This is a pathetic situation and is a major problem we are going to face in this country,” Buhari said.

President Hollande explained that France provided training and equipment as part of the international support to Nigeria that includes British military trainers and US surveillance drones.

The French President expressed delight that good results had been achieved in the fight against Boko Haram since the first regional summit which his country hosted.

President Hollande pointed out that the Boko Haram group had been forced to lose ground and forced to give up territories they were controlling.

He also warned that because of Boko Haram’s links to ISIS and its status as “the world’s deadliest terrorist group”, it “remains a threat” and no-one should drop its guard.

“The results (of the counterinsurgency) are impressive” and the rebels had been “diminished and forced to retreat”, he told a news conference in Abuja.

He added: “This terrorist group nevertheless remains a threat.”

US Deputy Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken also warned against any premature declaration of victory. He said the US which has been flying surveillance drones over northeast Nigeria from a base in northern Cameroon, did not see Boko Haram as defeated.

He however conceded that “they have been degraded” and said the US was “extremely vigilant” about the connections, amid reports of Boko Haram rebels fighting in lawless Libya and the

group’s ties to Al-Qaeda affiliates in the wider Sahel region.

“This is again something we are looking at very, very carefully because we want to cut it off,” he told reporters in Abuja on Friday.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also warned on Boko Haram’s ties to ISIS and said progress was being made against the group with help from London, Paris and Washington. “But we must maintain the momentum to win the war, and build the right conditions for post-conflict stability in the region,” he added in a statement.

In a related development, Nigeria and France yesterday also signed a letter of intent that will further strengthen agreements in defence matters between both countries.

The two leaders also signed several accords strengthening existing cooperation, including through France’s main development agency, of upwards of $120 million (106 million euros) for Nigeria’s under-capacity electricity sector.

Addressing journalists yesterday, Hollande, said the letter embodies the cooperation between the two countries.

Hollande also reaffirmed a commitment to tighten financial regulations to help counter the threat of terrorism. He posited that terrorism is feeding off the weaknesses of the global financial system.

“Are we doing enough? We have achieved major progress already but this is not the end. So we shall continue to fight against all systems that enable all forms of trafficking - human trafficking happening in the Mediterranean, drug trafficking that has been linked with the terror activities and arms trafficking as well.”

The G7 and the G20 will discuss how to fight tax havens and countries not abiding by the rules he continued. “I will be leading the discussion on this in particular at G7 meeting next month,” Hollande said.

UN Security Council Demands Boko Haram End All Violence in Lake Chad Basin Abimbola Akosile The United Nations Security Council has demanded that the Boko Haram terrorists “immediately and unequivocally cease all violence and all abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law” in the Lake Chad Basin, as Nigeria hosted a regional security summit in Abuja yesterday.

The high-level council also welcomed the crucial initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria to convene the Second Regional Security Summit yesterday in Abuja, to evaluate the regional response to the threat posed by the Boko Haram insurgents.

Through a Presidential statement, the Council also expressed deep concern at

the alarming scale of the humanitarian crisis caused by the activities of the terrorist group in the Lake Chad Basin region, which continued to undermine the peace and stability of the West and Central African region.

The Council strongly condemned all terrorist attacks, abuses of human rights and violations of humanitarian law by the group in the region, including those involving killings and other violence against civilians, notably women and children, abductions, rape, sexual slavery and other sexual violence, recruitment and use of children, and destruction of property.

Concerned by reported violations and abuses of human rights and large-scale displace-

ment of the civilian population across the Lake Chad Basin region as a result of Boko Haram’s activities, the Council also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all those abducted who remain in captivity, including 219 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno state, Nigeria in April 2014 among the reported thousands of others held captive by Boko Haram.

“The Security Council recognises that some of such acts may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes [and] stresses that those responsible for these abuses and violations of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law must be held accountable and brought to justice,” the statement stressed.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

SUNDAYNEWS

News Editor Abimbola Akosile E-mail: abimbola.akosile@thisdaylive.com, 08023117639 (sms only)

FMBN, AMCON Partner to Tackle Challenges of Non-performing Loans Dele Ogbodo in Abuja

PROMOTING HIGHER EDUCATION L-R: Representative of the Kano State Governor, Dr. Bakari Ado; HRH Lamido Adamawa, Alhaji Barkindo Mustapha; former Vice President and founder

American University of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; SSG Adamawa State, Dr. Umar Bindir, and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Kano State, Alhaji Umar Jalo, at the 8th Graduation ceremony of AUN at the Lamido Aliyu Mustapha Commencement Hall, Yola, Adamawa State...yesterday

PDP Congresses: North-east Zone Endorses Sheriff for Chairman • PDP’ll sack Buhari by 2019 say Ekweremadu, Iwuanyanwu • South-west officers elected, despite court order • Ogidi emerges South-south zonal chairman, Sango Plateau chairman Wole Ayodele in Jalingo, Christopher Isiguzo and Patrick Egwu in Enugu, James Sowole in Akure, Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt, Seriki Adinoyi in Jos and Olakiitan Victor in Ado Ekiti

The North-east zone of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has endorsed the acting chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as its candidate for the position of National Chairman of the party at its forthcoming national convention slated for Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

Senator Sheriff’s endorsement was announced at the zonal congress of the party held yesterday at the Jolly Nyame Stadium in Jalingo which had in attendance the two governors of the party in the zone, Darius Ishaku of Taraba and Dankwabo of Gombe states.

In the same vein, Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Cameroon, Amb. Emmanuel Njiwah was elected as the party’s vice chairman for the zone along with other officials of the party.

Addressing the delegates after his endorsement, Sheriff noted that, having the tag of the

party put in his hands by the zone, he cannot afford to fail them.

Sheriff, who was roundly hailed by all the delegates and stakeholders present on the occasion promised not to disappoint them just as he assured that he would do more for the party than he is doing now if given the mandate to lead the party.

He also used the occasion to tender an unreserved apology to leaders of the party over insulting statements credited to some of his aides and political associates. The chairman, who was visibly elated by the support he got the zone said he did not ask anybody to insult people on his behalf just as he stated that the party needs to be more united than before.

Speaking further, he said “I don’t want to preside over a divided house but a united one. We need unity more than ever before. We need every man and woman to confront APC if we must regain power in 2019. I don’t want a division again in the party because it

was division among the leaders and some followers that cost us victory in 2015”.

He thanked governors Ishaku and Dankwambo for their support just as he praised him for being a wonderful host saying the event was one of the best organised congresses he has attended.

Also, the South-east Zonal Congress of the PDP was held yesterday in Enugu even as notable party leaders including Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and Col. Austin Akobundu (rtd) expressed optimism that the party will reclaim the presidency from the All Progressives Congress (APC) by 2019.

This came as delegates from the five states of the zone elected officers to pilot the affairs of the party in the zone for the next four years with the younger brother of Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state, Chief Austin Umahi and Hon. Casmir Ugwu emerging as National Vice chairman, Southeast zone and Zonal Secretary

respectively.

The exercise as however almost marred midway when attempts to prevail on a former Zonal Publicity Secretary of the party and a security aide to Governor Umahi, Ali Odega from going ahead with his aspiration for the party National Vice chairmanship resulted in near fisticuffs with security men at Michael Okpara Square, venue of the congress.

The situation was later brought under control by Ekweremadu who insisted that all those who bought form should be allowed to take part in the congress. Odefa later staged a walk-out from the square, even as he polled a paltry three votes as against Umahi who polled 255 votes.

Earlier while addressing the delegates, Ekweremadu said the PDP would give Nigerians credible and vibrant opposition to the ruling party, noting that “we’ll not engage in credible, vibrant opposition; it will not be an irresponsible opposition. We will oppose democratically and provide alternatives.”

Operation Crackdown: Another Wanted Terrorist Kingpin Arrested • As troops repel Boko Haram attacks inside Sambisa • 12 soldiers, 4 civilian JTF wounded, terrorists killed Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Nigerian troops have arrested another terrorist kingpin, Sulaiman Umaru, who is on the list of 100 Boko Haram terrorists earlier declared wanted by the Federal Government.

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, said the troops of 143 Battalion, at about 1.35pm on Friday, arrested Umaru, a suspected Boko Haram terrorist group member whose photograph is on the poster containing the photographs of

the wanted 100 Boko Haram terrorists.

According to him, the suspect has since been moved to 28 Task Force Brigade Headquarters for further investigation.

Usman also said the troops have repelled Boko Haram attacks inside Sambisa forest and also conducted patrols and clearance operations within the theatre of operations, in the ongoing Operation Crackdown in the North-east zone.

He disclosed that the troops of 21 Brigade and team of Armed Forces Special Forces

(AFSF), while on harbour inside the forest for refitting, came under terrorists attack at about 1.45 am yesterday morning.

However, Usman said, the troops successfully repelled the attack.

“They followed up with mopping up operations of the general area before advancing. They also recovered two corpses of the attackers and the following items; two AK-47 rifles, two Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) bombs, five rifle magazines, mortar bombs and a belt of machine gun rounds.

“Unfortunately five soldiers were wounded in action (WIA), as a result of mortar fired into the harbour area by the Boko Haram terrorists. The wounded soldiers have been evacuated to the rear for treatment,” he stated.

Despite this incident, the DAPR assured that “the morale of the gallant troops remains very high as they are determined to successfully clear Boko Haram terrorists.”

In a related development, the Army Spokesman said the troops of 21 Brigade have continued with the clearance operations at Yerimari, while troops of 22 Task Force Brigade Garrison have also embarked on patrols along Dikwa-MafaMaiduguri road.

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) are partnering towards addressing the debt portfolio of the apex mortgage bank and the challenges of economic development posed by non-performing loans in the sector.

In a statement made available by the management of FMBN yesterday in Abuja, the bank said there was need to safeguard national resources to meet the housing needs of Nigerians.

The disclosure was made during a courtesy call by the management of FMBN, led by its Acting Managing Director, Mr. Richard Esin to its AMCON’s counterpart, Mr. Ahmed Kuru, in his office in Abuja.

The Acting MD, solicited AMCON’s cooperation for FMBN’s mandate of providing liquidity for the country’s housing sector and delivering affordable housing in the country.

On the purpose of the

visit, Esin added that there was need to strengthen closer interagency interaction in addressing the challenges of economic development in the sector. The country’s housing sector is said to have a deficit of over 17 million.

While noting that mortgage banks and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are not covered by AMCON’s mandate on debt recovery, Esin requested the corporation’s global approach inclusive of the bank’s interests in addressing issues with debtors to commercial banks who equally have NPLs with FMBN. This, according to him, would help considerably in safeguarding the National Housing Fund (NHF), which is being managed by FMBN. In a remark, Kuru expressed confidence FMBN has the capacity to address the enormous national housing challenge, and urged the bank to adopt innovative methods as well as sound practices to mitigate risks associated with its lending activities and practices.

No Illah Woman ‘Beheaded’ by Herdsmen, Says Delta Police Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Delta State Police Command, Mrs. Celestina Kalu, has rebutted newspaper reports that Fulani herdsmen allegedly beheaded a local woman and severely injured two others in Illah, in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State last Thursday.

In a statement of rebuttal e-mailed to THISDAY in Asaba yesterday, Kalu, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), noted that “the said story is totally false and misleading.”

Titled ‘Refutal: Re: Fulani Herdsmen Murder Woman in Illah’, which the police spokeswoman said was the headline of an online publication of a Nigerian newspaper (not THISDAY), the statement pointed out that the woman killed was actually a Hausa woman while the assailant - who was still at large - could not be identified as he wore a mask on his face.

“There was no crisis of any sort between herdsmen and Illah community”, the statement stressed, adding, “What really happened was that on 12 May, 2016 at about 1410hrs (2.10 p.m.

local time) an unknown assailant wearing a mask (hacked) one Shefatu Garba (female), a Hausa woman of Ngegu Camp, Illah to death, injured two women who were with the deceased victim at the time and escaped.”

Kalu disclosed that “efforts to apprehend and bring the culprit to justice have been intensified” and said “the corpse of the victim has been deposited in Ebu General Hospital morgue for autopsy while the injured victims are receiving treatment in the hospital.”

Nevertheless, THISDAY learnt that three women went fishing at the Otu Ngegu river (Gulugulu) in Ajaji area of Illah community when some persons “dressed like herdsmen and wearing masks” emerged from the bush nearby and attacked them in an attempt to rape them.

“The women resisted which infuriated the assailants as one of them brought out a sharp cutlass and cut off the neck of one of the women, killing her instantly. The attacker also inflicted injuries on the two other women”, a source said.

In Brief Sunmonu Emerges Julius Berger Chairman

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, a foremost engineering construction company, which recently announced a strategic change of guard at the topmostechelonofitsboardofdirectorsinAbuja,hasformallyunveiledits new Chairman, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu. The company’s spokesman, Mr. Moses Duku, had earlier in March of this year announced Sunmonu’s appointment as the new chairman of the company with effect from April 1, 2016. At the change-of-baton event which held at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, the outgoing chairman AVM NurudeenImamwhohadservedontheboardofthecompanyformorethan sixteenyearsthankedthecompanyfortheopportunitygiventohimto serve and also celebrated his successor at the event. Also, the Acting MD of Julius Berger, Mr. George Marks celebrated the accomplishmentsoftheformerchairmanwhomhefondlycallsNura.

T H I S D AY SUNDAY MAY 15, 2016

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SUNDAY MAY 15, 2016 T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

SUNDAYNEWS FG Raises Awareness on Stephen Johnson Syndrome Paul Obi in Abuja The federal government has cautioned Nigerians to be conscious of the Stephen Johnson Syndrome (SJS), a syndrome associated with severe reaction, followed by what experts termed ‘toxic epidermal necrolysis’.

Speaking at an awareness campaign and 17-day marathon

by Fadeshola Adedayo from

Abuja to Lagos, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole said there was need for Nigerians to be conversant with dangers linked to the disease.

Adewole assured citizens that government would do all it can to create more awareness on the disease through public awareness and educate Nigerians on the syndrome.

The minister said: “We have

to find a means to communicate with Nigerians, so they should all be aware of this dangerous disease and it is the sole business of government to enlighten the society by trying to increase their awareness, knowledge and to improve their quality way of life. A Consultant, Dr. Olanrewaju Falodun, who gave insight on the disease, urged Nigerians to learn more about the prevent-

able measures in order to curb any outbreak.

Meanwhile, contrary to speculations about an outbreak of SJS, Director of Press and Public Relations of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Boade Akinola said there was no outbreak of the syndrome, stating that only a case was recorded and nothing of such has resurfaced again.

Alleged N200m Embezzlement: Enugu Clarifies Iyiogwe’s Status

‘Tukur’s Removal Responsible for PDP’s Poor Performance in 2015’

Clement Danhutor

Anayo Okolie

The Enugu State Government has clarifiedthestatusofoneofitsofficials in a matter involving the alleged embezzlement of over N200 million and interrogation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In a release issued and signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Mr. Louis Amoke, the government said the embezzlement allegation predated his recent appointment as aSeniorSpecial Assistant.

“TheattentionoftheEnuguState Government has been drawn to the media report alleging that ‘a Senior Special Adviser to Enugu State

Government on Special Duties’ was quizzedbytheEconomicandFinancial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for embezzlementofoverN200million.

“In order to put the records straight, which is the hallmark of this administration, we wish to state as follows: That Pastor Sam Iyiogwe, is not a Senior Special Adviser to the Enugu State Government on Special Dutiesaswasreported.

“That he is one of Senior Special Assistants that were recently appointed in March this year by the state government and to the best of our knowledge, he has not handled any financial transaction of the government other than receiving his monthly salary.”

Former Minister of Education, Alhaji Dauda Birmah yesterday said the removal of the former National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) was responsible for the poor performance of the party in 2015 general election.

Birmah, a one-time presidential aspirant of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), also expressed belief that reorganisation of the party would be a failure because the party has exchanged its ‘gold for monkey’ at the market.

Tukur, Birmah said wanted

the best for the party, adding that the former wanted democracy in the real sense of the word.

According to him, “The milestone of my falling apart with PDP was when Bamanga Tukur was removed as the national chairman. They did not want him to continue because his stance was contrary to the characteristic stance of the PDP as they always wanted three or four people sitting in a smokefilled room to decide what people should ordinarily decide in conventions or primaries.

“That was the point I parted company spiritually with the PDP. “

EFCC: Adegboruwa Condemns FG Attempt to Stifle Opposition Senator Iroegbu in Abuja Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has condemned what he described as an attempt by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to stifle and intimidate opposing views.

Adegboruwa made his views known in a statement yesterday following his release after a brief detention at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over an alleged fraudulent property deal.

Quoting Frantz Fanon, the activist said every generation must discover its own mission, either to fulfil or to betray it, adding that he has “never been under any illusion that it would be a smooth and jolly ride, to

attempt to be a voice against oppression and dictatorship; but it didn’t occur to me that it would take any form of some vendetta.”

He said he was “told to accept the fact that there is a new administration in town, which does not like opposition and criticism and that anything can be done to silence all voices of dissent, including assassinations and trumped-up charges.”

He stated: “I was told point blank that if anybody is killed today, nothing will happen and that it is proper for me to always expect that any and all things will be deployed against me if I don’t keep quiet.

“My response is that I am not fighting General Muhammadu Buhari or indeed his administration.”

Mamador Gets NHF Certificate

Mamador Cooking Oil has bagged the endorsement of Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF) as a heart-friendly oil. Presenting the certificate to the company in Lagos, recently, the President of the Foundation, Prof. Oladipupo Akinkugbe explained that the company was being officially endorsed by the Foundation after successfully scaling through the rigorous tests conductedbytheFoundationtodeterminethehearthealthbenefitsofthe brand. Akinkugbe, represented by the Foundation’s Executive Director, Dr. K Akinroye, commended the company for applying for such certification from the Foundation, describing it as a demonstration of the brand’s commitmenttogivingitsconsumersproductsthatareofimmensebenefitsto their health. In his acceptance remarks, the Marketing Director, Food and Nutrition,Mr.KalyanBandyopadhyay,describedthecompany’sdecisionto seek the Foundation’s endorsement as a demonstration of its unrelenting searchforqualityandexcellence.

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MAY 15, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

OPINION Buhari, Budget, Budgit and Nigerians

Emmanuel Ojeifo argues that so much responsibility lies on the shoulders of the president in the implementation of the budget “The budget is intended to signpost a renewal of our commitment to restoring the budget as a serious article of faith with the Nigerian people…

Through the 2016 budget, aptly titled ‘Budget of Change,’ the government seeks to fulfill its own side of the social contract.”

––President Muhammadu Buhari, May 6, 2016

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ontrary to the general feeling that we can now heave a sigh of relief with the signing into law of the 2016 Appropriation Bill, I believe that we have now entered into the toughest stage of the budget process, namely implementation. A good budget signed into law with poor implementation is a huge failure. That is why the whole mechanism for implementing the budget matters. Since most of the implementation passes through the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government, there ought to be an inter-ministerial synergy signalling the collective commitment of all heads and members of government bureaucracy towards making the 2016 budget work.

Tied to the effective implementation of the budget is the willpower to continue the fight against corruption, wherever it exists and whichever guise it assumes. Corruption is the single most critical factor that destroys any budget, because it diverts funds meant for both recurrent expenditures and capital projects into private pockets. Through corner cutting, sharp practices, and project cost inflation, corruption makes nonsense of government’s commitment to improve the welfare of the people through the budget. Here is why all hands must be on deck. Since the budget, as President Buhari has said, is “a serious article of faith with the Nigerian people,” a signpost of the social contract between the government and the people, both “contractors” must fulfill their part in making the budget achieve its desired effect.

President Buhari hinted at the intrinsic connection between budget implementation and fighting corruption in his remarks at the signing of the 2016 Appropriation Bill into Law on May 6, 2016.

He said: “Our determined fight against corruption is resulting in improvements in the quality of public expenditure. The work of the efficiency unit, as well as other public financial management

initiatives, is also contributing in this regard.” To push this pledge from rhetoric to reality, there ought to be greater openness, transparency and accountability on the part of government in enforcing the proper mechanisms of generation, disbursement and utilisation of public funds. On the part of the Nigerian people, there ought to be seen a commitment to effectively scrutinise and carefully ‘police’ how public funds are spent. Here is where civil society can offer a great service to the Nigerian people.

In his research paper, “Budget Analysis and Policy Advocacy: The Role of Non-Governmental Public Action” (2006) Mark Robinson, a research fellow and governance team leader of the Institute of Development Studies of the University of Sussex, examines the impact of independent budget analysis and advocacy initiatives that are designed to improve budget transparency and government expenditure priorities. His findings demonstrate that the most significant impacts in budget analysis and advocacy are achieved not by government institutions but by civil society groups. These impacts include “improvements in the transparency of budgetary decisions and the budget process, increased budget awareness and literacy; and enhanced engagement in the budget process on the part of legislators, the media and civil society organisations.”

According to Robinson, civil society groups can help “to improve budget outcomes through advocacy work designed to influence budget priorities (allocations between major items of expenditure), the quality

Corruption is the single most critical factor that destroys any budget, because it diverts funds meant for both recurrent expenditures and capital projects into private pockets. Through corner cutting, sharp practices, and project cost inflation, corruption makes nonsense of government’s commitment to improve the welfare of the people through the budget.

of implementation (the targeting of expenditures and the proportion of the allocation actually expended) and the utilisation of expenditures (how far budget allocations translate into physical outcomes, and the efficiency and effectiveness of expenditures).” This only goes to show that civil society plays a great role in promoting social awareness, understanding of public budget processes and broadening of societal participation.

In Nigeria, no other civil society group fulfills this role of an effective watchdog in budget analysis and advocacy like BudgIT, “a civic organisation that applies technology to intersect citizen engagement with institutional improvement to facilitate change.”

Founded in 2011, its work is the meeting point of modern digital technological tools, data, and social advocacy in “matters of public spending for citizens, with the primary aim of raising standard of transparency and accountability in government.” It is helping ordinary Nigerians on the streets to understand the mechanics of the budget in a way that the Ministry of Budget and National Planning is not doing. Its work is thus a powerful way to empower citizens to use budget data and information in demanding improved service delivery.

As we enter this toughest stage of the budget process, so much responsibility lies on the shoulders of the president. Interestingly, Buhari understands this. Nothing reveals this better than the closing paragraphs of his remarks at the signing of the 2016 Appropriation Bill: “We are working night and day to diversify the economy so that we never again have to rely on one commodity to survive as a country. So that we can produce the food we eat, make our own textiles, produce most of the things we use. We intend to create the environment for our young people to be able to innovate and create jobs through technology.” Finally, he said: “I cannot promise you that this will be an easy journey, but in the interest of so much and so many we must tread this difficult path. I can assure you that this government you have freely elected will work with honesty and dedication, day and night to ensure that our country prospers and that the prosperity benefits all Nigerians.”

A man who can make bold to say that, “living in State House does not in any way alienate me from your daily struggles. I read the newspapers and listen to the TV and radio news. I hear your cries. I share your pains,” demands our principled support and admiration.

–––Ojeifo is a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Abuja.

The Curious Case of The Nigerian Labour Movement

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The Nigeria Labour Congress has grown too large for its own good, reckons Simbo Olorunfemi

ften, we find ourselves bemoaning the collapse of our institutions. It becomes even more evident when the occasional whimper, here and there, sometimes mimicking productivity in the guise of activity is often a function of a change of hands in the management of many of our institutions. Whereas they should work by a defined system and standard, what we have become accustomed to is the personalisation of institutions and institution of personalities. In other words, we have been building more of men than institutions. No wonder, we are where we are – going round in circles, demolishing the already built and re-building Cathedrals where all that is needed is only a roof to resurrect a dignity forcefully taken away by yesterday’s bandits.

This might not be the primary subject of discourse here, yet in discussing the curious case of our labour movement in Nigeria, the difficulty in building or entrenching institutions that endure readily comes to mind. Indeed, even though the failure of governmental institutions across all sectors stare us in the face, the decay all around us is not solely or simply that of the government. Nations are not solely built with the arms of government or sustained by its institutions. There are major roles for non-governmental institutions to play in the sustenance of or in the re-engineering of the system.

Every democracy has assigned roles for different institutions. The place of pressure groups in a democracy is as important and emphasised as that of political parties, religious institutions, think-tanks, media, trade unions and the now ubiquitous NGOs or NGIs. Even lobbyists have a role to play in the process, though that role is not clearly defined in many democracies, especially emerging ones. With roles come responsibilities and expectations. It is our lot that, not only have we experienced a collapse of public institutions, many of the non-governmental bodies have equally failed us. It just happens that the searchlight is hardly ever beamed in other directions. Though the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria might have been heady and pre-occupied with too many pies, at once, in seeking to frontally take on the not-for-profit sector, even in the absence of a public sector-led enabling environment for this informally-driven sector, there is hardly faulting the fact there are huge corporate governance issues cutting across all our institutions.

Take the labour as a case study. Take the Nigeria Labour Congress, for instance. Back in the day, it was an institution of reckon. Itself, a child of compromise of different ideological tendencies, it was built, bottom-up, on the shoulders of selfless, illustrious labour leaders of yore. It has become a behemoth, perhaps grown too large, for its own good. It is difficult, these days, to exactly tell what the Labour stands for or what is definitive stand is

on any matter. Prosperity, poorly managed, has a propensity for making one lose one’s way. Is that the case with the labour movement in Nigeria?

Almost everything the labour accuses the government of, the labour movement is, itself, guilty of. It is difficult to put any of the characteristic tell-tale signs of maladministration and poor governance culture evident in the management of public institutions beyond the labour itself. If one may ask - what has become of the mass-transit scheme managed by the Nigerian Labour Congress? Who can tell the state of NLC’s Labour City Transport Service (LCTS) into which millions of naira has been invested, over time? To think that this scheme has benefited at various times from some of the hare-brained mass transit schemes of previous governments, it would be interesting to find out its state of affairs and the status of repayment of loans so procured to fund the scheme.

There is the curious case of the N2.5 billion mass housing scheme promoted by the Nigerian Labour Congress in conjunction with a company. The dust raised by subscribers who alleged fraud on the part of the promoters has done little to help in understanding what has become of the labour movement in Nigeria.

There is yet the case of the Labour Party. That party which one would have thought was founded with a mandate to advance workers’ interests ended in the pockets of traders with little interest in its ideology. They franchised the platform to all comers and hawked tickets for offices to all shades of politicians simply in need of any vehicle that can be used to achieve their consuming political ambition. Ayo Fayose, Olusegun Mimiko, Ifeanyi Ubah, Great Ogboru are some of the activists who have found use for the Labour party ticket in aspiring for political office.

That is what has become of Labour in Nigeria. NLC is now one huge bureaucracy, dead to the yearnings of the downtrodden, the nation and new-age realities with a pigeon-hole outlook to development? It is unlikely that money is a problem for the Congress. Remittances from affiliate unions should assure of that. Perhaps, it is its relative comfort that makes it difficult to be anything but lukewarm in shaping policy and politics in the country.

Some of the unions are sitting on a hefty chest that it is almost unbelievable. Was it not said that one of the unions pocketed (billions?) from the severance package paid to workers in the electricity sector, upon privatisation? You might wonder what a union that had a greater percentage of its members laid off would be doing with so much money.

What do the unions really do with the money from check-off dues?

How accountable are they and to who exactly?

Truth is the pool of money the unions generate can be ploughed into more meaningful purposes. It is actually possible to fund life-changing developmental initiatives from this dues, if they so desire. What about

part of the dues serving as some form of insurance from which workers who are not paid salaries by employers for months, receive some form of allowance/loan? What about engaging in life-changing programmes to make health insurance or mortgage facilities more accessible to workers? There must be something to trade unions other than strikes and threats over all sorts.

One might even be tempted to think that there is some link between the financial state of some of these unions sit on and the rat race over leadership positions in Labour. The riotous end to the last NLC elections which threw up two factions of the congress with parallel executives is quite instructive.

NLC has departments such as research, legal, education, international relations, health and safety, among others. One would expect regular and robust interventions from the congress on policy and issues of governance. There is very little of that. By the way, I have read the 48-page NLC Policy document. We only hear Labour once in a while, chanting same old populist slogans, calling for increase in minimum wage, irrespective of the weather. The question is- who really is on minimum wage in the public service that Labour is waging this battle for? Was there not something about jobs below that Grade Level 4 outsourced by the civil service, years back? Is it no longer the case that the secondary school certificate holder joins the civil service on Grade level 4? Who really is on the minimum wage in the civil service? Is it not more a case of any increase in salary benefiting the people at the top more than those supposedly earning the minimum wage? When will the NLC start addressing the issue of productivity and proffer solutions?

When will the question of shrinking revenue base of the government become a consideration in Labour’s case for an increase in workers’ salary?

Issues of corporate governance and accountability should apply to not only the institutions of government but the non-governmental sector. What could be wrong with the Labour being the standard bearer, setting the pace when it comes to the question of accountability?

Perhaps, the maxim - Ex turpi causa non oritur action applies here. Is it not fair that he who comes to equity should, at least, come with clean hands? Can the NLC start by publishing its annual report and accounts, so we can better understand how it functions? Perhaps it does, but I could not find one on its website. It needs be told that in the day we live in, posting such a document online would only help in enhancing its credibility. What could be wrong with having a Labour that lives by what it preaches?

––Olorunfemi works for Hoofbeatdotcom, a Nigerian Communications Consultancy

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

LETTERS MEMO ON THE UK ANTI-CORRUPTION SUMMIT

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philosophy is a thought which drives a process. This administration came into being on the philosophy of change and change is what defies the power of time. It has a tone and tenor which Mathematics cannot equate. It is something that is supposed to be well-wrought and wellthought. On our part as an organisation seeking to assist government with the fight for transparency, accountability and good governance, we have keyed into the ‘change’ philosophy.

Yet before we keyed into Mr. Buhari’s philosophy, we studied the unending corruption cases in Nigeria. One of the things we found out is that corruption is festering.

What we mean by that is that nearly all former and serving governors, senators, big bankers, and private businesses seemed to have gone to a school where they took degrees in the fine-art of tweaking the law and avoiding doing time. Till date, no high-profile politician, apart from Bode George

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Cameron

and a couple of others have done time for stealing nearly N6 trillion.

And just the way corruption cases in Nigeria can be tweaked and bought by the highest bidder, the one high profile case which led to the conviction of James Ibori was reportedly tweaked as well in the UK. Most politicians know that the rule of law supports democracy and the mode practised here in Nigeria. They are aware

that the three arms of government are supposed to be independent but must work together for us all. But politicians have exploited this paradox to feather their nests and line their pockets. A report titled Justice or Impunity

by Prof Bolaji Owasanoye says that after cases involving heists in billions were instituted, many of them are in limbo nearly a decade after. Is it the case with Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, Otunba Gbenga

Daniel, Ayo Fayose, Joshua Dariye, Aminu Turaki, Orji Uzor Kalu, Jolly Nyame, Boni Haruna, Attahiru Bafarawa, Adamu Abdullahi, Rasheed Ladoja, Danjuma Goje, Alao Akala and etcetera?

So the questions are: Why, why and why?

Nobody can claim to have all the answers. We don’t.

But one thing we know is that the world over, people are coming together to campaign for a paradigm shift based on one strong conviction: there seem to be a lot of laws guiding the prosecution of corruption but there is hardly any justice dispensed. The laws on ground support the rich who steal billions and gets a slap on the wrist after a lot of yak, money and time is spent with prosecution. It is not like so with the case of the poor who probably steals because he has to eat.

Just a confession that he stole to eat gets him more than 15 years, without a corresponding punishment for the government that either did not give him a job or did not provide an enabling environment for him to get one.

The paradigm shift we

NIGER DELTA AVENGERS AND OIL THIEVES

n Nigeria, we wake up daily to read about problems upon problems. We are daily inundated with jaw-dropping, bizarre and messy stories of how some beasts in human form visit mindless terror on their fellow beings as well as their nation. Without any shred of doubt, Nigeria has literarily become a theatre of some sort where tragic plays are staged every other day before the world. It does appear we appreciate and fancy the fact that the world sees us as a bunch of unserious, hopeless and directionless people destined to fail.

We all woke up last week to be regaled with stories of how some criminals who hide under the banner of Niger Delta struggle as agitators blew up oil facilities owned by oil multi-national company, Chevron in Warri North in Delta State. This ferocious attack, according to media reports, has forced Chevron to halt is operations within the oil-rich region. So far, a criminal gang known as the Niger Delta Avengers has claimed responsibility for the attack.

For obvious reasons, planned or coordinated attacks on strategic national assets by individuals or criminal elements are both crimes against humanity and fatherland. It is a crime that shouldn’t be condoned by any right-thinking individual. People who perpetrate such heinous crimes shouldn’t be shielded by any sane human being.

Blowing up oil facilities, out

of which funds are sourced to address national challenges is akin to breaking into a hospital’s blood bank!

It is sheer wickedness that shouldn’t be tolerated or rationalised for whatever reasons.

Sadly, pipelines have been callously vandalised. Oil workers have left their work stations. Nigeria has lost huge sums of petroldollars.

Large volume of crude oil lost. All these put together constitute both economic and social loses to government and Nigerians. Those behind this latest act of criminality should have a rethink on the dangerous path they are planning to walk. I need not remind any of them of the dire consequences of testing the might of the present administration.

If oil thieves who organised themselves under different amorphous criminal gangs collected huge sums to ‘appease aggrieved militants’ succeeded in the past, let me remind them that we have a new sheriff in town. It has ceased to be business as usual. Welcome to the era of business unusual.

To criminal elements parading as Niger Delta agitators, the road you’ve chosen to take sure leads to destruction. Do have a deep rethink on the dire consequences of your actions. It is suicidal to stand before a moving train. I sincerely have no doubt in the ability of our security apparatchik as presently constituted to deal or handle any serious

security threat, be it from marauding herdsmen, oil thieves, terrorists or other harbingers of evil. We have since moved away from the Nigeria of the recent past where impunity reigned supreme.

That dark era where common criminals who should ordinarily be cooling their heels in detention centres were daily invited to Aso Rock and given huge sums. I prefer to call these criminals their real names; oil thieves. Aligning their nefarious act with a just campaign like the struggle for a better Niger Delta land is a ploy to play on the intelligence of the real victims of continuous oil exploration and exploitation in the region.

They should be avoided and disgraced by the good people of the region.

We have various avenues through which issues of injustice can be tabled for possible redress. Taking up arms or attacking strategic national assets is certainly not one of them.

Unfortunately, the Niger Delta elite who should ordinarily lead and champion the struggle for a better, cleaner, prosperous and safer region have allowed thugs, militants, criminals and undesirable elements to speak on their behalf.

It is about time wellmeaning individuals in the region rose up to the challenge of evolving a credible, people-oriented and issue-based platform to highlight the region’s plight and challenges and call for

urgent intervention.

Genuine agitators should also draw a line between its members and criminal gangs like the thieves behind the Niger Delta Avengers group.

