Sunday 5th June 2016

NAF Deploys Additional Aircraft against N’Delta Militants​ Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has deployed additional aircraft to the Niger Delta in support of the military operations code named ‘Operation Pulo Shield’ against militancy, economic sabotage and all forms of criminalities

in the South-south region of the country.

Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI), Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, in a statement yesterday, said the deployment was necessitated by the recent spate of attacks on the nation’s oil and gas installations by

operations and intelligence gathering in support of the surfaces forces.

He noted that since the recent deployment, the NAF has increased air operations around critical infrastructure in Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom States.

These, he said, include

the new militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).

Famuyiwa said the additional platforms, comprising fighter aircraft, helicopter gunship and surveillance aircraft, are intended to enhance the capability of the NAF to undertake offensive air

the sight of low level flying aircraft but to go about their legitimate businesses.

“The NAF also enjoins any member of the public to avail it or other security agencies with useful information about the where about or activities of the militant group,” he stated.

but not limited to Escravos, Forcados in Delta State; Bonga oil field, Agbami offshore and Brass in Bayelsa; Bonny in Rivers; Qua Iboe Terminal in Akwa Ibom State, and Opuekeba in Ondo State.

The Air force Spokesmen has however, urged members of the public not to panic at

Blasphemy Murder: Outrage Mounts as Buhari, IG Pledge Speedy Justice... Page 12

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Keeping His Promise, Buhari Announces Recovery of N3.4 Trillion in One Year N115bn expected from Switzerland, UK, UAE, US

Abimbola Akosile in Lagos and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja In line with the promise President Muhammadu

Buhari made on May 14 in London to give details of looted funds recovered by the administration during the first anniversary of his presidency, the federal gov-

ernment yesterday released an interim report specifying the recovered cash and assets. The report contained in a statement in Lagos by the Minister of Information

and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the cash recoveries made between May 29, 2015 and May 25, 2016, including recoveries under interim forfeiture (cash and

assets), totalled over N3. 4 trillion. It said about N115 billion was being awaited from the Switzerland, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and the United

States.

Cash recovery within the period included N78,325,354,631.82 (Seventy Continued on page 6

Muhammad Ali: Exit of The Greatest Continued on page 6

A

Muhammad Ali , 1942 -2016 ...

World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali, wearing the Nigerian brown-and-white-striped agbada costume, shouts to the crowd of youngsters who met him on his arrival in Lagos, June 1, 1964.

Continued on pages 6, 10, 11, 98 and 99

weekly pull-out

BABATUNDE REIS

A GENERAL’S PASSION FOR SLUM DWELLERS

05.06.2016

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PAGE SIX KEEPING HIS PROMISE, BUHARI ANNOUNCES RECOVERY OF N3.4 TRILLION IN ONE YEAR eight billion, three hundred and twenty-five million, three hundred and fifty-four thousand, six hundred and thirty one Naira and eighty two kobo) and varying sums in other currencies, namely, $185,119,584.61 (One hundred and eight five million, one hundred and nineteen thousand, five hundred and eighty four US dollars, sixty one cents); 3,508,355.46 Pounds Sterling (Three million, five hundred and eight thousand, three hundred and fifty-five Pounds and 46 Pence), and 11, 250 Euros (Eleven thousand, two hundred and fifty Euros) from 29 May 2015 to 25 May 2016.

These total about N144.9 billion.

Recoveries under interim forfeiture (cash and assets)

during the period included N126,563,481,095.43 (One hundred and twenty six billion, five hundred and sixty three million, four hundred and eighty one thousand, and ninety five Naira, forty three Kobo) and the following amounts in other currencies: $9,090,243,920.15 (Nine billion, ninety million, two hundred and forty three thousand, nine hundred and twenty Dollars, fifteen cents); 2,484,447.55 Pounds Sterling (Two million, four hundred and eighty four thousand, four hundred and forty seven Pounds, fifty five Pence), and 303,399.17 Euros (Three hundred and three thousand, three hundred and ninety-nine Euros, 17 cents ). These come to about N3. 3 trillion.

Funds awaiting return from foreign jurisdictions included $321,316,726.1 (Three hundred and twenty one million, three hundred and sixteen thousand, seven hundred and twenty six Dollars, one cent); 6,900,000 Pounds (Six million, nine hundred thousand Pounds), and 11,826.11 Euros (Eleven thousand, eight hundred and twenty six Euros, 11 cents).

The recovered funds and assets were listed under four broad categories, namely, cash recoveries; recoveries under interim forfeiture; funds awaiting return from foreign jurisdictions, and non-cash recoveries.

The report also showed that there were non-cash recoveries (farmlands, plots

of land, uncompleted buildings, completed buildings, vehicles and maritime vessels) totalling 239 items.

About N39,169,911,023.00 was recovered through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which also secured $128,494,076.66, £2,355 and 11,250 Euros.

In addition, the sums of N5,665,305,527.41 and $8,000,000.00 were recovered from the on-going searchlight on the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), while the loots recovered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and lodged with CBN were put at N2,632,196,271.71. Also N47.7 million, $1.94 million and £3.50 million in cash

were recovered through the Department of State Services (DSS).

Under the report, cash recoveries involving royalty and tax payments to the federal government in JP Morgan account in New York was put at N4,642,958,711.48 (four billion, six hundred and forty-two million, nine hundred and fifty-eight thousand, seven hundred and 11 naira, forty-eight kobo), and $40,727,253.65 (forty million, seven hundred and twenty-seven thousand, two hundred and fifty-three dollars, sixty-five cents).

The office of the Attorney-General of the Federation also recovered N5,500,000,000 (five billion, five hundred million naira)

and $5,500,000 (five million, five hundred thousand dollars) in cash.

Buhari had said in an interview during the global anticorruption summit in London, “So far, what has come out, what has been recovered in whatever currency from each ministries, departments and individuals, I intend on the 29th to speak on this because all Nigerians are getting from the mass media because of the number of people arrested either by the EFCC, DSS. But we want to make a comprehensive report on the 29th.”

The president faced widespread criticism when in his Democracy Day speech on May 29 he failed to disclose the recovered funds as promised.

In 1960, he was selected in the US team for the Rome Olympics. At first he refused to go because of his fear of flying. Eventually, according to Joe Martin's son, he bought a second-hand parachute and wore it on the flight.

It was worth all the effort.

On September 5, 1960, he beat Poland's Zbigniew Pietrzykowski to become the Olympic light-heavyweight champion.

He received a hero's welcome when the team returned to New York but the reality of the segregated US society hit home when he got back to Kentucky and was refused a table in a restaurant.

Though only 18, he joined boxing's paid ranks and began his professional career later the same year with a six-round points win over Tunney Hunsaker, a police chief from West Virginia.

"Clay was as fast as lightning," Hunsaker said after the bout. "I tried every trick I knew to throw him off balance but he was just too good."

Ali also took on Angelo Dundee, the trainer who would contribute so much to his boxing success. A steady succession of victories, reinforced by outrageous selfadvertising, brought him fame, if not universal popularity.

Clay's extraordinary manner in the ring involved dancing around his opponents like a lightweight. He taunted them, delighting crowds with his showboating, shuffling feet

and lightning reflexes.

He offered further hostages to fortune by predicting not merely his opponents' defeat, but when precisely he would dispose of them. "They must fall the round I call," he boasted.

In London in 1963, he was floored in the fourth round

by British champion Henry Cooper, but fulfilled his prefight prediction when cuts to Cooper's eye forced his retirement in the next round.

The following year Clay challenged the formidable world champion Sonny Liston, whom he referred to as "that ugly old bear". Clay was given no chance by the boxing press but ran rings round his older opponent and forced Liston to quit on his stool at the end of the sixth round.

"I shook up the world," a near-hysterical Clay declared after the fight.

Away from the ring, Clay was a fierce opponent of the racism that blighted large areas of the United States in the 1960s. By the time of his first fight with Liston, Clay was already involved with the Nation of Islam, which called for separate black development. The policy was in direct contrast to the inclusive approach favoured by civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King.

The heavyweight champion of the world then changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Cassius Clay, he said, was his "slave name", and he took exception to anyone who continued to use it.

Ernie Terrell referred to Ali by his birth name during the build-up to their world championship fight in 1967, only for Ali to hand out a 15-round battering.

At various points during the bout, Ali screamed in Terrell's face: "What's my name, Uncle Tom?" Ali became a hate figure for sections of the American public and barely more than 2,000 people turned up to see his rematch with Liston, which he controversially won with a first-round knockout.

Eight more title defences followed but when Ali refused to sign the oath of allegiance to join the US Army ("I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong") , he was stripped of his title.

He was also given five years in jail, a sentence that was quashed on appeal.

After three years of growing anguish among Americans about the Vietnam War, Ali was granted a reprieve and returned to the ring in 1970 with a win over Jerry Quarry.

But his enforced absence had taken its toll on his speed, and in 1971 he was beaten for the first time in his professional career by Joe Frazier. Ali gained his revenge three years later.

Perhaps Ali's greatest moment came in October 1974 when he defeated George Foreman in Zaire in the socalled Rumble in the Jungle.

As with the first Liston fight, Ali was given little chance against the indomitable Foreman and some commentators even feared for his life. With a frenzied crowd behind him, Ali spent most of the first eight rounds leaning back on the ropes, soaking up the punches of his younger, and significantly larger, foe.

He called the tactic "ropea-dope", and at the end of the eighth round he sprang out of his defensive shell and sent Foreman sprawling to the canvas with a picture-perfect combination.

At the age of 32, Ali had become only the second man in history to regain the heavyweight championship of the world.

A year later, Ali met Frazier for a third time in the so-called Thrilla in Manila, perhaps the most brutal encounter in heavyweight history. Ali said it was the closest he had come to death in the ring, but he was victorious when Frazier's corner halted the fight after 14 rounds.

Ali could, and perhaps should, have retired at that point, but he fought on. In Las Vegas in February 1978, he lost his title to Leon Spinks, the 1976 Olympic light-heavyweight champion who was 12 years his junior. The return fight in New Orleans eight months later drew a world record gate, with millions more watching on television. This time Ali took a unanimous decision and won the world title for a third time at 36.

Generous with his money, Ali is thought to have earned more than $60m (£37.2m) from his ring career - but by 1979, he seemed to have little of it left.

That may be one of the reasons he refused to call time on his ring career, but he was clearly a fading force when he lost his title for the last time to former sparring partner Larry Holmes in Las Vegas in 1980.

Ali had one more fight, against Canadian Trevor Berbick in December 1981, and after losing on points he finally retired from the ring, at the age of 40.

Soon after, rumours began to circulate about the state of his health. His speech had become slurred, he shuffled and was often drowsy. Parkinson's disease was eventually diagnosed, a condition only too obvious when, with courage and dignity, he lit the 1996 Olympic cauldron in Atlanta.

Rumours about Ali's health periodically became a subject of heated discussions in the US and abroad. But he continued to travel, receiving an ecstatic welcome wherever he appeared, especially in the developing world, where he was particularly revered. The millennium celebrations saw Ali honoured around the globe.

In Britain, BBC viewers voted him Sports Personality of the Century, and he was given a similar award from Sports Illustrated in the US. In 2005, Ali received America's two highest civilian awards - the Presidential Citizens Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom - for "exemplary services" to the country. The same year saw the opening of the non-profit Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, which promotes peace, social responsibility and respect.

He lit the Olympic cauldron at the 1996 Games in Atlanta and carried the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Games in London.

MUHAMMAD ALI: EXIT OF THE GREATEST Demola Ojo with agency reports Following a long battle with Parkinson's disease, boxing great Muhammad Ali died on Friday at the age of 74. The three-time world heavyweight champion - one of the world's greatest sporting figures - died at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, after suffering from a respiratory illness, a condition that was complicated

by Parkinson's.

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Ali shot to fame by winning light-heavyweight gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Ali turned professional immediately after the Rome Olympics and rose through the heavyweight ranks, delighting crowds with his showboating, shuffling feet and lightning reflexes.

In February 1964, Clay stunned the boxing world by winning his first world heavyweight title at the age of 22. Known as "The Greatest" - a nickname characteristically coined by the boxer himself the American beat Sonny Liston to win his first world title and later became the first boxer to capture a world heavyweight title on three separate occasions.

Ali (still known as Clay then) predicted he would beat Liston, who had never lost, but few believed he could do it. Yet, after six stunning rounds, Liston quit on his stool, unable to cope with his young, brash opponent.

Noted for his witty

statements and bold fight predictions, as well as his skills inside the ring, Ali retired in 1981 having won 56 of his 61 fights - 37 by knockout.

Considered by many to be the best boxer in history, he is at the top of most boxing rankings despite suffering defeat five times in his career.

At his peak, Ali was arguably the most famous man on the planet. His prodigious boxing talent was matched only by a towering self-belief. Meanwhile, his outspoken support for civil rights endeared him to millions of people across the world.

He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 17, 1942, the son of a sign painter and was named after a prominent 19th Century abolitionist.

When he was 12, he reported his bicycle had been stolen and told a police officer he was going to "whup" the culprit. The officer, Joe Martin, trained young fighters at a local gym and suggested the youngster learn to box before he challenged the thief.

Clay quickly took to the ring, making his competitive debut in 1954 in a three-minute amateur bout.

"He stood out because he had more determination than most boys," Martin later recalled. "He was easily the hardest worker of any kid I ever taught."

Over the following five years, his amateur career flourished and he won a number of awards including the Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in 1959.

BUILDING PARTNERSHIP

R-L: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; his Kebbi State counterpart, Governor Atiku Bagudu; Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Toyin Suarau; and Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Food Security, Mr. Ganiyu Okanlawon Sanni, during a meeting on the Lagos-Kebbi Agricultural Development Partnership at the Government House, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State...yesterday

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SUNDAY COMMENT

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

MUHAMMAD ALI: EXIT OF THE GREATEST

S

Charismatic heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, dies at age 74

hortly after his retirement from boxing that gave him unprecedented fame and fortunes and made him one of the most iconic figures on the planet, the late Muhammad Ali was asked whether he would miss the sport. He replied: “I won’t miss fighting.

But fighting will miss me.” To another person, that sort of response would seem arrogant but definitely not the former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion who died last Friday in Phoenix in Arizona, United States, after battling Parkinson disease for more than three decades.

In or out of the ring, Ali was as poetic as he was electrifying and he dominated the sport the way nobody ever did before and perhaps may never do again.

It is therefore no surprise that following his passage, encomiums have been pouring in from leaders across the world, including American President Barack Obama who described the late boxer as a man whose name was “as familiar to the downtrodden in the slums of Southeast Asia and the villages of Africa as it was to cheering crowds in Madison Square Garden.”

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Ali’s rise to fame started at the 1960 Rome Olympics where he won the light-heavyweight gold medal. That same year, he turned professional and became the world heavyweight champion at age 22 in 1964. He would later hold the title at three different epochs in the course

of his colourful career during which he fought 61 professional bouts, winning 56 and losing five. And with his famous taunting of opponents that their hands couldn’t hit what their “eyes can’t see”, Ali delighted boxing crowds with his showboating and lightning reflexes.

However, what made Ali a breed apart was not just his dexterity in the boxing ring but his strong convictions which at the early stage of his career earned him opprobrium from a section of the American public, especially his refusal to fight in the Vietnam war. There was little doubt that the choices Ali made at that period, and perhaps throughout his career, were also shaped by his colour.

His stature would have been ordinary if his career ended as just a brilliant boxer.

He rose above the limitation of a specific career and the drawback of infirmity to live as citizen of the world and an embodiment of the noblest in our collective humanity

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

ndeed, in refusing to be drafted for the war in Vietnam, Ali made a powerful statement in 1967 as to what informed his decision by alluding to the racism that defined the era in America. “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years”, said Ali at the time.

In a moment of introspection in 1970 at a most radical period in his life and career, Ali also x-rayed the sport of boxing in a manner that suggested he could see beyond his peers, even if the tone sounded regretful: “Fighters are just brutes that come to entertain the rich white people. Beat up on each other and break each other’s noses, and bleed, and show off like two little monkeys for the crowd, killing each other for the crowd. And half the crowd is white. We’re just like two slaves in that ring.

The masters get two of us big old black slaves and let us fight it out while they bet: ‘My slave can whip your slave.’ That’s what I see when I see two black people fighting.”

Even after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Ali did not allow his fighting spirit on social and civil rights issues to flag.

His stature would have been ordinary if his career ended as just a brilliant boxer. He rose above the limitation of a specific career and the drawback of infirmity to live as citizen of the world and an embodiment of the noblest in our collective humanity.Ultimately, the lesson from his life is that a sportsman need not be all about sports. Ali’s humanity, when brought into play, uplifts us all and leaves more lasting legacy. That, at the end of the day, is what we are celebrating as we mourn his departure from this life.

May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace.

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.

FOOD SECURITY AND THE TOMATO DILEMMA

he recent scarcity and subsequent exorbitant price of tomatoes in the market is a cause for serious thought.

As the largest producer of tomatoes in sub-Saharan Africa and the 14th largest producer in the world, this is the first time in a long while that Nigerians are experiencing an unprecedented scarcity of the precious fruit. It is an essential element of most meals, which usage cuts across different people, tribes and culture. Some use it as garnish, fruits, salad, juice or soup.

Therefore, the sudden transformation of tomatoes to a rich man’s staple is alarming with the astronomical increase in prices from N5, 000 and N10, 000 to N25, 000 and N35, 000 depending on the size of the basket. This increase has also influenced the prices of pepper considerably. Nigerians, especially women, are feeling the pain of this scarcity as they go to the market grumbling and lamenting.

Also, men are not left out as they equally

feel the pressure on their pockets.

The present tomato dilemma was actually compounded by the scarcity of fuel which affected the number of trucks that supplied tomatoes to the market. There have been speculations over the probable cause of the scarcity and a number of reasons have been proffered for the painful reduction of the produce in the market. One of such is that Dangote Farms Tomato Processing Factory has started the production of tomato paste on a large scale and needed to sustain production with fresh tomatoes from the market. However, a recent announcement by the company that it has halted operations in its $20 million tomato paste facility due to scarcity of tomatoes barely two months into its operations come as a surprise to many who believed that Dangote Farms was responsible for the current scarcity of tomatoes. On a positive note, however, the arrival of this company will, no doubt, help to reduce and curb the prevailing

wastage of the precious fruit, as it has been estimated that Nigeria loses over 900,000 tonnes of its 1.5million tonnes produced per year. This is a loss of over 75% with multiplier effects on labour, returns, supply and demand, which lays credence on the need for modern means of preservation and storage.

In addition, it will provide employment for more people and reduce the importation of tomato paste, thereby strengthening the local economy.

According to statistics, Nigeria is the highest importer of tomato paste in the world. This is another drain pipe on the nation’s resources. Indeed, there is a need to re-channel these resources and develop the local economy.

The fact that Dangote‘s factory had to halt operations barely two months after commencement speaks volume on the need for government to sustain and support the local industries by providing enabling environment and resources for them to thrive. Therefore, government

needs to support farmers to boost the production of tomatoes. Another reason being proffered for the scarcity of tomatoes, which is the real reason for the drop in the production of the fruit, is the incidence of devastating pest attacks which affect tomato farms in the North.

The pest “tuta absoluta” is said to have the potential to destroy a whole tomato farm within 48hours; it is also very challenging to control due to its high mutation capacity and ability to develop a resistance to insecticides. Reports have it that around this time last year, farmers in some parts of the country recorded a huge loss of farm produce to this pest but the consequences were not immediately felt because demand was lower.

The increase in demand this year cannot be totally separated from the new factory which requires tomatoes as raw materials. The increasing growth in population is also not helping matters as it leads to a corresponding increase in demand.

Also, the overdependence of the country

on the Northern region for the bulk of our food supply is equally a factor in the on-going scarcity of tomato. Presently, over 50% of food and meat consumed in Nigeria are from the North.

It becomes imperative to note that if there is an upset in the food production chain from the North, such as natural disaster or pestilence, like the recent “tuta absoluta” pest (which actually affects six major states in the North), there will be grave consequences for some other parts of the country that largely depend on supplies from the affected areas. Consequently, it is important that government at all levels, corporate bodies and well-meaning individuals to get more involved in the business of food production.

This is especially important for the Southern part of the country where agriculture has been grossly neglected.

Temilade Aruya, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Secretariat, Alausa, Lagos

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NEWS Exit Of The Greatest...

Exit Of The Greatest...

Exit Of The Greatest...

Muhammad Ali: The Activist Demola Ojo with agency reports

M

uhammad Ali’s record as a boxer was impressive. The record books show that his professional career spanned 21 years, during which he won 56 fights, 37 by way of knockout, and lost five. But he was much more than that Of utmost importance to Ali was using his high profile to support civil rights.

At the time of his first fight with Sonny Liston, Clay was already involved with the Nation of Islam, a religious movement whose stated goals were to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African Americans in the US. But in contrast to the inclusive approach favoured by civil rights leaders like Dr Martin Luther King, the Nation of Islam called for separate black development and was treated by suspicion by the American public. Ali eventually converted to Islam, ditching what he perceived was his “slave name” and becoming Cassius X and then Muhammad Ali. Ali was by no means the first black athlete to hammer at the walls of prejudice.

Jesse Owens had dealt a mighty blow to the idea of white supremacy at the Berlin Olympics - a timely one, too, given that Hitler had intended the games to showcase Aryan pre-eminence.

And in the 1950s, Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers star who became the first African-American to play major league baseball in the modern era, had broken the sport’s colour bar.

But what set the boxer apart was the way he fused his distinctive voice and outsized personality to the protest movement. That voice was never anything other than loud, eloquent, highly entertaining and controversial. For much of the 1960s, it was also outside the mainstream civil rights movement.

By changing his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali just two days after claiming the world heavyweight crown, and by embracing the separatist teachings of the Nation of Islam, the boxer placed himself on the radical fringe of the struggle for black equality.

The Nation of Islam, under its leader Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X, viewed white men as devils. But even mainstream civil rights figures came to believe that Ali’s religious conversion and outspoken advocacy had an energising effect on the freedom movement as a whole.

Al Sharpton believes that that Ali was a unifying figure, in spite of his separatist ideology. “Malcolm X would openly attack Dr King, Ali would openly embrace physically Dr King,” he said. “He became a unifying force - that is why I think we made a lot of progress.”

Asked how he would like to be remembered, he once said: “As a man who never sold out his people. But if that’s too much, then just a good boxer. I won’t even mind if you don’t mention how pretty I was.”

Ali had been willing to sacrifice the crown and money for his principles when in 1967 he refused to serve in the Vietnam war. That decision was widely criticised by the boxer’s fellow Americans.

Rejecting his claim to be a conscientious objector, a court sentenced Ali to five years in prison.

He was stripped of his boxing titles.

Though he did not end up going to jail, he did not fight for three and a half years. In 1971, the US Supreme Court unanimously overturned his conviction.

At a time when there was still widespread support for the Vietnam War, it was a bold stand to make. It was particularly brave because Ali risked losing everything.

“For the heavyweight champion of

Al with Martin Luther King in 1965

“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while socalled Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?” ********************* “Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. No Viet Cong ever called me nigger.”

Muhammad Ali with black activist Malcolm X

************************ “I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over”

the world, who had achieved the highest endorsements - to sacrifice all of that for a level of athletic celebrity, to put all of that cause, gave a whole sense of legitimacy to on the line - the money, the ability to get the movement and the causes with young

people that nothing else could have done,” Reverend Al Sharpton said. “That’s another level of leadership and sacrifice.”

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NEWS Exit Of The Greatest...

Exit Of The Greatest...

Exit Of The Greatest...

Presidents Buhari, Obama, Clinton, Others Eulogise Muhammed Ali

R-L: -Ali , Foreman and Frazier

Olaseeni Durojaiye

“M

uhammadAlishookup the world. And the world is better for it.

We are all better for it.

“Muhammad Ali was the Greatest. Period. If you just asked him, he’d tell you. He’d tell you he was the double greatest; that he’d ‘handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder into jail’. But what made the Champ the greatest – what truly separated him from everyone else – is that everyone else would tell you pretty much the same thing.

“Like everyone else on the planet, Michelle and I mourn his passing. But we’re also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him, if just for a while; for how fortunate we all are that the Greatest chose to grace our time.”

- President Barack Obama

“The sporting universe has just suffered a big loss.Muhammad Ali was my friend, my idol, my hero. We spent many moments together and always kept a good connection throughout the years. The sadness is overwhelming. I wish him peace with God. And I send love and strength to his family.”

- Brazilian soccer great Pelé

“Muhammad Ali was what I call beautiful.

He has been something special.

“You know what, I found Muhammad Ali to be one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met in my life. I got beat up in the jungle. We never had any arguments until we met in the ring that night. I hit him with everything I had, and all he would say is, ‘That all you got, George?’

“What a night. Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and myself were one guy – we lived through each other. A big piece of me died when he passed away, and I call it the greatest piece.”

- George Foreman

He’s the most transforming figure of my time. He did more to change race relations … than even Martin Luther King Bob Arum, boxing promoter Bob Arumwho promoted 26 Ali fights, “He was a champion in the ring, but, more than that, a hero beyond the ring. When champions win, people carry them off the field on their shoulders. When heroes win, people ride on their shoulders. We rode on Muhammad Ali’s shoulders.”

- The Rev Jesse Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow Push Coalition and a longtime friend.

“It is with great pain that I received the news of the death of one of the greatest African-American icon of our generation, Muhammad Ali. He may have gone but his many passion and humanitarian services will preserve his memory in my heart for a very long time.

“Ali who at birth was named Cassius Marcellus Clay was not only an enigmatic and colourful boxer, he was also a good and devout Muslim who devoted his life to the worship ofAllah. There is no doubt that the fire of black nationalism he contributed immensely to ignite and promote led to the rise of many African-Americans in the context of their country and ultimately to the eventual emergence of President Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States,” Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

“My idol has left us. I will always remember you as the best and will follow your example.

Your legend will live forever.” - “Atrue inspiration for everyone around the world, what a legend, Muhammad Ali.” - Kell Brook “So sad to hear Muhammad Ali has passed away. Greatest of all times. RIP champ.” - Joe Calzaghe “RIP Muhammad Ali. The passing of a Legend.” - Carl Froch “‘The Greatest’ one of the most influential men that ever lived. RIP Muhammad Ali” - Carl

Frampton “RIP The greatest of all times in many different ways.” - Tyson Fury “It was the biggest honor to meet Muhammad Ali last year at his house, will never forget the Greatest of All Time RIP. In boxing and in life, an inspiration to mankind.” - Gennady Golovkin “The world has lost an incredible legend. I have lost a phenomenal friend and mentor. Much love.” - Larry Holmes “Woke up to the sad news Muhammad Ali has passed away. No more suffering for you now champ. R.I.P. It was an honour to (have) met you.

Greatest x” - Ricky Hatton “My heart is deeply saddened, yet both appreciative and relieved that the greatest is now resting in the greatest place.” = Roy Jones Jr. “He was and still is an inspiration to so many.

RIP The Greatest.” - Anthony Joshua “RIP to the GOAT. A man of character, faith, dignity and professionalism. You’ll continue to inspire us to make this world a better place.” Wladimir Klitschko “Agiant among men, Ali displayed a greatness in talent, courage & conviction, that most of us will NEVER be able to truly comprehend.” = Lennox Lewis “Muhammad Ali was a great fighter and an inspirational human being. RIP champ.” - Amir Khan “Today we lost the greatest sportsman that ever lived.” = Barry McGuigan “We lost a giant today. You will always be GOAT. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Ali family. May God bless them.” - Manny Pacquiao “Sad news to wake up to, the loss of legend, icon, there will never be another like him in our sport. RIP Ali.” - Liam Smith “This one hurts. I have so much to say, but don’t know how to say it. But for now, you will be missed & I appreciate you so much.” Andre Ward Very sad day for all the sport world.The legend

of all of sport is gone.Mr Mohammed Ali the greatest of the greatest - Kolo Toure “Today my heart goes out to a pioneer, a true legend, and a hero by all means! Not a day went by entering the gym that I didn’t think of you.

Your charisma, your charm and above all, your class are all of the elements that will be greatly missed by myself and the world. You are someone that inspired me greatly throughout my boxing journey and words cannot express how great you were as a person! Thank you for everything you’ve done for Black America, in the the world of sports & entertainment and for the legacy you leave behind! My sincerest condolences to the Ali family!” –Floyd Mayweather Jnr. Good night my friend. You were great in so many ways – Bill Clinton ‘RIP@muhammadali, a legend who transcended sport and was a true champion for all.’ - Oscar de la HoyaGod came for his champion. So long great one – Mike Tyson “I consider myself one of the luckiest guys in the world just to call him my friend. If I was to die today and go to heaven it would be a step down. My heaven was being with Ali.” - former business manager, Gene Kilroy My Mentor & My Friend. You changed my Life. Rest in Peace. He was the greatest of all time,’ Smith said. ‘When you think about the legacy of Muhammad Ali, what he did in the ring is not what we think about. I got to wear Muhammad Ali’s greatness.

‘He’s a champion for civil rights; he’s a champion for fighting for justice; he’s a champion for utilising whatever tools he has to make the world a better place.’ – Will Smith “Ali Taught to dream, to dare and to fight for what we believe in. That’s why he is the greatest” – Piers Morgan Nobody will ever come close to this man’s greatness. And if they do, they better wake up and apologise” – Conor MacGregor.

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SUNDAYNEWS

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

DHQ: Terrorist Plan Bombings During Ramadan Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

MAKING A POINT R-L: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Chairman UBA Group and Heirs Holdings Ltd.; Mr. Tony Elumelu, at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos en route Abuja...weekend

Blasphemy Murder: Outrage Mounts as Buhari, IG Pledge Speedy Justice • Police homicide section investigates killing, HURIWA kicks Tobi Soniyi, Senator Iroegbu, Dele Ogbodo in Abuja, and Amby Uneze in Owerri

As Nigerians react in outrage concerning the gruesome extrajudicial murder of Mrs. Bridget Agbaheme, an Igbo market woman in Kano, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase have appealed for calm and pledged to ensure speedy justice in the matter.

A statement issued in Abuja yesterday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina said Buhari described the gruesome incident that led to the killing of Agbaheme as sad and regrettable, and consoled with the husband of the deceased, Pastor Mike Agbaheme, the family and relations, praying that God would give them the fortitude to bear the loss.

He also commended the law enforcement agents for apprehending the prime suspect behind the killing, as well as the Kano State government, which summoned a meeting of Christian and Islamic leaders,

widower of the deceased, and security agencies, as soon as the sad event occurred.

Adesina said Buhari promised that justice would be done in the matter, and urged the people not to take the law into their hands. He equally charged those who might want to use the development to fan the embers of religious or ethnic hatred to remember that two wrongs never make a right, and that when law and order broke down, the victims never distinguished on the basis of religion or ethnicity.

“The incident at Kofar Wambai market, Kano city, is utterly condemnable, and the state government has been quite proactive. Let us ensure that we keep the peace, as justice will be done. Let us learn to respect each other’s faith, so that we can know each other and live together in peace,” the President said.

The Inspector-General of Police has also called for calm while reassuring the family of the deceased and the public that justice shall be done in the case.

The IG who condemned the act in a statement signed by the Force Public Relations Of-

ficer, Force Headquarters, ACP, Olabisi Kolawole, which was made available to the media in Abuja, said the Kano State Police Command has succeeded in arresting two key suspects in connection with the unfortunate incident. Those arrested include Dauda Ahmed and Subeiru Abubakar.

In order to ensure a professional investigation, the IG, has directed the Deputy InspectorGeneral of Police in- charge of the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID) to deploy the Homicide Section of the Department to immediately take over the investigation of the case and ensure a meticulous investigation and speedy prosecution of the arrested suspects.

Arase also directed the Commissioner of Police of Kano State to sustain the community engagement actions which he is currently initiating with all strategic security stakeholders and community leaders in the State with a view to dousing the tension being generated by the condemnable incident.

Arase also called on Kano

State residents and indeed, all citizens to imbibe the culture of tolerance, rule of law and peaceful co-existence and to trust and cooperate with the police as we strive to ensure justice in this case.

“The Inspector General of Police and the entire Nigeria Police family, therefore, condoled the family, friends and colleagues of the late victim and stressed that the Force shall uphold its mandate touching on criminal justice delivery in the most firm and speedy fashion in this instance and in other cases of this nature,” he said.

The IG advised members of the public to go about their normal activities and resist any temptation to capitalise on the incident to threaten national security as any such attempt would be firmly dealt with.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Writes Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned the recent killings in Niger and Kano States of two Nigerians of Igbo extraction by Islamic extremistsoverallegedblasphemyoftheir religion, describing it as provocative and primitive.

Troops Kill Boko Haram Commander, 30 Terrorists in Borno • Soldier killed, five others, officer wounded in battle Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

Nigerian troops have killed a top Boko Haram commander known as Ameer Abubakar Gana and several others in various battles in Borno State; in an ongoing operation to clear remnants of the terrorists in parts of the North-east region.

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman in a statement yesterday, said the troops acted following credible information on the presence of Boko Haram terrorists, their camp and other facilities at Chukungudu.

Usman noted that a planned attack comprising

troops of 22 Brigade Garrison, and 153 Task Force Battalion of 7 Division and 8 Task Force Division as well as Nigeria Air Force Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) and some Civilian JTF, was carried out on the Boko Haram terrorists’ stronghold at Chukungudu.

While advancing to the location, he said the troops encountered terrorists’ ambush positions at Muskari, Gilam and Hausasi before descending on their main objective at Chukungudu.

He said during the encounter at the camp, the troops killed 19 Boko Haram Terrorists including their notorious leader in the area

called Ameer Abubakar Gana.

“They also discovered and destroyed the terrorists’ Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)-making factory, discovered and successfully detonated four primed IEDs. The troops also recovered two Anti-Aircraft Guns, an AK-47 rifle, a pistol, Rocket Propelled Gun (RPG) bomb, AK-47 Magazine, 267 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) metal links ammunition and 23 rounds of 12.7mm belt ammunition,” he stated.

He listed other recovered items to include a Canter truck, a Gun truck, Land Rover vehicle and a Toyota Hilux vehicle.

Usman said two soldiers

unfortunately suffered gunshot wounds as a result of enemy action. He however, stated that both of them are stable and responding to treatment at the Field Ambulance.

He also said troops of 202 Battalion of 21 Brigade in Operation Lafiya Dole have ambushed Boko Haram elements in which they killed three and arrested one of the terrorists at Sabsawa-Boarding road and BOCOBS-Ngurusoye road between June 1 and 2.

He said the captured Boko Haram terrorist, Umar Mustapha, who claimed to have come from Sabsawa, has been handed over to the Brigade Headquarters for further interrogation and processing.

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has warned of plans by terrorists to use the Ramadan period, which usually attracts gathering of large number of persons during morning and evening worships and prayers to carry out large-scale bombings.

The Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brig-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, in a statement yesterday, urged people to be vigilant and security-conscious in places of worship during the fasting period.

The DHQ, Abubakar said, “wishes to once again advise

the general public to be watchful of strange persons and objects in their localities particularly, around places of worship, and to promptly report same to security agencies.

“It is further to advise that adequate security and surveillance be evolved by respective places of worship to forestall any unwholesome acts by some unscrupulous elements,” he stated.

The DDI also assured “law abiding citizens to go about their normal businesses while efforts are being made to eliminate the remnants of the terrorists from their hideouts as well as addressing other security challenges in the country.”

IG Approves Fresh Posting for 9 Commissioners of Police Dele Ogbodo in Abuja

The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, yesterday approved the posting of 9 Commissioners of Police. The posting which appeared on the NPF website, stated that the posting is with immediate effect.

The affected Commissioners and their locations include: CP Chika Abubakar Maidana - Yobe

state; CP Zannah Ibrahim - Delta state; CP Usman Alkali Baba - FCT; CP Basen Dapiya Gwana - Abia state; CP Jimoh Omeiza Ozi-Obeh - Cross River state; CP Henry Fadairo - Administration, Research and Planning; CP Joshak Habila - Border Patrol; CP Abdul Buba - Communication Force Headquarters, and CP Wilson Inalegwu - Commander Police College, Ikeja, Lagos State.

Ambode Denies Kidnap Attempt on Mother Clement Danhutor

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday denied media reports claiming that a kidnap attempt was made on his mother, Mrs. Christianah Ambode at her residence in Gbagada area of the State on Friday evening.

The governor, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, denied the media report, saying that it was not a true reflection of what transpired at the residence of his mother.

An online newspaper had claimed that heavily armed gunmen invaded the governor mother’s residence and disarmed the octogenarian’s police detail in an apparent attempt to abduct her. The newspaper had further reported that the unfortunate development took place at about 7:30pm, while a back-up team arrived at the scene at about 8:10pm.

Responding, Aruna said: “Whilst it is true that a commotion occurred at the residence of the governor’s mother on the fateful day, it was however far from the truth that it was a kidnap attempt.

“What really transpired was that a man parked his vehicle in front of the residence of the Gov-

ernor’s mother and the security detail attached to the building asked him not to park there so as not to block the entrance.

“The man who claimed to be a military personnel was not in uniform as at the time of the unfortunate incident but he insisted on parking in front of the building on the ground that he was a military personnel.

“He then went on to invite military personnel attached to Operation MESA to beat Mrs. Ambode’s police details after he was advised not to park his vehicle outside the building.

“The unfortunate part was that the newspaper rightly reported this aspect of the development in the body of the story but still claimed in the lead paragraph that it was an apparent kidnap attempt.

“While we would like to put on record that the disturbance was not a kidnap attempt on the Governor’s mother as nothing untoward happened to her, we also like to caution against needless sensational journalism which could cause unnecessary panic.

“At the moment, officials of the State Government are taking appropriate steps to sanction the unruly military personnel who joined their colleague to disturb public peace,” Aruna stated.

In Brief EGHOSA Old Boys Meeting

The inaugural meeting of Eghosa Anglican Grammar School, Benin City, Old Boys’ Association (EGHOBA), Abuja Chapter comes up today at Alexis hotel and Conference centre, opposite Apostolic Faith, Jabi along Obafemi Awolowo Rd, Jabi. All old boys in Kano, Kaduna and in Northern region should please attend. Time is 3pm.

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

SUNDAYNEWS Oronsaye: Case Adjourned till June Commission Approves Promotion of 1,670 Senior Police Officers, Appoints 147 in Acting Capacity 13 for Further Hearing Anayo Okolie

Justice Olasumbo Goodluck of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court has adjourned hearing in the case of breach of trust preferred against Nigeria’s former head of Service, Mr. Stephen Oronsaye, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for continued hearing in the matter.

However, there was mild drama at the hearing, as the legal team of the EFCC failed to honour an earlier order of the Court, directing it to file clear fresh charges and evidences in the matter.

Justice Goodluck of the Federal Capital Territory,

FCT, High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, had issued an order directing the EFCC to file fresh charges and additional evidence in the suit, a directive the Commission did not heed.

Upon resumed hearing Friday, Counsel to Mr. Oronsaye, Ade OkeayaInne, SAN drew the attention of the Court to the flaws identified in the processes served.

“On the last adjourned date, the Court made an order that clear copies be served. The copies served do not represent that order.

We have been served additional charges and two additional documents. They do not represent the set of

clear copies, as ordered,” Okeaya-Inne observed.

Responding, the presiding Judge, Justice Goodluck expressed concerns over the impropriety of the documents.

“The Court is concerned about the propriety of the documents in the courts records, having not been part of the Court’s order.

The Court had ordered the EFCC to put their records straight, ahead of today’s proceedings.”

The Prosecution counsel apologised to the court for the blunder and appealed that the amended charges brought against the accused be read out, a plea the judge granted.

Fayose Joins Ekiti Workers on Indefinite Strike Olakiitan Victor in Ado Ekiti

Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose has joined workers of the state civil service on indefinite strike.

Fayose said the solidarity strike became expedient to show concerns with the workers, who have been on strike for more than a week.

The governor gave the

declaration in Ado Ekiti at the weekend in a televised broadcast shown on media based in Ekiti State. In the broadcast he said he had paid the January salaries of local government workers, primary school teachers and subventions to tertiary institutions in the state.

The workers under the auspices of Nigerian

Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Negotiation Council (JNC), had last week Wednesday called out workers for indefinite strike, when it was apparent that the governor has allegedly not been responding positively to their yearnings.

The Chairmen of TUC, Com Odunayo Adesoye,

Dele Ogbodo in Abuja

The Police Service Commission has approved the promotion of 1,670 Senior Police Officers to their next ranks. A statement made available to THISDAY yesterday in Abuja, said the Commission also approved the appointment of 147 others to different ranks.

The statement added that the approval was conveyed to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase weekend.

The breakdown showed that ‘A Commissioner of Police was elevated to the rank of AIG, 10 Assistant Commissioners to Deputy Commissioners, five CSPs to ACP and six SP to CSPs. Others are four DSP to SP, and 1,540 Inspectors to ASPs. The acting appointments are three DCP, five ACP, four CSPs three SPs, five DSPs and 127 ASPs. The approvals and acting appointments take immediate effect.”

The Chairman of the

Commission, Sir Mike Okiro, a retired Inspector General of Police, wished the affected officers the best in their new ranks and urged them to reciprocate the Commission’s good gesture by rededicating themselves to the service of the nation.

He promised that the Commission would continue to ensure that deserving policemen are promoted as and when due to serve as motivation for effective service.

2.5m Youths to Receive Training on Agro-biz in South-east Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu

In response to the lingering economic meltdown culminating in the increasing spate of retrenchments within the organised private sector, no fewer than 2.5 million youths drawn from five South-east states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo have been shortlisted for training in various agricultural businesses.

The scheme entitled “500/1 (Youth Agripreneur Training programme) & Agric Startup Kits” will be officially launched in Enugu next week.

In a joint press release by organisers of the programme; Agric Information Centre & Community Radio project, African Youth Rehabilitation Initiative (AYRI), an NGO and Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), the exercise is aimed at promoting youth involvement in agriculture.

The project will shortlist,

Wedding

train and equip minimum of 500 youths as ‘agriprenuers’ from each of the five Eastern States of Nigeria. The release noted that several government efforts at boosting agricultural production as a way of diversifying the nation’s economy, creating employment and ensuring food security failed because of non-involvement of youths.

Charles Chinedu Emenike will take the hand of Queen Ijeoma Odionye in marriage on Saturday June 11, 2016 at St. Leo’s Catholic Church Ikeja, Lagos by 10am. Reception will follows immediately at Man Event Centre 5 Eleruma Street Wemabod Estate by Waham Bus Stop Off Ajoa Road, Off Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja Lagos.

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

OPINION A PRELATE COUNTS HIS BLESSINGS Okey Ifionu pays tribute to Revd Adebayo Akinde, outgoing archbishop of the Province of Lagos, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion

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uite lately, conversations among both the clergy and laity of the nearly 10-year- old Diocese of Lagos Mainland have revolved mostly around the imminent retirement of their incumbent bishop, the Most Revd Adebayo D. Akinde.

Clearly, many are already missing this servant of God (even before his due date of August 23) whose style of leadership, rare humility and effusive love for people deserve a more copious treatment than this article can afford.

In the last 10 years, Akinde who also doubles as the Archbishop of the Lagos Province of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has defined his episcopacy in a rather extraordinary way. In the minds of most members of the diocese he approximates what every true servant of God should be -- loving, caring and always eager to make sacrifices for the spiritual well-being of his parishioners in particular and all who come his way.

A man without guiles and with rather simple tastes, Akinde has earned for himself the deep affections of his parishioners.

When you hear these parishioners express concern about his exit, it is not as though they do not realise that a bishop must one day retire from active ministry. They are only lamenting how much they would miss the amiability of Professor Akinde, a rare combination of profound spirituality, intellectualism and self-effacement. A full tribute this article is not; just a cursory look at Akinde’s episcopacy in the past 10 years.

The synod of the Diocese which started on Thursday, May 26, was Archbishop Akinde’s valecdictory. And as synods go, this one drew delegates from all the parishes in the diocese as well as resource persons from across the country. But it was much more than a typical Anglican synod. It was the last by this much beloved bishop who has been rightly described as a church icon. The event which kicked off in the Cathedral of St. Jude and continued till May 29, partly in All Saints Church, Yaba, and then again in the Cathedral, which featured many programmes aimed at uplifting the spiritual life of not only the delegates but the entire members of the Diocese. No less than 40 other church prelates attended, in obvious demonstration of their love for their retiring colleague.

The gathering afforded Archbishop Akinde, a tireless church leader, the opportunity to look back at his episcopacy, counted his blessings and offered profound gratitude to the Almighty

God who has kept him all through his evidently successful and inspiring career in Christian ministry. His accomplishments are many and awe-inspiring but he self-admittedly owes it all to the all-sufficient God whose grace upon his life has been extravagant.

Most fittingly then, the retiring Bishop’s theme for this year’s synod was “Thy Hand O God, Has Guided.” (Isaiah 49:1-2; Luke 11:10). By this thankful theme, the retiring Archbishop was simply telling the delegates and indeed the whole world that whatever success he has recorded as a minister of the gospel and church prelate was due to the guiding hands of his loving God, the one who called him into the holy orders more than 30 years ago.

Although this is not a full tribute, it is only proper to reflect, however briefly, on the last 10 years of Akinde’s ministerial career during which he has served as the pioneer bishop of the Diocese of Lagos Mainland and Archbishop of the Province of Lagos.

Right from the first synod to the current one, this Spirit-filled and large-hearted servant of God has touched thousands of lives in very extraordinary ways. For the most part he has lived what he preached. A man of prayers, the word ‘impossible’ does not exist in his mind. His prayers are fervent and obviously from the heart, and they often bear great result. He has feared nor despised no one. Not surprisingly, his slogan for the diocese is “Fear God, Do it Right and Flourish.”

In the minds of most members of the diocese he approximates what every true servant of God should be -- loving, caring and always eager to make sacrifices for the spiritual well-being of his parishioners in particular and all who come his way

Oftentimes, parishioners are puzzled by Akinde’s ability to connect with almost everybody, despite his very busy schedule as a bishop and archbishop overseeing 13 dioceses.

No Christian chore is too menial for him as long as it portrays Jesus Christ in positive light. His energy is boundless even at nearly 70 and his wisdom as a prelate simply incomparable. In nearly all circumstances, he has acted in accordance with the expressed will of the Lord Jesus. Not for him, the word failure as can be attested to by the giant projects he has executed in just 10 years as pioneer bishop of Lagos Mainland diocese --19 new churches, a most befitting Diocesan headquarters, a bespoke Christian events and resource centre, a modern college, an ultra-modern bishopscourt, etc.

But much more than these, Akinde’s social skills and outpouring of blessings on people who come his way are rather astounding. Ever so charismatic and eager to bless, he has become known even among his fellow prelates as the ever generous ‘Bishop Akinde.’

In the previous synods, this renowned professor of computer engineering, had chosen themes that proved not only benedective but indeed most appropriate for the season. In the very first full synod of the diocese held in June 2007, he chose the theme “The Church’s One Foundation.” By that he tried to underscore the fact that Christ Jesus is the one true foundation of the church. Any other foundation is false and will crumble.

The following year he settled for another very appropriate theme, “Christian Stewardship”, in which he emphasised the need for all Christians to realise that all their God-given talents are meant primarily for godly service, and not egocentric purposes. Only last year, Archbishop Akinde zeroed in on the youths and their spiritual well-being by dwelling on the theme, “Teach the Youths Today and Fashion the Future.” At a time when many youths are succumbing to the ungodly seductions of the internet age, that theme was most apt and indeed a wake-up call to the church to help youths re-calibrate their moral compass.

I have no doubt that this year’s Synod was the toughest for Archbishop Akinde and his lovely wife Bassey. Saying goodbye, as they say, can be hard. Yet for this rare servant of the Most High, his giant footprints in the sands of time will remain indelible.

Rev. Canon Ifionu is the Vicar of Emmanuel Anglican Church, Railway Compound, Lagos

FANTASTICALLY CONFUSED

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Uche Nwokedi dissects the phrase, ‘fantastically corrupt,’ used on Nigerians by British Prime Minister David Cameron

nglish language (and its derivative dialect, pidgin or broken English) is many things, to many people. In many homes in Nigeria today, it is the only means of communication (seeing as our ethnic languages are dying and some will disappear in the next 50 years). It is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is an enduring vestige of colonialism and a constant reminder of our antecedent political history. It is the language of contemporary and popular music, and of the movies. It is also the voice of our education and upbringing. Most educated people in Nigeria think in English, and there is now a lexicon of English language peculiar to this country. I am reasonably comfortable with it, especially as the grace of God and my education, sponsored by my hard working and honest parents, allowed me to grow up speaking English (in tandem with Igbo, and because of that “wonderfully unique” Catholic School in Obalende, St Gregory’s College, a little bit of colloquial Yoruba). Even then, I strive on a daily basis, to improve my command of the language so that I can do well in my chosen profession, law. I read as widely as my busy schedule will allow me. When I read any piece of prose, I examine the nuances and subtleties of the language, in the same way that I examine the rationale and meaning in judgments and legal briefs. It is a wonderful exercise.

Recently, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, David Cameron proved to me that you could never really speak a language like the people that own it. When he excitedly described Nigeria as a “fantastically corrupt” country, I was taken aback. Not because as a host he “gossiped” or spoke disparagingly of some of his guests behind their backs, but because he put two words together in a way that I would never have done. One may have said, “extremely corrupt”, or perhaps “terribly corrupt”. One may even say, “unforgivably corrupt”, or “stupidly corrupt”, but in my own humble understanding of English I would never have combined “fantastic” and “corrupt” in the same sentence to describe a whole country, and by extension the millions of people that are citizens of that country.

My first reaction was to query if he was grammatically correct. Was it the Queen’s English he spoke? Or did he take liberties with the Language hoping that the Queen would not notice? An interesting turn of phrase!

It sounded like something borrowed from Pink Floyd’s songbook. I immediately made an excursion to the nearest dictionary for enlightenment. I found a number of contextual meanings offered for “fantastic”, such as; “strange or exotic”; “seeming more appropriate to the imagination than to reality”; the most apt I thought was “being remote from reality”. I played the phrase back many times in my mind and I became fantasti-

cally confused. My confusion was not that corruption in government is unusual because the developed nations have their fair share of it.

Besides, “corruption” is an English word and may be found in all the English dictionaries. It was also not that Nigeria was corrupt because Great Britain has been in bed with Nigeria even before Lord Lugard did his amalgamation thing. It was the phrase “fantastically corrupt” that bemused me. How can something bad be fantastic? It drove me nuts.

To my mind, it was almost like saying “wickedly kind” or “painfully sweet”. It was such an oxymoron. Why would he say that? What did we do to him? Does he know something that we do not? Does he admire the corruption? Surely David Cameron knows that the justice system in England is relentless, as the Great Train Robbers discovered. As it is, with the “Brexit” referendum imminent, his job is already on the line. I concluded that perhaps he meant that our corruption has grown beyond the levels acceptable by civilised and regularly organised societies. It was not a case of inflated travel expenses, or phantom sitting allowances, or even a Hermes scarf for a mistress. That is for the faint hearted. It is more like a case of relocating entire treasuries to personal accounts in foreign lands. In fact the magnitude of the corruption has grown so much that it is now remote from reality. It is actually beyond imagination. So in a deft exposition of his mother tongue, David Cameron introduces us to a quaint phrase, “fantastically corrupt”, which now means so much more in relation to Nigeria.

President Buhari’s reaction on the other hand also surprised me. The usual Nigerian response to such matters is to proclaim loudly that, “we will not be intimidated”, then maybe the diplomatic protestation of summoning the British High Commissioner to explain the statement might ensue. Instead, like a good soldier, he claimed high ground. He seized an opportunity to show to the world that he was bigger, wiser and more polite than his much younger host leader. He accepted that his country, Nigeria, which he serves as president, was fantastically corrupt. He waved off any feeble attempts made to apologise, though none had actually been offered. He was gracious to David Cameron and thus spared his erring host his blushes. It was a successful manoeuvre. Then he scored another point. He asked for the return of those ill-gotten riches breathing in several accounts in Britain and other countries. There is still no response to his request. Any explanation given thereafter was at best, mealy-mouthed and swallowed up in the media scrum that followed his statement. For them, that Nigeria is “fantastically corrupt” is more news worthy than the fact that the fruits of the said corruption remain in their countries, undoubtedly breathing and multiplying. That fact

was relegated to a footnote in all media discussions that followed.

For the Nigerian President, it was a successful PR campaign in most respects. He had gained the summit of the occasion, but he did so alone. He planted his own personal banner, but not the national flag.

He forgot about the millions of honest and hardworking Nigerians who voted him in to fight corruption. He tarred all Nigerians with the same brush. He lost sight of the fact that there are still many Nigerians who wake up every morning and go about their business honestly and sincerely, and strive to make the country a better place. He failed to advocate for them. He forgot that Nigerians are blessed with the spirit of endeavour and are an extremely industrious and talented people. I wonder how the Nigerians in diaspora must have felt in their places of work that day when he made that damning proclamation.

I wondered about those in foreign countries with pending legitimate applications for financial support before their employers, their banks, their schools or local councils. I wondered about all the Nigerians living and schooling in the UK. How did they feel as they walked into their dining rooms that evening before the students from other countries?

It would have been a good day to go to the library instead. Ironically, the nameless gentleman who inquired if we paid our airfare to the convention is said to be well associated with scandal. Such hypocrisy!

As our president, he forgot that he should advocate for every Nigerian, especially the honest ones, even if by estimation of the world they are a dying minority. He mounted the pedestal of being incorruptible and pulled the ladder up after himself. He left people, worthy Nigerians behind. And this was after the Bishop of Canterbury, who immediately spoke up for him, and distinguished him from other corrupt Nigerians, had given him absolution. Now there is a lesson there! He too should have followed suit and made the appropriate distinctions. It was a good opportunity for him to re-affirm his inauguration mantra that he is the president for everyone. The battle to save the soul of our nation is epic and the president must have his troops with him.

Here, it is the will and voice of the people (amplified by social media) that should constitute his army. He must seek their support, if he is to succeed. Perhaps he too was fantastically surprised by the glare of the moment. It happens to everyone. Be that as it may, we should all borrow a leaf from President Buhari’s book and wave off his oversight.

We too, should also understand that democracy on the world stage is a perennial learning curve, and like the rest of us, President Buhari is still a student of democracy.

Nwokedi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, wrote from Lagos

17

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • JUNE 5, 2016

LETTERS

“D

NIGERIA AND THE CHANGE MANTRA

o not curse the darkness…

light a candle”…. anonymousIt has been a year of steering the ship of state by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

The emergence of the administration was birthed on the premise of “change”.

This was one word that drove the populace to frenzy no matter what side of the divide they stood during the run off to the presidential elections of 2015. The administration that preceded the Buhari’s had a lot to contend with, as it became obvious to many discerning Nigerians that the ship of state was headed towards a wreck as that administration approached its twilight.

Hence it was not so surprising that there was a real and genuine disconnect between that administration and the people despite the level of desperation and resources it employed to be reelected.

The disenchantment of a large percentage of the populace with the ancien regime found congruence

I

Buhari

with the ability of the opposition to form a united front after several unsuccessful attempts in the past.

This “movement” so to speak was predicated upon one catch phrase of “change” which was embraced wholly both in form, content and essence by the people. It reso-

nated loudly and had more gravitas with the people when the symbol of that change became no other person but General Buhari.

This was someone who had built up a reputation of honesty and integrity throughout his career in the public service and personal life. The people therefore

bought into the “change movement” wholeheartedly and it was upon this ideal that Buhari recorded an impressive victory against the incumbent at the polls.

The swearing in of Buhari on May 29, 2015 further “cemented” this victory and heralded great public expectations from his administration. Now, it may not be wrong to infer that “change” meant different and many things to many people who were even in the fore front of the change movement. But the important question many people failed to ask themselves in the frenzy that accompanied the change mantra during the run up to the elections was “change from what to what”? And for those who asked themselves it is not certain whether they came up with genuine answers to the poser.As the Buhari administration celebrates its one year in office, it may be pertinent to ask whether Nigerians are now experiencing “change” in its real or elusive essence.

