Saturday 20th August 2016

Niger Delta Leaders Demand End to Militancy, Troops Withdrawal Call for restructuring

Sylvester Idowu in Warri Niger Delta Stakeholders have called for immediate stop to the vandalism of oil installations in the region, while also demanding for the withdrawal of the military from the area.

Suspected militants blow-up NPDC gas pipeline in Warri

In a related development, suspected militants, in the early hours of yesterday, blew up another gas pipeline operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) at Owhrode and Orhuwhorun in Udu Local Government Area

of Delta State.

The stakeholders, which included traditional rulers, elders and leaders of thought, youth and women leaders of the Niger Delta Coastal States said in a communiqué issued at the end of meeting in Warri yesterday,

that stoppage of further deployment of military hardware and resources in the Niger Delta region would ensure the confidence of the people and enhance opportunity for peace and order.

After an exhaustive delibera-

tion on matters that affect the Niger Delta Region and the Nigerian Nation generally, with particular reference to the resurgence of militant agitations in the Niger Delta region, the meeting, which held at the Petroleum Training Institute

Conference Centre, Effurun, Delta State, noted the situation of threat to peace in the region.

It noted further that the federal government had deployed military resources in the area, Continued on page 6

UN Expresses Dissatisfaction with Volume of Assistance to Bama IDPs ... Page 6 Saturday 20 August, 2016 Vol 21. No 7786 Price: N250

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Terrorism: Kerry to Hold Talks with Sultan, Northern Governors Alex Enumah in Abuja The United States Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry is expected in Nigeria on a two-day official visit, August 23-24.

While in the country, Kerry is billed to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari, state

governors and religious leaders from the northern part of the country.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador, Sola Enikonolaiye, who confirmed the proposed visit in a press statement yesterday, said Kerry would also hold bilateral talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Geoffrey Onyeama.

Enikonolaiye said the planned meetings were in the context of government’s counter-terrorism efforts “with a view to deepening collaboration with the Nigerian government with particular regard to humanitarian assistance to victims of terrorism, and Internally Displaced Persons

(IDPs) in the North-east.”

He added that apart from Abuja, the US Secretary of State will also be in Sokoto where he would be received by the Sultan, His Eminence Saad Abubakar ll before delivering a lecture at the Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto.

A similar statement from

the Information Office of the Embassy of the United States of America, in Abuja, disclosed that Senator Kerry would be speaking on the importance of resilient communities and religious tolerance in countering violent extremism.

The embassy’s statement added that Kerry would also be in Abuja; meet with

a group of adolescent girls working to change community perceptions that devalue the role of girls in society.

The statement adds that he will have the opportunity to meet with participants of the Young African Leaders Initiative and the Mandela Washington Fellows programme.

I Can’t Guarantee Conclusive Polls in 2019, Says INEC Chairman Seeks prosecution of electoral offenders

Davidson Iriekpen, Olawale Olaleye and Charles Ajunwa

UDOKA ONYEKA

The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, yesterday said he was not in a position to guarantee conclusive polls in 2019 because he would not be pressured to step outside the lines of the Constitution, the Electoral Act and the Guidelines to impress anyone.

The INEC boss, who said this last night during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos, noted that the conclusiveness or otherwise of any election owes greatly to the behavioural pattern of voters, of which he has zero control, adding that he would not dare second-guess any election.

He, however, frowned at the non-existence of any law prosecuting electoral offenders, saying the absence of such a provision or law has allowed for an abiding culture of electoral Continued on page 6

My Parents Stopped Me from Music but Couldn’t Stop Me from Movies

SuperSaturday pg. 8-9

ARA OLAMUYIWA TENIOLA

Some People Consider Me Spiritual, Powerful

Plus pg. 17

PEACE ON THEIR MINDS

A cross section of Delta State traditional rulers at the Stakeholders Consultative Forum which held in Warri .…yesterday

Obasanjo Tasks Buhari on Mambilla Hydro Power Project... Page 55

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UN Expresses Dissatisfaction with Volume of Assistance to Bama IDPs Michael Olugbode The United Nations is not satisfied with the volume of humanitarian assistance given to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Bama camp, Borno State, its Assistant Secretary General and regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel, Mr. Toby Lanzer said yesterday.

Lanza who was in Bama, 78km southeast of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, where he led a team of UN delegation and officials of the Borno State government to celebrate the 2016 world humanitarian day, said much more needed to be done for displaced persons.

Bama is one of the towns in Borno State that have suffered the worst of Boko Haram

destructions. It gained global attention when over 100 persons were reported killed by starvation and malnutrition about three months ago.