––Abdullahi Yunusa Profwills, Imane, Kogi State.

sought at the inception of this administration is the non-conviction assets recovery of stolen monies, together with the proceeds thereof. This is the contrast of the traditional systems as enunciated above. In fighting corruption the old-fashioned way, we unwittingly give it a chance to fight back with the monies that have been stolen. A Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative, StAR, report published by the World Bank and the United Nations (2007) detailed how stolen funds are ploughed back into the system through an intricate process which transcends geography – first the monies are stolen and invested in real estate or in offshore tax havens like the Jersey, Panama, Bahrain, Singapore, Germany and Japan.

Thereafter, the monies find their way back into the shadows of business, likely to be used for legitimate dealings which provide employment for our people. Until the Panama Papers Leak, we all did not realise that very well placed people in Nigeria, and indeed the world over, operate two sets of tax laws which offer undue advantage and clout to the rich. But if a politician has stolen monies stashed abroad, convicting and jailing him won’t bring the monies back.

We recommended a Truth Commission on Corruption at the dawn of this administration.

The idea of the truth commission on corruption

is based on antecedents in South Africa, Australia, Nigeria, Germany, Ecuador, Haiti, Liberia, Canada and 15 other countries.

We suggested that we could imitate the World Bank Voluntary Disclosure Programme, VDP, which has been in operation since 2006. Simply, we give former political office holders accused or alleged to have stolen public monies a chance to come own up and return monies which they have stolen.

Our argument has nothing to do with an ‘amnesty’ or a ‘slap on the wrist’ or a plea bargain. A corrupt person who refuses to disclose and return funds forecloses any chance of a plea bargain because you likely get a plea bargain only after you get a conviction.

In the VDP and on our Truth Commission on Corruption proposal, we wanted the government to build a framework for non-conviction asset recovery juxtaposed with the old-fashioned methods.

And as a matter of fact again, we must stress that we should not unnecessarily get tangled with issues of amnesty or pardon for corrupt people. We just want justice but what we have presently is justice being delayed and denied because the justice delivery systems in Nigeria and many parts of the world are greatly compromised.

––Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku, Communications manager, Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice

OGUN STANDARD, SECURITY AND ANISULOWO’S RESCUE

S

ecurity plays a vital role in the peace, stability, development and progress of any nation. Since no nation can afford to do without law and order, the provision of security is often considered as paramount amongst the several functions of government.

The management of security is bound to be more tedious in Nigeria- a country ripe with conditions that can easily occasion crime and social vices. In this country, poverty, unemployment and corruption abound.

Though no nation is totally immune to such conditions, Nigeria has had more than enough share of crime and the time has come for governments at all levels to be seriously concerned about the provision and management of security.

In Ogun State, where the government has placed premium on the security of lives and property, any direct challenge to individual or collective security is bound to generate a big

response on the part of government and security agencies. It also will elicit a big expectation on the part of the citizenry.

Few weeks ago, the security system of Ogun State was stubbornly challenged with the abduction of the former Minister of Education, Senator Iyabo Anisulowo, around her farmland in Igbogila/ Sawonjo area of Ogun State on April 27, 2016.

The abduction was like a tale from a James Bond’s film. Dogged by suspense, apprehension, threat, intrigues, high wired technology deployment and relief, the episode of her abduction and rescue six days later would reverberate for sometime to come.

The success story of the rescue operation would not be complete without mentioning the contribution of the governor and chief security officer of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase; the

Assistant-Inspector General of Police for Lagos and Ogun States, Mr. Bala Hassan; Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Almajid Ali; the Brigade Commandant of Alamala Barracks of Nigerian Army and the Director of SSS in the state.

In all this, the security system of Ogun State is the winner. I wish to acknowledge the philosophy of the state government tagged the “Ogun Standard”, which has been applied to all the sectors of the state, including security. The philosophy ensures that all the policies and projects of government meet the required international standards.

From the security point of view, it has created the basis for the continued cooperation between government and security agencies as well as the synergy between them.

Other states in the federation should take a cue from the Ogun example.

––Wole Elegbede, Imeko, Ogun State.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • MAY 15, 2016

INTERNATIONAL

Beyond Self-deceit: Nigeria at the Summit of the Most Fantastically Corrupt World Leaders in London

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ritish Prime Minister, David Cameron convened a summit on anti-corruption, held on Wednesday and Thursday, 11th and 12th May, 2016, not only to show concern for the challenges of corruption but also to show superiority of Great Britain and a holier-than-thou disposition. Thus, the organization of the summit is necessarily vertical in design and not horizontal. This is why the British Prime Minister could afford the luxury of presenting Nigeria to the Queen Elisabeth as a “fantastically corrupt’ country.

The word corruption is a derivation from a Latin verb, corrumpo and a Latin adjective, corruptus, both of which simply mean changing from good to bad especially in terms of willingness to act dishonestly for money or personal gains. Consequently, anti-corruption policy or measure is about containment of weaknesses in morals in order to enforce a change from bad to good habits. In this regard, several efforts have been made internationally to enforce good business habits but all to no avail. In fact, international agreements were done and duly signed. However, many countries not only give development assistance to countries in need but have also been directly and indirectly ‘fantastically aiding’ and ‘fantastically abetting’ the failure of development projects funded by them. That is, they joyfully provide warehouses for fantastically ill-gotten funds by leaders of the recipients of their development aid.

And true enough, virtually all countries of the world have anti-corruption laws. Countries that may not have anti-corruption laws are covered by regional and international conventions on corruption. The critical food for thought is how to explain the failure of the various anti-corruption measures already taken at the level of the United Nations and regional frameworks, to the extent that the British Prime Minister David Cameron would be compelled to organize a summit on anti-corruption. This column posits that whoever engages in any act of corruption, or fantastically aids and abets any form of engagement in corruption, is also ‘very fantastically corrupt.’ Put differently, any direct engagement in an act of corruption is not as serious as that of condoning, aiding and abetting it. Consequently, if Nigeria is corrupt, all countries that share in the loot, by way of direct warehousing of the loot and taking economic advantage of it, and by particularly refusing to repatriate the loot to the rightful owner, or by subjecting the repatriation of the funds to conditionality are the most fantastically corrupt.

Conception and Manifestations of Anti-corruption Anti-corruption, as noted above, is about preventing a change from good to bad or ensuring a change from bad to good. This is generally done by adoption of anti-corruption safeguards and financial controls.

The manifestations of corruption can be grouped into plurilateral and multilateral. Under plurilateral manifestations are the 1996 Inter-American ConventionAgainst corruption, which is generally referred to as the OAS (Organisation ofAmerican States) Convention.

Within this framework,Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) in 2007 with the objective of implementing and fostering the attainment of the objectives of the 1996 convention: state modernization, preventing and fighting corruption, particularly bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions. The agreement with the OECD provided a platform for deliberations on many critical issues: transnational corruption; corporate responsibility for promoting integrity and fighting corruption; transnational bribery; detection, investigation, and prosecution of bribery; liability of legal persons; mutual legal assistance and extradition, etc.

An example of a multilateral manifestation of anti-corruption deal is the International Financial Institution (IFI)Anti-Corruption Task Force set up in 2006 by seven multilateral organisations:African Development Bank Group;Asian Development Bank; European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; European Inter-American Development Bank Group; and the World Bank Group.

As defined in 2006 by the IFI, anti-corruption drive is predicated on a distinction amongst corrupt practice, fraudulent practice, coercive practice, and collusive practice. ‘Corrupt practice is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting, directly or indirectly, of anything of value to influence improperly the actions of another party.’ Three points are clear from this definition: intention, manner of action, and purpose.

Intention is synonymous with ‘offering,’ that is, promise, offer of help or assistance or gratification. In other words, a bribe cannot be given if it had not been proposed, discussed, and accepted. Manner of action arises from whether a corrupt practice is done directly or otherwise.

The offer of a bribe, or ‘settlement’ to use the Nigerian language for it, can take the form of free gift, grants, loans with ridiculous moratorium, etc.

Secondly, ‘a fraudulent practice is any act or omission, including a misrepresentation, that knowingly or recklessly misleads, or attempts to mislead, a party to obtain a financial or other benefit or to avoid an obligation.’ From this definition, there is nothing like intention anymore.Afraudulent practice is necessarily a fait accompli. What is therefore noteworthy is the inducement into error of a party for the purposes of a benefit.

Thirdly, ‘a coercive practice is impairing or harming or threatening to impair or harm, directly or indirectly, any party or the property of the party to influence improperly the actions of a party.’ Differently put, it is the use of force or intimidation (coercive) to compel a party or harm its interest for the purposes of enhancing corrupt or fraudulent practice. Coercive practice is common at the level of donors and the

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President Buhari and Prime Minister Cameron

development partners but there cannot be a receiver without a giver.

It is the giver that dictates the tune or the conditions for grant of aid, which again serve as dynamics for sharp practices by the recipients of the aid.

Fourthly, ‘a collusive practice is an arrangement between two or more parties designed to achieve an improper purpose, including influencing improperly the actions of another party.’ This definition simply underscores the fact that the act of corruption may not be restricted to only one person. No big-time corruption can succeed without accomplices. In fact, funds illegally stolen in Nigeria are taken to some safe havens in Europe andAmerica.

And without any whiff of doubt, everyone knows what corruption is all about but not everyone takes it up seriously for the purposes of eradication. For instance, even though theADB has a policy of zero-tolerance for corruption in all its operations, its 2004 study aimed at assessingADB’s efforts to limit incidence of corruption, has shown that the ‘ADB never complied with the policy requirement’ for three main reasons: non-provision of appropriate guidance on how to assess corruption risks and integrate them in their analysis and decision-making; wrong incentive structures which put strong emphasis on staff to disburse fund and finance new projects than to ensure success, completion of on-going-projects; and weaknesses in institutional leadership, which has been more of a disincentive in the fight against corruption.

Additionally, in his foreword to the UN ConventionAgainst Corruption in 2004, KoffiA.Annan, then UN Secretary-General, noted that ‘corruption is an insidious plague that … undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life and allows organized crimes, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish.’ Perhaps more importantly, he said that ‘corruption is found in all countries – big and small, rich and poor – but it is in the developing world that its effects are most destructive. Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a Government’s ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice and discouraging foreign aid and investment. Corruption is a key element in economic underperformance and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development.’

The Convention provides for some preventive measures, criminalisation and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, technical assistance and information exchange, as well as mechanisms for implementation, all of which are aimed to assist and guide all States Parties to the Convention. For instance,Article 5 of the Convention requires States Parties to ‘develop and implement or maintain effective, coordinated anti-corruption policies that promote the participation of society and reflect the principle of the rule of law, proper management of public affairs and public property, integrity, transparency and accountability.Article 6 also requires the establishment of a body or bodies as appropriate that will prevent corruption.

Article 31 on Freezing, Seizure and Confiscation requires each State Party, to the extent possible within its domestic legal system, to confiscate ‘proceeds of crime derived from offences established in accordance with this Convention or property the value of which corresponds to that of such proceeds. More importantly,Article 43 on international cooperation provides for mutual assistance in the areas of investigations of and proceedings in civil and administrative matters relating to corruption. Cooperation is also provided for when there is a request for extradition (Article 41 and need for mutual legal

assistance (Article 46). Article 51 of Chapter V onAsset Recovery and Article 55 on International Cooperation for purposes of confiscation are particularly noteworthy.

Article 51 considers the return of assets as a ‘fundamental principle and therefore ‘States Parties shall afford one another the widest measure of cooperation and assistance in this regard.’ In the same vein, Article 55 provides that when a State Party receives a request from another State Party for confiscation of proceeds of crime, property, equipment or other instrumentalities covered underArticle 31 of the Convention, a State Party shall ‘submit the request to its competent authorities for the purpose of obtaining an order of confiscation and, if such an order is granted, give effect to it.’

And perhaps most importantly,Article 63 of Chapter VII on Mechanism for Implementation established a Conference of the States Parties to the Convention to achieve the objectives of the Convention and to promote and review its implementation. In this regard, the Conference of the States Parties, for which a Secretariat is also established (Art. 64) is to facilitate anti-corruption activities of States Parties, exchange of information among States Parties, make appropriate use of relevant information produced by other international and regional organizations for combating and preventing corruption in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of work, as well as reviewing periodically the implementation of the Convention.

The Convention, which was open to all States from 9 to 11 December 2003 in Merida, Mexico and thereafter until 9 December 2005 at the UN Headquarters in New York, entered into force on the 19th day after the date of deposit of the 30th instrument of ratification or accession was provided for inArticle 68 in …..

It is against the foregoing background that the essence of the LondonAnti-Corruption Summit and Nigeria’s keynote address should be raised.

Increasing Disregard and Need for Apology In the past one year, buhariplomacy emphasizes the repatriation of ill-gotten funds stolen in Nigeria and starched away in many EuroAmerican financial institutions which now accept to repatriate the money but subject to degrading conditionality. The most recent case is that of Switzerland. PMB wants the money but without giving due regard to national respect and dignity. It is this attitudinal disposition that PMB took again to the London anti-corruption summit, thus deepening the disregard for corporate Nigeria. It is most unfortunate.

Two main issues generated much public interest at the summit: PMB’s plea for international criminalisation of oil theft and David Cameron’s description of Nigeria as ‘fantastically corrupt.’ PMB wants the international community ‘to designate oil theft as an international crime similar to the trade in “blood diamonds” as it constitutes an imminent and credible threat to the economy and stability of oil-producing countries like Nigeria. This request is in order as previous Nigerian leaders had also made such pleas but all to no avail because of lack of political will. PMB is quite right in reminding that lack of political will ‘has been the missing link in international efforts hitherto.’ Without doubt, political will cannot but continue to be lacking for as long as the powerful members of the international community remain recipients of oil theft.

On Nigeria as a ‘fantastically corrupt’ country, David Cameron privately told Queen Elisabeth that Nigeria andAfghanistan were ‘possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world’ and that their leaders would be attending the anti-corruption summit. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, also pointed out at the meeting with the Queen that PMB was not corrupt. Perhaps more disturbingly, when PMB was asked by the Sky News Diplomatic Editor, Dominic Waghorn and CNN’sAmanpour on whether Nigeria was corrupt and whether he intended to request for apology, PMB admitted that Nigeria was very corrupt and that he was not prepared to seek for Cameron’s apology. What he simply wanted was the repatriation to Nigeria of the ill-gotten funds belonging to Nigeria but currently starched in British financial institutions.

David Cameron’s statement is most indecent, undiplomatic, imperialist, non-courteous and, of course, self-indicting. PMB’s reply was good to the extent that it indirectly indicted Britain as an accomplice of Nigeria’s fantastic corruption.AlthoughArchbishop Welby presented PMB as a non-corrupt leader, he forgot that PMB was invited to London not to represent himself but also all other Nigerians, both good and bad who are said to be fantastically corrupt.

Cameron’s statement considers most, if not all, Nigerians as fantastically corrupt contrary to the reality. It has implications for would-be Nigerian applicants for visas.

It seriously taints the integrity of non-corrupt Nigerians. Consequently, PMB should require a sincere apology on behalf of all the non-corrupt Nigerians. In Nigeria, it is basically government officials and politicians that are in the business of corruption and they are in the minority. Have the non-corrupt Nigerians benefitted from the already repatriated funds? Government will need to defend the interest of ordinary and powerless citizens like us who chose not to be corrupt come what may. More importantly, the London summit is not a big deal as there is no issue or recommendation by the summit that had not been covered by the 2004 UN Convention on Anti-Corruption. The London summit is nothing more than self-deceit and a further attempt to undermine the anti corruption efforts of PMB who was accused in April 2016 by the UK Telegraph newspaper of misusing British funds to persecute his political opponents. Consequently PMB will need to attend only international meetings in which due regard and respect will be accorded to all Nigerians and not only to PMB.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

BUSINESS

Editor Festus Akanbi Email festus.akanbi@thisdaylive.com

QUICK TAKES African Airlines

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Renaissance Capital, Igor Vayn; Former Minister of National Planning, Shamsudeen Usman,; Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; Chairman, Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko; and Chief Executive Officer (Nigeria), Renaissance Capital, Temitope Popoola, at Renaissance Capital’s 7th Annual Pan-Africa 1:1 Investor Conference in Lagos

Despite Uncertain Business Environment, Analysts Hail Buhari’s Economic Recovery Initiatives Olaseni Durojaiye

Analysts at Renaissance Capital have hailed the economic recovery initiatives of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration insisting that the economy was on recovery mode.

But they also maintained that the nation’s foreign currency policy was not investment friendly and deterring investors.

While not ruling out the need for devaluation of the naira, the analysts said what may eventually trigger the need to devalue the naira is if oil price continues to slump and maintain a southward trend for a long time. They added that failure to devalue in the circumstance would force investors to “change their views” about the country.

Besides, few hours before the removal of oil subsidy and the review of pump price of premium Motor Spirit (PMS) last Wednesday, they maintained that removal of fuel subsidy was “sensible considering fiscal pressure on government.”

The top management of the leading investment and advisory firm made their position known during the justconcluded 7th Renaissance Capital Investor Conference in Lagos at the weekend.

Those who spoke included: Chief Executive Officer, Renaissance Capital, Igor Vayn; Chief Executive Officer Renaissance Capital Nigeria, Temitope Popoola; Global Chief Economist, Renaissance Capital, Charles Robertson and Global Head of Investment Banking, James Friel.

Also, the analysts commended government’s anti-corruption crusade and the efforts to return peace and normalcy to the North-east, where Nigerian troops are battling Boko Haram insurgency.

While noting that Nigeria hold prospects for investment they added that the current administration’s economic recovery initiatives would lead

ECONOMY to economic recovery and growth.

Underscoring the importance of foreign investments, they added that absence of foreign investments will slow the pace of economic recovery and growth.

“I think Nigeria is getting it right.

In terms of ease of doing business, reforms, Nigeria is doing great; being among top 100 places to do business should be the target for Nigeria. So also is the focus on electricity, especially the expansion of the transmission leg; all of these are positives for Nigeria.

“Fuel subsidy removal is sensible, considering the fiscal pressure on government. Government should be spending on infrastructure; not on fuel consumption.”

“But the currency situation remains a challenge; it is deterring investors. It is not like investors don’t like Nigeria; they‘re not allowed to invest. Investors need to know if they can freely move their investments whenever they want to, but we can’t guarantee that,” Vayn stated.

Responding to a question on deregulation, Vayn stated that “what will trigger deregulation is if oil price stays low for a very long time. If oil price stays low for a long time, Nigeria will have to devalue; and if devaluation does not happen then, investors would change their views about Nigeria,” he added.

Expatiating further, another member of the team, Yvonne Mhongo, stressed that “from meetings that we’ve had with government officials, government hasn’t foreclosed devaluation; but they’re considering other exciting ideas.

He stated that the current administration was demonstrating commitment towards improving the ease of doing business in the country with its anticorruption fight as well as efforts to fight

insecurity especially in the North-east of the country. He added that there was verifiable commitment to improving ease of doing business in the country via reforms and government policies.

He noted government’s anti-corruption fight and the efforts to tackle insecurity particularly in the North-east region and added that these were indices that encouraged investing in the country.

Robertson stated that, “investors want Nigeria to succeed; they want to invest in Nigeria. Investors that want to come to Nigeria are ready to diversify into different buckets of investment portfolios.

“But they want to see strong growth; they want good government policies.

They want to see sustainable currency policies because they want to be here for the long haul,” he stated.

He further stated that sectors that investor could venture into include Two of the most successful development stories, Rwanda and Ethiopia… have taken place in the context of systems which are neither politically free nor all that market-oriented

Healthcare, Financial services and Financial technology, Agriculture processing and textile as well as steel industry.

Earlier in his welcome address, Popoola noted that as we all know, it’s been a tough year for emerging markets, a tough year for Africa in general, and in some ways, an especially tough year for Nigeria in particular.

According to him, “There is no denying that Nigeria has been through some pretty dramatic changes in the past 18 months. The oil price has fallen. The impact this has on external accounts and government revenues has been analysed many times over; we know it’s large. But conceptually, what does it

mean for Nigeria? Well, oil was never going to make us rich. Extract 37 billion barrels of oil and spread it across 170 million people - it’s enough to add $1,500 per head, perhaps taking us across the threshold of “upper middle income” status...

“The other major change in Nigeria is political. A new administration has arrived, and with it the rules of the game have changed. The age of impunity is over. Unfortunately, this change has coincided with shift in economic policy too; away from the free market economics we all know and naturally assume is best.

The system that is developing in its place has met with a lot of skepticism, and has come with some unpleasant by-products. Tax enforcement will need to be broadened. A regressive fuel subsidy will need to be removed.

The budget deficit will grow and alternative sources of financing will need to be sought.

“All of these things have contributed to an increasingly negative narrative.

You don’t need me to tell you how hard that make it to sell Nigerian equities. But what does it actually tell us about the country’s long-term prospects? As much as I’d like to tell you that Western style democracy and free markets are the answer, there’s still plenty of evidence pointing the other way. Just look at the last 10 years in Africa. Two of the most successful development stories, Rwanda and Ethiopia – what the IMF would call “inclusive growth” – have taken place in the context of systems which are neither politically free nor all that market-oriented. Cote d’Ivoire, a country that was in open civil war as recently as 2010 and in default on its international debt, is now the fastest-growing market in Africa and consensus favourite among the same investors who held the defaulted papers.”

AfricanExport-ImportBank(Afreximbank) has earmarked over $20 billion to be given to airlines from member African countries as syndicated loans to acquire new aircraft.

The offer is aimed at reviving and sustaining airlineoperation in thecontinent and only airlines that intend to acquire new aircraft will benefit from theloan.SeniorManager,Syndications andSpecialisedFinance,Afreximbank, SamuelMugoya,whodisclosedthisat the 25th Air Finance African Conference and Exhibition in Johannesburg, South Africa, said one of the major challenges faced by African airlines is their inability to source long-term loans at single digit interest rates.

THISDAY learnt that some Nigerian airlines that plan to acquire more aircraft and expand their operation have indicated interest in the loan.

Mugoya, who spoke at a panel during theconferencesaidanotherchallenge many African airlines face is that over 60percentoftheirexpensesaredone with hard currency, whereas they generatetheirrevenueinlocalcurrency.He said part of the guarantee for the loan is the aircraft, which is a huge asset adding before the bank offers to give loantoanyairline,itmustbeconvinced about its business plan, which must be in tandem with the reality of its operational environment.

Employment

Young people in Africa that wish to transform their business ideas into successful enterprises are set to benefit from a new initiative by business leadersinthecontinentwhichisaimed at promoting youth entrepreneurship andtacklejoblessnessinthecontinent.

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr. Akinwumi Adesina, disclosed this at a media briefing during the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in Kigali, Rwanda. According to Adesina, Africa currently has a job crisis. He said twothirds of the continent’s youths are without jobs, which he stressed put then in vulnerable position.

“If you take a look at Africa, we have a job crisis and two-thirds of Africa’s youth are without jobs and are in vulnerable position. This can heighten social tension in the continent.Therefore,theAfDBisannouncinannoungis meetinganewinitiativethatisfocused on creating 25 million jobs for Africa’s youths over the next 10 years.

N1trn Loss

Theacting Chairman,FiscalResponsibilityCommission,Mr.VictorMuruako, has said the federal government may be losing over N1 trillion due to the non-remittance of operating surplus.

He said agencies have perfected the art of defrauding the country through deliberate wrong computations, express diversion of funds, application of wrong accounting standards and non-inclusivelistingofallgovernment corporations under the FRA, 2007.

Speaking in Abuja when he led the management of the Commission on a courtesy visit to the Minister of Budget & National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, Muruako said, the Commission was already partnering with the Ministry of Budget and National Planning to ensure strict implementation of government policies and revenue drive.

He said the commission was ready to do more particularly with the falling oil revenue and the apparent need to diversify government revenue base, noting that it had come up with a new template for determining operating surplus to ensure proper remittance of revenue.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Projecting the Impact of FG’s N350 Billion Stimulus

Olaseni Durojaiye writes on how the N350 billion stimulus initiative of the Federal Government, which is similar to Barrack Obama’ $800 million stimulus that was introduced in the aftermath of the 2008 global economic crisis, will impact the economy

T

he signing of the 2016 budget by President Muhammadu Buhari last week may have lifted an overhang on the nation after the back and forth between the executive and legislative arms of government on the budget. The focus has now shifted to government’s strategic implementation plan for the budget to ensure significant implementation of it.

The focus shift is not misplaced given that the year is already nearing the half way mark when the document was signed. While the President has assured that the budget will be fully implemented even with the late signing, stakeholders will have to tarry awhile before coming up with a holistic appraisal of government’s strategic implementation plan until after details of it is revealed.

Speaking during the budget signing process, President Buhari had said: “The budget I have signed provides an aggregate of N6.06 trillion.

Further details of the approved budget as well as our strategic implementation plan for budget 2016, will be provided by the Honourable Minister of Budget and National Planning.

“The signing of the budget today will trigger concerted efforts to reflate the Nigerian economy, a key element of which is an immediate injection of N350 billion into the economy by way of capital project.

“To illustrate our renewed commitment to infrastructure development, the 2016 budget allocates over N200 billion to road construction as against a paltry N18 billion allocated for same purpose in 2015 budget,” he stated.

With the unveiling of government’s strategic implementation plan on Thursday, analysts and stakeholders have begun to debate government’s N350 billion stimulus, with particular emphasis on its sector-appropriateness and how it will impact the economy.

The discourse, observers opined, becomes more timely as the initiative took off on Friday with the disbursement of funds to contractors who have completed the processes of due diligence and are expected to return to site almost immediately.

Speaking earlier, Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, stated that, “from the Federal Ministry of Finance in anticipation of the approval of the budget, we have virtually lined up about N350 billion, which we would be pumping into the Nigerian economy in the forthcoming months.

We explained our rationale and the process that we have put in place, safeguards to ensure that this money actually achieves the desired objective which is to stimulate the economy.”

The Practice of Stimulus THISDAY findings revealed that stimulus is only one of available routes out of economic downturn.

In the aftermath of the global economic crisis in 2008, while Europe preferred austerity measure, the US under President Obama opted for stimulus.

It will be recalled that slightly over five years, President Barrack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, his $800 billion stimulus bill. According to reports, at the time, the U.S. economy was losing 800,000 jobs a month. In the fourth quarter of 2008, it had contracted at an 8 per cent annual rate, a Depression-level free fall.

“Today does not mark the end of our economic problems,” Obama reportedly said on February 17, 2009. “But it does mark the beginning of the end.”

And so it did. THISDAY findings revealed that The Recovery Act jump-started investments in power, road construction, healthcare and education among other sectors. It facilitated investments in clean energy in America, financing unprecedented investments in wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable sources of electricity. It advanced biofuels, electric vehicles and energy efficiency.

Further findings also revealed that the stimulus was invested in healthcare infrastructure and

A road project facilitated the use of electronic medical records in American hospitals. It also improved more than 110,000 miles of broadband infrastructure.

It launched Race to the Top, the most ambitious national education reform in decades, according to reports.

A February editorial article in TIME magazine on the Recovery Act stated that “… the Recovery Act succeeded in creating jobs, boosting growth and saving us from a much worse fate. We are still healing from the worst crisis in 80 years, but we’re well past the beginning of the end.”

It is against this backdrop that some chose to interrogate why the stimulus promised by government is rather restrictive and not as broad as what the US adopted to get out of the economic recession of the 2008.

Analysts’ Reactions Though analysts who spoke to THISDAY welcomed the initiative and insisted that it was one of the options open to economy managers when faced with similar situation as the country does, they however added that it would not have “dramatic impact “on the economy.

According to a Port Harcourt, Rivers State-based economist, “I expect that the stimulus will ease liquidity problem and help to create short-term employment particularly in the construction sector.

This is so because if contractors are mobilised to return to site, they will recall their workforce; this will help with employment and this will in turn boost purchasing power; that is on the short to medium term.

“On the medium and long term, when the roads are constructed, movement of people and goods will improve; particularly that of agricultural produce from the farms which are mostly located in the hinterland to the cities where the commercial consumption takes place. So it is a welcome development but it is not the real solution,” he stated.

Also, an economist and research analyst with a Lagos-based foremost economic advocacy group,

Rotimi Oyelere, said introducing the stimulus was “the right thing to do”, adding that injecting the fund into the economy “will stimulate consumption.”

According to him, “stimulus will jump-start the economy as money will come into circulation with the attendant multiplier effects. It will stimulate consumption; I expect that imports will come alive but it may not really impact local production.

On the appropriateness or otherwise of leaving out the education and healthcare sectors from sector that will benefit from the intervention, Oyelere argued that, “investing in education and healthcare sectors is for the long term. What the short to medium-term call for is to prioritise and that is what government is doing with the stimulus being spent on capital projects. The need to spend on capital projects and stimulate consumption is the best in the medium term. It is when the economy is stabilised that government can begin to look

Of course, it will have a stimulating effect on the economy as it will inject more liquidity into the economy but it will not have any dramatic effect on the economy. The problem is much bigger than that; the stimulus is only N350 billion, barely one per cent of the economy. Government has very limited resources

at those long-term indices,” he stated.

However, Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muda Yusuf, and Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Capital Nigeria, Temitope Popoola, both noted the limited resources available to government and insisted that the real stimulus that will grow the economy could only come from the private sector.

In separate interviews with THISDAY, they contended that government spending only accounts for 10 per cent of the economy arguing the private sector accounts for about 90 per cent.

Yusuf agreed that the fund would stimulate the economy, stressing that, “of course, it will have a stimulating effect on the economy as it will inject more liquidity into the economy but it will not have any dramatic effect on the economy. The problem is much bigger than that; the stimulus is only N350 billion, barely one per cent of the economy. Government has very limited resources.

Government probably contributes about 10 per cent to the economy; the real stimulus will have to come from the private sector.

“But that will not come if government doesn’t come up with the enabling environment. This doesn’t necessarily mean provision of hardware, like physical infrastructure; it has to be in form of policies and regulations that will encourage both foreign and local investment and businesses to thrive,” he added.

Popoola, who spoke to THISDAY on the side line of the Renaissance Capital Investor Conference, which ended in Lagos, yesterday, explained that, “in reality, the government is a small portion of output in Nigeria; government’s impact on the economy is about 10 per cent; the private sector is really what drives, whether Gross Domestic Product (GDP), growth and the economy. An example is the N300 billion bailout fund that was given to state governments; that was just like a drop of water on a patch; people tend to over play the hand of the government in an economy such as this but that is not the route to go,” he contended.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

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BUSINESS INTERVIEW

PHILLIP ODUOZA

Nigerian Banking Industry Remains Strong, Risk Management Very Robust Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, in this interview with Tokunbo Adedoja and Obinna Chima, on the sidelines of the just-concluded World Economic Forum on Africa that took place in Kigali, Rwanda, spoke on several issues including access to financing by SMEs, lending challenges faced by banks and the beaming of searchlight on banks by government agencies. While adding his voice to the devaluation debate Oduoza, who will be stepping down as the bank CEO in July, gave an overview of the banking sector with a submission that despite the headwinds occasioned by the fall in oil prices, the future of banking holds a lot of prospects

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INTERVIEW

With About 40% Penetration, Nigeria is Heavily Underbanked

Cont’d from Pg. 21

Oduoza

W

hat does the memorandum of understanding of a $100 million trade financing agreement signed between UBA and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) mean for your customers and other stakeholders?

For us in Nigeria and for our customers across Africa, it means that they have a source of funding for their transactions, especially the medium to long-term funds which you don’t normally find in the market easily. It implies that once you are importing goods from the US, then facility is available for you to draw upon. For us in Nigeria, for those that are involved in manufacturing, it will also assist them to a very large extent. So, it is not a question of one having a good project but there are no financing. So, it provides liquidity and financing and enables businesses to produce effectively.

A major challenge for SMEs in Nigeria and other African countries is access to finance. How easy will it be for SMEs to access this fund?

I can tell you that it is very easy to access once an SME entity meets the requirements. What do I mean by that? If you are producing for instance, and your products are in

the market and are in demand, if you come for the facility, you will be able to access it once your repayment capability is not in doubt. So, the fund is meant for everybody not just the large corporates. SMEs can benefit from that and everybody that qualifies should be able to benefit from it. The problem with SME financing is not just finance, they also have infrastructural challenges. So, because the very large corporates are able to withstand some of these constraints that we have, SMEs become troubled once we have an environment that is very unstable. Take for instance, an SME that has to generate power on its own, do you know the cost of diesel and generator running all the way? The question you ask yourself is if the SMEs have the capacity to push that cost to the final consumers and so on.

something like infrastructure is given.

But here, you are thinking of the generator breaking down, you are thinking of the branch connectivity and so, infrastructure ranks very high as far as that is concerned. Then, you

In the next few weeks, you will be stepping down as the chief executive officer of UBA. As a bank CEO, what were the challenges you encountered in leading one of Africa’s biggest banks?

I think the banking industry remains strong and governance is very strong compared with where we are coming from, risk management is very robust and I think the Nigerian banking industry is very strong

Any person that is running a business in a place like Nigeria and indeed most parts of Africa will indeed face a lot of challenges and the first and foremost challenge is infrastructure.

Now, your counterparts in Europe and most other parts of the world do not face such challenges because

also have all other issues associated with business such as uncertainty and volatility. Also, for banking business, the biggest concern is the willingness of borrowers to repay their loan. This is because if you have a situation where a borrower collects money and has the capacity to repay, but refuses to repay, it is a very big problem.

Now, what you do in that instance is that if you have a collateral, you start realising the collateral and the person goes to court to stop you and so on, and you will be in court for a very long time. So, it is a major disincentive to lending in Nigeria.

We also believe there should be some reforms in the legal system. Maybe to come up with commercial courts that will enable quick prosecution of lending cases and unwillingness to pay.

So, what do you think is the future of banking in Nigeria?

Nigeria is heavily under-banked.

We think that there are quite a lot of opportunities. Banking penetration in Nigeria is about 40 per cent. What I tell people is that the bank accounts that we have or number of customers we have in the banking industry is under 30 million. Now, the telcos have 160 million subscribers or thereabout. So, if you remove duplication of numbers, by and large, you probably have about 70-80 million subscribers. Bearing in mind that every GSM subscriber is

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INTERVIEW

With About 40% Penetration, Nigeria is Heavily Underbanked

Cont’d from Pg. 22

qualified to have a bank account, you now see the gap. So, the future of banking in Nigeria is very bright and we haven’t tapped into the retail space. But I believe that with the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and credit bureaux coming on stream, we would be able to start penetrating the retail space. Again, we also need to move away slightly from the kind of lending that we are doing right now. For instance, the big corporates should not be borrowing long-term from the banks. They should look at other ways of raising long-term funds such as bonds, they should look at some form of equity funding and so on, as against just borrowing directly from the banks for long-term projects.

So, they should look at long-term funding mechanisms.

What are the other benefits of the BVN project?

I think the BVN for the banking industry is more like a revolution.

It is going to open the retail space for us because one very big problem we have been encountering all these while is unique identification for customers. One customer shows up in one bank as Mr. A, shows up in another bank as Mr. B, borrows money and disappears. A fraudster defrauds a particular bank and goes to another bank to do same. So, the BVN will help us to check all these.