An attempt to answer this poser may be an exercise in futility, if certain indices or parameters are not taken

ORTOM: GOD HAS DONE HIS PART

n order commemorate the Democracy Day celebration for this year, the Governor of Benue state decided to dedicate (is it re-dedicate?) the state to God. Pictures of the state governor lying on the floor were circulated round the internet. One is least surprised that the governor adopted this strategy to cover up for his ineffectiveness and inefficiency, after one year of being on the saddle. Nigerians being what we are fell for the trick of the governor. Some people attended the ceremony to join the governor in dedicating the state. Others are divided against each other, arguing and counter- arguing on appropriateness of dedicating the state to God. The governor must surely be having a good laugh. His plans have worked out perfectly.

Instead of questioning him and calling him to account for his stewardship, we are arguing on whether or not, it was appropriate to dedicate the state to God. Governor Ortom must be a clever man!

But is it necessary to dedicate Benue State to God? Has God not always been involved in the affairs of Benue? If God wasn’t involved, would Benue still exist? The socio-cultural crises it has faced would have dissipated it a long time ago.

Has anybody ever wondered how the state continues to survive despite being sulked and milked dry by successive leaders? No state or country can survive the avarice of these masquerading leaders except through the grace of God. In fact, it is because of the mercy of God that Ortom is

still a governor. If not for God, the people of Benue would have marched to the House of Assembly or Government House to demand his removal or resignation. Alas, God has always been there pacifying them. He pacifies the poor and hungry, pacified the unemployed even in the midst of extortions by government, prevented jobless youths from engaging in anti-social vices. He touches the minds of workers and pushes them to go to work every day, despite the fact that they’ve not been paid salaries for more than five months.

After one year, we do not need a professor of Political Science from the Benue State University or anywhere for that matter, to tell us that Mr. Samuel Ortom is not ready for leadership. He is like an accidental leader who has refused to up his ante.

He doesn’t look like someone prepared to deliver governance to the people. At the rate he is going, he would need to organise dedication ceremonies every month in order to hide under the cover of seeking God’s face to run the state. Religious institutions are said to be the conscience and represent the moral fabric of the society. They are there to guide society and ensure it doesn’t derail. These institutions one must admit have tried in guiding Benue people.

Whether they are doing same for the political leaders in Benue is what one cannot tell.

One therefore hopes that the men of God who graced that occasion were bold enough to tell the governor the truth with respect to the general

feeling on the street. Benue people believe God and do not mind taking the tranquilising drug of “God dey.” This belief has prevented them from reacting against the many errors and gaffe of Governor Samuel Ortom; just like it did in the past. It is that same belief that made them assemble at the IBB square to listen to the governor blame his predecessor for “deliberately creating problems for him”.If only

“T

man would do his part, Benue State would be better than what it currently is. That state has everything it needs to be great. The only thing lacking is responsible leadership.

Governor Ortom should play his part as the leader. Let him stop sleeping on duty; let him stop bothering God; for God has done his part.

Frank Ijege, Network for Democracy and Human Rights

into consideration. Prior to the present dispensation, it seems Nigeria and Nigerians had been living a “lie” so to say. Our legendary and perpetual consumption and consumerism fuelled by cheap petro dollars that wasn’t supported by any productive base created an illusion in the minds of so many that Nigeria had a “real economy” or was prosperous in real terms.

It was this illusion fuelled by pervasive corruption that cascaded into a “micro economy” and made many who were not discerning to live lives they could hardly sustain once thecorruption bubble became busted and order is introduced coupled with strict compliance with established public service rules and financial regulations. The history of nations who were at the same level of development with Nigeria in the 1950s and 1960s but are now exemplars of modernity and development , shows that they adopted this order and strict compliance with established public service rules and financial regulations early enough in addition to dealing with corruption frontally. This we have failed to do in this clime over the years, at the altar of nepotism, prebendalism, tribalism and religious intolerance.

Hence one year after the ascension of a government that was ushered in on the basis of “change” the proverbial “chickens have started coming home to roost”. It appears that many people who were sold on to the change mantra then, thought change meant a continuation of the status quo.

Thus it is not so surprising that many Nigerians are

finding it difficult to adjust to the current realities by seeing the glass cup as half empty rather than half full. And in order to keep up with the former rudderless status quo they have been used to, many have resorted to playing the same old and worn out “games” and “stratagems” of ethnicity, religion, incendiary statements, organised violence, borrowing to keep up with flashy lifestyle in the absence of access to public funds and so on. But like it’s often said, it may be pointless crying over spilt milk, but to rather embrace the reality of the current era by re-ordering priorities and to also remember that while there may be enough for every ones need there might not be enough for every ones greed.

There is an urgent need to start doing things right or in the right way if Nigeria is to succeed as a nation state. That seems to be the frame work which the present administration is trying to lay within the last 365 days, and one which needs to be supported by all and sundry, albeit with the temporary pains that accompanies a move to make a tectonic shift from a familiar but dangerous path to a path that isn’t familiar but promises to lead to a favorable destination in the longer term.

There still seems to be a lot to do and of course there have been mistakes and hiccups along the line, but to give the current dispensation a chance to stop the drift and lay the foundation for the economic and social prosperity of the Nigerian state and her people is an imperative for her citizens

Babs Iwalewa, @babsiwalewa

WHY ARE IGBO LEADERS SILENT?

he world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”

---Albert Einstein In affirmation with Einstein’s thought-provoking assertion, the dignity and humanity of man begins to erode when we fail to raise voice of opposition against brutality and cruelty of rampaging tyrannical forces—whose mission is to suppress peoples’ democratic views and total emancipation of their freedom via deterring instruments of autocracy.

Life plunges into a valley of meaninglessness and descends into bottomless pit of delusions when people lose their touch of humanity, by turning blind eye when crimes are being perpetrated by beasts masked in military uniforms.

On May 30, 2016, rivers of blood flowed into Niger, garments of sorrow fell on us and despicable acts of genocide were committed brazenly on the ancestral soil of the Igbo nation. Some unarmed

pro-Biafran members of IPOB, MASSOB and BIM were brutally killed, maimed, gunned down and drowned in pool of blood by murderous security agents. The only offence of these Igbo youths was daring to raise Biafra’s flag in remembrance of our fallen heroes, who paid the ultimate price 49 years ago, to liberate their politically enslaved people from the shackles of this contraption called Nigeria.

After the detestable, barbaric and abominable acts of inhumanity to Igbo youths in Eastern region, I expected to see overwhelming condemnation to emanate from the rank and file of political, religious, business leaders of Igbo extraction; both home and abroad but all to no avail. Expect for few outstanding leaders like Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu—who boycotted the presidential dinner organised for leadership of National Assembly at the State House on the evening of that fateful day and his subsequent motion on the floor of the red chamber next morning, where he patriotically brought attention

of the Senate to unprofessional and cold-hearted conduct of the Nigerian security officials in handling the Biafra Day anniversary in the East.

Ironically, as Sen. Ekweremadu was reprehending the unjustifiable killings in the Senate, another group from the South-East with the name of ‘South-East Leaders for Change’ led by no other person but a so-called Igbo leader, Sen. Ken Nnamani went on wild goose chase to the Presidential Villa when the entire Igbo nation and advocates of justice were in mourning mood. The pictures of these Igbo “leaders” exchanging pleasantries and jokes with the Commanderin-Chief can be best described as height of insensitivity and betrayal of collective interest and Igbo notion of “ometute onu ometute imi”, which means injury to one; is injury to all.

According to Bishop Desmond Tutu, “if you’re neutral in the face of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor”.

The graveyard silence and chronic hypocrisy of

weak-willed South-East governors is too conspicuous to be negligible. It took again, brotherly and heroic reaction of Gov. Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State to scandalise the make up of these weaklings parading themselves as governors in Igboland. Much nauseating is Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra State whose state has been converted to an abattoir—where unarmed pro-Biafran civilians are mowed down at any slightest provocation. I’m quite sure that the spirit of Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, who was remembered and celebrated on that fateful will forever remain irritated by Obiano’s inaction.

At the end of gruesome massacre, Obiano through his disjointed press release added salt to injury by referring to the ill-fated rally as “illegal”—in a supposedly democratic dispensation, instead of apologising to Ndigbo for not proactively calling crude security officials to order before the horrible incident.

Nwobodo Chidiebere, Abuja

18

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • JUNE 5, 2016

INTERNATIONAL

Second Year of Political Governance of Nigeria under PMB: A Prognosis of Recidivist and New Challenges

A

s at May 29, 2016 when President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) concluded his first year as elected leader of Nigeria and when Nigerians stood uprightly to celebrate sixteen years of democracy, Nigeria was faced with three types of chronic challenges: political, security, and economic.

Some of the political challenges included the calls for restructuring of the country, what to do with the Reports of the 2014 National Conference, complaints about the application of Federal Character Principle, and lopsidedness in the political appointments by PMB. These challenges constitute one side of the national survival coin.

Nigeria’s national security challenges constitute the other side of the coin. They essentially not only threaten national unity and survival, but also impede growth, nation-building, and in fact, serve as catalytic agents of anti-Nigeria sentiments. For instance, there is the MASSOB (Movement for theActualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra) which once existed as a lone ranger. The IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) was carved out of the MASSOB, implying that a new battle field has been created in the quest for a separate identity for Biafrans.

Apart from the struggle for self-determination, there is also the struggle for resource control in the Niger Delta. While hopes for an enduring end to boko haramism are increasing, the biafranisation struggle is also being intensified and thus raising new questions about national unity. Perhaps most disturbing are the threats by Fulani herdsmen which are being rightly or wrongly interpreted as a continuation of boko haramism in another form or a deliberate attempt by the northern political elite to extend political instability to the southern part of Nigeria.

Economic challenges are also mind boggling: why are other countries with smaller resources able to make progress and Nigeria is not able to do so? It is generally posited that Malaysia, with which Nigeria had the same level of development as at 1960, is now far ahead of Nigeria. For instance, Malaysia now has a GDP per capita of $11,000 compared to Nigeria’s $3,000. Malaysia has more than $100 billion in foreign reserves while that of Nigeria witnessed constant decline from $29.7 billion in 2015, to $27.15 billion inApril 2016, $26.56 billion on May 23, and to $26.42 billion on May 27, 2016 according to the CBN statistics revealed to the general public on Tuesday, 31st May, 2016. This development prompted the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee to adopt a plan aimed at introducing a flexible exchange rate policy rather than an outright devaluation of the Naira.

In this regard, it is expected that even if the adoption of flexible exchange rate might engender depreciation of the Naira at the initial stage, the Naira cannot but still find its equilibrium price against the dollar and other international currencies in the long run. Mr. Bismarck Rewane, the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Derivatives Company Limited, has noted that the adoption of a flexible exchange rate ‘will bring in transparency to the foreign exchange market, eliminate the fears investors have been nursing about devaluation and encourage inflow of foreign exchange into the country’ (The Punch, June 1, 2016, p.25).

Apart from this, the National Bureau of Statistics also reported the decline of N793.5 billion in the first quarter of merchandise trade: from N3.51 trillion to N2.72 trillion. Explained differently, Nigeria had a total export value of N1.269 trillion and a total import value of N1.454 trillion, thus leaving a negative trade balance of N184.1 billion.

This was the first trade deficit since seven years. This trend may not be quickly ruled out in light of the fact that Nigeria’s oil production also dipped from 2.2 million barrels per day to only 900,000 barrels per day as at May 31, 2016 thus enablingAngola to becomeAfrica’s largest oil producer. Even though the rationales for this development may be traceable in part to international fall in the price of crude oil and the vandalisation of oil pipelines, the main challenge cannot still be separated from the non-existence of “Nigerianess’ in the subconscious minds of most Nigerians. Besides, the acts of vandalisation are essentially politically motivated as the Niger DeltaAvengers, who had claimed responsibility for the attacks have asked for apologies from politicians, redistribution of ownership of oil blocks, and release of the detained Biafran leader, Nnamdi Kanu before any negotiation with anyone.

Whatever is the case, what is important to note is that many of the foregoing challenges were inherited on May 29, 2015 by PMB. However the adoption of a gradualist approach by PMB to the management of the challenges necessarily led to their deepening in several ways. It particularly led to misperception of PMB’s and government’s intentions, and by so doing, deepening of existing problems.

Recidivist and New Challenges The first, and perhaps the most critical and unresolved political challenge, is how to address the alleged unsuitability of the present structure of Nigeria, and particularly the operation of a presidential system of government. Senator Shehu Sani, representing Kaduna Central, has it that ‘Nigeria’s federalism, as it exists today, encourages parasitism, dependency, and laziness. This is … cap-in-hand federalism, where people do nothing in the States, (but) simply come, cap in hand, to the centre and collect money and go back.’

Former Vice President of Nigeria,AlhajiAtikuAbubakar, also explained the problem at the public presentation of a book authored

by Chido Onumah and entitled, We are all Biafrans, at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre inAbuja on Tuesday, 31st May, 2016, thus: Nigeria needs ‘a smaller, leaner Federal Government with reduced responsibilities.’ In other words, there should be devolution of more powers and resources to the constitutive States and Local GovernmentAreas which should be required to manage and control the educational, health, agricultural, and road infrastructure. This will be

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

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e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

President Buhari

consistent with a true federal system.

AsAlhajiAbubakar further put it, ‘a true federal system will allow the federating states to keep their resources while the Federal Government retains the power of taxation and regulatory authority over standards.’ He called for the ‘autonomy for the component states and localities to determine their development priorities and wage structures, as well as ‘enhanced, diversified economic activities and productivity in order to enlarge the tax base.’ From the perspective ofAtikuAbubakar, ‘we also have a leadership that is not prepared to learn from the past and a leadership that is also not prepared to lead.’

If this is true, what will be the future of non-preparedness to learn and lead in the next 365 days?

ChiefAyoAdebanjo, the octogenarian Yoruba elder statesman, has it that ‘without restructuring the country as a true federation, we can’t make any progress. The present constitution is lopsided and is too much in favour of a particular section of the country. We shouldn’t continue to deceive ourselves that we are one country. We all agree that the constitution is defective. But the more we talk about it, the more people feel that we are criticizing the government.’ Chief Adebanjo further argued that ‘the agitation of the Biafra to get out of Nigeria is not the right way. But if we had restructured the country, all these agitations would not have risen’ (Sunday Sun, May 29, 2016, p.25).

In the same vein, BenedictAhanonu has submitted that ‘it is lack of true federalism that gives rise to intermittent regional insurrections and militancy because some people feel cheated in a system where every section should have equal stake and equal opportunities, but the reverse is the case.’ With these views, the issue of non-restructuring cannot but continue to generate more controversies and threats to national unity in the foreseeable future for many reasons.

For instance, on Thursday, 2nd June, 2016, the Nigerian National Summit Group (NNSG) and the Constitutional Right and People’s DevelopmentAdvocacy Initiative embarked on a peaceful protest in Lagos. The protesters were calling on PMB to quickly implement the 2014 National Conference report. In their protest or petition letter, they also sought the support of some powerful countries, including the United States, Germany and Italy.As reported by GbengaAdeniji and Toluwani Eniola, ‘there were no officials to receive the protesters at the Indian High Commission.At the US Consulate on Walter Carrington Avenue, the protesters were received by two US Embassy officials, Jessica Newl and Tim Doren, who were given petition letters addressed to the US President, Barack Obama.’ (The Punch, June 3, 2016, p.2).

Three observations are noteworthy at this juncture. Firstly, was it that some diplomatic missions accepted to receive the protesters and some refused to do so? Is it that Nigeria’s ties with Italy, Germany and the United States are closer than those with a country like India?

Secondly, what is the extent to which a country like the United States would be prepared to assist in the restructuring of Nigeria?

Even though restructuring does not mean the dismantlement of the country, will foreign involvement not imply interference in the domestic affairs of Nigeria?

Without any shadow of doubt, there has been much international interest in the past in carving out the oil-rich Niger Delta region out

of Nigeria to ensure greater international control over the resources there. This interest is quite different from that of the MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta). In this regard, will the protest letter not be capitalized upon by the powerful countries from which help is being sought to undermine Nigeria’s national interest and national unity in the long run? Thirdly, the Head of Research and Strategy of the NNSG, Mr. Efiye Bribena, has submitted that the purpose of their protest was to call international attention to the abnormalities in the Nigerian federal system and also to suggest that ‘restructuring is the only solution we can use to right the wrongs.

There is a lot of dissatisfaction among the different ethnic groups and regions.’ If Government would use the military to fight the MASSOB or the IPOB or the MEND militants, how will the Government fight the human rights protesters with eventual international support in the long run?

Whatever is the case, the issue of the 2014 National Conference Report is an embodiment of a keg of gun powder.As noted by Mr. Tony Uranta, the Executive Secretary of the NNSG, there is the urgent need for PMB and the NationalAssembly to implement the report because ‘a lot of work went into producing that report drafted by seasoned Nigerians from different parts of the country. We cannot sit and watch this nation crumble when we have a workable solution that could set the nation on the path of greater development.’

In this regard, when will there not be a case of order and counter order amounting to disorder in the very near future if the protesters say they do not want to sit and watch Nigeria crumble, on the one hand, and the guarantor of Nigeria, PMB, also made it clear in his last May 29, 2016 address to the nation that he already advised against the issue of national conference and that he never liked the priority of the Goodluck Jonathan administration? Consequently, in PMB’s own words, ‘that is why I (PMB) haven’t even bothered to read it (the 2014 National Conference Report) or ask for a briefing on it and I want it to go into the so-called archives.’

PMB’s statement was most unfortunate because the most critical threat to Nigeria’s survival as a nation-state was covered in the report. The report was not even limited to restructuring. Sending the report to the archives without seeking to know and understand the merits and demerits of the arguments advanced in the reports does not portray PMB well. There should have been a briefing on it, on the basis of which an objective decision would have been justifiably taken. Not even bothering to examine the extent of usefulness of the report wrongly suggests that there is no continuity in the political governance of Nigeria. It also simply means every leader comes in and goes away without coordination of past and current efforts with the ultimate objective of using both to define the future. The little or non-attention to such an important report is precisely part of the reasons often given by the proponents of restructuring, who bitterly complain about the uncontrolled and unlimited powers of the Federal Government. The powers are perceived to be largely detrimental to the growth and development of the constituent parts: the States and the Local GovernmentAreas.

Besides, most of the constitutive States of Nigeria are not viable and financially solvent. It should be recalled that in September 2015, PMB approved the disbursement of the sum of N689.5 billion to pay workers’ salaries as a bailout for 27 States. The workers were reported not to be able anymore to eke out any good living. Why should this be so? Why are the States and the various 774 Local governmentAreas not able to ensure self-reliance through engagement in agricultural farming? Nigeria is on record to have 71.2 million cultivable hectares, out of which only 34.2 million hectares are currently made use of.

Why should Nigeria be expending as much as N25 billion to import foods on a daily basis?

As noted by the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending Plc (NIRSAL), a subsidiary of the CBN, ‘a total of about $623 million is spent annually on catfish importation into Nigeria through smuggling…[T]he economy alone can employ 65% of Nigerian populace should Government decide to go into it full scale.’ What prevents the Government from going into it full scale?

Another political issue is the controversy over the National Youth Service Corps Scheme, which was established as an instrument of national cohesion and development in 1973 by the Gowonian regime.

The scheme has become more of a burden than an asset because of its inefficiency and ineffectiveness engendered by logistical problems.

Wole Olaoye, in his ‘Time to Tweak NYSC’ (Daily Trust, May 23, 2016, p.50), observed that the present state of affairs of the NYSC scheme ‘is morally indefensible. How do you tie down the lives of young graduates because of the inefficiency of a system which refused to plan adequately for the ever-increasing number of qualified candidates? It is time to rethink the entire NYSC scheme.’ He asked further, ‘if it is a crime to evade NYSC, isn’t it a greater crime on the part of the State to be unable to take in qualified candidates as and when due?’

Economic and Security Challenges At the level of economic challenges, Dr. Uma Oke Eleazu, octogenarian who was appointed in 1976 the Director of the National Policy Development Centre which later became the NIPSS, has raised the issue of creation of states, from 12 to 19, and then to 21 and 36 plus the FCT, making 37 but all of which do not qualify as federating units.As explained by Dr. Eleazu, after the creation of the states, the military ‘changed the fiscal basis of a federation into the fiscal basis of a unitary system of government and that is why they created a Federation Account. The States that were created and the Local Governments under them became sub-units of that unitary government, first in Lagos, and now inAbuja. So we are no longer running a federal system of government.’

• See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com

19

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • MAY 29, 2016

INTERNATIONAL

T

Hillary vs Trump

ough talking Donald Trump seems to be different things to different people depending on your temperament and the political divide you subscribe to. To Sarah Palin and members of the Tea Party, Trump may be the modern day equivalent of racist Ronald Reagan notorious for his refusal to sign into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the vetoing of the Civil Rights Restoration Act. To others Trump is the new kid on the block in the mold of Woodrow Wilson, President (Vice Chancellor) Princeton University, whose racist disposition as New Jersey Governor and later the 28th President (1913-1921) of the US currently resonates at Princeton as probably the most notorious racist president in American history.

It is interesting to know that Wilson was well disposed to the Ku Klux Klan and its philosophy of hate for other races in the American society the same way Donald Trump has been viewed among mainstream Americans who subscribe to the norms of a civilised world.

As a friend of the Klan, Trump’s body movement was noticeable when he was endorsed last August by the former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke and early last week by the Imperial Wizard of the once terrorist organisation. For the records, the Klan was founded on the precept of white supremacy, white nationalism and anti-immigration. Compare these with Donald Trump’s current

Trump

campaign rhetoric of building walls to prevent Mexican immigrants from entering America, a policy ofpreventing Muslims from coming to the US and employing terrorist acts to fight terrorism.

History in deed repeats itself but the scars and sordid acts of actors in the past and present hardly go unchallenged. At Princeton Wilson’s name stinks to the extent students have been demonstrating against the institutionalisation of a man whose policy ensured blacks were not admitted into the university.

Clinton

The Black Justice League, an African American civil rights group at Princeton to which a Nigerian student, Ozioma Obi-Onuoha, a Politics major belongs, has been at the vanguard of this campaign to correct the wrongs of history. The League insists the university must publicly acknowledge the racist legacy of Woodrow Wilson.

According to Obi-Onuoha,: “We wanted to draw attention not only to the fact that he was, even for that time, extremely racist, but that his racist legacy is never acknowledged explicitly and publicly on campus, although he is touted and applauded for his contributions,” Obi-Onuoha continued: “Additionally, we don’t believe that removing his name is a form of erasure, because we’re also asking for his history to be acknowledged permanently by the university, in its entirety.”

Just as Princeton was boiling, the students of the University of Missouri in Columbia and the College of William and Mary were reported by the InsiderHigherEd that another racist President Thomas Jefferson was being humiliated post-mortem by covering his statutes “with yellow sticky notes’ Jefferson was described as racist, rapist and a slave owner. This was sequel to complaints by black students on campus, of racial harassment and cultural issues.

Note that sometime ago, Trump resurrected the Nazi style of salutation and pledge in one of his campaigns, which a PoliticusUSA columnist described as Trump “going full-frontal Hitler, demanding oaths of personal loyalty and even performing the Hitler salute.”

Just like the so called Lucifer in the flesh rose to fame by denigrating Barack Obama and shutting down his government, Trump has most infamously become the presumptive candidate of the Republican Party in the November Presidential election. Will he also be humiliated the way Ted Cruz has been, looking back to their philosophy of the end justifying the means?

Come November, it is almost certain Hillary Clinton will square up with Trump, a man who has abused everyone except himself and his clan just to clinch the Republican nomination. Many point to Clinton’s political baggages as likely cannon fodder Trump would employ to effect to dislodge her march back to the White House. The Monica Lewinsky saga, the Benghazi Libya killings ofAmbassador J Christopher Stevens, and Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith on September 11, 2012, her support for President Barack Obama’s policies as Secretary of State will be used against her.

Of course Clinton represents Washington, where everything about beingAmerica has been bastardised, which is whyAmerica must be great again, Trump avers.As the business tycoon goes out to unite a party he has so much helped to tear apart, one of his supporters Senator Mitch McConnell, publicly admitted that a Trump candidacy has become inevitable if only “to prevent what would be a third term of Barack Obama,” while acknowledging the fact that he was not sure what a President Trump would look like.

• See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com

Cameroon’s Inaction on Bilateral Agreement Causing Humanitarian Crisis in Nigeria Oreva Olakpe President Buhari recently received President Paul Biya of Cameroon on a state visit to Nigeria. The meeting appeared to be very amicable and was crowned by an affirmation of the cordial relationship between the two neighbours. President Buhari reiterated that Nigeria is an “internationally respectful and law-abiding nation.” He was referring to Nigeria’s commitment to abide to the judgement of the International Court of Justice in 2002, which ceded the Bakassi Peninsula to our neighbours in Cameroon. While this meeting sounds nice and inspires warm feelings of friendship, the reality faced by the Bakassi people is full of despair, neglect and suffering.

Brokered in 2006, the Green Tree Agreement is the formal treaty that settled the longstanding conflict between both nations as to the ownership of the Bakassi Peninsula, ceding the territory to Cameroon. It also provided guidelines for how the Bakassi people and their lands should be treated under the administration of Cameroon. As a result, while the Agreement gives rights to Cameroon, it also creates obligations for Cameroon towards the Bakassi people.

Article 3 of the Agreement holds that Cameroon will not force the Bakassi people to change their nationality, culture, language and beliefs. It affirms they have a right to continue fishing and agriculture on the Peninsula and that their properties and customary land rights are to be protected. It also stipulates that Cameroon should not levy taxes in a discriminatory manner from the inhabitants of the zone, and that the Cameroonian government is responsible for protecting the lives of the Bakassi people from harm and harassment.

In reality, Article 3 has been breached in all aspects because the inhabitants of the

Peninsula have not only faced harassment, discriminatory taxes, loss of the right to fish, loss of life and property, the imposition of nationality, name, and language changes, among many other things. Evidence of this breach is the forced migration of the Bakassi people away from their ancestral lands, and back to Nigeria since 2009. Thousands of Bakassi people have become displaced people as a result of Cameroon’s failure to abide to the obligations created by the Agreement. In the years following the ceding of the territory to Cameroon, there have been numerous reports of how the Bakassi people have been harassed, killed, and pushed out of their land by the Cameroonian gendarmes.

Over 4,000 displaced persons left the Peninsula in 2008 and another 6000 left in 2009. At the time, there was a lot of buzz on their plight. Support was given to them on arrival by the State government, NEMA, SEMA and NGOs and they were relocated to Ikang. Today, however, they still lack access to proper infrastructure, water, food, healthcare, education, security and most importantly, a means of livelihood. Another 5,300 people fled the Peninsula in 2013 to Akpabuyo, Cross River State. They have been housed in classrooms for over 2 years and their population has dwindled from 5,300 in 2013 to 3,700 this year. This level of loss of life has impacted their community greatly. As the rainy season begins, the classrooms are falling apart with leaking roofs.

The voices and stories from both camps are full of sorrow and bitterness. Many children have not been able to go to school, parents have no sustainable means of livelihood and the youth lack skills to thrive economically.

There is insecurity and the death of several people due to stress, poverty and hunger.

In the Ikang settlement and the camp in

Akpabuyo, there is a real and tangible fear that if a solution is not implemented now, the future might be marred by insecurity because people have been pushed to the wall

by Cameroon and ignored in Nigeria. This is a silent humanitarian crisis that can turn into a security crisis in the future.

When we read the news, we only hear about the IDPs in the Northeast because that is the focal point of our discourse on displacement in Nigeria at the moment- a hot topic. The strategy and policy towards the Bakassi people is still unclear, there is debate on where and how Bakassi people should resettle as a community but we are not even talking about their existing rights on the Peninsula. The IDPs in the Northeast have land to return to when security is restored in their villages but the Bakassi people cannot return to theirs.

Under international law, the principle of pacta sunt servanda holds that a treaty, based on the consent of the parties to it, is binding, and must be executed in good faith. Additionally, the interpretation of a treaty must be in accordance with the ordinary meanings of its terms, considering the object, purpose, and context of the treaty. The purpose of Article 3 of the Greentree Agreement was to safeguard the lives of the Bakassi people because though the Peninsula was ceded to Cameroon, the territory still remains their ancestral land and home, which gives them certain unalienable rights. The Agreement is not a unilateral agreement where only one party makes an offer or a promise. It is a bilateral agreement that involves two parties, each promising to do something. Mutuality is a necessity in bilateral agreements since both parties must fulfil their promise for the contract to be fulfilled. Cameroon has not kept their side of the bargain.

At this juncture, it is unwise to ignore the lack of mutualism in the enforcement of the

Agreement. A follow-up committee, composed of representatives from Cameroon, Nigeria, the UN, Germany, the USA, France and the UK, was created to monitor the implementation of the Agreement but till today, nothing decisive has been done about the treatment of Bakassi people by Cameroon. Now is the time for diplomatic negotiations concerning the enforcement of the Greentree Agreement, or else, we will be faced with greater problems in the future. It is in Nigeria and Cameroon’s interest for the Bakassi people to be productive and safe in their ancestral land. It is Nigeria’s responsibility to negotiate and speak on behalf of the Bakassi people.

The meeting between Nigeria and Cameroon earlier the month presented an opportunity for Nigeria to hold Cameroon to the commitments and responsibilities of the Greentree Agreement. Conditions on the Peninsula must become conducive enough for all Bakassi people to return, if they want to. Nigeria gave up the Peninsula in order to maintain peace and amicability with Cameroon and the international community, it is Cameroons turn to act in the interest of peace.

For peace to reign until today, the Bakassi people have sacrificed their livelihoods, properties, comfort and homes. The Bakassi people are industrious people and they need support from all stakeholders to re-establish their lives and communities.

Nigeria has a dangerous habit of waiting until an issue becomes a problem of international magnitude before taking action. Now is the time to take decisive steps to safeguard the welfare and protection of the Bakassi people, let us not wait until it is too late.

Olakpe is a doctoral researcher, International Law School of Oriental and African Studie London, United Kingdom

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iNfographic

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • JUNE 5, 2016 ADVERTISEMENT

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BUSINESS

Editor Festus Akanbi Email festus.akanbi@thisdaylive.com

QUICK TAKES Oil Output Rises

Nigeria’scrudeoilproductionhasclimbed to 1.6 million barrels per day (mbpd), followingrepairsonsomeoftheoiland gas installations damaged by militant groupsintheNigerDelta,theMinisterof StateforPetroleumResources,Dr.Ibe Kachikwu,hasdisclosed. International MediaincludingReutersandBloomberg quoted Kachikwu as disclosing so in Vienna, Austria, where oil ministers of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) unanimously appointed the former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian NationalPetroleumCorporation(NNPC), Dr.MohammedBarkindo,asthecartel’s Secretary-General, that the country’s productionhadreboundedtothislevel after it fell to about 1.4mbpd in May due to a string of militant attacks and anaccidentontheExxonMobilQuaIboe export platform. He also said despite continued attacks by militants in the restive Niger Delta, Nigeria was still ontargettoproduce2.3mbpdin2016.

Hisdisclosurealsofollowedreportsthat OPEC, which appointed Barkindo, has againfailedtoagreeonproductioncuts orfreezetoshoreupcrudeoilpricesinthe internationalmarketasdisagreements between two MiddleEast rivals,Saudi Arabia and Iran, resurfaced.

Foreign Airlines

The economic crisis is taking a serious toll on the manufacturing sector

Economic Recession Looms as Analysts Predict -2.9% GDP Growth Rate in Q2

Kunle Aderinokun

Analysts at FBNQuest Ltd, an investment and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Ltd, have predicted that, in the second quarter of this year, the economy would record a negative GDP growth rate of -2.9 per cent year-on-year, showing further contraction of the economy from -0.36 per cent of the first quarter (Q1).

The FBNQuest analysts attributed the envisaged contraction in the economy to further contraction in the oil sector, occasioned by the intensified militant activities against Nigeria’s oil assets in the Niger Delta in recent times, which have drastically affected oil production and exports, coupled with the prevalent volatility in crude oil prices at the international market and its attendant effect on the nation’s oil revenue base.

Besides, they pointed out that the prevalent negative effect of the forex crisis on the non-oil sector would contribute to the negative GDP output in Q2.

According to them, “For Q2, we see negative GDP growth of -2.9 per cent year-on-year.

The contraction of the oil sector is set to accelerate (from -1.9 per cent year-on-year in Q1), given the sharp rise in

ECONOMY

pipeline sabotage. The fx and other prevalent shortages will continue to weigh heavily upon most non-oil sectors.”

The FBNQuest forecast is aligning with the Central Bank of Nigeria estimate and warning that the Nigerian economy might further contract in the second quarter (Q2) of this year into a full blown recession, as some of the conditions which led to the contraction in GDP growth rate in the first quarter remained largely unresolved.

The Nigerian economy contracted by about -4 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, signalling the deteriorating economic conditions in the country and its first economic contraction in 25 years.

According to the banking regulatory authority, which alluded to this when its monetary policy committee met and made decisions on the economy, weak outlook for growth, which was signalled in July 2015 when it warned of the risk of a recession, could extend to the second quarter of 2016.

It blamed the delayed passage of the 2016 budget for constraining the much-desired fiscal stimulus, which edged the

economy towards contractionary output.

In a similar vein, the Director General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Prof.

Akpan Ekpo, in reacting to the MPC decisions, had also stated “the economy would soon enter a recessionary phase based on the recent negative GDP growth in the Manufacturing contracted by -7.0 per cent y/y in Q1, and its largest segment (food, beverages and tobacco) even more rapidly, by -11.2 per cent. In this context, we would highlight the fx scarcity as the principal driver

first quarter of 2016 released by the National Bureau of Statistics.”

Ekpo feared that once the economy entered the recessionary phase, “monetary policy would become ‘ineffective’ in managing the economy.”

Nevertheless, the FBNQuest analysts highlighted the five worst performing sectors from the national accounts for Q1 2016. “We include what the NBS terms activity sectors, which are often subdivided into segments, and only those accounting for at least 1 per cent of GDP at constant basic prices. For the

larger picture, the NBS report shows that the primary sector (agriculture) expanded by 3.1 per cent y/y and the tertiary (services) by 0.8 per cent, while the secondary contracted by -5.5 per cent,” they said.

The analysts pointed out that this last underperformance was largely due to manufacturing and construction.

According to them, “Manufacturing contracted by -7.0 per cent y/y in Q1, and its largest segment (food, beverages and tobacco) even more rapidly, by -11.2 per cent. In this context, we would highlight the fx scarcity as the principal driver.

“Construction contracted by -5.4 per cent y/y, and its main players will be hoping that the FGN can release funds soon for its capital programmes, which are projected to consume as much as N1.6trillion in the 2016 budget. At this point, full delivery appears unlikely.

“Services expanded modestly in Q1 despite the swing from growth of 6.4 per cent y/y in Q4 to contraction of -11.3% in finance and insurance. We link this steep decline to a combination of substantial fx-denominated loan books, general challenges over asset quality and headcount reductions.”

THISDAYinvestigationshaverevealed that foreign airlines lose about $200 millionmonthlytothepresenteconomic crunch in Nigeria, which has forced potentialtravellerstodefertheirtripsdue tolackofdisposableincome.Also,there isreductioninpassengertrafficascash squeeze has impacted negatively on the purchasing power of the citizens, forcing million to spend money on essentialitemsandlimitingthemoneyin circulation. Nigeria was reputed to be one of the highest yielding markets in theworld,comingsecondtotheMiddle East as there is obsessive preference forpremiumclassseatsatoutrageous fares peculiarly arranged for Nigerian travellers. Although British Airways have to seven flights from London to New York daily, its two flights from LondontoLagosandAbujadailyyields moredividends for theairlinethan the London-New York flights. So besides South Africa, Nigeria is the biggest aviation market in the region and it is described as the largest indigenous air travel market in Africa, where the citizens themselves travel and have the resources and willingness to pay for premium and other classes.

Food Emergency Calls

Following the prices of staple food items that has skyrocketed in recent times, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and other concerned stakeholders have called on the federal government to declare astateofemergencyinthefoodsector.

Apart from tomato prices that have jumped to an all-time high, selling for N100 a piece or N500 for four pieces, otheressentialfooditemssuchasyam, meat,pepper,garriandricehaveequally doubled or tripled in prices.

A reported market survey recently showedthatatuberofyam,whichsold for about N400 to N500 two months ago,wasbeingsoldforN1,000whilethe priceofonepieceofcowleg,popularly knownas‘bokoto’ whichpreviouslywas betweenN700andN800,had risento N2000.Therisingpricesbecameworse after the recent hike in fuel price from N86/N86.50 to N145 by the Federal Government.TheDirector-General,Lagos

ChamberofCommerceandIndustry,Mr. Muda Yusuf, described the situation as unbearable,addingthatitwashappeningat atimewhenpurchasingpowerwaslowand manypeoplehadlosttheirjobswhilemany employers were unable to pay salaries.

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Time to Give the Economy Urgent Attention

A recent opinion poll conducted by NOI Polls on the performance of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, especially the economy, has raised some issues on the way forward, report Kunle Aderinokun and Olaseni Durojaiye

T

he last 12 months have been very challenging for Nigeria on many fronts but the most telling one remains the economy, particularly because it affects every facet of the nation. Since assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari, the nation’s economy had been bedevilled with myriad headwinds- from the plummeting oil prices at the international market to the forex crisis in the country due largely to market restriction.

Perhaps two sectors most affected by the forex crisis are the real sector and importers of petroleum products. While the manufacturing sector have been most loud in their criticism of the forex regime lamenting that it has led to factory closure and laying off of workforce, petroleum importers have lamented that the scarcity is affecting their ability to import premium motor spirit (PMS), which led to scarcity of the product.

Within the time still, the government and its agencies came up with several measures aimed addressing the drift in the economy but much of the desired result are yet to be seen.

Among the measure were fixing the official exchange rate of the green back to between N197 - N199 to a dollar; excluding bureau de change and a number of items from those allowed to access the green back from the official forex market. Others were import substitution and backward integration among others. But all of the measures have not really been impactful or jump-start the economy as desired.

Before the latest opinion poll conducted by NOI Polls Ltd, a handful of reports have rated the country low in ease of doing business, among others. Some of the reports have also pointed to areas they feel the federal government can focus attention on in the short to mid-term, if the country must get out of the woods even though they insist that the country has sectors that possess potential that will attract foreign investor.

NOI Polls Report The NOI Polls results revealed that “in terms of specific indicators, Nigerians rated the president’s performance on corruption (55 per cent) and National Security (47 per cent) as average; while he was rated very poorly on Job Creation (14 per cent) and handling of the Economy (21 per cent).

Finally, when asked of the most important issue President Buhari’s administration should focus its attention on addressing over the remaining three years of his tenure, Nigerians identified unemployment (21 per cent), Power (17 per cent), and the Economy (16 per cent) as the top priority areas. These are the key findings from the Presidential Approval Rating polls conducted between June 2015 and May 2016.” Nevertheless, overall, Buhari was given average 64 per cent approval ratings for his administration’s performance in the last one year.

Views on Ratings Speaking with THISDAY, Lagos-based economist with a leading economic advocacy group, Rotimi Oyelere, that states that the NOI assessment of the performance of the current administration is a representation of current realities noting that the indices are there for all to see from negative growth in the economy- double digit inflation and biting unemployment among others.

“The assessment is a representation of the economic realities on ground; it

Traders are expectant of a better bargain in the economy

conforms with the round and the indices are telling enough. The negative growth, huge unemployment rate and inflation rate, which is put at 13.9 per cent and which is likely to even go higher in June on the back of the recently increased fuel pump price, increased price of food commodities,” he points out.

Oyelere, however, adds that, “it must be noted that the rating is a function of perception; it may not be based on the performance of the government.”

In his own analysis, Port Harcourt-based economist, Ezeh Wordu, states that, “the report, to a large extent, is a reflection of what obtains in the country, particularly in the economy.”

“You will recall that different sectors of the economy, particularly the real sector have been severely affected. Many factories have had to close shop and lay off their workers since they are unable to access foreign exchange to purchase critical raw materials to continue manufacturing. The few ones that are still in operation have resorted to sourcing raw materials locally, even at that, their operations have not been helped by the issue of power supply and other constraints; so if you ask me I think the assessment is correct,” he adds.

However, Director General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Prof. Akpan Ekpo, who also says he agrees with the NOI Polls report, noted that, the President has done well regarding his promise to fight corruption and insurgency.

According to him, “the corruption

crusade has revealed to the country the unprecedented looting of the treasury in its 56-year history. Also, the war against insurgency is going on fine.”

Ekpo, however, gives the economy a poor mark as all indices have pointed to that.

“On the economy I would score the economy an F. The rates of inflation and unemployment continue to rise in addition to negative growth in the first quarter of 2016. If the growth of the economy in the 2nd quarter goes negative then the economy has entered a recession. The misery index continues to rise and thus life for the average Nigerian is extremely difficult. The management of the economy is in disarray; all macroeconomic fundamentals such as inflation, unemployment rate, lending rate, exchange rate etc. are moving in the wrong direction,” he points out.

Hope for the Economy?

Going forward, the professor of economist prescribes that, “the economy must be reflated fast.”

“As a matter of urgency the power sector must be revamped to enhance growth.

The problem is now not only structural but also inadequate demand. Workers in majority of the states have not been paid for months. This slows down economic activity. Workers need spending money. The unintended consequences are that millions of households and families would enter the poverty trap,” he stresses.

For Oyelere, he believes in the short to medium term, the economy may witness an improvement of about “30 per cent

and this is because one of the priorities of government is to pay contractors so that they can mobilise their workforce and return to site.”“If this is done, it will help to reduce unemployment in the country even though a greater number of jobs in the sector are for low skilled workforce including labourers and artisans,” he added.

Incidentally, good percentage of the respondents polled by the NOI Polls fall within the category of workforce in the construction sector.

According to the report, “Interestingly, of the proportionate sample of 12,000 completed interviews conducted over the 12 months period, 51 per cent were male respondents, while 49 per cent were female respondents. Also, almost 6 in 10 (59 per cent) respondents were youths aged between 18 and 35 years of age; and almost 4 in 10 (38 per cent) were adults between the ages of 36 and 60 years. A meagre 3 per cent of the sampled respondents were aged 61 years and above.

“In addition, 24 per cent of respondents were resident in the North-West geopolitical region of the country; while 20 per cent were resident in the South West; 15 per cent each in the North-Central & South-South regions; as well as 14 per cent from the North-East and 12 per cent from the South-East region. Furthermore, 29 per cent of the respondents were Selfemployed traders, 18 per cent were Civil servants, 13 per cent were Students, 11 per cent were Unemployed persons, 8 per cent were Artisans, and 7 per cent were Professionals amongst others.”

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Counting the Gains of Treasury Single Account The Treasury Single Account (TSA), powered by SystemSpecs, in force to manage the revenue flow of government is a necessary tool for transparency and accountability in governance, which must stay, despite the Shenanigan surrounding its implementation writes Kunle Aderinokun

F

or a time like this, it came into existence. It was a need long unmet.

In its nurture and sustenance, reside the seed of hope for securing a future for Nigeria’s patrimony, drive economic resurgence, the renaissance of indigenous technology and multiplier effects in terms of national progress. Yet, it is indeed an irony to witness the traumatic play-outs that are starving same baby to death gradually. Will it live or die? This is the question.

A solution to check the mysterious and callous disappearance of Nigeria’s collective patrimony into private wallets in high places has long been sought. For what seemed like eons, it remained elusive allowing mind-bugling financial leakages that kept the country perpetually in servitude to the whims of the sabotaging Mafiosi that grease the wheel of corruption. Then it was found. Not in foreign shores or lofty havens decked in corporate finery. It was found in a humble but diligent abode where oiled feet might seldom trod. Sometimes we find our needed elixir in the unsung and unheralded but noble places where the humble breed value quietly.

The awaited solution to the erstwhile intractable Nigerian problem was found here in Nigeria, developed by an indigenous innovator. This is the miracle of Remita.

Whichever way the wind blows at the final curtain call of the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerians will doubtless appreciate the president’s full implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) initiative, a public account system under which all government revenue, incomes and inflows are collected into one singe account maintained by the country’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)).

The technology that has been behind the success of that scheme is Remita, an indigenously developed e-collection and e-payment platform from SystemSpecs TSA enables proper monitoring of government receipts and expenditure. It has been helping to check the previous culture of remittance loss, lack of financial transparencies and wastages in many governmental agencies that have been the bane of growth of our economy and progress as a nation. Previously, we had a situation where some ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) managed their finances like empires and remitted limited revenue to government treasuries. With TSA, this is no longer the case.

In an earlier pilot scheme by the Federal Government, using 217 MDAs as test case, the TSA scheme saved the country about N500 billion in frivolous spending. The solidified directive

by President Mohammed Buhari in 2015 that all government revenues should be remitted to a single account subsequently established full implementation of the TSA scheme in Nigeria.

In the Beginning …

A search for cutting-edge technology that will be pragmatically suitable to drive implementation of TSA started earlier on. After a rigorous evaluation process by CBN, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) and support from their foreign consultants, Remita developed by SystemSpecs was selected ahead of other local and foreign options to provide the electronic payment technology to power the Federal Government’s TSA project.

At this juncture, it is noteworthy that a foreign option, the Real-time Gross Settlement (RTGS), which was initially expected to drive the payment leg was not ready and was running about one year late. Furthermore, when RTGS was ready, it was observed that it was not appropriate for retail payment, a crucial component of the whole TSA objective. Effectively rising above such weaknesses for pragmatic deployment has been one of the key

Buhari

points in Remita’s success. The untold story of Remita is a sobering affirmation that indigenous technological innovators and industrious Nigerians can indeed make significant positive differences in value creation for national advancement when given the opportunity to thrive. The enabling platform built into the Remita project through years of excruciating labour facilitated the beginning of full implementation of TSA system in Nigeria.

The Impact…

Remita is developed by SystemSpecs, a Lagos-based provider of qualitative e-payment, financial and human resource management software solutions in Africa. Many of Nigeria’s exceptional software talents are in the employ of the 24 year-old organisation.

As at December 2015, over N2 trillion had been remitted into the coffers of Federal Government through the Remita -powered TSA initiative.

In previous years, the inflows disappeared in curious ways that nobody was able to properly account for. With Remita technology, the Federal Government recorded N3 trillion inflows into the TSA in the first quarter of 2016 alone.

These achievements are of huge strategic significance in our national economic recovery efforts, especially in these challenging times. Funds that could otherwise have been frittered away are now made available for infrastructural and developmental endeavours for national progress.

In recognition of its promotion of excellence, best practices and innovation, Remita e-payments solution won an international award in April 2016. The “leadership in technology” award was conferred on SystemSpecs in Scotland on April 22 this year by the Africa Forum Scotland for its use of Remita as a tool of national and economic development.

The Managing Director of SystemSpecs, John Obaro, was also recognised as the software personality of the year at the Nigeria Communications Week’s Beacon of Information and Communications Technology (BoICT) Awards in Lagos on 23rd April, 2016. The company dedicated the awards to the hardworking, although often unsung, Nigerians

Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun

who devise innovative, home-grown solutions to the various challenges facing the county thereby contributing their efforts towards making Nigeria great in the world.

Starving Remita to Death In light of the foregoing background, it is indeed a sobering irony to see orchestrations of events poised to fritter away the goodwill, enabling platforms and gains created by the Remita technology for Nigeria. As the Buhari administration clocks one year today, TSA is arguably its most laudable initiative; sadly, the software behind the success of TSA, Remita owned by SystemSpecs, is being killed gradually. SystemSpecs has not been paid a cent or allowed to charge for its services for over a year since initial deployment in March 2015.

SystemSpecs has a valid contract for the provision of the Payment Gateway that supports payment and collections of government revenue on TSA. A committee comprising of CBN, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), banks and SystemSpecs agreed a fee 1 per cent service charge at inception.

Full implementation of TSA gained traction when President Muhammadu Buhari mandated the closure of all FGN accounts held in commercial banks by September 15, 2015. The development led to a massive one-time surge especially for September and October of 2015 as MDAs sought to comply. Subsequently the OAGF invited SystemSpecs to an impromptu project review meeting where they expressed concern about the negotiated service fees considering the now enlarged scope of the project. The fees accruable to SystemsSpecs were deemed exorbitant suddenly but SystemSpecs was of the opinion that there was only one contracted rate of 1 per cent for any transaction passing through the Remita platform. The system is accordingly configured to calculate 1 per cent charge on any transaction passed through the platform. It is curious that after SystemSpecs had practically demonstrated its technology was able to deliver on TSA, the whole process suddenly became “very easy” and not deserving of previous contractual rates

earlier negotiated. Nevertheless, SystemSpecs was open to re-negotiation but was asked to refund all its due earnings on the platform and has not received payments for its services since then. Yet TSA continues to be powered by Remita till date.

Where Do We Go from Here?

With the foregoing, as a country we pass a dangerous message across to upcoming generations of patriotic Nigerians and the outside world that the time-honoured virtues of business integrity, accountability, diligence, professionalism and patriotism might not actually matter in this clime.

More eloquent than any verbal proclamation, the tragic posture of the concerned Nigerian authorities on the Remita issue suggests that indigenous vendors of innovations are to be downtrodden under the boots of government bureaucracy while the same authorities are often willing to grovel before international individuals or organisations that might actually offer inferior value but are nevertheless pandered to simply because of their nationalities. If the government continues on this path of such tragic legacies, then serious danger looms for our collective future as a nation in terms of posterity.

In the words of Obaro: “We must promote and reward indigenous entrepreneurs. Except our nation begins to respect intellectual property rights and reward innovation, we will kill innovation.

We must be careful not to scare intellectuals and core professionals from wanting to do any business with government.

If such assault on entrepreneurship, hard work and creative technology is not addressed, we stand the risk of discouraging the younger ones who look up to mentor organisations like SystemSpecs, a multi-award-winning indigenous software company and clearly one of the best technology firms out of Nigeria and indeed Africa.”

As the current administration marks its one year anniversary in governance, this is an opportunity for it to send the proper message across on the Remita issue that equity, justice, probity and fairness are high on its lists of core values.

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Cautious Optimism as Oil Heads to $60/b

Signs that crude oil prices at the international market are inching northwards and could hit $60 per barrel before year end are emerging but not without cautious optimism from industry pundits, writes Chineme Okafor

L

ast week, the United Arab Emirates’ economy minister, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, reportedly joined market forecasters, who are looking forward to a $60 per barrel crude oil price by the end of 2016.

With crude oil demand in Europe, Asia and America and production in key oil fields supposedly moving more in line and thus balancing up, Al Mansoori like a few other experts believe that prices could before the end of the year, touch a $60/b mark months after it witnessed measured recovery.

“It’s possible for oil prices to reach $60 or more during this summer as demand increases in the U.S,” said Al Mansoori at a conference in Abu Dhabi last Monday.

He further stated: “We’ve always been incredibly bullish on oil. We expected supply to collapse. Demand is still very strong. I would expect oil prices to keep rising.”

Also finding resonance with Al Mansoori are the Bank of America and Standard Chartered estimating prices to hit the $60 mark even by the fourth quarter of 2016.

Sharing in Al Mansoori’s optimism was a global chief economist at Standard Chartered Plc, Mario Maratheftis, who contemplates that crude oil will end the year higher than $60/b in an interaction with the Bloomberg.

The Bloomberg reported that Maratheftis said crude was likely to go higher than $60.

Also on this, the Swedish financial group, SEB Bank said in its June investment outlook forecast that Brent crude could touch $60 this year.

The bank, in its forecast, explained with cautious optimism: “Our forecast is that oil prices will again be at around current levels – $50/barrel for Brent crude – toward the end of the year, but we see potential for higher prices during the summer and autumn, occasionally perhaps up to $60/barrel.”

Similarly, Bloomberg quoted the Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) to have estimated in its latest report that Brent will average $53/b in Q4 of 2016, and then rise to $61 in 2017.

The investment bank also forecast oil demand to touch its peak only after 2050, given that prices stay below $100.

“Any long-term oil demand projection rests on understanding transport demand, which today comprises 54 per cent of global oil consumption,” BofAML explained in the report.

It further said: “In our base case, we expect that growth in transport demand will continue to more than offset fuel efficiency gains and substitution to alternatives.”

This year alone, oil futures have jumped 31 per cent to climb above $50/b last week as crude stockpiles of the United States declined to further cut the supply glut.

In addition, robust demand in India and other emerging nations has also led the International Energy Agency (IEA) in May to reduce its estimate of the global oil surplus for the first half.

OPEC Excited with Price Movement Oil has surged about 85 per cent since touching a 12-year low in February on signs that the global surplus could be easing, and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which met on Thursday in Vienna has shown its excitement with the development.

Oil workers busy on a rig

But while forecasters agree that the supply glut is finally dwindling perhaps on OPEC’s adopted approach of pressuring high-cost suppliers to concede market shares was finally paying off, Venezuelan Energy Minister, Eulogio Del Pino, thinks otherwise.

Del Pino, who said in Vienna that the price recovery had more to do with unexpected outages than a successful OPEC strategy, described the unplanned disruption of crude oil production in Nigeria, Canada and Kuwait as the primary reasons for the recent price recovery in the global oil market.

He said the recent upward movement in prices of oil had more to do with unexpected supply disruptions in fields of some member countries, not from OPEC’s strategy.

According to him, unplanned disruptions in Nigeria, Canada, and Kuwait have been effective measures to cap crude oil production, and then forced a ‘de facto’ production freeze.

Notwithstanding Del Pino’s assertions, oil ministers of the OPEC had expressed delights that the oil market was currently moving in the right direction they had anticipated.

According to Bloomberg, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) minister for energy, Suhail Al Mazrouei, and Nigeria’s minister of state for petroleum resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had stated that the strategy of letting low prices eradicate surplus production was working.

“From the beginning of the year until now, the market has been correcting itself upward,” Al Mazrouei was quoted to have said, adding, “the market will fix itself to a price that is fair to the consumers and to the producers.”

He was then backed by Kachikwu who said: “I think the market trends are better now and the sense of urgency that spurred

producers to mull an agreement to freeze production in April has dissipated.”

Kachikwu however noted: “While prices are moving in the right direction, I think it needs more acceleration of the pace,” Kachikwu said.

What is in it for Nigeria?

Despite the spirited and cheery price movement, Nigeria which had in the last months conceded its top Africa producer status to Angola due to renewed produc-

Already, the country is losing huge production volumes and will not benefit from this rise in price if the issues are not addressed quickly.

Right now, demand across Europe and Asia or America is high because people can drive their cars across places because there is no winter

tion disruptions in the Delta region, may not really benefit from this.

As at the last count, the country had lost considerable production volumes from the activities of new militant group, the Niger Delta Avenger. The group has kept up with their bombing of oil assets in the Delta to ensure that the country’s production dropped to about 1.1 million barrels per day.

This situation, industry analyst and former special adviser to the Minister of Energy, Dan Kunle, noted was not a good omen for the country’s economy which other economic experts said was on the brink of recession.

Kunle explained that the country is losing vital production volumes and as such losing huge revenue from the drop. He said the country might not benefit from the upsurge in price, which he added may last up till October when the summer period in the west is over.

“The Niger Delta issue is an issue of political economy and the government should treat it that way. It has to be taken holistically and addressed once and for all, not with the force the government is taking now,” said Kunle.

“Already, the country is losing huge production volumes and will not benefit from this rise in price if the issues are not addressed quickly. Right now, demand across Europe and Asia or America is high because people can drive their cars across places because there is no winter.

“This transport demand alone is contributing to fuelling supply and that is just the simple way to describe it but when it is winter and people no longer move around heavily, demands will drop and refineries will demand less of crude to refine, but until then, Nigeria needs to get through this renewed insurgency in the Delta before it can enjoy the fallouts from this new price,” added Kunle.

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

BUSINESS/MONEY

Challenges, Prospects of Microfinance Banks’ Contributions to SMEs

In this report, Olaseni Durojaiye takes a look at the Microfinance banking subsector and how myriad issues continue to undermine the subsector from contributing to national development through economic empowerment and entrepreneurship financing

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he importance of microfinance banking (MFBs) subsector to the development of any country cannot be overemphasised. The subsector’s importance in developing economies is seen in its contributions to Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs). Since it was introduced in Bangladesh in the mid 1970s, several countries have copied the model of financing, Nigeria inclusive.

MFB has proven to be a successful practice and plays a major role in the development of many African nations. In recognition of its importance, the United Nations (UN) declared year 2005 to be “The international year of microfinance,” in order to remind everyone that millions of people worldwide benefit from microfinance activities.

Its introduction into Nigeria, in 2005, recognises existing informal financial institutions and brings them within the supervisory purview of the CBN to enhance monetary stability and to expand the financial infrastructure of the country to meet the financial requirements of MSMEs as well as the unbanked rural population.

Background MFB was inaugurated in line with Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 25 1991 (as amended). The Central Bank of Nigeria designed the Microfinance Policy, Regulatory and Supervisory Framework for Nigeria 2005 and Revised in April, 2011.

Under the framework, microfinance banking is of three categories: MFBs licensed to operate as a unit bank, and with a minimum of N20 million paid-up capital for each branch.

MFBs licensed to operate in a state are to operate with a minimum paid-up capital of N1 billion, later adjusted to N100 million.

National Microfinance Bank are to operate with a minimum paid-up capital of N2 billion.

Other regulatory provisions include even spread agenda, single ownership, corporate governance and full disclosure in line with Money Laundering Act. A Lagos-based economist with a leading economy advocacy group, Rotimi Oyelere, argued that, “The provisions were good on paper but implementation has been really weak. Poor corporate governance is preponderant and compliance on full disclosure is not adhered to.”

One analyst insisted that the industry had been largely unregulated and operate fairly independent of the formal financial markets adding that although the CBN has improved on oversight functions, it is still far from adequate in effectively ensuring that microfinance banks operate as expected.

Though MFBs have great potential and hold the key to economic development and poverty eradication especially at the grassroots level, the subsector is challenged by myriad factors.

THISDAY checks revealed that the aggregate of the challenges is under-performance as the sub-sector has not recorded as much success as its counterparts in countries like Kenya, Sierra Leone and Bangladesh.

Findings also revealed that beside societal distrust arising from people’s experiences with its precursor, community banks, legal framework and weak capacity were some of the challenges that caused the subsector to underperform. Analysts also insisted that the other challenges are self-induced.

“Microfinance subsector’s performance has been disappointing based on the overarching objective of introducing the banking scheme

A small business that could expand with microfinancing

in the first instance: providing financial services to the poor who are traditionally not served by the conventional financial institutions,” Oyelere argued.

Speaking further, he stressed that, “using this yardstick, (its founding objective) the sector has not performed well. The financial inclusion rate in Nigeria is a little above 50 per cent, a far cry from 80 per cent CBN target. The worrisome dimension is the number of Nigerians who operate account with the Micro finance banks. According to CBN, as at July 2011, “Only 82 MFBs service the North-West and North-East geopolitical zones combined – the regions with the highest unbanked rate - compared to over 500 in the South-West and SouthEast geopolitical zones. The apex bank also stated that the MFB network serves 3.8 per cent of the adult population (3.2 million clients). Of the 3.2 million MFB clients, 65 per cent use savings products, 14 per cent use credit products and 4 per cent have an ATM card. According to EFInA Access to Financial service in Nigeria 2014, only 2.6 million adults have microfinance bank account. This is not surprising since these banks do not operate in real rural centres across Nigeria,” he stated.

Stressing the self-induced cause of the industry’s underperformance, Executive Director, Corporate Finance, BGL Capital Ltd, Olufemi Ademola, told THISDAY that, “rather than focus on the grassroots, Nigerian microfinance banks practically compete with larger commercial banks in terms of liability generation and risk assets creation, especially consumer lending. They chase the same formal employees usually served by commercial banks rather than the unbanked and under-banked.”

One factor that informed the fact that microfinance banks’ performance is below average is their concentration in Lagos rather than in up countries where their markets are expected to be located,” he added.

But, a managing director of a Lagos-based Microfinance bank said, “microfinance banks will go to where business is.”

Speaking with THISDAY in an interview, the microfinance bank boss who did not want his name mentioned stressed that “microfinance banks will go to wherever business is; we’re in business to survive.

We have stakeholders whose expectations we must meet. More so, MFBs are not helped by the government. Nothing stops the government from paying local government staff salary through microfinance. Local governments can also deploy microfinance banks to collect certain rates and levies.

This will serve as an endorsement and it comes with multiplier effects,” he argued.

Prospect for MFBs Even with the challenges, analysts surveyed

by THISDAY agreed that MFBs could be major drivers of the financial inclusion drive of the CBN, particularly in the rural areas.

Rather than focus on the grassroots, Nigerian microfinance banks practically compete with larger commercial banks in terms of liability generation and risk assets creation, especially consumer lending. They chase the same formal employees usually served by commercial banks rather than the unbanked and under-banked

According to Port Harcourt, Rivers State based economist, Ezeh Wordu, “Nigeria’s growing entrepreneurial awareness, large unbanked rural areas and high population of poor people are potential markets for the MFBs.” Oyelere on his part agreed that, “with proper regulatory interventions and commitment of other stakeholders to the core mission of microfinance banking, its challenges can be addressed and its prospects enhanced.”

In his own view, Ademola said that, “large volumes of financial transactions are carried out by microfinance institutions in Nigeria with little or no publicity around them. Their operations are not explicitly captured in official statistics and their activities are hardly reported, yet their transactions impact directly on a large section of the population, especially the poor.”

Also, the microfinance bank chief executive explained that government at all levels were not encouraging MFBs. He noted that certain government levies and rates, especially at the local government level, ought to be channeled through MFBs as a way of encouraging their operations.

“Microfinance banks are pivotal to the economy. MFBs are specialised financial institutions by virtue of the reason of the type and reach of their customers base, the bulk of which are unbanked Nigerians who constitute significant percent of the nation’s population. The customer base of the sub-sector are the most vulnerable members of the society, the subsector has great potential for higher positive impact on national development. But people don’t realise this. You see artisans rushing to the big banks. Which big banks will advance them loan facility without collaterals? You find a great market of microfinance banks rush to the commercial banks which is not helping their cause; there is need for a reorientation so much that every stakeholder will appreciate the importance of MFBs and accord it the needed support so that the subsector could play its role towards national development,” he stated.

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

BUSINESS/ENEGY

OPEC: The Shuttle Diplomacy that Produced Barkindo

After 10 months of shuttle diplomacy by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the oil ministers of the member countries of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in an unprecedented unanimous decision at their meeting in Vienna, Austria, appointed Nigeria’s Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo as the Secretary General of the cartel. Ejiofor Alike reports

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efore he was confirmed minister of state for petroleum in November 2015, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, already had a good grasp of the global politics of oil, having effectively combined the roles of the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the minister since August 2015, when he was appointed the boss of the state-run oil company.

Since he became minister, Kachikwu has shuttled between Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates, visiting some of these countries twice each to canvass support for Nigeria’s bid to clinch the position of OPEC secretary general, taking into consideration the huge influence of Saudi and its Gulf allies in the politics of the cartel.

Having recommended Barkindo to President Buhari, he had hit the ground running to galvanise international support for Nigeria’s official candidate.

The minister presided over the 17TH ordinary ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Tehran, Iran on November 21, 2015 to complete the tenure of the former minister of petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

He also attended the Fourth Meeting of High Level Ad Hoc Group (HLAHG4) as well as the Executive Board (EB) Meeting to discuss internal and procedural issues.

Following the HLHAG4 and EB, the 17th Ordinary Ministerial Meeting was chaired by the Nigerian minister, while the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting was presided over by Iran.

The Ordinary Ministerial Meeting discussed the internal issues on the agenda such as budget and election of secretary general.

On Monday (November 23), the 3rd GECF Gas Summit was held with President Buhari in attendance to discuss market outlook and strategy.

With the strong support of Buhari, Kachikwu not only used his position as the President of the 17th ordinary meeting of the gas exporters to push Nigeria’s agenda but also used the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with other dignitaries on the sidelines of the working sessions, where Nigeria’s agenda was promoted.

Buhari also met with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during his two-day visit and also held bilateral talks with other participating heads of state and government on the sidelines of the GECF summit, where the Nigerian dream was pushed to the front burner.

The 2015 meeting of the member countries of GECF in Tehran reviewed the current market outlook on gas and discussed strategies for boosting gas production.

The summit also provided a framework for exchange of experience, views, information and data as well as coordination in gas-related developments among member countries.

GECF consists of 17 main and observer members with its permanent secretariat in Doha, Qatar.

Many OPEC members belong to GECF, whose members include: Russia, Iran, Qatar, Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates.

Netherlands, Iraq, Oman, Peru and Norway enjoy observer status of the body.

Barkindo

GECF members account for 42 per cent of global gas output, 70 per cent of global gas reserves, 40 per cent of pipe gas transmission, and 65 per cent of global trade of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

OPEC Shuttle Kachikwu also presided over the 168th (Ordinary) meeting of the OPEC in Vienna on December 4, 2015, to complete the unfinished tenure of Alison-Madueke.

Before the meeting, Iran had rejected Saudi Arabia’s call to join OPEC production cut.

Iran’s Oil Minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said he was not sure whether his country would bow to pressure to accept production cut just to stabilise the market.

On his plans for OPEC, Kachikwu had promised to do his best to delay Iran’s intended oversupply of crude oil.

Speaking to reporters in Lagos, he had said: “I think the key thing will be obviously crude oil price. There is a lot of sensitivity on that, $42 currently and with potential to go down if Iran throws their barrels into the field. My first target as I meet with ministers one-on-one is to try to delay Iran’s flooding of the market to the last quarter of next year. I will be talking with Iran’s oil minister on that so that we can stabilise the price. Maybe, hopefully, by the first or second quarter of next year, we will begin to see how that statement can now embolden us to go and begin to address removing the 1.5mbpd production that is lying in the market internationally,” he had explained.

Benefits of Shuttle Diplomacy After months of shuttle diplomacy anchored by Kachikwu, Nigeria’s quest to clinch the top job at OPEC, yielded dividend recently as the cartel in a rare compromise, decided unanimously to appoint Barkindo

Kachikwu

as its new Secretary-General after years of friction over the issue.

The group has been looking for a replacement for Libya’s Abdullah al-Badri, who was elected acting secretary-general in December and whose tenure will end in July after serving full terms.

Barkindo is expected to occupy the position for three years in the first instance with effect from August 1st 2016.

Rising from its 169th Ordinary Meeting, OPEC expressed its appreciation to the outgoing Secretary General, His Excellency Abdalla Salem El- Badri for his leadership of the Secretariat and the Organisation

With the strong support of Buhari, Kachikwu not only used his position as the President of the 17th ordinary meeting of the gas exporters to push Nigeria’s agenda but also used the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with other dignitaries on the sidelines of the working sessions, where Nigeria’s agenda was promoted

during his tenure.

Barkindo is coming to the position with a 23-year career in NNPC and the oil and gas industry.

He was a one-time group managing director of NNPC and had actually served as acting secretary general of OPEC in 2006 and handed over to his predecessor where he served with distinction.

Other positions he has held were: deputy managing director/chief executive of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas: managing director/chief executive, HYSON/CALSON, an international trading arm of NNPC: general manager, NNPC London Office; Head, International Trade, NNPC London Office.

He served for a record 15 years on the OPEC Economic Commission Board as Nigeria’s National Representative. Apart from chairing the OPEC Economic Commission Board, he also chaired the Strategic Production Quota Committee of OPEC. According to a statement by the NNPC, Barkindo is an advocate of Climate Change Initiative and has led Nigeria’s technical delegation to the climate change negotiations that produced the United Nations framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol to the UNFCCC during which he served on the Bureau of the UNFCC at various times.

He obtained a B. Sc degree in Political Science in 1981 from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, a post Graduate Diploma in Petroleum Economics in 1988 from College of Petroleum Studies, Oxford University, UK and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the South Eastern University, Washington DC. With his appointment, Nigeria now has a strong voice in the global oil market with its attendant benefits in the areas of quota and output allocation.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • JUNE 5, 2016

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BUSINESS/INTERVIEW

Elumelu: Job Creation is Not for Government Alone

Youth unemployment is a challenge for countries across Africa and Tony Elumelu Foundation has taken up the challenge to reduce the burgeoning figures of unemployment through its Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP). In this interview with Kunle Aderinokun, President of TEF and Chairman of Heirs Holdings Ltd, Tony Elumelu, addresses issues affecting youth employment in the continent, suggesting the way forward

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hat is your reaction to Akinwumi Adesina’s pronouncement that African Development Bank and other development institutions would take care of the 83,000 youth entrepreneurs that could not be accommodated by your foundation, Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF)?

hundred homes. I’m really encouraged about this development and it is an indication of what would happen in years to come. This is why I call Africans leaders to put the right policy so that the youth can do well.

Talking about policy, what is your take on what Carlos Lopez said in terms of having a transformation policy?

My foundation only recently committed $100 million. I’m not happy with the statistics; 85,000 people applied, but only 2,000 people were succeeded, so what I did was to reach out to people to help. We decided to train them because we have our online portal. We also told them to bring their seed capital. What ADB wants to do is that they will work in every country, for instance if we have like 10,000 people applying for Nigeria and we take only 300, the remaining names will be sent to ADB, who also take additional 1,200 or 2,000 and support them.

This is the way we can create employment. When the economy is not good, the big ones are the first to cut, so we need to drive SMEs. Imagine we have 1,000,000 SMEs or entrepreneurs and each is hiring 10,000 persons which would translate to employment of 100 million persons. This is what creates jobs and drives the economy. We need to change our transformation model and begin to support these small scale businesses.

These small scale businesses do not stop big corporations from doing well.

African needs a fundamental transformation.

Let me break it down a bit. If you look at infrastructure; people say intra- Africa trade is not high, it can’t be high because the regional infrastructure we today was put together by the colonial masters decades because they were interested in moving palm oil, cotton, palm kernel and other things to the ports for exports. So we had a regional infrastructure that moves goods from the hinterlands to the ports for export. But it was not wired to integrate Africa, rather it was designed to move to the ports only. Therefore, we need to restructure this and it can affect everything. It is time we address the fundamental issues of the economy. Consider the issue of power, we need to look at how we address power from the regional rather than country perspective.

You strongly believe in combined approach in getting the youth out of unemployment.

I would like to get your opinion on this?

Sir, we know you have 2,000 people that you have empowered? What has been the multiplier effect?

The question you are asking was what I asked the people when I addressed them. The truth is that I’m amazed at what they are doing. One of the people empowered in Uganda, stated that they were able to put solar lights in five

Elumelu

Government is should not be expected to solve the problem of unemployment alone. Yes the government has a role to play, but how many jobs can they create? What government should do is to create the right policies. I commend what the Vice-President said about supporting the SMEs. If they support the SMEs and create the right policies, they will be able to help government to create jobs. Big foundations should support us through financial grants because every individual has a role to play in the growth of Africa.

People Power: Capacity Building for African Business Mosun Shashore

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espite being the second largest continent in the world, Africa’s entire GDP is a dismal ten per cent of the GDP of the United States of America.

Nevertheless, Africa has been experiencing steady economic growth over the two decades. But this growth is hindered by infrastructure deficits; a lack of access to clean water, good roads, steady electricity supply, and health care, as well as a lack of robust and enabling policies. This means that Africa has not yet been able to fully harness its growth potential. In order for Africa to unlock this potential and make doing business in Africa more encouraging and attractive, it must make purposeful long-term investments in addressing these deficits.

Underpinning these deficits is a lack of human capital. In order for Africa to truly participate in the global economy, we must develop a skilled workforce with the knowledge and experience to contribute tangibly to the continent’s productivity and the economy as a result. The GDP comparisons between

Africa and The United States begin to make more sense when reviewed in the context of the labour productivity level comparisons of Sub-Saharan Africa which was a paltry 8% of the United States productivity in 2014 as well as being the lowest in the world.

To improve the region’s growth potential, the education system across the continent requires a major overhaul- a daunting task in itself when you consider Africa has a very high percentage of youth in its fast-growing population. Despite these challenges, emphasis and priority has to be placed on investing in the education system because of its inherent potential to deliver tomorrow’s doctors, engineers, policy makers, scientists, leaders and more.

How we develop our Human Resources will determine how bright our future as a continent is. There can be no sustainable economic growth in Africa, without adequate human capital development. To transform our continent, we must invest in skills accumulation and knowledge sharing.

In addition to enhancing productivity levels, investing in our own human capacity will also reduce the amount spent on hiring foreign skilled workers.

While investing in human capacity, there is a need to create jobs that align

with the kind of skills being acquired to mitigate the risk of preparing a workforce for a future that will not be realised.

To create a sustainable economy and the associated jobs, African countries need to depend less heavily on natural resources as a diversified portfolio helps to insulate the economy from oil pricerelated shocks. The latest oil price shocks are still being felt by many African oil exporting countries as is evidenced by IMF’s revision of its 2015 GDP growth projection for SSA from 4.5% in April 2015 to 3.8% in October 2015, a sixteen year low.

Nevertheless, economic diversification is on the increase, albeit slowly, encouraged by foreign direct investment and an improved business landscape.

For example, in Nigeria, although oil accounts for 95% of exports, services now make up 60% of GDP.But in order to become globally competitive and support our more diversified portfolio, we must address our human capital deficit.

We also need to commit to the procurement of more local content and the development of more initiatives that promote entrepreneurship. Our graduates and students need to be exposed to more real-world experience

in vocational or white-collar roles. There are already a number of foundations and organizations rising to this challenge and driving initiatives that promote vocational training and mentoring.

Another such initiative can been seen in the Quramo Conference, an African platform created for dialogue involving professionals and experts from different disciplines to exchange and share ideas, build knowledge and stimulate youth development as well as influence policy and decision making. This year’s conference examined issues involving the human capacity requirement for today’s African economy.

Quramo envisages a future where Africa is wholly managed by African’s with the experience, technical expertise and financial acumen to take on the challenge on filling the infrastructure deficits and growing the economy. Our success depends on our ability to create an environment that is conducive for acquiring knowledge and on providing tomorrow’s leaders with the education, knowledge and motivation to build a better future.

– –Shasore is chief executive, Quramo Advisory/Quramo Learning.

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

BUSINESS/INTERVIEW

Olympia: Tackling Difficult Recruitment Problems Requires Meticulous Processes

Ms. Elizabeth Olympia is the CEO of BASS & Co., a human resources and recruitment agency. In this interivew with Vanessa Obioha, Olympia who has worked in England, Romania and Qatar, explains meticulous but delicate recruitment processes

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What have you been doing lately?

are required to email their cv to cv@ bassandco.com.ng. Once a recruitment associate has reviewed their credentials, if their qualifications and experience appear to meet our needs, we’ll be in contact to arrange a BASS & Co. recruitment database interview.

Following the successful interview discussing their background and career goals we then add the individual to our database and then contact the individual when potentially suitable job opportunities arise.

am a consultant at BASS & Co. I am a qualified HR professional, with consultancy experience of over six years in England, Romania and Qatar. I have widespread experience working with businesses to identify commercial solutions to organisational changes. I manage many complex employee issues on behalf of clients, utilising my coaching qualifications and skills to achieve the desired solution. I am able to provide guidance on how to improve the robustness of recruitment processes by the use of psychometric testing and competency based interview processes.

Can a job seeker sign with more than one recruitment agency?

Yes, of course! There is nothing stopping a job-seeker to use more than one agency.

In fact, this way they have access to more job vacancies. However, jobseekers should ensure their CV is not submitted to the same employer for the same position by more than one recruitment agency. We advise against this because duplications of your CV can make a job-seeker look like they are desperate to get a job rather than appearing selective and professional.

It is best for candidates to always ask their recruitment agency representative to inform them of when they have forwarded their CV to any client and the jobseeker should keep a note of the organisation name and the date their details were submitted.

Looking at the employment sector in Nigeria, we believe that registering with recruitment agencies is definitely about balance. A candidate should take the approach of ensuring they have signed up with enough recruitment agencies where they will secure work, while making sure the amount of recruitment agency relationships they have is manageable.

How did you manage your career in Qatar?

In Qatar, I was providing advice and support on a wide variety of human resources issues both remotely and on site for the Qatar Government. As well as drafting contracts and handbooks, I worked with government institutions to develop implementation plans to introduce new contracts and policies. I also resolved performance issues, managed disciplinary and grievance meetings and assisting with day to day HR queries such as maternity rights and flexible working.

What is BASS & Co. all about and how do you work ?

BASS & Co. is for small businesses, with little or no in-house HR expertise, we are their outsourced HR department.

We enable business owners to be more systematic and strategic about the role that people play in the success of a company.

By helping our clients control expenses, minimise risk exposure and maximise their opportunities for revenue generation.

We help SMBs succeed by taking care of the things that could be distracting them from the bigger picture.

We view our role in the recruitment process as one of partnership with an SMB to find the best person to fulfil their need and to a jobseeker to secure the role best matching their search criteria. We support both applicant and employer throughout the whole recruitment cycle, remaining flexible at all times.

We have various approaches within our recruitment department. The approach used depends on the assignment agreed with the client.

In general, we develop a profile for the job opportunity, a shortlist of candidates is drawn up by our recruitment associates who have selected candidates from our database or selected individuals that have emailed their CVs to us following a job opportunity we announced. Following our screening and selection procedure, we then forward the selected candidates for a final interview with our client.

What’s the advantage of using BASS & Co.?

The operational procedures of BASS & Co. ensure we have a strong relationship with clients, therefore enabling us to offer candidates detailed information regarding

What type of organisations does BASS & Co. tend to recruit for?

Olympia

the organisation and opportunity available before an interview.

We work with our candidates to prepare them for their final interview by offering advice and providing them with information on the history and culture of our client’s organisation.

BASS & Co. is here to sell their candidature in the screening stages and is there to negotiate on the candidate’s behalf if they succeed to the later stages of an interview. BASS & Co. has exclusive access to a number of jobs individuals may not find through an online search.

There are numerous advantages, However, we would like candidates to know that it is important to use BASS & Co. as part of their search rather than depend on them solely to secure a position.

In regards to our clients, as well as advertising our vacancies as necessary, irrespective of the job we are recruiting for, we invariably use search and selection techniques to ensure we find the best person for the job.

Recruitment agencies tend only to provide this extra service for their most senior vacancies and on a retained basis.

In addition to this, we are very flexible

in our approach and where skills are in particularly short supply.

Not only do we think outside the box and constantly think about how we will do things better or in a more creative way for clients, we also focus a tremendous amount on our candidates. When clients ask us for ideas on how we tackle difficult recruitment problems.

For example, sourcing candidates in a very tight market, we have come up with some very creative suggestions, many of which we implement. We have done this time and time again for a wide range of clients in Nigeria’s diverse market sectors, who all have one thing in common: a need for employees with the right skills to effectively contribute to the success of their organisation. BASS & Co. delivers without the typical associated costs.

How can one get a CV on your database?

If an individual is interested in using BASS & Co. as part of their career search and would like to be considered as a BASS & Co. recruitment candidate when suitable job vacancies arise, they

We have expert recruitment knowledge for the following industries; trades & services, hospitality & tourism, administration & office support, media & creative, marketing & PR, sales, retail & consumer products, real estate & property, legal, education & training, accounting, call centre & customer service, HR & recruitment, sports & recreation and domestic.

How do you select the candidates who go forward for job interviews?

BASS & Co.’s Recruitment Selection Process is meticulous. Recruitment associates assigned to the ‘new client assignment’ attend a ‘briefing’, the briefing aids recruitment associates in understanding the selection criteria for the position and outline the competency areas on which each recruitment associate should focus. As a team, recruitment associates develop interview questions based on selection criteria and competencies prior to contacting suitable candidates.

All selected candidates are cross-checked by all associates involved in the assignment and then contacted for client interviews.

Our process may seem rigorous, however, a rigorous candidate selection process will, in most cases, assure a skilled employee.

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

BUSINESS/ PERSPECTIVE

Dangote Foundation: Bringing Succour to the Vulnerable Abimbola Akosile

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hairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s recent pledge to invest N2 billion to create jobs and end hunger for Borno State residents living in Internally Displaced Peoples camps (IDP), no doubt will ameliorate the pains of Boko Haram victims, as well as provide them a means of livelihood.

The gesture is not surprising given the large heart and philanthropic antecedents of Africa’s richest man and his foundation, the Dangote Foundation towards eradicating poverty and diseases in Nigeria. Dangote is aspiring to become Africa’s biggest philanthropist.

The Foundation, last week commenced the disbursement of N400million micro-grant to 40, 000 indigent women in all the local governments in Lagos State. The disbursement is a continuation of grassroots poverty alleviation strategy of the Foundation that Dangote set up in 1993. The programme will cost the Foundation N10billion. A total of six states have so far benefitted from the programme.

During his visit to the Dalori and Bakassi IDP camps in Borno State, Dangote promised to spend N2billion on the IDPs to enable the State government to provide social amenities to residents.

He said: “I am here to see the IDPs by myself. This is my first time to visit IDPs in Borno but I want to assure you that it will not be the last. We shall continue to work with the State government to make sure the IDP camps are hunger-free.”

Dangote, who assured that his foundation would shoulder the costs of food for the IDPs during the Holy month of Ramadan, added: “Our partnership with Borno State aims to create jobs for our people. Also I assure you that the entire food for IDPs during Ramadan will be given by the Dangote Foundation to assist the State government.”

Dangote said apart from the funds and food items that will be donated by his company through the Dangote Foundation, he would explore avenues to drive investments and production in the war-torn states to promote entrepreneurship and create opportunities for the people to work and earn a decent living in the course of time.

“This is not the first time I am coming here and it will not be the last. So far, we have expended about N1.2 billion in efforts to alleviate the suffering of IDPs across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.

“The first major challenge is the physiological needs of these people, and food, nutrition rank right on top of that ladder.

So we will first make serious effort to ensure that hunger is eliminated from the IDP camps and thereafter, we will begin to make effort to create jobs and boost entrepreneurship.

“The effort to create jobs and boost enterprise in this case will not be about making money or returning investment, rather it will be primarily to create opportunities for the people,” he said.

Dangote expressed concern over the living conditions of the estimated 1.7 million people displaced in the state, making it the third place globally with the highest number of displaced persons after Syria and Afghanistan.

The Executive Director of Dangote Group, Halima Aliko-Dangote, stressed that her father, apart from the direct support he would be giving to the people, would also pull his partners and contacts in the private sector to collaborate and support the people of the state.

“As executive director on the board of the foundation, it was very important for me and others to actuality visit the IDP camps in Borno State ourselves. This experience has solidified our commitment

Dangote

to support the people during this difficult time,” she said.

The Managing Director and CEO, Dangote Foundation, Mrs. Zouera Youssoufou, stressed that after dealing with the issue of hunger, the group will begin to boost education for children in the camps as well as create opportunities for enterprise.

“This is not the first time that I have visited the IDP camps and the Dangote Foundation’s commitment to easing the suffering of our fellow Nigerians is total.

“As early as next week, we will be meeting with the governor and his team to immediately start to bring relief and begin to think of medium-term strategies especially around education. “We will deploy all within our capacity, both man and material, to ensure that we improve the lives of these people,” she said.

Dangote Foundation has a history of alleviating the conditions of people in IDPs. The Foundation in 2011, gave the sum of N364 million to IDPs across Kaduna, Bauchi and Gombe states after the post-election violence.

The crisis had rendered many homeless while in another sum of N100 million and N60 million were respectively donated to victims of flood disaster in Lagos and Oyo States in 2011. Dangote Foundation donated N39.34 million to those IDPs displaced by the communal clash in Benue state in 2014.

While N42.5 million was used in feeding 5000 IDP households across Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states last year, N100 million and N50 million were respectively contributed to the Appeal fund raised by Daily Trust to cater for the IDPs in the Northeast and to support the Adamawa Peace Initiative all for the IDPs. The sum of N1 billion was also recently pledged to Victim Support Fund for IDPs across the Northeast.

Dangote in 2012 donated the sum of N2.5 billion, the highest as an individual, to the fund for Flood Relief and Rehabilitation in 2012. The fund helped in resettling and

rehabilitating of Nigerians displaced by flood in 22 states of the federation. Dangote through his Foundation travelled to all the states ravaged by flood and provided relief materials and funds running billions of naira.

The Foundation’s family empowerment programme meant to compliment the efforts of the government at all levels is targeted at the disadvantaged and vulnerable women and youths with a one-off N10, 000 cash transfer to boost household income generation.

Dangote who is concerned over widespread poverty among the people especially the youths and the women at the grassroots through his Foundation instituted a scheme that would help in addressing the menace.

Consequently, the Dangote Foundation came up with a micro grant scheme aimed at empowering the grassroots dwellers with funds to help them undertake petty trading so as to lift their economy. Already, 256,500 women in states such Kano, Jigawa, Kogi, Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe have benefited from the scheme that is expected to move round all the 774 local government areas across the nation.

Speaking at the launch of the Lagos end of the scheme, he said, “I started my foundation, Dangote Foundation back in 1993, based on the simple premise that to whom much is given, much is required…… that has meant for me looking at the poor that suffer amongst us and being compelled to bring some relief.”

“I believe that supporting social and economic change through investments and interventions that improve the lives of the less fortunate is what will make a positive difference in the growth of my nation,” he added.

He said the foundation is focused on health and nutrition as to reduce the number of lives lost to malnutrition and disease through access to quality healthcare and nutrition with a particular emphasis on children. The Foundation drives activities

in this area via building primary Health care centers, drilling boreholes for WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) programs, Partnerships with the Gates Foundation and various States to eradicate polio and increase routine immunization coverage, building a diagnostic center and operating theaters in the Murtala Mohammed Hospital in Kano and malnutrition eradication program across 13 states in the North.

The foundation’s education goal is to reduce the number of out-of-school children, support talented under privileged young people to achieve their potential, and educating girls and women on health related issues while activities already carried out include: Building classrooms, Scholarship programs, upgrading infrastructure across various universities, alternative education programs out of school IDP children, behavior change communication programs targeted to girls and women.

The donation to IDPs camps is part of its Disaster relief programme, to be responsive to people affected by disasters and helping them get back on their feet. Activities executed include: Support to stopping the spread of Ebola in Nigeria, support to the IDP crisis situation in Nigeria, support to flood victims in Nigeria, earthquake relief in Nepal, and support to the Republic of Niger during the recent meningitis outbreak The Economic Empowerment programme is geared towards supporting the poor in sustainably increasing their income. The Micro-grant Programme is one component of the economic empowerment programmes of Dangote Foundation However, for the first time since the programme started, the beneficiaries in Lagos are also to be given hand held mobile devices through Airtel telecommunication, while disbursement would be via electronic payments The programme, according to Dangote is to cover at least 1000 women in each of the 774 local governments in a bid to assist the federal government in the onerous task of poverty reduction by equipping the vulnerable women with some money to help them start a trade to improve family life. However, the number of beneficiaries in Lagos has been doubled in each local government in other to reach out to a larger population of women.

“We have chosen to partner with State governments to support women because in Nigeria, as in other developing countries, they bear the burden of poverty. And it is through their economic activities from the home, the market place or the farmlands that they keep the family, the community going meeting basic needs.

“Our research at Dangote Foundation shows that just a little push can help establish, sustain or grow several types of economic activities by our women. We believe these small grants will improve the women’s businesses and the wellbeing of their families and communities.

“This is one of the goals of Dangote Foundation’s Community Development Services”, he stated.

The Dangote Foundation, he said, sends its wishes to the women who will benefit from our grant and indeed from other government initiatives. It is their efforts and business success that will strengthen family and community bonds that are needed to transform this great state and this great country.”

Dangote Foundation’s guiding principles is to provide humanitarian relief to victims of natural and man-made disasters. In the past, the Dangote Foundation has provided relief materials and food to victims of civil strife in Nigeria. Since its establishment in 1993, it has worked to provide drinking water and health facilities in partnership with various Nigerian state governments and through grants to individuals and groups for health, education and economic development projects.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • JUNE 5, 2016

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BUSINESS/ MEDIA

AAAN: Losing Steam and Comradeship

Raheem Akingbolu, who was in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, for the 43rd Annual General Meeting of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), reasons that the undercurrent that led to the emergence of new executive members and the lackadaisical attitude of AAAN founding fathers towards the AGM are taking away the steam and tempo that characterised past regimes

I

n what looks like the least competitive election ever, the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) ushered in a new set of leaders during its 43rd Annual General Meeting held at Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo, recently. Though the AGM has come and gone, questions and debates that trailed the event are still fresh. Two major things that triggered the debate were; the manner in which the new leaders emerged and the absence of top practitioners at the meeting.

The first noticeable trend was that the founding fathers of the industry tactically distanced themselves from the association’s 2016 AGM. Save for Mr. Ayo Owoborode, the current chairman, board of trustee and Mr. Udeme Ufot, no other past president turned up for the AGM - not even the most recent leaders like Funmi Onabolu, Rufai Ladipo and Bunmi Oke. Though the association is not new to such attitude given the manner in which the likes of Senator Akin Odunsi, Biodun Shobanjo, Kola Ayanwale and Enyi Odigbo have kept a distance in recent years. The absence of familiar faces like that of Lolu Akinwumi and Mrs. Bola Thomas made the vacuum noticeable.

The effect of the harsh economy also showed in the number of advertising agencies that appeared to have been delisted from the association’s list. A source within AAAN confirmed to THISDAY that the delisted agencies have refused to honour their outstanding financial obligation to the association, a situation which led to their being sacked from AAAN. They include; Omooba Segun Adewale’s 24-7 Communications Limited, Comex Limited, Grant Advertising Limited, Media Plus International Limited and Adpure Limited. Others are BTAS Communications Limited, Novitas Limited, Sloane Communications Limited, Pemetad Limited, Elsia Communications Limited and Platform Branding Limited. The rest are; Campaign Palace Limited, Alder Media Limited, Angels Communications Limited and Tunde Thanni’s Explicit Communications Limited.

Meanwhile, investigation also revealed that the immediate past executive of the association, struck out the name of Mr. Sule Momoh of 141 Worldwide from its board for poor attendance at exco meetings.

At the end of the three days activities in Uyo, the association eventually elected the Managing Director of Harmonee Concepts Limited, Mr. Kayode Oluwasona as president, while the CEO of DDB Lagos, Mr. Ikechi Odigbo, was elevated from his office as Publicity Secretary to become the Vice President.

Other members of the executive are Wale Akintunde –Treasurer, Steve Babaeko –Publicity Secretary and Mr. Onuora Molokwu as Asst. Publicity Secretary.

However, the circumstance that led to the emergence of the new executive has continued to attract debate from analysts, who were familiar with the past politics of the association.

The Intrigues within Beyond the statutory aims and objective of AAAN, event over the years have shown that the association is an umbrella body that is deeply rooted in intrigues, suspicion and deadly rivalry. The early fathers of the association decided to create this elite club in the early 70s as a way of standing out of the crowd by belonging to the then AAPN. With that, they saw anybody who is in the business of advertising without the AAAN lapel pin as being inferior. As a result of this, practitioners without AAAN badge were alienated from enjoying certain privileges, like the agreed percentage commission from media houses, invitation to certain pitches and so on. But even at that, members who are registered still go ahead most times to circumvent the original noble objectives of the association by maneuvering and backstabbing themselves while looking for business. In some cases, they resort to bribe or go behind to run colleagues down. Over the years, this has created bad blood and gap in the association. Therefore, the spirit of unity and comradeship that once united them is no more there. Some of these unethical business behaviours and rivalry have in many ways affected Nigerian advertising fortune. The old agencies that are up there have created class within class and so do not want the younger ones to compete with them. This has gone to the extent that the younger ones now see the big ones up there while they (the younger generation) are down here.

Unfortunately, in the cause of their glory, the bigger agencies, fail to plan succession because of greed and this became a natural setback for them. Today, save for Insight and DDB Lagos, the rest are only struggling with the younger agencies.

Troubles of Affiliation Another factor that created the bad blood in the industry is

Sobanjo

Oluwasona

the issue of affiliation. Record has shown that almost all the big agencies clashed at one time or the other, over the choice of foreign alignment and preference. At the moment, there is a subtle war going on between Rosabel and Insight over the recent business relationship between Publicis and Troyka Group. Few years ago, a similar bloodless war pitched Lolu Akinwumi’s Prima Garnet against Ogilvy & Mather then headquartered in Yaba, Lagos and headed by Femi Adeniyi-Williams. The decision of Ogilvy to drop Adeniyi-William’s agency for Prima Garnet created a bad blood between the two practitioners. That was also the situation between the late May Nzeribe’s Sunrise Marketing and Rosabel over Starcom Mediavest Group (SMG) partnership. Others are the crisis that trailed Udeme Ufot’s SO & U marriage to Saatchi & Saatchi affiliation, which was formally residing with the then MC & A Saatchi & Saatchi. MC & A was then a subsidiary agency of Insight Communications.

Mr. Kola Ayanwale’s Centrespread had its share of the politics when he brought in FCB Draft Cone to the country but lost it to DP Partnership, headed by Odun Fadoju.

Looking back, it is easy to conclude that intrigues that trailed all these affiliations had eaten deep into the peaceful co-existence

of members of the association.

The first noticeable trend was that the founding fathers of the industry tactically distanced themselves from the association’s 2016 AGM. Save for Mr. Ayo Owoborode, the current chairman, board of trustee and Mr. Udeme Ufot, no other past president turned up for the AGM - not even the most recent leaders like Funmi Onabolu, Rufai Ladipo and Bunmi Oke

Undercurrent of 2016 AAAN election Over the years, the ‘big boys’ in the industry, who are now old, have always been the ones to determine who leads AAAN and this has affected loyalty and commitment of members.

Because of the class within class structure that have been created by the early practitioners, the young ones have always wanted to lunch a rebellious struggle to take over the leadership of the association. Meanwhile, the old ones appeared to have overreached themselves, not knowing the plan under rap until two years ago, when Lanre Adisa of Noah’s Ark, backed by some dynamic young men, tried, though unsuccessfully, to challenge the status quo. Though the old men still had their way by installing Kelechi Nwosu of TBWA Concept, the deep wound created by the move is yet to be healed. The so called ‘big boys’ of the industry were smart enough to have quickly ganged up against Adisa and his co-travelers to check the radical movement. The keen contest threw up acrimony and exposed divisions within the industry. Since then, things have literally fallen apart.

Prior to the gathering in Uyo last week, efforts were made to lure in one or two chief executives of the vibrant agencies but none of the agencies was ready to let go of their CEO because of the competitions ahead. Now that most of them (old agencies) are struggling to survive, they feared AAAN activities could be a huge distraction.

For instance, a top advertising practitioner confided in this reporter in Uyo last week that Ikechi Odigbo would have been pushed to lead the association but his group refused on the basis that the load of the office could affect Odigbo’s commitment to DDB. Having been around for years and won new businesses for the agency after his elder brother –Enyi stepped aside, he was considered an ideal president in the making but the rest is now history. The source further stated that the founding fathers of AAAN were forced to settle for Kayode Oluwasona to prevent the radical guys with big businesses from taking over.

As things are, the belief of elders, who decided to tolerate Oluwasona, is that he would have enough time to reorganise the association. But there are insinuations in some quarters that the new president lacks the needed clout to lead AAAN. In the overall assessment of the Uyo AGM, many observers commended the planning committee headed by the CEO of Strategic Outcomes Limited, Mr. Jenkins Alumona, and members of staff of the AAAN secretariat headed by Mr. Lekan Fadolapo.

Also commended was the involvement of Mr. Ufot, who used his influence to fully draft in the state top government functionaries, including Governor Emmanuel Udom.

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

NIGERIA’S TOP 50 STOCKS BASED ON MARKET FUNDAMENTALS

NAHCO AVIANCE PLC- Profitability declines despite reduction in operational expenses and finance cost

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igerian Aviation Handling Company PLC (Nahco Aviance) recently released its audited financial statement for full year 2015 showing a not so impressive performance. Though revenue grew modestly, profitability markers and other key financial indicators depreciated due to some operational challenges emanating from regulatory tension and macro-economic headwind. The macro-economic headwind is the resultant effect of continuous instability in low Brent crude oil prices have caused financial strain and pressure leading to foreign exchange difficulty and various fuel scarcities during the financial period.

Nevertheless, the company has maintained its regular dividend payment, and has recommended a total dividend payment of N324.84m (on the basis of N0.20 per share) for every 50 kobo share Nigerian Aviation Handling Company PLC is a product of the Nigerian Enterprise Promotion Decree, starting operations in April 1979 with the commissioning of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The Company has over 25 years of experience in crew/passenger transportation service delivery and continues to enjoy unhindered access to all areas of the airport which offers them the opportunity to serve airlines better, whilst providing comprehensive insurance for the vehicles as well as Passenger Liability Policy for the crew/ passengers.

INCREASED COST OF OPERATION ERODES TOP-LINE EARNINGS For the twelve-month period ended, December 2015, Nahco Aviance grew turnover by 4.49% to N8.499 billion from N8.13 billion recorded in December 2014. The Company’s performance shows steady growth of 12.90% and 13.28% in business activity of passenger handling and equipment rental & maintenance respectively, with exception to cargo handling which declined to N4.68 billion indicating a drop of 1.53% when compared to December 2014 figure of N4.75 billion . Further insight reveals that the Company’s core business of Air craft handling, Cargo Handling, Passenger handling and Crew transportation continues to account for a large percentage of earnings.

However, cost of operation grew notably to N5.27 billion from N4.71 billion over the period; representing a growth of 11.83%. The increment rose from the combined effect of rises in various components of operational

IN THE LONG-TERM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO INCREASED GROWTH IN PROFITABILITY FOR NAHCO AVIANCE WHICH WOULD DEPEND LARGELY ON THE RESULTANT IMPACTS OF FACILITIES UPGRADE, EXPANSION AND INCREASED EFFICIENCY IN HANDLING BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, AS ITS MANAGEMENT ENSURES CONTINUOUS EFFICIENCY IN OPERATING COST REDUCTION

expenditures especially: staff salaries and wages, lubricating expenses, lease rental fees, depreciation and other operating expenses which increased by 6.95%, 30.05%, 425.15%, 8.48% and 186.88% respectively, which we believe shows partly the inflation changes caused by prevailing macro-economic headwind in the economy.

Expectedly, due to the higher growth in cost of operation over generated revenue, gross profit dropped by 5.62% to N3.23 billion in the full year 2015 from N3.42 billion reported for the full year 2014.

REDUCTION IN ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES POSITIVELY IMPACT PROFITABILITY The Company’s management increased activities towards management of expenditures yielded positive result as it was able to reduce administrative and distribution expenses notably by 6.53% and 5.95% to N2.26 billion and N138m in December 2015 compared to December 2014 figures of N2.42 billion

and N146m respectively. This was in spite of an increase in staff strength and purchase of utility vehicles to distribute cargoes within the airports and around the Federation. Also, net financial cost followed suit with an impressive decline by 10.42% to N251m from N279.8m over the period under review.

Furthermore, other income grew considerably by 12.56% to N215m in December 2015 from N191m in December 2014 as the Company derived income from rental income and reduced impairment loss during the period.

As a result of the reduced operating expenses and higher earnings from other income, the Company recorded a modest growth of 3.55% in profit before tax to N797m in the full year ended, December 2015 over N769m reported in the corresponding period of 2014. However, due to increased income tax expense which grew by a significant 28.92% to N259m from 2014 figure of N200m, profit after tax declined modestly by 5.41% to N538m in December 2015 from N568m reported in December 2014.

SETTING SAFETY STANDARDS WITH RECENT EU VALIDATION RECOGNITION After meeting the entire requirement for safety and security validation, the company became the first ground handling company in Nigeria to be IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) certified, first to operate an IATA approved Authorized Training Centre (ATC) and the only ground handling company member of Association of African Training Organization (AATO). The Company stands to gain a drastic reduction in the cost of acquiring their ACC3 validation which is a requirement for EU bound flights.

These achievements have made Nahco Aviance the ground handler of choice for major airlines operating from Nigeria to the European Union by reducing significantly the cost of conducting air cargo or mail carrier operating into the Union from a third Country Airport (ACC3). The certifications have also further proven that the Company can compete with its international counterpart through the delivery of global best practices with security and safety standards comparable with developed countries.

WE UPGRADE OUR RECOMMENDATION TO A HOLD In the long-term, we look forward to increased growth in profitability for Nahco Aviance which would depend largely on the resultant impacts of facilities upgrade, expansion and

Valuation Metrics 03-Jun-16 Recommendation

HOLD

Target Price (N)

4.38

Current Price (N)

4.88

Market Cap (N'm)

7,926

Outstanding Shares (m)

1,624

EPS (N)

0.33

PE Ratio

14.74x

Forward EPS (N)

0.34

Forward PE

14.22x Source: BGL Research

FYE December 2015 Audited Results Turnover (N'm)

8,499

Profit Before Tax (N'm)

797

Profit After Tax (N'm)

538

Pre-tax Margin (%)

9.38 Source: Company Data 2015, BGL Research

FYE December 2014 Audited Results Turnover (N'm)

8,133

Profit Before Tax (N'm)

769

Profit After Tax (N'm)

568

Pre-tax Margin (%)

9.46

Source: Company Data 2014, BGL Research

Shareholding Information Shareholders

% Holding

Rosehill Group Limited

9.52%

Sycor Private Investment Limited

8.93%

AWHUA Resources Limited Lufthansa Commercial Holding GmBH Air France

7.11% 6.00% 5.81%

Others

62.63%

Outstanding Shares (m)

1,624

Source: Company Data 2015, BGL Research

increased efficiency in handling business activities, as its management ensures continuous efficiency in operating cost reduction. We expect the potential of increased economic activities in the coming years to result in growth of its core business activities, revenue and profitability.

Considering the above, we therefore make our projections for gross earnings of N8.87 billion for the 12-months financial year end, December 2016 and a net income of N557m for December 2016, leading to a forward EPS of N0.34 and we assume a steady dividend per share of N0.20.

With an Industry Price to Earnings (PE) multiple of 8.41x, we arrived at a 6-month target price of N4.38 for Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc which leads to a potential downside of 10.22%. We therefore recommend a HOLD recommendation on the shares of Nahco Aviance.

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

NIGERIA’S TOP 50 STOCKS BASED ON MARKET FUNDAMENTALS

ZENITH BANK PLC: Reduction in noninterest income impacts top-line and bottom-line earnings

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enith Bank Plc (Zenith Bank) in its recently released first quarter results for the period ended March 31th 2016, showed a slight drop in profitability due to 12% decline in gross earnings.

Nevertheless, despite continuing tough operating environment Zenith Bank has been able to reduce its operational expenses.

The Bank for the full year 2015 maintained its regular dividend payment, and has paid investors in the first quarter a total dividend payment of N56.51 billion (on the basis of N1.80 per share) for every 50 kobo share, which is higher than N1.75 per share paid consecutively in the previous two year.

The Bank offers its clients a wide range of corporate, investment, business and personal banking products and solutions. The Bank is one of the biggest and most profitable banks in Nigeria. The bank was established in May 1990 and started operations in July same year as a commercial bank. It became a public limited company on June 17, 2004 and was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on October 21, 2004.

NON-INTEREST INCOME IMPACTS NEGATIVELY ON TOPLINE EARNINGS Gross earnings for first quarter 2016 declined by 12.25% to N99.44 billion from N113.32 billion in the corresponding period of 2015; compelled primarily by a 52% decrease in non-interest income to N15.26 billion from N31.94 billion over the same period. The decline in non-interest income was driven by trading income, commission on turnover, other income and credit related fees which recorded decline of 134.91%, 100%, 83.98% and 31% respectively.

Interest income grew marginally by 3.38% to N84.18 billion in the first quarter of 2016 from N81.42 billion in the first quarter of 2015, spurred mainly by a substantial 75% growth in interest from government bonds while growth in loans and advances rose modestly by 1%. Also, interest expense expectedly decreased by a striking 32.92% to N26.02 billion from N38.79 billion over the same period. A breakdown of the components of interest expenses shows that the decrease was triggered by a decline of 47% in interest expense on time deposits

SIMILARLY, WITH REINFORCED COMMITMENT TOWARDS AN INCREASED AND EFFECTIVELY MANAGED INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCT INNOVATIONS, CUSTOMERS’ BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, SOLUTION AND SATISFACTION WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED; HENCE WILL RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN ZENITH BANK’S NONINTEREST INCOME

to N16.51 billion from N31.30 billion and 43% decline in interest expense on current account.

Expectedly, net interest income rose significantly by 36.42% to N58.16 billion from N42.63 billion recorded at the end of first quarter 2015.

The significant growth in interest expense was driven by a continued high interest rate environment due to the contractionary monetary policy in operation at the period.

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF EXPENSES FORESTALLS FURTHER DECLINE OF EARNINGS Zenith Bank’s pre-tax profit grew by 3.04% to N32.12 billion in March 2016 from N33.13 billion in March 2015. This erosion of gains from the Bank’s earnings largely due to the decline in non-line interest income was limited by the management ability to effectively cut expenses as records showed that total operating expenses maintained a steady figure as it recorded a modest drop of 1.49 over

the three-month period to N38.77 billion from N39.35 billion in March 2015; on the back of 13% decline in other expenses.

Net income also decreased by a marginal 4.00% to N26.57 billion from N27.68 billion in the corresponding period. Furthermore, the bank also recorded a borderline rise of 1.84% in income tax to N5.55 billion in first quarter ended, March 2016 from N5.45 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2015.

BANKS PERFORMANCE FAILS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY RATIOS For the first quarter ended, March 2016, Zenith Bank grew its total assets slightly by 1.37% to N3.99 trillion from N3.94 trillion recorded as at March 2016. The growth in total assets can be attributed to significant increase in property and equipment, assets pledged as collateral and treasury bills by 25.08%, 39.1% and 24.82% respectively. The growth in loans and advances reflects the Bank risk nature as it appeared to have reacted appropriately to the current operating environment through a more cautious outlook on risk involved in each financial intermediation activities as it aims at reducing its non-performing advances which has risen to 2.2% from 1.7% year on year; with general commerce leading on loans and advances and also having the highest rate of nonperforming loan.

On the other hand, total liabilities decline by 1.19% to N3.37 trillion as at March 2016 from N3.41 trillion as at 2015. The decrease resulted from a 4.42% in total customer deposits to N2.56 trillion from N2.68 trillion at the end of first quarter 2015.

Nevertheless, return on average equity (ROAE) currently stands at 4.63% while return on average assets (ROAA) at 0.67% as at first quarter ended, March 2016.

BUY RECOMMENDATION MAINTAINED Despite the macro-economic headwind in most African countries and Nigeria CBN’s monetary tightening policies, which results into high cost of funds within the financial system, the Bank will be able to outperform general expectation if it operates an efficient liquidity and cost cutting strategy as it maintains a low NPL ratio. Similarly, with reinforced commitment towards an increased and effectively managed investment in technology and product innovations, customers’ business activities, solution and satisfaction

Valuation Metrics 03-Jun-16 Rating

BUY

Target Price (N)

16.42

Current Price (N)

13.91

Market Cap (N'm)

436,725

Outstanding Shares (m)

31,396

Rolling EPS (N)

0.85

Rolling PE Ratio

16.43x

Forward EPS

1.00

Forward PE

13.92x Source: BGL Research

Unaudited First Quarter Results Gross Earnings (N'm) Profit Before Tax (N'm) Profit After Tax (N'm) Pre-tax Margin (%)

99,435 32,121 26,573 32.30

Source: Company Data 2016, BGL Research

FYE December 2015 Audited Results Gross Earnings (N'm) Profit Before Tax (N'm) Profit After Tax (N'm) Pre-tax Margin (%)

432,535 125,616 105,663 24.43

Source: Annual Report 2015, BGL Research

Shareholding Information Shareholders Holding

% Holding

Jim Ovia, CON

9.38%

Stanbic Nominees Nigeria Limited/C011 - MAIN

7.38%

Stanbic Nominees Nigeria Limited/C002 - TRAD

7.24%

Stanbic Nominees Nigeria Limited/C001 - TRAD

5.75%

Free Float

70.25% Source: Annual Report 2015, BGL Research

will be significantly enhanced; hence will result in significant growth in Zenith Bank’s non-interest income.

While we believe Zenith Bank will enhance its profitability in the coming months, we maintain our 2015 financial year ended projection of N490.51 billion for gross earnings and net income of N135.91 billion; leading to a forward earnings per share (EPS) of N4.33. However, using the current PE multiple and net assets valuation, we arrive at a 6-month target price of N16.39 and therefore recommend a BUY.

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TRAVEL

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

Tales from Taiwan Post-term nursing unit

Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu

S

ometime in April 2016, I received a call from the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Wife of the President, Dr. Hajjo Sani, informing me that Her Excellency’s program the ‘Future Assured Initiative’ had been offered two slots on a two-week training workshop on Maternal and Child Health by the Taiwanese Government under its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and organized by the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF). It was fully sponsored and participants would experience the Taiwanese healthcare system first hand.

Dr. Hajjo went on to inform me that Her Excellency had nominated me as one of the representatives. I was delighted and honored. I told her I would seek permission from my husband and get back with a response. In his usual supportive way, he agreed and I commenced necessary travel arrangements.

The other participant was Dr. Kamal Mohammed, a public health specialist, coordinator Future Assured Initiative and personal physician to the Wife of the President. The added advantage for me was that I would be able to bank the course as part of my Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to keep up my registration with my regulatory body, the Nigerian Medical Council for the year. I must admit it’s been a struggle since becoming ‘Wife of Governor’ and it was getting harder to attain the required points. Hence my added joy to be going on this trip.

I have never been to Taiwan and so I learnt not just about the health systems

and hospitals, but also about the people, what they eat, what they wear and the culture. It took 16 hours of traveling by air to reach this beautiful corner of Asia populated by just over 23 million people, a tedious but worthwhile journey.

My fellow course mates for the training were 18 health professionals from Africa, South Pacific and the Caribbean.

One of the first things we learnt about the health system was its funding. It had both public and private funds with a strong insurance component. The hospitals are squeaky clean and well equipped in terms of both human and technical resources. Every year, out of every 100,000 pregnancies only 6.6 women die.

Compared to the 814 women that die (from pregnancy and related causes) in Nigeria. This is amazingly low. Taiwan has been unable to push its maternal mortality rate further down because the 6.6 that die do so mainly from unpreventable and undiagnosed genetic conditions. The National Breastfeeding rate is 50% which is above the WHO recommended rate of 38%. In Nigeria it is 17%. This statistic coupled with a strict healthy lifetime diet, lifestyle and vigilant health surveillance gives the Taiwanese a life expectancy above 80years. On the other hand, malnutrition and growth stunting is rife in Nigeria, with the Northwestern States contributing the most.

Taiwanese like us have strong cultural beliefs. We immediately noted the absence of the Number 4 in floor numbers and even hospital bed numbering. This, we were told, was because the Number 4,”stu” in Mandarin, is homophonous with death, so it’s considered an unlucky number especially in hospitals where death is a dreaded word in any language.

Another odd practice I encountered was leaving the baby and cord attached to the placenta after delivery, in some cases, for up to 7 hours. This practice known as Lotus Birth is said to allow the mother take over caring for her baby from the placenta, which had been doing the job for 9 months. I wondered about the effects of this on the fetal circulation and possibility of infection. Although it was only being practiced in some parts, it emphasized the importance the Taiwanese culture placed on motherhood and women.