Once somebody commits a fraud and that fraud is flagged, you can never have the opportunity to commit such a fraud again in another bank or in the banking system because you may not have the opportunity to operate a bank account again. Also, if you have a serial borrower that has been defaulting, once he defaults, it is flagged and every other bank picks it up and it is very unlikely that banks are going to lend to you when they know that you have bad loans elsewhere. So, it will enable people to start behaving properly and also enable banks to role out more products especially in the area of lending.

Looking at the headwinds banks have experienced in recent time as a result of the drop in crude oil, do you think the financial institutions would come out stronger?

I believe that it is not only oil that drives banking. Yes, there are exposures in the oil and gas sector and you also have a lot of industries that are derivatives of the oil and gas sector. But you find out that a bank like UBA is very strong. The reason is because we have expanded beyond Nigeria. UBA has 18 countries in Africa where we have footprints and basically the African countries have

Oduoza

started contributing. They started from zero and by the end of last year, the African countries contributed 24 per cent to the profit before tax (PBT). By the end of first quarter of 2016, the African countries contributed 28 per to the PBT. Our ultimate objective is to achieve a 50 per cent balance. Now, when that happens, you find out that the impact of oil is not going to affect UBA much because you have a lot of funds coming from other countries that are not oil dependent. Having said that, I think there are quite a lot of other opportunities for banks operating in Nigeria. In the agriculture space, we have not really explored that. The total portfolio of Nigerian banks is about five per cent, which is very small. Also, the infrastructure space is also there. So, we should start thinking of public-private partnerships (PPP) and creative business models that would enable us create a bigger market as far as banking is concerned.

Flowing from the issue of headwinds, what is your position on the naira devaluation debate?

You see, there are so many ar-

guments about devaluation and no devaluation. There are merits in that and there are also disadvantages in devaluing. For instance, if you are not producing anything and you devalue, you probably will not get the benefits.

So, devaluation works where you are very productive and you are exporting.

So, it helps exporters. We need to weigh all the consequences before we comment on that. We cannot just devalue for the sake of devaluing. So, we should look at if before deciding to embark on that.

There are views that Nigerian banks are over-regulated and secondly that the industry is too exposed to political control. What is your take on that?

I do not think Nigerian banks are over regulated. I think you need to look at other jurisdictions and see the level of regulations that we have.

In fact, when we talk of regulations, I think one of the most regulated environment is the United States and we have seen all the fines, sanctions and other penalties. So, I do not think Nigerian banks are over-regulated and if anything at all, I think they are moderately regulated. Now, in terms of politically exposed-persons, I also do not think we have that in the banking industry. Yes, there may be some political elements that have been pushing their monies into the banking industry, but what you need to know is that the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing is making it possible for banks to role out very robust programmes to be able to check all those politically-exposed persons. So, I think so far Nigeria is doing good and it is a collective fight by everybody and not just the banking industry.

There are concerns that the fact that some government agencies are beaming their searchlight on banks might have negative effect on the industry and also erode confidence. Do you also hold that view?

Oduoza

No, I don’t think so. The government can beam its searchlight in any particular sector it feels there are issues.

You know the government has been beaming its searchlight on politicians for some time, government also beamed its searchlight on petroleum

The BVN for the banking industry is more like a revolution. It is going to open the retail space for us because one very big problem we have been encountering all these while is unique identification for customers. One customer shows up in one bank as Mr. A, shows up in another bank as Mr. B, borrows money and disappears…

Also, if you have a serial borrower that has been defaulting, once he defaults, it is flagged and every other bank picks it up and it is very unlikely that banks are going to lend to you when they know that you have bad loans elsewhere

marketers for some time and also on equities traders for sometime. So, I do not think it is going to bring about any negative publicity as far as the banking industry is concerned and so far we have not seen anything.

I am not ruling out the possibility of one or two isolated cases, but it is not one brush that should be used to paint the entire industry. So, I think the banking industry remains strong and governance is very strong compared with where we are coming from, risk management is very robust and I think the Nigerian banking industry is very strong.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

BUSINESS/ENERGY

Fuel being sold at a service station

A New Dawn in Petrol Pump Pricing

Industry experts had always observed that there will be such a time when Nigeria will have to embrace the economic realities of subsidising petrol consumption for its huge population. Finally, such a time has come, and with the federal government already caught in a catch-22 situation, it had no choice but to end payment of fuel subsidy to oil marketers. Chineme Okafor writes on the new dawn in fuel pump pricing from perspectives shared by stakeholders on the recent development

L

ast Wednesday, the federal government finally found the nerve to remove the subsidy on petrol consumption in Nigeria, stating that petrol would now sell for not more than N145 per litre in the country.

In doing this, the government chose to cut its losses in paying huge amount of money, which have overtime run into trillions of naira, to sustain the corrupt and hugely inefficient fuel subsidy regime. Successive administrations before the Muhammadu Buhari administration had sustained the subsidy regime despite sustained reports that it had no value to the country’s economy.

Discussions on retention or removal of subsidy on petrol consumption had dominantly featured in Nigeria as public debate.

At all times when the issue is discussed, it has always resulted to division in the polity with two factions often emerging - the government and economic experts on one hand, and labour movements reportedly working in the interest of the masses on the other.

Before the Wednesday announcement by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) that henceforth, oil marketers should not count on the government as it used

to do, Nigeria has reportedly spent trillions to subsidise petrol, the country also owes marketers outstanding subsidy payments running into hundreds of billions of naira.

Further, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, in providing details on the development said the meeting where the decision was taken had reviewed the country’s current fuel scarcity, supply difficulties, and the exorbitant prices paid by Nigerians for the product before opting for it. These prices, according to him, range on average from N150 to N250 per litre currently.

“We have just finished a meeting of various stakeholders presided over by His Excellency, the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The meeting had in attendance the leadership of the Senate, House of Representatives, the governors’ forum, and labour unions (NLC, TUC, NUPENG and PENGASSAN),” said Kachikwu.

According to him, the meeting also noted that the main reason for the current problem was the inability of importers of petroleum products to source foreign exchange at the official rate due to the massive decline of foreign exchange earnings resulting from low oil prices.

There are two components of the subsidy phenomenon. The first is the actual subsidy, which is the differential between the pump price and the landing and other costs of fuel. The second (and more disturbing component) is the blatant corruption inherent in the fuel subsidy regime. For several years, the Nigerian economy suffered severe bleeding from this phenomenon; with subsidy payments in the one trillion naira threshold, and even more

He stated that, “as a result, private marketers have been unable to meet their approximate 50 per cent portion of total national supply of petrol.”

The minister also noted that it had become obvious that the only option and course of action now open to the government was to remove subsidy. He thus stated that the following decisions were taken: “In order to increase and stabilise the supply of the product, any Nigerian entity is now free to import the product, subject to existing quality specifications and other guidelines issued by the regulatory agencies.

“All oil marketers will be allowed to import petrol on the basis of forex procured from secondary sources and accordingly, the PPPRA template will reflect this in the pricing of the product.

“Pursuant to this, PPPRA has informed me that it will be announcing a new price band effective today, 11th May, 2016 and that the new price for petrol will not be above N145 per litre.

“We expect that this new policy will lead to improved supply and competition and eventually drive down pump prices, as we have experienced with diesel.

“In addition, this will also lead to increased

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

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BUSINESS/ENERGY A New Dawn in Petrol Pump Pricing

Cont’d from Pg. 24

product availability and encourage investments in refineries and other parts of the downstream sector.

“It will also prevent diversion of petroleum products and set a stable environment for the downstream sector in Nigeria,” he said.

Petrol Price Hike and Subsidy Payments According to a report prepared by the Centre for Public Policy Alternative, subsidies were introduced in Nigeria’s oil sector in the mid 1980’s to amongst other objectives keep access to petrol within the reach of the masses but its value has not really translated into that.

Similarly, an academic report prepared for the Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

by Akov Terkimbi, a lecturer in the department of political science and public administration of the University of Uyo, explained that until September 30, 1976, Nigeria had no increase in pump price of petrol per litre.

The report however noted that following recommendations of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), the price of petrol was changed on October 1, 1978 from 8.4/5 kobo to 15.30 kobo, indicating an increase of 73.86 per cent.

The government, according to Terkimbi, explained that it needed to match galloping inflation, reduce cost of subsidising fuel, cut cost of governance and reduce pleasure-seeking life, hence the price hike.

Further price increments were made by the government in 1982 from 15.30 kobo to 20 kobo per litre; 1986 from 20 kobo to 39.50 kobo; 1988 from 39.50 kobo to 42 kobo and 1989 from 42 kobo to 42/60 kobo (42 kobo for commercial vehicles and 60 kobo for private vehicles).

Again on December 19, 1989, pump price was increased to 60 kobo across the board and then 70k before former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, left office.

The increment according to the report was reversed by the Interim National Government (ING) led by Mr. Ernest Sonekan as a carrot to gain legitimacy but then, it introduced a new pump price of N5 per litre.

The price was later slashed to N3.25 per litre by military head of state, Gen. Mohammed Abacha, and increased again to N15 in 1994 before it was reversed to N11. Subsequent increments included N15 and N20 in 1998 and 1999 respectively by General Abdulsalami Abubakar; N30, N25, and N22 in 2000 by President Olusegun Obasanjo; N26 in 2002; N40 in 2003 and N70 and N65 in 2007 and then N140 and N97 in 2012 by President Goodluck Jonathan.

While the pump prices have been hiked by successive governments, there have also been elements of subsidy at every point in time. However, over the past decades, the fuel subsidy regime has been plagued by corrupt tendencies of oil marketers and government officials.

There have been issues of sharp practices in the distribution of import allocations, approval of subsidy payments and actual release of subsidy cheques to beneficiary marketers.

As at the last count, over 25 oil importers have been linked to criminal acts relating to subsidy payments, they are also being investigated by the government for other kinds of fuel subsidy infraction. The regime had in 2010 alone cost Nigeria N600 billion and another N1.426 billion in the first eight months of 2011.

These amongst other resulted in the call for subsidy removal which the government did to save it from obvious economic embarrassments that could await it.

Experts Throw Weight behind Devt In support of the government’s action, various experts and professional groups including the Nigerian Association of Energy Economics (NAEE); International Institute for Petroleum Energy Law and Policy (IIPELP); Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) amongst others have said it was a good decision.

The Vice-President of IPMAN, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, said that the decision would help to end the persistent petrol scarcity in the country.

He added: “This is a good development; the best that will happen is complete removal of the subsidy.”

He also stated: “The price they put is a good one, but the best thing is to leave the market open so that people will decide what they want to sell after importation.”

The Director-General of LCCI, Mr. Muda

Will perennial long queues disappear with fuel subsidy removal?

Kachikwu

Wabba

Yusuf equally said the decision to liberalise the petroleum downstream sector was inevitable given the acute resource constraints that the country was faced with.

Yusuf, in a statement pointed out, that overregulation of the sector and the subsidy regime had put enormous pressure on government finances and on the country’s foreign reserves.

According to him, it was evident that the policy was not sustainable, stressing that the review was in the long-term in the interest of the economy and the people.

“Petroleum subsidy management has been characterised by serious transparency issues for several decades.

“There are two components of the subsidy phenomenon. The first is the actual subsidy, which is the differential between the pump price and the landing and other costs of fuel.

The second (and more disturbing component) is the blatant corruption inherent in the fuel subsidy regime.”

“For several years, the Nigerian economy suffered severe bleeding from this phenomenon; with subsidy payments in the one trillion naira threshold, and even more,” he pointed out.

MAN, in its reaction, also threw its weight behind the federal government’s decision to end the subsidy regime, while NAEE through its president, Prof. Wumi Iledara, said the decision will infuse efficiency and ensure that the downstream petroleum sector attracts the right kind of investments needed to transform it.

The chief executive officer of IIPELP, Dr. Tim

Okon, also stated that with the decision, the government had given private investors the green flag to go on and plan for investment in the downstream sector. He, however, picked holes at the capping of price at N145 per litre.

Labour Kicks However, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)

As at the last count, over 25 oil importers have been linked to criminal acts relating to subsidy payments, they are also being investigated by the government for other kinds of fuel subsidy infraction. The regime had in 2010 alone cost Nigeria N600 billion and another N1.426 billion in the first eight months of 2011

and its affiliate, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), have expressed their disappointment with the development , vowing to contest it.

NLC has vowed to resist the subsidy removal.

Its Secretary General, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, in a statement said that the increase was disingenuous and smacked of high handedness on the part of government.

Distancing itself from the decision, it said: “The unilateral increase in the price of petrol by government represents the height of insensitivity and impunity and shall be resisted by the Nigeria Labour Congress and its civil society allies.

“With the imposition on the citizenry of the criminal and unjustifiable electricity tariff hikes and the resultant darkness and other economic challenges brought on by the devaluation of the naira and spiraling inflation, the least one had expected at this point in time was another policy measure that would further make life more miserable for the ordinary Nigerians.”

Ozo-Eson described the increase as the most audacious and cruel in the history of product price increase as it represented not only an 80 per cent hike, but was tied to the parallel market exchange rate.

“Furthermore, the process through which government arrived at this is both illogical and illegal as the board of the PPPRA was not duly constituted,” he added.

The TUC on its part stated that it was not in support of the development.

According to the congress, ”the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria wishes to state emphatically that we do not know how the federal government arrived at the new price of N145 for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol.

“Neither do we appreciate how they arrived at their decision to allow market forces alone determine the cost of the product.”

It further said labour was invited to a meeting with the government in which discussions were held but that it was not aware there was such in the pipeline.

“The call for meeting stated no specific agenda, and we were left to conjecture. Little did we know that the government had already concluded plans to hike the price of petrol.

Indeed we were taken aback,” it said.

TUC noted that, “the meeting had the leadership of labour in attendance, but we never made any input. Not with the shock we experienced at the premeditated “ambush” by the government which clearly did not invite us for any dialogue.

“When they stated their plan to introduce the new prices, our response was to ask for time to consult with our respective executive organs and subsequently revert appropriately.

“The government representatives agreed.

And so we left. We were therefore totally confounded and shocked when we got to know that they later went on air announcing new prices for petrol.”

26

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Budget: After a Long Delay, Implementation is Key

Having been hit by hardship caused mainly by the controversy that bedevilled the 2016 appropriation bill, which led to the delay in its passage into law, the general expectation of Nigerians is optimal implementation of the budget for full impact, writes Kunle Aderinokun

Economic activities are expected to pick up with the implementation of the budget

T

he hue and cry over the 2016 appropriation bill ended when President Muhammadu Buhari assented to it the penultimate Friday. But what is pertinent now and which is the concern of Nigerians is the faithful implementation of the budget estimates that have become law.

After four months, Buhari signed into law the appropriation bill of N6.06 billion aggregate expenditure, which was N20 billion lower than the N6.08 billion proposed by the Federal Government and sent to the National Assembly in December 2015.

Just like the proposed budget, the final estimates were predicated on $38 per barrel oil-price benchmark and 2.2 million barrel per day, despite the downturn in the prices of crude oil at the international market. The final figures after passage by the legislature are : Recurrent expenditure, N2, 646,389,236,196; Capital expenditure, N1, 587,598,122,031; Fiscal deficit,N2, 204,936,925,711.16; Statutory transfers – N351, 370,000,000; Debt service – N1, 475,320,000,000 andDeficit/GDP – 2.14

per cent.

In signing the budget, which was witnessed by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Senate President, Bukola Saraki; and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Buhari said, the budget was intended to “signpost a renewal of his government’s commitment to restoring the budget as a serious article of faith with the Nigerian people.”

According to him, “this administration is committed to ensuring that henceforth, the annual appropriation bill is presented to the National Assembly in time for the passage of the Act before the beginning of the fiscal year.”

“Though the 2016 budget, aptly titled “Budget of Change, the government seeks to fulfill its own side of the social contract.

The budget I have signed into law provides for aggregate expenditures of N6.06trn.

Further details of the approved budget, as well as our Strategic Implementation Plan for the 2016 budget, will be provided by the Honourable Minister of Budget & National Planning,” he added.

Done with the signing of the budget into law, implementation is expected to commence in earnest. Buhari was

Pursuing an expansionary fiscal policy despite huge decline in revenues with a budget deficit that is to be financed principally through foreign and domestic borrowings is a clear indication that the final figures of N6.06 trillion are quite optimistic and extensive

optimistic that, the signing of the budget will “trigger concerted efforts to reflate the Nigerian economy, a key element of which is an immediate injection of N350 billion into the economy by way of capital projects.

“To illustrate our renewed commitment to infrastructural development, the 2016 budget allocates over N200 billion to road construction as against a paltry N18 billion allocated for same purpose in the 2015 budget.”

He said despite the current difficulties, his government would work extra hard to achieve his revenue projections.

Giving an idea of what to expect in terms of level of implementation, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said: “Our aim will always be 100 per cent implementation,” the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, told State House correspondents after the President assented to the budget.

“We know we started late and we may not achieve it. But 100 per cent achievement is our aim. The budget is a law, we will try to implement it as quickly as we can,’’ he added.

27

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

BUSINESS/ECONOMY Budget: After a Long Delay, Implementation is Key Besides, Udoma presented a breakdown of the budget and unveiled the Strategic Implementation Plan for the budget.

According to him, the 2016 budget was designed to actively pursue macroeconomic policies and growth strategies that will reflate the economy by investing in key infrastructure and social development.

He pointed out that it was anchored on six pillars, including economic reforms, infrastructure, social development, governance and security, environment as well as states/regional development.

The minister revealed that the government had earmarked N500 billion for social intervention projects. The social intervention projects, he noted, are in five areas, including job creation, school feeding, conditional cash transfer, enterprise programme, and STEM education grant.

Udoma enthused that “the plan will place the economy on the upward trajectory as it is repositioned for change, inclusive growth and sustainable development.’’

However, economic analysts and observers have their views about the budget and its implementation.

Former managing director of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Seni Adetu, said Nigerians had never experienced the kind of economic hardships they witnessed recently, said to have brought on them by the delay in presidential assent to the budget.

He therefore said, given this scenario, “we expect the economy to be reflated resulting in the boosting of disposable income and thus spending power, increased aggregate consumer demand, healthier businesses and potentially more jobs.”

“Furthermore, I fully expect to see an improvement in investor confidence home and abroad - with its multiplier effect on the economy, “ he added.

Stating that, “In terms of specifics, the final figures are not too different from what was sent to the National Assembly and at N6.06 trillion, we have a sizeable budget for the year,” Adetu enthused that, “It is heart-warming to note that a reasonable 30 per cent of this budget is provision for capital expenditure - a massive increase vs. previous years of single digits - and the setting aside of N200billion for roads particularly makes my day.”

Pointing out that, the most important thing was “flawless implementation,” he said,” I understand a monitoring and evaluation framework has been put in place - that is very encouraging. “ “I do not think we should set ourselves the target of a 100 per cent implementation given that almost half the year is gone, but at the same time, we need to be fleet of foot. For me, the killer deliverable is ensuring quality implementation and blocking all potential leakages,” the chief executive submitted.

In the same vein, Managing Director of XDS Credit Bureau Ltd, Mobolanle Adesanya, hoped the budget translated to the change that it was prepared to bring because the delay in its passage had put a lot of pressure on the economy.

She however informed that “in examining the 2016 budget and implementation, one must start by examining economic metrics such as exchange rate, revenue, inflation and unemployment. In the last 12months, the CBN has devalued the naira twice, the task then becomes how to stabilize the exchange rate and currently Nigeria suffers a shortage of FX supply.”

Adesanya added: “Again considering huge import dependence of the economy, there is need for local production and consequently reduced dependence on oil revenues especially at a critical time when the price of oil experiences year on year decline, consider 2014-2016, prices had decrease by 16 per cent from 2014 to 2015 and 42 per cent from 2015 to 2016 and daily production also suffers significant decrease.

Inflation has consistently been on the increase in 2015 from 8.2 per cent in

Cont’d from Pg. 27

Cont’d from Pg. 22

Buhari

Udoma-Udo-Udoma

Adeosun

January to 9.4 per cent in November 2015, which was caused partly by depreciation of the naira and stringent foreign exchange policies.

“In November 2015, the CBN reduced the monetary policy rate (MPR) from 13 per cent to 11 per cent and also reduced the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) from 25 per cent to 20 per cent. These actions were expected to increase money supply and boost economic activities, however inflation hit double digit (12.8 per cent) in April 2016 due to increased money supply, and increase of imported items despite unavailable foreign currency. As such the government had to manage inflation through alignment of fiscal, monetary, trade and industrial policies.”

Consequently, Adesanya wondered if the budget, its implementation and effect address this critical and frightful metrics sustainably with careful consideration for long-term economic strategies.

To her, “pursuing an expansionary fiscal policy despite huge decline in revenues with a budget deficit that is to be financed principally through foreign and domestic borrowings is a clear indication that the final figures of N6.06 trillion are quite optimistic and extensive” According to her, “A cursory look at the budget indicates that capital expenditure is proposed to increase by about 216 per cent from the preceding year, this should stimulate activities in the economic sectors and provide avenue for employment. Oil price decline also justifies the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, evidently the government plans to reduce over-reliance on oil revenue and reduce the country’s exposure to oil price volatility, by subsiding agriculture and boosting investment in solid mineral, such macroeconomic policies will achieve fiscal stability and non-oil sector competitiveness and as more goods are produced locally and exported, foreign exchange will likely improve.

The chief executive also said, “the government plans to increase borrowing to fund the huge budget deficit, debt to GDP ratio may increase to a proposed 14 per cent of the GDP which is adequate, compared to other countries in the world, on inflation the government intends to maintain current tax levels, however one can state that the budget is kind of stringent, and with reduced frivolous spending and job creation, the country might likely witness a single digit inflation in the long run.

“Clearly the implementation plan emphasises infrastructural development, job creation, diversification for reduced reliance on crude oil. All in a critical

aim to stimulate growth in other sectors of the economy and this will ignite entrepreneurship.

Adesanya however, concluded that, “for the implementation of this budget to be effective and truly felt, it must impact in everyday lives of the common man and this can only be felt, if there’s availability of electricity, fuel, kerosene and also impacts into the cost of foodstuffs, transportation and living before one can truly say there’s a real change.”

In his own analysis, Executive Director, Corporate Finance, BGL Capital Ltd, stated that “it is not enough that the budget has been signed into law”, it must also be “implemented for impact.”

He contended that, “since the problem with the Nigerian budget over the years is that of non-implementation, it follows that the 2016 budget is good, but only on paper.” According to him, “the entire country is waiting for its full implementation.”

Ademola, who described the budget

of N6.06 trillion for 2016 as an “audacious” one considering the level of income expected from Oil which has been the mainstay, said with the plan to realise only about N820 billion from oil income, “I would have expected that the government would reduce the total expenditure for the year to match the low expected income.”

In addition, he pointed out, “an increase in capital expenditure from N557 billion to N1.85 trillion illustrates the audacious nature of the budget. And starting with a zero-based budget, which appeared to be programmed, the budget gives the government the opportunity to focus on the sectors of interest.

He, however, said he liked “the structure of the budget which gave 30 per cent to capital expenditure despite the very high content of debt repayment, adding that, “I am also impressed with the funding sources for each of the items.”

“Although only an income of N3.8 trillion is expected to be available to finance the planned expenditure of N6.06 trillion, the deficit of N2.26 trillion would be financed by a combination of debt and recoveries of looted funds. Specifically, the sum of N1.8 trillion would be through debt while the balance is expected to come from recoveries of looted funds.

“In other words, the expected income of N3.8 trillion from oil and non-oil and N446 billion from loot recoveries would be used for recurrent expenditure including statutory transfers and debt repayment while the borrowings of N1.8 trillion would finance the proposed capital expenditure.

This is a very commendable feat as it meets the theory that debt-financed government spending can only be ‘sustainable’ where more of the resources are devoted to capital expenditures which provides import for the UK Golden Rule, constructed to ensure that government borrowing must be for investment only and not to fund recurrent spending,” he posited.

“It is expected of any government to prevent fiscal imbalances for a long period of time. While budget deficits are very appropriate in periods of economic slowdown or recession, government should have deficit reduction plan contained in a comprehensive fiscal policy programme; hence this 2016 budget and its plan of action is desirable,” he added.

To the Managing Director, Dunn Loren Merrifield Asset Management Ltd, Tola Odukoya, “the budget will add substantial tailwinds to the efforts being put in place to reflate the economy.” His view was “informed by the fact that the bill shows that the FG is looking to spend significantly in this regard.”

We know we started late and we may not achieve it. But 100 per cent achievement is our aim.

The budget is a law, we will try to implement it as quickly as we can... the strategic implementation plan will place the economy on the upward trajectory as it is repositioned for change, inclusive growth and sustainable development

28

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

NIGERIA’S TOP 50 STOCKS BASED ON MARKET FUNDAMENTALS

TOTAL OIL NIGERIA PLC: Macroeconomic headwinds greatly impacts performance

T

otal Nigeria Plc is a Marketing and Services subsidiary ofTotal; a multinational energy company operating in more than 130 countries and committed to providing sustainable products and services for its customers.

For over 50 years,Total Nigeria Plc has remained the leader in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry with an extensive distribution network of over 500 service stations nationwide and a wide range of top quality energy products and services.

Total Nigeria Plc (RC 1396) was incorporated as a private company on June 1, 1956 to market petroleum products in Nigeria. In December 11, 2001, the company had a successful merger which paved way for sustainable growth and continuous development.

Total Oil Nigeria Plc recently released its full year result ended December 31st 2015, showing significant decline in key performance indicators due to the tough operating business climate in Nigeria.

The oil giant delights investors by consistently paying dividend twice every year; a half year interim dividend and a final dividend at the end of the financial year. For the year ended December 2015, the Bank has declared a total dividend per share (DPS) of N14.00, comprising of an interim dividend of N2.00 already paid in 2015 and a final dividend of N12.00 payable in June 2016.

CAUTIOUS TRADING ON GLOBAL AND DOMESTIC CHALLENGES DEPRESSED REVENUE Total Oil Plc reported a 13.41% decline in revenue to N208.03 billion in December 2015 from N240.62 billion in the corresponding year of 2014.This was due to the challenging global and domestic oil market quagmires during the year.

Most Nigerian oil marketers struggled to grow revenue due to the sharp drop in petroleum product supply following the rise in importation cost as a result of the depreciation of the Naira and the sudden reduction in the regulated price of product in the domestic market without a clearer policy direction on how government intended to fund the eventual expanded subsidy implications.

Hence, the various payment disputes surrounding the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) allocation highlighted the cautious product importation by players including Total Oil Plc and the eventual scarcity that was witnessed in the last month of the quarter under review.

Expectedly, the Company recorded a decline of 9.17% in gross profit to N25.35 billion in December 2015 from N27.90 billion in the corresponding year of 2014, despite a reduction of 14.12% in costs of sales to N182.68 billion in December 2015 from N212.71 billion in December

IN ADDITION, WE EXPECT THE MODEST LEVERAGE IN THE BOOK OF THE COMPANY TO ALLOW IT SIGNIFICANT ROOM FOR DEBT DRIVEN GROWTH THROUGH BALANCE SHEET OPTIMISATION WHERE THE INDUSTRY IS FULLY DEREGULATED AND MARKET OPPORTUNITIES EXPANDED

2014. The company was able to prevent a growth in cost of sales through a rigorous cost saving and efficient operating structure as well as investment in research and development and training of employees on new measures and better production and service delivery techniques.

OPERATIONAL EXPENSES DAMPENS EBIT For the year ended December 31st 2015, Total Nigeria Plc’s selling & distribution expenses increased by 2.52% to N4.67 billion in December 2015 from N4.56 billion recorded in the corresponding year in 2014. Over the last few years, the company has struggled to curtail increase in operational costs due to high overhead cost ranging from the cost of delivering its product through trucking to all its retails outlets to high personnel costs due to staff recruitment to meet with its expansion plans and to help achieve its goals and objectives. In addition, the Company continued to invest heavily in the promotion of its popular “Quartz” oil lubricant aimed at further strengthening the ‘Total’ brand across the federation.

This is in addition to expenses incurred on repairs, maintenance and upgrade of some of its retail outlets nationwide.

All of these factors greatly impacted on operating profitability.

Furthermore,Total Oil recorded a moderate 2.78% increase in other

income to N1.20 billion in December 2015 from N1.17 billion over the corresponding year of 2014. In addition, Operating profit for the year dropped substantially to N6.26 billion in December 2015 from N9.11 billion in December 2014 despite a moderate rise of 2.52% and 1.40% in selling & distribution expenses and administrative expenses respectively.

REDUCTION IN FINANCE COST FAILS TO FORESTALL DECLINE IN NET EARNINGS Financial income increased enormously by 492.26% to N2.03 billion from N342m while Finance cost decreased significantly by 31.69% to N1.79 billion in December 2015 from N2.62 billion in December 2014. However, despite a higher rise in Finance income over Finance cost, net finance costs decreased massively by 110.55% to N240m from N2.28 billion during the year under review.

Profit before tax dropped by 4.94% to N6.50 billion from N6.83 billion, due to the aforementioned rise in other income. However, net income declined by 23.50% to N4.05 billion in December 2015 from N5.29 billion in December 2014, due to a massive rise of 58.73% in income tax to N2.45 billion in December 2015 from N1.54 billion in December 2014.

The company’s profitability and efficiency ratios dropped modestly.

Return on asset (ROA) decreased to 4.84% from 5.54% in the preceding year while return on equity (ROE) followed suit, decreasing to 24.92% from 33.21% over the same year. Pre-tax margin also followed the downward trend dropping to 1.95% from 2.20%.

SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN ASSET QUALITY Total Oil Plc. reported a decline of 12.42% in total asset to N83.65 billion in December 2015 from N95.51 billion in December 2014 while its total liabilities declined by 15.29% to N billion in December 2015 from N81.58 billion in December 2014.The decline in total assets is attributable to the following: 36.84% decline in other receivables and 31.18% decline inTrade and other receivables while on the flip side, the decline in total liabilities is attributable to the following: 13.36% decline in other borrowings and 17.97% decline in trade and other payables. However, despite the respective decline in both assets and liabilities, the company’s shareholders fund rose slightly by 1.96% to N16.24 billion from N15.93 billion over the year. 0 WE MAINTAIN OUR HOLD RECOMMENDATION We recognise the management’s effort in curbing its expenses which has been a major burden hampering

Valuation Metrics 13-May-16 Recommendation

HOLD

Target Price (N)

199.53

Current Price (N)

167.58

Outstanding Share(m)

339

Market Cap (N'm)

53,508

EPS (N)

11.92

PE Ratio

13.22x

Projected EPS

12.10

Projected PE Ratio

13.03x Source: BGL Research

Full Year 2015 Results Turnover (N'm)

208,027

Profit Before Tax (N'm)

6,495

Profit After Tax (N'm)

4,047

Pre-tax Margin (%)

3.12 Source: BGL Research

Full Year 2014 Results Turnover (N'm)

240,619

Profit Before Tax (N'm)

5,558

Profit After Tax (N'm)

4,424

Pre-tax Margin (%)

2.31 Source: BGL Research

Shareholding Information Shareholders

%

Total Societe Anonyme

Holding 45.24

Elf Aquitaine S.A.

16.48

Public Float

38.28 Source: Company Data 2015 AC, BGL Research

the profitability of the company.

In addition, we expect the Federal Government to resolve the recent dispute and disagreement between them and petroleum marketers over the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) allocation in the short to medium term, which greatly disrupted the supply and sale of petroleum products in the industry and accounted for not too impressive performance ofTotal Oil Plc so far in the year. In addition, we expect the modest leverage in the book of the Company to allow it significant room for debt driven growth through balance sheet optimisation where the industry is fully deregulated and market opportunities expanded.

Considering the above, we project revenue of N217.54 billion and net income of N4.11 billion for December 2016.This leads to a forward EPS of N12.10. Using an Industry PE multiple of 16.49x, we arrive at a target price of N152.09 and since this represents a 3.50% downside potential on the current price, we therefore maintain a HOLD on the stock ofTotal Nigeria Plc.

29

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

NIGERIA’S TOP 50 STOCKS BASED ON MARKET FUNDAMENTALS

WEMA BANK PLC – Growth in top line earnings impacted by interest expense

W

ema Bank Plc (Wema Bank), one of Nigeria’s indigenous banks was founded as Agbonmagbe Bank in 1945.

On June 1970, Agbonmagbe changed its name to Wema bank subsequent to the acquisition of substantial interest

by Oodu’a Investment Company (formerly known as Western Region of Nigeria) The Bank thereafter became a public limited liability company in 1987 and listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1990. The new Wema sprung up as a result of the CBN banking reforms with respect to minimum capital base, which saw the old Wema Bank and National Bank Plc merge to become Wema Bank PLC. The bank audited financial statement for the full year 2015 showed an mixed performance, as it was able to grow top-line earnings while profitability dropped slightly. Also, the recently released result for first quarter ended, March 2016 followed suit as gross earnings grew by 8.2% and profit after tax declined by a notable 17.9%. The performance was due to operational challenges arising as a result of regulatory challenges and macro-economic headwind, majorly foreign exchange difficulty prevalent during the financial periods.

A non-Executive Director of the bank, Mr. Babatunde Kasali representing the interest of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has resigned from the Bank in November 12, 2015.

INTEREST EXPENSE IMPACTS GROSS EARNINGS TO ERODE PROFITABILITY Gross earnings for full year 2015 grew noticeably by 8.73% to N45.87 billion from N42.19 billion in the corresponding year ended, December 2014; driven primarily by an remarkable rise of 109.47% in trading income. The rise in trading income was due to the enhancement in securities and derivatives trading portfolio.

Interest income increased by 4.72% to N37.13 billion in December 2015 from N35.45 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2014; this was driven by 39.96% growth in income from loans and advances.

Interest expense rose to N19.41 billion showing a 14.83% increase year on year from N16.90 billion due to increase in cost of customer deposits.

Similarly, non-interest income as a result of momentous improvement in

ALSO, WEMA BANK PLANS TO RAISE N20 BILLION IN THE YEAR TOWARDS A STRONG LIQUIDITY POSITION OF THE BANK AND POTENTIAL PROFITABILITY FROM INCREASED FOCUS ON LENDING WHICH WOULD CUSHION THE EFFECT OF CURRENT WAVE OF MACROECONOMIC HEADWIND, VARYING REGULATION AND LIQUIDITY WITHDRAWALS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF WEMA BANK

net gains from trading grew significantly by 29.82% to N8.74 billion for the full year 2015 from N6.73 billion recorded in the same period of 2014. Other key contributing factors include: 8.54% growth in fees and commission income to N5.66 billion from N5.22 billion which resulted mainly from increase in retail banking fees and commission which grew by 20.40%.

For the full year ended, December 2015, the Company’s total operating expenses rose by 5.94% to N23.42 billion from N22.10 billion in the corresponding period of 2014.