Gender equity was very obvious in many aspects. A part of me feels this equity was forced by the ‘one couple, one child’ policy introduced between 1978 and 1989 to curb exploding population rates. This meant son or daughter, both the government and parents have to strive hard to make that one child a success story. So gender lost relevance and opportunities given became balanced.

However, that policy is being phased out from 2015. My view on Gender equity in Taiwan was reinforced when Tsai Ing Wen led her party to a landslide victory during an election held shortly before our workshop held. With a 56% win, she became Taiwan’s first female Prime Minister and was sworn in the day I left.

As a Paediatrician, one of the personal high points of the workshop was visiting the National Taiwan University Children’s Hospital, NTUCH. It was the first fully dedicated children’s hospital built in Taipei in 2013.

Twenty-two floors high, I was, understandably, quite impressed. Every aspect was developed with the primary interest of the child in mind. Premature birth rate was low at 6-8%. The Neonatal intensive care unit was not only as

Dr. Shinkafi-Bagudu at a medical facility

high-tech as I had seen in other developed countries, but also highly innovative.

We saw specially designed and adapted transport incubators as well as strong support services and facilities for children, especially those with special needs.

The special needs children facility was

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Cont’d from Pg. 33

interesting to me and is one I hope to be able to explore further because in Nigeria we have no effective system for caring for such children. The whole process of diagnosis, investigating and treating special needs children in Nigeria is very weak, leaving many families at a loss as to what to do. It’s not often apparent because we have a strong family support network that care for the daily needs of such children. By this labor of love, we often fail to allow children with special needs achieve their maximum capability.

It was in the special needs unit I was struck by two similarities between Taiwanese culture and ours. The first is that the Asian culture gives a lot of respect and reverence to constituted authority, and hold achievements in high esteem especially in the academic sector. I trained in a western environment where I was encouraged to address 60-year-old professors by their first name. It was a shock to my system when I first started but I eventually got into it.

In Taiwan, like in my country, this is not acceptable. A professor isn’t only addressed as such, one is expected to stand up and bow in reverence to him.

The other thing was socio-cultural stigmatization. Something about the way our instructor spoke made me ask about this. My question to her was are children with congenital abnormalities or conditions like seizure disorders stigmatized by the society? She admitted it existed albeit a bit better than it was 30 years ago when even teachers turned back such children from mainstream schools.

However with improved forced awareness and education, such children are now increasingly being assimilated into society. Here was all the proof I needed to buttress my belief that Nigeria could only emerge as a leading nation when we attack the disease plaguing us,’illiteracy’. Nigeria and Taiwan have strong traditional beliefs, practices and Milk bank institutions, but with education, Taiwan has been lifted into the cadre of an industrialized nation.

Education in Taiwan is not free but it is compulsory to complete secondary school. There are public and private streams at all levels. Even at primary level, there are no completely free schools. However those who can’t afford to pay can apply for scholarships but are bonded to work for the government until the debt is paid. I must admit I didn’t get to see much of the schools beyond the medical ones. Here, we were told about training programs for foreign health professionals especially at post graduate level. It is my hope that we will be able to use the links we have forged and work with the Taiwan mission in Nigeria to establish links and foster bilateral ties.

During a trip to a midwife clinic in the Northern district of IDA, I noticed the absence of gardens in homes.

Instead each house had a vast rice field behind it. Everyone was a farmer. Apart from local consumption, rice is exported and there is little need to import food.

Inflation is low, with only 1.5% of its population living below the poverty line.

As Asia’s fifth largest economy, Taiwan is considered advanced. Her financial success is also due to export of electronics,technology and petrochemical products. Its main export partner is China. Many computer chips originate here and are used worldwide. Major companies include Hon Hai, Asustek and Formosa.

In Taiwan I experienced my first earthquake. Measured at 5.9, it was initially a frightful experience. However when we had 4 more over the next couple of days, I got used to it and stopped feeling just fear. Instead I Milk bank in a medical facility reflected on the awesome phenomenon that disrupts our terra firma and started to thank God for His many blessings I shared not because I want you to that we so often take for granted. In be just enthralled by this far land, but Nigeria, we don’t have earthquakes and in the hope that something will touch hurricanes yet we moan endlessly about you and you will pick something to so many little things forgetting to count emulate and replicate in your life and our many blessings. Fabi’ayyi ’iRabbiimmediate environments. It is possible kumTukadhdhibn? Which of your Lords to do this within our own religious and blessings will ye deny? (SuratulRahman sociocultural context.

Quran Chapter 55).

The hospitals are clean not just because the cleaners are better, but also because everyone that walks in contributes to keeping it so. They don’t litter the floor, mark walls with their hands or stick gum under tables. Such simple self-disciplinary habits will go a long way to create the standard of

living I found in Taiwan. The discipline, determination and the hard work of the Taiwanese was obvious from the moment we landed.

The course coordinators were strict with time and gave no room for absenteeism. We were closely monitored from wake up call to bedtime in a way I wasn’t even in secondary school. It was initially tasking especially with the jet lag but everyone soon fell into place.

Another take home message for me was the urgent need to domesticate the primary healthcare under roof and universal health insurance coverage laws.

This has to be considered in all states, including our Kebbi. It is the only avenue to improve our healthcare delivery systems especially in the rural areas. 80% of Nigerians living in rural areas are the major contributors to our disheartening health indices. It will be expensive to start, but in the long run it will work out cheaper, reduce out-of-pocket spending and, most importantly, deliver a reasonable standard of healthcare to the poorest of the poor.

One cannot expect returns without investing. For the Nigerian government to improve our amenities, citizens should also put in something. Only then will the social contract balance out. By investing, I don’t mean just contributing a part of our monthly earnings, but also conducting ourselves in a manner that reflects discipline, pride and cleanliness always.

I thank Her Excellency, the Wife of the Nigerian President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, and the Government of Taiwan for making this opportunity available to me.

I hope many more will benefit in the coming years. However, despite 24-hour power supply, free high-speed Internet access across all nooks and crannies of Taipei, ‘Dunlop’ roads, clean working hospitals, and all the rest, I am glad to be heading home. I’ve missed the air in my country, my loved ones, my work, and I can’t wait to do justice to a plate of hot Kebbi rice and stew or tuwo with dry okra soup? I really can’t decide just yet.

–Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, a paediatric consultant, is wife of Kebbi State governor

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

BABATUNDE REIS

A GENERAL’S PASSION FOR SLUM DWELLERS

05.06.2016

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Reis and wife, Yinka

PHOTOS: Olayinka Oluwakuse

BABATUNDE REIS

A GENERAL’S PASSION FOR SLUM DWELLERS

Unlike many Nigerians, he has no village to return to. Most of his kith and kin live on this small island between Isale Eko, Ikoyi and Victoria Island. As a child, he observed how the quality of housing affected every area of their life. People in poor accommodation were vulnerable and burdened with physical and social ailments like teenage pregnancy and all manner of things. But Babatunde Reis, a retired Brigadier General, is determined to change the equation. Nseobong Okon-Ekong reports

G

rowing up in Isale Eko, the core homestead of Lagosians (the Islanders), in the 1960s, certain unsavoury images from the housing condition of those days stuck to his mind. Till today, many of his cousins still live in that neighbourhood with open gutters running through their living quarters.

On the flip side are relatives who pulled themselves out of the disgusting condition and now reside in what may be considered the privileged part of town - Ikoyi, Victoria Island. Right before his eyes, he witnessed how types of shelter define one’s development. This became the single major

influence that shaped his life.

Assumedly, Babatunde Reis distanced himself from squalor in his teenage. He was commissioned into the Nigerian Army at 19 when he was yet an undergraduate of the University of Lagos, studying Architecture.

Even though he tried to explain his preference for a course in building design as a means of escape from engineering which appeared to require more school time, the underlining persuasion from his childhood was apparent. True, he had a natural flair for drawing - Technical Drawing. This ability to sketch developed at a very early age-about the same time he learnt to read and write.

Therefore, Architecture was a course that naturally played to his strength.

As the journalists wanted to know his preferred seat before they took theirs, he waved them to feel at home. A huge painting from the Oshogbo Art School hung on the wall of his living room and this triggered a question on the kind of portrayal that he was versed in. Distancing himself completely from Fine Arts, he even refused to be linked to design architecture. He is not one of those with the ability to fuse arts and architecture. For him, Architecture is a means to solving problems. Being able to build some aesthetic value into that solution, may be a plus (for those who can), but Reis is happy to have his works geared towards efficiency.

Somewhere along the line, Reis adopted

one of the principles which has effectively anchored his childhood dream. He believes that every man is born to solve a problem in his environment. And for him, the biggest dilemma before Africa is the housing crisis from Isale Eko to Porto Novo; from Morocco to Idi Iroko, Africans have not been able to show that they are capable of creating a controlled environment that is conducive for work and leisure. This is the one difficulty that overwhelmed him as a child and even as he triumphed over the daunting circumstance, he resolved to dedicate his entire life to untie knotty issues in housing.

Conditioned by his exposure in life and by his innate abilities, Reis rose to the challenge and lent himself to become

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Oko Baba Saw Mill, Lagos...as it is today

Reis

part of the people and resources to resolve problems facing his environment. Unlike many other citizens of Nigeria, he has no village to return to. Most of his kith and kin are clustered on this small island between Isale Eko, Ikoyi and Victoria Island, enabling him to see the range of houses inhabited by different members of the family. From the most successful ones who live in Ikoyi and Victoria Island to the least successful ones who live in Popo Aguda in Isale Eko, the quality of housing made a difference to their lifes, to their health, to their wealth, to their future.

Their housing condition affected everything. The people who had poor accommodation were burdened with all sorts of physical and social ailments like teenage pregnancy and all manner of things. As a result of this, they were very vulnerable. But once problem was removed, the equation changed.

The Igbos say that when a man says yes, his Chi (personal god) will be in agreement, so without scheming, some of the biggest privileges to contribute to landmark housing policies in Nigeria have dropped on his lap.

And even when he could not immediately understand where it was leading to, his Chi had it all worked out. In the particular case of the Oko Baba resttlement, what started like a play would later become a grandiose project, with Reis in charge.

By chance, his room and course mate at the University of Lagos who now lives in the United States of America was visiting at the time of this interview. Although the visitor did not intrude into our conversation, but Reis sought his concurrence many times; to which he simply nodded. One of his current projects, the Oko Baba Project was originally a term project at the University of Lagos; today it is a major urban regeneration effort of the Lagos state government.

“It was our group work to relocate those

Taking Ambode on a tour of the new site

REIS LIVES IN COOPERATIVE VILLA, A FIRST WORLD COMMUNITIES LIMITED ESTATE AT BADORE, LAGOS WITH OVER 600 FAMILIES. AN INTENSELY PRIVATE PERSON WHO ENJOYS THE COMPANY OF HIS WIFE, YINKA, A PHARMACIST AND THEIR CHILDREN, HE LIMITS INTERACTION WITH RESIDENTS TO OCCASIONAL MEETINGS WITH EXECUTIVE MEMBERS OF THE RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION ON KEY ISSUES

saw-millers at Oko Baba. We were to resettle them and redevelop that area. It stuck in my head that we could actualise it. When you are on the Third Mainland Bridge, you see logs floating on the water. It is quite an eyesore. The environment is degraded.

This was in 1979 that we did this project in school. I was 19. When I left school and I started to interact with the Lagos State Government, I wrote a proposal offering to build a facility for the Saw-millers in return for the land. They invited us to a meeting and I found that a bank was also interested in the same development.

“The government then said ‘why don’t you work together, since the bank has money, you are a developer and you have the technical skill?. They twined us and we formed a joint venture. Unfortunately the banking reforms came and banks could no longer get involved in that kind of thing.

The government called us to indicate their interest to continue the project, but said we should separate the relocation from the redevelopment of Oko Baba. We were given a contract since we already had a Bill of Quantity and scope of work. Government awarded us a contract to build that facility in Agbowa to relocate the Saw-millers. After that, we would negotiate the redevelopment of Oko Baba.

“We are currently building 250 sheds at Agbowa in Epe with modern facilities for the Saw-millers. The government has spent a lot of money there. We prefer to go into partnership. My idea is to turn that place to a middle-income housing complex like a 24-hour city, a bit like mid-towns that you have in America. Literarily, Oko Baba, Ebute Metta is the middle of the town. It is accessible to Ikeja and the Island. We wanted to build a mid-town comprising high-rise that would screen off the old Ebute Metta.

When you are on the bridge, all you will see is the façade of high-rise development.”

Reis has always been ambitious.

Nowhere is this determination better expressed as in his business name. With a name like First World Communities Limited, he is set to conjure certain liberties unknown to this clime. To him, life can only make a meaning when one creates a legacy that outlives him. To pepertrate his memory, he created First World Communities as a special vehicle and a means to an end.

Majorly, the business of First World is to create wealth by providing habitable houses.

Each house owner is made to feel like he owns a piece of the national wealth. And with iths comes a sense of of belonging.

The company was incorporated in 2008. Before then it existed in different forms, it started as Cooperative Villas.

It metamorphosed into Urban Housing Cooperative that was used to develop Cooperative Villas. Through every cycle, the enduring vision was maintained. Only the vehicle for delivery changed, depending on the circumstance. The overriding objective has always been to provide housing similar to what is obtained in the first world countries, with well laid out streets.

“On the estates that we build, there is order. If you go home, you can rest. If you are working, you can work properly. The environment is conducive. We hope that through this company, we can build lots of estates that can trigger development of First World communities.”

Reis lives in Cooperative Villa, a First World Communities Limited estate at Badore, Lagos with over 600 families. An intensely private person who enjoys the company of his wife, Yinka, a Pharmacist and their children, he limits interaction with residents to occasional meetings with executive members of the residents association on key issues.

“The home is the base for family development. For a child to do well in

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Babatunde Reis

school, he needs a good home setting where he can sleep, do his homework and go back to school the next day fully refreshed.

For the parents, they need a place of rest so that they can go back to work the next day fully refreshed. The home is at the heart of growing a society and national development. You can’t expect much from a nation where much of her citizens do not have what you can call decent homes. The housing situation in Nigeria is so bad that we do not even understand the dimension.”

In conjunction with the Lagos State Government, First World Communities has introduced Easy Home Ownership. The government provides land. Through this, FWCL allows people to acquire homes at 60 per cent of the cost as the remaining 40 per cent is owned by the state government through the land they have provided for the scheme.

Subscribers can get a mortgage ranging between 10 per cent and 50 per cent of the value of the property which makes it affordable. There is another product called Lease to Own where a subscriber puts down a five per cent deposit and over a three to five year period, he is expected to transit to own a shared equity scheme. These products are unique to FWCL. Reis is excited that these two schemes may provide a lasting solution to the housing problem in Nigeria, while opening doors to other industries. “Housing has so many socio-economic benefits. People will start making doors and windows. If you are building a lot of houses you will require more furniture, paint and so on. Housing delivery is about job creation.”

While still in the Architecture School, he was commissioned by the Nigerian Army.

He immediately looked at the housing problem of the Nigerian Army. What he was confronted with is a situation where many of the barracks took their design from colonial days when the officers were almost entirely colonialists and the other ranks were the natives. At the time Reis joined the army, some of those designs were still retained.

CONDITIONED BY HIS EXPOSURE IN LIFE AND BY HIS INNATE ABILITIES, REIS ROSE TO THE CHALLENGE AND LENT HIMSELF TO BECOME PART OF THE PEOPLE AND RESOURCES TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS FACING HIS ENVIRONMENT. UNLIKE MANY OTHER CITIZENS OF NIGERIA, HE HAS NO VILLAGE TO RETURN TO. HIS KITH AND KIN ARE CLUSTERED ON THIS SMALL ISLAND, ENABLING HIM TO SEE THE RANGE OF HOUSES THAT DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY LIVE IN. FROM THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ONES WHO LIVE IN IKOYI AND VICTORIA ISLAND TO THE LEAST SUCCESSFUL ONES WHO LIVE IN POPO AGUDA IN ISALE EKO, THE QUALITY OF HOUSING MADE A DIFFERENCE TO THEIR LIFES, TO THEIR HEALTH, TO THEIR WEALTH, TO THEIR FUTURE

They were not edifying. He became involved in making them better, more humane and more attuned to our culture.

He is very proud of this achievement.

The shopping space in many barracks, popularly known as Mammy Market, was not often a pretty sight. They were haphazardly done and derogatory. Because these markets did not have any purpose made design, they grew organically. Before graduation, he designed a prototype Mammy Market at Ikeja Cantonment. From what used to be an unsightly activity, Reis transformed Mammy Market into a context of how we like to live. The concept of a modern Mammy Market has since been improved further to include retail stores, commerce and entertainment.

Another initiative that he talks about proudly is the Nigerian Army Housing Scheme for those who retired from service.

“You could live in the barracks for 35 years of your career and when it is time to go, they just shake your hands and away you go.”

Reis also had the privilege of functioning as Chair of the technical committee that reviewed the planning laws for Lagos State in 2008. That led to the promulgation of the Town Planning Act of 2010.

Contrary to the notion in some quarters that strict adherence to hierarchy stifles initiative in regimented institutions like the Nigerian Army, Reis made a shocking disclosure. “I spent 32 years in the Nigerian Army. There are many processes in the system that are enduring, that give room for, far more self-expression than I have found in the other open institutions. I had the privilege of heading a federal parastatal.

I found more freedom in the Army than I found there. There was more freedom of speech and expression in the Army than I found in the civilian institutions.

“I worked with Lagos State while I was in the technical committee. The level of expression in the military is far better. Things were regimented, but we also had platforms to express ourselves. That makes a very big difference. And the military is also a very

close institution.”

Vowing to keep his distance from partisan politics, Reis was the only political appointee from the military (other than the ADC to the President) to serve in a civilian administration as Executive Chairman, Federal Housing Authority (FHA) during the former President Obasanjo era.

Seldom would one find a public servant of his stature who was not enmeshed in one allegation of corrupt enrichment or another, but Reis retired as a Brigadier General after 32 years of meritorious service without blemish. He kept afloat by observing a simple law of nature his mother taught him: We become what we practice.

“From when I was in school, I always looked for ways of making an extra income. We were doing variety shows. We brought Fela to UNILAG. We sold Jollof Rice just to make extra money. We were entrepreneurship-minded from a very early age. We were showing movies when we were in A-levels. We knew how to look for ways of improving our income, not to take from the system. Sometimes, we could give to the system. That is what we have continued to practice.

“From the first day I arrived the FHA, I told them I was not going to sign any cheque. I also said I was not going to allocate any land. My job was to restructure. I did not expose myself to whatever was going on.

There is no joy for people like us in winning lottery. The real joy comes from planning an event, even when we were very young and seeing the event succeed. If I make N1,000 from planning that event, I love that.

“Planning a residential estate demands bringing into existence structures that were not there before. One has to get the land clear it, build and start selling the houses or the land and we make some money from it. That is the kind of opportunity I am looking for to express my innate abilities and if I am lucky to make money from it, so be it. For all of the hard work we did for Lagos State and even for FHA, I did not get paid.”

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Onoshe

airtimeplus98@gmail.com

Nwabuikwu

Who Won What at Festival de Cannes?

T

he 69th edition of the Cannes Film Festival (or Festival de Cannes) came to an end last Sunday May 22, 2016. As is the practice, after the glamour, partying and networking in the course of the eleven day festival, expectations shift to the films in competition.

Everyone wants to know who or which film will clinch the top prize in the different categories.

Well, if you haven’t heard, the grand prize this year, the biggest of them all in the Feature Films category, the Palme d’or, went to I, Daniel Blake a film directed by Ken Loach.

The film was also screened at the end of the Awards Ceremony to close the 2016 edition of the Festival.

‘I, Daniel Blake’ is the story of Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old “joiner in the North-East of England who falls ill with heart disease and so applies for the out-of-work sickness benefit Employment and Support Allowance. While he endeavours to overcome the red tape involved in getting this assistance, he meets single mother Katie and her two children, Dylan and Daisy, who, in order to escape a homeless persons’ hostel in London, must take up residence in a flat 300 miles (480 km) away.”

There were also other winners. Below is a list of the main awards:

FEATURE FILMS -Palme d’or I, DANIEL BLAKE directed by Ken LOACH Grand Prix JUSTE LA FIN DU MONDE (It’s Only the End of the World) directed by Xavier DOLAN -Best Director ex æquo Cristian MUNGIU for BACALAUREAT (Graduation) Olivier ASSAYAS for PERSONAL SHOPPER -Best Screenplay Asghar FARHADI for FORUSHANDE (The Salesman) -Jury Prize AMERICAN HONEY directed by

Andrea ARNOLD -Best Performance by an Actress Jaclyn JOSE in MA’ ROSA directed by Brillante MENDOZA - Best Performance by an Actor Shahab HOSSEINI in FORUSHANDE (The Salesman) directed by Asghar FARHADI SHORT FILMS -Palme d’or

Timecode directed by Juanjo GIMENEZ -Special Mention from the Jury ‘A Moça Que Dançou Com O Diabo’ (The Girl Who Danced With the Devil) directed by João Paulo MIRANDA MARIA -Caméra D’or ‘Divines’ directed by Houda BENYAMINA

The Perfect Match Christopher Riley) is about to get married to a girl he’s had his heart set on since elementary school.

There’s a bet from his friends daring him to date same girl long enough to make it to friend Victor’s wedding to Ginger (Lauren London).

Then he meets the mysterious Eva (Cassie Ventura) who is also interested, in a casual no strings attached ‘relationship’; even more than Charlie. So, what’s going to give?

The Perfect Match makes for good viewing.

But parents should beware there are a few x-rated scenes which seem to be a staple of Black American films. Which is the reason I was a little hesitant in watching The Perfect Match.

However The Perfect Match is not as raunchy as many a Black American film.

And its message is not bad.Who can quarrel with men being encouraged to find love and settle down? Yes, there are still a few of the stereotypical woman who wants she wants and hubby, in tghis hubby-to-be must pick the bills however he achieves that. Victor and Ginger’s story is enough to put some off marriage for good. And a many single Nigerian men will feel vindicated because once again they can claim that it’s because ‘women are just too expensive’ that they’ve chosen to remain eternal bachelors.

The Voice Nigeria: Let the Battle Begin Actually the battle has begun. Last Sunday.

After about seven episodes sweating the blind auditions, The Voice Nigeria moved to the next stage. That next stage as regulars would know is the Battle Round.

In this (Battle) round, each coach will pair one act against another in his/her group to do a duet. At the end of which the coach must pick the winner of that particular battle. The loser’ is then available for a steal by the other coaches..

Each coach is entitled to two steals in the course of the Battle Round .

“IPMAN crashes petrol price to N128.”

-AIT news headlines, Thursday May 26, 1.27 am-ish.

It’s not the violence with which news is now often reported that bothers me. I mean, if anything must crash, why not the price of petrol, right? But can anyone really call the increase in the price of petrol from N87 to N128 a crash? That’s still a N41 increase per litre. Still, this rumoured ‘crash’ may not leave AIT’ very soon.

IN THE NEWS

REEL REVIEW Director: Billie Woodruff Starring: Terence Jenkins, Cassie Ventura, Donald Faison, Dascha Polanco, Lauren London, Paula Patton.

A romantic comedy, The Perfect Match tells the story of Charlie (Terence J), a successful entertainment agent among other things. He doesn’t believe in relationships and can’t have more than a casual encounter with the opposite sex. He is the quintessential ‘drive through’ guy.

Understandably, marriage is therefore not an option.

In spite of the fact that best friends Rick (Donald Faison) is married and Victor (Robert

COME AGAIN?

There were two ‘new’ faces by way of South African songstress Lira and Nigeria’s own Darey acting as co-coaches. There was a clear division of labour-while Darey handled the singing ‘lessons’, Lira took care of coaching the contestants going to battle on their stage craft/ performance.

At the start of the Battle, each of the four coaches had around 12 contestants. That number will keep changing till the end of the Battle Round. Last Sunday saw some winners and some ‘losers’. From Team Waje, there were

two ‘battles’. Battle One was Dawn against Uche Michael. The very confident Dawn was the winner of that round. But Pato Ranking made a steal of Uche. Must say Uche is one lucky guy as there were other contestants on the night that sounded better but were unlucky no one made a steal. Battle Two was between Emem and Shammah. Shammah not surprisingly was the winner. As Waje has said a couple of times, Shammah reminds her of herself at a younger age. But again, there was another steal. Tubaba snatched up Emem.

‘Missing’ N30 trillion: Okonjo-Iweala Takes Legal Action This headline is taken from Channels TV news headlines of Tuesday May 24, 2016 minus the quotes on “missing” which are mine. A day earlier, AIT had scrolled news about court ordering Okonjo-Iweala to account for the ‘missing’ N30 Trillion. I’m not quite sure, but AIT unlike Channels TV may have put the “missing” in quotes. Still.

The tragedy that has become journalism as practiced in Nigeria is that journalists have become megaphones, glorified public address systems for any ogogoro-drinking charlatan. As concerns the “missing” N30 trillion, there are simple questions that should have been asked chief among which is: Who declared this N30 trillion missing? The Central Bank of Nigeria?

NEITI? NBS? Who exactly?

If this that’s too simple, there’s the common sense layman logic which appears too expensive for certain editors.

N30 trillion is the total of Nigeria’s combined budget for at least 6 years.

Imagine for instance that even in the ‘padded-ness’ of Buhari’s 2016 ‘budgets’, total is still around N6 trillion. And this year’s is one of our highest budgets yet.

So how is it possible for N30 trillion to be missing in one year?

Also very difficult to understand why journalists announce every ridiculous claim that’s made. Before the discerning discovered Oshiomhole’s seeming proclivity towards for verbal diarhoea, the media was happy everyday, evey single day, to regale viewers almost daily new figures of money purportedly stolen or missing. Each new day brought a bigger amount. And time after time, each time it’s proven that he was either lying or playing mischief.telling the truth. Yet the next claim is announced with glee. Who’s supposed to provide the viewer with a back story, a background and a proper perspective when people are falling over themselves to become first to publish latest figures of ‘stolen’ or ‘missing’ money?

It’s okay for journalists to fight for their freedom. And the government of the day appears to be having fun with the media trials. Today it’s Dr Okonjo-Iweala, tomorrow it could be me or you. Or politicians in government. In fact, all this will come back to bite those whose mantra is “all fair in love and war.” Or it’s politics na.’

Don’t tell me about any journalistic or artistic licence. TV stations know the right thing to do. After all when Chief Aleogho Raymond Dokpesi was ‘dragged’ by the federal government into ‘Dasukigate’, one didn’t see screaming headlines like: “High chief gave me N50m”-witness. “Dokpesi ordered to return misappropriated N500m”-by court.

And what is chasing media houses that they are no longer asking to hear the other side? You can publish giant headlines but cannot even place a phone call to get the other side?

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

ENCOUNTER

Hair-raising Claims by Tosin Otubanjo Funke Olaode

H

er claim to owning the only hair loss treatment clinic in Nigeria may be challenged. But Tosin Otubanjo is not losing sleep over traducers. While you are still munching that bit of information, she raised the stake, proudly insisting that her Vinci Hair Clinic on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos is the only hair restoration clinic in Africa to offer micro scalp pigmentation treatment.

With such an ambitious assertion, it is no surprise her environment is cozy and tastefully furnished for the comfort of patients.

Otubanjo worked in the marketing communications and public relations industry for over 25 years with experience lobbying in the United Kingdom; and lately, working for Phillips, IWS and the ABI, formulating and executing their member relations strategy for the UK insurance industry.

Blessed with a glowing skin, Otubanjo is a walking testimony for her business, with a head full and bouncy hair. She told this reporter that she has never suffered hair loss and that she developed a passion for treating hair ‘along the line’.

What she did not divulge readily was that she plugged herself into an existing network in that field. Vinci Hair Clinic is part of an international group with 29 clinics in 13 countries and is spread over six continents. Clients are assured that they are dealing with experienced professionals that can draw on worldwide expertise.

“We use state-of-the-art technology and our clients receive the highest level of professionalism, and customer care.

In our clinic, you will have the same experience and procedures as in our other clinics in the United States, Dubai and Europe,” she assured.

Throwing more light on her services, Otubanjo revealed that lots of men and women in Nigeria are suffering from hair loss and that is why her clinic is a one stop shop. “There is a plethora of

Otubanjo

treatments available right here in Lagos for stopping hair loss, and in some cases growing hair, for both men and women.

These range from medication such as topical minoxidil and finasteride, which provide essential nutrients to boost thinning hair and right up to the only permanent solution which will make your hair grow - a hair transplant.

“Women tend to go for the hair transplants as the most common hair loss they suffer from is traction alopecia or “mama eko” syndrome. Other medical treatments include the laser cap, PRP treatment and mesotherapy. But one needs to come to the clinic for a free consultation in order for us to determine the most appropriate treatment for the individual,” she said.

For those who might be scared of the

procedures, the clinic offers surgical and non-surgical procedure which is carried out in an extremely safe environment.

While most hair loss are attributed to genetics, the ‘mama eko’ syndrome in women is caused by extreme pull tension exerted by tight braiding and the damage is mainly restricted to the fringe and sides of the scalp. There are no natural causes of hair loss as hair loss can either be caused by genetic factors, diseases, infections and inappropriate hair care such as the improper use of corrosive chemical relaxers and/or the constant pulling of the hair during tight braiding or weaving sessions, resulting in a severe loss of hair around the hairline which frames the face.

Otubanjo has been in business for the past 15 months and the initial focus was

to establish its operations and procedures, to hire the best staff available and embed all the well-established global processes locally in Lagos. Done with that, she started to create awareness about the clinic and this included exhibiting at Beauty Africa Exhibition last October and running a series of master classes to educate the general public about the causes of both male and female hair loss.

To make its services more broad and accommodating, Vinci Clinic launched network of partners last December where hairdressing salons and barbers told to recommend their clients suffering from hair loss for free consultation. Some high profile Vinci partners who have signed up to the affinity programme include Sari Signature, Total Beauty, K Signatures, and Apple and Oranges spa.

It has been rewarding, she said with a tone of accomplishment, and the next phase of her plan is to work with hair stylists and their clients to design hair styles which, when combined with the treatments available in the clinic, can camouflage hair loss and therefore free clients to experiment; try different hair styles and give them the freedom from wearing wigs all the time.

Speaking further on how the partners work, she says “It’s a very simple scheme whereby Vinci Hair Clinic will pay a commission to any beauty or hair care expert who recommends their clients to the Clinic, on the provision that the client subsequently undertakes a procedure/ treatment. These are either on the purchase of a laser cap, an MSP or a hair transplant.

“We will also support them by providing promotional material, access to our expertise etc. Our ultimate aim is to build up a network of partners who believe in good hair care and want the best results for their clients. With just N18,000 one can visit Vinci to grow your hair back, restore your self-esteem/ confidence and get the ability to try different hair styles”, she added.

So far she has posted encouraging results with people contacting her from all over the country and other African countries.

EvENT

O

Showcasing Nigerian Beauty with BAIP

rganisers of the grand finale of the 2016 edition of the Beauty of Africa International Pageant (BAIP) themed ‘Ambassador for Tourism, Peace and Friendship’ have announced that it will hold on October 8 at Queens Park Events Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Over the past nine years, Beauty of Africa International Pageant, formerly known as Face of Daniels, has been able to discover and promote high-ranking models that are currently enjoying corporate endorsements both within and outside the country. The pageant has also brought together the crème de la crème of corporate Nigeria, top government functionaries, media executives, entertainment giants, designers, and tourism and marketing executives among others.

President, Beauty of Africa International Pageant, Mr. Daniel Opuene, recently told journalists

Mr. Daniel Opuene (2nd left) with reigning & past queens

that, “BAIP was established as part of our commitments to corporate social responsibility and service to youth development in Nigeria. It is a platform to discover and give opportunities to young, talented and

beautiful ladies who would become the face, heart and soul of the rich cultural heritage of the good people of Nigeria. It is also designed to prove that they can make it in the world of modeling. The 2016 contestants

would demonstrate both their inner and outer beauties as well as have opportunity to express their creative abilities.”

According to Opuene, screening of the 2016 contestants will take place in six states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

Kicking off in Kaduna on June 4, the audition train will move to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on June 11. It will be the turn of Asaba, Delta State on June 18, Enugu on June 25; Abuja on July 2; Port Harcourt on July 9, and finally Lagos on July 16. However, the grand finale will hold in Lagos in October.

Endorsed by the World Beauty Association and Federal Ministry of Information & Culture, BAIP is also the franchise holder of Miss Tourism International Nigeria; Miss Supranational Nigeria; Miss Globe Nigeria; Miss Tourism Queen of the Year Nigeria; and The Look of the Year Nigeria.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • JUNE 5, 2016

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ENCOUNTER

Armed with Anointing, Gift of the Gab Vanessa Obioha

J

.T. Kalejaiye is a man that is greatly revered in Christendom, mostly for his unapologetic and unwavering faith in the gospel. His name is synonymous with the Anointing Service that has become one of the traditions of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Armed with the gift of the gab, he makes an interesting subject to interview any day. Therefore on this particular anointing service at the church’s FESTAC province, the press men found themselves spellbound by the wisdom of the sage.

For certainty, there is not much difference between the man on the pulpit and the one in the public space. With over 20 years in the ministry, Kalejaiye by all accounts displayed modesty. He refused to be swept away by titles, rather opting to be described as Brother J.T Kalejaiye.

Neither will he be persuaded to talk about miracles or deliverance. To him, it is a way most people have adopted to entertain the devil.

“We didn’t start the Anointing Service as a ministry or tied it to a particular identity. It was just a morning service like we have this morning. Later people came to me and suggested we give it a name. I told them to give it any name except deliverance. Because I don’t like the way people do their deliverance, just trying to entertain demons.

“I don’t believe in that. I believe deliverance is anointing. He sent His word and it delivered. I don’t talk about healing or miracles too.

But I talk about the miracle-worker.

I admonish my colleagues who take glory in miracles performed. You don’t need all of that. Let the people have Christ and then the miracles will follow no matter where you are in the world.”

Interestingly, the anointing service started as a counselling programme.

Kalejaiye was sent to settle disputes among warring members. From there, he began to counsel and pray for them. That single act was what

Kalejaiye

metamorphosed to Anointing Service.

Today, the service is held in different branches of the church in and outside Nigeria. This requires Kalejaiye to minister more than once in different outlets.

He described his ministry as soul-winning. “I just want to make sure that I win thousands of souls for God every day,” he said. “It’s not about revenue but about revelation.

If you calculate the number of souls God has won through me since the beginning of the month, I give God the praise. Apart from those who make altar calls, there are those who got repentance through their spouses

or friends.”

The two decades he has spent in the ministry have not been without obstacles. There have been temptations and distractions but the Man of God sees them as catalysts to do more in the service of God. While many have bowed to pressure or given in to the pleasures of the world, Kalejaiye is steadfast to his faith.

There are times when his faith has been tested. He recalled an incidence with one of his properties on the Island. The lawyer had wanted to take the case to court but he backed out. He refused to compromise his faith for material things.

His generosity is seen in his compassion for widows. Having lost his father at a tender age, he understood the struggles of widows, therefore, he goes out of his way to bless them. He didn’t come for a rich background either. He started hawking fufu for his mother at the age of six and had to attend four different primary schools. He has a degree in Accounting.

If not for providence, Kalejaiye wouldn’t have been a regional pastor in RCCG. It was in the year 1983 that he gave his life to Christ impromptu.

As a young man who enjoys drumming, he was invited to a church to play. But on getting to the house of his host, he discovered that his host was involved in diabolical practice.

He left and never looked back. But an encounter with the General Overseer, Adeboye turned his life around.

“Somebody invited me to RCCG. I was working then in Lever Brothers.

They told a lie against me, so I went to church. Not that I wanted to surrender my life, I wanted the pastor to pray for me. Daddy GO was ministering. It was on a Thursday. He made an alter call. As we were about to kneel on the altar, he said that the Lord told him that our problems have been solved.

“I was like...this man has not even listened to me. Do you know that I got to the office the next day, my boss apologised that all was said about me was a lie? I was moved. So when God solved that problem, I made up my mind to serve him. I have never looked back. I’m a stubborn Christian.”

But it’s not all business for the man of God. He displayed his comical side when he revealed his full names.

According to him, his initials, J.T., was a result of lack of space to write his full names during his school certificate examinations.

“There were only 23 boxes and I couldn’t write Johnson Oluwatobison Kalejaiye, so I just wrote Johnson Tobison Kalejaiye. When WAEC sent my results, they wrote J.T. Kalejaiye.”

EvENT

D

Odukoya Empowers a Community

efying the fuel scarcity last weekend, thousands gathered at the Fountain of Life Church for the Word Explosion Conference. The conference is an annual teaching convention hosted by Taiwo Odukoya, senior pastor of The Fountain of Life Church.

Over the years, Odukoya has positioned himself as one with an astute grasp of human capital and the required social and spiritual investment to tap into their potential. Whether through his editorial contributions or his several social development initiatives, he has shown, over and again, his commitment to the people under his influence and to Nigeria at large.

Speaking at the conference this year were Bill Johnson, Randy Clark and Blaine Cook who came with an entourage of volunteers

and ministers pulled from across the globe, many of whom were in Nigeria for the first time and who also spoke glowingly of the reception and warmth they felt from being received in Lagos. Dr. Mike Okonkwo, presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, also spoke in his usual charismatic style.

Themed ‘Supernatural Manifestation’, the teachings, though simple were riveting; from Blaine Cook, who spoke animatedly about the unconventional experience that changed his life and defined his ministry to Bill Johnson, whose flawless teaching kept the audience bound in rapt attention.

The goal of conferences like this, according to Odukoya, is to raise a community of empowered Christians who will in turn go into their communities to make a difference.

Odukoya

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

ENtErtaiNmENt

with NsEoboNg okoN-EkoNg 08114495324, nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com

With ’76, Nigerian Army Enters Nollywood

M

oviedom in Nigeria awaits the premiere of a game-changing film rooted in the events of the botched 1976 coup.

One of the most arduous tasks in the production of the movie, according to its Executive Director, Prince Tonye Princewill, was the effort to secure a working relationship with the Nigerian Army.

Meticulously executed, the preproduction period took two years including eight months of trying to secure all necessary permission from the Nigerian Army and seven months of shooting. The script was scrutinised and an officer appointed to supervise and monitor each step of the filming process, from beginning to the end.

The movie survived three Chiefs of Army Staff. Fortunately, each one of them who took over sustained interest in the film. Determined to make it work, the production crew and cast patiently followed every instruction and met every demand from the military authorities.

A large part of the action was shot at the Mokola Barracks in Ibadan, Oyo State. As the 200-member cast and crew stayed together for about seven months, bonding as a family was inevitable. Some of the striking human interest events that happened in the course of production were birthdays, weddings and passages.

Chidi Mokeme and Debo Oguns, literarily got married on set (they just excused themselves for the weekend of their marriage and came right back to work, after the ceremony).

Princewill thinks ’76 is a watershed of sorts in Nollywood, being the first time the Nigerian Army would encourage that level of involvement in a movie that comments on military history and an epoch in the Nigerian Army.

Having opened the door, he is sure the imagination of other movie makers would be fired to follow the precedence of ’76. ’76 followed a painstaking process uncommon in Nollywood. “It took seven years to make this movie. We were not in a hurry at all. We avoided all the errors possible because we set our mind on a global audience from the first day. For close to one year, we were pursuing approval from the authorities of the Nigerian Army. The movie was shot at Mokola Barracks in Ibadan and the story

OGA BELLO SHINES IN TANGLED

Famous actor and producer, Adebayo Salami has revealed that a television drama, ‘Tangled’ produced with technical support from foremost movie director,

Adebayo Salami

of how the actors were made to fit into the environment should be reserved for another day.

“At the end of the day, some of them had become so used to the character set in 1976 that it was difficult to bring them back to the present. Set designer, Pat Nebo, who also acted in the film did a marvelous job on set. You can see a One Naira note without it being copiously displayed. The table utensils, the walls, the cars were all set in 1976. This was not easy to achieve, but we did not settle for a substitute. For instance, it was difficult to get a 1976 Black Maria, but we persevered and finally we were able to get it.”

The big budget movie, which costs about N100 million, promises to earn more accolades for Izu Ojukwu as director. The award-winning director is known for his work in flicks like ‘Mirror Boy’ and ‘Last Flight to Abuja’. ’76 features layers of sub-themes revolving on hope, honesty; trust and undying commitment which run like strong under-currents to highlight the tragic end of the main characters. ’76 is a love story that challenges the myopia of ethnicity and bigotry. It brings to the fore the suffering and tenacity of the average Nigerian woman-mother and wife.”

This is one movie, Princewill bets, that Tunde Kelani and star actress, Joke Sylva, ably directed by Muyiwa Ademola, would be a career-defining project in his life.

Tangled borne out of the movie initiative, Malete Film Village under the chairmanship of Prof. Rasheed N’allah, has a broad- based theme that affects the nation and homes, mirroring issues that are central to matrimonial and career such as abuse and denials.

With a robust cast including Antar Laniyan, Yemi Solade ‘Tangled’ will illustrate the conflicts that ensue between two determined figures: one who intended to obtain political power at all cost in order to perpetrate acts of decadence, and the other who altruistically wishes to serve and entrench the ultimate standards of humanitarian ideals, beliefs and foster national ideals.

“I must say that Tangled is coming to heal the nation, especially at this time we are experiencing a test of our temper to tolerate one another as a people of diverse socio-cultural background that come together to make a nation. Tangled talks to political leaders,

Scenes from ‘76

will generate different emotions, not only because it is based on reality, but also for its careful combination of acted scenes with real life footage and archival material.

“At the end of the movie when the coupists were about to be executed at the Bar Beach in Lagos, we moved from a shot scene to a real life scene of when they are being executed. These were some of the tweaks done to give it more authenticity. We actually showed them being executed. We linked a shot scene that was acted to what actually

happened. We delivered a smooth transition.” ’76 is the story of a young officer from the Middle Belt who gets into a romantic relationship with an O-level student from the South-eastern region.

However, their relationship is strained by constant military postings. The soldier gets accused of being involved in the 1976 unsuccessful military coup and assassination of Nigeria’s late Head of State General Murtala Mohammed; and the heavily pregnant wife, gets entangled in an emotional dilemma.

elective officers, it is a mirror that reflects our lives and it comes with its entertainment and educational themes.

“I’m convinced that it will talk to everyone and re-shape the way we serve our

Fatherland and lead us towards national development. It tells us about collective goals overriding individual ambition. It is a career defining project for me; in fact it is one of the high points of my movie career,” Salami said.

Taking a cue from the Vice Chancellor of the Kwara State University, Prof. Rasheed Na’Allah, who declared the Malete Film Village “is to bridge the gap between the town and gown, the professionals and academics,” the project, Salami said, once again brought a convivial atmosphere between the practising actors and their academic counterparts.

“The Malete Film project has shown in clear terms that we can work together and come out with an enviable result”, he said.

Salami commended Dele Gbadebo who scripted the TV drama and gave kudos to the creative energy of the director, Muyiwa Ademola, who, he said, enjoyed meaningful contributions from Dr. Yemi Atanda, Tope Adebayo, Mrs. Abiola Fasoranti and Emeka Dibia Emelobe. He also expressed

Tunde Kelani

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

ENTERTAINMENT

T

AFRIMA UNVEILS 2016 CALENDAR IN BANJUL

he All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), a Pan-African reward platform for the music industry supported by the Africa Union Commission, which enters its third edition this year, has unveiled a programme of activities leading to the main ceremony on November 6 in Nigeria.

The 2016 event is the last time the programme will be hosted in Nigeria, as the event moves to another African country from next year. Already five countries have opened discussions with the African Union including Morocco, Angola, Kenya, South Africa and Ethiopia.

Kicking the first in a series of roadshow and stakeholder conferences slated for different African cities in Banjul, Gambia, President and Executive Producer of AFRIMA, Mike Dada, announced that submission of works of artistes opens on May 30 and closes on July 30.

According to Dada, the stakeholder conference “will avail everyone the opportunity in the music industry to be carried along and follow the processes, dates and the timelines for the various activities of AFRIMA.” Thereafter, adjudication and assessment of submitted works by the 13-man AFRIMA jury made up of professionals in different disciplines of the music industry will begin.

This year, the adjudication process, which is often carried out over a two-week period, will take place in Cameroun. “There is also a date that the voting begins and of course ends on November 5 and there is an award ceremony that holds from November 4 to 6.”

Some of the events originally earmarked for the event, which had not held in the past two years, will go ahead as scheduled this year. While keeping some of the programmes close to his chest, Dada said, “We will keep some of those things as a wow factor and a surprise. This year, we will go ahead with the African Music Summit. We had a snippet of it in Banjul. The debate was

gratitude to Tunde Onikoyi of the Film and Film Unit, Kwara State University.

On the project, Salami found the contributions of Tunde Kelani and Joke Sylva exemplary. “They showed leadership and professionalism. The students of the University must have learnt a lot from these Nollywood’s icons. I really appreciate all the cast and crew for their cooperation, especially the A-list movie stars.”

The ‘Tangled’ TV series, he said will feature familiar faces of Nollywood including himself, Joke Sylva, Antar Laniyan, Yemi Solade, Femi Adebayo, Kate Adepegba and Fathia Balogun, among others.

ALARA UNVEILS LOGOR’S PHOTOGRAPHY

Alara Concept Store and Gallery, in the heart of the well-heeled Victoria Island neighborhood, has recently launched a series of photographs by Logo Olumuyiwa Adeyemi with ‘Logor’ as signature in fulfillment of its promised commitment to promoting art in Nigeria through its “Alara Emerging Artists Series”.

Titled, ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’, this conceptual installation of light and photography is poetic, and electric. For one, Logor brings text from his poetic lines to the exhibition hall, stealing the attention from other eclectic pieces that lined the walls.

Famed for his collection ‘Monochrome Lagos’ which was featured recently at a group show curated by the Goethe Institut, Nigeria, Logor is a young photographer and filmmaker who has explored ‘black and white’, ‘noise and calm’ and other contrasts to express self.

In this current show, he unleashes his

Some delegates from Nigeria at the AUC-AFRIMA Conference

hot and topical. We want to have a major African musical conference in Lagos two days before the award ceremony.

“Also, there will be an AFRIMA Village where there will be live performances by the nominees and previous winners.

Part of the things we wanted to achieve in the past is our charity work by the AFRIMA Foundation that we achieved with our recent visit to Gambia. We went with some past winners to present musical and educational materials to a school in Banjul-Barkoteh Lower Proper School.

“In addition, we are embarking on a special project with the African UnionAll African Stars for Post Ebola Project.

We are going to have between 40 and 50 artistes, who are going to create awareness about strengthening health systems in Africa. Ebola has come and gone but the scars are still there. There are many widows and orphans as a result of the Ebola scourge.”

So far, there is no decision yet on which of the four Nigerian states that unique approach to documenting human experience from varying perspectives. One thing cuts through all the subjects is they are all found in Lagos. Certainly, Logor’s rabbit hole is Lagos and through his lens, the viewer takes in the aesthetics of the city and other related idiosyncrasies.

He strips the city of its colour as he addresses socio-economic issues in very subtle manner. He finds his subjects in monumental places doing ordinary activities such as playing football. Yes, he has captured children playing in the murky waters of Ijora and the result is a powerful documentation of a city’s landscape and environmental, if not public health, challenges In this collection, the works are a visual digital archive, tending towards mystical, mythical and romantic forms. Down the Rabbit Hole achieves a true paradigm shift in how the city is presented and appreciated by a global audience, including local residents who typically rush past the unchanging beauty of this old town.

Down the Rabbit Hole is Logor’s maiden exhibition with ALARA Art and doubles as the debut exhibition in the ‘ALARA Emerging Artists’ series. The exhibition, sponsored by Veuve Clicquot, runs until Saturday, June 18.

IG OF POLICE WADES INTO PMAN CRISIS

Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase is said to have intervened in a long standing feud involving a past leadership of the Performing Musician Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) championed

by Mr. Tee Mac Iseli and its current leaders,

Panelists discussing issues in the music industry in Africa in Banjul, Gambia

the AU is in touch with to host the event.

The states include Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Rivers State and Cross River. Previous editions of the event held in Lagos.

The theme for the 2016 AFRIMA will run on the same theme as last year, ‘For Hope, for Celebration’, with a sub-theme on human rights.

Mr. Pretty Okafor and Dr. Kenny George, PMAN President and General Secretary respectively.

Okafor and George had complained to the IG that Iseli converted a parcel of land in Abuja belonging to the association to his personal use. The land measuring more than eight hectares was said to be for the purpose of developing a modern day music and entertainment complex.

They argued that Iseli was neither an officer nor an official of PMAN as at 2010 when he took the land. Meanwhile the Inspector General of Police has invited all those involved in the issue to say what they know.

because honestly it could have happened to anybody. I am personally aware of some victims and I see their rapists walking about like they did nothing wrong. I hope that with this movie rape victims can speak up more, even though they feel society might look down on them”, she said.

“Scorned” is the story of a rape victim who took her time to plan her revenge against a rapist who completely forgot about the damage he had done to a young innocent girl. It showcases the psychological damage she went through and the effects the rape still has on her as an adult. And how silence out of fear and shame can either make or break you. ”Scorned” stars talented, fast rising stars in the industry, which includes the likes of Daniel K. Daniel, Christiana Martin, Okey Uzoeshi, Chelsea Eze, Chigul, Funny Bone, and a few others, who interpreted their roles without

A MOVIE FOR SILENCED RAPE VICTIMS

The issue of rape keeps soaring each day, with women as the most taunted victims, cutting across various age groups, from children as young as four to teenagers and even most appalling records of old women. Government may have enacted laws against perpetrators of such dehumanising acts, but the lapses in their enforcement have encouraged more demeaning acts that are recorded every day.

As the female gender keep being victimised, she is further bullied into silence by both her tormentor and the society. This is the situation the producers of ‘Scorned’, Christiana Martins and Tokunbo Ahmed have bravely come out to address.

The co-producer and director of ‘Scorned’, Ahmed, said what promoted the idea of the movie was the need to address the prolonged and repeated silence of the victims of rape.

“There have been a lot of stories recently on rape and most of them really got to me

Tokunbo

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EVENT

Music, Dance at NNF Anniversary Nseobong Okon-Ekong

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usic, dance, and culture were on display as New Nigeria Foundation (NNF), a non-governmental organisation that promotes sustainable community development initiatives through public private partnerships, celebrated its 15th anniversary in Lagos recently.

The glamorous event, which held at Four Points by Sheraton, Victoria Island, Lagos, was attended by dignitaries from all walks of life. Those who graced the occasion included NNF Board Chairman, Dr. Pascal Dozie; former Vice Chancellor, University of Benin and NNF Vice Chairman, Prof. Grace Alele Williams; NNF Managing Director/ CEO, Prof. Obafemi Ajibola, NNF Board member, Dr. Gabriel Soyoye, and former Vice Chancellor, Ekiti State University, Prof. Akin Oyebode, who was the keynote speaker.

Speaking at the dinner, Dozie reiterated the Foundation’s promise of maintaining a steady course to achieve its objective of promoting good causes to attain a better Nigeria. “The journey of NNF so far has been encouraging.

Though, some efforts have been made and achievements have been recorded, there are still some dark spots such as youth unemployment made worse by the fact that many of them are unemployable. The population of youths between 18 and 25 is a time bomb waiting to explode,” he said.

Dozie explained that the current condition of the country provides the opportunity to lay a new foundation for education and that NNF would continue to promote new ways to attain a better Nigeria by pushing out illiteracy and poverty among other socio-economic

L-R: Chairman, NNF Board of Directors, Dr. Pascal Dozie, presenting a plaque to the MD/CEO, NNF, Prof. Obafemi Ajibola and his wife at the 15th anniversary celebration of NNF in Lagos... recently

ills.

“We are promoters of good causes and we are going to pursue our agenda until we see the change that we desire because we believe that continuous commitment after identifying your problem as a nation will bring about success,” Dozie said, adding, “We will spread the gospel until other Nigerians appreciate the decay in the educational system and collectively deal with it. We are building a new Nigeria that works.”

Oyebode, who spoke on ‘Building a New Nigeria that Works’, said: “Nigeria is on a steep learning curve. That, however, will not deter us from transforming ourselves into proud members of the

comity of nations and occupying our rightful place in the scheme of things.”

Continuing, he said: “It becomes more imperative to employ empirical and clinical approaches imbibed from other countries that have made the best of similar problems confronting their societies.”

In the past 15 years, NNF has promoted over 100 developmental projects in the areas of community development; development research and studies; social investment; infrastructural management; capacity and institutional building and administrative support services.

Specifically, NNF has reached hun-

dreds of communities nationwide by undertaking healthcare delivery projects at community level; development of agricultural value chains and implemented initiatives designed to build peace in communities. The Foundation has also promoted campaigns for the elimination of violence against women and the adoption of best practices in corporate social responsibility as well as managed relationships among stakeholders to resolve conflicts and enhance development.

Guests were treated to sumptuous meals and choice wines amidst cultural performances from groups representing three major tribes of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.

Davinci Fashion Launches Sunday Okobi

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fashion centre which helps create the platform for designers in the industry as well as lovers of fashion to meet and mingle, Davinci Fashion Lounge, has been unveiled in Lagos. The lounge, according to its director, Linda Deminguez, is a unique Nigerian fashion hub where all lovers of fashion (and designers) meet and connect in various ways.

Deminguez told THISDAY: “We are launching a first-of-its-kind fashion lounge. The lounge is a hub they can now come to get help and connection, you know, sometime who you know in the industry (potential customers) matters. In here, you can connect with photographers, makeup artists among others who can assist in fostering your career and a lot of networking and opportunities.”

“The Nigerian fashion industry is one of the most lucrative in the world, and as it is booming, we need to take it higher. We are here to provide that platform for a lot of Nigerian youths and upcoming fashion designers and make-up artists. That’s the objective of the lounge. ” While highlighting the gains of the fashion industry in Nigeria, she said: “Fashion is a way of life because what I wear matters. I have to look good. Fashion is lifestyle basically, and it is worthy of note that Nigerian youths today are seriously into fashion in many ways mostly

Guests at the launch of Davinci

showcasing it on social media as well as our campuses. Esther Bayo is the face of Davinci fashion Lounge.

Among the designers connected to the lounge is Dyvaciti Fashion Hub, which Dominguez said is creating a platform for established and emerging designers to showcase their creativity on a regular basis whilst networking with potential buyers.

“Dyvaciti Fashion takes place monthly and it is powered by Davinci Fashion Lounge. Our next event is May 27.

She disclosed that another fashion house powered by the lounge, ‘Rikaoto

by Me’, was founded in 2009 as a result of the entrepreneurial skill of Maryam Elisha (ME) Rikaoto fashion services. “The Nigerian company focuses mainly on creating eclectic and chin designs for both males and femaless. Rikaoto elusively designs red dresses, pageantry dresses, wedding, formal for occasion, parties, casual outfit and costumes for videos. The sleek style of the Rikaoto brand has separated it from the regular cliché of fashion design.

Flirtatious and daring in design, Rikaoto has made apparels for top celebrities worldwide. It has also participated in various

fashion shows locally and internationally.”

It was also learnt that over the years, Rikaoto has been able to provide support services for fashion designers who couldn’t step up with a large scale production factory.

Rikaoto has contributed to re-writing the perception that any design of excellence ‘has to be imported’ syndrome by designing top of the line style. The adventurous spirit of the CEO has added to the success, style and creative innovation and industrial know-how of Maryam Elisha.

Rikaoto has distinguished itself among other designers for it’s innovations, creativity and prestige. Rikato has dintinguished itself as a Nigerian company of international repute, which operates in the upscale market range, presenting a mixture of both the Nigeria and international culture.