Expectedly, as a result of the increase in operating expenses impacting the growth in operating income, the Company recorded a marginal decline of 1.56% in profit before tax to N3.05 billion in December 2015 from N3.09 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2014. Taxation expense negligible decline of 0.45% to N718m from December 2014 figure of N721m; could not impact positively on pre-tax decline as profit after tax dropped by 1.90% to N2.33 billion from N2.37 billion over the period under review.

ASSET QUALITY YEAR ON YEAR Total assets grew by 3.71% to N396.74 billion from N382.56 billion recorded in December 2014. The primary reason for the improvement in asset size can be

traced to 24.32% increase in loans and advances to N185.6 billion from N149.29 billion over the same period, a 8.49% increase in cash and cash equivalent to N56.58 billion from N52.15 billion as at full year 2014 and a rise of 56.02% and 13.71% in other asset and properties respectively.

Total liabilities on the other hand also followed suit with an increment of 3.51% to N350.68 billion from N338.79 billion recorded as at December 2014, caused by a 13.04% increase in income tax liabilities to N383m from N339m over the same period and deposits from customers rising by 10.05% to N284.98 billion as at December 2015 from N258.96 billion as at December 2014. The increase in deposit was despite the movement of 18% of the Wema bank’s deposit to CBN during the year in compliance with the Federal Government’s directive for a Treasury Single Account (TSA).

However, long-term borrowings reduced to N52.29 billion from N58.38 billion, indicating a noteworthy decline of 10.43% over the same period. As a result of the higher growth in assets over liabilities, the company’s net assets stood at N46.06 billion from N43.77 billion, representing a 5.24% positive change.

Also, following stable figures in the balance sheet liquidity ratio stood at 24.18% which is higher than 22.44% of 2014. The Company’s Return on Average Equity (ROAE) stood at 5.18% as at December 2015 while Return on Average Assets (ROAA) is 0.60% as at the same period.

RECOMMENDATION: BUY Despite the regulatory policies in the banking sector which resulted in limited income generation and high cost of funds within the Nigerian financial system and the rising impairment charges due to exchange differentials, we believe the Bank’s management plan to reduce key expense lines towards optimizing the Bank’s cost profile, intensify low-cost deposit generation and launch of innovative products and loyalty schemes that will boost transaction-related commissions will lead to strengthened income generation for its shareholders. Also, Wema bank plans to raise N20 billion in the year towards a strong liquidity position of the Bank and potential profitability from increased focus on lending which would cushion the effect of current wave of macro-economic headwind, varying regulation and liquidity withdrawals on the performance of Wema Bank. In the long-term, growth in profitability for Wema Bank Plc would depend largely on the resulting effects of facilities

Valuation Metrics 13-May-16 Recommendation

BUY

Target Price (N)

1.11

Current Price (N)

0.79

Market Cap (N'm)

30,474

Outstanding Shares (m)

38,574

Rolling EPS

0.06

Rolling PE Ratio

13.09x

Forward EPS (N)

0.22

Forward PE Ratio

3.89x Source: BGL Research

Audited Full Year Results - 2015 Gross Earnings (N'm)

45,869

Profit Before Tax (N'm)

3,046

Profit After Tax (N'm)

2,327

Pre-tax Margin (%)

6.64%

Source: Company Report 2015, BGL Research

Audited Full Year Results - 2014 Gross Earnings (N'm)

42,187

Profit Before Tax (N'm)

3,094

Profit After Tax (N'm)

2,372

Pre-tax Margin (%)

7.33%

Source: Company Report 2014, BGL Research

Shareholding Information Shareholders Holding

%

% Holding

First Pen Custodian Nigeria Limited

34.92%

Neemtree Limited

17.90%

Odu’a Investment Company Limited

10.01%

Petrotrab Limited

8.54%

Others

20.61%

Outstanding Shares (m)

38,574

Source: Company Report, BGL Research

upgrade, expansion initiatives and increase in handling charges. We expect the initiatives to result in enhanced efficiency with potential growth in core business activities, revenue and profitability.

Therefore, we project gross earnings of N48.41 billion and net income of N2.81 billion respectively for the year ended December 2016; leading to a forward earnings per share (EPS) of N0.22. Using the PE Multiple method of valuation, we arrive at a 3-month target price of N1.11 indicating a potential upside of 39.94% and thereby recommend a BUY on the shares of Wema Bank Plc.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

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BUSINESS/ MEDIA

Repositioning LASAA for Optimum Performance

Raheem Akingbolu takes a cursory look at the activities of the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA) in the last six months and how the current leadership of the agency has tried to reposition it for optimum performance

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f all agencies of government in Lagos State, the creation of the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) could be said to have been the most topical.

At the twilight of Mr. Bola Tinubu’s administration as governor of the state, the government considered the agency as a solution to what was considered ‘a regime of lawlessness in the outdoor industry’.

Perhaps because of the cosmopolitan outlook of the commercial city and its population surge, the regulation of the outdoor sector, appeared cumbersome for the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).

In line with the aspiration to make the state compete with other mega cities of the world, government thus established LASAA to coordinate the activities of the outdoor practitioners.

For practitioners, who had gotten used to the old ways of doing things, the approach of the pioneer Managing Director of the agency, Mr. Makanjuola Alabi, was alien to them and they kicked. Armed with a political will to regulate and allocate sites, Alabi stood his ground and the rest became history. After Alabi, two other people – Mr. Tunji Bello, the current Secretary to Lagos State Government, and Mr. George Noah, a newspaper publisher, were appointed at different times to head the organisation and they both left their positive footprints.

Bello was the second managing director of the agency but he spent less than a year before he was appointed a commissioner by former Governor Babatunde Fashola.

During his brief tenure, he convoked of a stakeholders’ forum where he assured the outdoor agency owners that their businesses would be protected. Noah, who took over from Bello, was able to bring the agency closer to Out-of-Home practitioners, who once dreaded LASAA as a body created by government to ruin their businesses. He was said to have operated a door policy which gave room for periodic stakeholders’ engagement.

With the assumption of office of the

Ambode

Sanusi

current Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, a thoroughbred public administrator and accountant, many innovations were infused to the system. Sources close to the governor revealed to THISDAY that Ambode confided in some of his closest allies on the need to get tested hands and disciplined individuals to head strategic agencies of government to improve on the state’s internal revenue generation.

That was how the name of the current MD of the agency, Mr. Mobolaji Sanusi, a lawyer and columnist, came up and he was appointed six months ago. Six months after, Sanusi and his team have not only consolidated on what was met on ground, they have raised the bar on all fronts.

Few days ago, this reporter went to the agency on a fact finding mission and discovered that a lot of steps had been taken to prune down the excessive spending

of the agency. This, according to sources was necessitated by the need to cut cost and respond to current economic crisis bedeviling the nation. As a result of this the new Managing Director, promptly reduced the departments in the Agency from seventeen to seven, with just three units. And as a leader, who wanted to lead by example, Sanusi was said to have jolted many staff when he began to get to office before 8am every day. For those, who were used to walking in around 9am or 10am, the early resumption of the CEO sent a message of change. He followed this up by creating a day for sanitation exercise.

With this approach, the new MD succeeded in improving on staff ethics, attitude and approach to work. It also rubs on positively on the improvement of staff appearance, outlook and dress code. The sanitation day, which commenced

towards the tail end of last year, has also impacted well on the operation of the agency considering the fact that it has helped in the identification of poster and banner black spot. It has also helped to develop zero tolerance for indiscriminate pasting of posters. For effectiveness, all staff allocated official vehicles were assigned work areas within their local government of residence; to identify areas of visual blight with respect to signage.

Among other reformative approaches, the Agency’s internal processes have been improved while a seamless business processes have been put in place to bring about improved service delivery, revenue generation and debt recovery. For easy accessibility, the agency’s branch offices have been realigned. Internally, Sanusi and his team are said to have invigorated the procurement office.

To bridge the gap between stakeholders and the agency, LASAA met members of the Outdoor Advertisers Association of Nigeria (OAAN) on Friday, October 15, 2015. At the meeting, relevant issues were discussed towards ensuring harmonious relationship between both parties. Two weeks after, precisely on October 28, 2015, the agency organised a parley with the Brand Journalists’ Association of Nigeria (BJAN), where the new helmsman briefed the media on his plans to breathe a fresh air into the agency.

Meanwhile, as part of the moves to make the agency more interactive, Sanusi and his team increased LASAA’s social media engagement. This explains why the Agency has consistently engaged the public on its various social media platforms, especially facebook and twitter. In a way, this and other customer relation approaches have improved the agency’s customer service delivery and enhances professionalism.

In a country where sustainability is always a challenge, pundits believe that if the current leadership of the agency can maintain the track, the activities of LASAA can be a major boost to the Ambode’s administration in Lagos State.

the refuse into the street, but her inner mind told her not to do so; she listened and dropped the refuse in a trashcan. Another one showed a man wanting to dash across an expressway, but his conscience spoke to him and directed him to take the pedestrian bridge.

The campaign also countered the assumption that Lagosians don’t care about others. For example, the campaign showed testimonial of a physically challenged person who shared his experience of how Lagosians rescued him at his hour of need.

The campaign showed that Lagosians actually run to help total strangers at times of emergency or even in simple matters like helping an elderly person or children cross the road, or calling the emergency number when a neighbour’s house is under attack.

One exciting and engaging aspect of the campaign was the Spirit of Lagos Song Contest. It was meant to make the youth to imbibe the message through music. Youths were challenged not only to compose a good song for Lagos but also to sing it. The campaign sought to tap into the creativity of the youths as well as their interest in music as a way of expressing themselves as well as a longing for participation in a worthwhile cause. Participants were directed to tap into the potential of Lagos, especially on the four areas of social justice, citizenship, civic responsibility and

good neighbourliness, and develop a compelling song that would become the theme song for the Spirit of Lagos.

Many entries were received. Then a panel of respected music judges pruned down the entries to the best five. The last five songs were posted online for public voting. Mr Amadin Samuel Ihegie emerged the winner. His song was later professionally produced. It was played live at the 2014 Citizens Day event by the composer, backed by known and well established musicians.

These were some of the activities that were carried out by the Spirit of Lagos project to change the way Lagosians think about Lagos and inspire them to play their part in building a new Lagos.

Most times, leaders seek to fight problems from the top by tackling big issues. But it is cheaper and more effective solving little problems that eventually lead to the bigger problems getting solved or becoming easier to solve. Therefore, the effectiveness of how little things can make a big difference cannot be over-emphasized. This was captured through the broken windows theory, an academic theory proposed by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982 that used broken windows as a metaphor for disorder within neighbourhoods. Encyclopaedia Britannica explains that the theory links disorder and incivility within a community to subsequent occurrences

of serious crime.

Author of The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, did extensive research on how little things can make a big difference also using the broken windows theory. His words: “Wilson and Kelling argued that crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes.”

If people notice that people cross highways without any penalty, that they can drop refuse on the road without any penalty, that they can urinate on the roadside without any consequence, it creates a sense that nobody is in charge, and purse snatchers are emboldened to act. This spreads to other bigger crimes. But when the people and the government work hand in hand to ensure that there is order in society, the people feel safer, happier, and more willing to support the programmes government has lined up to lift the state higher.

By the actions he has taken so far in less than one year in office, the government of Ambode is doing well in revitalising Lagos. But bringing back a campaign like the Spirit of Lagos will even make him achieve more results.

Nostalgia for the Spirit of Lagos Campaign

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ecently there have been comments in the mainstream media and social media about the need for the return of the Spirit of Lagos campaign. A former THISDAY staff, Mr Azuka Onwuka, in an opinion article recently published in The Punch, entitled: “What happened to the Spirit of Lagos?” elicited reactions from various quarters.

In the article, he asked what happened to the campaign which was already making inroads into the psyche of Lagosians. He noted that as the golden jubilee anniversary of Lagos draws near (May 2017), now is the appropriate time to bring back the campaign by the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration, so as to galvanise Lagosians into changing their thinking about Lagos, taking ownership of the state and working towards making it better by taking simple actions that coagulate into huge mass.

While it was in operation, the Spirit of Lagos campaign, whose central message was “Change your Thinking,” ran adverts and commercials which spoke to the conscience of Lagosians to do the right thing rather than doing things because others were also doing them. For example, there was a TV commercial that showed a woman who had swept her house and was about to throw

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TRAVEL

Edited by Demola Ojo Email demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

View from the Master Bedroom balcony

PHOTOS: Demola Ojo

Atlantis Dubai and its $30,000 Royal Suite Demola Ojo writes on the signature suite of one of the world’s leading resorts…

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rdinarily, staying in any of the 1,539 rooms at the Atlantis, The Palm resort in Dubai is an experience in itself. The 5-star hotel is located at the apex of the iconic Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, with views of the Arabian Gulf. It was the first resort to be built on the island and is themed on Atlantis, the mythical city that sunk into the Atlantic Ocean.

Like most things Dubai, Atlantis the Palm has luxury and opulence written all over it. The architecture is distinctly Arabian, with design and décor fit for sheikhs.

Staying close to the Atlantis theme, the resort is famous for its Lost Chambers Aquarium where guests can swim and feed sharks and rays among 65,000 marine animals. All Atlantis hotel guests receive unlimited complimentary entry to the aquarium as well as the Aquaventure Waterpark, rated first in the Middle-East and Europe.

Obviously, this includes occupants of the Royal Bridge Suite, which sits on the 23rd floor, linking the East and West towers of the hotel.

If you think the Atlantis is out of this world, the Royal Bridge Suite manages to elevate the surreal feeling to another level. Royal is certainly the only way to describe one of the most expensive hotel suites in the world.

The suite has its own guarded entrance and elevator along with a dedicated team of people from butlers to chefs on hand to cater the needs of guests who, surely, would have tags like royal or presidential

ascribed to them.

The legendary Royal Bridge Suite - described as the crown jewel of Atlantis’ iconic Signature Suites - is private, exclusive and truly unique, with unrivalled panoramic views of the gulf and the palm islands.

The living room is very spacious with floor to ceiling windows and balconies on either side. Aptly placed in the sitting area among many other decorative pieces, is a giant chess board.

The suite has a dining area, a bar, a spa, a kids’ room with twin beds and a huge study.

The suite accommodates six adults and three kids in a three-room configuration. Each room takes a maximum of two adults and an infant in a cot. As can be expected, rooms come with Jacuzzis and walk-in wardrobes.

The expensively furnished rooms have large flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi and minibars. The master bedroom has its own balcony with lounges to lie in the sun while enjoying the amazing views.

Expectedly, room service is available 24 hours, even though there are 23 restaurants in the resort.

Included with each room are two complimentary dolphin encounters at the Aquaventure Water Parks and complimentary private cabanas, available at the pool or by the popular Nasimi beach.

All these for a princely sum of $30,000 a night! The management of the hotel guards the identity of suites guests very jealously. The most they could reveal was that it is home for Emirati royals and some of the world’s most famous celebrities.

Atlantis as seen from Nasimi Beach

Section of a living room

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

TRAVEL/PERSPECTIVE

Canada Immigration : Quebec Investor Programme Targets 1,900 Applications Kunle Aderinokun

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or desirous individuals seeking second citizenship in Canada, there is no need to wait or dilly dally as the Quebec Immigrant Investor Programme (QIIP) opens on May 30, 2016.

Although, the programme is intended to remain open until February 28, 2017, it would close as soon as the target of 1,900 applications, including up to 1,330 from Chinese passport holders is reached.

The programme had closed January 29, 2016, just two months before March 31, 2016, the end of the Quebec government financial year, which opens on April 1 of every year. Consequently, however, on March 29, 2016, Quebec’s Minister of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) announced that the QIIP will reopen on May 30, 2016 until February 28, 2017 - or earlier if maximum quota is met.

QIIP is targeted at experienced managers who have a net worth of at least 1,600,000 CA$ and who are interested in making a passive investment of 800,000 CA$ (financing option is available) guaranteed by Quebec government through an authorised broker. In return, selection by Quebec as an immigrant investor leads to permanent resident status in Canada for applicants and their families, the first step towards Canadian citizenship.

Why is it important not to wait? In January, 2016, the Quebec Bar expressed concerns about a possible lack of procedural fairness in the Quebec selection process. Through a request for access to information, the Quebec Bar was able to obtain the number of selection certificate applications from qualified workers and

investors that were refused by Quebec between 2010 and 2014. It found that the majority of refusal were based on a lack of proper documentation, not because people did not provide the documents requested but rather because these documents did not meet the MIDI very strict requirements.

Very few specalised immigration lawyers have experience in assisting in the complex and important immigration processes.

One of the few specialised immigration services that have carved a niche for itself is JTH Lawyers Ltd, a Canada-based firm, which offers full-range of services to high

net worth individuals (HNWI), seeking to acquire foreign nationality for themselves and their family.

Led by Mr. Julien Tétrault, a Québec lawyer and former President of the Immigrant Investor section of Québec Lawyers Abroad, JTH Lawyers runs QIIP, established in 1986, which is one of its three programmes that are considered the most attractive to Nigerian HNWI. The others are the US EB5 (operational since 1992) and the Antigua and Barbuda programmes.

According to Tetrault, “Canada was one of the very first countries back in 1986

to open immigration to business owners and top managers, in spite of the usual criteria of age, language and education.

Thirty years later, the Quebec Immigrant Investor Programme is still one of the most sought after destination for HNWI as they understand Canada is a fine stable, peaceful country with one of the best education and medical system in the world.

“Whether for their own ease of travel without visa, for children education and future, reasons are many but they come down to a common factor: the highest level of expertise, and highest level of trust.”

“I hope the trend continues, but I hear fewer stories about scammers: I think people are now more cautious about who they retain for their immigration matters.

As an experienced Quebec lawyer, I have had the chance to earn a solid reputation in Nigeria for the last 10 years, and I am always happy when potential clients ask me for credentials. I am also happy to see that despite the current challenges of Nigeria economy, people still see the long term interest in getting has helped over 1 000 business people and their families from over 60 countries obtain permanent residence in North America (Québec, Canada and the USA),” he added.

As part of the benefits of pursuing QIIP, Tetrault pointed out that, “Quebec offers the possibility for you and for your children to learn another language, a very useful tool in this day and age. Children will have access to a world class education system that is free until college level.

You will save about 30 000 CA$ per child at the university level.

Contributing to a high quality of life, crime rate is low in Quebec and housing is affordable. Prices in Montreal are significantly lower than in Toronto and Vancouver for instance. “

Engaging Maritime Judges for Sector’s Growth Martins Uba Nwamadi

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ne quality of a good leader is the ability to see something no one else can see. In human history, achievements were products of dreams and ideas.

When in December 1995, Nigerian Shippers’ Council engaged into a thematic discussion to start the Maritime Seminar for Judges, little did they realize that they were trying to unbundle the future of maritime laws that has been hindering and creating bottlenecks in our trade facilitation.

The intention was also to help in resolving and untying some legal issues that are of international dimension while enriching our maritime laws.

Moreso, at this era of globalization and e-commerce the importer, exporter, oil and gas merchant, ship charterer, terminal operator, big players in insurance industry must not only be responsive but also start appreciating issues bordering on international maritime laws and conventions.

The Maritime Seminar for Judges is therefore designed to address the intellectual needs of the maritime industry or better still a window to provide intellectual analyses on the numerous international conventions and regulations affecting the maritime industry.

Over a period of time, it has been pointed out that international politics and its associated maritime laws are often skewed against third world countries hence the seminar has equally offered perspectives on how to redress the imbalance by championing the domestication of favourable laws, manpower training, as well as bringing the bench and the bar together to examine emerging laws and offer solutions.

This attribute is in line with the goals of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) a specialised agency of United Nations which has its cardinal objective of facilitating global

co-operation on regulations and practices affecting international shipping.

But one critical question stakeholders and key operators in the industry often ask is, how has the series impacted positively in the maritime sector?

Executive Secretary/CEO, Hassan Bello, has been part of the engagement since he joined the Council in 1997. It is not out of place if we call him the curator of the Maritime Seminar for Judges.

According to him, the seminar has evolved with time as a result of the synergy between the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the National Judicial Institute (NJI), the Maritime Law Association as well as the support of the Federal Ministry of Transport which have tremendously helped to shape intellectual discussions on maritime laws and conventions.

Bello explained that the maritime subsector of the nation’s economy has greatly benefited from the seminar series as a result of reduction in the length of time within which maritime claims are resolved thus saving importers and exporters time and money especially in matters involving arrest and detention of ships in admiralty claims.

Furthermore, domesticating international maritime laws is a serious responsibility which provides every maritime stakeholder a code of conduct so as not to fall into unlawful practices. It accelerates international trade as, Nigeria being a member of World Trade Organization, such laws help to guide our international business environment.

In fact the ability of our importers and exporters to understand the rudiments of international trade and equally the ability of our legal system to domesticate major outstanding conventions into our national laws will go a long way to not only accelerate our aspiration to be a maritime nation but will confer on us a status of a nation that obeys rules and conventions.

Giving more insight into what The Maritime

Seminar for Judges has done on our national psyche, Justice Ibrahim Auta OFR who has been the Chairman of the Seminar Planning Committee for about four years said that the goals and objectives of the seminar have been largely achieved.

Justice Auta emphasised that the continuing education of the Nigerian Bench and the bar for understanding of principles of admiralty law, so that judges will be equipped to determine issues before them have been achieved through this window.

Secondly, the seminar has offered Judges and Lawyers the opportunity to appreciate and recognize the commercial and international nature of admiralty law, and also its import to the national economy thereby establishing and strengthening the nexus between the judiciary and the maritime commercial interest.

Thirdly and most importantly, the seminar provides a robust platform for the promotion of uniformity of international laws and conventions amongst others.

But what does the seminar portend for the future as stakeholders request that the organizers endow a chair in some universities on maritime law so as to encourage and attract pupil lawyers to this lucrative sector of the law.

The protagonists of this opinion further canvass that the global village syndrome and the new attraction to World Trade Centers have its legal issues to unknot hence we require well grounded lawyers in this area. They also suggest that the bi-ennial seminar should be yearly. The two year gap gives room for intellectual inertia.

The group is also canvassing the opinion that the Planning Committee should market the seminar to international corporate organizations operating in Nigeria especially Oil Exploration Companies, Ship Owners, Airlines, Insurance Companies, Banks and Telecommunication companies to partner with the council in executing the seminar.

Giving a pep into the 14th Maritime Seminar

for Judges holding in Abuja from May 31 to June 1, 2016, Barrister Vongtau, Director Legal Services Nigerian Shippers’ Council stated that we must begin to domesticate those international conventions and rules which will govern international interactions either now or in the future.

Today’s norms and considerations are no longer those that prevailed in the past and with ultra-fast technologies, maritime laws can be domesticated within a very short period of time. One aspect of the reforms going on in the judiciary is the growing use of information and communication technology that is evolving. This has created conducive environment for judges and lawyers to research easily thereby creating room for knowledge, information and ideas. If we want to match the speed at which the maritime world is developing, we need to quickly adapt and change to the global concepts.

Vongtau said that the 2016 Maritime Seminar for Judges promises to be more engaging and intellectually driven given that already many countries like Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Britain, and some ECOWAS countries, have all indicated interest to participate in the summit.

Given the assurance from the Planning Committee of the Seminar, it is therefore germane to state here that the Maritime Seminar for judges has become a critical instrument in achieving IMO’s goals.

We salute their dexterity and commitment to unbundle Nigeria’s Maritime Laws. The seminar has attracted an effective rhetorical comparison and index on how, through maritime laws, international trade disputes are settled with less strain. But most importantly for bringing members of the Bench and members of the Bar into one room to rub minds on critical maritime issues affecting our national economy.

–Nwamadi is a media practitioner based in Lagos.

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

SHINA PELLER

STORY OF A MAGICIAN’S SON

15.05.2016

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COVER

Shina Peller

SHINA PELLER

STORY OF A MAGICIAN’S SON Shina Peller, son of late magician, Professor Peller, reveals to Nseobong Okon-Ekong how he acquired his impressive wealth including a N1 billion night club, which has caused disquiet in many quarters

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he previous night was long. Like many nights since he started taking his own decisions, he comes alive from about midnight and continues stomping till the early hours of the morning. The appointment had been rescheduled for the umpteenth time, but his aide gave the assurance we would meet in his home in Lekki, Lagos. It turned out to be about a twohour wait. In between time, we were assured again. At different times, he was said to be freshening up and later on a conference call.

Climbing down the staircase, he held up the middle of his long kaftan, apparently to avoid it getting in the way, between his legs. Smiling with his right hand stuck out for a shake as he drew closer, while apologising that he had only gone to bed at 7:00am,

he offered an option of fielding the questions in another section of the house.

Fresh faced with his hair neatly cropped, the recent session of grooming did not quite mask the emerging bags under his eyes. At 40 years, he admits that he had put his body through a punishing routine over the years.

The hint of his demanding work is the tell tale bags in its early formation stage under his eyes. Call him Shina Moshood Abiola and he will be lost in the haystack. Like every member of his family, they have become known by the name (Professor) Peller, an alias his father assumed as his fame as a magician grew.

So, today he will boldly step forward as Shina Peller!

Although, he has packed a bunch of achievements under his belt, he is not about to slow down. Many men

his age and even those older than him would give anything to have what he has in assets. Perhaps, his best known investment, Quilox Night Club, which is arguably worth N1 billion has a gale of rumours about hm. Unveiled three years ago, it has become the hottest spot for night life in Lagos. Some say he must be laundering money for politicians and civil servants. No, it is ritual or magic money (after all is he not the son of a magician who is versed in magical art himself?), others argue or from a string of successful scams. The suppositions are legion. Many wonder where he sprang out from with such an impressive stash of cash.

Unruffled by the seeming disturbing theory in many quarters, he leaned forward in his seat as if to be sure every word is captured by the recording device. Precept upon precept, he began to expose the foundation of his wealth.

“First of all, I was born into a wealthy family. It is known to everybody that my father was wealthy.”

Not one to depend on the family wealth, Shina claimed that the only time he ever earned an upkeep from any source was during the mandatory one year national service in Abia State.

“I have never worked for anybody. I started out in business when my father was alive. I started from buying and selling clothes. From Onipanu where we lived then, I would come to Lagos Island to buy stuff and then sell in the area to my friends and people who were older.”

In 2004, he left Nigeria for London.

In no time, he was able to find his feet and started trading in construction equipment. “I was buying stuff from there to sell in Nigeria. I started trading in the oil and gas industry. I started from the downstream sector by just

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Quilox Night Club

Peller

doing some bit of diesel supply. I started with Aquila Global Resources. I had an office at Apapa. I was supplying diesel to houses, then I started doing 33,000 litres, from then I started buying bulk products from people who brought products into the country. Some people would give me access to 30 trucks, that is already one million litres. I would sell, bring back their money and get my gain. From there I started buying a few trucks. I got help from banks, particularly FCMB.” Quilox wasn’t his first foray into the night club business. The initial attempt was a partnership that failed. “I was a partner in Grotto, for about two years.

There was a time that Grotto was reigning a lot. The partnership went sour. When we decided to dissolve the working relationship, I wanted to do something by myself.”

“My budget to start Quilox was N35 million. I wanted to rent a place, make some renovation, get light and a DJ, but there is this drive in me that says what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. I got on the internet for fact finding about night club business.

I decided to travel abroad to see how night clubs are set up and run. I went to Miami. I went to Paris and London.

By the time I got back, my perception about night club had changed. I was left to take a decision to use what I had to get what I needed.”

Clearly outlining how the outlay to prosecute his Quilox dream came about, he revealed a bold, risky march that could only have been embarked on by a brave investor. “I had a petrol station in Okene. I sold it. I had about 28 trucks. I sold them. That is why Quilox

HIS WIFE WHO HE MET 19 YEARS AS A STUDENT OF ACCOUNTANCY AT THE OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY, ILE IFE HAS SINCE BECOME AN ACCOUNTANT… THE BOND BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE IS SUCH THAT SHE UNDERSTANDS THAT DRINKING AND WOMEN ARE PART OF THE FARE IN HIS LINE OF DUTY. HOWEVER, SHINA SAID HE HAS DISCIPLINED HIMSELF SO MUCH THAT HE WOULD NOT BE EASILY CARRIED AWAY. “IT IS A CARDINAL RULE THAT YOU DON’T GET HIGH ON YOUR OWN STUFF.”

took a long time. I started building it in 2011 and the business was launched in 2013 with a little bit of help from banks, as well, particularly Heritage Bank.”

To be sure, Shina is not a one-shop investor. The Aquila Group consists of Aquila Oil and Gas. “We used to trade in the downstream sector but right now from the last Offshore Technology conference that I attended in America, I have been working with technical partners to restructure and go into upstream. We are in that process.

Aquila Global Resources is the arm of the business that I use for contract.

We have a dredging company. There is also Aquila Records. It is a platform to develop young Nigerians. I have three artistes and my brother is one of them. My brother has passion for music. It is what he wanted to do from school. I did not set up the company because of my brother. I did it because I want to give opportunities to young and talented Nigerians who want a place in entertainment. We have Aquila Building and Project. When I was in London, I used to buy construction equipment and send it to Nigeria, I would rent or lease them. Aquila Building and Projects built Quilox. We now work for others.”

He explained why his person and businesses have become synonymous with Quilox. “It is a customer-centred business and it attends to an average of 2,000 people weekly. It puts me out there more. Most of my other businesses are operations oriented.

They don’t have to see me. Most of the time, I don’t go to the site, except I need to inspect. I like going out at night and if I have a business that is running, I

can’t leave my business and go to other clubs. People know that I am a very hard working person. I hardly have five hours of sleep in one day. Sometimes, I go straight for 48 hours without sleep.

I can say I have been so hard on myself because when I achieve one thing, I want to move on to something else.”

Interestingly, Shina has carved out a window for rest that is unique to him. This has been informed by his consideration for piety. Quilox has an 11-month calendar. The business shuts down for one month, purposely to return to its drawing board. Most of the time, it falls into the Ramadan (the month long Moslem fasting period).

“I make it fall within the Ramadan.

This is because I can use one stone to kill two birds. As a Moslem, I want to concentrate on the fast. I have already made up my mind that my business runs for 11 months, so I will just take my break during the Ramadan.”

For Shina, operating in the entertainment industry is a familiar terrain he had tread since childhood.

The interest came from his father. “My dad was a frontline entertainer himself.

His line of entertainment was just different. It was an uncommon line, being a magician. I must confess, before now, I used to have interest in the glitz and glamour of entertainment. Now, I focus more on the employment and the revenue generation potential of the industry. Night clubbing may be seen as glamorous, that is on the surface. From the back end, it is actually more work especially with the kind of structure that I have in Quilox. It is positioned as a luxury lifestyle brand aimed at giving fantastic experience to premium

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Peller at work

customers. It is more work than just the entertainment. A lot of people in Nigeria look at night club owners as persons who are on a long stretch of fun, but it is actually more work.”

Committed to building a multidimensional, exciting brand out of Quilox, Shina has already begun the offer of rare lifestyle experiences.

He argued that Quilox is the first purposely up-to-standard built night club in Nigeria. “Outside Quilox Night Club, we have invented Quilox Ultra Pool Party, which is actually a day party. It is every last Sunday of the month. We have not missed any since September last year. We hold it at a place called Tickle Bay on Lekki-Epe Expressway. It is actually a different experience. It is like a Vegas Party. We have performance by artistes. There is always a dance competition. We do a lot of games, as well. Wizkid and I actually had a swimming competition, swimming from one end of the pool to the other. We are also working a different experience like a Quilox Holiday. We are planning to have a Quilox Party in Miami. It is just about lifestyle branding. We have a restaurant in the pipeline.”

Often appearing happy and bubbly, Shina said the saddest day of his life was in 1997 when his father died. He recalled that the elder Peller was fun to be with. “Every child of my father understands magic like the back of their hands. Growing up, whenever we were not in school, we joined him on tour. We all looked forward to those trips. My father was a very open person, he taught us everything. My dad was actually a very jovial person too. Whenever there was power outage, he would hide behind the door and try to scare us by grabbing you suddenly.

When he wants to be good, I can call

I MUST CONFESS, BEFORE NOW, I USED TO HAVE INTEREST IN THE GLITZ AND GLAMOUR OF ENTERTAINMENT. NOW, I FOCUS MORE ON THE EMPLOYMENT AND THE REVENUE GENERATION POTENTIAL OF THE INDUSTRY. NIGHT CLUBBING MAY BE SEEN AS GLAMOROUS, THAT IS ON THE SURFACE. FROM THE BACK END, IT IS ACTUALLY MORE WORK ESPECIALLY WITH THE KIND OF STRUCTURE THAT I HAVE IN QUILOX. IT IS POSITIONED AS A LUXURY LIFESTYLE BRAND AIMED AT GIVING FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE TO PREMIUM CUSTOMERS

him my best friend. Sometimes, I could call him my worst enemy, because as a child, sometimes, I would want something that he would refuse flat to give it to me, not an essential thing, perhaps I want his car, for instance, and I had already boasted to friends that I was coming out in that car and then he would just say, ‘no you can’t have the car.’ At such times, my father could be a kill joy. In all, he was a very interesting person. He carried us along.”

One particular thing Shina holds the memory of his father dearly for was his ability to instill that sense and spirit of perfection in him. Prof. Peller lived his talk by demonstrating to his children what he wanted of them. He advised that whatever they chose to do in life, make sure you are the best. He was a good example by being the greatest magician in Africa. His father sired 13 children from five women. Shina is the second child, but the first boy of his mother. His siblings include a lawyer, Zeeto, who has shunned his wig and gown to practice fully as a magician. There is an actress, a Bishop of a church and musician who is charting the novel path of combining music with magic on stage.

At the 20th anniversary of his father’s demise next year, Shina has concluded plans to publish a book on him. He is also teaming up with the other two brothers who are in entertainment to present a huge magic concert. He expressed regret that the extended nature of the family was a restraint on grander plans to immortalise his father. He has not yet decided whether to institute the memorial in their homestead at Iseyin in Oyo State or in Lagos. What used to be the family residence at OnipanuLagos has been leased to a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God since his father died. By a freak

coincidence, Professor Peller was murdered at his Lagos residence by unknown gunmen on the same day popular Nigerian musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti died on August 2, 1997.

A graduate of Chemical Engineering from the Ladoke Akintola University, he also acquired a Masters in Business Administration from the university, Shina is fashioning a strategy to engage the manufacturing industry. “I attended the Canton Fair in China for two consecutive years in 2011 and 2012.

Everything I learnt is still with me and I have decided to make that my joker in the business world. I am still thinking.

I may want to manufacture something for everyday use or a product that is premium that I can monopolise the market.”

A brand Ambassador for Remy Martin, Shina explains why he was chosen for that role. “They have this campaign, ‘One Life. Live Them’, which speaks to individuals who are successful at multi-tasking. I think I was considered because I am a night club owner, record label owner and a businessman. Remy Martin is a brand that I believe in. Right from when we started Quilox, they have supported us.”

His wife who he met 19 years as a student of accountancy at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife has since become an accountant. Shina had left his own university to Ile Ife for a party where he met the lady who would later become his wife. The bond between husband and wife is such that she understands that drinking and women are part of the fare in his line of duty.

However, Shina said he has disciplined himself so much that he would not be easily carried away. “It is a cardinal rule that you don’t get high on your own stuff.”

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entertAinMent

with nseobong okon-ekong 08114495324, nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com

Satchmo’s Jazz’s Ajayi Unveils Bigger Picture

W

hen prominent Lagos-based lawyer and jazz music enthusiast, Dolapo Ajayi decided to take his love for that form of music to another level by promoting it through gigs and other mass appeal activities, little did he know that he had set himself up for an uphill task.

With an ambitious name like Satchmo’s Jazz and Culture Festival, he thought the platform would find and engage a robust team of different stakeholders including ready sponsors and an enthusiastic audience, but he was mistaken.

The 2016 Satchmo’s which was the second edition featured a very promising line-up on foreign and Nigerian musicians including Norman Brown, Carlo Rossi and the Organic Jam, Rick Braun, Femi Leye, Sax Tee and Phebean.

The main concert at the Oriental Hotel in Victoria Island-Lagos was well attended.

Other pleasant and satisfying engagements took place at Banana Island and the Velvelt Lounge-venue of the after party.

However, the venues were not spilling over with people as he anticipated and many of the potential sponsors were

BRINGING LEGENDS HOME

In one-of-a-kind campaign, premium brand, Legend Extra Stout kicked off its Legend Real Deal Experience last year. The campaign was a continuation of its Real Deal Promo that seeks to strengthen relationships between the brand and consumers by bringing their favourite beer close to home.

In the same vein, the Legend Real Deal Experience brings music stars to grassroots areas where they are further celebrated by the people.

About 11 cities are toured where prominent music artistes thrill locales all night long.

Since inception, the concert has become a stable in the music calendar of locales who look forward to welcoming their legends home.

Each concert is greeted with fanfare and frenzy. Music fans in the region are treated to a night of undiluted and eclectic performances from their own true legends. As-

Oritsefemi on stage performing

Norman Brown ...performing

Dolapo Ajayi

reluctant to the end.

Ajayi who looked unruffled as he mingled with guests at the Oriental later told this reporter that he believes that jazz is for everybody, but that the genre has not benefitted from enough exposure in Nigeria. Therefore, he has resolved to do more than an annual festival. “Going forward, we would put in place a calendar of activities during the year. Our goal

is to have a series of mini festivals that will keep jazz in the mind of the people. We want to bring the best musicians to Nigeria, we also believe that there are many brilliant Nigerian musicians who don’t have the platform. Therefore, part of our mandate is the promotion of Nigerian artistes.”

The bigger picture towards a robust jazz music scene in Nigeria, in the estimation of Ajayi,

includes a plan to support jazz music education in schools by providing musical instruments and grants. Another phase of that sustenance programme includes a scheme called, ‘the band doctor’ for budding musicians who need polishing, while identifying their strengths and weaknesses as they are groomed towards maturity and given a chance to perform at the festival.

piring entertainers also have the opportunity to rub shoulders with their role models.

Like the previous edition, this year is packed with more thrilling performances from music superstars. Already, the ‘double Wahala’ crooner, Oritsefemi, had visited Okokomaiko where he is greatly revered as a ‘bona fide king’.

Just last week, KCee brought his blings and niceties to Ekwulobia Township Stadium in Onitsha, Anambra state. In his usual tradition, he left the fans begging for more, taking them on a rollercoaster ride of his popular hits.

Moreover, the self-styled Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa, Timaya, sent his teeming fans in Port Harcourt, Rivers State to a frenzy with feisty performances this weekend. Known for his energetic performances, fans no doubt, had a memorable night.

However, the Real Deal Experience is more than just providing

music to locales. Before each concert, series of in-bar events are held in the community. The events is a platform for the premium beer from the stable of Nigerian Breweries Plc, to educate locales on the health benefits of the finely brewed beer. Legend as the name indicates has a long lasting foam head that is unrivalled. Its distinctive bitter taste adds to the uniqueness of the beer as not only good for social gatherings but also good for good health.

Turkey hosting the 1st edition. It first recorded participants from 17 countries, but today over 37 countries are participating in the festival including Nigeria. This signifies a major push in its acceptance.

Other countries that have hosted the festival in recent times include Australia, India and the United States of America.

Most recently, the festival took place at New York and Washington DC on April 28 and 29 respectively.

At the former which was organised in collaboration with Peace Island Institute, the United Nations General Secretary, Ban Ki-Moon delivered a speech on culture. Ki-Moon said he was “delighted to greet the International Festival of Language and Culture,” adding: “I commend the Peace Island Institute for making this meeting possible and bringing young people from 27 countries together to discuss and celebrate our cultural and linguistic diversity.

Your gathering today takes place as the World embarks on implementing the newly-adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development-a people centred, planet-friendly blueprint for shared global progress.”

Succinctly, the Hizmet movement has been involved not only in promoting language and culture but also in the establishment and development of colleges, hospitals, charity foundations and other notable public institutions across the globe.

With the incredible successes the festival has recorded over the years, the city of Abuja would definitely be glad to host the 14th edition. The festival itself has been fashioned to be a one-stop shop for reviving languages and cultures across board.

A direction, many Nigerians with

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE COMES TO ABUJA With Nigerian languages going fast into extinction, providing a platform that will rejuvenate the consciousness for languages has become expedient. To that effect, the International Festival of Language and Culture is now set to put teeth into action in promoting that consciousness for languages.

Consequently, the organisation is set to organise a language and culture festival in Abuja, the Nigerian capital city in collaboration with Nigeria Turkish Nile University.

It is in that light that all roads now lead to Abuja, Nigeria for the 14th International Festival of Language and Culture (IFLC) billed to hold on May 21, at Chida Event Centre, Utako, Abuja. The festival which is organised by the Hizmet movement, aims to promote the rich cultural heritage and languages of Nigeria.

The theme for the festival is “Colours of the World” reflecting the importance the organisation places on celebrating diversity, promoting peaceful co-existence and globalising culture.

The Hizmet movement established the International Festival of Language and Culture in 2003 with

Cont’d on pg. 62

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

ENTERTAINMENT

NEXT SCENES: FROM COLLABORATIVE WRITING TO BLOCKBUSTER FILM

A

group of Nigerians have devised a novel method of writing a book that allows contribution from various writers. How does it work?

A panel of writers generate a topic and put it out in the public space, particularly through the internet. Different writers are then expected to take inspiration from there and contribute to that particular chapter of the book.

After a period of between 90 and 100 days, the curtain is drawn on contributions for that particular subject or chapter and another round of writing and contribution is initiated.

This method of writing a book may just be Nigeria’s contribution to the literary pool, as it has never been heard of. Its proponent, Godwin Oguzie fired a question back at those who wanted to know how he will handle the issue of who takes credit for the work.

“Every contribution would be acknowledged and adequately rewarded. Who wrote the dictionary or encyclopaedia?

We want to move away from all the hurdles that limit an

aspiring writer. If it is one chapter that you can write, you are welcome, as long as you can connect with the topic. Some of us start a story, but then the muse suddenly disappears and we are stuck in the middle, even when we know there is still so much more to write. With this method, someone else can come in and continue the story where you stopped.”

Oguzie who previously worked at the United Nations established this method of writing a book which he has christened, Next Scenes to include all genres of literature like comedy, fantasy, adventure, crime and like will be exploited. He is working with Idris Bamgboye, the project producer. Others include Chibuike Edoziem, Publisher of Mode Men, Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa and Tona Fosia.

The site has different Forums that would suite your interest; which includes Action, Crime, Children’s Forum, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy and the Historical, which gives you enough choices to pick from. Under each forum, more categories

the love for languages are willing to embrace.

Lamili

LAMILI PREMIERES ‘LOVE ME PROPER’

Fast-rising female singer Lamili has released the video for her ‘Love Me Proper ’ single. Directed by Ruff Ikonz, the video was shot in Agodi Parks and Gardens. From steamy beach scenes to playful city shots, this video is already creating a frenzy on social media.

The concept of the video is to celebrate the beauty of love and romance. According to Lamili, love is highly misunderstood.

The Linguistic and Communications graduate from the University of Port Harcourt is currently putting finishing touches to her next single and plans for a nationwide tour.

could come up that touches on various aspects of each forum, which breaks it down further, giving you more choices.

For each forum, there is a Moderator, a moderator is the one that initiates a story and leaves it for the contributors, otherwise known as the Power Users to create the next appropriate scene to the initiated story. The Power Users are registered members of the site that would propose various scenes to the initiated story. Some of the moderators- who are tested writers in their own right- at the event were Tunji Bamgboye, Ekwelo Victor and Bisola Afolayan.

After the various scenes are provided, everyone, including Regular Users, who are just on the site to read and learn, would go to the discussion room and pick the most appropriate scene that tallies with the initiated story. When the best scene is picked, the Power Users propose various scenes that best continues the story, and the cycle is repeated until a complete text is achieved within a span of four months.

Lamili, who is steadily stamping her feet as an Afro pop and R&B act, hails from Anambra State and started singing from her teenage years. The artiste whose real name is Lilian Nkiruka Engel loves to dance, write and meet new people.

She is also a trained makeup artiste who mastered the art of professional Makeup at QC MakeUp Academy, USA. Some of her past singles include ‘Bend Down’, ‘I Wanna Love You’, ‘Radical’ (which featured Timaya) and ‘Together ’. Lamili does not believe in shortcuts. She understands that hard and smart work is the only way.

She believes that greatness can be achieved if focus and hard work is put into any venture. Her personal mantra is “Staying true to one’s self and connected to your inner rhythm.

MALAIKA, SODIMU, SELECT FUJI TALENTS

Arrangements have been concluded by Goldberg, a lager beer from the stable of Nigerian Breweries Plc, to commence the fourth edition of Fuji music fanfare (a Fuji talent hunt show). An indigenous music activation platform of Goldberg, Fuji Sowapo has in the last three editions led to the discovery of budding Fuji talents.

The auditions for this year ’s edition of the annual activation, which would hold in eight cities, will kick-off in Ota, Ogun State.

Apart from Ota, other cities where auditions would be held are: Ikotun-Egbeda, Oyo, Ilesha, Akure, Ado-Ekiti, Sagamu, and Ibadan.

Identified talents from the auditions will later converge in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital for the final selection of contestants that will proceed

to the quarter final in the ancient city of Oyo. Mr.Emmanuel Agu, Portfolio Manager, Mainstream lager and stout, said notable Yoruba artistes like Otunba Wasiu Ayinde Marshall (KWAM1), Abass Akande Obesere, Sulaimon Adekunle Alao (a.k.a. Malaika), Dr. Wasiu Osupa, and Dammy Krane will grace the competition at different stages.

He disclosed that Malaika; Yemi Sodimu, popular presenter and Actor; and Moruf Shadow, National President, Fuji Musicians Association of Nigeria (FUMAN); will serve as panelists for the auditions that would hold in Oyo, Ikotun-Egbeda, Ibadan and Ota. For the remaining auditions slated for Akure, Ado Ekiti and Ilesha, the portfolio manager said Dotun Taylor, Filmmaker will join the duo of Malaika and Shadow.

It would be recalled that Antenna and Twinzobia Twins, the winners of the first and second editions from Osogbo and Ibadan respectively, are now doing well in their Fuji careers.

Akeem Okiki from Osogbo, Osun State emerged winner of the third edition of the Fuji music talent activation that had over 10,000 Fuji fans in attendance at the Trans Amusement Park in Ibadan, Oyo State. The winner of the contest will be crowned the Wura1 of Fuji Sowapo.

Godwin Oguzie

group’s Secretary General, Kenny A. George insisted that “the principle of natural justice connotes that a court of law ought to give equal opportunity to all parties in a suit before it is to be heard on the issues raised before ruling on the matter.

That was not the case here which is reminiscent of military junta era.”

George argued that the recent ruling of the Federal High Court Lagos Division in suit FHC/L/ CS/919/2012 which attempted to set aside the Consent Judgment establishing the current National Executive Caretaker Committee of the PMAN headed by Okafor has already crashed on arrival as it can never stand the test of time.

PMAN VALIDATES PRETTY AS PRESIDENT

Engulfed in a series of perpetual conflicts, the secretariat of the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria, (PMAN) has issued a statement validating the Caretaker Committee under the leadership of Mr. Pretty Okafor.

Setting the record straight in the light of a recent court ruling, the

Pretty Boy

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Amid Sexual Abuse Accusations, Woody Allen’s ‘Cafe Society’ Opens Cannes Festival Vanessa Obioha

P

rior to the opening of the ongoing Cannes Festival in France last Wednesday, Ronan Allen published a long essay about the media’s quiet approach to his sister’s allegations of sexual abuse by his father in The Hollywood Reporter. The news was supposed to dampen the spirit of Woody Allen, the comedian and director whose film ‘Cafe Society’ was scheduled to open the festival.

But the comedian came out confidently with his cast which included Blake Lively, Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg and others.

Although he was ostensibly spared of journalists’ attack on the report, the host of the opening night ceremony, a Frenchman Laurent Lafitte couldn’t resist addressing the issue in a rape joke. His words: “It’s very nice that you’ve been shooting so many movies in Europe, even if you are not being convicted for rape in the U.S” did not only shock the audience but also irked Lively who did not hesitate to condemn the festival organisers for allowing such nuances.

Allen on the other hand claimed he had not read the essay and claimed he had addressed the issue before. Allen’s adopted daughter Ronan accused him of sexually abusing her as a child.

L-R~ Blake Lively, Woody Allen and Kristen Stewart at the Cannes Festival

NFL EXPANDS PARTNERSHIP DEAL WITH YOUTUBE

Youtube will be uploading more in-game highlights of the National Football. League on its channel following the renewal of their multi-year partnership deal.

The league launched its Youtube channel in January 2015 and has since garnered nearly 900 million views, providing fans access to game previews, in-game highlights, postgame recaps and other content.

In the renewed deal announced on Thursday, about three of the most memorable games for each of the 32 franchises will be posted to its Youtube channel before the kickoff of 2016-2017 season. Also, it will increase its number of in-game highlights clips uploads on Google-owned Youtube which will make its content easily available in google-search.

THE RECORDING ACADEMY REWARDS SMOKEY ROBINSON

Motown frontman and founder of the vocal group The Miracles will on May 19 be honoured at the 12th annual MusiCares Map fund benefit concert. The 76 year-old singer will be presented with a Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for his contribution and support to the Fund.

Managed by The Recording Academy, the Fund which allows access to addiction recovery treatment and sober living resources for members of the music community as part of its services will recognise the ‘Just to see her’ singer for his commitment to helping others with the addiction recovery process.

Robinson won his first Grammy award in 1988 for his single ‘Just to see her’.

Angela Bassett will be presenting the award to Robinson.

The event which will hold at the Novo by Microsoft, Los Angeles, USA will be graced by notable entertainment bigweights including celebrated producer, songwriter and founder of Motown Records Berry Gordy; President/CEO of The Recording Academy® and MusiCares, Neil Portnow; and MusiCares Chair, Bill Silva.

Hosted by actor and comedian, Cedric

Caitlyn Jenner and Kylie Jenner

the Entertainer, the event will see performances from former Grammy award nominees like The Backstreet Boys, Tamar Braxton, Andra Day, Babyface and others.

All proceeds will benefit the MusiCares MAP Fund, which provides members of the music community access to addiction recovery treatment regardless of their financial situation.

KATY PERRY IS NOT TEARY-EYED Contrary to fears that news of Orlando Bloom and Selena Gomez’s PDA in Las Vegas, will leave Katy Perry heartbroken, the reverse seems to be the case. Although Perry is not overly excited about the news but she is certainly not having sleepless nights over the news. In fact, the 31 yearold ‘Roar’ singer is very wide-awake. She simply knows better. She summed up her emotions in a tweet that read ‘Is that all there is?’, alongside with a Youtube link to Peggy Lee’s song with same name.

The lyrics of the song speaks of the singer surviving a heartbreak after her lover ran away with another woman.

Her tweet could only suggest that Perry refuses to be devastated by the latest scandal of her beau whom she started dating few months ago. Or she is simply asking

Smokey Robinson

the media if the PDA was all it is in the pictures. Sources close to Selena insist that the PDA were nothing more than an act of friendship between Selena and Bloom.

KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS

The Kardashians had a swell week making headlines. From Rob Kardashian’s being a father-to-be to Kanye West being a die-hard fan of Justin Beiber, the Kardashians were all over the internet. However, the shocking news from the controversial royal family will be a speculation that the former member of the clan Caitlyn Jenner is considering re-transitioning. In 2015, the ex-husband of Kris Jenner, Bruce shocked the world when he revealed his transgender intent.

While many did not comprehend while the famous athlete would take such decision, he however was celebrated.

But a biographer Ian Halperin, who is working on the Kardashian’s dynasty book claimed that sources he spoke to during his assignment hinted that the athlete may reverse his sexuality. Halperin told The Wrap that his reasons are related to his sexuality preference. He disclosed that Jenner is still very attracted to women and likely to go back to his original form in the

coming years. Of course, Jenna’s publicist has debunked the rumour, only the future can tell if Halperin’s facts are true or false.

In other news, the troublesome relationship between Kylie Jenna and rapper Tyga is finally over. The duo whose break-up has been brewing since last year finally called it quits few days before the MET Gala. Kylie has returned to her old bedroom in her mother’s house while Tyga is hooked on his new fashion label.

JOAN RIVERS FAMILY SETTLES CASE WITH MEDICAL FACILITY

The late E! ‘Fashion Police’ star’s family finally settled the medical malpractice suit filed against the New York City clinic where the comedian died.

Joan Rivers died in 2014 after going for a routine Yorkville Endoscopy.

Her daughter Melissa Rivers filed a suit last year against the clinic, alleging that they abandoned their professional duties to take selfies with the star and performed unauthorised medical procedures on the deceased.

She however on Thursday announced through her attorneys that the case had been resolved outside the court without divulging the figures involved.

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PERSONALITY

Tinkering with His Brain and Hammer An ambitious real estate company seeks to take the gains of its record-breaking successes several rungs up the ladder with a revolutionary and game-changing initiative to build a Brains and Hammers City. Nseobong Okon-Ekong recently had an encounter with its Managing Director, Umar Abdullahi

Abdullahi

D

espite his meteoric rise in business in a few years, Umar Abdullahi continues to work at break-neck speed like one driven to prove a point. Still under 40 years, he is one of the few young Nigerians who are changing the narrative of his generation. Belonging to a peer group that is often linked to indolence, the Managing Director of Brains and Hammers Limited is a shining light that cannot be covered, simply on the face of overwhelming evidence of accomplishments.

A former banker, Abdullahi was smart enough to recognise a potential rewarding prospect. As his duties at the bank exposed him to a vista of investment chances, he was open to being led by his guts to zero in on the one that would give him the best break.

When the time for a perfect match came; and his vigorous idea met with a waiting opportunity, the result has been a runaway success that has left many wondering.

Abdullahi may not be the only investor who realised that there was a rise in the number of middle class in Nigeria. The development was an acknowledged trend around the world: Middle income earners

drive the economy. What he simply leveraged on was to start building houses that will fit into their lifestyle and budget of the Nigerian middle class.

But Brains and Hammers which entered the market from Abuja in 2011 was not the only real estate development company in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). What gave it an edge was to fall back to the timetested principle of guaranteeing trust. Once the company established a reputation for delivery of world-class houses marked with wonderful aesthetics and style, its status simply soared.

Averagely, it takes about 20 years for a company to build its brand name, but Brains and Hammers has become a household name in the real estate sector in less than five years. To achieve this feat, the company set a deliberate policy to create estates that can be compared to an oasis of peace, security, functional infrastructure and contemporary design - it is like living in a mini city within a city. The beauty of the product recommended itself and Abdullahi did not need a soothsayer to tell him that people will go for it. This is what led to the phenomenal rise of the company.

Abdullahi and the board of directors

of Brains and Hammers understand the Nigerian society and operating environment.

Long before the economy nose-dived, they were prepared. They predicted correctly that the serious quest by the United States of America for other sources of oil would ultimately crash the price of oil. And they knew the impact this would have on a mono product economy like Nigeria.

While other real estate companies continued to build on presumptions, his company changed their portfolio to affordable products that are ready to be taken based on real demand and not on speculative investment. The biggest demonstration of this strategy is its game changing establishment of ‘a city’ with various description of houses between one bedroom studio apartment and five bedrooms that will accommodate 5000 families at Life Camp along Kaduna Expressway.

Interestingly, Abdullahi believes that the economic downturn is a perception.

“It is not that people don’t have money. Of course, the income of the average Nigerian has dropped, but there are people who have money and have real demand for houses.

However, in a recession, the confidence they

have in investing has been eroded. They have to be careful where they invest their money.

“With companies like Brains and Hammers, they know that we have good return on investment and we have what it takes to weather the storm during the recession. The public still has this confidence in us. That is what is spurring us to go into this massive housing city. Just to show you the confidence people have in us, we have sold 20 per cent from introducing it into the market, even before we move to site. The city is for everybody.

“We have houses for as low as N5.5 million, that is for a one-bedroom studio apartment. We have a two bedroom which goes for less than N10 million, four bedroom is going for N18 million. The payment is staggered. You can pay between 12 and 24 months. This is the concept we used in our premium housing and it worked. You don’t change a winning formula. The response we are getting from the market is really encouraging.”

Having worked in the banking industry, Abdullahi understands the dynamics of the Nigerian economy; so he can thump his chest confidently as he stressed the point

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

PERSONALITY TINKERING WITH HIS BRAIN AND HAMMER that the only sector of the Nigerian economy that investors can get a good Return on Investment (RoI) is in real estate. He went back in time to buttress his argument.

“How much were houses sold in 2000?” he asked rhetorically. “Houses that were bought at N25 million are now going for N55 million. Those who bought their houses at N30 million, it is now going for N80 million just to show you that it is difficult to point out any industry in Nigeria that you can get this unprecedented RoI. For now the real estate sector is still the number one choice for a lot of wise investors.”

Abdullahi emphasised the advantage of buying into an estate like Brains and Hammers, instead of executing individual building projects. According to him, there are a lot of processes to follow through like the perfection of the title, land acquisition and dealing with the regulatory authorities.

“The processes are time consuming.

If you are a very busy person, you don’t have time to do all that. There is also the economy of scale. If you are building your own house alone, you have to buy all the building materials but in an estate you buy the building materials in volumes and all the approvals are handled by our legal department, we have a market survey department and a R and D department, they all come together to form what you call Brains and Hammers.

“Each department is a collection of experts on that field who give their best to contribute to the pool of ideas. A lot of stress that individuals go through while building their own house is taken care of. These days a lot of people prefer to live in an estate simply because if you build your own house you need to hire your security guard, you need to buy and fuel a generator, you need to plant flowers, manage your waste and hire a gardener. In an estate like Brains and Hammers, you don’t need all that because it is a shared community. You have a club house. There is security. You pay a service charge which is insignificant.

“It is a lot cheaper to live in an estate. If you live alone, when you travel for two or three weeks you will wonder about what is happening in the house you have to call somebody to go and check. In an estate, you can travel for two or three months without really bothering yourself as to what is happening because you know you are secured. Your home is within a gated community where there is security.”

With the huge success recorded in its construction arm, the company has since upgraded two vital departments into a

Brains and Hammers Estate

Abdullahi

full-fledged company. They are Brains and Hammers Facility Management Limited and Brains and Hammers Horticulture Limited. “For now, they are strictly for our mother company, but in future they will take on other assignments because we are getting requests from other companies. That is the plan. We are the pace setters.

“There are these small pockets of companies that are trying to be us. As a company, we think ahead. The competition out there is very stiff yet we remain afloat. Because we actually know what the clients want. We are one of the largest employers of labour in Nigeria. We have over 2,000 employees working for us,

directly and indirectly, apart from our other compliments, sister companies and all that.

“We are helping to fulfill the agenda of this administration to create jobs for Nigerians. That is what we are doing.

Another plan of ours is to work with the present administration, in terms of infrastructure. We have started a full-fledged sister company on infrastructure and it has already started working with government agencies, at federal and state level.”

Sounding a note of caution and concern on the frequent incidence of collapsed buildings in the country, Abdullahi reiterated that his company has not recorded such unfortunate incident in over 2,000

houses built since 2011. “In every industry, there are those who are sincere. You are talking about a building, it is just like an aircraft; all the safety measures have to be in place. We don’t joke with quality. All real estate developers should be sincere in their undertakings and also pay attention to the fact that building houses is not just about the aesthetics.

“Safety should be their number one concern. We take it very seriously. Without safety, every other thing means nothing.

The issue of collapsed building is entirely hinged on safety. If the right safety measures are taken, you adhere to standards and you don’t try to cut corners in terms of the right materials in the right proportions, then you can’t have any problem. In trying to save money or to boost their profit, a lot of developers compromise on quality. This is really dangerous. This puts many lives at risk.”

Having largely succeeded in developing residential projects within Lagos and Abuja, at various sites including Life Camp, Galadimawa, Gwarimpa, Apo I, Apo II, Apo III, Apo IV, Apo V, all in Abuja and along the Lekki corridor in Lagos, Brains and Hammers is perfecting a plan to go Plc. The bigger plan in the future is to grow organically by extending its tentacles into the West African sub region, first, before planting its foothold in the entire continent and possibly have a presence in Europe.

This plan for expansion outside the shores of Nigeria is anchored on the demand for its services by Nigerians in the Diaspora.

An outstanding factor that sets the company above its peers is its strict Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) regime. “Access roads leading into most of our estate, sometimes for up to 10 kilometres, are constructed to the best standard. We also construct drainage and install street light in those communities.

Invariably the value of land in the vicinity appreciates and the land-owners get good return on their investments.”

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ON THE COUCH

CHIEF OPRAL BENSON (BEAUTICIAN)

My Siblings Still Call Me Baby of the House Interviewed by Funke Olaode Any secret to your youthful look?

I thank God that I am doing fine and trying my best to live up to the expectation of my family and friends. I am not doing anything special but by the grace of God. I am not indulging in any beauty regimen or special food or diet. You have to be willing to maintain your beauty by eating right, do regular exercise. I doing things in moderation.

popular. It did not in any way place a burden of expectation on me, not even at this stage of my life. I just continued to be the best to myself, my family and the public. When my husband passed on, I knew I had to continue to live the life we had both established for ourselves.

Is there anything you miss about TOS Benson?

Of course, I miss his companionship and everything about him. He was a good man that I would like to marry again if there were to be another world.

How has your profession as a beautician enhanced your appearance?

When you have inner peace, it radiates on your appearance. I ran a beauty school for decades, but I have since taken a back seat.

I don’t run it anymore. I have left it for younger people. I only supervise and make sure that people are getting groomed.

Does longevity run in the family?

My parents died when they were still young. I am only 81 and the youngest in a family of seven children. We used to be seven, but we lost two. The eldest is 92, next one is 87, followed by another who is 85; second to the last is 83 and I am 81. My four older siblings still call me the baby of the family. So the issue of longevity is not how it runs in the family but how you want to live your life and how you want to achieve your set goals. In my case, I wanted to establish a beauty industry. I did that over four decades ago. I made a mark and the school is still waxing strong.

I believe a beautiful mind in a beautiful world goes a long way.

At what stage did you develop a passion for the beauty business?

It was in 1973 when the late Oba of Lagos, His Royal Highness, Oba Oyekan made me the ‘Iya Oge of Lagos.’ After that chieftaincy title, everybody called me beauty. At that time, I was a staff member of

How did you cope with the culture shock at the early stage of your marriage?

There was nothing spectacular and I coped very well. Liberia is in West Africa where Nigeria also belongs. So bringing two African countries together is not a big deal.

I am more popular in Nigeria because when I left Liberia, the new generation of Liberians were either not born while some were still young. But my family is still there and when I go home they know I am around.

the University of Lagos in charge of students’ affairs. I decided that when I retired from the varsity, I would go into the beauty business which wasn’t popular in those days. I left the university and followed my passion. I went into manufacturing of beauty products together with another company and at the same time I opened a beauty salon. As we progressed, I floated a beauty school.

What gave you the conviction that you were going to succeed?

You must have self-confidence, believe in yourself, strive for excellence in what you do and

ensure that your target market is responding. With this, you feel satisfied with yourself and you continue to do more. I am grateful to God that I went into the beauty business 43 years ago. The business is still standing. Not only that, my name is synonymous with beauty. Anywhere I go, it rings a bell. I think more than anything else, I am being appreciated for my contribution to humanity through my beauty business.

Did marriage to a famous man place a burden of expectation on you?

There is nothing unusual about that because my husband was

What is your philosophy of life?

Believe in God, keep helping your fellow human beings, believe in yourself, do the best you can, have self-confidence, know what you want to do, learn how to do it, and keep the passion going, believe in God and His faithfulness and keep on praying.

If you had to rate your satisfaction with your life so far, what would you score yourself?

I would rate myself 100 per cent because I don’t have anything to complain about. I have done the best I can. I thank God for everything. I shouldn’t complain at this stage of my life because God has been good to me.

EVENT

CORAL Awards Focuses on Tertiary Students

A

n initiative geared towards recognising contributions of young people towards nation building and global development; CORAL awards is set to take centre stage in June.

The award, a brainchild of Paschal Okwundu and in partnership with Levels Nigeria serves as a platform for young innovators, entrepreneurs, leaders who are students in tertiary institutions to showcase their ingenuity, ideas, and entrepreneurial talents; attract seed funding to advance their ambitions, gain access to mentors (local and international), and extend their network of friends and business contacts through the healthy associations.

According to Okwundu, the national competition will highlight how progress and prosperity of the

nation rests on the potentials of her young human resources. It will beam the spotlight on the ability to unlock the genius, entrepreneurial spirit and innovative capabilities of the youth.

He threw a poser, “What are we doing to groom these young people who are diligently innovating in obscure corners, ‘entrepreneuring’ in unchartred terrains and leading life-changing projects today?”

His question elicited a passionate response from the Head of Administration of Levels Nigeria, Christian Ebhoma who talked about the scope of his company’s partnership on the initiative. “We are fully committed to developing, recognising and celebrating Nigerian youths and we have been living up to this dream from our past projects and conferences which have impacted

thousands of young people. That’s why we support this initiative.”

Also present at the press conference in Lagos were Olakunle Soriyan, the Principal Transformation Strategist of Olakunle Soriyan Company; Adekunbi Adeoye, Founder, Sesewa Support Services and others. Ambassadors to various tertiary institutions also graced the conference.

The national contest is open to students in Nigerian universities. Details of the modalities for nomination for the awards can be found on its official websites: “www.thecoralawards.com” and “www.levelsng.com”.

The awards will hold in Lagos on June 25. The contestants stand a chance to win cash prizes, but more importantly, they are given the opportunity to harness their entrepreneurial capabilities, innovative ingenuity and leadership potentials.

assistant editor nseobong okon-ekong senior correspondent funke olaode correspondent vanessa obioha designer ibirogba ibidapo CONTRIBUTORS onoshe nwabuikwu, temilolu okeowo, kelechi nduka THISDAY ON SUNDAY editor adetokunbo adedoja deputy editor vincent obia STUDIO art director ochi ogbuaku jnr THISDAY NEWSPAPERS editor-in-chief & chairman nduka obaigbena managing director eniola bello deputy managing director kayode komolafe

ARTS & REVIEW A

40 YEARS AFTER, SWEET MOTHER STILL AN UNDENIABLE CLASSIC...

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PUBLICATION

15.05.2016

TUNDE ADEYEMO

OF THESPIAN SPIRIT EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

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TUNDE ADEYEMO: O Though not as celebrated as some of his contemporaries in screen and theatre productions in Nigeria, Tunde Adeyemo’s portfolio is replete with exciting good works that add value to others, writes Yinka Olatunbosun

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cting is one of the most trivialised professions in Nigeria; don’t ask why.

First, you don’t need a license to practise it.

Secondly, there are many off-record criteria for casting for movies and sit-coms beyond the principles of acting.

Ideally, good characterisation, voice quality and proper enunciation should be part of the benchmarks. Nowadays, “sexy” seems to define everything for an actor. It defines the kind of roles an actor gets and his career-life span as well.

To rethink acting business in Nigeria, this reporter sought out one of the true veterans, Tunde Adeyemo, a musicologist and actor, who has galvanised his skills from television to stage, or was his case the reverse? Let’s see.

As a child, all he wanted was to sing and read. The old Kingsway Store in Ibadan and other reputable shops were his stop-over points from school to his house. He would read at least two books and return them to the shelves before buying one that he was yet to read. Honing his acting skills through a series of workshops, he was not satisfied with the rudimentary. So, he proceeded to the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) Ile-Ife where he studied music and later University of Ibadan for theatre arts. His lecturers were not just the chalk-on-the-board; they were sources of inspirations.

In turn, he became a mentor to young thespians, teaching them through his attitude the value of humility and doggedness. A former Director, Pencil Film Television Institute (Now Pefti Film Institute) Lagos, Adeyemo is also famous for his role as Uncle T in Super Story.

He was also the director of BSN Arts Institute and Remdel Film Academy, both based in Akure, Ondo State. In an electronic chat with him, he revealed how he had sustained a healthy relationship with his students and mentees over the years.

“All my former students, both male and female, are my very good friends.

Each time, I find myself around their domain; they insist I spend the night with their family instead of passing the night in a hotel. To me, this is fun and love in its entirety,” he said.

When Adeyemo started acting, it was a period when actors worked too hard to earn respect from the public. The females were stigmatised as whores and their male counterparts could hardly convince a woman of their financial capacity to care for a home. Parents were watchdogs who barred their children from studying courses like theatre arts and music.

Adeyemo thought the music has since changed.

“Gradually, these days, the public is becoming better informed,” he enthused.

“The explosion of home video and terrestrial and cable television with the increasing juxtaposition of foreign and local content have raised the exceptionality and economic value of theatre and film practice. Today, the industry ranks amongst the loudest equitable sources of foreign financial earning for Nigeria’s economic growth. Every artistic presentation serves as a therapy for good health; we kill their sorrows as artistes.

Now, we’re the celebrities on the red carpet. I guess we’re now laughing last.

We are now laughing best.”

Rewinding to his days at WNTV,

Adeyemo Ibadan, Africa’s first television and the theatre, he recalled that there was no substitute for discipline. Call time must not be mistaken for arrival time. Also, there was emphasis on the instrument of acting such as the body movement, voice, speech organs and intelligence.

“Today, most young actors are either acting themselves or have substituted their life with the first role they played at the commencement of their career. Some were lucky to be at the right place at the right time; a non-professional director is probably looking for a man who can cry

with spontaneity, and this dear fellow walks in and kills the role with his natural aptitude in the art of crying. Henceforth, the innocent crying fellow continues to earn only crying roles as his area of specialization. Very soon viewers get tired of his or her crying traits and the

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OF THESPIAN SPIRIT

Tunde Adeyemo lounging at his office in Ile Ife directors will probably find another crying specialist with a new touch of tonic to crying; the dear actor goes into extinct,” he said.

In his days at the NTA Ibadan drama unit, pastime was spent on rehearsals and play-reading.