Also powered by the lounge is Nugo’s clothing which is a wholly indigenous cloth designing and sewing company based in Lagos. It has an eye on promoting the beauty of the African culture to the world, in a very modern and unique style through fashion.

Nugo’s clothing is a very unique brand with loyal clients cutting across the upper and the middle class. “The use of a butterfly as logo, stems out from the fact that the butterfly is a beautiful, colourful and homeless creature. The use of African print on the butterfly signifies on utmost loyalty and dedication of the team to the ever colourful African culture, which is greatly portrayed in the office prints,” she said.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • JUNE 5, 2016

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FOCUS

A Date with Netflix Ikenna Bede

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or a long time, I envied my friends in the United States of America and hated how they subtly but constantly reminded me of certain limitations of life in Nigeria. Every other week in group chats, I was tortured by their narratives of television shows and movies (that were yet to hit the cinemas in Nigeria) streamed on Netflix.

Problem with Netflix at the time was its unavailability in Nigeria.

I remember a time when Onyinye literally transcribed an entire episode of ‘Orange is the New Black,’ making me stare hopelessly at my phone. She texted as though I knew all the characters and forcefully made me tag along.

I had concluded it was a thing with Nigerians overseas and their pretentious attitude of not remembering where they were before leaving for America; acting like everything became automatically fixed in Nigeria as soon as they left the country.

To make matters worse, she advised me to watch the next episode on Netflix and hoped that we could chat about it the following week. She signed off, saying, “It would be so much fun next week if we discussed.”

Like a phantom, the thoughts of not having access to Netflix haunted me. I saw meme inspired by the catch phrase ‘Netflix and chill’ everywhere: on Instagram pages, Twitter hashtags and Facebook timelines. For once, I thought I was locked away from the rest of the world and it kept me pondering why Africa’s most populous country didn’t have access to Netflix. I wondered as well why the guys at Netflix didn’t realise how profitable coming to Nigeria would be.

Someone wasn’t crunching those numbers right.

I arranged meetings with my programmer to help me create a mask for my IP address. They did sort out some issues but my internet only worked when they

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allocation on a single episode.

I felt betrayed and uninformed.

How could this be happening?

But it was just one episode.

Just one.

Recovering from the shock, I decided to get my education on track. I read through the entire terms and conditions. The revelations after the recitation were rather underwhelming.

I realised that I was on a free trial period valid for one month. Thereafter, I was expected to pay between $7.99 and $11.99 monthly subscription; this caused my hand to reflex towards a nearby calculator.

In a flash, I remembered all the websites I always visited for free music and films, although, not of high definition quality, but it served the purpose as I was entertained. In order to keep up with my American friends, I was convinced that a mere eight dollars could not stop my fun, until the conversion to naira came up. This ultimately

meant spending 25 per cent of my income on data and subscription fee. It was a lot to keep up with, but I needed it one way or the other. I needed a voice in group chats. I could not be ousted by friends just because they think America made them better. I had to prove my worth through Netflix. Since, they have made it the in-thing, I don’t want to be out of our social circle.

Going by the N18000 monthly income of the average Nigerian worker, subscribing may not be such a big hole in the pocket, but it would definitely mean cancelling out one item or another on my need list. Ultimately, I look forward to the day when the Naira would make a big gain on the Dollar. I also desire to see the day when telecommunications and internet service providers become more humane with their tariff. While I wait, I guess I have to sit through Onyinye’s torturous transcribing class.

Borgu Durbar Festival Holds

new date has been fixed for the Borgu Gani Durbar International Festival which was cancelled December due to the demise of the former Emir of Borgu, Senator Haliru Dantoro, Kitoro III. With the suc-

M

were around. It was a curse, looming only in their absence – I had given up on their halfbaked solution. But, hey, it was something I had to live with, until this pleasant turnaround.

The New Year came with a lot, and with it was Netflix.

With so much excitement, I rashly perused an article about Netflix’s launch in Nigeria.

It entailed details on how to subscribe. Immediately I teleported to the Netflix website and registered on the platform, then gained access to their rich collection of films and series. With so much to pick from, I decided to go with ‘Orange is the New Black.’

I wanted to teach Onyinye some serious transcribing lessons and to show her who the boss is. I was highly impressed; the visuals were impeccable: clear with crystal sound. I savoured this moment, hoping it wouldn’t come to an end. Eventually it did and with a reality check too. I had spent over 75 per cent of my data

cession of his son, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Dantoro, Kitoro IV as the new Emir of Borgu, the festival will hold between April 27 and 30.

The festival is an item in the festivities marking the coronation of the new emir.

The Borgu festival which is in its third edition celebrates the historical and cultural gifts of the Borgu people with a window to creating a tourism economic platform that will empower the rural poor and highlight benefits of Nigeria’s

diverse culture.

Spokesman of the festival organisers, Mallam Ibrahim Musa Goni Kognan Borgu, said the cooperation of the Niger State Government has been secured to ensure a smooth event.

New Helmsman at National Park

r. Abdullahi Hussain, an assistant Conservator General, Finance is now the acting Conservator General (CG) of the Federation. He took over from Alhaji Tanko Abuba-

kar who retired last month.

An Accountancy graduate from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Hussain hails from Babanloma, Kwara State. Married with children, he is a member of the Association

of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) Hussain is the most senior officer in the organisation overseeing all protected conservation areas. Protected areas under the service are

Kainji Lake National Park, Kamuku National Park, Cross River National Park, Ghashaka Gumti National Park, Chad Basin National Park, Okomu National Park and Old Oyo National Park.

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EVENT

Theo, Yeni Kuti’s Hearts Beat as One Nseobong Okon-Ekong

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here are many things that make the recent marriage proposal by popular Lagos architect, Theo Lawson to his lover, Yeni, daughter of the late Afrobeat musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, emotional and memorable.

Take the hotel where Theo entered his plea, ‘please, marry me’, for instance, it is the very same edifice where Fela was joined to his 27 wives. It used to be called Hotel Parisona. Time and chance have tampered with the space and ownership of the hotel. Today, it stands as the Prince of Anthony Hotel, a member of 1960 Hotels group owned by former staff of THISDAY

Newspapers, Akin Adeoya, who went on to hit a fortune in Public Relations.

By his confession and work as a journalist, Adeoya is a huge fan of Fela and divine orchestration ordered his steps to purchase a historic structure tied to the memory of his hero. But this is not the only reason Anthony Village resonates with Yeni. His late uncle, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti used to live there. And just around the corner from the hotel is Adebayo Mokuolu College where her younger siblings, Seun and Motun received secondary education.

At 55, Yeni will assumedly enter her second marriage with a long-standing friend and confidant. Incidentally, Theo, who is separated from his wife, was a good friend of her erstwhile late husband, Femi

Segun. Both men maintained an exemplary warm relationship, even when Yeni’s heart had left Femi and started beating for Theo.

The event, which saw an impromptu performance of Yeni’s younger brother, Femi Kuti on stage, started at 7:00pm promptly on the day, with an emotional outburst from the guest of honour, Yeni, upon walking into a hall full of family and friends waiting to sing Happy Birthday to her.

All day long, she had thought Theo Lawson, her fiancé was taking her on a get-away; to a place where no one would disturb them. When Theo finally picked her up at the New Afrika Shrine, after her programme, “Your View” on TVC, it was indeed to a quiet serene hotel in Anthony

Village, Lagos.

It was a deeply emotional moment, as everyone looked on. Theo Lawson, her fiancé of over five years, in measured tones proposed marriage to Yeni Kuti. After the proposition by Theo, the hall went into frenzy as the musicians exploded into different beats.

Adeh, a multi-talented musician, held sway. Aduke, the guitarist/singer, performed next; so also the ageless Jimi Solanke. But the icing of the night’s performances was when Femi Kuti took the stage and performed in honour of her elder sister.

Amazed but excited, Yeni summed up the night’s feelings with these words, “I am still in shock.”

Toast to the couple

Theo and Yeni

PHOTOS: Sunday Adigun

Yeni with her siblings

Paddybet Launches Vanessa Obioha

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ith the growing increase in sports betting platforms in Lagos state, a new online betting game Paddybet is bringing in a new fresh wave in the industry.

Launched recently, Paddybet allows users to bet on anything including sports. It prides itself as the first peer-to-peer betting platform that promotes social networking.

Having spent six years in the lottery business, Ayo Soyombo knew the industry like the back of his palm. He was able to carve out a niche the will set his platform

apart. In partnership with his brother Olumide, Soyombo tapped on the vast potentials of social media to promote his brand.

“What you have in Nigeria is mostly sports and number betting.

What Paddybet is offering is a combination of both worlds: betting and social networking. Friends can bet against each other on anything. It’s just recreating real-life situations where friends can argue and bet on a particular thing. On Paddybet, users bet against themselves and not the house. It is a networking hub for like minds to bet on anything,” said Soyombo, the brainchild behind the betting game.

Flying with the tagline ‘Make

money, Make friends’, the betting platform allows users to interact with their friends by inviting them through various social networks.

They can create their own bets too.

Prizes are immediately redeemed once the bet expires.

Every day, there will be an Editors Speak. This feature is an in-house editorial of any trending social issue.

Paddybet is also licensed by the Lagos State Lotteries Board (LSLB).

At the launch recently in Get Arena, Victoria Island, Lagos, the board secretary Fadeke Akeju said the betting game is a welcome one, because of its new and exciting strategy.

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

PUBLICATION

CANVASS IS THE NEW BANK...

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05.06.2016

MIKE AREMU THE MAN AND HIS SAX APPEAL EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

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MIKE AREMU: THE MAN AND

Must we put a pause on our social lives just because of the state of Nigerian economy? Mike Aremu doesn’t think so as Yinka Olatunbosun reports on a brief encounter with him in Lagos where he revealed, amongst other things, that his 2016 Sax Appeal concert, this June, will feature four-time Grammy Award winner, India Arie

“I

t’s supposed to be annually,’’ Mike Aremu, the master saxophonist of the “Oluwakuise’’ fame began as he settled into a chair inside the VIP Lounge at the Prince of Anthony hotel, some minutes before the birthday gig of one of his friends, Ayoola Shadare.

He was referring to the concert, Sax Appeal which he instituted in 2009 and is arguably one of the biggest jazz concerts in Nigeria. With the support of his friends, he kept the show at tops as he features powerful international jazz artistes.

Though Lagos, and indeed the world awaits this promising fifth edition with some apprehension owing to the economic situation, his optimism about the show and the huge response from his fans upon hearing that India Arie would come home to Africa has been nothing but infectious.

First, India Arie is a timeless and effortless vocalist, song-writer and guitarist. Her acoustic soul fever gripped the US where she was born and raised for the depth of socio-economic vibes that filter from her performances, be it live or recorded. She has sung about love, ghetto, world politics, personal relationships and race. Her popular tracks include “Video’’, “Chocolate High’’, “Brown Skin’’, “I am not my Hair’’, “Pearls’’ which is a remake of Sade Adu’s Pearl that has been infused with African contextual lyrics. Her African roots had been traced to Sierra Leone, according to reports on the web.

Actually, Aremu was thinking of bringing someone else for the concert. Although he didn’t say the exact name(s), he discovered with time that more Nigerian music fans had been ecstatic at the mention of Idia Arie. Arie’s popularity soared in Nigeria in 2002 when she set a not-so-enviable- record at the Grammys with seven nominations.

“Most Nominations in One Night Without Winning” was all she got that year losing the prestigious awards to the beautiful singersongwriter, Alicia Keys. OAPs celebrated her with airplays and fans were divided because Alicia Keys was equally good. The following year, Arie won two Grammy awards in the Best Album and Best Urban/Alternative performance categories.

Back to Aremu, the man whose promise can be taken to the bank, this edition is fired up, not for the availability of funds but the sheer spirit of good music that’s undying.

“This is the fifth edition,’’ he continued. “We have missed three years. We didn’t have enough funding to sustain an annual show. As soon as we finish a year’s edition, we are already gunning for another. It’s quite an expensive event to organize. The first and second editions of Sax Appeal were held at the MUSON Centre, Onikan. The third one was held at Eko Hotel and the fourth one was held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. But this year, Eko Hotel has done so well for us. They are giving us discount fantastically.

Mike Aremu on stage performing

And we are looking at Airlines that would support us for transporting our international artists to Nigeria. There are 13 of them. And we want them on Business Class/First Class. We are not even looking for free tickets. We would just appreciate 70% discount. That way we are paying something that would take care of taxes,’’ he said.

Aremu sounded like a man who likes to pay his dues. In this industry, it is very evident. With a series of appearances at venues in Nigeria such as Pintos, The Green Lion, Club Towers, K’s Place and Mega Plaza’s Dome as well as session work for Onyeka Onwenu, Ras Kimono and King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, Aremu’s got the artistry of an international brand. He is one of the few artists in Nigeria who can boast of performing with Kenny G, Hugh Masakela, Najee, Kirk Franklin, Marvin Winans, Ron Kenoly, Mary Maryand Adlan Cruz. He also made an appearance at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Recently, he featured at the Lagos International Jazz Festival held at Freedom Park and his rousing performance stirred the memories of his early venture into music when he earned the title “Nigeria’s Kenny G.’’ Of course, that is edifying but the real fulfillment comes from being himself.

“As a creative person, I will like to create my own kind of music. I want to explore my own gift and the unique-

ness that I have in my own composition. It is about my beliefs and faith as well. I want to be able to express those. I can’t achieve that by playing somebody else’s song.

If you listen to my songs in the current album, there are mostly my own compositions. They mean a lot to me because they are about the things I have gone through in life, my personal experiences and I am more convinced about those songs,’’ he revealed.

Concerning this concert, Aremu is not flying solo. He is working with a team of dependable friends and associates who share his confidence in the success of the show that is borne out of previous successes.

“I have always worked with other people. I get people to invest in Sax Appeal. I have the responsibility to live up to my promises and my commitments. When you notice that people are slacking, I get on the task. Most of the time, it comes down to three people namely myself, Femi Dahunsi, we call him FADO, Shaddie and our graphic artist. We have some nice people who are also helping us.

Some concerts enjoy sponsorship but I have never really had a major sponsor since I started this Sax Appeal. Most corporate organisations are ready to buy tables at the

event but when you talk about real sponsorship, it is not really there.

After this edition, we start pitching for the next one. We send proposals to corporate organisations. There are several excuses for not getting them to sponsor. There is a lot more that can be done if only there is a major sponsor,’’ he said.

His last studio album titled, “Coat of Many Colours” was released in 2013. It has 16 tracks but is yet to enjoy much airplay in Nigeria because the artist has been preoccupied with touring and promoting his album in the UK where the album was produced. But Aremu is not a man to bask in the euphoria of previous success; instead he has admitted that he’s got some work to do like Vanessa Williams.

“I don’t think I have promoted it enough. There are 16 songs on the album. I did a video for one of the songs recently and people have been calling to say they like my new song.

That tells me I need to do more to promote the album. Now, there is just so much music on air that it is difficult to get airplays. A lot of people had to pay their way to get their songs played. It is really painful.

“Some of us are very fortunate to do a lot of gigs, live performances.

See, my first album was released in 1999 and I have done just five albums since then. I had Kennis Music taking care of everything. But that changed.

But the live performances had helped. It is only embarrassing when people are asking where they can get your albums and you can’t just tell them. People are downloading my music free of charge but as a musician I want to reach out to my fans. It is not all about the money. I am not releasing an album only for it to end up on my shelf,’’ he maintained.

Aremu and Arie’s music can hurriedly be classified as gospel because of the inspirational and soulful lyrical content. But Aremu argued that gospel is not exactly what they both do and there is only one way to find out. Come June 26, all roads will lead to Eko Convention Centre where Aremu and other artists on his bill will ignite the stage and reshape our nightlife, once again.

“I have done a lot of research about her and her music. There are phases in any artist’s career sometimes based on what they are going through. I have noticed some kind of consistency in her songs and I don’t see much difference in what she does and mine. At the end of the day, what we are celebrating is jazz.

People can profess to be something and in reality be something else.

There are gospel artists whose lives are not ‘gospel’ at all. The only thing gospel about them is their music. I will not judge people based on that.

I am not a gospel artist. My jazz music is influenced by gospel, by positivity and making people happy.

I am inspirational. I am going to have Timi Dakolo, Praise and a lot more artists at the show,’’ he promised.

Aremu surged into music as a young member of a white garment church. Born in Kaduna, he grew up in Minna Niger State and showed some dexterity at several instruments like the keyboard, drums, guitar,

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ARTS & REVIEW\\ENcoUNTER

HIS SAX APPEAL

Race for 2016 Etisalat Prize for Literature begins…

Yinka Olatunbosun

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tisalat needs new names. Yes, it’s official.

The famed literary prize is in search of new entries for its 2016 edition. It’s no news that last year, the writer from Democratic Republic of Congo, Fidson Mwanza Mujila won the coveted prize with his debut novel, Tram 83, making him the first Francophone writer to win the prize. Although the prize is yet to be won by any Nigerian writer since 2013 when it was instituted, this year presents another opportunity for young Nigerian as well as African writers to shine.

The ball was set rolling at the Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi last week where tea was served alongside the snacks with fillings that typify the diverse nature of the literary landscape in Africa. Declaring this edition open, the CEO, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Wilsher, announced that the award winning Nigerian writer and poet, Helon Habila will serve as the Chair, panel of judges which include the South African writer and activist, Elinor Sisulu and Ivorian writer, Edwige Rene Dro. “We are delighted to champion the cause for celebrating the richness and strength of African literature. Etisalat Prize for Literature is about discovering and bringing to the world stage the many creative talents that Africa boasts of. The Etisalat Prize is about creativity, excellence, empowerment and reward. It is about celebrating our African diversity in very innovative ways through various forms of art, literature being one of them,” Willsher said.

To qualify, the fiction must not be more than 24 months old from the date of submission. The entries must also be registered by publishing houses which are not less than six years of incorporation with registered ISBN number or the equivalent. All entries are expected to be made with seven copies of the book and an acceptance of the publicity terms. Each publisher may not submit more than three entries.

The Chair of Judges, Habila hails from Plateau and is African Writing Fellow at the University of East Anglia. In 2002 he published his first novel, Waiting for an Angel. His writing has won many prizes including the Caine Prize in 2001. In 2006, this Chevening scholar became the Chinua Achebe Fellow at Bard College, New York. Currently, he teaches creative writing at George Mason University, Washington D.C. The Etisalat Prize for Literature is a Pan African Prize for literature that celebrates debut African writers of published fiction. It was first won by the Zimbabwean author, NoViolet Bulawayo for her work, We Need New Names. In 2014, it was won by South Africa’s Songeziwe Mahlangu for the debut fiction, Penumbra.

When Wilsher revealed that the winner receives a cash prize of £15,000, he remarked that the prize money is still the same despite the change in the foreign exchange rate in Nigeria. In addition, the winner will enjoy fellowship at the University of East Anglia, under the mentorship of Professor Giles Foden, the writer, Last King of Scotland.

Asides this, all the shortlisted authors will have 1,000 copies of their entries distributed across several countries in Africa.

In addition, the Etisalat Prize for Flash Fiction is set to receive entries. It is an online-based competition for non-published African short story writers. Last year, Kuti Ojuolape Modupe’s Gone was the winning entry.

Aremu

talking drum, trumpet, and the saxophone which eventually became his major instrument. In 1999, he was signed on to Kennis Music where he released his first album “Dance” and later, “No shaking’’. He gives credit to the Kennis Music management for promoting contemporary/ pop music in Nigeria and beyond and bears no grudge for pop music artists in Nigeria who seem to have it all: luxury homes, enormous fan base, brand endorsements and need we add, babymamas?

“I am excited about popular music in Nigeria.

A few years back, we were hooked on foreign music. You go anywhere and it is Nigerian music on replay. It is a major improvement that has changed the face of entertainment in Nigeria. But most of the brands are into numbers. The more fan base the artist has, the more they think he can push their own brand,’’ he argued.

Aremu, though based in UK, is not unconcerned about Nigeria’s economic situation. But like many in the entertainment business, ‘the show must go on’ remains the mantra.

“Are we going to pause our lives because the economy is bad? We say the economy is bad yet everyday people are buying cars, building houses,’’ he observed. Hence, he is not one to be consumed by a low spirit, though the ones he consumes remain at 0% or so.

He keeps selling his album where he’d get his works valued. Unmoved by the free downloads of his works, he is more concerned about the lives he has touched with his music and the relationships he has helped others to strengthen.

“Our CDs are worthless. I recorded my last album in UK. I have gone to concerts and sold thousands of copies of my albums but that is better than selling it here. For an artist to make the same sales I made, an artist would have had to sell millions of copies in Nigeria. That market pays me more. That makes sense. It took time to produce those songs,’’ he said.

On future collaborations, he insisted on working with the best in the game. His last album features the incredible rapper, MI and Chidimma.

Will his next album feature, let’s say, Olamide?

His reaction was quite humorous.

“That bad boy? I don’t know; Baddo. Anyway, music is flexible. If what he sings is good, I will work with him,’’ he said.

India Arie

L-R: Chair of Judges, Helon Habila, CEO, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Wilsher

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JUNE 5, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

ARTS & REVIEW\\LITERARY CAFÉ

A CLASSY GRASS TO GRACE STORY

Sam Omatseye

W

hen Professor Hope Eghagha was working on the book, it looked like an eternity because, in the course of the past few years, including his distracting time as commissioner in Delta State, our conversations flashed occasionally into the subject. It seemed it was a project of the age of Methuselah. Although I never ventured to say it, I prayed in private earnest that the Almighty God granted the plenitude of double grace. The first grace was that the subject, Mr. Osifo, would enjoy longevity enough. The second grace was that God would give the project the speed of an eagle and turn a Methuselah into a young and bustling David. Put simply, I prayed that Mr. Osifo outlasted the book project.

So, when I picked up a call from Benita Osifo, the subject’s daughter, about my role as reviewer, I thought to myself, “at last, the eagle has landed. Thanks to the Lord on high.”

It would seem, on the surface, like clockwork to review a biographical account of a personage like Felix Matthew O Osifo. The reason is that one has known him virtually all my life, at least my adult life. But that, precisely, is why it poses a challenge. I am playing a double role as interlocutor and witness. Sometimes the roles collapse and dovetail.

As one read from page to page, it became clear that projects like this book titled, From Machine Boy to Managing Director: the Biography of Felix Matthew Ogbeyewebor Osifo, justify why the lives and activities of great men are written. They afford us the opportunity to play amebo into the lives of people we know, or we think we know. Even more so, into the lives of people we know of but whose public exploits arouse a restless and drooling appetite to know.

Generally, as FMO Osifo, as his friends and colleagues often refer to him, grew in profile as a corporate and public success, stories that wound around him did little credit to the toil and dynamism of his early years.

Thanks to this book, we know better. The public only knows of his outward persona, his physical attributes, his guttural voice, his majestic strides, his sometimes imperial or royal carriage, his guttural voice, or what Felix Ohiwerei calls his “robust laughter,” the charisma of a tireless inspirer, his eyes that are at once bold and kind, his impeccable sartorial taste, his air of prosperity without ostentation, his pious dignity, his gregarious grace, his sharp and dissecting intellect, a man who simultaneously soars and bows, depicting a success that recognises the root of his route.

But few know the following. That the same FMO was a houseboy, the same FMO of the swagger once pushed truck, that the same corporate giant hawked items to keep body and soul together, that he accompanied his father to the farm when he was not toiling at his studies. He was also a motor park help, he re-baggged cement and worked at building sites.

Professor Eghagha alluded to the psalm by Henry Wadsworth Longfellowto demonstrate FMO Osifo’s life reminds us that “Lives of great men all remind us/ we can make our lives sublime.”

Yes, the beginning was turbulent. His father was poor. His mother, for all her love for the children, could not do more than the little that was available. But the young Osifo did not limit himself to the environment. He completed his primary education and decided, unlike some of his contemporaries with ambition, that he was going to chart a path all his own: that of a doctor of machines.

When he told his mother, she resisted. The virtue of persistence shone early in his life. He wanted to train to be like one Amachree who had been gloriously introduced at the Feast of Tabernacles in Warri as a doctor of machines. He wanted no other dream.

He had seen his role model. Osifo rallied his friends, members of the God’s Kingdom Society, including the president, the late Brother Ebenezer Temisanren Otomewo, to persuade the mother.

Sheacceded to her son’s request and sold her jewelry to pay for his son’s journey and training as a doctor of machines.

Ambition is like leaping in the dark. The young man had left home, father, mother, siblings and the security of the unknown for the wild and boisterous unpredictability of the big, bright Babylon that Lagos was believed to be.

With Amachree and Co., he set out and he outpaced those he met in training. He also put his imagination to work, scraping from his meager resources to take advantage of a correspondence course. So good was he that when his training and apprenticeship ended, the owner of the business did not want him to leave.

Here again, we see the single-mindedness of FMO. He joined G. Gottschalk as journey man or technician. That was the beginning

of a trajectory up.

From then the author tracks how FMO rose. But it happened with an unswerving devotion. He paid attention to detail and his energy was boundless. More importantly, he bested his fellows and his bosses noticed. Before long, he was approved for a course in the United Kingdom, this was the beginning of a string of courses and travels that would illuminate his career for decades.

Promotions came, his fortunes improved, and the Osifo who sought free accommodation in No. 1Pike Street, soared to become one of the mainstays of the UAC and jewels of corporate Nigeria.

Afew points need to be observed here. First, he worked in an ambience of jealousy. Afunny scene happened when his stature intimidated quite a few of them and someone planted a fetish abject, or juju, in his work place. An undaunted Osifo poured petrol over it and burned it while invoking the power of the Holy Bible.

The culprit had to confess. Ironically he was Osifo’s senior but he would later serve as his junior in the office.

Two, he operated in an era of meritocracy in Nigeria’s corporate world. Partly because it was that era when the company elite were expatriates, especially British, and were not crimped by the Nigerian penchant for ethnic or clannish proclivities.

Three, Osifo was working in UAC. Few today know the stature of that octopus. It was Nigeria’s economy. It is not like the UAC today that is now shrunken. Osifo rose in an ambience of mammoth corporate dynamism. He rose and he worked. So big was it that at one time, the management decided to streamline its operations to obviate duplications. Since he was in office machines, he started working at BEAM. He rose there to become the general manager.

He also moved to become the head of GB Ollivant, or GBO. He at one time, moved to a position where he supervised seven divisions. He took up a public responsibility in a time when essential commodities were scarce. He took over the task and performed not

only for the company but for the country.

He later moved on as the managing director of Vono.

It was a task he did not want at first. But it was a job that tested him, and his good sense triumphed over ego. He wanted the job as chairman and managing director and that was what befitted him.

Thisbringsoutsomehighquality oftheman.Hebeganasamachine boyanddreamtmachines.Buthis versatilityshonesothathisbossessaw thathewasnotonlyamanoftechnical virtuositybutalsoamanagerofthe firstrank.Whenhetrainedabroadhe bestedhismates.Hedidsoatwork.

Sogoodwashethatinthecourseofhis career,hebecameamisterFix-it.That waswhyhewenttoGBOandthatwas whyhewasaskedafterhisGBOexploits tosaveVono.

Now,Vonoprovidedaninteresting drama.Osifohadlongdreamedof owninghisownconcern,andsometime inthe1970’s,hehadwantedtoquitthe company.Butfriendsandhiswife,Beatrice, cautionedhim.Herelented.Hesawagreat opportunityinVono.Whenhetookover, VonoInternationalwascontemplating shuttingdownthebusinessuntilthehandof Osifobreathedanewandprofitablelifeinto it.Thebusinessownersdecidedtheydidnot wanttosellitanymore.

Osifo eventually decided to quit in line with his dream to be on his own when he turned fifty. The decision shocked everyone at the top. He had so become a big part of the UAC success that his leaving blindsided the corporate brass of the company.

Osifo formed Osiquip and showed that he could do for himself what he had done for others. Osiquip became a nimble company, and he had to overcome a lot of the teething challenges of setting up a company.

But his corporate life was not without its chink. It was a story of false allegation that involved his chairmanship of a bank, Royal Merchant Bank. The author tracks with pathos how he was accused, how he had to spend time in detention and went on trial here in Lagos and Jos. The story ends with his vindication and he had to shed tears and also have a party with friends and church members.

The other part of his story is his faith. From reviling the church, he joined the GKS early and took part in its very early years. Missing in this narrative is the process of conversion. How did he imbibe the church’s clearly different train of doctrines? Howdid he navigate such distinctive beliefs as Christ has come, not every faithful will go to heaven, who are saints, what is a soul, the challenge of trinity, etc. I would have wanted to read how the young Osifo grappled with this universe of doctrines, especially from his father’s paganism. His mother may have had to wrestle with the same existential transition.

But the big and sublime shadow of faith over Osifo’s life breathes throughout the book. Through the loneliness of ambition, the hunger for hope and the turbulent certitude of faith, we see the overarching umbrella of the Almighty God. He is never seen to flinch or even despair. The role of church leaders like Otomewo in his life is unmistakable. Even in London, he went to church.

His devotion to work is matched only by his devotion to faith.

His role in the church from organizing to inspiring is invaluable. I remember as a young man, I always followed his church activities.

I was always glad to see him in church. He dissected the Bible with vigour and clear-eyed brilliance. His articulation with his rich voice gave the discourse a certain loftiness that few matched. He is an example that God rewards the faithful.

Becauseofhisdevotion,hebecamethesecretaryoftheLagos Branchandlatertheheadofthelaityworldwide.Hiswasaleadership withoutthewhiffofscandalorprofligacyorostentationorvanity.It madehimveryeasyasarolemodelformanyyoung,suchasmyself.

- Omatseye is the chairman of the editorial board of a national daily

The rest of this review continues online at www.thisdaylive.com

75

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • JUNE 5, 2016

ARTS & REVIEW\\ART-logUE

CANVAS IS THE NEW BANK

Ayodeji Rotinwa reviews the Sterling one gallery space and exhibition, an unusual, new marriage between visual art and the corporate world

I

n Nigeria, art has always found friends in boardrooms, amongst suits, a place made for it on balance sheets and it may sometimes be listed for benevolent charity donations. A close inspection of this creativecorporate union would reveal that the relationship is hardly ever sustained for any extended period; that eventually a separation – though likely without any differences – must inevitably occur. Pieces will be commissioned. Bank walls will provide a home for them.

An exhibition may be sponsored. That’s usually about it. A new, ambitious initiative by Sterling One, a private banking arm of Sterling Bank is trying to change this narrative.

The initiative is resident amongst Lagos’s nouveau riche, in Lekki. It is a glass-walled building panelled by silver discs in an indecisive black colour. It is an exclusive space for the discerning bank customer that functions as an office, a lounge for happy hours, and a place to network, to exchange brain capital. It is also a statement of intent. On its top floor, is an open space that is essentially to be a functioning commercial gallery space which will hold exhibitions quarterly. It is the first time in Nigeria that art will enjoy such commitment and attention from its on-off corporate partner. Yes, a number of institutions are invested in the art as their hallways and offices will show, but they do not have a dedicated space for the best of visual art talent, to be displayed, appreciated and ultimately, sold.

It was such talent that was on offer, during this past Democracy Day weekend, as Sterling One’s space opened in a private, lavish, impeccably curated three-day ceremony. Guests were feted with exquisite culinary treats, champagne, a soulful string quartet; serenaded by a jazz act and were read to by one of Nigeria’s foremost performance poets while they took in the art- the art of a booming, emerging generation of artists, working to take their pride of place in minds, and any pantheon, an enthusiast, critic or the public may care to build. They were Tolu Aliki, Olumide Onadipe and Ufuoma Evuarherhe. The three artists in their works shown captured an urban, contemporary mood that’s at once colourful, vibrant and inviting through the feminine lens.

Tolu Aliki in his signature style plays with bursts of colour, his canvas populated by women dressed elegantly and in different states of considering the world around them, sometimes with a man present, sometimes not, always the central focus, statements of fine lines and irresistible beauty. He also captures urban life, in forms that are suffused with colour and irreverence. Aliki’s cities are ones to play in, to thrive, and to exist without ever wanting to leave. Upon seeing them, you may realize that Lagos provokes these feelings but never at once, never as beautiful as Aliki has so simply captured.

Ufuoma Evuarherhe brings his forms to life with generous strokes and technique, depicting the upwardly mobile woman who is full of movement, attitude, at once powerful, a joy to behold and not tear eyes away from.

In one especially striking work, he captures the zeitgeist of our times – the selfie. A woman with flawless make up, eyebrows wing-tipped, curled like a pass mark, lips dutifully gathered together in a form now known as ‘duck face’, smartphone turned towards the face, finger on the trigger, ready to click. Most of us know this woman. Some of us are this woman.

Olumide Onadipe’s style is more muted, more deliberate in the artistic woman he calls to life using the form of fallen leaves. She is moody, introspective, but still embracing of, given to bursts of colour. While the other two artists call to memory all that is exciting, vibrant, Onadipe is the

‘My Selfie’, Oil on Canvass by Evuarherhe Ufuoma antidote that stills. His piece de resistance, ‘Thinking Boy’ a depiction of a lone child, kept company by his arms and his knees, facing downwards in a winning mix of black, white, yellow acrylic on canvas will either move you or stop you in your tracks. Either way, you will be entranced.

The ties that bind these three artists go beyond similar subjects and explorations or their technical gifts. Born in a succession of decades, the 60s, 70s and 80s, they have emerged as today’s booming generation of contemporary artists, collected at home and generating interest abroad, the class of artists that are attracting fervent interest in Africa’s art market.

It is this art market that Sterling Bank seeks to prime the discerning enthusiast (or recruit new ones) to take advantage of. Asides being a space for artistic engagement, the space is also to be an incubator of knowledge for the aforementioned subject. What is to be taught is: art can

be an investment, an increasingly safe bet in the volatile economy we exist in today. Just over a week ago, Nigerian artworks shattered records and made history in a London auction (the Bonham Africa Now – Modern Africa sale) garnering over N500m in gross realised sales (N568, 338, 750) from the works of three renowned artists. Bonham deals exclusively in modern and contemporary African art and in the secondary market that is in works whose value is established and has seen impressive returns on such value. It is these kinds of opportunities that Sterling One seeks to open its guests to, exposing them to works of high value, one hand and feeding back into the visual art community as a reliable hub for artists to showcase, sell and promote their works.

Art will continue to have friends in high rungs of the corporate ladder. With Sterling One, it would seem art has a partner to not – only - climb on but soar with.

Achebe; his Cultural, National Ideals Ezurike Ugochukwu

T

he biennial memorial lecture in honour of one of the world’s literary colossus, Late Professor Chinua Achebe was held recently at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Enugu State of Nigeria.

The biennial event organized by the Arts faculty of the University in memory of their legend, Professor Albert Chinualumogu Achebe. This year’s lecture is titled; “In the service of the arts; In the service of culture and Nation.”

In his welcome address, the vice chancellor of UNN, Professor Benjamin C. Ozumba, represented by the Deputy vice chancellor Administration, Professor Charles Igwe extoled the rare qualities of the literary icon Achebe; who in his inkling, lives on. He emphasised that the aim of the University is not solely on what he embodies to them as an institution, but his posture

and strides to the entire black race and the world at large.

The Vice chancellor said this year’s lecture stands out inimitable going by the topic he said highlights the role of the Arts in sustenance of the cultures and values of peoples, and to maintain social ethics and engender a sense of direction.

Also in the same vain, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts (UNN), Professor Pat U. Okpoko, welcomed the guests and stated that the Faculty has always honoured Chinua Achebe; being an icon whose footprints on the faculty and on the global circle cannot be obliterated even in generations to come.

Okpoko, said the attempts to honour Achebe by the Department of Arts started far back 1990 before the icon’s demise in 2013, and stated that henceforth, the biennial lecture will be held as and when due.

The Dean said this year’s title; “In the service of Arts: In the service of Culture and Nation,” is being organized as a

public lecture rather than as a conference, and enunciated that the academic aspect ‘Colloquium’ will be anchored by renowned literary giants, to be followed by Awards of Excellence to be bestowed on two great Nigerians.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the chairman of the occasion, the distinguished Senator Chukwuka Utazi, said the topic aptly fall in line to those ideals Achebe embodied.

Senator Utazi, who is the Senate committee chairman on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, underscored that the first book of Achebe, ‘Things fall Apart’ opened Africa to the rest of the world and painted a picture as well as a narrative to her way of life.

The keynote speaker at the event- Mr. Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra state extoled many inimitable virtues of Chinua Achebe. He recalled that when he assumed office in Anambra, education standard was at very low ebb. The state was 24th in the performance rung in the country then, a situation he brought to the first position.

The colloquium was presented by Professor J.O.J Nwachukwu-Agbada, with eminent discussants as, Associate professor Remy Oriaku, of University of Ibadan and Professor Lady Esther Ugwu, University of Benin. The Special Guest was a reputable jurist, Justice C. Chukwuma –Eneh.

Presentation of awards to two distinguished Nigerians which was anchored by the UNN Public Relations officer Chief Okwun and Dr. Ikenna Onwuegbuna, while the presentation was performed on behalf of the vice chancellor by Professor Charles Igwe. The award winners were, Chief Emmanuel Okonkwo (a.k.a. Bishop) OFR, of Ekulo Nigeria limited and Chief Ugochukwu Orji, CEO, Romex properties Nigeria Limited. They were being honoured with “Entrepreneurship/Corporate Governance award, and Entrepreneurship/Building Technology award, respectively in recognition for their pedigree and sterling qualities in these spheres.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • JUNE 5, 2016

ARTS & REVIEW\\LITERARY CAFÉ

FROM THE DEPTHS OF A PATRIOT’S HEART

Okechukwu Oko

R

estoration of democracy in 1999 after decades of military rule evoked understandable excitement and buoyed the hopes of citizens victimised and oppressed by decades of military dictatorship. Sixteen years later, the excitement that heralded the return of democracy has given way to anxiety. The Nigeria of today is, in some ways, more dangerous than it was during the era of military rule, definitely more difficult, more chaotic and complex.

Patriotic citizens, weighed down by anxiety and paralysed by fear, feel vulnerable, anxious, uncharacteristically confused and generally helpless in the face of crushing poverty, mounting unemployment, insecurity and economic hardship. It is not just fleeting dissatisfaction or disgust; citizens are scared and concerned about the future. Outrage and despair are reverberating across the nation as citizens demand a way out of staggering difficulties that prevent them from deriving maximum benefits from democratic governance. This is where the new book Who Will Love My Country by Senator Ike Ekweremadu comes in.

Senator Ekweremadu, one of the influential political leaders in the country, a brilliant and first-rate legal mind, remains a model of grace and integrity, unsullied and uninfluenced by power. He has written a thoughtful, measured, and insightful book that will forever change the way Nigerians view and think about the government and their leaders.

The chief purpose of the book is to provoke thoughts and discussions about how to build the nation of our dreams.

The author attributes Nigeria’s problems to the reinforcing and preventable pathologies of bad governance, corruption, aggressive ethnic identification, declining educational system, crushing poverty, insecurity, and rising unemployment. He encourages leaders to do everything in their powers to reverse the situation and to prioritise national interest over selfish and partisan.

This is a consequential and important book, one that will have a seismic impact on how leaders and citizens view themselves and the nation. This book is one of the most important books ever written about Nigeria, both because of the vision of a better Nigeria it projects and the brilliant analysis of how Nigeria can overcome its problems and challenges. He truly believes that Nigeria’s problems can be solved. And he proffers ideas on how to solve them.

This magisterial book persuasively addresses Nigeria’s problems in a serious, systematic and intellectually honest manner. He provides deeply pragmatic perspectives and meticulous explication of competing alternatives in difficult issues and choices faced by Nigeria. Many of his arguments and suggestions are powerful and timely and if adopted by leaders will make building the Nigeria of our dreams a reality.

Nigeria and Nigerians will be challenged and changed by the ideas contained in this book.

Written with passion, clarity, and simplicity, this book cogently and eloquently presents the case for squarely, resolutely and urgently confronting Nigeria’s problems. He examines the past, addresses the present, and offers prescriptions for building the future. The views expressed in this book are not just opinions; they are based on reasonable and objectively verifiable assessment of Nigeria’s problems.

Countries that aspire to greatness do not fold in the face of challenges or setbacks. Who Will Love My Country is a concerned statesman’s clarion call, a cri de Coeur, a summon to action designed to jolt Nigerians out of cynicism, self-doubt, false confidence, or torpor and to focus on the urgent task of building the Nigeria of our dreams. The book is analytical, not polemical, not an elegy of anguish over missed or squandered opportunities, and it is definitely not a doom-laden appraisal of Nigeria’s social problems.

The book opens the minds of Nigerians to new possibilities rather than condemning or condoning the status quo. Senator Ekweremadu is interested more in providing pragmatic solutions to Nigeria’s problems than in apportioning blames.

Two virtues stand out in this book: the author’s passion for a better nation, and his commitment to the truth. Easily evident in the pages of this book are his superior analytical skills, sophistication, intellectual integrity and distaste for hypocrisy. His approach is both conceptual and concrete. He examines problems from theoretical perspectives and offers policy prescriptions informed by real life experiences and driven by a vision for a better Nigeria.

He writes lucidly, without pretence, ruminatively and eloquently marshals his arguments and invites the reader to weigh the arguments on their merits. His analyses and solutions are well researched, passionately argued, written in elegant prose,

beautifully crafted, insightful, and convincing. There will always be a difference in how leaders and citizens address Nigeria’s problems because of Senator Ekweremadu’s book, Who Will Love My Country.

One impressive thing about Who Will Love My Country is its range. There are chapters on important and pressing national issues- changing the culture of government, reforming the electoral process, reforming party politics, public participation, revamping public institutions, improving our educational system, inequitable resource sharing, rethinking our security system, curbing the menace of corruption, reducing poverty and unemployment, rethinking Nigeria’s federalism and cooperation between leaders and citizens. Senator Ekweremadu’s evaluation of issues is driven chiefly by contextual realities, not some fanciful thoughts based on how he wants Nigeria to be. On most of the issues covered by the book, Senator Ekweremadu has the inestimable advantages of a statesman: deep practical experience, capacity to prioritise national interest and the ability to focus on public good.

This book confirms Senator Ekweremadu as a demanding and curious mind, a scholar and a public servant of genuine distinction whose utterances and views are directed by a deep and abiding love for Nigeria. Senator Ekweremadu provides an imperishable example of how political power can be used to advance public good. Those privileged to encounter him find him to be an astute, candid and principled politician, a formidable advocate of public good and citizens’ welfare, a man of enormous integrity and prodigious intellect, and a source of inspiration, wisdom and encouragement. This book reinforces his already powerful tendency to prioritize national interest over personal or party interests.

Unlike many commentaries and books on Nigeria’s problems, this book is not an indictment on past or present leaders, neither is it a defence or explanation of the status quo. Rather the author focuses brilliantly on what ought to happen to build the nation

of our dreams. He shines his flashlight into different aspects of our society, illuminating and exposing problems, and proffering solutions in calm, detached and objective way. He synthesises his findings into a narrative that is gripping, easy to read, and devoid of partisanship. He makes his case in a manner that is intelligent, honest, appropriately modest and respectful of opposing points of view. The book is designed less to dictate solutions than to inspire, ennoble, and challenge Nigerians to embrace efforts to build a better Nigerian society. Readers will be impressed by the analytical rigor of this book, his impeccable intellectual candour, rare capacity for larger insights into pressing national issues, and prodigious appetite for measures that advance national interest and public good.

Nigeria is at a precipice, eagerly awaiting creative and purposeful leadership to save it from falling off the cliff.

The problems and challenges described

by Senator Ekweremadu pose long-term dangers to the nation. Some, like security, have assumed disturbing, even alarming proportions chiefly because leaders paid insufficient attention to them. Some of the problems are so deep-rooted and far reaching that failure to address them could drastically alter the trajectory of our national development.

The author notes that citizens who embraced democracy envisioned a better society but leadership excesses and failures leave them unsatisfied. He, therefore, acknowledges that public anger and frustration with political leaders are understandable. He is concerned that the citizens are uninspired. He states that “any country that inspires its citizens to embrace the democratic process stands a good chance of simultaneously deepening democracy and screening out bad leaders.”

Political elites from different ethnic groups came to a consensus about how to rescue the nation from the clutches of colonialism. Regrettably, the consensus frayed soon after independence, as ethnic irredentism replaced national interest. To Ekweremadu, fears, anxieties, and even paranoia caused by aggressive ethnic identification can produce mental habits and mindset inimical to national unity. This mindset, contributes to decadence; makes the emergence of truly national political leaders difficult; encourages the tendency to view government as a forum for securing ethnic privileges; prevents the practice of true federalism, undermines the effectiveness of public institutions; encourages or condones corruption; and results in truculent struggles among ethnic groups seeking a larger share of the national resources.

Despite Nigeria’s problems, Senator Ekweremadu is sanguine about the future. He believes that the frayed consensus can be rewoven into a national and all-inclusive fabric that can forge a durable alliance and bonds of friendship among the ethnic groups that comprise Nigeria if Nigerians can love their country above various contending narrow interests. The answer to Nigeria’s problem is recognizing our differences, making sacrifices, building consensus on important issues, and designing effective and implementable agreements and policies that advance the best interests of the nation.

Senator Ekweremadu ends on an optimistic note. Quoting Albert Camus, the author states: “I should be able to love my country and love justice”. He believes Nigeria can bounce back more vigorously and prosperously if Nigerians rededicate themselves to justice, equity, and patriotism.

No doubt, Nigeria will truly be a remarkable country if leaders and citizens read and heed the advice contained in Who Will Love My Country. Otherwise both democracy and Nigeria will suffer immeasurably.

–– Professor Oko is a Lislet Fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation, and a member of the American Academy of Legal Studies in Business

77

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER •JUNE 5, 2016

ARTS & REVIEW\\REEl WoRld

ACTION! STAGE LEFT, NAIJA BROADWAY Emem Ema

I

n the 6th century BC a priest of Dionysus (a god of fertility and wine), by the name of Thespis, introduced a new element, engaging in a dialogue with the chorus, whichhas now been seen as the birth of theatre. He became, in effect, the first actor; with actors in the west, ever since, proud to call themselves Thespians.

Greek theatre begun with the tragedies and comedies in 5th Century BC and the audience will sit around the actor in what is now known as ‘theatre style’ sitting arrangement. In the first Greek theatres the stage is a full circle, in keeping with the circular dance - the choros - from which the theatrical performance has evolved. This stage is called the orchestra (orchester, a dancer), because it is the place where the chorus/choir sing and dance.

Before the advent of Nollywood, theatre and television were a huge contributor to entertainment in Nigeria. I dare say, theatre is here to stay especially with the new crop of producers and directors emanating and making sense in the chaos. Many of the actors that have emerged in Nigeria have a solid background and experience from theatre, Olu Jacobs, Joke Silva, Bimbo Akintola, KeppyEkpeyongBassey and more! I remember Theatre Fifteen (T15) from the University of Lagos that went on to produce exceptional talent as directors and actors like Kayode Peters, GbengaAdeyinka,Bunmi Davies, DenreleEdun, Wale Gates, Teju Babyface, Koffi, Kunle Bello and more!

When asked about sectors to look out for in the Nigerian creative industry in 2016, Director of Arts for the British Council Nigeria OjomaOchaihad this to say; “I think theatre will also get a big boost from the Lagos Theatre Festival planned for February 2016. With over 100 shows in a range of venues, I think it might be a moment to get regional and international attention for the burgeoning theatre scene in Nigeria.” The British Council and its partners delivered on this promise, hosting over a hundred and nineshows in the space of one week in some of the most unconventional places for theatre in the city of Lagos with five thousand, six hundred (5,600) people in attendance.

On areas of improvement in the sector Ojoma had this to say, “Theatre for example would benefit from more diversity I think in the type of work we are putting on stage – I often feel that the output tends to verge on the constantly dramatic and we can work on this. I also feel that not enough new writing is being produced for stage. – again an area to look at.”

Nigerian theatre has seen very aggressive push from Producers who have refused to be cowered by the challenges of the industry in Nigeria and have gone on to have massive success (ongoing still) with their productions examples are what WoleOguntokun is doing with Renegade theatre and taking Nigerian theatre international to the Edinburgh theatre festival, Ifeoma Fafunwa with her Hear Word production and of course a member of our 16 People to look out for in 2016 Bolanle Austen Peters, with sold-out productions like Saro and Wakaa which has set the pace for musicals in Nigeria and will be making its west end debut in July of this year.

Let us take a look at some of the most successful Broadway shows till date and also see the figures they have generated since they opened and closed.

Production Opened “Cats” Oct. 7, 1982 S “Les Misérables” (Original production) March 12, 1987 “Jersey Boys” Nov. 6, 2005 “Chicago” (revival) Nov. 14, 1996 “Wicked” Oct. 30, 2003 “The Phantom of the Opera” Jan. 26, 1988 “The Lion King” Nov. 13, 1997

Closed Sept. 10, 2000 May 18, 2003 Still running Still running Still running

Cast of Hear Word

for a couple of days. The production is rumoured to have run into millions of dollars, majority of the cost was due to moving the original cast, accommodation, logistics and cost of venue.

We need to encourage the emergence of more Terra Gross Kultures, MusonCentres and National Theatre $366.4 million type venues in Nigeria. Perhaps we have multipurpose venues that can accommodate these $406.3 million productions and can be commercially viable. $517.6 million $541.3 million $976.3 million

2. Compelling, Relatable and Engaging Story: I enjoy great dialogue, it keeps me attentive, the interpretation of a story or situation Still running $1.03 billion and how the actors interpret their characters Still running $1.2 billion also plays a huge role in keeping seats full.Why is Hamilton Broadway’s current darling?It is a musical about one of America’s founding founders, Features of successful theatre productions: inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton 1. They have a home: For a production to make by historian Ron Chernow. I became a huge Nigerian commercial sense, it has to run for a while. Their theatre fan in 2006 when KIND put up the Vagina audience needs to know where to find and watch the Monologues (IfeomaFafunwa’s adaptation of same show. The Lion King an audience has been running is Hear Word starring Joke Silva, TaiwoAjai-Lycet, for almost twenty years and has travelled widely!

Bimbo Akintola, Zara Ejoor and more). It was engagYou will find it on Broadway, in Vegas and at the ing, it was deep, it was funny, and the stories were West end as well. It now has franchises in different relatable as they dealt with certain issues in the languages and has even been back home to Africa!

Nigerian culture and the performers delivered! Some There has to be a venue or venues to accommodate of ONE Management’s early clients were discovered the production. and signed based on performances from theatre.

In Nigeria, this is a huge challenge, as producers have to pay exorbitant prices for proper venues to 3. Bankable Producer, Director and Cast: stage their shows, let alone have the financial capaWho is in a play or show matters. Remember the bility to fund a production for more than a couple of controversial production Equus starring Harry days, if they have sponsors or the financial wherePorter actor Daniel Radcliffe? Or the influx of several withal. I remember a very popular Nigerian-subject ‘academy award winning actors and Grammy award Broadway production that was hosted in Nigeria

winning artistes’ included in several productions.

LupitaN’yongo in Eclipsed, a production byThe Walking Dead’s DanaiGurira’s, set amidst the Liberian Civil War. How about Will Smith and JayZ’s investment in Fela on Broadway led their fanbase and curious ones to go watch the play, it also helped that Fela is a huge music icon.

4. Marketing: To get those seats filled, you have to know how to get their attention and tell them why they need to see your production. Nothing beats marketing the right way!

5. Great reviews from those who matter…the Audience! One of the reasons I had to go watch Saro was the reviews I got from people who had seen the play and gushed a lot about it, I know some people who went to see it multiple times in the duration it ran.

Pricing also plays a huge role (pun intended) in theatre, in the west, theatre tickets are pricey and are seen as a of the affluent, in Nigeria it is the direct opposite, the average theatre tickets cost lower than an average music concert ticket. The average Broadway show ticket recently crossed the $100 mark.

Longtime TV and theatre producerKayode Peters, a pioneer in new Nigerian theatre alongside WoleOguntokun and Bunmi Davies, who at the beginning staged monthly theatre shows but had to reduce or stop completely due to paucity of funds and lack of sponsorship. “Most of our productions were self-funded and we were barely breaking even so some of us had to diversify and find other ways of doing what we love.” Peters has had the opportunity to take his purely Nigerian productions to Greece, Germany and Holland. “The west want to hear our story, we want to tell our stories first to our audience, but there isn’t an enabling environment for theatre to thrive. You either have deep pockets or heavy corporate sponsorship to sustain one production, and get to break even point” Peters says.

Theatre will thrive in Nigeria once we can stimulate a theatre going culture and show the viability of this sector. Using figures from the Lagos Theatre Festival held earlier this year, 109 shows with 5600 people in attendance x N1,000 = N5,600,000 a week (best case scenario) average case scenario at 70% paying audience, is N3,360,000 a week as gross revenue, providing employment for 150 people, from one production alone. If replicated in several locations/venues in different parts of Nigeria each month imagine the kind of revenue that will be generated; this is just from one aspect of the industry, I will touch more on the commercial viability of Nigerian theatre in the near future.

I am with Kayode Peters, OjomaOchai and more on the emergence of the renaissance of Nigerian theatre; we will get there soon with the right push.

- Emem is the CEO of ONE Management, a Nigeriabased media strategy and support company. dealmaker@one1mgt.com

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ARTS & REVIEW\\SOUNDING OFF

Hiss to Ease Yinka Olatunbosun

Jay-Z and Beyonce

MELTDOWNS AND 808S II – LEMONADE EDITION

Emem Ema

2

016 started on a very interesting note, the media was awash with a series of ‘beef’, accusations, speculations from celebrities and most of this took place on either live television or the new soapbox, social media. It is easy to understand, people in the spotlight are human too, their susceptibility and insecurities are just seen on a much more magnified level.

Fame is a drug, it can suck you in and spit you out, it is fleeting and we have seen what it can do to people. One day you are just another John Doe and with a stroke of providence or what some people call luck, you become Johnny be Good thrown into a life you only dreamt of, having people call your name, want to be or believe they are your best friends, making money faster than the bakery can get fresh bread out, people telling you how much you mean to them, and even your own idols call you by name. Little wonder when you ask an average youngster today what they’d like to be when they grow up, musician, actor and footballer are ranked tops; who will say no to fame, money and the life associated to the first two things mentioned?

The last couple of weeks have even been more interesting with a popular Nigerian entertainment family and couple accusing each other of dipping hands into each other’s pockets and other details that will be good for made for television viewing; leading up to suicide attempts, brawls and dirty linen displayed publicly.

Truth be told, 2016 is turning out to be a very financially challenging year for a lot of people especially those in the industry, even though the industry is one that thrives even in an economic downturn. Now back to our subject of the day.

Debt, Major life changes, pressure, health issues, bloated or bruised egos, career downturn, career and domestic demands, most times a cry for help because even they themselves, have no idea how to react to life’s changes. Corporates and even individuals are hardly paying the hefty sums they used to for an artiste’s performance or endorsements for a popular Nollywood talent to be the face of their product or brand. The few that are, make sure they get their pound of flesh and pint of blood when signing those contracts or they simply look for ‘not so expensive’ talent who they believe they will get value for their money from.

Please don’t believe the hype! No one is doling out or making that kind of ‘every week I will show my new acquisition on social media’ money. It therefore means their lifestyle will take a huge dent, no more popping bottles at clubs and frequent trips to ‘the abroad’, it may also mean more buying Rolexs, designer shoes, bags, or even beats from a producer on credit in hopes that, that big deal will come through.

Be prepared to see more frustrations come to light by way of rants, accusations of people using each other and public embarrassments of some of your favourite stars, for those that cannot handle their spending habits.