Essentially, deciphering the role, understanding the sub-text of each word, phrase and sentence help the actor in the delivery of his lines.

“Today, I see actors mimicking their foreign role models; they speak through their nostrils and tighten up their vocal cavity to sound like them. This is gibberish, unimaginative speech exercise.

Watch CNN or BBC news programmes, you will find out that their broadcasters approach interpretative communication with deliberate articulation and enunciation of words far beyond the common street speech,” he argued.

Adeyemo warned young actors to avoid being struck by stardom. He observed that many of them are impatient to learn anything and easily judgmental about life. Blaming it on our educational system, he said that the cycle of imparting insufficient knowledge will not build human capacity. He also took a swipe at the government for not being exemplary in conduct, allowing corruption to cripple every profession.

Adeyemo is one of the few living puppeteers in Nigeria. He admits that puppetry is a laborious work. And with software applications, children entertainment had grown past Sesame Street. Graphics are easier than puppetry which requires building a physical object in the image of an animal, man or object, and injecting the right character traits through the handler, that is the puppeteer. But he promised that a new television programme in puppetry is in the pipeline from his stable. And that’s quite cheering, what with the plethora of foreign soaps and repeat broadcast of programmes dubbed from the cable network by local channels. He also warned that copying would not help us in showcasing the wealth of our culture to the nation.

With 250 languages in Nigeria, many youths lack proficiency in the use of their indigenous languages and still fair badly in English language. “To say that the future of this country is in soup is an understatement,’’ he lamented. As a teacher, he understands the link between culture and the art. That’s why he introduced the course, “African Value, Ethics and Appreciation” at PEFTI. Then Adeyemo went on to tell this reporter a story that he had told his students at script-writing classes about his first play as an amateur. Titled, “Victim of Circumstance”, he adored it, being the

first fruit of his passion. But a year later, when he read it, he saw a few technical errors. But he has since written other plays including, Vacuum on a Wedding Day, 100 Odan Avenue, The Gentleman Caller, A Dance for Airegin, which he directed for Ogun State at 2011 NAFEST in Calabar, winning 3rd position; Ogbeni for All Season, Obirin Rere, a Yoruba adaptation of the German play, A Good woman of Setzuan, Egba Diran, amongst others.

“Currently, I am working on Danger Alert and Eye Balls, respectively. They are my new TV soaps,” said Adeyemo.

For the rest of the year, he’ll be working on stage plays one of which is, Eniyan by a leading playwright, Late Wale Ogunyemi, in memorial of the 15years of his passing away.

For him, the greatest challenge in his career path is not working for a former student of his on set or at location but his student days at University of Ibadan where he had to read nine books within 24 hours for dramatic literature.

“The books were not readily available and we had to share them in turn. I ended up reading seven and half of the books by 3am. I also remember when my speech class clashed with my TV programme at NTA, Ibadan. Mama Ajayi, as simply called, told me I was going to fail the course. That made me work extra hard,

and indeed I scored the highest mark in the course.”

He also recalled sustaining injury during the play titled “The Silent God” by Ahmed Yerima in 1994. A nail cut his toe and the bleeding was uncontrollable. He managed through the play but had to be rushed to the hospital at the end. In another incident, he almost burned down his house when he went to act in Barrie Stavis’ The Man who Never Died.

“I suddenly remembered that I did not put off my gas cooker at home. I left home around 5pm and I remembered the scenario at about 8pm, when the play was in progress. It wasn’t funny. I simply surrendered to the call, “The show must go on!” After the show ended at 11pm, I left my sister late Foluke Adesina-Ogunleye, back in the theatre and rushed home in Julius Spencer’s car (a former Minister of Culture and Tourism in Sierra Leone, now deceased). Behold, N11 saved me from burning my landlord’s house. A kerosene seller whom I chose to offer little succour saved me. I always kept N11 somewhere in my house for her pick up anytime she had to buy a drum of kerosene. She came to the house to pick up that money and found the gas cooker burning,’’ he recalled.

But as a producer, his challenge is dealing with budget as unforeseen circumstances often creep into production.

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40 YEARS AFTER, SWEET MOTHER STILL AN UNDENIABLE CLASSIC Eromo Egbejule

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he year 1976 was a very historic one for Nigeria. It was the year Lt. Col. Buka Suka Dimka put bullets through young Gen. Murtala Mohammed, the incumbent head of state as he and his even younger ADC, Lt. Akintunde Akinsehinwa drove away from the office for prayers in the February of that year. It was also the year that free education was introduced by the indefatigable Obafemi Awolowo in the defunct Western region.

For young Nigerian pop culture enthusiasts at the time, it was also a year to savour. Both Arthur Ashe – the only black tennis player to ever win in the singles’ event at Wimbledon – and Pele, perhaps the greatest black footballer ever were also in Lagos to play in the same week of Mohammed’s assassination.

It may have escaped the minds of many but that was also the year that Sweet Mother was released by Prince Nico Mbarga and his RocaFil Jazz Band. The playful highlife record considered by many to be the most popular African song ever and the eponymous album housing it was the band’s debut offering on their new label, Roger All Stars International of Onitsha.

At the time, the big band era in highlife was glinting, with the glory of the famous Rambles Dance Band of Ghana, The Oriental Brothers, The Peacocks and others gradually dying down. Conversely, Fela Kuti and his Afrobeat sound, one of the many genre that spawned off highlife, were on the rise. Mbarga held a dry branch to the flickering flames by rolling a mix of Zairean and Cameroonian rhythms along with the distinct Nigerian melody into a high-tempo

style that he dubbed panko music. Their first true hit, 1973’s cheeky I No Go Marry My Papa was a crowdpleaser but ended up being only a regional hit.

Angered by the band’s inability to properly ‘blow’, EMI International dropped the band off its roster in XYZ, refusing the demo of Sweet Mother it was offered in 1974. That same demo was offered to other multinational labels like Decca Records and Philips Records with both equally turning it down, because of its apparently childish inclinations. Perhaps it was hard for the label executives to imagine poor Nico in his characteristically flamboyant boots and colourful outfits singing like a child – and to children.

The four-track album was eventually released in December 1976 was Rogers All Stars owned by Chief (Sir) Rogers E. Okonkwo, an Onitsha-based mogul and audio engineer who would later also sign a certain Bright Chimezie. Soon enough, the track was gaining maximum airplay on the Radio Nigeria stations across the country. A star was born.

Forty years after, the album is still a masterpiece, forever transcending borders and relevant in all ramifications long after Mbarga’s demise in 1997, no thanks to a motorcycle accident. Tilda, a Cameroonian singer and dancer who was one of the original Rocafil Jazz band members released a remake of the initial album on Rogers All Stars in 2010. It was nostalgic but only served to reinforce rather than deflect away from the glory of the original lyrics and rhythms.

The titular track, which has since been the subject of hundreds of remixes and covers may have eclipsed the other songs in the LP, but those were also mostly high quality. Aki Special, sung in bits of delicious Cameroonian & Nigerian pidgin twangs interspersed with the playful Igbo of Onitsha has the characteristic philosophical theme of bonafide highlife. On

this track, Nico ad-libs, sings and admonishes his compatriots on this song with a number of oldie pop idioms, including a charge to never forget that ‘God’s time is the best’.

Wayo Inlaw may have slightly brought things down a couple of notches, but the song about greedy inlaws who took back their daughter from the husband after a quarrel brings Mbarga’s Igbo side to the fore. And it is a head-bopper nonetheless. “I no fit loss both wife and money one time”, he sings.

Refund my money or give me my wife, he says.

The dexterous plucking of the guitar interlude onChristiana can give a listener joy in the same anticipatory manner that the plucking of a fowl’s feathers makes one salivate even before the chicken pepper soup is prepared. Also a hit at the time, it describes love spurned in a language not explicit enough to require warning stickers, unlike contemporary pop artistes. Christiana, the love interest is the subject of his regrets, having spent all his money to give her because according to her, her father couldn’t pay.

On completion of her education, she rebuffs his love and offers to pay him back for funding her schooling because of a richer suitor, leaving poor Nico heartbroken. The glory of an Igbo man is his wife so one can almost hear his unspoken advice to young men to not spend too much on women until they are married to them.

Worthy of note are the underlying guitar riffs in every song. A brilliant guitarist, Mbarga’s foreign inflexions integrate virtually the same riffs missing from traditional highlife patterns but present in the soukous genre.

Children of this generation may have missed the Emperor’s stay on Earth but his magnum opus is what we were told it was – an undeniable classic.

-Egbejule writes from Lagos

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CICERO

Editor Vincent Obia Email vincent.obia@thisdaylive.com

IN THE ARENA

As President Buhari Galvanises International Community into Action against Stolen Wealth The president’s effort to make world leaders take actions to limit havens for monies stolen from Nigeria is praiseworthy, but he should also put in place proactive measures to frustrate the siphoning of the country’s wealth and ensure effective prosecution of corruption cases. Vincent Obia writes

O

ne piece of news that put Nigeria on the front pages of many national and international tabloids last week was a statement by British Prime Minister David Cameron labelling Nigeria as extremely corrupt. That was as world leaders were gathering in London for global action against corruption.

Ahead of Thursday’s international anticorruption summit, Cameron was caught on camera Tuesday describing Nigeria as “fantastically corrupt”, stressing that Nigeria and Afghanistan are “possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world.” He was speaking at the Buckingham Palace at a side-line discussion in a group that included the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Reverend Justin Welby, and Speaker of the House of Commons, Mr. John Bercow. They had gathered to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday.

However, in that footage of the chat by the British leaders published by British television station, ITV News, Welby was heard retorting, “But this particular president is actually not corrupt,” in obvious reference to President Muhammadu Buhari.

“He’s trying very hard.”

Buhari was at the time flying to the United Kingdom for the anticorruption summit, where, as part of his itinerary, he delivered a keynote address on Wednesday at the Commonwealth event, “Tackling Corruption Together: A Conference for Civil Society, Business and Government Leaders,” held at the Commonwealth secretariat.

Many world leaders pay Buhari a compliment for his honest credentials and his anticorruption effort.

Foremost anticorruption group, Transparency International, responded to Cameron’s comment on Nigeria and Afghanistan by acknowledging the historical menaces of corruption in both countries as well as the efforts of their current leaders to stem the problem. But it accused Britain of being a big contributor to the problem.

Nigeria places 136 among 168 countries and territories ranked in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index, while Afghanistan ranks 166.

“But the leaders of those countries have sent strong signals that they want things to change, and the London Anti-Corruption Summit creates an opportunity for all the countries present to sign up to a new era.

“This affects the UK as much as other countries: we should not forget that by providing a safe haven for corrupt assets, the UK and its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are a big part of the world’s corruption problem,” Transparency International’s managing director, Mr. Cobus de Swardt, stated on Tuesday.

Recognitions like this are certainly a boost to Buhari’s anticorruption campaign. They should spur the president to more proactive actions to ensure a tidier prosecution of corruption cases in Nigeria.

Buhari has been trying to galvanise the international community into taking concerted actions aimed at closing safe havens for proceeds of corruption from Nigeria. Addressing the summit on Thursday, the president advocated the dismantling of safe havens and the return of illegally acquired assets to their countries of origin. Indeed, while several commentators had urged him to demand an apology from the British prime minister for his uncomplimentary comments about Nigeria two days before,

Buhari said he needed no apology, but the return of corruptly acquired Nigerian assets held in British financial institutions and properties.

In January, Nigeria signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates for the repatriation of ill-gotten wealth hidden

by Nigerians in that country. UAE is alleged to hold about $200 billion in stolen assets from Nigeria, which is stashed in banks and property in that country’s most prominent cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters under which UAE will return monies hidden or invested in banks and real estate in the country, was among a series of bilateral agreements signed by Nigeria, when Buhari attended the World Energy Forum in the country. Other agreements signed with the UAE during the visit included Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement, Agreement on Trade Promotion and Protection, Judicial Agreements on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

At the London anticorruption summit, Buhari and leaders of 59 other countries were expected to seal a pact by which none of the 60 countries would be a safe haven for treasury looters and those who steal public funds would be punished. The government says the agreement would make it difficult for political and public office holders to take stolen money abroad or operate slush accounts.

Many Nigerians and members of the international community are optimistic Nigeria has reached a turning point on getting a

handle on a massive corruption menace that has devastated the country and made it a laughing stock. Buhari needs to make optimum use of this goodwill by taking steps to boost confidence in the local corruption prosecution capabilities.

The Buhari administration must address the criticisms that have dogged its corruption prosecution strategy, especially, the issue of long detention of suspects. In the prosecution of corruption cases, the government needs to follow, and be seen to be following, the nitty-gritties of trial in a democratic society.

The anticorruption agencies – Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, and Code of Conduct Bureau – should ensure thorough and prompt investigation of cases before bringing suspects to court. And accused persons should be given a real platform and an opportunity to defend themselves. It is only by so doing that the corruption trials can produce the much-needed justice and deterrence.

Traumatising suspects by putting them away in prison detention, denying them access to basic liberties and materials that should aid their defence, and, sometimes, conducting trials while the accused are in prison do not augur well for justice. They diminish Nigeria before civilised humanity.

Besides, endless detention of suspects and hunt for evidence that tends to continue ad infinitum are signs of dysfunctional and weak justice sector institutions. Buhari needs to address this urgently for the country to enjoy the fruits of his administration’s anticorruption campaign.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

S

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu

The Fuel Subsidy Debate

ince Wednesday, when the federal government announced the removal of subsidy on petrol, there have been both angry and complimentary reactions to the policy.

Many Nigerians saw the subsidy as the subsidisation of fraud, as the product was sold much higher than the official price in many parts of the country, despite the subsidy payments. And attempts by the government to sanitise the

subsidy system were always greeted with more frustration from the oligarchic oil marketers to the consuming public via artificial scarcity.

The removal of subsidy would free the market and help to curb corruption. Labour and other groups who are opposing the petrol subsidy removal must realise that it is the inevitable endgame to the fraudulent fuel subsidy regime that is now being played out.

– Vincent Obia

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Falola and Sani at the Special Court Martial in Abuja...recently

Nigerian Army and the New Cases at the Special Court Martial The special court martial recently instituted by the Nigerian military to try two Major-generals brings back memories of the several prosecutions that happened in the previous administration. Senator Iroegbu writes

T

he Nigerian military authorities last week inaugurated a Special Court Martial sitting at theArmy Headquarters, Garrison,Abuja, to adjudicate on a case between the NigerianArmy and two accused senior officers, Major-general Ibrahim Sani and Major-general

Patrick Falola.

The trial of Sani, who is a former commander, Army Transformation and Innovation Centre, and Falola , the former commander, 68 Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, came as a shock to many because it was a marked departure from the posture of the current administration.

It is on record that the current Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has since assumption of office embarked on the reversal of the sentences handed down on several officers and soldiers during the tenure of his predecessor, Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah.

The only court martial that has sat under Buratai is the one that tried Brig-Gen. Enitan Ransom-Kuti, who was sentenced to six months imprisonment and dismissal from service. But unlike the on-going trial of the two Major-generals, whose offence are yet to be ascertained, Ransom-Kuti’s trial started before the Buratai era.

Gale of Courts Martial

Minimah, in response to the escalation of Boko Haram terrorism in parts of the North-east,

established several General Courts Martial that tried and convicted over 5, 000 officers and soldiers. The former COAS had in the wake of several reversals and loss of territories promised to set up more GCM to try erring soldiers and check indiscipline among troops engaged in the counter-terrorism operations against the Boko Haram terrorists.

Minimah was quoted as saying, “The Army is taking all proactive measures to restore sanity and battle confidence to troops,” adding that soldiers and officers who run away during the operations will be court-martialled. He frowned on acts of sabotage and cowardice among troops. The former COAS lamented that some soldiers had joined the Army to own property, while others joined for employment.

He said, “I must set up court martial and if you are in my place and you did nothing you are not worth being a Chief of Army Staff. I did that I have no regret.

“I am setting up more courts martial to try people who ran, showed cowardice, abandoned troops and equipment and ran away. Why are you in the Army? Is that Army? That is not the Army.”

He said any solider who could not fight for his country should not exist, adding that the oath of allegiance of the military demands that a soldier should fight.

Over 5,000 personnel of the Nigerian Army were either imprisoned, retired or dismissed as a measure to restore order and discipline needed to rout the marauding terrorists.

Reversal

But barely one month after taking over from Minimah, Buratai directed a review of some of the disciplinary and court-martial cases, especially those handled under his immediate predecessor. Speaking on the issue, Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, noted that the Nigerian Army was “reviewing all recent disciplinary cases due to the wave of litigations and petitions by some aggrieved personnel.”

Minimah had made discipline through the courts martial one of the cardinal strategies to restore confidence and professionalism in the Army, a strategy his successor had initially vowed to sustain.

The former COAS had during his formal handover to Buratai attributed his achievements to collective effort and discipline instituted within the rank and file of the Nigerian Army through the

court martial processes across the country.

He said: “The success did not come cheap. It came with the sweat and blood of all of us. In the face of unusual events we had to take unusual actions. Some may adjudge us as being too strict, especially in dealing with cases of cowardice and indiscipline in the field. But we had to do what we must to arrest the drift towards chaos that the Army was heading. I am happy that the result in the field today justifies our actions. Today, I am leaving behind an Army that can hold its own against any adversary without batting an eyelid. An Army that has vowed ‘Never Again’ to concede any inch of Nigeria to terrorists. It is the legacy I am leaving behind and I implore you to sustain it.

“You would recall that at the time of my appointment, our Army and indeed the nation was going through one of the worst crises in our history.

The level of violence and insecurity unleashed on our fellow citizens by Boko Haram terrorists had reached unprecedented heights. The Boko Haram terrorists had nearly brought the Nigerian Army and the Armed Forces to their knees. Barracks were sacked at random, weapons and ammunition carted away and vulnerable civilians wantonly killed by terrorists. The morale of our troops was at its lowest ebb. Soldiers regularly fled the battlefield on the

73

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

SUNDAY/ISSUE

President Buhari: A Time to Show Leadership (1) Olu Richard Sole

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”

––Martin Luther King, Jr.

A

fter a chariot of promises, assurances of derring-do, and lofty flattery of hope, including half-full cup of holy water inversion without letting out a drop, Muhammadu Buhari becomes president… and then- all hell breaks loose.

Colossal brigandry is exposed in government procurement practices, Boko Haram’s criminal mayhem did not let up, dissatisfied advocates for a breakaway republic thrive, and, crude oil prices sink to levels not seen since the 1980s. The Naira collapsed, suffering defeat, investors retreat and spending – the lifeline of any economy – takes a hit. Emasculated by global events of which he has no control, Buhari knows that this is not what he planned for, nor where he’d rather begin his presidency. The ex-soldier who came as a miracle worker and champion of the cause to rescue Nigeria from its rot is on the defensive, and with his back against the ropes. The opposition, sensing blood, takes the opportunity to punch harder and bring Buhari down to size.

Who would have thought that after five years of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s chicanery, Buhari will arrive at the political stage with this burden? A meek, elder statesman who should rather retire to manage a livestock farm in Daura, is now at the helm of an economy almost ran aground?

Does Buhari have the oomph to push through these challenges or, the wherewithal, and staying power? Either way, Buhari will learn new lessons, indeed. First and foremost, Buhari will learn that politics is a blood sport and the goal is to eliminate your opponent from the contest and replace that player with your team membermortal combat indeed.

Buhari

Second, that fate can intervene in unusual ways, at any time and deal a cruel hand in the middle of the sport. Lastly, and more importantly, that gut, grime and tact is a requisite condition needed to win. This is how you win the Super Bowl.

Could these occurrences be a cruel joke playing out on Buhari, or the consequence of poor planning by his predecessors? Nevertheless, Buhari is sure to find out that the challenges of the times come in myriad form, shape, and kind- and sometimes they come with copious fury, relentless savagery and consistent ferocity. For Buhari, this is not the time for excuses. It is a time for leadership - or lack of it; and it is on display for all to see.

Economists and forecasters have long predicted that this time will come, that Nigeria needed to diversify because we cannot continue to be a single commodity economy. They cautioned us to repent from our monolithic culture and find alternative revenue stream. They begged that we needed to be vigilant and explore alternatives on how we can produce, on a commercial scale, similarly correlated products as natural gas, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone and even mechanised farming. Why? Because our arable land makes for bounty harvest. They alerted us to our petroleum exports revenue, which represents over 90 per cent

of our total export revenue. Nearly out of breath, they warned that this revenue will someday dry up or become threatened – as it is today.

Rather than listen, we partied, and as long as the revenue stream was open, we were in good shape. We are as tenacious in our reckless habit as we are comfortable in our single commodity ethos. What consequently happened is that we did not milk our only cow dry. We still have abundant crude oil in our depository. The only problem is that falling prices in the world market and newly emergent drilling technologies mean that there is more oil and gas in the world than anyone could account for. Fracking and other related technologies have flooded the world market with cheap oil. New oil is running amok, and it is aplenty. Quadrillion trillion cubic feet of shale gas (molecules of gas trapped away for eons) is now recoverable from underneath our earth.

Just to rewind for a minute. It was the first Olympics in Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 and it was at Sochi. At the opening ceremony in the winter of 2014, was a spectacular display of Russia’s magnificence and grandeur. Still smarting from the breakup of the Soviet Republics - the single largest intercontinental landmass- Putin went to extraordinary lengths to project Russia’s image and strength. Employing compelling visual storytelling technologies, Putin presented Russia’s history of acclaim and greatness in 3D theatrics. Then, Russia finished on top of the overall medal count with 33 medals.

The U.S. finished with 28 medals. Putin’s veiled message -it is time for Russia to rise. One year later, unmarked Russian soldiers seized the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine and, amidst the hullabaloo, invaded Ukraine claiming that it had always been a part of Russia.

Major Powers take sides. In order to make Ukraine less attractive to Russia, Saudi Arabia a mid-level regional player, America’s friend and strategic partner, opens up its pump, flooding the market with cheap oil. There is so much oil in the market and, like Nigeria, Russia is heavily dependent on oil revenue. Russia’s currency got hit but Saudis owe the United States a pre-September 11

debt from America’s military bases in Arabian land which was meant to protect the Saudi’s in a hostile region – and a source of Saudi’s and Bin Laden’s angst at infidels stepping foot on holy land. America and its allies had also benefitted from this strategic friendship from as recent as Operation Desert Storm in 1990.

The military bases were used as pit stop and storage facilities to launch American offensive and chase Saddam Hussein out from Kuwait.

It also was a strategic region in1944 WWII to defeat Japan and in liberating France and most of Europe from Hitler’s terrible grip. Obama and the West saw Putin’s move as a hungry land grab, akin to Hitler’s cunning 1939 strategy.

A constellation of forces- Fracking, shale gas, Ukraine and geopolitics are in play here.

Come to the present with me, if I went online and opened a commodity futures brokerage account which will enable me trade crude oil on the commodity market. I will pay $27.00 for a barrel of crude oil, down from $136.31 a barrel in June 2008 (Source: Inflation Data.com). By 2009, it was selling for $120 a barrel.

Just for the purpose of illustration, let us assume that Nigeria expects to earn $120 as revenue for the entire year based on the sale of one barrel of oil in 2008. After its earnings, Nigeria had to present a budget, maintain internal security, build barracks and pay salaries to the police. She will have to replace and maintain aging military fleet, buy fighter jets, allocate funds to states and local governments, train the military, build roads and infrastructure, fight insurgency, maintain hospitals, and pay retirement. Lest we forget, we shall make room for the big “C&E”- Corruption and Embezzlement.

Well, that $120 which was able to do these things in 2008 had been whittled down by geopolitics to $27. Clearly, Nigeria is hamstrung and isn’t able to do much in this moribund economy.

Follow my thoughts in part II on how Buhari can win.

–– Sole writes from The Cultural Diplomacy Institute, Washington D.C.

• NigeriaN army aNd the New Cases at the speCial Court martial • Continued from Pg. 72 slightest indication of an approaching adversary.”

However, with the latest policy direction, Buratai seems to have modified his vow to sustain and maintain a high level of discipline in the Nigerian Army, which was championed by his predecessors in the on-going fight against Boko Haram.

Responding during the handover ceremony, Buratai had stated, “I must commend you (Minimah) for the sense of discipline and professionalism you have introduced to the Nigerian Army through various courts martial. We will make sure that we do not relent on discipline and that the highest form of discipline is maintained in the Army. I want also to ensure that our armed forces and soldiers remain loyal to the constituted authorities.”

Investigation revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari authorised the recall of the officers and soldiers who were believed to be “unjustly disciplined and dismissed through various courts martial set up by the immediate past Army chief.

Military sources told THISDAY that Buhari had after reviewing most of the cases and the circumstances under which the affected personnel were sanctioned called for a review of the trial to determine if there were cases of injustice. According to one the senior officer, the case was brought to the attention of Buratai who had a change of mind on his earlier stand when the whole picture of the circumstances under which the affected officers and soldiers were court-martialled were brought to his notice.

One of the affected commanders was the immediate senior to the new Army chief, and he was said to have narrated the plight of the servicemen “who were almost forced to fight without a weapon”.

Piqued by the revelations, Buratai was said to have assessed the situation and subsequently presented it to Buhari who wasted no time in approving the review of the cases through a panel of enquiry.

The source said, “The commandant who was also affected was not happy about the things that happened with those boys being dismissed. So when the new man (Buratai) came, having been next to him in hierarchy, he approached him with the situation of those boys.

He noted the fact that the former army leadership were the ones who did not provide the needed weapons to those boys. So how can they come up to claim that the boys were running from Boko Haram?

“Consequently, the new man took the case to the president who also felt sad about it and directed that the cases be reviewed so that they can be recalled back.”

Reinstatement

The Nigerian Army in line with the review and directive by Buratai officially confirmed the reinstatement of 3,032 soldiers who were convicted of various disciplinary offences through series of courts martial instituted by Minimah.

The Army spokesman, while disclosing the decision during a press conference last year, said recalled that the Nigerian Army had instituted a committee to review the disciplinary cases in the service, especially, of those soldiers in the defunct Operation Zaman Lafiya in the North-east, with a view to ensuring discipline, regimentation and justice in the system.

Usman said: “The committee has concluded its sitting last week and has made certain recommendations that led to the reinstatement of 3,032 soldiers into the Nigerian Army out of 5,000 cases that were reviewed.

The reinstated soldiers have shown their total readiness to be relaunched into theatre to combat insurgency and have now commenced a retraining exercise at the Nigerian Army Training Centre, Kontagora, Niger State. This training is to reorient the affected soldiers and prepare them for this closing stage of the operational aspect of the counter insurgency operations with more weapons and new leadership.”

Usman, however, clarified “that not all the dismissed soldiers were granted pardon and recalled”, adding, “those with criminal cases, for instance, have their sentences upheld.”

Ransome-Kuti Case

The first major disciplinary decision undertaken by the Nigerian Army under Buratai was the court martial of Ransome-Kuti. The Nigerian Army had in October last year dismissed Ransom-Kuti and sentenced him to six months imprisonment due to offences allegedly committed during his command of military operations in Baga early this year.

Usman explained that the sentence was not due to acts of cowardice, which was struck out, but hinged on other offences bordering on unprofessional conduct. He said: “I wish to confirm that one of the accused persons, Brigadier General EA Ransome-Kuti, was awarded the following punishments on the various count charges against him as follows; “The first count charge, which was cowardly behaviour, was struck out but he was found guilty on count charge number two, which was failure to perform military duties and was dismissed from the Nigerian Army.” He stated that Ransom-Kuti “was equally found guilty on count charge number three, which was miscellaneous offences relating to service property and was awarded six months imprisonment.”

However, the Army Council in February this year commuted the dismissal of Ransome-Kuti to demotion from Brigadier General to Colonel with four years seniority with immediate effect from October 15, 2015.

The Deputy Director of Public Relations (DDAPR), AHQ Garrison, Col. Aliyu Yusuf, in response to THISDAY enquiries then, confirmed the decision of the Army dated March 1, 2016 and signed by Col. ON Taiwo on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) referencing a

circular titled: Army Council Decision for Implementation: Brig-Gen. EA Ransome-Kuti (N/8301), with references: A. AHQ GAR/G1/300/47 dated 26 June 15; and B. HQ DLS/A/G1/300/54 dated 26 Feb 16 According the circular, the council took the decision in its last meeting on February 22 after reviewing the judgement of the SCM that tried Ransome-Kuti on a three-count charge of for failure to perform military duties and miscellaneous offences relating to service property.

The circular read in part, “A Special Court Martial (SCM) was convened vide reference A to try the above named senior officer. He was arraigned on a three-count charge for Failure to Perform Military Duties and Miscellaneous Offences Relating to Service Property. He was tried but was discharged and acquitted on Count 1. He was however found guilty on Count 2 and 3 by the SCM that tried him. He was thus awarded dismissal from the NA on Count 2 and six months imprisonment on Count 3.

“Consequently, I am directed to inform you that reference B has conveyed to this Headquarters that the Army Council in its last meeting on February 22, 2016, confirmed the conviction of the accused senior officer on Count 2 but commuted the sentence of dismissal to reduction in rank from Brigadier-General to Colonel with four years seniority WEF October 15, 2015. The Council also quashed the finding of guilt and the award of six months imprisonment awarded by the SCM on Count 3 and replaced same with a finding of ‘not guilty’. The senior officer was thus discharged and acquitted on Count 3 WEF October 15, 2015.

“Accordingly, I am directed to request AHQ GAR to release the senior officer from close custody. I am also to request AHQ MS to post him out of jurisdiction.”

Ransome-Kuti was accused of dereliction of duties, which allegedly led to the capture of Baga and newly acquired weaponry by the Boko Haram terrorists. The officer, who represented by Lagos-based lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), was also alleged to have failed to account for the arms and ammunitions under his supervision.

The New Court Martial

The latest trial of the two senior officers has raised fears that the military might be returning to the era of courts martial to return some officers and soldiers to discipline.

While the on-going Air Vice Marsha James Gbum-led special court martial is yet to establish the offence for which Falola and Sani are being tried, it has, however, been revealed that the trial is not connected to the military operations in the North-east.

It seems that unlike the previous cases, which were mainly related to events in the battlefields of the North-east, the current trials may be dominated by misconducts bordering on corruption, dereliction of duty, civil cases, and electoral matters.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

SUNDAY/REPORT

Odubu

Obaseki

Edo 2016 and the Controversial Assassination Attempt In quick succession, two governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress were attacked during their campaign tours to meet party delegates ahead of the party’s primary election. Adibe Emenyonu, in Benin City, examines the scenarios

F

irst, it was the deputy governor of Edo State, Dr. Pius Odubu. Odubu had on April 29 kicked off his campaign ahead of the party’s primary election slated for June 18. Few days after his declaration, some political thugs, allegedly, attacked him and his entourage in Auchi, headquarters of Etsako West local government.

Debarred

Five persons were, reportedly, injured during the attack. The number two citizen of the state was first said to have been denied access to APC secretariat in Fugar, headquarters of Etsako Central local government on the alleged instructions of a deputy director of protocol at Government House who is from the area.

Odubu was scheduled to meet with party delegates from the area but met the gate of the secretariat under lock and key, a situation that was said to have angered some delegates who forced the gate open to enable the deputy governor meet with them outside the secretariat.

From Fugar, Odubu was said to have left for Auchi and was meeting with delegates when thugs, allegedly, appeared, firing gunshots and destroying canopies. “We ran for our dear lives.

They injured a policeman, an SSS operative and three civilians and destroyed canopies,” a source close to the venue said.

Immediately after the attack, the director of strategic research and planning of the Odubu campaign organisation and two-time member representing Uhumwonde federal constituency, Samson Osagie, who spoke on behalf of the group, blamed some persons at the corridors of power in the state. He enumerated instances where a number of persons considered to be loyal to the governorship ambition of the deputy governor were illegally suspended and removed from office adding, “This to us is the height of naked display of power of cruelty, animosity, intolerance and man’s inhumanity to man.”

He said five persons, including the State Security Service officer and the escort police attached to the deputy governor, were severely injured during the attack on Odubu who went on a meet-the- delegates tour of the three local government areas of Etsako West, Etsako Central and Etsako East.

Osagie claimed they had identified three persons who masterminded the attack.

Overzealous Officers

However, investigation by THISDAY revealed that the overzealousness of the security details attached to the deputy governor might have triggered the Auchi incident. His visits to other Etsako local governments, such as Agenebode and Fugar, went without incident.

Trouble was said to have begun when delegates in other areas came out en masse to receive the deputy governor and his entourage. It was in the midst of the pushing and shoving to enter the hall that a policeman attached to the convoy of Odubu fired some gunshots, apparently, to scare people away.

As this went on, according to an APC leader from the area, Malam Yakubu Momodu, “One of the shots hit a party member who came for the meeting, which resulted in pandemonium. It

was in the cause of the confusion that I heard sporadic shooting.

That is all I can say because I also had to run away for my dear life.”

Investigation

Against this backdrop, Governor Adams Oshiomhole directed the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chris Ezike, to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the incident in Auchi and make culprits to face the full wrath of the law. A statement by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Kassim Afegbua, noted that while it should be understood that democracy was all about inclusive participation and contestation of ideas, and not rule of the gun, every gubernatorial aspirant must live by the rules of the game and not the size of his guns and political thugs. “Campaigns are generally a very interesting aspect of democracy; hence, it must not be reduced to bloodletting,” Afegbua said.

Second Attack

Just as the police were set to swing into action following the takeover of the investigation by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, another attempt was, allegedly, made on the life of one of the aspirants, Godwin Obaseki, at Sobe, Owan West local government.

Youths from the area were said to have pursued the suspected thugs, which led to their arrested with their guns and hand over to the police. The Commissioner for Arts and Culture, Mcdonald Obasuki, confirmed the incident shortly after it happened. He said he saw a man who went inside a vehicle and brought out a gun which he shot at the venue where Obaseki was about to address APC delegates.

According to Obasuke, “While we were still expecting delegates, Obaseki was already inside with the party leaders when this boy, who pretended he was with us, went inside the car and brought out a gun and fired at our direction.

“We were lucky to dodge the bullet. So we immediately mobilised our boys and pursued them because it seems they came to disrupt the event. We caught them and handed them over to the police. It was really shocking, we thank God nobody was hurt. However, Obaseki could not address the delegates because of the shooting.”

Speaking to journalists, Obaseki said, “I called off the meeting with the delegates because I had to be whisked off by my security men. No one was hurt though. I cannot be intimidated, whoever did this has failed because we will continue our campaign.” He said election was about exchange of ideas and not about war.

For Peaceful Elections

Obaseki spoke in Benin at his campaign office when he played host to Mr. Innocent Idibia (aka Tuface). The music icon was recently conferred with an honorary Master of Art in music by the Igbinedion University Okada, Edo State.

Tuface said for the past two years he had being at the vanguard of the “Vote not Fight, Election no be War” campaign, meant to sensitise Nigerians on the need for peaceful elections.

Obaseki pleaded with the political class in Edo State to eschew

violence and embrace peace for the betterment of all.

“The whole idea of politics is to expand the space, to show the younger generation that different types of people, who are from the corporate world, can come and play politics, that politics is not about ruffian corruption, but an honourable thing to do, which is about service.”

Battle for Delegates

THISDAY, however, gathered that the reported attacks on Odubu and Obaseki were only the manifestation of a battle between the former council chairman, Jimoh Ijegbai, and Obasuki for control of the delegates in Sobe ward II of Owan West local government.

The supporters of Obasuki, who also hails from Sobe, were said to have clashed with those loyal to Reginald Okunbor over the control of delegates in the council. Okunbor was said to be working for Ijegbai.

Obasuki told newsmen, “We were in my ward in Sobe waiting for Godwin Obaseki. In the process, some leaders and some boys came and they wanted to enter the hall, which is a small place that can host 12 delegates. We asked them not to enter, including the former Owan east chairman, Barrister Jimoh Ijegbai. In the process, I saw one boy, Ige, enter one car and brought out a cut-to-size double barrel and I was very lucky as I just left the place when he shot. The sign is still at the wall there “This boy was the one Reginald took on bail. He stabbed people at Iyamoh. The case is still at the state police CID. My place is not where you can do such a thing and go free, so those guys ran into one L300 Mitstibushi bus and that bus belongs to Reginald and these are Reginald’s boys and we know them. So one of my persons entered his 190 Mercedes car and chased them, guess what they saw, it was Reginald at Iron axis.

“These boys had to return because they were not armed. I was surprised that the Commissioner of Police was aware and invited me yesterday (Sunday evening) after the incident and I was with him in the sitting room. I played the whole story to him and he has asked them to luck them up. As I speak to you now they are at the police station.”

Obasuki who acknowledged that he and Reginald belonged to the Obaseki project, however, said, “One of the Reginald boys is the Ward 9 coordinator for Ogiemwonyi. Reginald is playing hide and seek game in this Obaseki project. He is not committed to it.”But the immediate past Owan East council chairman, Ijegbai, has refuted the allegation that the disruption of Obaseki’s campaign at Sobe was because of him. Ijegbai said those involved should own up to what led to the attack at Sobe. According to him, “Those saying the shooting or thugs attack on Obaseki campaign at Sobe was because of me should tell the real reason why such a sad incident occurred. My take on this is that what happened was just an issue of supremacy over who controls the delegates at Sobe. Reginald and Obasuki are both supporters of Obaseki and Obasuki is from Sobe, ward 11 where the incident happened.

We had already successfully visited all other 10 wards in the council area same day before we got to Sobe.”

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

SUNDAY/ONTHEWATCH

PDP Pre-convention Tussle: Sheriff versus Ex-ministers Onyebuchi Ezigbo looks at the disagreement between the national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party and some major stakeholders of the party

T

he current battle of wits between the national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and those opposed to him, mainly ministers in the previous PDP administration, is threatening to destroy the party that once prided itself on being Africa’s biggest party. The disagreement is over the propriety or otherwise of going ahead with national convention. Ever since the emergence of Sheriff as the national chairman, some PDP chieftains have severally voiced their disdain for his tenure. Most of them have argued that the party will surfer enormous image problems arising from Sheriff’s controversial political record.

Sheriff, a two- time governor of Borno State, is still receiving bashing for his alleged poor handling of the security risk posed by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

Apparently, another crime which Sheriff might have committed was that he journeyed variously from the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party to the All Progressives Congress before landing the top job at the PDP. But what has really surprised all those opposed to Sheriff’ is how the Borno State-born politician has continued to secure the backing of the majority of the PDP state governors and key party organs, like the National Working Committee, National Caucus, Board of Trustees, and the National Executive Committee. As part of efforts to appease aggrieved party stakeholders, the national caucus of the party agreed to give Sheriff a threemonth lifeline to enable him organise credible congresses that would lead to the national congress. However, Sheriff has continued to wax strong, while consolidating on his support base nationwide. Part of the grouse his opponents have against him is that the national chairman is alleged to be harbouring a sinister motive of retaining his seat even after the national convention.

Concerned Party Stakeholders

A number of groups have sprung up to agitate against Sheriff’s alleged plot to remain in office beyond the national convention. They have been holding a series of clandestine meetings to thwart the plan. On Thursday last week, things took a new dimension when a group known as concerned Party Stakeholders met in Abuja and appointed a 21-member steering committee to take over the management of the affairs of the party. Rising from their meeting held at the Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja, the Concerned Stakeholders made up of mainly former ministers in the past PDP administration, said following widespread disenchantment and in order to stop the party from further slide into confusion, “the leaders of the party from the six geopolitical zones hereby announce a 21-day member steering committee to manage the affairs of the PDP”. In a communiqué issued at the end of its deliberations and jointly signed by former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Prof.

Tunde Adeniran and Chief Raymond Dokpesi, the group said the committee was to work closely with members of the BoT till such a time that a proper, lawfully organised national convention of the party would be held to usher in a new leadership of the party. The group said the committee will immediately put in place a national reconciliation committee to reconcile all previously aggrieved party members.

The communiqué read, “We the founding fathers, stakeholders and leaders of the party from all the 6 Geopolitical zones hereby announce a 21 member steering committee to manage the affairs of the PDP, and work intimately with our respected members of BOT who are the conscience of the party till such a time that a proper, lawfully organised national convention of the party, where a new authentic leadership of the party will be duly elected in accordance to the provisions of our party constitution and guidelines.”

The group contended that at the expiration of the tenure of the members of the NWC on March 24, a national convention to elect the new executives ought to have taken place or a caretaker committee put in place to run the affairs of the party till a convention was held. They also described the extension of the tenure of the national chairman and other members of the NWC by the NEC as an illegality and “therefore untenable and contrary to the provisions of our party constitution, which gives such powers only to the national convention of the party.”

They maintained, “We condemn the attempt by the

Sheriff

Gana

illegal NWC of the party to amend the constitution of the party in order to muzzle and control the BoT and thereby subject the BoT to the villains and caprices of the NWC.” The chairman of the group, Mantu, said the group was made up of people determined not to allow party to be buried by the undertakers. “Our common goal is that we are united in the desire to rescue our party from the hands of the undertakers who have taken over the party,” they stated.

Also supporting the move to oust Sheriff, a chieftain of the PDP, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, said the aim of the concerned party stakeholders was to ensure the restoration of sanity to the party by insisting that things should be done the right way. Dokpesi recounted several important milestones recorded by the country under the PDP administration, adding that the misfortune witnessed by the party in the last general election came when the party disregarded all its known norms and principles and indulged in imposition of candidates and impunity.

Co-chairman of the concerned party stakeholders and a former minister, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, said, “Sometimes I fell like crying when I see a party that was well regarded and respected suddenly hijacked by hoodlums and gangsters. We are not going to accept this. We have come to let you know that we will not sit by and allow things to continue to go wrong. But there is a lot of work to be done and we should be prepared for it.”

Among those that were at the concerned stakeholders meeting were Prof. ABC Nwosu, Jerry Gana, Dr. Doyin Okupe, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, Okwesilieze Nwodo, Ojo Maduekwe, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Chief Bode George, Shehu Gabam, Mrs. Remi Adikwu, Ina Ciroma, Wilberforce Juta, Haliru Ndabawa, Senator Aniete Okon. Others were Prof. Suleiman Abubakar, Bala Mohammed, Esther Audu, Senator Ibok Essien, Grace Bent, Adamu Maina Waziri. Others like Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Jimibewon, Tunde Ogbeha, and Vincent Ogboloafor.

PDP in Abuja, Sheriff’s special assistant on media, Mr. Innua Bwala, accused Gana of collecting about N500 million from the bank on behalf of the party and for which the party has been dragged to the court. Bwala said his boss was not stepping down as chairman until the expiration of his mandate in May 21 and subject to the decision of the party members. He described those in Gana’s group as spent forces that are no longer reckoned with in contemporary politics in the Nigeria. According to him, it will be foolhardy for Sheriff to decide to use this crop of people who played roles that led to the defeat of the party in to rebuild the party.

He said one of the major tasks Sheriff was pursuing as the chairman of PDP was to ease-off those who want to use the party as platform to further their socio-economic interest.

Bwala stated, “Jerry Gana cannot add value to the repositioning of the PDP. He has never seen anything good in what the leadership of the party is doing to reposition the PDP. It is the same character that misled President Jonathan into failure at the polls. This is the same man that wrote to the chairman that he wants to submit the report of the finance committee which he headed and this is the same man that collected N500 million from Skye Bank on behalf of the party for which it has been dragged to court.

“Leaders of the party have prevailed on the chairman not to make this matter public to save him from public embarrassment but the chairman may have no option than to drag Prof. Jerry Gana to the EFCC to explain his role in obtaining the N500 million facility from Skye Bank on behalf of the party and let him explain what he did with the money. We have record of this and at the appropriate time and as the need arises, we will make them public.”

Bwala added, “Since the emergence of the Senator Sheriff, this is one man who has never seen anything good in what the chairman is doing to reposition the party and he has never offered one solution either. We know that they played some ignoble role to squander the fortunes of this party. This is the same characters that deceived former President Jonathan to fail the election.

Unfortunately most of them still go round trying to plead with the chairman to give them one thing or the other and if the chairman declines it becomes an offence and they will take positions against him.

As a matter of fact Prof. Gana has written to the national chairman to allow him to nominate persons into some of the committees and to allow him perform certain functions in the party. Whether this requests were granted or not is immaterial for now, but that is why they are taken positions against the chairman.”

Time will tell how the issue will play out.

Unfazed

However, in his reaction to the move to unseat him, Sheriff described the meeting convened by Jerry Gana as an assemblage of self- styled leaders, which is unknown to the party. In response to the description of the current PDP leadership as gangsters and hoodlums by Gana and Adeniran, the national chairman labelled the group as mainly vagabonds who are of no significant value to the party. As a form of subtle threat, Sheriff vowed to take Gana to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to account for N500 million he allegedly took on behalf of the party. He said given his recent actions, there was no much value Gana could add to the repositioning efforts being pursued by the current PDP leadership.

Speaking to journalists at the national secretariat of the

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CICERO/TRIBUTE

Shonekan: A Quintessential Nigerian Joins Octogenarian Club Last Monday, former Head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan, clocked 80 years.

Shola Oyeyipo writes on the eventful years of the elder statesman

N

o doubt, at 80 there is so much to say about businessman-industrialistturned national political leader, Chief Ernest Shonekan. Providence entrusted him with the leadership of the most populous black nation in the world, when he became Nigeria’s ninth president between August 26, 1993 and November 17, 1993.

Born on May 9, 1936 in Lagos , Shonekan marked 80 years last Monday, May 9.

As Shonekan joins the octogenarian club, there have been encomiums from within and outside Nigeria for the man whose strategic role helped to stabilise his fatherland at a very crucial time in its history. It was he that succeeded former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, at a time that the Nigerian political atmosphere was very charged, particularly, in the South-west, following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which Shonekan’s multi-billionaire kinsman, late Moshood Abiola, was poised to win.

In fact, to some political analysts, the choice of Shonekan, an Egba man who holds the traditional title of Abese of Egbaland, as the head of the interim government was simply to pacify the Egba and other south-westerners because of the annulled June 12 election.

Nigeria was plunged into a chaotic situation when on June 23, 1993, Babangida, on the pretext that there were some pending lawsuits, annulled the election considered the freest and fairest election ever in the nation. Record has it that no fewer than 100 people lost their lives in protests against his military regime before Babangida eventually handed power to the Shonekan-led interim government in August 1993.

It was a decision Babangida attempted to reverse but he was forced to hand over to Shonekan, a prominent businessman who was coming from a successful business and private life. In 1992, before he was named as the head of the ING, he headed Babangida’s Transitional Council formed to design a roadmap for Nigeria to return to democratic rule.

Shonekan joined the United African Company of Nigeria PLC (UAC) in 1964 and because of his ingenuity; it was a fast rise for him at the company.

He was promoted to the position of Assistant Legal Adviser shortly after joining the company and he became a Deputy Adviser two years later, subsequently joining the board. He was made chairman and chief executive of the company in 1980, a position that put him as the chief executive of the largest African-controlled company in Sub-Saharan Africa.

A very brilliant young man, Shonekan attended C.M.S grammar school and Igbobi College, Lagos.

He obtained a law degree from the University of London and was later called to the bar. He was also at Harvard Business School.

Though as the head of the ING, the three months Shonekan spent at the helm of affairs were uneventful; basically because the nation was in turmoil but yet he made some remarkable moves that are captured in the annals of Nigeria’s political history.

During his few months in power, he tried to create a new timetable for democracy to return to Nigeria.

He also sought for debt cancellation but that did not yield any meaningful result because with the cancellation of the 12 June elections, there were heavy economic sanctions on Nigeria by western powers at that time.

Shonekan set political prisoners detained by Babangida free. He made a bill to repeal three major decrees of the military government and attempted to put in place a timetable for Nigerian troop withdrawal from the ECOMOG peacekeeping mission in Liberia. His government also initiated an audit of the accounts of NNPC, which till today is considered as a very corrupt sector and one of Nigeria’s main drain conduits.

Unfortunately, during the period, inflation was uncontrollable and most foreign investors had departed Nigeria. At the same time, MKO, as the winner of the 12 June elections was more popularly known, was totally opposed to the interim government and there were agitations against the government. “His

Shonekan

government was further distabilised by workers’ strikes.” To MKO supporters in the South-west; Shonekan was an obstacle on the nation’s path to democracy, social justice, and improving the welfare of the people.

These and the fact that he was largely unable to firmly control the military while Nigeria gradually plunged into chaos was the argument of the then Defense Minister, General Sani Abacha, who forced Shonekan to resign on 17 November 1993 and assumed power as military head of state. Abacha eventually dissolved all democratic institutions and replaced elected governors with military officers.

However, in the views of many observers, fact is, the failure of the ING was by no means a true measure of Shonekan’s competence as a leader and his managerial skills, it was basically as a result of the tense political situation and military interference.

Now a member of Nigeria’s Council of State, Shonekan has remained largely apolitical. He is however an unrepentant advocate of infrastructural development, which absence, according to him, may hinder the nation’s economic transformation. His belief is that Nigeria’s dream of attaining economic reformation will remain a dream without the provision of infrastructure in all sectors of the economy.

Though he was no longer in power, he maintained a cordial relationship with Abacha and persuaded him to create the Vision 2010 Committee, which he chaired in 1996-97 and which drew up the blueprint for Nigeria’s economic development.

A quintessential political and economic leader, Shonekan was an economic adviser to former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; Chairman and director of numerous companies in the commercial, industrial and financial sectors; member, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry; member, Nigeria-Netherlands Chamber of Commerce; author of The Nigerian Economy (1986); and is the recipient of the Commander of the British Empire and French Legion d’Honore.

In 2004, he was awarded Nigeria’s highest national honor - The Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) and he has headed several govern-

ment committees and offered valuable advice to leaders of the country.

In one of his interviews, Shonekan traced the problems facing Nigeria to bad leadership, noting that “The task of nation building in an underdeveloped multi-ethnic state has never been easy anywhere in the world. When you consider the fact that Nigeria has had issues with good governance, it will become clear why it has been rather difficult to set Nigeria on the path of greatness.

“For one reason, the rot went very far, and for too long. The nation has regressed disastrously as a result of years of bad governance. It will take some time to recover lost ground, and move forward on the path of greatness. Institutions have broken down, age-long values have been eroded, and we are lacking in consensus as a nation. Nigeria in short, is not that easy to fix.”

He said further that “I agree that Nigeria has had problems of leadership, but that is only a part of the problem. With the kind of rot that we have in Nigeria today, it seems to me that we have also had a problem of followership. But then it is probably a chicken and egg situation. Simply put, which one comes first? When you appreciate the role of leadership in any organisation, it becomes difficult not to blame Nigeria’s problems on the failure of leadership. When leaders lead by example, followers are bound to fall in line.”

Last year, during his 79th birthday, former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan said Nigeria owed Shonekan a huge debt of gratitude for his contributions to national development, stressing that he had remained available to move the country forward.

“Over the years, you have always readily given of yourself to the cause of peace, stability, growth and development in our country, Nigeria. For this, we owe you an enduring debt of gratitude,” he said.

Now at 80, the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari also paid glowing tributes to the elder statesman when in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, he commended Shonekan’s immense contributions to national peace and development, which the president said he has exemplified as an accomplished administrator, astute businessman and a patriot.

“The President believes that the historic role played by the octogenarian in forging and maintaining the unity of Nigeria will continue to endear him to many. He assured that his administration would continue to look forward to his fatherly counsel and advice on how to move the nation forward.

“President Buhari prays that God Almighty will grant Chief Shonekan more years of good health and happiness to see the Nigeria of our dreams,” Shehu said.

During the birthday thanksgiving service for Shonekan in Lagos on Monday, Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, described Shonekan as a great man worthy of emulation for his distinctive contributions to human and national development.

“Chief Shonekan’s life at 80 is already defined because he has seen this country during the colonial, post-colonial, independence and democratic eras.

Therefore, the younger generation and politicians should tap from his wealth of experience and knowledge for progress of humanity and improvement of the society,” he said.

Former military head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, also urged younger Nigerians to emulate Shonekan’s virtues to enable them contribute to the development of the nation.

In the words of former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, “Shonekan at 80 had been a beacon in the service of the country.”

Former vice president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme; the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun the Lagos State deputy governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule, who represented Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, were some of the eminent Nigerians at the thanksgiving event.

Commenting on his 80th birthday, Shonekan himself said: “I thank God for His mercies on me.

That I am alive to celebrate my 80th birthday today with families and friends, I’m highly elated.”

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

CICERO/TRIBUTE

AConnectiontoCherish:MyRelationshipwith ObaErediauwa Osagie Ize-Iyamu

T

he life and times of our departed highly revered monarch, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa, has a special meaning for me.

This is particularly so because the relationship I was privileged to share with him had the mark of sonship. It was also a reflection of the bond between the Royal Family and the Ize-Iyamu family spanning several decades.

I feel blessed recalling the intermingling footprints and the benevolence of the Oba. I recall with a deep sense of honour and privilege the academic union shared between the venerated Oba Erediauwa, my humble self and my dear father. I am always elated when I reflect on the fact that I share the honour of having attended the same college that had the history of having been a ground of tutelage to Oba Erediauwa. The records have it that the Oba as young Crown Prince Akenzua was a student of Edo College, Benin City between 1938 and 1939; a school I had the privilege to attend from 1973 to 1979.

When the Oba proceeded to Government College, Ibadan where he schooled between 1940 and 1945, there he met my father and a life-long friendship was formed. This gave me the privilege to see at close quarters the beloved Crown Prince who was a regular visitor to Egedege N’Okaro, my history making family house in Benin City.

It is with a rare sense of pride I recall that my father was not just a school-mate and friend of Oba Erediauwa, he was a close and dependable ally in the Movement for the Creation of Edo State. While the Oba chaired the Movement for the Creation of Edo State, my father it was who donated his house at 32, Erie Street, Benin City as the secretariat of the Movement. The closeness of my father of

Erediauwa fond memory with the Benin Royal Family, however, transcends the relationship with Oba Erediauwa.

As Secretary of the Benin Divisional Council, he worked closely with Oba Akenzua 11 who in appreciation of his selfless service to Benin Kingdom conferred on him the title Obayagbona of Benin Kingdom and later elevated him to the enviable position of Esogban, a position he held till the time of their respective translation. Fate conferred on my father the honour of announcing to the Edos and the entire world the transition of Oba Akenzua N’Isonorho in 1978 with the ominous breaking of the White Chalk in the absence of an Iyase in Benin Kingdom.

It is with pleasant contemplation I reflect on the relationship between the Royal Family and my maternal grandfather the illustrious Pa Obasohan of Akpakpava fame whose family originated from Erhua, Igieduma Ward in Uhunmwode Local Government Area. Pa Obasohan’s mother and Oba Erediauwa’s

mother, as fondly remembered, were first cousins.

Destiny put me in the spotlight to relate with Oba Erediauwa in person when between 1999 and 2007 I had the good fortune to serve Edo State as Chief of Staff to the Governor and Secretary to the State Government, respectively.

Like my father I had the honour and privilege to work closely with the Oba. I was a regular visitor to the Palace.

I am gratified that every encounter I had with the Oba was an enriching experience.

He was a father and a mentor rolled into one.

He was witty, pleasant and full of wisdom.

The Oba appreciated life and people beyond the boundaries of traditional engagement and culture. He demonstrated this when on several occasions I met with him he asked after my General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye whom he told me he admired especially the way he preached and thus devoted time to listen to him.

The Oba was full of pleasant surprises of which I was a beneficiary. He surprised me by sending me gifts. One memorable occasion was when he sent Chief Obamwonyi (Esere of Benin) to give me a large cash gift – a gesture which completely left me baffled at his level of generosity and kindness. I remember asking why the money was sent to me. The simple but deep answer was that the Oba was pleased with me. I will forever cherish the memory of that day.

On the 27th day of January, 2007, the Great Oba conferred on me and some other Benin achievers certificates of honour personally signed by him. The certificate which hangs conspicuously in my office remains one of my most prized possessions.

I pray that the Almighty God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords grant our Beloved Oba an eternal rest.

To the Crown Prince, the Pleasant Sun ascending; our hope and the future of our

people, we pledge our unalloyed love and loyalty.

As our Oba travels to the world beyond, I pay a fitting tribute in the following verse, as a token of my profound appreciation: The mighty eagle has gone to rest behind the clouds The Iroko Tree has swam into the depths of the sea The sun bleeds a ready sacrifice to the horizon The home leopard has gone to take a rest in the dreaded grove The pillar of chalk is broken in front of the ancestral court Behold the Oba has his golden ship laden in readiness For the inevitable voyage on the Eze N’emimikpo Of awesome repute lapping the heels of Oke N’Alubode The mysterious pathway of transitory souls Let’s bid okhiendehia to our great and dependable king The pride of a proud race, second to no other king A light unto an era, fountain of wisdom, pot of knowledge Accessible to all who crossed his path or visited his court Benevolent king, protector of the weak and friend of all Sail away, sail on in majestic glide and grace Sail into the misty balm of lands unknown, unsearchable Of regions of unimaginable bliss and rest Do not look back, you cannot look back With your great legacies left behind, we are content, we are grateful.

Oba gha to, okpere!

Pastor Ize-Iyamu, former Secretary to the Government of Edo State, writes from Benin-city, Edo State

Rafiu Jafojo: Exit of an Awoist Alhaji Rafiu Bakare Jafojo was the deputy governor of Lagos State under the administration of Alhaji Lateef Jakande (1979-1983) and an intimate disciple of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. However, he never joined the South-west wing of progressivism until about two years to his demise. Gboyega Akinsanmi writes

P

recisely on April 24, Alhaji Rafiu Bakare Jafojo, former deputy governor of Lagos State, finally bid the world farewell. He was 80 years old. But none of those years was really wasteful. Until his transition to the world beyond, Jafojo played his different roles as a community leader, political strategist and key head of the Aworis in the state.

Judged by diverse testimonies of those who served with him at different levels, Jafojo lived a life full of activities either in politics or for the public goods at large. The manner he lived his life explained why the state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode said his contribution to the development would not disappear from the public space of Lagos State in a hurry.

But rightly, of note was Jafojo’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). For what he ascribed to his political conviction, he defected at the height of electioneering on November 29, 2014.

However, his defection was, no doubt, a huge loss for a party that had fought to no avail to seize the political power of Africa’s model megacity through the ballots.

But Jafojo’s exit from the PDP was a boost for the All Progressives Congress (APC), which had been at the centre of political storms. Beyond what the political calculation might be then, Jafojo could no longer simply continue in the PDP to what he ascribed to his progressive conviction, which perhaps the PDP did not really share until his eventual defection.

Jafojo’s defection truly provided succour for the progressives in the state. However, his defection did not change the political calculation in Ikeja and Aworiland, which formed Jafojo’s area of influence.

Apparently, the APC lost much support in the areas, not because Jafojo’s political influence had waned,

but the regressive forces thrived on the politics of ethnic bigotry.

Did his defection make him as a public hero?

Of course, his defection made him a political hero worth celebrating today. Indisputably, the episode of his defection would perhaps form a chapter in his yet-to-be-written biography or memoir.

Jafojo actually came to the limelight in the politics of Lagos State in the Second Republic.

Before running with the state’s first democratically elected governor, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Jafojo was not just an adherent of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Jafojo was equally Awolowo’s unrepentant disciple even though he left the mainstream wing of South-west progressives for a while. But that did not take away his progressive conviction.

On November 29, 2014 when he announced his defection to APC, Jafojo bore himself a testimony. After he was received by former governor, Babatunde Fashola, Jafojo said he was on sabbatical while in the PDP. He therefore noted that said his coming “to APC is homecoming and will yield a lot of dividends for the party and the public in general. While I was in PDP, I was on sabbatical leave.

“I do not belong there. Consequently, I decided to come back to the APC especially because they have lots of progressive programmes that have improved our society and deliver the dividends of democracy to the citizenry. As from the beginning of my political life, I have always been a progressive. That is why I joined hands with other progressives in the APC. I am well known for my progressive activities. In the APC, I am at home.

There is no doubt about that.”

Indeed, Jakande testified to what Jafojo represented to his government and Lagos State at large.

He acknowledged his high sense of loyalty and patriotism all through the period they served Lagos

State together. He said they simply served in the spirit of progressivism and make life meaningful for the people of the state. He therefore said he was a loyal deputy.

Ambode’s account provided insight on how Jafojo deployed the instrument of progressivism for the development of Lagos State and humanity at large. In his condolence message, the governor wrote that Jafojo was part and parcel of the Jakande administration, which he said, had been applauded across Nigeria for milestones it achieved.

Ambode bears witness to his personality as a political strategist. He said he was an astute political actor who was very patriotic “to the course of developing Lagos State together with Jakande.”

Unlike the case of Chief Adekunle Ajasin, whose deputy then defected to the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Ambode said: “Jafojo formed strong partnership with Jakande and developed workable template for the development of Lagos State.”

Jafojo’s spirit of progressivism was the reason he worked smoothly with Jakande between October 1, 1979 and December 31, 1983, at least to the extent of what the public could see. On this ground, Ambode wrote that he was a progressive political actor, whose conviction and patriotism was never in doubt. It explained why joined the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

Ambode thus noted that Jafojo “walked closely with the late sage and learnt the ropes and the ideology of putting the people first. He later joined the APC because he saw a semblance of what the UPN and Chief Awolowo stood for in his era.” That explained why the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa acknowledged that Jafojo “was known for progressive democratic ideals and advancement of equity and justice.”

For him, it could have been much difficult for

the Jakande administration to achieve so much without Jafojo’s unflinching support. He said they both “laid solid foundation for the development of Lagos State. This is the foundation the subsequent administrations in the state built upon, just to make the state the centre of excellence” for which it is known nationally.”

His death was a major loss for the APC, according to the party’s state chairman, Chief Oladele Ajomale. He acknowledged that his death would affect the state chapter in different ways. He cited Jafojo’s adherence to peace and unity, which he said, had been of immense benefit to the state chapter since he left several PDP chieftains and members to APC in 2014.

Also, Ajomale acknowledged Jafojo’s astute political tactics, which he said, was evident in his approach “to mobilising and organisation. He was one of the best political actors in terms of mobilisation and tactics. We, their successors, have adopted the philosophy of good governance both Jakande and Jafojo introduced in Lagos State.

“His death will affect us in many ways unless we get grips of his followers. In Ikeja Division, Jafojo had many followers. He was also one of the head of Aworiland in Lagos State. He played his roles as a deputy governor, as a community leader and as a political force in the state. He worked with Jakande in a way that brought about positive impact upon the people.”

Beyond all said, one of his son, Adeniyi Jafojo, said his father died peacefully. He said he did not lose his senses. Rather, he lived a life full of activities until he passed on. Adeniyi said his father waited for all his children to “arrive home, especially those in the United States before he died. He mentored us and built confidence in us. He believed in empowering people. It will be hard to fill the vacuum he left for us all. We will all miss him for his contribution.”

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • MAY 15, 2016

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EXCELLING IN A MAN’S WORLD

Binta Bello: The Amazon in the House Binta Bello is the Deputy Minority Whip in the House of Representatives and the only female in the line-up of principal officers of the eighth assembly. She represents Kaltungo/Shongom federal constituency of Gombe State. Damilola Oyedele writes on the experiences and motivations of the amazon in the men’s turf

T

hough, pleasant and softspoken, Hon. Binta Bello does not cut the picture of a timid woman. She can hold her own against anybody in a debate. But she does not see politics as do-or-die affair. Politics to her is about service to humanity. Long before she joined politics she was already known for her philanthropic activities in her Shongom Local Government Area of Gombe State. In fact, it was her philanthropy that motivated her entry into politics.

“While growing up, I always wanted to do something for my community. And so when I started working with a Chinese company in Maiduguri, I decided to renovate some blocks in the secondary school I attended. But my father discouraged me and suggested I build one new block of classrooms and a staff room.

After building it, I also equipped it with furniture,” Bello says.

The school principal, however, insisted the state Ministry of Education must be informed before the building is handed over to the school authorities. Bello did not envisage this would be a big deal, as she felt the ministry would be elated by her gesture.

“I wrote to the commissioner, no response for several months. Apparently, they were suspicious, that maybe I was in the opposition party and did that to draw attention to what the government did not do,” she narrates. “Finally, I had to tell the governor’s wife, who was actually my friend, what was going on, because I didn’t want the building to start rotting.”

Bello continues, “His wife said the governor (Danjuma Goje) had been asking to see me, that he had heard a lot of talk about me from politicians, about how I was well known in my community for my donations. When I met him and we talked, I decided I wanted to join politics, his party, the PDP. We did that at a public event, where I donated motorcycles to party chairmen and youth leaders in the community, and sewing machines to women leaders.”

She never joined the party for the sake of getting a government appointment.

After she had helped the governor to mobilise votes to win elections for his second term, she initially turned down the offer of an appointment as Commissioner for Women Affairs. Bello was, however, prevailed on by her husband and family.

After her stint as commissioner from 2007 to 2010, she was advised to contest as a member of the House of Representatives. That was the beginning of her journey to the federal legislature.

But why didn’t she join the somewhat mass exodus to the All Progressives Congress just before and immediately after the last general election, even when her political mentor did?

She says, “I come from a difficult area, and they believe in the PDP. My people assured me they would give me the votes for a second term, unless I had a particular reason for wanting to leave the party.

So I stayed in the PDP and was re-elected by my constituency .”

Bello is one of the eight federal lawmakers elected on the platform of the PDP from the North-east.

Her relationship with now Senator Danjuma Goje, who has since defected to APC, however, remains cordial.

As a female politician from the North, Bello does not buy into the stereotypical

Bello

mind-set that female politicians are loose women, even if they are married or come from political families. She believes the stereotype is changing gradually with advocacy and ability of the women in positions of authority to distinguish themselves and stay away from scandals.

Perhaps, it was Bello’s exposure and upbringing that influenced her attitude to

politics. She was born in Delta State to a military father and started her education in Ondo State. Her family moved around the country often before returning to Gombe following her father’s retirement from the Nigerian Army.

Her simply advice for women who want to go into politics is to endear themselves to the people they seek to

represent and not just show up when elections are close.

“This does not mean having billions of naira, but about providing service, showing care and relating with them at the grassroots,” Bello says. “A woman who wants to contest in 2019 should make it known now and start working towards it.”

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

GAVEL TO GAVEL

Edited by Vincent Obia Email vincent.obia@thisdaylive.com

National Assembly Complex, Abuja

Beyond Making Kidnapping Capital Offence TheSenatehasrespondedtothespateofkidnappingsinthecountrywithabillprescribing death penalty for kidnappers, but would there be a political will to enforce the intended law? Vincent Obia writes

U

ntil a few years ago kidnapping was not a subject most people in Nigeria gave much thought to.

Nigerians hardly harboured the remotest worry about kidnapping for ransom. But today, kidnapping has elicited a deluge of interest.

With an alarming ubiquity, it is rapidly snowballing into national crisis.

Prevalence For the best part of the last one and a half decades, kidnapping was mostly a South-south headache. The main victims – and targets – were expatriate oil workers who were seen by some locals as part of a criminal alliance that exploited the people and expropriated their resources. But gradually, the epicentre of abduction moved to the South-east. Then, the northern geopolitical zones, and, currently, the threat is felt across the country.

Former Minister of State for Education, Senator Iyabo Anisulowo, was on April 27 abducted in the Igbogila area of Yewaland, Ogun State, about 8.30pm along with her security aides while returning from her farm. She was held for about one week before she was released. Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and joint presidential candidate of the Alliance for Democracy and the now defunct All Peoples Party in the 1999 general election, Chief Olu Falae, was kidnapped on September 14 last year in Akure. He was later released.

In Kaduna State, three pastors were on March 14 abducted by those they identified as Fulani herdsmen. While two of the men, the president of the United Church of Christ in Nigeria, Rev. Emmanuel Dziggau, and Rev. Yakubu Dzarma, were held for nine days before they were released, the third priest, who was vice president of the church, Rev. Iliya Anto, died in the ordeal.

In April 2014, about 300 schoolgirls were abducted from their hotels at Government Girls

Senate President, Bukola Saraki

Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, while they were preparing the write the Senior School Certificate Examination. While some of the girls escaped from their Boko Haram terrorist captors, about 219 are still held.

From one kidnap incident recorded in 1992, to about 395 cases within four months last year, involving the abduction of 551 persons, Nigeria now ranks among the countries with the highest risk of kidnapping.

Nigeria placed fifth in the world and first in Africa in a 2014 kidnap ranking released by Control Risk, a UK-headquartered consultancy organisation that specialises in political, security and integrity risk.

Nigeria ranked after Mexico, India, Pakistan, and Iraq. The report based on the number of complaints, placed Nigeria before Libya, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, and Lebanon.

Last year, Nigeria was ranked as the second most dangerous country to live in, after Iraq.

NYA International, a global risk and crisis management consultancy based in London, in its Global Kidnap Review 2016, listed Nigeria among 11 “severe threat countries,” after 19 others classed as “high threat countries.”

In an overview of the rate of abduction in the country last year, NYA International stated, “The severe threat of kidnapping in Nigeria continued to be driven by Boko Haram’s mass kidnappings in 2015.

“Abductions continued to be predominantly politically-motivated, targeting high-profile domestic nationals. The 2015 elections were notably associated with a spike in abductions of symbolic individuals. There has, however, been an increase in wealthy, prominent victims, indicating a shift towards criminally-motivated kidnappings.

“The line between piracy and kidnapping became increasingly blurred as wealthy locals were targeted across over 21 incidents.”

In its forecast for this year, the organisation said, “The threat of kidnapping will remain severe in 2016. On-going Boko Haram operations in the region will maintain the current kidnap threat to foreign nationals in the North-east. Persistently high unemployment rates and poor prosecution rates will likely motivate more to resort

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to kidnap for ransom as a source of funding. An increase in maritime-based militancy in the South could result in an increase in kidnap for ransom cases involving foreign nationals abducted onshore and offshore.”