Life is all about balance and while you are on the rollercoaster of luxury and on cloud nine, always remember that the roller coaster still has to come down to earth, literally. You see, even the happiest place on earth shuts down for maintenance, reevaluation and experiences downtimes the reason why it is hardly seen

is they use the time that no one’s looking to recalibrate, reevaluate and rejuvenate. Some are smart, they know the fame will not last forever, so what do they do? They put the money they’ve made from that one hit or endorsement or movie franchise into good use; they diversify! A few of my colleagues are solidly into real estate, own filling stations or invest in businesses that produce residual income on a daily or weekly income for them.

For others that do not want to veer too far from familiar territory, they’ve expanded their reach into other territories; by going on tours or being involved in productions in other African and European countries which means two things, they are earning in foreign exchange and also increasing their brand reach.

Others have decided to use this time to hone their skills, go to music or acting school, others film school and use that opportunity to land jobs in other countries. Some have signed publishing deals or act as understudy in plays in the west end or Broadway (look out from some of them this year). If you don’t know how to save, at least buy treasury bills or maybe put the money in a fixed deposit until you decide what to do with it.

It isn’t for purchasing the new hot wheels, use the money you make from the one you’ve saved to treat yourself, you will need this money when you can no longer jump up and down on stage or be crowned ‘Sexiest Actor’. One more secret, get a trustworthy financial manager/ financial adviser they can help you organize your income, they know the ins and outs of finance business, and show you where the best place to invest in.

Ok as we are done with the financials, let us deal with the mental and emotional state; I tell some of my colleagues, people generally need to have an ‘out’ with all of life’s issues you have got to have an anchor; a solid spiritual life, great support system, a coach or mentor, someone you can trust and be vulnerable to without judging you. We all need it, some more than others because when ‘life happens’ you want to be as stable as possible and not easily swayed by some of its storms. Some people might need to consult a psychologist before it becomes too late and then settle for a psychiatrist. Should I tell you a secret? A lot of creative people need it more than most. Look how Beyoncé turned her own lemons into lemonade and that lemonade not only made her a couple of millions of dollars within the week of release, she broke a record with her sixth No.1 album on the charts and also solidifies her spot as one of the most dynamic creative in the world.

In Nigeria or Africa, when an artiste or actor or celebrity acts out of character on social media they quickly ‘report’ that their accounts to have been hacked by handlers or Lord help the person who is closest to them and they wish to crown with the cause of their present misfortune as the force behind the ‘rant’ or malicious statements spewed on their social media platforms (and I don’t think I am a prophet but the latest rant had these two things play a huge role in them). Use social media for your benefit not to tear down someone else, if you need to rant get a very close friend, pastor, mentor, therapist or imam and share your problems with the right channels. My humble advice is, don’t get mad…get smart!

Emem is the CEO of ONE Management, a Nigeriabased media strategy and support company. dealmaker@ one1mgt.com

It’s not anyone’s expectation that a play which began almost an hour after its scheduled time would last for just thirty minutes. Hiss! Perhaps it was part of the script to make us hiss, literarily. J.P Clark, the playwright, had always written short plays, or better still, dramatic sketches with strong socio-economic themes. His recent play, “The Hiss’’, produced by the founder, Live Theatre on Sunday, Sola Adenugba was performed last weekend at the Lagos Country Club, G.R.A., Ikeja and served as another evidence to his mastery of quickly-developed plot structure, wordy dialogue and lately, non-conventional theatrical style.

Adenugba had enjoyed minimalist plays for convenience and economic reasons. Good enough, he found another experimental comedy he could produce and the result of his findings birthed the play. In Adenugba’s production, the play relied largely on multi-media support for back-drops that established Lagos Island as the locale of the drama. The plot involved just two characters, Alero, a young undergraduate of the University of Lagos and a cantankerous commercial motorcyclist.

Alero’s destination was Ikoyi and she chanced upon a certain motorcyclist who was willing to embark on the long eventful ride.

At first, the audience entered the hall and experienced some shock at the sight of a motorcycle right there on centre-stage. “Is the motorcycle part of the show?’’, asked a man, who sat with his family in the mid-second row. Of course, it was and the synopsis on twitter bore the clue. The drama took place on the bike, almost all of it. The characters are essentially societal archetypes; the sort that ply the Nigerian roads daily. Alero’s character is also dynamic in that she is capable of not just representing the impoverished Lagosians whose means of daily transportation is the commercial motorcycle while at the same time she can pass for a middleclass woman, stranded, helpless, hops on a bike in a frantic effort to get to her destination. Through the conversation that ensued between her and the rider, she felt really insecure. From potholes to craters, she battled for her personal safety. The commercial rider informed her of how that motorcycle accommodates an entire family made up of children, born and unborn. Irrespective of Alero’s economic status, the motorcycle in J.P Clark’s play is a melting ground for the “haves and the have-nots’’. Inside that short play, the audience can see Marxist’s class struggle while the motorcycle remains an economic commodity.

The play matches contemporary needs in form and content. In form, most theatre production companies in Nigeria cannot afford heavy technical details. Hence, they need less to express more. For the lack of theatre spaces in Nigeria, producers like Adenugba have converted many available spaces to performance venues.

In content, the issues raised by the playwright are profound and necessary. The population explosion in Lagos has put a strain on the available infrastructure and even on commonsense. People no longer care about safety; money seems more important to survival. That’s why the motorcyclist sped without caution, unrestrained by law enforcement agents, and rode in possession of a firearm which was later discovered to be a mere toy. In retrospect, the motorcyclist is a dynamic character. He could be an ordinary man, perhaps unemployed for years, who is trying to earn a living or a robber in disguise. But the play ended when the motorcyclist grabbed Alero’s bag, surfed through the content and decidedly returned it to her house. It’s a comedy so it ended on a happy note. In reality, many commercial motorcyclists are not so good-natured. Part of the reasons for the state ban on them is the incident of armed robbery get-away made convenient by commercial motorcyclists.

The Hiss was staged last May Day weekend for Lagosians to unwind while reflecting on the lingering socio-economic issues in Nigeria.

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CICERO

Editor Vincent Obia Email vincent.obia@thisdaylive.com

IN THE ARENA

The Crackdown on Pro-Biafra Marchers

Monday’s clampdown on meetings and rallies in the South-east to mark Biafra Day is dangerous. It sends out an unfortunate message that peaceful protests don’t pay, writes Vincent Obia

M

ost people who have witnessed the start of armed conflicts in various parts of the country would agree that it was the coercive attitudes of the security agencies that basically fuelled the metamorphoses from peaceful agitation to violent struggle. The yesterday’s follies by the security agents are today’s tragedies that the country is paying dearly for. But it appears the security agencies have learnt nothing from the experiences, as their recent misconduct in the South-east shows.

Last Monday across the South-east, military and police personnel launched a massive crackdown on pro-Biafra rallies and gatherings organised to mark the Biafra anniversary or Igbo Day. Expectedly, the otherwise peaceful marches turned violent, leading to the death of innocent civilians, who were, allegedly, killed by soldiers and policemen.

In Ebonyi State on Tuesday, the state police command arraigned 92 alleged members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra in court in connection with the Biafra day celebration. In Enugu State on the same day, about 13 pro-Biafra activists were taken to court, charged with unlawful assembly.

The Indigenous People of Biafra is one of the groups alleged to have organised the rallies. The other is MASSOB. But the Igbo Day anniversary predates the two organisations.

IPOB stated in a release on Tuesday that 48 people were killed by the security operatives while more than 100 others were injured during the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the defunct Republic of Biafra.

But the military has denied that soldiers deliberately shot at the marchers. The Nigerian Army said security agencies, comprising the Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police, Department of State Services, and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, were compelled to attack the demonstrators, “Due to the widespread panic, tension and apprehension from the activities of MASSOB and IPOB members.”

The Army claimed that the pro-Biafra groups had attacked “the peace-loving populace as well as security agencies,” adding that the security agents intervened to also protect the Niger Bridge. Those claims simply don’t stand up to close scrutiny.

Eye witness accounts and media reports from the scenes of the incidents last week indicate that the largely peaceful gatherings turned violent when soldiers, police, and other security operatives swooped on the people with life ammunitions to effect arrests and try to stop the marches.

The military admitted that the security operatives shot and killed people in the process.

The military also said the security agencies intervened to protect the “strategic Niger Bridge.” Yet in their entire attempt to defend the needless clampdown of May 30, no evidence of an attempt to harm the bridge has been adduced by the military or the other security agencies.

The Army statement claimed, too, that the pro-Biafra demonstrations had been “orchestrated to mar the first anniversary of the present democratic government.” But the anniversary being referred to was marked with all the pomp and ceremony of a delightful national festival in all the capitals of the South-east states the day before, May 29, without incident.

Aside the claims by the military, the Anambra State government alleged that the peaceful demonstration by youths sympathetic to IPOB and MASSOB was hijacked by hoodlums who attacked security agents. But neither

the explanation by the Anambra State government nor the claims by the military authorities can justify the use of life bullets on protesters. Besides, it is the needless attempts to drive responsible leaders of the people underground that give room for such hijacks by hooligans.

The circumstances of the unfortunate incident in the Igbo South-east last Monday lend plausibility to allegations that the police and soldiers engaged in a shooting spree and mindless “wasting operation” against harmless civilian marchers. Whatever excuses the security agencies may give for turning their guns on citizens they are paid to protect are to all intents and purposes weak and based on illusory ideas of security.

Nigeria has abundant experience of avoidable situations that degenerated into protracted conflicts due to the insensitivity of the security agencies. President Muhammadu Buhari himself recently narrated how the tactlessness of some soldiers instigated Boko Haram’s radicalisation and transformation into a terrorist sect.

“There are a lot of problems in the country,” Buhari stated in an interview penultimate weekend to mark the first anniversary of his administration. “You have insurgency in the North-east. But how did Boko Haram start?

“If you could recall, it was like a group of political thugs, and along the line a young charismatic leader called Mohammed Yusuf emerged. That young man assumed that reputation in the North-east because of the way he preached.

One afternoon, the group wanted to go and bury one of their own. Most of them were on motorcycles; some wore helmets and some did not. Then, there were the military patrol vehicles. The normal thing was for them to wear helmets, but the group had a way of wearing their headgears. Instead of arresting them and taking them to court to pay a fine of some N250, the patrol team just shot six of them. Hell was let loose. The situation went out of control for the police, and the military took over. Mohammed Yusuf went into hiding; the military looked for him, arrested and handed him over

to the police, and he was murdered. That’s why we now have Boko Haram.”

In the Niger Delta, the systematic elimination of a generation of peaceful, intellectual agitators for a fairer treatment and deal for the oil-rich region provided the predicate for the unfortunate transformation to armed agitation. Like Ken Saro-Wiwa said in his final words before his “judicial murder” in 1995, “I predict that the denouement of the riddle of the Niger Delta will soon come. The agenda is being set at this trial. Whether the peaceful ways I have favoured will prevail depends on what the oppressor decides, what signals it sends out to the waiting public.”

Nigeria continues to battle these avoidable degenerations, with all the terrible cost in death, destruction, suffering, and economic dislocation.

The question is, how many more times does it need to be demonstrated that coercive tactics cannot silence a people’s agitation. They can only drive the agitation underground and beyond amicable and civil solution. This is the last thing Nigeria needs at this time.

The security agencies must respect the freedom of association guaranteed by the constitution of the country. And in the event of proven infraction, the laws of the country provide civilised methods of intervention, which, certainly, have nothing to do with the cold-blooded murder carried out by the police and soldiers in the towns and cities of the South-east last week.

The military and police authorities have been making statements and issuing threats in apparent attempt to conveniently sweep the unprovoked attack on innocent civilians under the carpet. But Buhari should not allow this. He should reassure the people that peaceful agitation remains the best option for the pursuit of change.

The onus is on the president to fish out and punish the overzealous security agents that seem bent on adding yet another front to the rash of armed dissents threatening to tear the country apart.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

Atiku’s Call for Restructuring of the Federation

O

Atiku

n Tuesday in Abuja, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar advocated the restructuring of the country into a truly federal state where the centre is “less centralised, less suffocating and less dictatorial in the affairs of our country’s constituent units and localities.” Atiku said the spate of agitations in different parts of the country pointed to an urgent need to change the current pseudo-federal structure that has stifled progress in virtually every area of the country’s existence.

The call by the former vice president is perfectly valid. It is an important boost to the campaign for a federal system with strong and viable federating units, which has been described as true federalism.

Handlers of the Nigerian state have spurned this campaign for so long. But as it is, it seems the choice for Nigeria is no longer between quasi-federalism and true federalism, but between true federalism and accelerated liquidation.

– Vincent Obia

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Bode George: PDP Derailed, Summersaulted, But We’ve A Unique Resilience, We’ll Bounce Back Chief Bode George, a member of the Board of Trustees of Peoples Democratic Party and former deputy national chairman of the party, is a contender for the national chairmanship position, which his native South-west is agitating for. George says the current disagreements within the erstwhile ruling party are the result of deviation from its foundational tenets and he accuses those who joined the party during the latter stages of its development of largely instigating the aberration. The PDP chieftain, who is a former military governor of old Ondo State, watches with polite interest the efforts to reconcile the various groups in the party, but says restoring discipline to PDP and respect for its constitution should be the first duty of the next national chairman of the party. George appeals to leaders of the party, especially from the South-west, who are still nursing grudges, to drop their protests and support efforts by the Board of Trustees to reconcile the feuding groups within the party. George speaks with Vincent Obia. Excerpts:

I

n 1999, major stakeholders in Peoples Democratic Party boasted that the party would govern for 60 years. With what is happening in PDP now, many are worried that it does not look like a party that can endure as a symbol of democracy outside of power and political patronage. Do you share this worry?

In any organisation, if you don’t have a solid foundation, a little wind will blow you away. The party was built on a tripod, a solid foundation of justice, fairness, and equity. As you develop, if any part of the tripod is lost, it becomes an unstable platform. It doesn’t mean it can collapse, but it becomes unstable.

Little wind will start to shake it to its very foundation. What we suffered was a gradual move away from the tenets of the founding fathers.

When we were building up the party, we had a lot of people coming. Being a political party, you cannot stop people from joining. But the people who were joining should have learnt the ropes, like we say in the Navy. They should have learnt the rudiments, the tenets that were holding the party together. Some of them, because they had money, thought that having money makes a man. No. Somehow, we got derailed; we got distracted by these characters. Some of us were saying, be careful, where are we going? In any African setting, when you ignore the old people, you are bound to hit some wall.

They thought it was going to be a straight road, like the apian way. Then, a little bump, and they got summersaulted. It is the result of that summersault that is ricocheting, making the party to be in a state of flux.

But because of the solid foundation, based on this tripod, justice, fairness and equity, we have a unique resilience. PDP started from the grassroots. The major problems that bedevilled this country were dealt with by the founding fathers. People whom you never have thought would come together, were all on the same boat. Solomon Lar, Alex Ekwueme, Adamu Ciroma, Sunday Awoniyi, Abubakar Rimi, even Bola Ige. At that time, they had a common denominator, which was to fight Abacha.

The minorities question…

Before 1960, the British didn’t address the problem of the minorities both in the North and South. Our party went to the extent of saying if you want peace in this country, you must carry the minorities along. Then we went into the six geopolitical zones structure. That is reflected in the PDP constitution, to make sure that the party has the full colours of Nigeria.

In the wisdom of the founding fathers, they thought there must be zoning, in other words, rotation of power. That is not new in history. That is what goes on in Switzerland till today.

Switzerland is made up of three major people, the Italians with their own capital in Lugano; the Germans with their own capital in Zurich; and the French with their capital in Geneva. How do they run their government? The president comes from those three groups in rotation.

PDP borrowed that idea and adopted the six geopolitical zones. There are six major positions: president, vice president, senate president, speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and national chairman of the party. So no zone would go without having something. If the president comes from the North, vice president would be from the South; senate president would be from the North, speaker would come from the South, in that order. Three zones in the North and three zones in the South. I, personally, termed it, “turn-by-turn-Nigeria Limited.” It was a new concept to ease the tribal tensions in this country.

I have led national campaigns; I have traversed the nooks and

we would bounce back.

Are you not worried that PDP is too preoccupied with its own internal wrangling to put the ruling party on its toes – at least the way APC had tried to do – and give the country the opposition that the democracy needs to grow and mature?

They were masters in opposition, we were masters in governance. Now the roles have reversed. But our people are still behaving as if we are in government. Like I told you, some people joined the ship midstream; they didn’t know the tenets of the party. They just jumped in there because they had some money.

PDP has a unique resilience. We were on the brink of a total chaos; we would have collapsed as a political party. But somehow, they Almighty God intervened. The separate conventions that were set up would have been the final straw that would break the camel’s back. We were at the precipice, but common sense struck and everybody moved back.

The opposition would have been buried. And without a solid opposition, the ruling party would just be doing what they like.

Do you trust the capacity of PDP’s internal mechanisms to return peace to the party?

George

crannies of this country. There is no village you would not find a PDP person. It was a movement that carried everybody along.

But sometimes if you get to a high position in government, you forget the tenets that brought you together. The Almighty has a way of correcting people.

The 60 years minimum that we thought we would be in government was without the proviso of saying, you must perpetually look back to see if you are utilising the resources of the people for their betterment and what are their cries. That was how we got a bloody nose.

Do you see PDP as a party that can still come back strong?

It wasn’t too bad. From about 28 states that we controlled, we have 12 now. As a Christian, God never said you will never have obstacles; but He said if you trust in Him you will bounce back when you meet the obstacle, make your correction and get going. That is the stage in which we are today. There is no other political party that is like PDP – deep-rooted, formed by a consensus of nationalists, etc. APC is a congregation of strange bedfellows. They are still struggling to weave together former Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party, Congress for Progressive Change, and New PDP to form a united APC. They had never been in control of the nation before. They have four years. We should give them time and not just punch them at every movement. We know they don’t have the resilience that we have. But after four years, we will go back to the people, with their record and our own record, and compete again.

In the entire story about PDP ruling for 60 years we forgot there was opposition and they could take it from us if we don’t manage it well. Even in your daily job, if you don’t have a kind of feedback mechanism to check if you are still on track, you will derail. We got a bloody nose, but it was not a technical knockout,

Those people, who were selling dummies to both sides of the isle, and those who were heading to courts here and there, will now get back to what the founding fathers stood for, to bring sanity back to the party. The party is not a lawless organisation.

There are issues where if you go to court without exhausting all the structures of redress within the party, you can be cashiered.

Now injunctions are like one for two pennies. But I still remember that there is a subsisting judgement of the Supreme Court that the courts should not interfere in the political wrangling of a party.

There are self-adjustment mechanisms within the party. For example, we have the Board of Trustees, the conscience of the party, which should be neutral when crisis come. One of the mandates of the BoT is to intervene when there is crisis in all the other organs.

People forgot that we don’t have the Villa anymore. If there was the Villa, that would have been the “supreme court” where you arbitrate. We are now getting used to being in the opposition. Our modus operandi must change. And people who are bent on decimating the party must be shown the way out so that we don’t crash. But, thank God, sanity has come into play.

But there are officers of the party, especially from the Southwest, with pending court cases against the dissolution of the NWC and NEC and the setting up of a caretaker committee, which lie at the heart of the current crisis in PDP. I want to seize this opportunity to talk to the two officers, the national secretary of the party and the national auditor, who are from the South-west, to sheathe their sword. All the others have come back on board. Let them stop struggling in uncharted waters and come back quickly. Because when they were seeking that office, we called a meeting of elders of the South-west in my house in Abuja and all the elders intervened. And I remember that we had to beg Chief Babatope and Professor Adeniran to drop the cases in court challenging those two people representing the South-west, and allow Professor Wale Oladipo and the national auditor, Alhaji Adewale Adeyanju, to go so that we could have peace.

As the Atono Oodua, I am also asking them now to go and sheathe their sword. They should cast their minds back to how they got the job so that there can be peace, so that history would be kind to them. There is no perpetuity in anything you have.

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Imam: Tambuwal Has Attached Great Importance to Equipping the People to Realise their Full Potential Mr. Imam Dalhatu Imam, the Special Adviser to Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, speaks on the governor’s priorities in the last one year, in this interview with Anayo Okolie. Excerpts:

H

ow does it feel to be in the executive arm after four years in the legislature?

The adjustment has been gradual and the experience worthwhile. However, the demands of the two offices are not similar largely because in the National Assembly, we were representing a constituency from far away in Abuja. But in the executive arm, as the number one citizen of a state, we are presiding over the affairs of the state from the state capital. We are working from within the midst of the people at all times. This gives us the opportunity to feel their pulse and work together with them to find lasting solutions to issues.

What sector do you think has been closest to Governor Aminu Tambuwal’s heart since his assumption of office one year ago?

From the word go, we streamlined and zeroed in our plan of action on five areas, namely, education, health, agriculture and environment, women and youth empowerment, job creation and development of solid minerals. In terms of revenue generation, we looked at our areas of competitive advantage and decided to explore it for the benefit of the citizenry. Within the first few days in office, we outlawed denying any child education in the state and put in place mechanism to punish any parent that refused to send his child to school. We followed that up with the declaration of state of emergency in the education sector and so far, visible impact has been made in that regard. We’ve built school infrastructure, recruited more teachers and ensured massive enrolment of new

intakes into schools. For the 2015/2016 school session, more than one million children were admitted into schools for the first time.

That is a massive number considering the lackadaisical manner the people handled past enrolments.

On health, we revamped the state primary health care development agency and implemented the PHC under-one-roof policy, which streamlined all policies in that sector for easy implementation. Such proactive measures were implemented in all the sectors. We felt we must approach governance with every idea, energy and resource at our disposal because our people deserve only the best from us.

How would you describe the relationship between labour and the Tambuwal government?

We have enjoyed a cordial relationship with labour unions in the state. They have been of tremendous help to the government and we have not failed in fulfilling our obligations to them. We have remained consistent in payment of staff salaries, retirement benefits and other remunerations to workers. In fact, all demands made to the government by the Nigerian Labour Congreves have been met. We have particularly ensured payment of accumulated life, death and contract gratuities and pension arrears of retired civil servants in the state. Recently, we paid benefits to beneficiaries for the period of December 2011 to August, 2015, amounting to well over N2.6 billion, and 1,901 former civil servants benefited. We have also sustained payment of regular monthly pension to retired civil servants. The sum of N1, 247,703,547.43 has so far been expended

Imam

from June 2015 to May 2016, with over 5,000 pensioners involved.

How would you assess the state government’s attention to agriculture, especially in this era of diversification and pressure to increase internally generated revenue?

Our farmers will testify to the fact that this administration has impacted positively in the sector in the last one year. We have purchased about 20,000 metric tonnes of assorted fertilisers, worth over N1.2 billion, for this year’s cropping season. The state government has also intervened in the provision of water pumps, seedlings, drilling tube wells and machineries at the cost of

N1.66 billion. Similarly, we have procured 1000 units of Tiller Machines for distribution to farmers.

We recently visited China to particularly explore areas of cooperation for agricultural development of our dear state. Accordingly, an MOU was signed on Distance Aid Training to essentially train students on Grains Food Security with Henan University of Technology via Polytechnic of Sokoto State. There is a similar agreement on the construction of Agricultural Science and Technology Park in collaboration with Henan Province. The state government has also signed an MOU with Camaco China – Africa Machinery Co-op to provide access for the state to concessionary Chinese funding on the platform of the China-Africa Development Fund (CADF). Currently, Data Base Census is being conducted for all farmers in the state with a view to identifying real farmers and their categories to enable the state government empower them correctly, and put in place proper budgeting for long-term planning.

What are some of the greatest challenges of the Tambuwal government?

Basically, we have challenges of funding.

Revenues from the Federation Account have dropped and that has made us to look inwards to generate internal revenue to execute many of our projects. We have challenges of expectation because the people expect miracles to happen at the shortest time possible. It is within their right to do so, even though realities on ground point to a different direction. We are working assiduously to meet such expectations even in the midst of dwindling resources.

• OladipO, adeyanju ShOuld RetRace cOnciliatORy pROceSS Of theiR emeRgence and Sheathe theiR SwORd • The only thing that lives forever is our Creator, the One who was, Who is, and will forever be, the God Almighty. They have served their time, they have run the race; allow the system because the party cannot be held to ransom by an individual.

I want to remind them, they still have a way to come back home. Don’t let people deceive them. All the other NWC members have accepted the position jointly held by the BoT, governors, and the founding fathers of the party. They can’t win. They are like somebody swimming against the tide, no matter how good you are in swimming, you will go down.

Let them come back on board before it is late.

I am appealing to these people, just few of them now, to retrace their steps and get on board so that history will have positive things to say about them.

What is the position of the South-west with regard to their earlier resolve to produce the next PDP national chairman?

We have a pool of human resources in the South-west and South-west has been very politically active way back, even before the white men came here. I believe when they throw it there, the elders would meet, and we will throw up a responsible, dedicated, and committed person who would represent the South-west in carrying the burden. The burden of leadership now is going to be different from the time we had the Villa. It is a burden of responsibility.

You were reported to have said you were not interested in the position of PDP national chairman…

I didn’t say that. What I said was that it is not a matter of life and death. I thank God Almighty, since I was 42 I came into public

glare. I was appointed governor of the old Ondo State. Of course, in the university I was an active student politician. That was when I saw the act of governance. When I left the Navy, I didn’t even know I would be this active in politics.

I was in London when Baba Obasanjo was released from prison. He called to say he and his wife, Stella, were in London and I should come and take them out for dinner. I took him and Stella out and that was where the discussion started. He narrated how people came to him to say he should be PDP’s presidential candidate. I also reasoned that we needed an experienced captain to stabilise the ship of the Nigerian state at the time. I arrived this country from London the day he declared his intention to contest at Golden Gate.

So, talking about PDP, if they want me to work, to help to stabilise the party, that’s okay.

But it must come from them. If you are going through trying times, you can’t but look for an organised, committed, loyal and dedicated person who knows the ingredients of the management of a party. I was at the national headquarters of the party for 10 years. I have been chairman of many national conventions.

I have also been the national chairman of the national campaign. You need somebody now to bring sanity, discipline back. In other words, somebody who would uphold the tenets of the constitution of the party.

If you become PDP national chairman, what would be your main focus of attention?

The main thing is that the moneybags would know that they are just ordinary members of the party. There must be discipline in the party. We will all be forced to follow the constitution of the party. That is what derailed this party, lack of respect for the constitution

of the party. Everybody has a right, but you cannot have a right that would override the tenets of the party. You must sustain the tripod upon which this party was founded: justice, fairness, and equity.

People got very disenchanted and headed for APC. PDP is not owned by anybody and that was why we were able to come back from the brink. This is not ANPP or ACN. But our attitude in PDP must be so positive to the electorate that they can believe we have learnt our lesson and we would manage the resources of this country for the betterment of the society.

Virtually all the state chapters of PDP in the South-west are in crisis. What is behind this and what can be done to resolve it?

What is behind it is what I have just explained. Some moneybag just emerged and thought he could have control over the executive members of each state. And some former chairmen of the party succumbed to the manoeuvring. No individual should be allowed to control the party. PDP is the only party up till now that is non-tribal, national, and has membership from every nook and cranny of this country.

Are you considering leaving PDP?

Never! The day I leave, I’m back to my house. I’m not a rolling stone. We are the landlords in the party. Even if the roof is leaking, we must repair it rather than go and be a tenant elsewhere. I’ve been talking to some of my friends, you see, out of annoyance they left.

Maybe, deservedly, but what has become of the defection.

A tenant will always be a tenant. The day the landlord comes, he can say, get out of my house. Let them come home. That must be one

of the major jobs a new chairman would do. To get us back and make sure we re-establish the foundation.

How do you see the legality of the caretaker committee?

Once you have this kind of crisis, the best thing is to appoint one or two people to go and run the system until you stabilise. That was why they gave them 90 days. They are to manage and consult in order to reduce the tension in the party. It is acceptable in our constitution if you have a crisis like that.

Besides, the convention is the highest authority of the party. The national convention was mandated by NEC. Once that is done, whatever is discussed at the national convention, it is only another convention that can change it. That is the way the party is organised.

But there were two conventions.

We generated delegates for the convention in Port Harcourt. The convention in Abuja was a congregation of some concerned elders. They did not have the power to generate delegates from the grassroots up to the national level.

The one in Port Harcourt generated delegates from the grassroots and they congregated there.

That is the convention. It was as a result of the disagreement as to whether or not Sheriff should convert himself to perpetual chairman that the other one in Abuja held.

The caretaker committee is legitimate; they have the mandate of the convention, which is the highest authority of the party. Anybody who wants to change the decisions of that convention must wait for another convention. I read where Sheriff said he stormed out and since he was not there the decisions were illegitimate. That is why you have a deputy, and the deputy said he was present.

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CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

L-R: Mohammed, Osinbajo and Wike

Ogoni: Cleaning Up an Oily Impediment to Peace, Development Thousands of people who defied the early morning rains to witness the kick-off of the clean-up of Ogoni were disappointed that President Muhammadu Buhari did not make it to the event. But the enthusiasm for the take-off of the exercise was overwhelming and across party lines, writes Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt

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housands of people defied the heavy rains on Thursday morning to converge on Tekru Waterfront, Bodo City, venue of the flag-off of the clean-up of Ogoni land and other impacted communities of the Niger Delta.

For some, the most important event of the day was not just the commencement of the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report that recommended the clean-up of the area. It was to catch a glimpse of President Muhammadu Buhari, who would be fulfilling his electioneering promise to clean up the area devastated by years of oil exploration and exploitation. They came in their numbers, dressed in their best for the celebration of the restoration of their environment and livelihood, expecting to see the man who made it possible.

The marshy environment, a result of the heavy downpour, did not deter anybody.

Not even the security scrutiny of guests was enough to dampen the spirit of the people.

Conspicuous Absence The event started with goodwill messages, obviously, to buy time while waiting for the arrival of Mr. President. Speeches flowed, singers and dancers entertained. People hailed as dignitaries arrived, but they reserved the

main accolade for the president.

Then about 11.10am a helicopter landed close to the venue. There was a flurry of activities and some people even told the crowd that Buhari had arrived. But when the entourage walked into the venue about 11.15am and the master of ceremonies announced the arrival of the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, as the representative of Buhari, it was like a wind of disappointment swept through the crowd.

“Wetin dis man sef dey fear wey make am no come? Abi na Niger Delta Avengers? We, we no dey here?” said somebody from the crowd. In his disappointment, he attributed Buhari’s absence to an earlier threat by the militant Niger Delta Avengers.

Important Milestone However, the disappointment over the absence of Buhari did not make the people lose sight of the significance of the event of the day, the launch of the clean-up of Ogoniland and other oil-impacted communities in the Niger Delta. All the speakers at the ceremony spoke of the uniqueness of the event and why the day marked a turn-around in the fortunes of Ogoni people and the Niger Delta.

Osinbajo, who represented the president, kicked off the implementation of the UNEP report on the clean-up of Ogoniland and other oil-impacted areas of the Niger Delta

with a warning that the Buhari administration would no longer tolerate oil theft and illegal refineries in the region. He expressed regret that oil exploration and production in Ogoniland and the Niger Delta had negatively affected the ecosystem.

Delivering Buhari’s address, the vice president said, “I recall the time as a military Head of State when I visited Bodo Town in Ogoniland. During that visit, I commissioned a large fish pond and planted a tree as a sign for that government’s concern for the environment. Unfortunately, since then, the degradation of land, water and air has done huge damage to the fragile ecosystem of the Niger Delta, especially the Ogoniland.

“Oil exploration and production have been going on in Nigeria for six decades. Oil has given a boost to the Nigerian economy, but the ecosystem of the Niger Delta has been severely damaged. Fishing and agriculture have been badly affected. There were acts, enactment, laws, guidelines, regulations to govern the operators of the oil industry.

However, either because of lack of will or wilful non-compliance with environmental laws, the environment was put in jeopardy.”

Giving an insight into what gave rise to militancy in the region, Buhari said, “The various communities in the Niger Delta region, noting the negative impact of oil production and lack of consideration for best

practices, quite right commenced the struggle for justice and fair play in the conduct of business by the oil industry operators. This, unfortunately, led to loss of lives and property.

International concern was raised while past governments were urged to take decisive steps to address the issue.”

Buhari noted that former President Olusegun Obasanjo engaged the UNEP to undertake a mission towards the clean-up of Ogoniland but expressed regret that the previous administration did not implement the recommendations.

“The report was submitted to my predecessor in office in 2011, but the implementation was not accorded the necessary support it required. The people of Ogoniland continued to suffer from pollution of air, land and water,” he said.

He recalled that he promised the people of Ogoni during the 2015 election campaigns that he would implement the clean-up of the area if elected president and said the flag off of the exercise was a fulfilment of that promise.

“We are determined to put right the wrongs of the past, where the people of this land were treated unfairly and their environment unduly degraded,” the president vowed.

He reiterated, “Today, we are in Ogoniland, in the heart of the Niger Delta to fulfil

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CICERO/ONTHEWATCH •OgOni: Cleaning Up an Oily impediment tO peaCe, develOpment COnt’d frOm pg. 82 • our promise to you and to bring justice and succour to our people. The clean-up of this land will require change on the path of all those who deal with the Niger Delta environment, particularly the oil companies and our communities. The tempo of this assignment increased when my cabinet was constituted.

“The Honourable Minister of Environment consulted all relevant ministries to actualise the UNEP report. We are, therefore, laying a solid foundation today for the restoration of the fragile ecosystem of Ogoniland and the rest of the Niger Delta.”

Buhari noted that the UNEP report indicated a timeline of 25 to 30 years to achieve a full restoration of the environment of the Niger Delta. “The first step begins with a solid foundation, which would be brought about through consultation, transparency, accountability, investing in the people and the environment,” he said.

He called on all Nigerians, irrespective of political affiliation, to support the effort of his administration as, “Our lives to a great extent depend on the quality of our environment.”

Warning The president, however, warned, “Let me seize this opportunity to sound a note of warning that the current oil theft and illegal refining will not be tolerated. The regulators of the oil industry must live up to expectations. They must ensure that oil companies carry out their operations in line with universal best practices.”

He said his administration was laying a foundation for change, adding, “The government places high emphasis on the diversification of our economy. This is to ensure that our economy is strong and capable of supporting our teeming young people through job and wealth creation.”

Closing an Ugly Chapter In his address, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike said the state would provide the required platform for the successful cleanup of Ogoni land and the implementation of the UNEP report.

Wike said, “On our part, the Rivers State Government will ever be willing to provide the platform for a smooth achievement of this long awaited intervention. We acknowledge that this is a federal initiative. The direct impact is borne by our people. We, therefore, urge all our stakeholders to embrace and support this federal government gesture and ensure a hitch-free exercise.”

The governor commended Buhari for initiating the clean-up exercise, noting, “We therefore welcome this initiative wholeheartedly as shown by our enthusiastic presence, believing that the recommendations of UNEP will be systematically executed. This is because, we believe that only environmental justice would restore sustainable peace, stability and socio-economic progress in the Niger Delta.

“We commend Mr. President’s determination to close this ugly chapter in our country’s history. Although this has taken long in coming; it is never too late when it comes to the environment. Therefore, Mr. President, Sir, your presence in Ogoniland today is a testimonial of the long awaited clean-up and remediation exercises of the Niger Delta polluted environment.”

The governor stated that the entire Niger Delta had been subjected to the worst forms of environmental degradation ever experienced by mankind. He added that millions of barrels of oil had been spilled into the environment by companies exploiting and extracting hydrocarbons from the area with severe consequences for the ecosystem, including wildlife, marine habitations, soil and water quality and human health.

According to Wike, “Despite continuing protests by the people, the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta has not stopped. Oil spills continue to occur with distressing regularity even in Ogoniland, where oil exploitation had since 1993 ceased.

“As the UNEP report starkly reveals, the degree of environmental damage in the Niger Delta has been so deep and expansive that it would take several decades to carry out full remediation of impacted sites.

“The UNEP report, which is the precursor to today’s event, is significant for at least, two reasons. First, it presents the best available

An oil spill site

and factually detailed documentation of the scale of the existing and continuing damage to the entire Ogoni environment and, by extension, the Niger Delta. Second, and most significantly, it presents a clear roadmap on the priorities for action by government, stakeholders and the international community in terms of clean-up, remediation and restoration of the damage that has accumulated over the years.”

He explained that the launch of the cleanup exercise was a watershed for the victims of environmental degradation, pointing out that the exercise marks a success in the collective struggle for environmental justice from the Nigerian nation and the world community.

Promise Kept Minister of Environment, Mrs Amina Muhammed, in her welcome address, said, “This is a promise that is being kept by President Muhammadu Buhari to launch and implement the UNEP Report and its recommendations for the clean-up. It is now a collective responsibility. It will require the trust that we have lost over the decades; it will require transparency and accountability and it will require proper representation of the people in what we are doing in investing in their future. It will also require that we do things differently. That is why this administration called for change.”

Executive Director of UNEP, Mr.Achim Steiner, in his remarks, confessed that the task of producing the report was a great risk taken by the UNEP team. But he thanked former Obasanjo for taking the initiative to start the process of cleaning up the devastated Ogoni environment.

“I didn’t think that this day will come, the day for the implementation of the report. We have waited for long but, thank God, today has come,” he said.

Steiner said UNEP would stand by the federal government and the people of Ogoniland to ensure the success of the clean-up.

Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, in his address, recalled the efforts he made, as the sitting governor in the state, to persuade former President Goodluck Jonathan to start the process of implementing the UNEP report. He regretted that the efforts did not yield the desired result.

Amaechi lauded Buhari for taking the bold step to ensure the commencement of the implementation process, adding, “He promised and he is keeping that promise…

“Today, we are gathered here in keeping with the promise by President Muhammadu Buhari, knowing that the economy of the Ogoni people will improve. In keeping with that promise, we know that there is no how you spend $1 billion here and we shall not

create employment.”

Victory for Ogoni Struggle In his address, president of Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Mr. Legborsi Pyagbara, thanked Buhari and everybody that supported “the Ogoni Cause”.

Pyagbara said, “We are here to appreciate the immense contributions of different people; of our friends; of our supporters and of those who stood with us when some people found it difficult to stand with us. We want to thank those who helped us to get to where we are today; without their support, this story would have been different.

“Environmental restoration of our land remains the central plan of the Ogoni struggle. To the Ogoni people therefore, this day is a historic moment. It is the beginning of our victory; our journey for justice has been recognised. Our strategy of non-violence has been vindicated with the flag-off of the clean-up initiative by the president today.”

He explained, “The history of UNEP Report and its implementation did not just come; it has its origin in the Ogoni struggle.

Sometime on August 26, 1990, the Ogoni people launched the Ogoni Bill of Rights which, among others, demanded from the federal government to protect the rights of the Ogoni people to a safe and clean environment. We believe that, that singular action, that non-violent approach by the Ogoni people is today being rewarded by the action that will be taking place here today.

“In the course of the Ogoni struggle, over 2,000 souls were lost; some communities were decimated, a whole generation were wiped off and, of course, thousands were driven into exile. In spite of all these, the Ogoni people remained resilient and resolute and we continued to keep the faith with non-violent methodology and peaceful engagement, despite violent contestation from the other parts of the Niger Delta. We have kept the faith with the non-violent struggle which has changed the course of our history as a people and as a nation. Today, my brothers and sisters, marks the triumph of non-violence.

“It is on this note that we call on all those who are involved in violent agitations in our country to sheathe their sword and embrace a non-violent, peaceful advocacy. This is very important because the benefits of non-violence are immense. We also urge our government to avoid acting in ways that tend to suggest that they listen only when there is violence.

Government should protect the rights of the citizens without making them to resort to violent demands.”

Pyagbara said the launch of the clean-up “is a clear indication that the process of national healing and reconciliation with the Ogoni people, which we had believed will herald the second coming of the president

had taken off effectively in Ogoniland.”

He also said, “We also call for steady and successful clean up...The government, as a matter of urgency, should also place a limiting framework that would ensure that the oil companies adopt best practices to keep a sustainable environment and avoid those practices that created the environmental devastation that we are trying to address today. For a successful clean-up in Ogoniland, it will be necessary to back this up with a sustainable socio-economic framework that addresses the tripod issue of poverty, of infrastructural decay and representation.

“It is in this note, that we call on the president, as he steps in today, there is a critical infrastructural problem that also needs to be addressed. We are urging Mr President to seize the opportunity of being here today to re-award the Bodo/Bonny Road.”

Speaking on behalf of the Ogoni community, the president of Supreme Council of Ogoni Traditional Rulers, King GNK Giniwa, said Jonathan made a mistake by not implementing the UNEP report.

“My son, President Goodluck Jonathan, failed to do what he promised to do for Ogoni people. I thank President Buhari for coming to our rescue. Time for mourning is gone. Ogoni people are happy. Buhari has not failed us,” he said.

Earlier, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah, who mediated in the crisis between Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and Ogoni people, recalled the incidents that trailed the resolution of the Ogoni crisis.

He said, “This is a day we didn’t believe we will see. There is a time for everything.

This moment is not an accident. We are not yet at the point of celebration but it is a moment we all cherish.” While paying tribute to Obasanjo and former Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, Kukah saiod, “I think it is the greatness of our country that we can come from different directions and still meet at one junction in the interest of our people.”

Former Captain of the Super Eagles, Chief Joseph Yobo, also commended Buhari for the take-off of the project and said Ogoni youths would provide the enabling peaceful environment for the implementation of the report.

Former chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe, also commended Buhari for the take-off of the project. “Today, we stand at the threshold of history; the Ogoni people are making history today in Nigeria. Without blowing up one pipeline, without kidnapping one white man, but by stubbornly insisting on what is right,” he said.

Abe called on other agitators in the Niger Delta to follow the example set by the Ogoni people by staying away from oil theft, pipeline vandalism and other vices.

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Akinmade: Urban Renewal Projects Have Repositioned Ondo Since February 3, 1976, when Ondo State was created from the then Western State, it has always been in a class of its own in politics, human and natural resources. In this interview, the Commissioner for Information, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, spoke on how Governor Olusegun Mimiko has boosted the profile of the state through infrastructural development. Raheem Akingbolu brings excerpts

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to give traders soft loans at single digit interest. Traders were asked to organise themselves into groups –egbe alalubosa, egbe alata, egbe alaso and the rest and access the loan through their various groups. With this intervention, we have changed the practice of the past when women would go to the shylocks, who gave out money under very harsh conditions.

he decision of Governor Olusegun Mimiko administration to embark on construction of a Dome generated debate few years ago, what do you think informed the project?

The dome was built principally by Mimiko administration to turn Ondo State to event destination. The state government conceived the idea of creating an international platform for events to attract the rest of the world and so came up with the construction of a standard Dome that could be of international standard.

In line with that aspiration, the state also thought there was a need to build urban centers that would make Ondo State a stop shop for conferences, shopping and hospitality. As I speak, the state is also talking to some partners who are working to provide a five star hotel, close to the Dome. The Hotel is important in the same vicinity so that it will serve the dome and attend to the needs of conferences holding at the Dome.

In the same way, the state conceived the idea of a shopping mall, which led to the building and inauguration of Shoprite recently.

Therefore, the idea behind the dome is to draw all major events in Nigeria to Ondo State. What we have there can conveniently sit 2,500 guests at the same time. In addition to the main hall, we also have three other adjoining domes that can collectively accommodate 4,500 people at a time. What that translates to is the fact that if we have events that involve about 6000 or 7000 people in Nigeria, Ondo State is an ideal place for it. With it, it will be easy to convince potential guests that Ondo has the best place in terms of event packaging and procedures. The one that is ready is the one that can sit 2500. It also has two syndicate rooms that can sit 1000 and 650 participants, respectively with ease.

In the last few months, we have hosted two events; the Nigerian Society of Engineers, which attracted about 6500 Engineers across the country and The Best of Nollywood Award in December last year, which attracted artists nationwide.

Beyond the Dome, what are other things visitors to Ondo State stand to enjoy?

Before going to that let me quickly add that another thing we want to achieve with the dome is to bring out people from the boisterous atmosphere in Lagos to a more serene environment.

Aside hosting events, Ondo State can also provide tourism opportunities for visitors. For instance, Idanre Hill Resorts is just a few kilometers from here. This place to Shoprite is about two kilometers and from here to our Habitat Heritage at Owena is about 16 kilometers. And to our medical village is about 22 kilometers. Now, Ondo State is not only providing hospital but we are providing one with the best facilities money can buy.

It is believed in some quarters that Governor Mimiko focuses more on the health sector, could that be because he is a medical doctor?

That Mimiko develops only the health sector is the figment of the imagination of those that hold that assumption. In the history of Ondo State, there is no government that has built 54 mega schools from the scratch. There is no local government you can visit that you will not see either the type ‘A’ or type ‘B’ or even Type ‘C’ of such schools. It is not however building for building sake but we are building for the need of the next generation.

Our public schools in Ondo State are far better than private schools in the country with the best of facilities and the best human resources. Ondo State does not only meet the UNESCO standard, it surpasses it because UNESCO recommends 26 per class and ours is 25 per class. The teachers interact with students in Ondo Mega Schools with electronic billboards and we also have e-library. Students here can connect to the internet from the comfort of their classes. They can also access information that would enhance quality learning through the internet. Even as a researcher, one can enter any of our libraries and study extensively for PhD. When we were young, we don’t have access to all these but we are creating this for the next generation so that our students will not look inferior to their counterparts in Ivy League Schools like Corona or The Vale College. It is only here that you see parents withdrawing their children from private schools to public schools.

And it is only here that you see the child of a carpenter sitting side by side with the child of a commissioner or bank manager in the same class to learn. With this, we have bridged the gap between the rich and the poor because the quality is there and the standard is there. Governor Mimiko is doing all these to use the instrumentality of government to create a kind of equilibrium.

We also provide transportation by taking the children of the less privileged from their homes to school and come back every day at no cost to their parents. During a recent interactive session, one of the parents stunned our people when he said the state government saves him N800 everyday because he has four

What has the administration done to engage the youths?

On assumption of office, Mimiko discovered there was a disconnection between the people and the government and quickly gathered some vibrant youths and trained them in various vocations.

After this, he took them to community development ministry and cooperative societies where they were called changed champions.

Along the same line, on assumption of office, Governor Mimiko sent a team of people to the nooks and crannies of the state to do need assessment of the people. Initially, people were skeptical simply because they had not seen that kind of government at work in the past. What they were used to was for government to decide alone and embark on projects. But because they were not part of the decision making process, they hardly protect these projects and in most cases, it might not be what they needed in their communities. As a result of such interaction, about 656 communities based projects have been constructed in communities.

In some communities, they suggested town halls, some wanted cottage industries while some went for hospitals. That is why anywhere you get to; you see projects that align with the need of the people.

The administration was in the news few years ago as a result of its construction of a particular hospital that cared for women, what informed it?

Akinmade

children, who would have required at least N200 each to go to school every day. If that is multiplied by 30, we can imagine how such parent would have saved per month. Beyond this, we are trying to change the psychology of the children in a way that they would feel the impact of government and will be willing to contribute their quotas in future.

How far has the administration gone about the much talked about urban renewal?

Urban renewal is something Mr. Governor has always taken serious. It is no more a dream but a practical intervention to change the face of Ondo State. That Akure appears more beautiful these days is not by accident. Looking back, Ondo State was created since 1976 and it has been on the master plan since then that Arakale should be dualised but no administration considered it necessary until Mimiko administration came on board.

Until 2009, no government had the political will to dualise Arakale, simply because of some myths that were built around a few trees or junctions. There had always been the belief that if a particular tree was uprooted, demons would appear and so past administrations got scared. But when Mimiko assumed office, he said government was created to make life easy for people. To this end, he went out and did reassessment of the area and spoke to the people on the need to move away from the past and got the place developed. He went there and conducted an inventory on the number of shops, houses and agreed on compensation for all of them. He went a step further by taking the assessment of the residents, including tenants, who would be displaced and went out first to see how these people would be compensated.

It was after this that Bulldozer went into Arakale and guess what, when it eventually came, our people were simply clapping.

From the beginning, they were carried along, government made them know that they mattered and that the development was for better. People living within may not appreciate this much but people who have left Akure seven or eight years ago, will recognize the facelift more. It took a proactive government to get that one done.

Another important point to note is that while we were taking the inventory of traders on the street, we realized the need to get befitting markets for our people. That was part of what led to the building of neighbouhood markets in all the local governments. In Akure alone, we have about six of such markets. In a way, these markets have also changed people’s perception and status. In the past our market women went to market in tattered clothes because they were bound to come home dirty because of the environment but now with convivial environment, they go to their markets as if they are going to party. Many of them have DStv and other devices in their shops. They get all these at minimal cost unlike some states, where these things are built for the bourgeoisie. All these are done through the intervention of government to better the lots of the people.

There are also micro credit schemes instituted by Mr. Governor

When Mimiko came on board, the statistic we found indicated that Ondo State had one of the highest maternal mortality rates, what that means was that there was a chance that a particular percentage of women in pregnancy would die in Ondo State.

Mimiko found it odd and declared that pregnancy shouldn’t be a death sentence to our women and he moved in with a health initiative to arrest the situation. He also identified the jeopardy of women in society; the discrimination against them, the motherhood and the struggle to keep their homes. He also observed that women in this part of the world grow older than their age because of the high mortality rate. It is here that you see a woman who is just 35, looking as if she is already 60. To this end, he came up with the Abiye project, which has entered the global lexicon when it comes to addressing maternal mortality issues. It has not only won local recognition but also United Nations and the accolades of other international organisations as the best intervention in that regard in the whole of Africa that other governments could emulate to better the lots of their women and children. And how did we arrive at this? We connected our health facilities together; we connected the health centers in various towns and villages to the comprehensive health centers and connected them to the state specialist hospital. We also thought of the need to have a referral center that would take care of life threatening cases.

That was what brought about the idea of Mother and Child hospitals; we currently have two; one in Akure and the other in Ondo town. Before the end of the year, we are planning to have another two in the South and Northern Senatorial districts. With this, we have been able to empirically prove that Ondo State is now leading other states in Nigeria in the area of checking maternal mortality issue.

There is another argument that development in Ondo State is concentrated in the Central Senatorial District, what is your take on this?

Again, that view can only be shared by people who don’t go beyond a senatorial district. In Owo, the government has constructed a dual carriage way that is of world standard. Owo is an ancient town with historical antecedents because the formation of Egbe Omo Oduduwa in 1954 was in Owo, the formation of the then Unity Party of Nigeria was in Owo, the first executive governor of Ondo State, Chief Adekunle Ajasin was from Owo, the ancient School, Imode College that has produced many prominent Nigerians is in Owo and a lot of other historical antecedents. We should not forget too that the late Ajasin, an Owo indigene, wrote the education policy of the then Western Region of Nigeria.

Unfortunately, the town has been alienated for years in the area of infrastructural development until Governor Mimiko came on board. Today, if you enter Owo, what you see is asphalt laid beautiful road that makes the ancient town attractive and the people are excited. Again, on your way to Owo, there is a mega school built in Uso that can accommodate at least 1500 pupils.

And within Owo town, there are two of such mega schools, while we are also working on another one in the Ijebu-Owo area.

Continue on www.thisdaylive.com

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

CICERO/REPORT

Walid Jibrin

Makarfi

Sheriff

PDP Board of Trustees Oversees a Difficult Reconciliation As various groups in PDP tussle with one another for control of the opposition party, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, in Abuja, looks at the prospects of the reconciliation effort led by the Board of Trustees

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eace may be gradually returning to the once all-powerful Peoples Democratic Party, but the party is still far from achieving full reconciliation between the various feuding elements. As at Thursday, the reconciliation effort initiated at the behest of the national caucus and stakeholders of the party in Abuja appeared to be on the rocks, as some parties to the dispute failed to withdraw their pending court cases. Part of the resolutions reached at the stakeholders’ peace meeting, which comprised governors, National Assembly members, the Board of Trustees, and aggrieved PDP stakeholders, was that all the suits instituted against the party should be withdrawn.

Resolution The sign of gradual return of peace in the PDP came after a pledge last week by the chairman of the national caretaker committee, Ahmed Makarfi, and the ousted national chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, to find a solution to their disagreement.

The appointment of the Makarfi-led caretaker committee had received the endorsement of the party’s Board of Trustees and most members of the dissolved National Working Committee.

The Port Harcourt convention had also set up a reconciliatory committee led by Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson. The Dickson committee was well received by leaders of the party, including Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Professor Jerry Gana, and the 12 governors on the party’s platform.

In a resolution endorsed by eight members of the sacked NWC on Wednesday, they said they accept without equivocation all decisions and resolutions of the national convention of the PDP held in Port Harcourt on May 21, including the appointment of a caretaker committee to take over the running of the party.

The resolution was signed by eight members of the NWC, Prince Uche Secondus (deputy national chairman), Hon. Onwe Solomon Onwe (deputy national secretary), Victor Yusufu Kwon (national legal adviser), Dr. Kema Chikwe (former national woman leader), Hon. Abdullahi Maibasira (national youth leader), Elder Bolaji Anani (national financial secretary), Alhaji Buhari Bala, OFR (national treasurer), and Chief Olisa Metuh (national publicity secretary), who was indisposed on health grounds but agreed with the resolution.

They said the dissolution of the NWC at the Port Harcourt convention was in line with their decision to freely give up their tenures for congresses and convention to be held. The resolution read, “As products of the party’s national convention, we accept without equivocation all decisions and resolutions of the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party held in Port Harcourt on 21st May 2016.

“The decision of the national convention dissolving the National Working Committee merely re-echoes our undeniable decision as members of National Working Committee to give up our tenures for congresses and convention to be held in May 2016.

“The national caretaker committee constituted by the national convention on 21st May 2016 is fully within the powers of the national convention under Section 33(5) (e) of the party’s constitution. We recognise the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led national caretaker committee of the PDP and offer the committee all our support and cooperation.

“As responsible and honourable party members who have had the privilege of serving the party at the highest level, we do not support and are not party to any suit, action or activity seeking to challenge the decisions of the national convention in appointing the national caretaker committee or dissolving the former NWC, which had, at any rate, earlier agreed to go.”

Continuous Litigation Sheriff and two other members of the dissolved NWC, the former national secretary, Professor Adewole Oladipo, and national auditor, Alhaji Fatai Adeyanju, had filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos, praying for an interlocutory injunction restraining PDP from conducting any election into the offices of the national chairman, national secretary and national auditor, which they occupied, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

They got the court to bar the party from conducting elections into the three offices pending the hearing and determination of the suit. The judge also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from monitoring the election.

In his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos, held that the Makarfi committee was appointed in violation of an order he made on May 12. Buba directed the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, to enforce the order.

However, in another suit, Justice A.M. Liman, of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had ordered INEC to recognise the Makarfi-led committee of the PDP. The court also restrained Sheriff, Oladipo and other sacked members of the NWC and National Executive Committee from parading themselves as officials of the PDP. BoT Takeover But contrary to expectations, the caretaker committee headed by Makarfi failed to resume duty on Wednesday due to a subsisting court injunction.

It would be recalled the PDP has been dogged with crisis, which led to closure of the party’s secretariat from May 22 to May 30, when it was reopened on the orders of Arase. However, the party’s BoT on Wednesday said it

was taking over affairs at the PDP pending the resolution of the leadership crisis rocking the party.

The BoT chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin, who addressed workers at the party’s secretariat on Wednesday, said the board was the only legal body of the party now that had not been encumbered by any court order. Before the takeover by the BoT, both Sheriff and Markarfi had met with Arase, where they made an undertaking to ensure that peace reigned and none of the aggrieved groups would constitute a breach to the peace. It was based on that premise that the police decided to withdraw its men from the PDP national secretariat and allow the reopening of the place last Monday.

The BoT chairman came to the meeting accompanied by the secretary of the board, Ambassador Ojo Maduekwe, former deputy senate president, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, and former senate majority leader, Senator Stella Omu, among others. Jibril explained that the sealing off of the national secretariat by men of the Nigeria Police was to protect and safeguard the party’s property.