Resolution Now, the Senate is trying to find a national solution to the problem that is fast becoming a national security crisis. The Senate resolved on May 4 to enact a bill that would make provisions for death penalty as punishment for anyone convicted of kidnapping. The resolution followed the adoption of the report of the Senator Abu Ibrahim-led Joint Committee on Police Affairs and National Security and Intelligence.

The Senate had on November 19 last year mandated the committee to engage the Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase and Director-general of the Department of State Services Mamman Daura on the rising incidence of kidnapping and hostage taking and come up with recommendations on how to solve the problem.

The committee recommended adequate funding of the security agencies by the federal government, proper training and retraining of security personnel, and intelligence sharing among the security agencies. All these are with a view to equipping the security agents with the right knowledge and operational gear to effectively tackle the menace of kidnapping and other violent crimes.

It charged state governments to make laws that would facilitate effective prosecution of suspected kidnappers and culprits of other related offences in their respective states.

Implementation Deficit But as experience tends to show, the increase in the prevalence of kidnapping in the country is not so much a consequence of absence of laws as the lack of political will to implement existing laws.

Kidnapping was made a capital offence in 2009 in six states of the federation, namely, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo. It became a capital offense in Edo State in 2013.

Currently, about half of the country’s 36 states are said to have death penalty as punishment for kidnapping. Yet, there is hardly anyone arrested for abduction that has been conclusively prosecuted in the courts.

Apart from the widely publicised death warrants of two prisoners on death row signed by Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State in 2012, there has, reportedly, been a de facto moratorium on executions in Nigeria since the last official execution in 2002.

Experts say the lack of effective prosecution of kidnap suspects is behind the rising prevalence of the menace.

Security consultant and president of Transworld Security Systems Limited, Mr. Ona Ekhome, says, “What is happening in Nigeria is a national disgrace. Over half of the states in the country have death penalty laws for kidnapping, but nobody is enforcing the laws.

“When you do not enforce the law, you are only telling the bad guys that you are just playing; you are not serious with them. And that is the impression that a lot of kidnappers have, that these people are not serious and even if they catch them, nothing is going to happen.”

Ekhome, nonetheless, supports the attempt by the National Assembly to deal with the problem of kidnapping, saying it will serve as both retribution and deterrence.

“It is an astute move on the part of the National Assembly,” he says. “This problem of kidnapping has been on for many years, claiming lives, destroying property, making Nigeria look like an unserious country. Like they say, desperate ailments require desperate remedies.

“Since this problem appears to be an insoluble one, the National Assembly wants to get traction on it by making a national legislation that would prohibit it and prescribe very severe punishment. What we see in Nigeria today is that there is too much impunity, and because there is no punishment for crimes committed, people just do whatever they like.”

He dismisses as flimsy the excuse of the harsh eco-

KIDNAP CASES Human Rights lawyer, Ozekhome kidnapped in Benin on August 23, 2013.

Released on 12 September 2013.

Chief Olu Falae, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, former Minister of Finance, and founder of the Social Democratic Party was kidnapped on his birthday September 21, 2015.

He was released on September 24, 2015.

Professor Kamene Okonjo, the mother of former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was kidnapped on December 9, 2012 in Delta State and released on December 14, 2012.

Titilayo, wife of a former miltary governor of the old Western Region, Brig-Gen Oluwole Rotimi (retd.), was kidnapped by gunmen in Ibadan December 10, 2012.

She was released after two weeks.

Veteran Nollywood actress and former special assistant to the Imo State Government on Public Affairs- Miss Nkiru Sylvannus was kidnapped on December 16, 2016 and released after four days.

Polycarp Nwosu, who was kidnapped on August 28 at Rumuigbo in Port Harcourt and released on September 5, 2015.

Dziggau

nomic situation, which some kidnap suspects often give as reasons for going into the evil enterprise.

Misplaced Priority Former executive secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Dr. Chidi Odinkalu, however, believes the Senate has embarked on a misplaced attempt at solving the problem of kidnapping by pursuing the death penalty law without first addressing the issue of poor law enforcement.

“I think the law is a non sequitur,” Odinkalu says. “Not because I don’t realise that kidnapping is a serious issue. But you can only sentence those you catch and whom the courts try to conclusion.

Our law enforcement capacities are compromised; detection is poor, and prosecutions last until the day after eternity. Does this proposed law respond to any of these? I doubt it.”

Many Nigerians also do.

The resolution by the senate identifies the usual funding and equipment deficiencies in the Nigeria Police and other security agencies. But it is unclear if the senators can really get their teeth into the practical solutions to those deficits, in the bill on capital punishment for kidnap convicts.

‘A Chicken and Egg Problem’ Negligence on the part of the security agencies has been identified as a factor in the poor implementation of laws, especially as it relates to the attempt to curb kidnapping and other vices. There are suggestions that security agencies should be made to account for breaches in their areas of jurisdiction. Many believe the fact that heads of security agencies are hardly held accountable is breeding incompetence among the security services.

But the security agencies are sometimes too poorly equipped and motivated to respond to security threats.

“Generally, we have a chicken and egg situation here. We desire good law enforcement; we want the police to be active, but the government is not ready to provide the resources that would make this happen. They are not ready to provide the money to train these men to collect and analyse intelligence and to hold people accountable.

“We don’t have call centres. Even when you call a place, is it being recorded? There must be accountability. The people who are receiving the calls must know that it can be checked behind them and if they handle it poorly they can be penalised. And the rapid response squad, what kind of equipment do they have? We have seen situations where people called the police and they said they did not have tyre, etc.”

In the recent case of killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Nimbo, Enugu State, the heads of the police, military, and other security agencies in the area were alerted to the impending attack days before it happened. Yet it occurred. Nigerians are demanding greater sanctions for security agents whose negligence give room for violent crimes.

The people certainly support the move by the Senate to enact a death penalty law for kidnapping.

But their experiences with similar laws in the states have made them thoroughly cynical about the proposed federal law.

“We hope the federal death penalty for kidnapping statute will not go the way of the states’ statutes, where the laws are not being enforced,” says Ekhome.

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Edited by Demola Ojo Email demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

FIFA Audit Chairman Resigns in Protest over Reforms

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omenico Scala, Fifa’s head of auditing and compliance, has resigned in protest at reforms at the governing body of world football. Scala is angry the new Fifa council will have the ability to appoint and sack those in charge of its committees, including auditing, ethics and finance. The council replaced the Fifa executive committee in the aftermath of a corruption scandal at the organisation.

Committees had been “deprived of their independence”, said Scala. Fifa said the Swiss “has made unfounded claims which are baseless”.

Scala says he is “consternated” by a decision that makes it possible for the council to “impede” investigations by either dismissing committee members or “through the threat of a dismissal”. This, he added, “undermines a central pillar of the good governance of Fifa and destroys a substantial achievement of the reforms”. “[This is] a wake-up call to those

persons who genuinely advocated for implementing reforms,” he said.

Fifa, which accepted Scala’s resignation and installed his deputy Sindi Mabaso Koyana as acting chairman, insists the Swiss has “misinterpreted the purpose of the decision taken” by its congress.

It added in a statement: “The decision was made to permit the council to appoint members on an interim basis. In addition, the measure allows for the swift removal of members who have breached their obligations. “The council fully respects the independence of the audit and compliance and the ethics committees, and any suggestions to the contrary are without merit.”

Scala has played a key role in pushing through reforms after the scandals that prompted the departures of former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Uefa counterpart

Michel Platini.

Blatter, who had led Fifa since 1998, stood down last year and was later suspended from football for six years for breaching ethics guidelines.

Platini announced earlier this week he would be stepping down after failing to have a six-year ban from football overturned by a Court of Arbitration for Sport panel.

The first Fifa congress led by new president Gianni Infantino, who succeeded Blatter in February, took place in Mexico City last Thursday and Friday.

During the congress, Fifa elected its first female secretary general with the appointment of Senegal’s Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura. She succeeds Jerome Valcke, who in February was banned from footballrelated activity for 12 years.

Premier League: Manchester Clubs Battle for Fourth Place With the 2015/2016 Premier League season ending today,, the biggest battle left to contest is for fourth place. Manchester United and Manchester City will fight it out on separate grounds against Bournemouth and Swansea City, with a win or draw sending Manchester City through, while Manchester United is ready to pounce should the Citizens botch things up.

They may not be playing each other, but the two Manchester clubs are still – in a way – head to head. The battle for fourth is one of the only remaining contests across the Premier League

Ranieri holds the Premier League title aloft

Premier League: Leicester’s Ranieri Returns to Chelsea as Champion

Claudio Ranieri’s Premier League story comes full circle today as he returns in triumph to Chelsea for the final fixture of title-winners Leicester City’s momentous and historic season. Ranieri’s sacking by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in May 2004 set in motion a succession of managerial posts – at Valencia, Parma, Juventus, Roma, Inter Milan, Monaco and the Greek national team – that seemed to confirm his reputation as one of football’s eternal nearly men.

But Leicester’s 5000-1 success has earned him sporting immortality and when he returns to the Stamford Bridge touchline, the 64-year-old Italian will do so as a hero.

“It is amazing,” Ranieri said. “I have been back there with Juventus in the Champions League, but this time is different because this time it is with Leicester, another English club.

“It is emotional. I hope my old fans are happy. When I came here, I said ‘The last match is at Chelsea. Wow.’ Now I come back as a champion. It’s a good story.”

Ranieri’s engaging character and gift for a soundbite made him a popular figure during the three and a half years he spent at Chelsea. But his tactical tweaking earned him the nickname of ‘Tinkerman’ from the British media and despite four seasons of steady progress, culminating in a second-place finish in 2003-04, he was sacked because Abramovich reportedly felt that he could not win the league.

Nevertheless, he brought in some of the players who were to form the core of the team that would win back-to-back league titles under his successor, Jose Mourinho,

blooding John Terry and notably signing Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele, Joe Cole and William Gallas.

It was Chelsea, ironically, whose 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur two weeks ago delivered the title to the King Power Stadium and as the minutes ticked down at Stamford Bridge, a chant of “There’s only one Ranieri!” echoed around the ground.

table still in dispute heading into the final day of the season. Manchester City has a two-point advantage, but should they slip up against Swansea City, Manchester United could snatch the final Champions League spot away from the club Pep Guardiola will be guiding next season.

Aside from those two matches, there is still a pair of Europa League spots to sort out, plus final positioning matters to many clubs for both payouts and pride, most notably the two North London clubs Tottenham and Arsenal, fighting for second.

Barcelona Win La Liga

Barcelona sealed their 24th La Liga title as Luis Suarez took his tally for the season to 59 goals with a hat-trick in a 3-0 win at Granada to hold off Real Madrid’s late-season surge. Real registered their 12th consecutive La Liga win, 2-0 at Deportivo La Coruna thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s double, but finished a point behind their bitter rivals.

Suarez’s treble also sees him become the first player in seven years other than Ronaldo and Barca teammate Lionel Messi to win the Pichichi award for La Liga’s top goalscorer with 40.

“We are deserving champions,” said Suarez.

“We had to suffer, the pressure was put on us in the final few games, but this team is built to win

Luis Suarez Neymar and Messi celebrate a goal for Barcelona

titles.”

Barca had seemed set to cruise to the title until a run of three consecutive defeats for the first time in 13 years last month.

However, they bounced back like champions as, inspired by Suarez’s 14 goals, they scored 24 times without reply in the last five games to win the title. “We played very well over the course of the season. We were top for many weeks and the most consistent team wins the title,” said Barca boss Luis Enrique.

“We have won six of the last eight titles, which shows the club has a winning mentality.

We must value each title win because each one is very difficult.”

Barca were put under pressure early on as Ronaldo struck after just seven minutes to put Madrid in front in La Coruna.

However, their nerves were settled by a brilliant team move on 22 minutes as Neymar freed Jordi Alba down the left and his low cross was turned into an empty net by Suarez at the back post.

Suarez then doubled Barca’s advantage when he nipped in ahead of Andres Fernandez to head in Dani Alves’s cross at the near post.

Suarez sealed a stunning season when he completed his hat-trick from Neymar’s unself-

ish square pass.

“Six leagues from the last eight speaks of the cycle of success we continue to maintain and have to try to extend as long as possible,” added Barca captain Andres Iniesta.

PUBLIC NOTICE I formerly known and addressed as HAPPINESS AKPAN SUNDAY, now wish to be known and addressed as HAPPINESS SUNDAY. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as ADERONKE OLUWASEUN BADA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ADERONKE OLUWASEUN ADEBESIN. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 15, 2016

High Life

85 with LANRE ALFRED 08076885752

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

Ungrateful Nation! Late President Yar’Adua’s Wives Unhappy as Nigeria Forgets their Husband Six Years after his Demise

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ajiya Turai and Hajiya Hauwa Yar’Adua are unhappy women. This is because Nigeria has forgotten the late former president, like the dust and silence of the upper shelf.

Turai’s heart bleeds like a freshly bruised vein as you read. And the reason is not farfetched. Six years after her beloved husband, former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, died after a protracted ailment, Nigerians seem to have forgotten him.

As the two women in his life mark the sixth anniversary of their husband’s death, they wonder if memories of Yar’Adua and his legacies as a former president and governor of Katsina State have eroded with the passage of time. Sources close to Hajia Turai revealed that it was heartrending for her to note that memories of her husband have faded from the hearts of even his trusted

aides and political associates while he was Head of State. It was even more heartbreaking to note that no newspaper or broadcast station remembered the milestone in the life of the Yar’Aduas. There was no paid advertorial in remembrance of the late president who was widely regarded as a gentleman and unpretentious statesman.

It was only the immediate family members of the former president who died on May 5, 2010, that were in London last week to hold special prayers to mark the sixth anniversary of his demise. A source in the family said they were led

by Yar’Adua’s widow, Hajiya Turai and offered special prayers for the repose of the former Nigerian leader’s soul.

Yar’Adua’s former wife, Hajiya Hauwa, who is also in London, said they also converged to remember the former president as part of activities marking the anniversary of his death.

Turai Yar’Adua

attain his current height by sudden flight. While most of his rivals and other peers slept, he was toiling upward day and night.

As head honcho of Access Bank, Wigwe understands the need to abide by the company’s corporate philosophy which is to become the world’s most respected African bank, thus he would never engage in any act or association that would be inimical to the progress and good image of his organisation.

Herbert Wigwe

SIMPLY HERBERT! THE PERFECTION OF A BRILLIANT BANKER, HERBERT WIGWE Angels fly because they take themselves lightly.

They do not think too much of themselves, so does Herbert Wigwe, the MD of Access Bank. Like an angel, Herbert takes himself very lightly despite his socio-economic weight.

He wears his badge of temperance and humility in the shape of a bow of ribbon; thus affirming that he isn’t what many of his disparagers make him out to be. Contrary to misconceptions about his character, Herbert, according to sources close to him, is actually a modest, compassionate, accommodating and understanding man. His

only shortcoming if at all it could be considered ‘shortcoming,’ is his lack of tolerance for sycophancy, bribery or any form of corruption. The miracleworking banker is more of polished diamond among the rough, tarnished czars of Nigeria’s banking industry. It is often said that he who rides the tides of industry influences the thought of his times.

Eventually, he commands the epochs that follow and impresses his name on eternity. Such an individual no doubt sways the applause of listening Senates. If he is cut of the rare stock that Wigwe hails from, he effortlessly attracts the patronage of leaders of men. Herbert like most great men, did not

RICH, SPOILT, DEAD! THE PAIN OF A FATHER Children are meant to be bearers of joy and everlasting bliss to their parents. But Ibrahim Uwais became a harbinger of pain and misery to his parents thus stifling their joy and harming their reputation.

The late son of former Chief Justice Mohammed Uwais unfurled like a blemish on his father ’s reputation when he turned radical and joined deadly terrorist sect, ISIS, in 2015.

Recently, Ibrahim suffered excruciating death on his deadly campaign with ISIS mates. Consequently, his father is heartbroken. There is no gainsaying sadness invaded the household of the retired legal luminary when news of his son’s enlistment with ISIS broke out but at his death, Justice Uwais and the entire family are devastated.

Late Ibrahim Uwais left Nigeria in 2015, telling close family members he was travelling to Turkey

to explore business opportunities. He took along his two wives and five kids. However, he slipped from Turkey into Syria with his entire family and joined the burgeoning army of volunteer fighters who travel from different parts of the world to enlist with ISIS, a group whose agenda is to carve out an Islamist caliphate.

Just like Alhaji Abdulmutallab whose son, Umar Farouk, attempted to blow up an American plane in flight, Justice Uwais cared and loved his son dearly. He gave him the best education and treated him to the finest luxury money could buy. However, after spending lavishly on Ibrahim, the latter chose

Uwais

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Beneath the Mask... Farouk Lawan Adjusts to Life without the Exaggerated Panoplies of Power

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he art of deception is indeed, a strenuous exercise, for those who are poor at it in particular. The latter are extremely poor at keeping up with their lies. When the truth finally catches up with them, it leaves a bitter taste for those who had to eat their words. Ask Farouk Lawan, he knows better. Until he was caught in the controversy of the bribe money he allegedly demanded from popular oil magnate, Femi Otedola, Lawan was popularly known as Mr. Integrity in the House of Representatives. He had championed the removal of Nigeria’s first female Speaker, Patricia Etteh, over an allegation that she misappropriated public funds. With such honest posturing and anti-corruption stance, Lawan effortlessly inspired the fear of his corrupt peers and admiration of a large segment of the electorate. But all that faded

the path of dishonour to the consternation of his father and other loved ones.

James Faleke

AFTER THE STORM...JAMES FALEKE GETS HIS GROOVE BACK There is no gainsaying James Faleke is an astute politician. The former running mate to late Governor Abubakar Audu at the Kogi State governorship election, understands the wisdom of daring mighty things, like a general spoiling to win glorious triumphs. The House of Representatives member lost in the political intrigues that charaterised his bid to become Kogi governor soon after the demise of late Audu and he is currently challenging the emergence of Yahaya Bello as APC’s candidate and consequently the governor of the state. Despite the hurt he suffered on being

into thin air immediately the lid got blown off his dirty secret. Thus there was no hiding place for the lawmaker when he was fingered in a bribery scandal during an oil subsidy probe. Times have indeed changed for the diminutive lawmaker.

His enviable fortune has morphed into misfortune.

From being a high ranking member of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the ad hoc House Committee on Oil Subsidy Probe, Lawan’s reputation and political career suffered rapid decline. Soon after he was accused of taking bribe by Otedola, Lawan who was being wooed to contest for the Kano governorship seat in 2015 by the political powerbrokers in the state was deserted and left out of the state’s power equation.

In addition to the misfortune that has befallen him lately, Lawan lost the 2015 House of Representatives contest. denied the governorship seat, Faleke will not retreat into political oblivion.

The former governorship aspirant has not given up on social life; recently, he attracted a large crowd of the nation’s high society as he buried his father-inlaw in grand style. Last weekend, Faleke buried his father-in-law with pomp and pageantry in Lagos.

Contrary to rumours that Faleke had fallen out of favour with the political power elite, top politicians and business moguls were in attendance at the event, which had King Sunny Ade on the band stand. The latter sang the praise of the politicians and businessmen who graced the ceremony to their delight. Faleke no doubt used the ceremony to prove to people that even without being the Governor of Kogi State, he is still a “crowd puller.”

It would be recalled that he was cleverly tossed out of the power equation by the powers that be in the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party in Kogi state. After Audu’s death, by right, James Faleke should have emerged his successor as the party’s flagbearer and governorelect, but politicians had their way and the party replaced Audu with the runner-up in the party’s governorship primaries, Yahaya Bello. He wept and wailed like a banshee then.

Nothing happened. He filed a suit to challenge this in court and the case is still ongoing.

THE HEART OF A PRINCE! THE

Farouk Lawan

INSPIRING MILEAGE OF DAPO ABIODUN AT 55 Bliss glitters in the heart of Prince Dapo Abiodun. As he adds another year to his enchanting life, the pert, blue flame of joy burns through his towering frame; brightening his world and burnishing his persona with irrepressible shine.

The Heyden boss is beside himself with joy for being privileged to witness yet another glorious addition to his inspiring days.

The worthier breed or put precisely, more discerning class of Dapo Abiodun, founder of Heyden Oil, is set to celebrate his 55th anniversary. As he clocks 55, the billionaire oil magnate who is fondly regarded as a man of the people, glides smoothly on the surface of life’s

stormy seas; not as a diver, a mariner or seeker of buried treasure but as a real man in a sea of ciphers. The beloved father, philanthropist and friend is one supernaturally pleasant dude and for this reason, his closest friends and family can hardly wait to celebrate with him as he adds yet another milestone to his inspiring life. The CEO of Heyden Oil, who recently opened a new branch of his Heyden Petroleum station in Ogun State believes in adding value to his society and people at large. That is why he never shies from lending a helping hand to the needy.

To him, perfection is like an iron forge; it imbues its source with rugged grains of brushed steel. It manifests like a rampart of strapping, albeit acquired character.

He embodies so much of what makes perfection an onerous yet enviable trait.

Prince Dapo Abiodun, the All Progressives Congress (APC), candidate in the last Ogun East senatorial election, has continued to add value to the people of Ogun state.

REVEALED! ANDY UBA’S SECRET WEAPONS •The women behind The rise of The former presidenTial aide

Dapo Abiodun

Chief Andy Uba looms large in the political circuit like a glorious military general but unknown to many, the political titan has two formidable amazons at his back. Andy’s wife, Obiageli, and Pastor Faith, stand solidly behind him

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eath is never endearing.

It is never splendid or replete with bliss. Thus everywhere it visits, it devastates, like the brute end of a bloody saber. At its intrusion in the world of Titi, widow of late Ehime Aikhomu, it flipped the ravishing lady inside out and rendered her a pathetic husk of her former vibrant self. It brought her interminable pain and heartache but as you read, Titi has rediscovered her path to hope and vivacity.

The beautiful wife of the son of late Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, is back on the grind,

Titi Aikhomu is Back on her Grind four years after her husband died in the ill-fated Dana plane crash in 2012. Titi contradicts the African widow stereotype in more ways than could be imagined.

She is not a symbol of neglect nor is she caught in a perpetual vortex of misery and lack; impressively, she is holding firm even in the face of life’s scariest vicissitudes.

Titi is soldiering on, living up to the vows and passion that united her and her late heartthrob in enviable love back when he was alive. She was at the GTB bank event some days ago. She was looking really nice with a wide smile.

the monumental wealth of Andy, former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs. But while Andy and Faith are living la vida loca, Andy’s long suffering first wife, Obiageli, with whom he has four kids, is a quiet woman who loves to keep a low profile.

Andy Uba

like the fabled rock of Gibraltar. Their prayers and goodwill, according to very close sources to the family, are the mainstay of his political career. Highlife findings revealed that, during his faceoff with the Senate, the two women in his life, Obiageli and Pastor Faith, made it their priority to pray and stand by him as he battled with the National Assembly. At that period, even his most trusted aides and political associates deserted him thinking he had come to the end of his political career, but his women stood solidly by him, asking God to come to their aid and uplift him. Until you meet Pastor Faith Vedelago, you might not understand the true import of the word, obscene extravagance. The founder of the flourishing Abuja-based Faith Miracle International Christian Centre, epitomises extravagance. The halfcaste lady whose father is Italian and her mother Bayelsan embodies ethereal beauty and poise. There is no gainsaying she is the major beneficiary of

‘IMPERFECTIONS’ AND CHARM OF BLESSING AGBOLI AS SHE STAGES WOMEN OF INFLUENCE CONFERENCE Her fair tone glistens with a rare shine. But you can only glimpse this from her face and prettily manicured hands. Pastor Blessing Agboli is a very private woman.

Exceedingly reserved perhaps.

Blessing’s womanliness commands the respect and admiration of her closest associates and even passing acquaintances. However, what makes her peerless has little to do with her gracefulness, beauty and infectious modesty; it has more to do with her towering humility, forthrightness and capacity to admit to imperfections that remains a blight to the most lovable mortal. Despite the

Blessing Agboli

Titi Aikhomu

polish and élan that defines her femininity, Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Missned of Quatar and Blessing Agboli have the same dress sense. She loves world class designers. Many a rich, privileged woman totter into vogue but it takes a profound, perceptive lady to mirror the breadth and depth of burgeoning trends to the world. However, when such woman possesses the verve and charisma to dictate and often set the pace in whatever social circuit she inhabits, she runs the risk of affliction by societal thought, that labels substance and sophistication, particularly when intense, as amoral. Blessing is a rich, privileged woman. She is profound and perceptive too.

She dictates and sets the pace in her social circuit; she’s got substance and class and she is never amoral, in the estimation of her friends, family and church adherents. Being a Christian, according to her, should not sentence anyone to the dungeons of bleakness and aesthetic barrenness. She glamourises her trendiness and love for high fashion as much as her love for God. However, the Victorious Army Ministries International presents its Jesus Women of Influence Conference 2016, on May, 19 to 21. This power packed programme billed for 5pm and tagged “Women the Elect -(2John 1:1)” will have Dr. Helen Ayo Orisejefor, Dr. Jasmin Sculark, Dr. Medina Pullings, Dr. Dolapo Adelakun, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibukun Awosika and Mama Blessings Joseph Agboli (Host) on the pulpit at Plot 22, Acme Road, Ogba, Ikeja.

IGHO SANOMI AT 41…MASTER OF HIS UNIVERSE There is much to admire in Igho Sanomi. His realistic bent, his wittiness, and charming demeanour. Add to that, his infectious tenacity and blithe disposition, which has so far, endeared him to the most exclusive high society

Igho Sanomi

circuits, and you have an ideal portrait of charisma and panache in a 41-year-old. Yeah, Igho Sanomi will be 41 in few days and he has attained that ripe age with unusual élan. Unlike commonplace characters in the high society circles, Sanomi doesn’t have much company in the rarefied air in which he lives and creates; he is exclusively his own man and thus wellattuned to staying in orbit. In 41 years, Sanomi has grown to establish his dominance in the oil and gas sectors, overcoming adversities to record victory after victory in a field erstwhile dominated by retired generals and sit-tight political godfathers. There is no doubt that he has made an incredible impact in the world of Nigerian business, but it’s his determination to never give up that has always resonated with the loudest peal. Since he made his remarkable foray into the Nigerian oil and gas industry, Sanomi, through his Taleveras Group, a globally recognized energy, shipping and power conglomerate, has demonstrated outstanding abilities as a leader, manager, and visionary.

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Sunday May 15, 2016

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Price: N400

MISSILE

Fayose to PDP Elders

Most of the people who were Jonathan’s adviser were elders and we lost election. In most of the advanced democracies, if you lose election, it is just decent for you to allow other people to try, especially young people. I was governor at 42. You need a lot of energy to be a leader, not when they are giving you Panadol to be strong. Age is a disease on its own – Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose reacting to the threats by a group of concerned party leaders against next week’s natonal convention of the PDP

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

Four The Price of Delayed Adjustment And Other Things...

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ow that the pump price of petrol has nearly doubled, we can officially conclude that President Muhammadu Buhari has finally blinked. For a man of the masses, we can assume that this was a very difficult decision for him. The truth is: any upward adjustment in the price of petrol increases the cost of living and worsens economic hardship, even if in the short run. Transportation is a major component of the cost of living in Nigeria. It is not just about commuting; we are transporting goods and services. We are powering our homes and businesses with generators. Even the landlady will raise the rent to make ends meet. That is why hiking fuel prices has always led to protests and riots.

But why was petrol price increased? There can only be one explanation: the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) does not have the forex to pay for imports. At the official rate of N197 to the dollar, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) needs to make some $500 million available to the NNPC every month for fuel imports. Where will CBN get the dollars?

Petrodollar is by far the apex bank’s biggest source of forex inflow. Crude oil price is down.

Against our budgeted daily production of 2.2 million barrels per day, output is down to around 1.4 mbpd as a result of militant activities. We are losing in both price and quantity. In plain English, we are in soup.

The CBN/NNPC “partnership” was not going to last. To start with, do we even make up to $500 million monthly from crude oil sales these days? Even if we do, will every dollar inflow go into fuel importation? What about our several other international obligations, such as debt repayments, letters of credit and investors’ funds? We think our foreign reserve is $28 billion, but by the time we go into details... it is a big bubble. And our international trading partners know this very well. The moment the reserve can no longer finance three months of import, they will pull the plug. Then we will know the true meaning of economic crisis.

What the government has done is to implore marketers to return to the importation business to stop the crippling crisis. NNPC has been badly exposed by the logistical nightmare, and incapacitated by forex scarcity. In extending invitation to the marketers — who stopped importing in October 2015 as a result of lack of clarity in policy — the government has told them to source their forex from “secondary market”. That means parallel market. If they buy dollar at N285, there is no way they will sell petrol at N86.50, the official price. The PPPRA template landing cost of N99 per litre is priced at the official N197 to the dollar. Something must give. Pump price had to go up.

But our problem may have just begun. As soon as marketers invade the “secondary” market, the rate will go up. Again, that is simple logic. Forex inflow has not increased.

What we are facing is a forex supply crisis.

Increasing fuel price does not increase forex inflow. It follows, logically, that even the N145 pump price is not sustainable. The more the pressure on the parallel market, the more the rate will inch upwards. And the marketers will have to reflect this appropriately in the pump price, except we have to return to the

Buhari subsidy regime to keep the price at N145 at all cost. In sum, except forex inflow improves, the naira will continue to fall, and petrol price will keep rising.

What then? How do we improve the inflow of forex so that the naira does not depreciate further? One common prescription is that the CBN should devalue the naira officially, since the naira has already devalued itself. Only NNPC and a few manufacturers were getting the dollar at N197 in any case. Most prices had adjusted to N320/$1 before now. Now that oil marketers will source forex at non-official rate, and most manufacturers either go to the black market or shut down, the CBN rate is nothing but window dressing. Who actually gets dollar at N197? Manufacturers are complaining of getting little or nothing. NNPC is complaining.

The argument of the pro-devaluation group all along is that if the CBN devalues the naira, non-oil sources of forex would open up.

Remittances and repatriation would return through official sources, and investors would also be more confident to bring their capital into the Nigerian economy. Our foreign reserves would thus be boosted and the pressure on naira would ease. The implication would be a one-off inflation that would be offset by economic growth rather than the contraction we have witnessed in the last one year. But Buhari has maintained for a long time that devaluation is not an option, that he would not “kill” the naira.

Now that the president has allowed an upward adjustment in petrol price, the pro-

...Between 2015 and 2016, a lot has gone wrong.

Inflation has gone into double digit; billions of dollars in investors’ funds have taken flight out of Nigeria; 26 states are unable to pay salaries; many factories have closed down...

devaluation group would be feeling hopeful.

Former CBN governors Chief Joseph Sanusi, Professor Chukwuma Soludo and Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II all argued that falling oil revenue and dwindling foreign reserves meant the official exchange rate was no longer sustainable — and capital controls would only worsen the currency crisis. They canvassed, at various fora, the need to allow the naira to depreciate to reflect market realities. However, they should not celebrate still: the naira has not been devalued — only petrol price has gone up. Our fingers remain crossed.

Delayed or dysfunctional adjustment is costly, Soludo warned Buhari in his famous lecture in Enugu in November 2015. Has he been proved right? Buhari tried to hold on to N197/$1 and N87 per litre of petrol for nearly a year, though he has finally let go of petrol price. But between 2015 and 2016, a lot has gone wrong. Inflation has gone into double digit; billions of dollars in investors’ funds have taken flight out of Nigeria; petrol has been sold for as high as N250 per litre in many parts of the country as a result of lingering shortages; 26 states are unable to pay salaries; many factories have closed down; and many companies and states have retrenched workers.

Would things have turned out differently if Buhari had taken a different route on assuming office in May 2015? We may never know, but many analysts would argue that if Buhari had allowed the devaluation of the naira in June or July last year, the peg would probably be around N250 today. The uncertainly sent the currency market into an overdrive, and the arbitrage by the speculators did serious damage to the naira. That is the price of late adjustment, many of the analysts would argue.

By freeing the pricing of petrol but holding on to the exchange rate, Buhari may be setting the stage for a more brutal outcome. Rent-seeking behaviours get incentivised this way.

In other words, we may end up paying a much higher price for another delayed adjustment. As pressure shifts to the non-official currency market, the naira will continue to crash. Fuel prices will inevitably go up. And as CBN continues to share oil revenue at N197 to the dollar, the three tiers of government will continue to receive half the market value of their statutory allocations. The paucity of funds continues. Many states will still be unable to pay salaries. Many manufacturers will still be unable to access forex at the official rate. More jobs will continue to be shed. Arbitrage will be more unrelenting and more rewarding. The picture is not pretty.

I almost forgot the good news: there could be a miracle. Crude oil price could do the extraordinary — that is, go back to the days of $100 a barrel. We can then forget all our troubles. There will be enough forex inflow to finance our needs, the naira will regain strength, government will have enough money to pay salaries and embark on new projects, and manufacturers will complain less.

Purchasing power will be on the rise and the market women would be smiling again. That is the painless way to recovery. Otherwise, there is nothing we can do now that will not bring severe pains. Adjustment has a price, and delayed adjustment a bigger price.

OCCUPYING NIGERIA The fuel price hike is eliciting the usual response: threats of mass action. However, I would advise that we proceed with caution. Many of the economic problems we are facing today originated from the mismanagement of the petroleum industry. Despite that, we made it impossible for Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan to deregulate the downstream sector. Are we better off today? That is one question we should keep asking ourselves. It should be clear to all now that reform is inevitable. Let us try something new, endure the pains and see where we end up in years ahead. Wisdom.

DEREGULATION OR WHAT? A litre of petrol will now sell for a maximum of N145 per litre. But what does that mean really? Many commentators have identified lack of policy clarity as a major problem of the Muhammadu Buhari administration — and here is one more evidence. Raising the pump price of petrol from N86.50 to N145 without telling us what will happen to “equalisation fund”, without saying anything on kerosene pricing, without letting us into a clear-cut deregulation programme, without a word on the petroleum industry bill (PIB), what exactly is that? To me, it looks like just another fuel price hike.

Disjointed.

QC DEAD END At the end of it all, the allegation of sexual harassment of a student at Queen’s College, Lagos, could not be proved, according to the investigative panel set up by the federal ministry of education. This is because the accuser failed to come forward to give evidence that indeed her daughter was harassed.

There is an unconfirmed report that the woman chickened out because her husband was angry with her for daring to expose their daughter to danger with the school authorities. If this is true, that is unfortunate. Or could it be that no harassment ever took place? Puzzling.

CAMERON ON CAMERA There is a mistake many Nigerians are making over the “fantastically corrupt” statement by David Cameron, the British PM. People say it is a statement of fact.

But as Eseoghene Al-Faruq Ohwojeheri has pointed out, there is a difference between mockery and statement of fact. Cameron was simply mocking us in a private conversation with the Queen, unaware it was caught on camera. Am I surprised? The US diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks years ago showed clearly that while these people openly talk about us with choreographed respect, sympathy and concern, they are full of nothing but contempt for us.

Hypocrisy.

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