He said, “Nobody has taken the BoT to court. Today the BoT remains the only legal body now in the whole setup and that is why we are here to play our role. We are here to perform our duty according to PDP constitution, hoping that our problems will soon be resolved.”

Jibrin said the board would operate from the board room, adding, “We are not going to take over anybody’s office.” He described the problem of the party as temporary, saying it would be overcome soon. According to him, “We have gone very far to resolve this matter, we are making contacts and consultations and we are not here to blame anybody, but to resolve the problem.”

On the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State, the process that will lead to selection of PDP candidate, and how the party will meet INEC’s timetable, Jubrin said, “I want to assure that we are putting heads together with our lawyers, which will not last long. So be rest assured that everything will be in order.

“We, the BoT, have been asked under the constitution of the party to be in charge of the assets and the liabilities of the PDP generally. It is in that respect that the Inspector General of Police, having considered the importance of our constitution and having considered the importance of the staff of the PDP headquarters here, ordered that this place be opened and not only be opened but is entrusted in the hands of the BoT. “PDP will never die, we are only on sabbatical and once the sabbatical is over, we are going to take over our leadership, we are going back in 2019.”

On his part, Maduekwe said the board had decided to oversee the affairs of the party to prevent a vacuum in the face of conflicting court orders. “We are giving members opportunity to withdraw all cases in court so that PDP can rebrand,” he stated.

Continued online on www.thisdaylive.com

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

CICERO/REPORT

Oko Ako Fulani Herdsmen Invasion: Still Reeling from the Shock Olakiitan Victor, in Ado Ekiti, reports on the recent invasion of Oke Ako community in Ekiti State by Fulani herdsmen

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efore the recent tragedy, where two persons, including one Lekan Arosanyin, were killed by rampaging Fulani herdsmen in Oke Ako Ekiti, in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, the town was generally sleepy, remote, agrarian, and accommodating of various ethnic nationalities in the country. The fairly big town is about one and half hours’ drive from Ado Ekiti, capital of Ekiti State, and 30 minutes’ drive from Ikole Ekiti, the headquarters of the council area.

The community, located in the northern axis of the state, shares boundary with Irele Ekiti, a town a few kilometres to Ponyan in Kogi State. Its location makes a favourable entry point for northerners, particularly, the Ebira and the Fulani herdsmen, who would like to benefit from the propitious atmospheric condition of the town as well as the lush vegetation for grazing.

Attack

But on the night of May 20, suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked Oke Ako town and killed two residents, while 11 persons were injured. The longstanding mutual relationship and cohabitation between the natives and the nomads became strained as a result of the development.

Efforts are now being made to restore normalcy to the town.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that the gory incident happened about 8pm. A woman, Mrs Grace Olofin, alleged that the herdsmen in their numbers invaded the community, brandishing dangerous weapons like guns, bows, arrows, sword s, and machetes. With the weapons they hacked down their victims in the ensuing melee.

Olofin alleged that the invaders shot sporadically.

Another witness, who narrowly escaped death, Adebayo Ajayi, described the incident as a reprisal attack. He said the herdsmen had previously fallen out with the villagers over their grazing activities in the community. He explained that the villagers had been resisting the use of their farmlands as grazing fields by the herdsmen.

Bribery Allegation

The police were accused of culpability in the night massacre. Some of the residents accused the police of laxity and extortion. A resident, Muyiwa Olukosi, whose wife sustained machete cut, told newsmen that the case was reported to the police in the area but there was no response from them. According to him, the police demanded N12, 000 before they could move to the scene. He said the police complained about lack of fuel in their van.

Olukosi maintained that things would have gone worse if not for the prompt response of a team of Nigerian Army soldiers from Akure. He also noted that the attack would have been prevented if the police had acted swiftly when the case was reported to them.

Olukosi called on governments at all levels to beef up security in the area in order to avert the reoccurrence of such development.

Confusion

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Alberto Adeyemi, tried to dispel a rumour that the attack was a robbery incident. This followed a confusing account by the Divisional Police Officer in the area who said he could not ascertain if the incident was an armed robbery or an attack by the Fulani herdsmen. Adeyemi also denied allegations that the police that had demanded a bribe from the attacked community, saying investigation would unveil the identities of the assailants.

The PPRO said, “This sounds unreasonable. How can the police be making demands from those that were already bereaved? Oke Ako to Ikole where they went to report is about 30 minutes’ drive.

How do they expect the police not to make preparation or to get there within a second?

“We are not spirits; we are human beings as well.”

Adeyemi urged members of the public to discountenance the allegation, assuring that the police will continue to do their best to ensure protection of lives and property in the state.

Angry Response

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, who was away in Port Harcourt during the incident, reacted angrily. He warned that there could be reprisal attacks on Fulani herdsmen in the state if they did not desist from invading communities in Ekiti and attacking the people. He described the Fulani herdsmen that invaded Oke Ako as “agents of the devil that must be fished out and punished accordingly.”

A statement issued by the governor’s special assistant on public communications, Lere Olayinka, quoted Fayose as saying, “I have directed the police and other security agencies in the state to fish out the killer herdsmen. I am in constant touch with the security agencies and I hope that the killer herdsmen will be fished out wherever they are and made to face the full wrath of the law.

“The people of Oke-Ako should, therefore, remain calm while the security agents do their job. However, the security agents must be mindful of the fact that the people’s patience has a limit and they must, therefore, act promptly and decisively.

Fayose

Arase

“I am sounding a note of warning to the Fulani herdsmen and those who can talk to them should also do so now. If they continue with these wanton attacks, killing of the people and destroying farmlands in Ekiti, I cannot guarantee that there won’t be reprisal attacks.”

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to stop paying lips service to the attacks by the Fulani herdsmen, saying, “As patron of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), President Buhari has the capacity to call the herdsmen to order.”

from Abuja to carry out investigation and those found guilty should be punished.

“The police cannot afford to toy with the lives of the Nigerian citizens. I am sure that if they had acted swiftly when the incident was reported, that could have helped in reducing the severity of the attack.”

Grazing Banned

Fayose visited the town the day he returned from the PDP national convention in Port Harcourt. The governor placed a ban on free cattle grazing in Ekiti State and ordered the security agencies and local hunters to gun down herdsmen seen terrorising the people.

The governor was accompanied to the town by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Etop James, director of the Department of State Security, Mr Andrew Iorkay, and commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr John Ikemefuna.

Fayose donated a Toyota Hilux van and a sum of N5 million to the local vigilante group operating under the auspices of the Association of Ekiti Hunters to facilitate their operation in defence of the town. He also donated N2.5 million to the families of the deceased.

The governor said a bill criminalising grazing would soon be passed into law by the Ekiti State House of Assembly. He ordered that communities should henceforth confiscate cattle found on sight.

Fayose said henceforth those interested in cattle farming in the state should get their own private cattle ranches, warning that government would henceforth confiscate any cattle seen anywhere in the state, apart from ranched created for them by their owners.

Alleged Boko Haram Infiltration

Fayose described the Fulani herdsmen that attacked Oke-Ako and other communities in the country as Boko Haram members making tactical intrusion into the South-west.

“I see them as Boko Haram operating like herdsmen,” Fayose said regarding the attackers. “I have come here to commiserate with the people of Oke-Ako over the murder of two of our people by these Fulani herdsmen. I am also here to assure that this will be the last time our communities will be invaded by Fulani herdsmen under whatever guise. You have to stop them. You must go after them and kill them before they kill you.”

The governor said, “I will speak with security heads on how they can permit you to carry arms. We won’t succumb Ekiti’s sovereignty to any herdsman. If you see them moving about, gun them down.

If they want to rape your wife or children, bring them down. You must fight this war like Kiriji War. Our forefathers fought that war and won and I know we won’t be conquered by any Fulani man in our own land.”

Police Laxity

A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi, called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, to punish policemen accused of laxity in the killing by herdsmen in Oke Ako town. Faparusi, in a statement, urged Arase to investigate the bribery allegation against some policemen at Ikole Divisional Police Station during the attack.

The former federal lawmaker described the allegation by some villagers that police demanded N12,000 before they could move from Ikole to Oke Ako to quell the Fulani invasion as a serious allegation that must not be trivialised.

Faparusi stated, “The villagers revealed that the police in Ikole Divisional Police Station demanded a sum of N12,000 before they can go to Oke Ako to rescue the people. This is an issue that must be investigated thoroughly. The IGP should send a powerful delegation

Appeal

Meanwhile, the Fulani in Ilorin have denied complicity in the attack launched by suspected herdsmen on Oke Ako Ekiti. The Seriki of the Fulani from Ilorin, Alhaji Mahmood Ahmadu, begged Fayose to lift the ban placed on open grazing to save the cattle business of more than 100,000 of his members across the state.

Fayose had during his visit to Oke Ako on Monday announced that every cattle dealer in the state must own a ranch, ordering the villagers to start killing cattle sighted within their premises or farmlands.

Ahmadu lamented that his members had vacated their residences and property in Oke Ako, Irele and Ipao Ekiti as a result of the order given by the governor that any cattle seen around the vicinity must be killed.

He revealed that his members had over three million cattle across the 16 local government areas of the state, saying restricting them would bring their businesses to a halt.

Ahmadu promised that his people will join hands with Fayose to bring the perpetrators of the nefarious act to book and to secure the state and prevent it from being attacked by killer herdsmen.

According to the Fulani leader, “Ilorin Fulani herdsmen are not killers, we are responsible citizens. I have been in Ado Ekiti for 40 years. My people had property in their locations and are now living in palpable fear. If we should tie all our cows, how do we feed them?

They will all die and this will be disastrous to our members.

“We appeal to all traditional rulers to help our people and save them from attack. They should also help us beg the governor to lift the ban to ease our burden. We are cohabiting with our host communities peacefully and this we shall sustain at all cost.”

The chairman of the Fulani Ilorin in Moba Local Government Area, Alhaji Kayode Suleiman, urged his members to be vigilant and be ready to expose the identities of those hiding under cattle rearing to unleash mayhem on the people. He said they had set up a committee to liaise with the state government so that they can fashion out ways to deal with the killer herdsmen that are causing restiveness in the state.

Suleiman said, “We have association in Ekiti and the name in Jamu Nati Fulbe Association of Nigeria. We have our bases and we are identifiable, unlike some itinerant herdsmen. So, we want the people of the state to show understanding by separating our members from these evildoers.”

Security Beef-up

Oke Ako, however, remains a troubled town. Over 500 soldiers, policemen, men of the NSCDC, DSS were stationed in strategic positions in the town by last week. They were to work with over 1,000 hunters drawn from various towns across the state to tame the rampaging evil doers who laid siege to the community.

The security agencies, according to an insider, are mounting a similar vigilance on other vulnerable towns in the northern axis of the state. The source said, “We are not unaware of the fact that the suspected Fulani herdsmen must have shifted base. We are monitoring them closely and we are sure that such will never happen here again. We are monitoring all the susceptible towns and the confinement of grazing will also help us in winning the war.”

Now that grazing has been banned in Ekiti and security agencies have been deployed in strategic areas, people are hoping that these measures would help to secure communities in the state.

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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 • JUNE 5, 2016

PERSPECTIVE Ambode’s Lagos, 12 Months After Niyi Anibaba

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r. Akinwunmi Ambode, the governor of Lagos State has, since his inauguration some 12 months ago, moved with the winds of a hurricane to begin a new phase of growth and development of the state such that his achievements in this brief period of one year out of his four-year constitutional tenure appear like he has been there for a longer time.

Yet, it was only on May 29, 2015 when the newly sworn in Governor Ambode stood before a hugely expectant crowd at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, to proclaim his agenda as the helmsman of Lagos. He spoke of a Divine orchestration that worked in his favour. He words: “It has pleased GOD through the people of Lagos State, that my destiny as a little boy, born from a humble background on the 14th day of JUNE to become the 14th Governor of our great state, Lagos is being realized. I am eternally grateful ….”

He went on to make a solemn promise that his era would strike a difference, adding “the challenges we face today as a state are good enough ingredients to bring out the best of all of us.”

Indeed, as we mark his government’s first anniversary we can see the result of leveraging on these ingredients to give the best to Lagosians.

We can safely admit that truly Ambode has not flinched from the problems of governance.

Instead he has boldly applied these challenges to effect changes in all spheres of life in Lagos.

In less than 24 hours after taking office, he met with the Body of Permanent Secretaries with whom he would work before the appointment of members of the cabinet. He presented his vision to reposition the state along the principles of efficiency and a service driven-administration. He would streamline some ministries, departments and agencies, he said. This would cut cost of governance as well as create new offices to cater for the emerging needs of the people.

By August 5, 2015, Ambode had moved swiftly to give teeth to the reform. He dropped some senior carrier civil servants and appointed 19 new permanent secretaries based on “merit, competence, and track record.” In the same period, he scrapped the Office of the Special Adviser on Taxation and Revenue, Debt Management Office while he merged the Office of Works and Office of Infrastructure, Office Drainage Services and Offices of Environmental Service.

A major outcome of these reforms was the re- introduction of lump sum leave bonus for civil servants. It also resulted in something else that brought smiles and joy to thousands of Lagosians: he paid a massive N11billion back log of arrears owed retirees for decades.

Quite early in office, Ambode located the thorny issues of fraud and corruption in the flow of government revenue. He blocked the drainpipe by introducing the Treasury Single Account (TSA) operation with effect from September 1, 2015. This consolidated all government revenue into a single account. It threw out the multiple account regime that was a breeding ground for graft and the pauperization of government treasury.

While at work attending to the business of bureaucracy and civil service reform, the governor simultaneously embarked on a whistle-stop inspection to several areas of the state. In his first 100 days, he had toured Ipaja, MosanOkunola, Oshodi-Isolo, Brown Road (Oshodi), Ikotun Ejigbo and Somolu communities.

Now, there is a pedestrian bridge in Ojodu Berger and over head bridges in Abule Egba and Ajah being built by Ambode in his first year in office to save the lives of citizens. There have also been noble futuristic moves such as the signing of MOU for the construction of a Fourth Mainland Bridge. Dozens of major and link roads have been constructed across the state; In June 2016, some 114 local government roads will be delivered. All these have landed with a gigantic light-up Lagos campaign, notable among which are the 36 kilometer stretch

Ambode of street lights from Ile Zik to Sango Toll gate and the linking of 67 Ibeju Lekki communities to the national grid.

This lighting up of Lagos and rapid road modernization in the state are part of a strategic goal to create a conducive ambience for local and foreign investment in Lagos with its teeming population close to 21 million residences and make the state a 24-hour economy.

Ambode’s government has linked security to this quest for an enabling environment for business. He has erected a huge security profile befitting a megapolis that Lagos has become.

His administration gave the police a hefty N4.8billion worth of equipment in December and more were added by President Mohammadu Buhari, who was represented by Vice President, Yemi Osibajo, during the week. Thus, the state has so far spent more than N6.6b to equip security agencies in the past six months.

Thanks to the Lagos State government, the Police now have more attack helicopters, patrol vehicles, power bikes, gunboats, armour personnel carriers, and bullet proof vests. Insecurity is fast receding in the state, with adequate coverage of this former federal capital and the economic epic center, as a result of all these proactive steps undertaken by the Ambode government. The rescued of the school girls in Ikorodu, that was widely applauded has been widely attributed to this huge investment in security by Ambode.

Covering Lagos is also a function of the business of commuting between home and the work place by the residents. In this area Ambode has injected 434 new BRT vehicles for the people in the Ikorodu corridor. There is also the re-launch of the Blue Rail Project to ease the burden of road transportation. A water transportation scheme is in the pipeline. What we thus witness in this sector is a holistic approach to tackling the problem of transportation in Lagos State so that there would be less stress on only one aspect of the system.

Meanwhile given the challenges of road indiscipline and its fatal consequences, Ambode has restructured LASTMA for efficient traffic control, with mobile courts to deal promptly with road-related breaches. LASTMA is now headed by a well respected retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police Chris Olakpe. The citizens are heaving a sigh of relief these past twelve months with sanity steadily returning to Lagos roads.

A key promise of Ambode on May 29,2015 was to nip unemployment in the bud and offer an outlet to the creative prowess and potential of the

teeming job-seekers in Lagos State. He has set up a whopping N25b Employment Trust Fund to work out an enduring template to engage the youth. Government has also intervened with the recruitment of 1300 teachers. The latter has had a three-fold impact: it has revived primary education in the state; it has reduced unemployment in a socially significant aspect and finally it has contributed to tackling poverty since in Nigeria’s socio-cultural setting, one person in employment results in the economic empowerment of a family of three or more.

Still on education, Ambode set aside some N1b for upgrade of schools infrastructure across the state. The governor has in addition resolved the protracted LASU crisis leading to the signing of the Revised University Law to make for harmonious campus life devoid of the seasonal industrial actions that have adversely affected the quality of education there.

Hurricane Ambode has not left the health sector untouched as is typical with all great storms of that name. Recognising the evergreen truth of the Latin saying, Mens sana in corpore sano,(A sound mind in a sound body), he has approved N49b Medical Parking Ikoyi while his government has greatly improved the welfare of medical doctors and other health delivery staff. And soon Lagosians will be enjoying the services of a DNA Forensic Centre as an MOU for its establishment has been signed. Government has enhanced the image of the health scene with the introduction of 20 mobile care unit ambulances together with 26 Transport Ambulances. These have been classed by experts as worthy investments long needed to bring succor to the citizens.

Agriculture and food production in the state got a fillip under review. Ambode’s administration entered into a deal with the Kebbi State government for the Development of Commodity Value Chain Rice Production. The implication is that when the pact fully plays out Lagos would have partly taken charge of its destiny in its responsibility to feed its population. The government would also save money spent on food importation.

Closely linked is Ambode’s prompt answer to the challenge of potable water supply to the residents. His interventions have addressed the issue in a significant way. In the past 12 months, more citizens have accessed good water for domestic and industrial use. This has given birth to a healthier lifestyle for Lagosians given the irrefutable fact that most ailments in the body are traced to unhygienic water intake.

The Lagos state government has also been active in entertainment and tourism. It has partnered with the private players and Nollywood to tap the limitless talents of the sector. Recently the government rebranded the One Lagos Fiesta idea to boost the industry. Apart from giving teeth to the seasonal cultural festivals by supporting them, the authorities are rehabilitating recreation centres across the state to attract the youth for profitable relaxation and to take their mind away from crime. Such national and religious holidays as October 1,Eid el Kabir and Easter no longer pass without meaningful government-citizen participation.

Now, as Lagos prepares for the 50th year of its creation next year Ambode is putting in place an elaborate plan to give the people a befitting celebration. The government has succeeded in raising a committee to work on the anniversary, with Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka and respected economist, Chief Rasheed Gbadamoshi as co-chairmen. Lagosians and Nigerians alike are excited as they await Lagos at 50 on account of the involvement of these illustrious citizens.

Sports has not been neglected by Ambode in this first year in office. There has been a well-reported international marathon race that attracted the best in the globe. Ambode has also hosted Spanish football giants Barcelona with a move to establish a football academy in Lagos.

Indeed, many who have observed the activities of Ambode over the past 12 months say they are struck by how he has faithfully gone about fulfilling his campaign promise to run an administration that will ‘’ cater for the poor and needy…and (operate)a compassionate government.”

Now I have seen this compassion nature in Ambode many times over since he took over on May 29. First I refer to his approach to the question of sexual and domestic violence. He has shown zero tolerance for it. In only a few days in office, Ambode met with the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), charging them to intensify sensitization against assault on women. He approved the use of 112 toll free line to report cases of rape, defilement, domestic violence, child abuse, neglect, maltreatment and other sexual attacks.

Secondly, I allude to Ambode’s personal response to disasters. He wasn’t in Lagos during a fatal tanker explosion and fire outbreak but he flew back immediately when he got the news, inside the rain, he went straight to the scene to take charge of rescue operation. How about the other moving incident that occurred when there was a motor accident as he headed for work? The governor stopped his convoy, got out of his car and went on to pull out a woman trapped in the crashed vehicle.

We can also recall Ambode’s personal intervention in the case of Mrs. Ruth Uche, whose husband fled his Agege home when his wife gave birth to three sets of twins. On reading of the story in the newspapers, the governor straightaway directed the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluranti Adebule to provide official assistance to the family. That made the father of the children to return home.

Working with Deputy Governor Adebule and a cabinet he appointed in September last year, which keen watchers described as Ambode’s Dream Team, the governor has been able to initiate policies that rest on a tripod: Security, Job Opportunities and Improved Infrastructure.

A close observation of the style of the governor in his first year in office would reveal that the three-point Agenda sums up the whole responsibility of government. All of political economy or political science together with the traditional concept of good governance boils down to seeking the welfare of the citizen of a state with utmost compassion. The three points of Ambode adequately capture this vision of good governance.

Add the above to Wednesday’s signing of the N844b MOU for the Fourth Mainland Bridge and Friday’s commissioning of the Meiran-Ajasa Command Road, a major link road, and it would not be too difficult to decipher why Governor Ambode is receiving so much acclaim for his strides in his first year in office.

––Anibaba, an economist, wrote in from Gbagada.

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Eighth Senate: Milestones on the Road to National Development

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Chuks Okocha

ust as proverbs are the oil with which words are spoken, motions and bills are the lubricants of democracy and democratic governance. They are the ingredients which the legislature uses to weave and sustain democracy. A parliament or the National Assembly, as the case is in Nigeria, is adjudged by the number of motions, bills and other interventions that impact positively on the lives of citizens.

By June 9, the National Assembly would complete 365 days of its inauguration. To this extent, how has the National Assembly under the chairmanship of Dr. Bukola Saraki and the Senate, for which he is the president, fared in the last 365 days?

It is taken for granted, as it is part of its routine, that the National Assembly has passed the 2015 supplementary budget for the country as well as the Federal Capital Territory supplementary budget. It also in a special way passed the 2016 budget for the nation and for FCT. But in the actual business of the day, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has been adopted by the 8th Senate as the main Legislative Agenda of the Red Chamber. By this, the PIB has become a priority bill that must be given attention at all reasonable cost. This bill is fundamental, as it is capable of turning around the petroleum sector for the general good of the country. The bill, according to the Senate President, will stimulate the sector for the overall good of the economy. He urged members of the Senate committees on petroleum to pay very close attention to the bill and treat it with dispatch.

The PIB was first introduced in 2008 following the submission of the report of the Rilwanu Lukman-led Oil and Gas Sector Reform Committee. It is intended to combine 16 different petroleum laws into a single document and provide a legal, fiscal and regulatory framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, in such a way that increases the revenue from the sector to the country.

Also as part of its main legislative duties, the Senate a fortnight ago passed the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2016 in a bid to ease the problems associated with accessing credit for business by Nigerians. For many Nigerian businesses, the issue of credit has become a severe problem. The lack of a functional bankruptcy and insolvency law has significantly raised the risk and, therefore, the cost of borrowing to an unsustainable level, creating an environment of very high levels of non-performing loans.

This state of affairs has in turn severely restricted availability of credit to key businesses and raised cost of borrowing. With the passage of the bill, banks would, with other things considered, be in a better position to give loans to business at more manageable cost.

Saraki said regarding the bill, “With the event of today, the Senate has taken a giant step towards fulfilling its promise under the legislative agenda to provide the necessary legal, institutional and regulatory framework that would facilitate the availability of credit. The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2016, is one of the priority bills of the 8th Senate. This bill was considered priority because of the important role as a key contributor to better credit risk management and also as a vital credit availability and business administration.”

Another crucial bill passed by the 8th Senate within the period under review is Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Educational Institutions Prohibition Bill. The bill, sponsored by Senator Ovie Omo Agege from Delta State, enjoyed the support of the whole Senate.

The bill specifically makes it a criminal

Saraki offence for any educator in a tertiary educational institution to violate or exploit the student-lecturer relationship for sexual favours.

The bill that has passed its third reading at the Red Chambers sought and obtained a tighter statutory protection for students against sexual hostility and all forms of sexual harassment in tertiary institutions.

The bill also stipulates as offences, solicitation of sex or sexual advances by lecturers which result to intimidation, hostile or offensive environment for students. It is expected that the bill would be expanded to make it an offence in other spheres of life within the country.

In keeping with the Legislative agenda of the 8th Senate to ensure a transparent leadership, the Senate opened the books of the National Assembly for public scrutiny.

This became an issue against the backdrop of campaigns by Nigerians that the National Assembly should open its books for everyone to see. It is on record that in line with Saraki’s campaign manifesto of transparency, the 8th Senate is the first to state what the budgets of the National Assembly look like.

It was the first time that the books of the Senate and House of Representatives were opened and since then, whatever the National Assembly is embarking upon has remained an issue in the court of public opinion. It is on record that due to the campaign promise of the Senate President, Nigerians come to know that N105.4 billion has been set aside for recurrent expenditure and N9.6 billion for capital projects.

Also in line with the legislative agenda of the Eighth Senath, which is forging a peopleoriented relationship and identifying with the people at the grassroots on all issues that affect them, the Senate under the leadership of Saraki has lived up to that expectation. In this instance, the Saraki-led Senate was able to broker a deal that eventually led to the removal of the N700 monthly mandatory fee charged all electricity consumers by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission.

When the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress declared a protest rally and picketing of some government offices that included the Electricity Distribu-

tion Companies (DISCOS) and the Generation Companies (GENCOS), the Senate was able to broker a deal with the unions. This facilitated a meeting between the Minister of Power, Works and Housing and the protesting labour leaders.

Though the meeting with the labour leaders was impromptu because the Senate President was billed to attend the opening ceremony of the Made in Aba Trade Fair holding in Area Eleven, Garki, he still found it expedient to attend the NLC and TUC rallies after they had picketed the National Assembly.

Addressing the rally comprising NLC, TUC, civil society organisations, and electricity consumers who besieged the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, to protest the recent increment in electricity charges across the country, Saraki reiterated the commitment of the 8th National Assembly to collaborations with the executive arm of government in entrenching people-friendly policies.

The Senate President said the Senate believed in the struggle to ensure that the right thing was done, saying he would do everything in his power within the shortest time possible to resolve the impasse between NERC, Discos, and electricity consumers in order to avert any further unrest.

Today, due to the intervention of the Senate, the mandatory fee paid by electricity consumers is history. Thanks to the motion sponsored by the former Governor of Ebonyi State, Sam Egwu. Through the motion, there was an agreement by NERC to remove bulk metering and charging of mandatory fee by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

The economy has remained in the centre stage of the activities of the Senate under the supervision of Saraki. For this reason, it organised a workshop where laws of the federation considered as obsolete were reviewed. Hitherto, it was gathered that Nigeria ranked 169 out of 189 economies in the World Bank Doing Business Report.

Nigeria was among the worst countries with laws inimical to investment.

It was through the efforts of the workshop that some laws were recommended for review. The workshop organised between

the senate and some commercial lawyers with sponsorship from the British DFID specifically recommended that the Company and Allied Management Act (CAMA) and the Land Use Act should be reviewed.

The report further lamented that some of the 1914 commercial laws inherited from the British colonial masters were still in existence in the country’s statue books, especially in cases where there is arbitration.

The report of the workshop noted that there were conflicts of interest and powers in the laws regulating the Nigeria Ports Authority and the National Inland Waterways (NIWA). It also queried why the railway laws should remain in the Exclusive List of the constitution. The report called for the delisting of Railway Act from the Exclusive List. This explained the reforms and reviews of the Railway Act. Speaking at the workshop, the Senate President said the present economic crisis facing Nigeria should be seen as an opportunity for its leaders to show leadership and courage by ensuring that articulated legislation to rescue the country. He said Nigerians should use the present economic situation to set the stage for a post-oil era in which the private sector will steer the ship of the economy while government provides the enabling environment.

Saraki said, “The National Assembly through the legislative agenda seized on the moment to chart a new course for the nation’s economy. The legislative agenda we have adopted is one framed largely around good governance, accountability, opening up of the economy for greater investment, ease of doing business and security of lives and property.”

On a specific note, the chairman of the National Assembly said that the 8th National Assembly would give priority to the amendment of obsolete laws, saying since some of the affected laws require constitutional amendment, the planned process would be expedited to ensure that all stakeholders concerned make the changes happen as soon as possible.

The Senate President stated that the collaboration with the private sector, development partners, professional groups, like the Nigeria Bar Association and the academia, in the on-going process to review laws affecting doing business will give birth to a new business environment that will boost the economy, solve the problem of unemployment, curb social vices and restore national values and pride.

He stressed that the Senate and the House of Representatives were on the same page with President Muhammadu Buhari on his policy on diversification of the economy.

According to Saraki, “Our President has laid out a vision to fully diversify the economy beyond oil and has been committed to the actualisation of the project.

“The overarching objective of the agenda targets private sector investment and business development as a major plank of the plan. This is because of our belief in the ingenuity, creativity, entrepreneurship of our people and that in order to create jobs, give our people better opportunities; the private sector remains our best option.

“This is at the heart of the clamour for diversification.

Saraki stated that the collaborative efforts between the National Assembly, DFID’ ENABLE programme, and GEM3, with strong participation of the organised private sector led by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group was the first of its kind. He added that the Senate had offered to the country a detailed plan and a cohesive legislative agenda for renewed national cohesion and development.

Overall, over 165 motions and resolutions with far-reaching impacts on the wellbeing of Nigerians were passed.

– Okocha is the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Print Media.

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Olusegun Obasanjo: Ideas, Politics and the Love for Country (I)

Tunji Olaopa

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ust recently, I published The Labour of Our Heroes, a collection of my newspaper commentaries on issues, and especially on those I call heroes who, in one way or the other, have impacted the trajectory of national progress in Nigeria.

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was not on the honoured list of heroes even though he eminently deserves to be among the top list of those who cannot be omitted in the drama of Nigeria’s postcolonial unfolding. His non-inclusion in the book came from the logic of discretion: I was a civil servant when the essays were written and published, and discretion was the very definition of my status. The civil service was already tolerating, as much as it could, my unheard of active writing status as a public servant who is more to be seen than heard. It would be tipping the balance for me to initiate a critical profile of one of my bosses, especially the enigmatic OBJ. But then, I am no longer a civil servant, and it seems the time is now ripe to take on the inescapable - the OBJ of Nigeria!

There is a need to preface this reflection with a confession, some clarification and a caveat. First, this is by far the most difficult commentary I have ever had to write. Like Winston Churchill’s perplexed summary of the Russians during WWII, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo—farmer, soldier, military head of state, prisoner, democratic President, statesman, pan-Africanist, father, husband, sturdy octogenarian and national scourge all rolled into one—is indeed “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” There are so many commentaries that have been written in an attempt to situate OBJ within some specific profile; I doubt if any has succeeded. I doubt if I have what it takes either to get behind the scene and reveal the enigma.

The caveat: This is certainly far from an attempt to unravel him. No one can do that and say it’s final and complete.

Olusegun Obasanjo is complexity personified. This is one personality without which Nigeria’s historical narrative would be incomplete. Whether we like it or not; whether we hate him or not, we cannot mention the likes of Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Herbert Macaulay, Ahmadu Bello and all the other nationalists without remembering Olusegun Obasanjo. Whether we accept the fact or not, Obasanjo has earned his status as an irreplaceable avatar on the Nigerian political scene. In fact, it is not too difficult to make the claim that OBJ is the most colossal political figure that bestrides Nigerian politics at the moment. And he has been here right from the beginning and right through the major political unravelling of Nigeria from the dark military days to the bright experiment of democratic governance. He is still here through all the current shaping and reshaping of our democratic experiment.

I have always been fascinated with OBJ the same way Chief Obafemi Awolowo fascinated me, especially with his ideas about governance and nation building. My fascination is largely an extension of my being a student of politics and of society. Besides, I have had the privilege of observing the two at very close range. But just as Awolowo has been much vilified in Nigerian politics in spite of his many glaring achievements, OBJ has also come across to many as a modern day Nigerian Machiavelli—a ‘devilish’ manipulator with no iota of public interest and patriotic feeling, as his detractors would like to surmise.

Obasanjo Both Awolowo and OBJ are in good company. Over the many centuries since he lived, Niccolò Machiavelli has become one of the most misunderstood historical figures of all time. “Machiavellian” is now synonymous with being politically cunning and unscrupulous, yet Machiavelli is not Machiavellian. On the contrary, he understood the politics of 16th century Florence, a city caught in the intricate web of zero-sum politics very much like modern Nigeria. Machiavelli’s legacy is simple and brilliant: politics is a matter of what is rather than what ought to be! The set of pragmatic rules and principles Machiavelli gave to the ruler in The Prince was meant to orient him on the practical necessities of realpolitik. So, what is the lesson?

To achieve any governance objectives, the politician must first learn how to walk the minefield of political intrigues, murders and limitations that constitute the death of many good governance ideas, insights and policies.

Politics intersects political philosophy in the quest for a social organisation that makes it possible for citizens to live an empowered life in terms of the capacities they have to do what will enrich their lives. While political philosophy is concerned with the question of what kind of social arrangement will make this possible, politics is concerned with the direct use of power for the allocation of resources that will facilitate mutual coexistence. The relationship between politics and political philosophy as well as the ideas and insights the two are supposed to generate to facilitate governance is what links Machiavelli, Awolowo and Obasanjo. Ideas, realism and practicality, in other words, are the

essence of politics.

Awolowo had this understanding. The ‘wild wild West’ had some valid resemblances to wild Florence that brought out the genius in Machiavelli. Awolowo owed his political brilliance to his capacity not only to understand human nature but also how to bend it towards edifying political objectives. How did we know this? We simply examine the policy architecture and infrastructural masterpieces that made the western region the wonder of the Nigerian First Republic. For Harry Truman, the former US president, “A politician is a man who understands government, and it takes a politician to run a government.”

In another breath, OBJ is the politician par excellence. I suspect that Machiavelli would have approved of Olusegun Obasanjo as an appropriate master of political realism. And just as many scholars failed to understand the republican credentials of Machiavelli, so most Nigerians have not been able fathom the nationalist credentials of OBJ. Let us be clear: Nigeria is a tough and intractable political terrain, the sense in which Awolowo was and still is right to describe it as a “geographical expression” still struggling unsuccessfully to transform into a “cultural expression”.

Since independence, the full weight of the postcolonial realities has unfolded to a point that has transformed Nigeria’s fortune negatively. The rough political manoeuvres of the First Republic that led to the Civil War was also responsible for the succession of military administrations and political dynamic, one of which threw the young Olusegun Obasanjo right into the maelstrom of Nigerian politics. Obasanjo cut his political teeth

as part of a revolutionary or is it radical military regime that meant well for Nigeria in its determination to pursue change with a big bang, contrary to the global democratic suspicion of all military governments. When General Murtala Ramat Muhammad came to power in 1975, his band of revolutionaries, including the then Brigadier Obasanjo, was confronted with a post-civil war Nigeria that was already too far away from the euphoria of independence, and a larger continental space that was still under colonial denigration largely represented by apartheid South Africa and strangulating colonial presence in Namibia, Algeria, Angola, and so on. The range of policy rearticulation which the Supreme Military Council undertook between 1975 to 1976 when Murtala Muhammad was assassinated and up unto 1979 was sufficient enough to open the eyes of the younger Obasanjo to the intricacies of governing of Nigeria’s complexities.

It was as if providence conspired to steer OBJ’s course away from his beloved professional military life, even if with its nuanced bureaucratic politics, by dragging him into the whirlpool of politics and government. By his own admission, “By training, inclination, and aptitude, I was averse to being in government.” Yet, willy-nilly, he had to undergo what he called his “first step into government” when General Gowon drafted him as a federal minister of works. The ministerial appointment did two important things which would later prove to be preparatory template for a mind that would confront Nigeria. First, he had to take mandatory visits around the lengths and breadths of Nigeria to ascertain the extent of his brief as commissioner for works; and he saw firsthand the bureaucratic manifestations of the civil service and how it limits the working of government. Finally, as if his tutelage was not complete, the mantle of governmental leadership fell on his shoulders immediately after the assassination of Murtala Muhammad, and it is instructive that the defining act of his administration was his supervision of Nigeria’s first transition to civil rule in 1979. And was it just coincidental that Obasanjo was also the first one on the saddle at the inception of the democratic experiment in Nigeria in 1999?

From 1975 till date, Obasanjo came of age politically under a vibrant barrage of acrimonies, political intrigues and doubtful legacies. Of course that is the uneasy lots of any who is courageous enough to desire the crown. John Webster, the English playwright, puts this poetically better: A politician is the devil’s quilted anvil— He fashions all sins on him, and the blows Are never heard.

Against all the odds of life, OBJ waded through uncertainties of military hierarchies, through the horrors of the civil war, through Abacha’s gulag, through the perils of political disaffection and disjuncture and at that having more genuine claim in truth and in spirit to what really should be the brand identity of a truly Nigerian leader: “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody” which as history is proving so very fast, is easier said than done. He came, he saw but did he achieve all that his noble national intention imposed upon him?

- Dr. Olaopa is the executive vice chairman Ibadan School of

Government and Public Policy (ISGPP) (tolaopa2003@gmail.com; tolaopa2003@yahoo.com; tolaopa@ ibsgpp.com)

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Ugwuanyi: The Scorecard of a Visionary Leader

Louis Amoke

I

t was about 2:25pm on May 29, when Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State mounted the podium at Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, to address the people of the state on his one year stewardship. The governor’s address, which was part of the activities marking this year’s Democracy Day celebration, presented a compendium of his achievements so far and made projections into the future on how to continue to advance good governance and guide the state through the current economic realities in the country.

It was, indeed, the scorecard of a worthy and visionary leader, as the governor demonstrated his passion for good governance and commitment to deliver on his campaign promises to the people of Enugu State.

It is on record that Ugwuanyi’s administration has in just one year in office completed six major road projects while over 15 development projects are on-going. The government has also recorded unprecedented feats in other sectors of development in the state. His administration has advertised the award of contract for 25 new roads, including three bridges in the 17 local government areas as part of his administration’s grassroots development initiatives and the exercise is currently at the stage of bidding.

Standing confidently before an array of dignitaries, who came in their numbers to grace the first anniversary ceremony, Ugwuanyi started by paying special tribute to God for the wonderful privilege, favour and mercies that have accompanied his administration since its inception. He appreciated the good people of the state both at home and in the Diaspora for their support, goodwill, cooperation and solidarity, describing them as “the true heroes of democracy.”

One significant thing about the 2016 Democracy Day celebration in Enugu State is that it was the first time an immediate past governor of the state attended the first anniversary of his successor. Former Governor Sullivan Chime was prominent on the roll call of those who witnessed the colourful first anniversary of Ugwuanyi.

While congratulating President Muhammadu Buhari and, indeed, all Nigerians for the attainment and sustenance of 17 unbroken years of democracy, Ugwuanyi stated that the feat “shows our common faith in the progress and stability of our country and our capability to accomplish any goal that we have set our minds upon, despite our differences.”

Ugwuanyi’s Democracy Day address read in part: “Precisely one year ago today, I addressed you for the first time as your governor, and I did proclaim that my divinely appointed mission was to bring good news, message of continued hope, peace and development to our people; to bind up the broken hearted; to proclaim liberty to every Wawa man caught in the prison of poverty and under-development.

“I promised that we will deploy government services to create fair and equal opportunity for every willing citizen to make a living and

create wealth, educate our children, and enjoy life in a peaceful and secure environment. I said that we will drive with full force, investment promotion, renewal of the agricultural sector, provision of critical infrastructure, human capital development and skills acquisition.

“I also pledged that rather than allow the severe economic recession occasioned by the negative developments in the oil sector deter us from achieving our goals, we will instead, turn the situation into an opportunity to look inwards and harness those potentials which free oil money has blinded and prevented us from exploiting all the while.

“Ndi Enugu, I believe that a critical appraisal of our actions and achievements within this past one year will show that we have not only kept faith with these promises, despite the severe economic difficulties confronting our nation today, we are poised to do even much more.”

After presenting the true picture of the economy, which includes a fall in the monthly allocation to states from the FederationAccount to less than 38 per cent of what it used to be, declared, “Notwithstanding these bleak economic realities, we were able to embark on the massive development of urban and rural roads across the state in fulfilment of our promise to create more urban centres, enhance rural access and boost economic activities in every corner of Enugu State.”

On investment promotion, Ugwuanyi told the people, “Enugu State currently occupies a prominent space in the global economic map owing to the resounding success of the first ever Enugu State Investment Summit, which we organised to showcase the economic potentials of the state in line with our promise to vigorously promote investment and pursue the diversification of the state’s economy.” He expressed his confidence that investors would soon take advantage of this great opportunity to do businesses in the state.

On rural and agricultural development, the governor stated that his administration constructed a 15-kilometre Inter-Town Connection (ITC) 2.5MVAInjection Sub-Station at Ezi-Nze, Udi Local Government Area, which currently supplies electricity to communities in Udi, IgboEtiti and Uzo-Uwani local government areas. He said the injection sub-station will also activate businesses in these rural communities and power theAdada Dam project as well as the Greater Nsukka Water Scheme, adding that it procured 20 tractors to be hired to genuine farmers at very low rates.

The disclosed that his administration recently acquired 750 hectares of land to be distributed to youths and women for use in commercial agriculture, noting that each beneficiary will be allocated three hectares of land for his or her use in the scheme.

On health sector, Ugwuanyi observed that the sector was already receiving a breath of fresh air. He stated that the state government had continued to sustain its Free Maternal Health and Child Care programme while ensuring the proper equipment and staffing of existing health institutions in the state.

He said his administration was close to completing the ultramodern medical diagnostic centre in Enugu and arrangements had

been made for commencement of the construction of three new specialist hospitals in the three senatorial zones of the state in pursuit of its aspiration to turn Enugu State into the choice destination for medical treatment and medical tourism in the country.

On workers’ welfare, Ugwuanyi said his administration had made the welfare of workers a focal point of attention by ensuring the regular payment of salaries and pensions. He stated that the state government had successfully utilised the bailout fund from the federal government to liquidate outstanding pensions and subventions to parastatals, agencies and departments, adding that the industrial disputes between the government and some of its agencies and their workers have been resolved amicably.

In line with the interest his administration has in the welfare of workers, he noted that electricity, water and other ancillary services at the New Secretariat Complex had been provided. The governor said arrangements were been concluded for the formal hand-over of 100 units of one bedroom flats won through an open lottery system by lucky civil servants for which the state government paid over 30 per cent equity contribution.

On finance and economic development, he said the issue of waste and leakage in governance had been addressed, resulting in a significant increase in the state’s internally generated revenue.

On education, he disclosed that his administration upon assumption of office embarked on a programme for the renovation, rehabilitation and re-equipment of affected schools across the state to ensure that school children and their teachers enjoy a safe and conducive environment for learning.

The governor stated that the government recently approved the release of funds for the execution of N3 billion worth of projects for the renovation of over 276 primary and secondary schools in the state, with the federal government providing 50 per cent of the sum. He added that fruitful efforts had been made to provide and improve infrastructure and facilities in all the state’s tertiary institutions.

On security, the governor said his administration had strengthened safety of lives and through support for the security agencies in the state.

The state government donation of 20 new vehicles to the agencies and continues to provide necessary logistics to aid their operations across the state, Ugwuanyi said. He further stated that his administration had reactivated and reinvigorated the neighbourhood watch associations in all communities with a donation of an initial seed money of N100 million.

On sports, he noted that the state government had tried to revive sports and youth development in the past one year, especially the Rangers International Football Club, which has posted an impressive performance.

Ugwuanyi has in the last one year proved that he is a worthy and visionary leader. “The journey has only just begun… remain prayerful and hopeful, for Enugu State is truly in the Hands of God,” he assured.

– Amoke writes in from Enugu.

Osun 6th Assembly: One Year of Effective Lawmaking for Better Life Olatunbosun Oyintiloye

O

sun Sixth Assembly in Focus; Effective Lawmaking for Better Life Since its inception last year June, the state of Osun House of Assembly has not only make itself a credible legislative arm of government, but has indeed trail the blaze in the area of passage of quality bills in line with its pledge to make life better for the teeming populace of the state. The legislative arm passed six bills within a year.

Upon its inauguration on the June 2, 2015, the crop of lawmakers in consonance with its leadership despite the numerous challenges facing the state, particularly cash crunch, resolve and hit the ground running in the business of lawmaking.

The lawmakers which set aside personal comfort and adopted the vow of personal sacrifice, commenced sitting without the necessary entitlements attached to their offices.

It, therefore, suspended recess to allow for the presentation of 2016 budget. From the outset many bills were considered, seven has been passed, some have been assented to and have become laws while others are waiting executive assent.

The bills include; Osun Public Procurement Agency Bill, Osun Land Use Charge Bill, Osun Primary Healthcare Development Board (Establishment) Bill, Osun Street Trading and Illegal Market (Prohibition) Bill, Omoluabi Conservation Fund (repeal) Bill,Osun Micro-credit Agency (Establishment) Bill and Osun 2016 Appropriation Bill.

The Osun Public Procurement Agency Bill passed on Monday, October 19, 2015, now a law was targeted towards enhancing due process in the bidding and procurement through probity, accountability and transparency.

The law aimed to check undue influence and interference in the procurement process; and to adequately involve the public in the procurement process. Also, it was aimed at attracting interven-

tion and assistance of development partners and foreign investors.

Also, the law will enhance public confidence and trust in government and help to regulate, guide and protect the interest of the masses.

Similarly, Osun Land Use Charge Bill, passed on Monday, February 8, 2016 now a law was aimed at ensuring the consolidation of all property land based rates law, the neighborhood improvement charge law and tenement rate law into one, called Land Use Charge Law. The law, will among other things, improve the IGR of the state through enhanced payment of rate and levies on property to the coffers of the government.

In considering this bill, the Assembly involved experts and ensure that it arrived at a reasonable rate for payment in line with their suggestions to ensure that unnecessary burdens are not place on them. An executive bill sent to the lawmakers and passed into law is the Osun Primary Healthcare Development Board (Establishment) Bill, passed on Tuesday, February 16, 2016. The law which was one of the six integral action plan of the state government is the restoration of healthy living, hence, the law will help in taking care of the health needs of the less-privileged.

It will enhance efficient monitoring of healthcare system at the state and local government levels as well as, make assistance of international donors on healthcare delivery accessible to the government.

Next in line is the Osun Street Trading and Illegal Market (Prohibition) Bill, passed on Tuesday, April 5, 2016. Waiting for the governor’s assent and when it is finally assented to, is meant to enhance free-flow of traffic and pedestrians; ensure clean and tidy environment; and prohibit unauthorised pasting of banners and erection of containers.

Meanwhile, the House of Assembly also passed the Omoluabi Conservation Fund (repeal) bill, on Monday, April 11, 2016, aimed at allowing the government have access to the fund to carry out infrastructural development. Presently, part of the fund is being used to construct the Odi-Olowo-

Aregbesola Isale-Osun/Ita-Olokan road newly named Workers’ Drive by the state Governor.

In line with state administration quest to reduce poverty among the population, the lawmakers passed the Osun Micro-credit Agency (Establishment) bill on April 26, 2016. The bill when eventually signed into law would serve as effective tool to liberate people from the bondage of poverty; help people to be self-employed.

Osun 2016 Appropriation Bill, passed on Wednesday , May 11th 2016, refers to as 2016 budget focused on the completion of on-going projects across the state and will be revenue-driven in the sense that the largest percentage of it will be financed by IGR, hence, there would not be heavy reliance on the federal allocations, which is dwindling by the day.

The Assembly also has been serving as a stabilizing factor in the state polity, intervening in issues that would have raised tension on many occasions such as the case of sacking of workers of the state-owned higher institutions by their governing boards. In the area of oversight functions, the 6th Assembly has strengthened its machinery to ensure the blockage of loopholes in the revenue of the state and increase its Internally Generated

Revenue without putting unnecessary burden on the people. It is also on course by ensuring that the ongoing projects across the state are completed and complies with contractual agreement.

One of such oversight functions was on the audit carried out on the management of IGR by the state-owned tertiary institution namely OSPOLY Iree; OSCOTECH Esa-Oke; NCEs Ila-Orangun and Ilesa. Investigation into the matter revealed that after all the expenditure of the institutions might have been removed from their total revenue, there were surplus running into billions of naira which were not accounted for since 2011.

Consequently, the Assembly has passed a resolution, compelling the institutions to automate the payment of its fee to block leakages and make the institution self-dependent.

Also, the Assembly addressed cases of tax defaulters by some mobile network providers.

They were summoned, drastic decision was taken, including order to seal of the offices of some of them. The measure changed the trend and the state was now getting improved revenue from the sector.

The Assembly has also taken step on the indiscriminate citing of filling stations across the state by summoning all the agencies and officials whose jobs are related to citing of filling stations and such other structures. The house took a drastic step by ordering the stoppage of work on all ongoing construction of filling stations that have not complied with the law guiding such construction.

Meanwhile, before passing any bill or resolution, the assembly was thorough, researched all options and reasoned deeply to arrive at logical conclusion. More so, professional backgrounds and experiences of each member became a leverage for successes in the business of the house.

All of these feats ware made possible due to the maturity of members and the impressive leadership style of the speaker, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam.

- Oyintiloye is the Chairman House Committee on information and Strategy, Osun State House Assembly

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CICERO/TRIBUTE

W.F Kumuyi At 75: As It Was On Day One… Endure the burden of the Cross to the end - Jesus Christ Give to the poor until it hurts - Mother Teresa Preach Christ and live holy till you die - W.F. Kumuyi

Banji Ojewale

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f the world would have its way, Pastor William Folorunsho Kumuyi at 75 should be the grand old man sitting by the fireside at night in a fenced house built for him by the Church. The young and the old would form a circle about the retired preacher, listening to great exploits of the man in his active days as an evangelist.

At sunrise the following day, he would sit in a cane chair overlaid with soft cushion, reading the Bible and watching the world go by, waiting for the moon to announce the delivery of more tales of the past to anxious listeners.

But the man God moved to found the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (Deeper Life Bible Church) in 1973 has confounded popular thinking about a so-called diminishing power in old age. As we mark his 75th birthday on June 6, he will be preoccupied with the Church’s main event every Monday: the Monday Bible Study. He faces a large congregation of the faithful every Monday evening. They are those he has infected with his fervour for holy living and a genuine readiness to make Heaven through the Bible’s prescription.

Pastor Kumuyi will be on duty today again as he has always been every Monday, since that Monday on August 1973. He will be on his feet for close to one and a half hours opening the pages of the Bible to present the truth about the love of God for man. As the session is video-cast live worldwide, many watching the man would come to understand his passion for evangelism and why he is nowhere close to shutting down until death arrives or Christ returns according to biblical prophecy.

These days, the General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry rather than slow down on account of old age, as some have proposed to him, has taken up more laborious work. He has become part of the Sunday evening House Caring Fellowship with a revival and miracle sermon which he delivers. The session sees him undertake a circuit tour of different locations in Lagos. Also every Saturday he preaches to the Church’s workforce, dropping nuggets of Bible truth to prepare them for worship service the following day.

In 2015, Pastor Kumuyi undertook a brawny 18-day citywide crusade, with the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria partnering Deeper Life

Kumuyi TRIBUTE for the programme. If you analyse his sermons in the past six months or so you would notice a literary style that would challenge even the masters of prose and poetry. In addition to the alliterative method of his traditional threepart discourse, Kumuyi now builds three points (sometimes more) in each point. These sub-points are not arbitrarily given. They come with figurative panache to titillate your soul and make it yearn for the undiluted truth of the Gospel of Christ. For Pastor Kumuyi the mode of presenting such a message is not less important than the content. At the end of the day, a Kumuyi treatise turns out to be a massive structure resting on a tripod with more three-legged contraptions inside.

As you move in, it becomes a labyrinth you enter, hoping to leave soon after exploring its entrances and exits.

But once the sincere seeker of the truth and Heaven submits himself patiently to a guided tour, he would settle in to become one of its denizens. That was the experience of a man more than four decades ago. He was told about a young man called William Folorunsho Kumuyi who was teaching something

refreshing about the Bible and the salvation of man’s soul. The man decided to listen to Kumuyi, leaving Ibadan for Lagos where Kumuyi was. After his encounter with the DLBC founder, he declared: “Kumuyi teaches the Bible (quite masterly and convincingly) as if he was there when it was written!”

That Day-One fixation on a painstaking attitude to teaching the Word of God and living by what he commands - come what may - has been the cleric’s abiding lifetime preoccupation. Stormy seasons that have come along – shattering desertion of trusted associates, death of wife, Mummy Biodun Kumuyi, disciplinary measure on his son, John, for breaching Church canon on marriage, mishaps during preaching tours, health concerns etc. – have not retarded or discouraged the revered clergyman. Instead, they have, as they did in the case of Apostle Paul, “fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.” Correctly interpreting Leviticus 6:13, Pastor Kumuyi has remained the fire that must retain its brightness and burning power to the end. It is the reason he has disowned the world and its enticements and thrown in his lot with the Heaven promised by Jesus Christ. It is the reason the Bible with its

doctrines of Christ-like holiness, humility and servanthood is his only treasured property, not money, material prosperity or such other transient worldly possessions. His Lord does not fail Him. His Lord takes care of his soul and body. He watches over him so he would not lack or fall into error.

Our world is character-poor and corrupt for its repudiation of these values. Kumuyi never fails to warn his Church-men and others who listen to him of the dangers consequent upon neglecting these mores or scruples of integrity. He would tell his congregation that as a born-again child of God you must not steal government money or your neighbour’s.

You must not write down 8am as the time of reporting for work if you reported at 9am. You must not be numbered among those ganging up against the law of the land. You must not jump the queue at a bus-stop or at a bank. You must not seek to harm your neighbour.

Indeed, some have held the view that for President Muhammadu Buhari’s war on corruption and indiscipline to gain some new traction, government should send public office holders to the Monday Bible session of the Deeper Life Bible Church. Let them go there to learn the sense of godly honour and conscience Kumuyi preaches.

William Folorunsho Kumuyi was born on Friday, June 6, 1941 at Erin-Ijesha, a few kilometres from Ilesha in Osun State. He went to Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State, where “there was a time of confusion” in his life as the “militant atheist” Tai Solarin, the Principal, sought to oust God from young Kumuyi’s mind. Ironically, he became born-again there on April 5, 1964 at age 23. He would then go on to the University of Ibadan to obtain a first class degree in Mathematics. After a postgraduate course in Education at the University of Lagos, Kumuyi taught Mathematics there.

The Flat 2 apartment the institution gave him was the starting platform of the Deeper Life Christian Ministry. The rest is not history…

The rest is the on-going narrative of God using a poor man to prove that He does not need the so-termed mighty and rich of the world or their wisdom and wealth to build His Church.

All He needs are simple men and women wielding the weapons of holiness, meekness and courageous commitment to stick to biblical precepts.

Happy Birthday beloved Pastor!

Celebrating Meseko at 50

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Anayo Okolie

or Hon Durosinmi Meseko, frontline journalist and former member, House of Representatives from Kogi State, today is a special day to glorify God. The journalist turned politician believes that he owes no one gratitude except the almighty God who has graciously kept him alive till today.

Gushing like a young damsel before her would be husband, Hon Meseko told THISDAY that but for God Almighty, he would not be alive today.

“God has been so gracious to me. I never thought I would live upto 50 years given the myriads of near-death nasty experiences I have passed through in life.

Twice I miraculously escaped from the jaws of hired assassins, thrice survived car accidents, twice survived food poison and many other vicissitudes of life but God has always been there for me. So for me, achieving this milestone of 50 years is one of the greatest achievements. I am grateful to God, would remain grateful till eternity.”

Hon Meseko started his life even as a young man with an uncanny spirit of philanthropy. According to him, “nothing

Meseko

in life gives me more joy than giving. My life is giving. As early as age 7, I was already a giver. I recall how I used to receive severe floggings from my late father for daring to dash out my personal items like sandals, shirts to my friends who lack such things.

My parents could not understand why I give out almost any of my belongings

without blinking an eyelid. Eventually, it dawned on them that I was born with the heart to give to the less privileged. This is the philosophy that guides my life till date”.

Hon Meseko, a graduate of political science from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria started his journalism career in Kano in 1990 after he won the Best Youth Corper Award in the State. He was given automatic employment by the Military Administrator of the old Kano State, Colonel Idris Garba. After the employment, he was posted to The Courier magazine, the state’s owned magazine as Political Writer.

He rose to become the political editor of the magazine within two years. In 1992, Meseko inching for a wider horizon in journalism joined the wave making TELL magazine in Lagos as Reporter. At TELL, he became the first Chairman of Nigerian Union of Journalists(NUJ), TELL Chapel.

Following Meseko’s relentless articles upbraiding the military dictatorship led

by General Ibrahim Babangida, he was arrested, detained and tortured in 1994 by the operatives of the State Security Services, SSS. In 1995, Meseko moved his services to TheNews/Tempo magazine.

And in 1996, he joined THISDAY newspapers as Senior Assistant Editor rising to

become Political Editor of the Newspaper in 1998.

However, Hon Meseko’s record in journalism did not escape the radar of the late strongman of Kwara politics, Dr Olusola Saraki, who appointed him Chief Press Secretary in 1998. In 2000, he returned to mainstream journalism only to be appointed Manager, Public Affairs, Albarka Airlines. From Albarka, Meseko won his election to represent the people of Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency in House of Representatives between 20032007. He was Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Gas Resources.

After his stint in House of Reps, Meseko ran for governorship position in Kogi State and performed very well.

Among others, Meseko served as one of the advisers under the administration of Capt Idris Wada.

From PDP, Meseko crossed over to the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) in 2015.

He is currently the Director, Media and Publicity, Audu /Faleke Political Organisation.

“As an avowed welfarist, nothing will stop me from living the remaining part of my life to serve humanity. As a philanthropist, I desire to do more for the less privileged, “ he stated.

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Edited by Vincent Obia Email vincent.obia@thisdaylive.com

National Assembly: AYear of Fierce Debate, Intense Disagreement and Passionate Agreement Damilola Oyedele examines the performance of the National Assembly in the last one year

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Shaky Start he inauguration of the eighth National Assembly would be considered one of the rockiest in the history of the Nigerian legislature. The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, had gone against the wishes of their party, the All Progressives Congress, which had nominated Senator Ahmed Lawan from Borno State for the post of senate president and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila from Lagos State for speaker.

Following the inauguration of the National Assembly on June 9, Saraki and Dogara also bonded and resisted the party’s choices for principal officers in both chambers. Dogara and his Consolidation Group for several weeks resisted making Gbajabiamila Majority Leader, as drama, betrayal, accusation and counter-accusation became a daily occurrence in the proceedings of the House. The Loyalty Group, backers of Gbajabiamila, continued to kick, until Dogara eventually shifted his ground and named the erstwhile Minority Leader as the Majority Leader on July 29.

Unending Controversy The bad blood generated during the leadership tussle continued, this time in the struggle for the headship of committees.Again, Gbajabiamila alleged he was not consulted for his input and led several members of the loyalist group to shun the swearing in of the chairmen and deputies of the 96 standing committees.

The upset caused by the composition of the chairmen and deputies was enormous, as several APC members accused the Speaker of favouring the opposition Peoples Democratic Party by allocating 48 per cent of the chairmanship slots to them while the APC got 50 per cent. The Speaker was also accused of handing over the headship of key committees, regarded as juicy, to the opposition members as reward for their support during the contest for Speakership.

By the time it settled down to business and was able to soothe frayed nerves, it was December.

The National Assembly rounded off activities for last year with the laying of the 2016 budget proposal by President Muhammadu Buhari at a joint sitting.

Controversial Budget This year opened for the NationalAssembly on a contentious note. The budget, tagged “Budget of Change” by the Buhari government, quickly became a budget of controversy, when the Senate declared its copy missing. The House was, however, quick to publicly display its own copy and declare it intact. The Senate later noted that that its copy might have been doctored or replaced with another document other than that submitted by the president. The upper chamber point accusing fingers at Buhari’s Senior Special Adviser on NationalAssembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, who curiously remained silent while the saga lasted.

As this was dealt with, it emerged that the budget was full of errors, repetitions and repetitive allocations, leading the PDP members to tag it “the worst ever since 1999”. Lawmakers on three occasions rescheduled its passage date, and eventually passed it just before they embarked on the Easter break.

But the president refused to sign the budget following allegations from the presidency that even though the lawmakers had reduced the size of the budget to N6.03 trillion, they had also padded it by removing key projects of the executive and inserting theirs.

While the senators were adamant that they were done with the budget, and that the president should sign it into law and send any amendment to them, the House played the mediatory role of agreeing to re-examine the budget. Acommittee later set up, which consisted of the executive and members from both chambers, eventually worked to fine-tune the budget, leading to its signing into law by the president.

Saraki

Critical Interventions Early this year, the National Assembly sided with the masses and passed a resolution directing the suspension of increases in electricity tariff by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, which was however disobeyed. A resolution by the Senate had led to the abolition of fixed charges on electricity tariff.

The House, with the backing of the Senate, also intervened in the crisis which rocked the Kogi State House of Assembly following the impeachment of the Speaker by five members out of 20. It announced its takeover of the Assembly, deriving its powers for Section 16 (4) which allows a takeover in the event a state assembly cannot sit for whatever reasons. The House directed the Inspector General of Police to seal the premises.

The takeover bid has, however, been dogged by controversy, as the Attorney General of the Federation directed the IGP to unseal the Assembly. The court has delivered a judgement annulling the impeachment of the Speaker.

The House also waded into the fine imposed on MTN by the Nigerian Communications Commission for failure to disconnect 200,000 unregistered sim cards in contravention of the NCC Act. The House position on the matter, which is still on-going, is that the full fine of N1.04 trillion must be paid. It hinges its argument on the fact that since the Act clearly stipulates N200, 000 per unregistered sim, reducing the fine can only be carried out by an amendment to the Act. On its part, a probe by the Senate saved the country N20 billion from the implementation of the Treasury Single Account policy, and exposed abuse of import duty waivers on rice.

Bills, Motions By the end of 2015, from the time of the inauguration of the eighth House, 327 bills were introduced for first reading while 133 were introduced for the first time by the end of the first quarter of 2016. Many of the bills have scaled through second reading, while others are being worked on at the relevant committees. Two Executive Bills, the Appropriation Bill 2016 and the FCT Statutory Appropriation Amendment

Dogara

Bill, were passed in this year.

Recently, a controversial pro-sharia bill passed through second reading. It seeks to amend sections 262 and 277 of the 1999 Constitution to increase the jurisdiction of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory and Sharia Court of Appeal of a State. The House has tried to allay fears about the bill, explaining that it seeks to increase the powers of the cited Sharia courts, to include criminal cases. The bill is a matter of constitutional review, to which committee it was referred.

The House, just this week, also passed 10 amendments to the Code of Conduct Bureau Act, through second reading. The amendment removes oversight powers from the president and places them in the National Assembly. The Senate had been forced to drop proceedings for the amendments following allegations that it was meant to suppress the CCT, which is currently trying the senate president.

A social media bill was also dropped by the Senate after accusations it was being done to stifle the freedom of expression among Nigerians.

Critical Bills in the House They include: Terrorism (Amendment) Act Bill, to raise prison terms for terrorism offences and remove ambiguities in the relevant clauses, revising the Act to conform to current realities the fight against terrorism; Economic Stimulus Bill, to stimulate the economy by setting aside 40 per cent of Nigeria’s annual budget for capital projects in the next 10 years starting from 2017; Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Bill, an executive bill to provide for the repeal of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012, to make comprehensive provisions to prohibit the laundering of criminal activities, expand the scope of money laundering offences, provide protection for employees of various institutions, bodies and professions who may discover money laundering, enhance due diligence, provide appropriate penalties, and address challenges self-regulatory agencies face in the implementation of a comprehensive antimoney laundering regime in Nigeria.

The House also passed several critical resolutions, including those on security, corruption and economy. In November 2015, it rejected a motion calling for population control, due to cultural and religious sensibilities of Nigerians evident in the heated debate the topic caused on the floor.

In the eighth Senate, some of the critical bills that have been passed are the Electronic Transaction Law 2015, FCT High Court (Amendment) Law 2015, and Insolvency and Debt Recovery Bill 2015. This is in addition to the review of 54 laws affecting the ease of doing business in Nigeria.

The Senate is also currently considering an amendment to the Public Procurement Act, and the out-dated Railway Act, and like the House, has re-introduced the Petroleum Industry Bill.

In the last one year, 167 bills passed first reading in the Senate, 39 are in second reading stage while six are in third reading state. 162 motions were also considered by the lawmakers.

Sectorial Debate An innovation in the House is the sectorial debate introduced as part of its legislative agenda, to engage ministers on their plans towards economic diversification. So far, the Ministers of Information/Tourism; Solid Minerals Development; Finance; Agriculture; and Commerce have appeared before the lawmakers at plenary.

On-going Controversy The biggest issue at the federal legislature now is the on-going trial of the President of the National Assembly, Dr. Bukola Saraki, at the CCT on charges of false declaration of assets.

The Senate drew the ire of the public and was accused of insensitivity in the face of economic realities following its purchase of 38 (out of 109) official jeeps for its members, with the rest on the way. The House has, however, announced that it would also be purchasing a Peugeot 507 for each of its 360 members to be used for oversight duties.

The legislature also continues to draw criticism from members of the public for the cloak secrecy surrounding its budget and expenditure.

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Beyond the Din, 8th Senate Defines Its Focus Yusuph Olaniyonu

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ext Thursday, June 9 will be the first anniversary of the 8th Senate. This is therefore a a good period to critically examine the performance of the Upper Chamber of the federal legislature. There have been attempts by some people to define the narrative of the performance based on the initial controversy arising from the politics of the emergence of its leadership.

However, It is clear that this Senate has more going for it beyond politics.

Early enough, members had settled down to business of defining how the law making chamber can be relevant and serve the interests of the constituents. Led by an experienced and brilliant public officer, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, it was clear to the lawmakers since their inauguration that the major challenges facing the country centred mainly on economic crisis which has resulted in youth unemployment, security problems, particularly insurgency in the North-east zone and pervading corruption which has eroded the confidence of the international community in Nigeria.

The Senators were quick to realise that their relevance will be determined by the ability of the institution to contribute to the resolution of the identified problems. Also, Senators understood that they can only make themselves relevant by tackling issues that have to do with people’s general welfare. Knowing that the economy is the sub-structure of the polity and in fact a key to solving some of the other challenges facing the country, they decided that legislations, oversights and advocacy that have to do with economic revival, revitalising businesses and creating employment should be given priority.

To achieve this, they engaged a team of experts from the World Bank Group, Department for International Development (DFID), the private sector, professional bodies like the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), the academia and others. The task assigned to the experts was to identify existing laws that need to be reviewed and amended to bring them up to Global standards, old laws that should be repealed and new legislations that require enactment, all in a bid to help the economy grow.

The main concern, here, is the poor rating Nigeria continues to get annually in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Assessment Report. At least, it is a fact that investors will not go to a place where they cannot easily establish and operate their businesses at a profit. Also, the prevailing condition will kill big and small scale local entrepreneurs. And without these investments, employment cannot be created, the economy cannot grow and government will not get money from other sources beyond oil whose price have continued to be on a downward slope.

The experts in their reports have identified 54 laws which need immediate attention to achieve the aim of making it easy for investors to establish and operate businesses in Nigeria.

Their recommendations were later subjected to further debate and analysis through a business roundtable dialogue with stakeholders in public and private sectors.

The Senate has started acting on the 168-page report. First, the recommendations formed the core of the Legislative Agenda which, though yet to be publicly launched, is already being implemented. Second, the legislations recommended for review are now in various stages of law making process.

As at today, the Senate has passed the Electronic Transaction Law 2015 and Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law 2015. The new Railways Act which will enable the private sector invest and participate in running a vibrant railways sector is in the last stage before being passed.

It is gladdening that the 8th Senate is the one reviewing the almost a century old Railway Act. In fact, if not for the decision to constitute a committee of experts to review the work of the Senate committee on Land Transportation and help straighten the technical aspects, the Railway Act would have been passed.

The Senate has equally commenced the review of the Public Procurement Act to make it compulsory for government to patronise local manufacturers, except in cases where

Senate in session the needed goods and services are not locally available. The objective here is to ensure that a substantial percentage of the N6 trillion that is in the 2016 national budget is retained in the local economy and put in the pockets of our people. This, according to the lawmakers, is the best way to achieve wealth creation, increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), encourage local industries to grow and stimulate increased productivity among Nigerians. It is also an ingenuous way of creating mass employment.

With this move, the eighth Senate must be drawing inspiration from other developed economies that had done a similar thing. US enacted a similar legislation around 1922 with the Buy America policy promoted by the Herbert Hoover administration. China, South Africa and other countries also have related laws.

The deliberate efforts to promote Made in Nigeria goods have been backed with practical demonstrations by the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and other Senators like Ben Murray Bruce, Enyinaya Abaribe, Theodore Orji and others who are now ambassadors of Made in Nigeria goods. With all these carefully planned and inter-linked measures, one can see that there is a system, process and method to the way the present Senate is doing its work.

Still on the economic revival plan, the Senate has revived the long-pending Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and the plan is to break the old bill into several workable, practical and functional laws so that the various issues involved can be tackled at different times. It is calculated that the logjam around this bill can be resolved if the Senate, for example, takes the first step of enacting into law the aspects that are not contentious and where national consensus has been achieved. These non-contentious codified aspects can immediately be deployed to effect the much needed reforms in the sector.

The lawmakers can later proceed to work on the contentious areas through different bills. This is considered a more realistic approach, instead of having a humongous, all-purpose bill, which will continue to be bogged down by divergent interests. The first bill from the original PIB is now at the second reading stage.

The PIB is one of the 167 bills that have passed first reading stage. 39 others are in the Second Reading stage and 6 others are in the final stage of passage, which is the third reading. The reasoning of the Saraki-led Senate is that the earlier the Senate focus on bills that will transform the national economy, curb youth unemployment, eliminate insecurity and other social malaise and institutionalise social justice, the better for us all. This will prevent a situation where the Senators will desperately resort to rushing bills with little legislative value at the twilight period of their tenure as it happened in the past.

As part of its contributions to the economic revival agenda of government, the Senate has also expressed its commitment to frugal management of the meagre resources now available to the government after the drastic fall of the price of oil. It is reasoned that if the government can block the loopholes in its finances, diversify the source of revenue, be frugal and innovative in its spendings, Nigeria could convert the present economic downturn to advantage. That

is why motions and resolutions in the Upper Legislative Chamber are focussing on areas where government is losing revenue.

Two instances readily come to mind here.

Through a motion raised on the floor, the Senate investigated and found out that in the operation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), government has lost more than N20 billion and will lose more if the contract with the company charged with the collection was not terminated. In a wellargued, revealing submission, it called on the executive to discontinue the transaction.

In another investigation arising from a motion, Senate discovered that the government has been duped of over N400bn through wrong application of the Duty Waivers policy. It has since directed that the culprits be made to cough out what they wrongfully got.

Another area where this Senate has exerted a lot of energy with a view to providing service to the people is in the area of restoration of peace in the North-east zone which had been devastated by the activities of Boko Haram. Not only did the Senate continue to call for briefing from security agencies and also intervening at every necessary point to ensure that the armed forces get the necessary funding and moral encouragement to restore peace in the area, the Senate has championed early commencement of rehabilitation, rebuilding and resettlement of people in the area.

Last year, the principal officers made the first ever fact-finding visit by the federal legislature to the areas since the insurgency started over a decade ago. During the visit, the Senate also made financial donations to the upkeep of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The visit led to the consideration of a bill to establish the North-east Development Commission which may be passed into law next Thursday. The lawmakers had earlier passed a resolution on the establishment of a Presidential Committee on the rehabilitation of the people who are presently in the various Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Again, the leadership has continually rallied international support for the rehabilitation and war efforts in the area. Not only has the Senate President, Saraki, made the issue of international assistance for restoration of peace and rehabilitation of people in the North east a recurrent issue in all his international speaking engagements, he repeatedly canvassed these issues when he meets with diplomats and development partners who are frequently on courtesy visit to his office.

The current Senate is totally committed to tackling issues that have direct impact on our people. That is why they intervened on the electricity tariff issue and their efforts led to the abolition of the fixed charges. Last week, the Senate held a well-attended public hearing on the recent increase in the same tariff and it will soon announce the result of the investigation.

Also, when the forex policy of the CBN became suffocating for small scale manufacturers that require foreign components to keep running their operations, the Senate invited the CBN Governor and the discussion with the apex bank alongside pressure mounted by other bodies led to the review of the policy to allow easier access to forex by genuine businesses.

The Senate has consistently discussed

motions, pass resolutions and consider laws which have direct impact on the lives of the people. For example, it has expressed concern about the growing rate of kidnapping, rape and brutality to children in the country. Now, there is a pending bill aimed at making kidnapping a capital offence. Senators are also considering laws that will protect women against sexual assault. The proposed law against sexual molestation or harassment of female students by randy lecturers and others in higher Institutions of learning has gone to committee stage.

The Senate has also intensified the campaign to ensure that all state Houses of Assembly adopt and enact the Child Rights Law in their respective states. It has investigated and is still investigating several cases of child abuse.

One other way through which the Upper chamber has continued to serve our people is through investigations of petitions and public complaints submitted by ordinary people through their respective senators. Through these petitions, many aggrieved persons have got reprieve, without having to spend a kobo on legal fees. A case in point was that of a policeman in Lagos wrongfully dismissed 25 years ago but who has now been reinstated after the Senate Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions investigated his case and found out that injustice had been meted to him.

As at today, 162 petitions have been submitted, 32 already dealt with conclusively and 82 under consideration. The rest were found to lack merit, probably because they are subject of litigation or that the committee found out the claims were frivolous.

Also, to demonstrate support for the anticorruption war by the Federal Government, the 8th Senate has equally engaged with anticorruption agencies like the EFCC, ICPC, CCB and the rest on how to improve their efficiency through a review of their enabling laws as well as provision of more funds for them to procure necessary facilities and train their officers.

The Senate has also commenced the process of setting up an independent Transparency and Delivery commission which will help draw up a robust scheme and strengthen the internal structure and capacity of the National Assembly to fulfil its role as an anti-corruption institution. The commission will help the Senate to use its oversight tools to act as catalyst for greater transparency and efficiency in fighting corruption.

More importantly, the Senate has decided that no single bill or motion will be debated in the present Senate except it adds value to the objectives of reforming the economy, eliminating insecurity, enthroning social justice, fighting corruption and making lives better for the generality of the people.

By giving priority to laws and issues that affect the economy, the present Senate has defined its own focus. And if they can record appreciable success in these areas, they would have helped to solve a large percentage of the problems threatening the existence of the country. They would also have helped to reposition the country for achieving greatness and serving the interests of Nigerians.

–Olaniyonu is Special Adviser to The Senate President.

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IMAGES

S

enami,thedaughterof PastorGbengaOgunko, the Executive Director of Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, was joined with her heartthrob, Abiodun Esangbedo, at the solemnization of holy matrimony held at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Jubilee Parish, Lekki Phase 1, on May 14. The reception followed immediately at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki, under the chairmanship of Admiral Festus Porbeni (rtd). Here are some of the personalities that attended the occasion.

Photos: Abiodun Ajala

The Couple, Mr Abiodun Esangbedo and his wife Senami lbiolanigbe

Bride’s parents, Pastor Gbenga Ogunko and wife Pastor (Mrs) Titi Groom’s parents, Dr. Peter Esangbedo and wife, Abosede

L-R; Mr. Tunde Dabiri and Chairman of Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Mr. Akin Opeodu

GMD, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Mr & Mrs Akin Ogunbiyi

Mr. and Mrs. Segun Omosehin

R-L: MD, Bell Oil & Gas, Kayode Thomas and Mrs Kolawole

Bride’s brother, Ayodeji Ogunko

GMD, Odua Group of Companies, Mr. Wale Raji

L-R: Chairman of the occasion, Admiral Festus Porbeni (rtd.) and his daughter, Etypou Porbeni

Dr. Ayodele Ogunko

Pastor Akinboye Odeku and wife, Dr. Moji

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SUNDAYNEWS

LCCI FOR EDUCATION REWARD FOR LEADERSHIP L-R: Guest Speaker, Mrs. Elizabeth Olomofe Kufeji; Chairperson, Education, Printing and PublishDirector-general of National Pension Commission (PENCOM), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu (middle) ing Group, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mrs. Modupe Onabanjo; President, LCCI, Chief (Mrs) Nike Akande; Former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Princess Sarah Sosan, and Director, Research / Advocacy, LCCI, Mr. Vincent Nwani, during the inauguration of education, printing and publishing group of LCCI in Lagos...recently

flanked by Commissioners/management of PENCOM at the conferment of Excellent, Visionary, and Emphatic Leader Award on her by the Trade Union Congress during the union’s Triennial Conference Award Night in Abuja...weekend

Renewed Militancy Plunges Oil Output to 20-yr Low, Crashes Power Supply to 1,268 MW Ejiofor Alike in Lagos and Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt

The renewed wave of attacks on oil and gas assets by a new militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), has plunged Nigeria’s crude oil production into a 20-year low and significantly reduced power generation to just about 25 per cent of the 2016 peak of 5,074 megawatts- that is, 1,268 megawatts- recorded on February 2, THISDAY investigation revealed.

The spate of attacks by the suspected militants has, however, been condemned by the

Ijaw National Congress (INC), the umbrella body of the Ijaw ethnic nationality.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had initially enjoyed almost seven months of honeymoon, with no attacks on oil and gas facilities, thus raising the country’s crude oil production to 2.3 million barrels per day, while federal government’s target for 2016 was 2.4 million barrels per day.

Also, with the non-disruption of gas supply to the power plants, electricity generation also hit an all-time peak of 5,074 megawatts on February 2.

Though this administration did not take any deliberate steps to consolidate on the gains of the Amnesty Programme introduced by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, the early months of the administration witnessed stability in oil and gas production, which was attributed to the famous Buhari’s ‘body language.’

However, the months of honeymoon ended after a new militant group, which identified itself as Niger Delta Avengers first attacked the Escravos-Lagos pipeline, cutting off gas supply to some power stations and also forcing

a drop in crude oil output.

As the country was recovering from the attack on the Escravos pipeline, the new militant group bombed the Forcados subsea pipeline in February, in an incident which marked the first of such subsea attacks in the history of militancy in the Niger Delta.

Following the February 14 oil spill on the subsea crude oil export pipeline, which was caused by the attack, Shell on February 21, declared force majeure on exports of Forcados grade of crude oil, following the disruption in production caused by the spill.

S’African Woman Nabbed with Cocaine at Lagos Airport Chinedu Eze

A South African woman who attempted to smuggle 1.210 kg of powder substance that tested positive for cocaine was arrested and effort foiled by anti-narcotics officers.

The drug was detected by a female operative of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos during screening.

The agency, which made this known, said the 34-year old who claimed she was an apprentice chef had two parcels of cocaine carefully concealed inside her brassiere on her way to Johannesburg when she was arrested.

The NDLEA commander at the airport, Ahmadu Garba gave her name as Lekganyane Lerato and said, “The suspect was intercepted during routine screening of passengers on a South African airline. The

World Environment Day: Oando Advocates LPG Adoption As World Environment Day is being celebrated today, Nigeria’s leading Oil retailer, Oando Marketing Plc has restated its commitment to providing products and services that impact the environment positively.

In the past few years, Oando Marketing has been at the forefront of creating awareness and educating the public on the benefits of LPG, more widely known as cooking gas.

Through its awareness-raising campaigns complemented by roadshows to NYSC camps and grassroots outreaches where women entrepreneurs managing soup kitchens and local restaurants (Bukkas) are educated on the use of cleaner

cooking solutions for better health and environment, the company has increased awareness around how the use of these dirty fuels affect the environment with issues like deforestation, and carbon monoxide emission into the atmosphere being top of the list.

Other initiatives include the “Teens can cook” Regional competition which was envisioned as a way to instill the use of cleaner cooking solutions whilst instilling cooking skills in the younger population; and the ongoing Bukka Switch campaign, kick started with the Akara Osu women last year with a plan to switch 40 local restaurants by the end of June 2016.

drug was neatly concealed but certainly not good enough to escape our notice. She is currently under investigation but will be charged to court very soon.”

The suspect said she was lured into drug trafficking by friends. “I am an apprentice chef in Johannesburg. A friend convinced me into drug trafficking.

I never imagined that the drug will be detected because it was carefully concealed inside my brassiere.

“A female officer requested

to feel my boobs and that was how the cocaine was detected. My travel expenses was handled by the sponsor who promised to pay me 3,000 dollars when I get to Johannesburg but all my dreams had been dashed following my arrest”, Lerato lamented.

NDLEA Chief Executive, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (rtd.) expressed optimism that the chances of being caught with drugs are getting higher in the country.

Two Policemen Feared Dead in Lalong’s Convoy Seriki AdinoyiinJos The convoy of Governor Simon LalongofPlateauStatewasinvolved in a fatal accident at Mikang, in Mikang local government area of the state on Friday afternoon, leaving two policemen in the convoy dead in the wake of it. Lalong had gone to the Southern senatorial zone of the state to unveil some of the projects executedbyhisgovernmentduring his first year in office.

An eye-witness in the convoy revealed that the policemen were hanging on a Hilux Van belonging to Operation Rainbow, (the state’s private security outfit), when the driver of the van veered into a corner flinging the unsuspecting victims off the van.

The victims were said to have landed on their heads resulting in fatal knock, and leading to the immediate death of one. The second also died before he could get medical attention.

The rest of the convoy could not immediately be notified of the incident as a result of the speed of the convoy. Even the bus immediately behind the ill-fated police van were reported to have meandered their way and then sped off without stopping.

Confirming the accident, the state Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), Deputy Superintendent Abuh Emmanuel however said he has not received details on the incident from the Mikang Divisional Police Officer (DPO).

Bombing of Pipelines: MASSOB Backs Niger Delta Avengers ChristopherIsiguzoinEnugu Despite the outcry trailing the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), pro-Biafra group, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) yesterday declared “total and unflinching support” to the avengers and other selfdetermination groups within the Niger Delta region.

MASSOB in a statement by its leader, Uchenna Madu, expressed delight at the consistent blowing up of pipelines by the avengers, noting that though they (MASSOB) had adopted a non-violent approach, any approach adopted by other groups to achieve the same objective would be supported.

Madu expressed satisfaction with the courage, selflessness and consistency with which the Avengers and other “Biafran warriors” were pursuing their mission. But the MASSOB leader said blowing up of oil pipelines by NDA, “shows and proves the positiveness and acceptability of Biafra

Mimiko’s Wife Named Key Speaker at AAU’s Public Lecture BlessingAbah

Wife of Ondo State Governor and Founder, Maternal Pulse Foundation, Mrs. Kemi Mimiko has been named the guest speaker at this year’s edition of the annual Public lecture of the Centre for Research and Development, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Akoko.

According to a statement by the State’s Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, the lecture which is billed to hold on Monday, June 6 at the Olusegun Obasanjo Multipurpose Hall in the University premises has the theme: ‘Women and Development’. The event, according to the statement is the 4th edition of the annual programme. The statement also mentioned that the lecture is billed to begin by noon tomorrow.

by our brethren across the Niger.

It also rubbished the earlier diversionary, cowardice, stupid and negative comments/statements and position of some leaders of ethnic nationalities of the Southsouth who were brainwashed by Hausa Fulani Yoruba oligarchies against Biafra.”

“The activities of the current Niger Delta Warriors are a natural confirmation that Biafra stretches towards the gulf of Guinea. The natural inhabitants and indigenous people of these lands are Biafrans by birth but Nigeria by citizens.

MASSOB has made it open that we want Biafra though we chose non-violence approach; we shall also support every genuine and legitimate methodology and approach chosen by any group towards Biafran self-determination,” he noted.

According to the statement, it is because of the non-violence approach of MASSOB that the Nigerian security forces have killed thousands of MASSOB members and other groups’ members since 1999 when the current struggle started.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as ADEJOH PAUL, now wish to be known and addressed as ADEJOH SULE PAUL. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as ONOJA PATRICK EJEH, now wish to be known and addressed as PATRICK EJEH THOMAS All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

NOTIFICATION This is to notify all that my full name is Aondohemba John Tseayo and that the name A’hemba is a short form of the name Aondohemba and not a separate name.

GTBANK PLC AND STANDARD CHARTERED BANK TO PLEASE TAKE NOTE

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NEWS Exit Of The Greatest...

Exit Of The Greatest...

Exit Of The Greatest...

“Champions aren’t made in gyms, champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, his hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.”

I’m so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark.

“If you even dream of beating me, you better wake up and apologise.”

“I’m not the greatest, I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ‘em out, I pick the round. I’m the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior, most scientific, most skilfullest fighter in the ring today.”

“Will they ever have another fighter who writes poems, predicts rounds, beats everybody, makes people laugh, makes people cry and is as tall and extra pretty as me?”

Al with Martin Luther King in 1965

“It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.”

“The fact is, I was never too bright in school. I ain’t ashamed of it, though.

I mean, how much do school principal’s make a month? I said I was ‘The Greatest’, I never said I was the smartest!”

“At home I am a nice guy - but I don’t want the world to know. Humble people, I’ve found, don’t get very far.”

“I am America. I am the part you won’t recognise, but get used to me. Black, confident, cocky. My name, not yours. My religion, not yours. My goals, my own.

Get used to me.”

Ali in his prime

Arguably Alis most famous fight came against George Foreman in 1974 the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire

“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”

“It’s not bragging if you can back it up.”

“Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn’t choose it, and I didn’t want it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free name, and I insist people use it when speaking to me and of me.”

“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”

“To make America the greatest is my goal, so I beat the Russian and I beat the Pole. And for the USA won the medal of gold. The Greeks said you’re better than the Cassius of old.” After winning Olympic

light-heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Games in Rome.

“Hey Floyd - I seen you! Someday I’m gonna whup you! Don’t you forget, I am the greatest!” To then-world heavyweight

Ali throws a punch at Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle Ali throws a punch at Joe Frazier in theThriller in Manilla

champion Floyd Patterson during the 1960 Olympic Games.

“Sonny Liston is nothing. The man can’t talk. The man can’t fight. The man needs talking lessons. The man needs boxing lessons. And since he’s gonna fight me, he needs falling lessons.” Before fighting

world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston in February 1964.

“I’ll hit Liston with so many punches from so many angles he’ll think he’s surrounded.”

“I shook up the world! I shook up the world!” After beating Liston.

“I’ll beat him so bad, he’ll need a shoehorn to put his hat on.” Before beating

Floyd Patterson in 1965.

“You have to give him credit - he put up a good fight for one-and-a-half rounds.”

Ali throws a punch at Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle

Crashing a blow on Joe Frazier en route to victory in 1975

After beating Britain’s Brian London in 1966.

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NEWS Exit Of The Greatest...

Exit Of The Greatest...

Exit Of The Greatest...

“What’s my name, fool? What’s my name?” To Ernie Terrell during their

1967 fight - Terrell had refused to call him Muhammad Ali.

“I hit Bonavena so hard it jarred his kinfolks all the way back in Argentina.”

After beating Oscar Bonavena in December 1970.

“I’ve seen George Foreman shadow boxing and the shadow won.” Before knock-

ing out Foreman in their famed ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ clash in 1974.

“I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick; I’m so mean I make medicine sick.” Before the ‘Rumble

in the Jungle’

“That all you got, George?” During

the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’.

“Any black person who’s for Joe Frazier is a traitor. The only people rooting for Joe Frazier are white people in suits, Alabama sheriffs and members of the Ku Klux Klan.

I’m fighting for the little man in the ghetto.”

Muhammad Ali knocks out Sonny Liston in 1965 to win the world title.

“It will be a killer and a chiller and a thriller when I get the gorilla in Manila.”

Before the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ in 1975.

“I always bring out the best in men I fight, but Joe Frazier, I’ll tell the world right now, brings out the best in me. I’m gonna tell ya, that’s one helluva man, and God bless him.” After the ‘Thrilla in Manila’,

which Ali won.

“I said a lot of things in the heat of the moment that I shouldn’t have said. Called him names I shouldn’t have called him.

I apologise for that. I’m sorry. It was all meant to promote the fight.”

“Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.”

“Nobody has to tell me that this is a serious business. I’m not fighting one man.

I’m fighting a lot of men, showing a lot of ‘em, here is one man they couldn’t defeat, couldn’t conquer. My mission is to bring freedom to 30m black people.” Before Ali’s

fight against Jerry Quarry in 1970.

With daughter and professional boxer Laila Ali in 2005 Muhammad Ali with the Sportsman of the Century award he got in 1999

“We were brought here 400 years ago for a job. Why don’t we get out and build our own nation and quit begging for jobs?

We’ll never be free until we own our own land. We’re 40m people and we don’t have two acres that’s truly ours.”

“I’m gonna fight for the prestige, not for me, but to uplift my little brothers who are sleeping on concrete floors today in America. Black people who are living on welfare, black people who can’t eat, black people who don’t know no knowledge of themselves, black people who don’t have no future.”

“What’s really hurting me - the name Islam is involved, and Muslim is involved and causing trouble and starting hate and violence. Islam is not a killer religion, Islam means peace. I couldn’t just sit home and watch people label Muslims as the reason for this problem.” In the aftermath of the

2001 World Trade Center attacks.

“I love to see my name where everyone can read it. Someday I’m gonna see it in bright, bright lights.”

“Maybe my Parkinson’s is God’s way of reminding me what is important. It slowed me down and caused me to listen rather than talk. Actually, people pay more attention to me now because I don’t talk as much.”

Ali lighting the OlympicTorch at the 1996 Olympic in Atlanta

At the Sugar Bowl football match in New Orleans in 2013

“I always liked to chase the girls.

Parkinson’s stops all that. Now I might have a chance to go to heaven.”

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High Life B

101 with LANRE ALFRED 08076885752

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

Like a Tsarina of Unusual Spirit and Descent, Bella Adenuga Clocks 30

ella AdenugaDisu can be enchantingly sweet. When she talks, her voice wafts like rosefragrance waltzing in the wind. In such blissful moment, the beautiful daughter of the Champion, Dr. Mike Ishola Adenuga, GCON, metamorphoses into a silhouette of delightful colours captivating everyone in the path of her charm, like an old minstrel delightfully pawing at her mandolin. But Bella is no minstrel neither does she feverishly paw at the strings of any mandolin; all she has is her charm and her smile – which makes her a young woman to die for.

Yes, Belinda Adenuga, is just 30. Thus she could shake her head like the flowers in spring

and let her hair glow like the fireflies that light up the fields and quiet meadows. The daughter of Globacom chairman may rejoice in decent abandon at her arrival in the extraordinary league of big 30s. Bella whose marriage to Jameel Disu remains a fairy-tale to the Nigerian society, strikes a remarkable portrait that negates the rich, spoilt bimbo stereotype. She’s got beauty and brains, and a wonderful personality to match.

She is a hardworking and resilient woman who doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Even as a billionaire’s daughter, Bella keeps a low-profile and avoids any form of scandal that can jeopardise her name and that of her family.

She is one young lady who has matured more than her age.

Segun Odegbami

SEGUN ODEGBAMI SELLS HOUSE…RELOCATES TO ABEOKUTA AFTER HIS CRASHED ENGAGEMENT TO OYIN ADEYEMI It’s funny how you think the world revolves around you only to find out that you are merely a speck twirling in the fringes of its curl. Ask Segun Odegbami, the soccer legend who imagined himself as an emperor dictating the pace of his ex-fiancée, Oyin Adeyemi’s world. But soon after the latter called it quits with him, the truth

dawned on Odegbami and he realised that he was hardly the charmed overlord he thought he was. As you read, the former Super Eagles star has retraced his steps from Oyin’s luxurious abode, to recoil and smart in the drudgery of the middling social divide.

Odegbami has sold his FESTAC house as he plans as relocate to Abeokuta in Ogun state. Although Odegbami deserted and practically forgot that he had a life outside the

Bella Adenuga

luxury, glitz and glamour that characterised his union with the StillEarth Ltd. head honcho, Oyin, he has suddenly rediscovered his groove in Abeokuta and the rustic community of Wasimi, where he reportedly runs a football academy. Oyin called it quits with him after she realised that they were growing in different ways, different directions and several miles apart.

Besides the fact that Odegbami was over 20-something years older than Oyin, the soccer legend reportedly failed to sustain the magic and spark in the heart of his woman, Oyin, years after they got engaged. He allegedly came into the relationship with too much baggage and emotional drama than Oyin could handle. That is why the latter walked out of their relationship before it became too late to do something worthwhile with her life.

estate. Things have fallen apart in the household of late AbdulAzeez Alao Arisekola. The centre cannot hold again amid his vain and raucous clan. Trouble and disaster looms above the homestead of the late Ibadan billionaire as his 30 children, wives and extended family members slug it out in a no-holds barred contest for his estate.

Highlife findings revealed that the late billionaire’s children are divided into three camps, with each faction laying claims to

TROUBLE IN PARADISE...

INTRIGUES AS ALAO ARISEKOLA’S FAMILY BATTLE OVER HIS ESTATE •Lust for inheritance spLits biLLionaire’s famiLy into three units

The late Alao Arisekola must be turning in his grave as his family and other relatives shamelessly engage in a bitter squabble over his

Alao Arisekola

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HIGHLIFE

Pomp at Dapo Abiodun’s 56th Anniversary

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liss resides in the cockles of Dapo Abiodun’s heart, as you read. The sun shines brilliantly, bathing him in the radiant beams of a promising future. The Heyden Oil boss still pulsates with unrestrained joy as he basks in the afterglow of celebration and warm wishes he enjoyed on his 56th birthday. On May 29, Dapo clocked 56, and he once again, reaffirmed his worth and inestimable value in the eyes and hearts of his loved ones. The guests thronged his residence in a circus of conformity on the D-day. They trooped to his residence the way the early sunshine weaves its light through darkness. However, they kept it casual and very simple with élan, just the way the celebrant wanted them to appear. The event was indeed a memorable one. As the party kicked off, his Temple residence shook from the base to the rafters as the deluge of encomiums and applause caused its hallowed chambers to tilt in his honour.

The elaborate event, which paraded top politicians, respected monarchs, society big wigs and captains of industry, had the Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun, in attendance. Other dignitaries at the event included Nigeria’s powerbrokers, oil magnates, bank chiefs, and industry titans his estate scattered across Ibadan, Oyo, Lagos and London, United Kingdom.

While one of the groups is reportedly led by Khadijat Alao-Straub, Arisekola’s first daughter, the others have Ismaila, Arisekola’s first son and Abdullahi, the son of the late business mogul arraigned over allegation of N1.1billion oil subsidy scam. The children have been quarrelling with one another over who should control some of the properties, including their dad’s tank farms in Lagos and flour mill in Ibadan. Arisekola also has substantial investments in First Bank Plc among other blue chip companies in the country and these among other properties are being hotly contested by his wives, children and other relatives. Very Sad!

MAKING SENSE OF SEN. ADAMU ALIERO’S TRUE LIES Adamu Aliero probably missed his vocation; the exgovernor and senator should have been an economist given his penchant for being economical with the truth. Immensely gifted in theatrics and subterfuge, Adamu has perfected his capacity for twisting truth into crooked forms.

Despite his humble background, Adamu grew to benefit immensely from the North Western region’s benevolent scholarship scheme. The North Western

with stakes across the country’s business sectors. Dapo treated his guests to good and delightful music. As the woofers belted out familiar, evergreen tunes, their hair stood on end and they tipped over in merriment - their joy spilling from their souls into the air and sky high. Enthralled, the guests moved in gaiety, tap dancing and swaying to the beat as if they meant to enact a madhouse jamboree with the tenacity and agility of veteran dance and music buffs.

Guests at the party were treated to the choicest liquor and sumptuous meals made by the finest caterers. It no doubt warmed the cockles of the celebrant’s heart to see dignitaries at the event smack their lips in pleasure as they devoured the sumptuous meals and drinks offered to them at his anniversary. We saw Aliko Dangote, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Willie and Nkiru Anumudu, Bayo Abdul, Capt. Francis Ogboro, Lanre Ogunlesi, Muyiwa Bakare, Sammie Omai, Tunde Ayeni, Eyimofe Atake, Biola Akinola, Anslem Tabansi, Niyi Adebayo, Prince Bolu Akin-Olugbade, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Sujimoto, Layi Oriowo, Fola Ogunlesi, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, and many more.

Dapo Abiodun

Adamu Aliero

region’s scholarship scheme afforded him the opportunity to attend such institutions as the Aliero Town Planning School, after which he attended the Government Secondary School in Koko and graduated in 1976.

In 1981, he secured an administrative officer position at the College of Education in Sokoto. In the same year, he joined the Nigeria Customs and Excise Service before he ‘voluntarily’ resigned in 1997.

He later held various executive positions in Nigeria such as the

Governor of Kebbi State, Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Minister of the FCT. Little wonder how he was able to build a 100,000 metric tonnes capacity rice mill in Labana.

Labana Rice Mill is situated in Kebbi State. Its 100,000 MT capacity makes it the third largest rice mill in the country. This sole mill in Kebbi State, owned by the distinguished senator, had been producing at 10 per cent capacity since its inauguration in 2012. This poses certain questions in a state that has 90,000 rice farmers ahead of states like

Benue and Jigawa, according to a USAID report in April 2014.

However, rice farmers in Kebbi prefer to sell in Jigawa State, attributing their stance to government’s interference and price manipulation. Adamu, in order to get cheap rice for his mill, allegedly tried to arm-twist the farmers to sell at giveaway prices to him. The arrangement was resisted by the farmers who resorted to selling their produce in neighbouring states.

The farmers’ reaction scuttled his plans and rendered the policy a total failure. The farmers resisted the efforts of his handpicked successor who yet tried to intimidate the farmers. This singular action by the farmers sounded the death knell on Labana Rice Mills. But that is stale news. What is news is that Senator Adamu, who chairs the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Import Duty Waivers, Concessions and Grants which investigated the indiscriminate use and abuse of waivers granted by the federal government to some organisations, while grandstanding and hugging the limelight with efforts to appear patriotic failed to mention that his company Labana was among those that were granted waivers.

This negates the saying, “he who comes into equity must come with clean hands”.

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HIGHLIFE

The Amazing Friendship between Otunba Fasawe and Atiku Abubakar

O

ld friends are best.

King James used to call for his old shoes; they were easiest for his feet. But former President Olusegun Obasanjo thinks otherwise. That is why he did away with his very close friend, Otunba Johnson Fasawe.

Otunba Fasawe, an Ondo-born businessman hit the limelight when former President Obasanjo assumed office as the number one citizen of Nigeria. Due to his closeness to Obasanjo, he walked the corridors of power without restrictions, and many courted his good graces. His influence with the former president knew no bounds and as a result, many influential people sought the grace of Otunba Fasawe in desperate bid to get one favour or the other from the former president.

It was however, astonishing to see the beautiful relationship between the two friends

collapse. Fasawe’s tacit support and sympathy for the then Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, happened to be his greatest undoing. This did not go down well with Obasanjo and it led to the unceremonious exit of Fasawe from Aso Rock. Perhaps it was in a bid to spite his former bosom friend and president that Fasawe decided to pitch his tent with Atiku, perhaps not; but it’s an interesting sight to see Otunba Fasawe hobnob with the former Vice President in careless abandon.

Fasawe has become to Atiku what he once was to former President Obasanjo and the duo has since waxed stronger in friendship. Interestingly, if Atiku succeeds with his bid to become the nation’s president come 2019 general elections as its being speculated, Fasawe may once more become a permanent face on Nigeria’s corridors of power.

Hiding his company, which got waivers while making public names of other companies, is mockery of equity and fair play. He cannot sit as a juror at his own trial. There is a clear conflict of interest, making this a tainted inquiry. While grand standing, he should not fail to remember, that those who live in glass houses do not throw stones.

and mighty friends of the deceased promised heaven and earth to the family he left behind. Years after Ademola passed on his friends are yet to fulfill their pledge. They seem to have conveniently forgotten about their friend and benefactor so soon.

The deceased left behind six children and a wife, Modinat, who had four children for him and has since remarried. Notable among his friends who enjoyed prominent space in the society as toasts of most musicians of Yoruba origin were Keem BelloOsagie, the former chairman of UBA, Segun Fowora, Charles Okondo, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Kola Abiola, amongst others. The late Bobakeye of Akile Ijebu was always praise-sung with his father-in-law, Mukaila Onabanjo popularly known as Mikky Mikky Baba Modinat. Ademola’s mansion which became a social terminus of sort for them when he was alive is now a forbidden zone to them. “There is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face…” William Shakespeare couldn’t have been more apt.

FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS DESERT ADEMOLA ADEKOGBE’S FAMILY “Men shut their doors against a setting sun,” says Apemantus in late English poet and playwright, William Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens. Shakespeare, as usual was right on point.

The English writer ’s literary depth reaches far into the tragedy that has become the lot of the household of late Ademola Adekogbe.

Ademola, during his lifetime, was a perfect example of a jolly good fellow. His generosity and towering decency was acknowledged by all and sundry, friends, family and even barely known acquaintances, to mention a few. Ademola never discriminated as all classes of humans were accorded special treatment by him.

Hence his house became a Mecca of sort as the needy, gold diggers, fair-weather friends and fortune hunters swarmed upon him as bee on flowery nectar.

Then a sad thing happened; Ademola yielded to cardiac arrest years ago at his Ijebu mansion, jolting the rich and poor, the lowly and the mighty and every beneficiary of his large-heart to the sad reality and transience of life. Expectedly, the rich

GLAD TIDINGS…TIMI ALAIBE CHANCES ON GOOD TIME Life is transient; just as change is constant. No one lives forever. More than anybody at this point in time, the former managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe, understands these aphorisms. Back in his NDDC days, he was the cock of the walk, the ruler of the roost and the major domo in the pantheon of deep pockets. On account of his

Atiku, Obey and Fasawe

financial liquidity, he was a primus inter pares, the guy with the most expensive and flashiest fleet of cars.

Add to this his choice taste in designer apparels, a good body to carry clothes off and good looks, the Bayelsa native effortlessly left many ladies gaping, gawking and going weak in the knees while men openly wished they made just his acquaintance. That was how overpowering his halo of prosperity was.

However, lik e th e proverbial cat wi th n i n e lives, Timi Alai b e, m ay have bounced bac k o n his feet. There are stro n g indications that th e fo rm er Managing Direc to r o f th e NDDC may be d rafted back to functio n as h ead o f

th e P resi d en ti al A m n esty P ro g ram m e fo l l o wi n g th e i n ab i l i ty o f th e c urren t ND D C ex ec uti v es to c urb th e ac ti v i ti es o f m i l i tan ts i n th e o i l ri c h reg i o n . Ti m i , a p eren n i al g o v ern o rsh i p asp i ran t, h as b een th ro wn o ff h i s g am e i n rec en t ti m es.

The former NDDC boss was once a major player and powerbroker in the Niger Delta region but one thing led to another and he got betrayed and tamed by the intrigues of the conflictprone oil producing region.

The news doing rounds at the moment is that, Timi will be named as the head of President Muhammadu Buhari’s amnesty initiative to end militancy in the region.

Timi Alaibe

Sunday June 5, 2016

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MISSILE

Gov. Okowa to Militants

“Your activities could turn Delta State into a theatre of war and this portends great danger to the whole population, aside from casting the image of the state as insecure and unfit for investment. We cannot, as a state, afford this rascality if we hope to make progress.”

– Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, condemning the activities of the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

Four The Options before President Buhari And Other Things...

I

remember this encounter all the time.

My wife and I were on a trip to the US a few years back. When the immigration officer at the JF Kennedy International Airport, New York, began to check our passports, he launched into a conversation with me on “the problem with Nigeria”.

“Why do you think Nigeria is still struggling to develop?” he asked me.

I know the drill. He wanted me to pinpoint corruption — the international template for diagnosing Nigeria’s ailments. I would not fall for his trick, I told myself.

“I really can’t say. Maybe leadership deficiency?” I was half-stammering. I knew I was holding back my thoughts. But, hell, I didn’t travel to the US to discuss Nigeria’s problems. I spend all my life discussing the problems. I deserved a one-week holiday in the US with my family. Normal service would resume after the break.

He smiled, stamped the passports and returned them.

“I will tell you one thing,” he promised.

“Some countries have political problems. Some have economic problems. Nigeria has both economic and political problems.”

I nodded sincerely. I could not agree less, and I praised him for his laconic diagnosis.

He seemed gratified. Political problems plus economic problems. What a deadly combination. That is what Fela would call “double wahala for dead body”. There was a time in my life, particularly in the 1990s, when I believed the nonsense that Nigeria could develop in spite of political instability. My model in those days was Italy — which was changing governments and prime ministers the way a lady changes her shoes, yet the economy was stable. I used to conclude that political problems need not lead to economic problems. I wouldn’t repeat that statement again.

Recent socio-political upheavals in Nigeria are dampening my enthusiasm. Low oil prices and the resultant economic crunch should be enough trouble for us, but political tensions are arising from the menace of the herdsmen, the renewed agitations for Biafra and the rebirth of Niger Delta militancy. Without peace in the yard, we are going nowhere.

We are already saddled with low oil income, forex scarcity, unpaid salaries, increasing unemployment, skyrocketing cost of living, and a looming recession. Now add herders, Biafra and Avengers. These are too much to bear. Political problems plus economic problems. Deadly.

I do not consider the issue of the herdsmen too much of a problem: it is mainly about enforcing law and order, on the one hand, and addressing grazing needs, on the other. The herders’ problem has been with us for decades and has nothing to do with a Fulani being president of Nigeria. But our bitter politics has worsened matters, and things easily got compounded when President Muhammadu Buhari himself did not as much as show some concern and empathy. At least, the menace is getting national attention now. I’m a bit more confident that concrete steps will be taken to address this issue decisively.

My bigger worries are coming from the

Buhari South-east and the South-south. There is a renewed agitation for Biafra in the South-east, and no matter what we think, this will not go away easily. I know there is an attempt, even by the Igbo elite and intelligentsia, to dismiss this with a wave of the hand, but I am not that generous with cynicism. I have heard people argue that the Igbo stand to lose more if they leave Nigeria, but again that is not the point. We are not discussing facts and logic here: we are discussing political emotions. The Biafran flag is flying, even if at half-mast, in the hearts of a vast number of south-easterners. It is unhelpful to deny this.

Presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, recently said the renewed Biafra agitations only came after President Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2015 election. That, exactly, is what bothers me. The South-east voted massively for Jonathan, who lost. Word started going round that they would pay dearly for it.

I have heard well-marshalled arguments that since the Igbo voted for Jonathan, they know the score. They should pay the price. I shiver. No country can make progress with a winner-takes-all definition of politics. I don’t know what is driving the renewed Biafra agitation, but we must find a way to calm things down. We need the peace badly.

I can imagine Buhari being pulled in different directions by the hawks and the doves. The hawks would be saying: Mr. President, you owe the Igbo nothing; let them do whatever

Between asserting the sovereignty of the Nigerian state and working out compromises to keep the country going, Buhari will have to design a solution that will leave both his reputation and Nigeria intact

they want; make sure you use a strong arm to keep the protesters in check; do not yield an inch to blackmail. The doves would be saying: Mr. President, the election is over; it is time to embrace everybody and forget the past; accommodate everyone no matter their political choices in the past; let everybody have a stake in your government; we need all hands on deck. For me, I favour anything that will bring down the tension. We need political stability to build economic prosperity.

While we are at it, the Niger Delta militants have gone for our economic jugular. They have vowed to bring oil production to zero, and, so far, they are on target. They are even threatening to test-run surface-to-air missiles.

Mr. Bismarck Rewane, respected economist and public affairs analyst, thinks there is a link between the attacks on oil pipelines and the stepping up of the anti-graft war. “The destruction of assets at this time happens to coincide with the step-up on the anti-corruption war. Is there a link between the anti-graft war and the militancy? What is this all about?

There’s a riddle that needs to be unravelled,” he said on Channels TV on Monday.

Again, this worries me. All along, I thought it was all about the toning down of the amnesty programme and the reported scrapping of the maritime university. In my mind, these issues could easily be resolved: just restore the amnesty programme and bring back the university. But Rewane seems to suggest something more complex: the probes are hitting officials of the Jonathan administration below the waist; indeed, there have been rumours that Jonathan himself might be arrested and prosecuted. No former Nigerian president has been so treated, no matter the allegations.

Many even argue that the anti-graft war is targeted only at PDP members.

Now the dilemma: are we going to advise Buhari to call off the chase, appease the militants and halt the bleeding of pipelines — if indeed it is a reaction to the probes? Or do we ask Buhari to assert Nigeria’s sovereignty and launch a full-scale military war? The hawks will be saying: Mr. President, go for it; crush them; you would be sending the wrong signal, or even a mixed message, by engaging with the militants or bargaining on the anti-graft war. The doves, on the other side, would be saying: you’ve arrested Jonathan’s associates; you’ve clamped them into detention; you’ve recovered billions of naira and dollars; what else do you want, Mr. President?

Ultimately, it is Buhari’s call. The one thing I can say — be that as it may — is that he can only tackle our economic problems when there is peace and stability. Upheavals will be a major distraction. The longer these agitations dominate the agenda, the more distracted we will be. I would also say the military option could be costly, time-consuming and unpredictable. Between asserting the sovereignty of the Nigerian state and working out compromises to keep the country going, Buhari will have to design a solution that will leave both his reputation and Nigeria intact. He must carefully weigh his options in this conundrum. He needs all the wisdom he can get.

BLASPHEMY MURDER What’s the value of human life in Nigeria?

Accused of blasphemy, 74-year-old Bridget Agbahime, a market woman in Kano state, was killed on Thursday by mobsters who heartlessly slit her throat.

Last Sunday, Methodus Emmanuel, a 24-year-old trader in Padongari, Niger state, was accused of blasphemy and murdered by a mob. So I am asking: is there no proper mechanism for dealing with these issues rather than jungle justice? So if we just had argument on who is more beautiful between my wife and your wife, I can easily accuse you of blasphemy and get you murdered by the mob? Senseless.

JAMB AND JAMBOREE So the federal government has scrapped the post-UTME (unified tertiary matriculation examination) conducted by the tertiary institutions? The test came about as a result of distrust in the examination handled by the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB). Well, I have a different problem. I thought the natural logic is to scrap JAMB itself. Where in the world does one body conduct entrance examinations for tertiary institutions?

Can’t each school set its own standards and conduct its own entrance tests?

JAMB is one of the leftovers of our military history that needs to be trashed and given a state burial. Anachronism.

BUHARI AND JONATHAN Critics of former President Goodluck Jonathan will never agree with me, but conceding the 2015 presidential election and calling to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari remains historic.

You just can’t wish that feat away. We have seen politicians set the house on fire after losing elections, dating back to the 1960s. Buhari admitted on Monday that Jonathan’s phone call left him “shocked”, remarking: “For him to have conceded defeat even before the result was announced by INEC, that was quite gracious of him.” I’m happy it’s not everybody who thinks it was “normal” — and I’m glad it happened during my lifetime. Exemplary.

THE GREATEST The Rumble in the Jungle. The Thrilla in Manila. Sting Like a Bee. Float like a Butterfly. Rope-a-dope. Dear God, we cannot thank you enough for creating Muhammad Ali, for allowing him to add so much colour to our lives, and for allowing him to live with us for 74 years. The boxing world will never forget his bitter rivalry with Joe Frazier whom he nicknamed “The Gorilla”, even giving us unforgettable poetry: “It will be a killa and a thrilla and a chilla when I get the Gorilla in Manila.” He won 56 of 61 professional fights, 37 by knockout.

We can’t stop loving him. Adios.

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