The UN under-Secretary flew into Bama in a helicopter, a town that was virtually razed down by the terrorists after their occupation.

He said: "I am happy with what the United Nations and her partners have done to help the people of Bama. But I think we still have quite a road to travel.

"I am still not satisfied entirely and I will be calling for more assistance whether in demand for education, whether to make sure that all of your sisters and wives can give birth in a clean and safe environment; to make sure that people have roof over their heads or food in their stomachs

or have access to their affairs so that they can help themselves.

"This is the aspiration of the United Nations and her partners.

May they be able to share in this endeavour and to support you."

It was no surprise that there was no infrastructure to house the displaced persons who had trooped into the town from recently liberated communities around Bama except a military controlled IDP camps, which is the town's General Hospital.

The Borno State government had wanted to move the IDPs from the premises of the hospital into the rebuilt market complex, but the army commander in the town, had contrary view.

Commander of the 241 Battalion, Colonel Adamu Laka, said the IDPs had been provided with water and hygiene facilities

as well as UN built schools for children.

He said he was worried that moving the IDPs may not be backed with resources for installation of water and hygiene facilities.

Lanza was conducted round the expansive camp to supervise the ongoing construction of tent homes being built by the UNHCR. 500 tent pavilions are being put in place for 500 families.

During the visit, thousands of children were seen learning in schools built by UNICEF. Most of the kids who had no contact with western education before they got to the camp, were noticed reciting the Nigeria National Anthem and the 26 English alphabets, they even counted number 1 to 50.

Speaking on the essence of the World Humanitarian Day (WHD), Lanza said: "On August 19 every year is the day when the United Nations and its partner mark the world humanitarian day.

"It is the day in 2003 that the UN office in Baghdad, Iraq was attacked by a suicide bomber; we lost 20 of our colleagues in one strike. And I know that you here, across the northeast of Nigeria particularly in areas such as Bama have identified with the sufferings of the incident of that nature because of the horrors Boko Haram inflicted on the communities in Borno State.

"I am delighted to be back.

I was here with the governor in the first week of April. The Bama I witnessed in April is

not the Bama of today. I sense progress; I can see that the army has made Bama more stable and secured. I am happy with what the United Nations and her partners have done a little bit to help.”

Some of the high points of the visit to the camp were the distribution of clothing and shoes to children, men and women in the camp, a part of the N2 billion humanitarian aid donated by the charity foundation of Nigeria’s richest business man, Aliko Dangote.

Officials also seized the occasion to administer polio Vaccines to kids under the age of five.

Bama is less than 50km away from Gwoza which is one of the places an outbreak of the child crippling diseases was reported three weeks ago.

Finance Ministry to Manage Assets Recovered from Looters Adeosun explains high cost of food items

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun yesterday in Abuja revealed that her ministry had been mandated to manage assets recovered from treasury looters, lamenting that some of the recovered items were mind-boggling.

Besides over N115 billion in local and foreign currencies, the federal government had disclosed recently that it recovered 183 buildings, and five vessels, among others, from looters.

Adeosun, who said she would soon allow journalists take a look at some of the recovered assets, including a collection of very expensive jewelry, noted that if the current war against corruption was sustained, in addition to other cost-cutting measures being implemented by the present administration, the nation would swim out of

recession earlier than envisaged.

The minister spoke at her maiden interactive session with finance correspondents during which she also gave an insight into why the prices of food items are hitting the rooftops.

According to her, the past administration defaulted in paying suppliers of fertilisers, who consequently failed to supply the items to farmers in the last farming season.

The development, she said, made farmers not to apply fertilisers on their crops leading to low yield and the attendant scarcity of food items, which pushed prices up.

She, however, disclosed that the current administration had already addressed the situation by paying the fertiliser suppliers, adding that farmers were availed of the product during this year’s planting season, which would culminate in better yield and lower food prices.

Adeosun said in order to preserve produce from this year’s harvest, the government was embarking on the construction of silos to avoid loss of harvest.

She also spoke on disbursements in the 2016 Budget, where she stated that N60 billion would soon be released, adding that this would raise funds already released by the government to N400 billion since May. According to her, some contractors who had not been paid since 2012 had been motivated to return to work, adding that the nation would soon begin to feel the impact of the administration’s efforts and policies.

Adeosun stated that the administration had begun renegotiating public-private –partnership (PPP) projects, noting that the private sector money was highly needed.

“So far, we have spent N400 billion on capital, that is

between May when the budget was signed and now; we are going for another capital allocation meeting where we are going to allocate another N60 billion.

“We are pumping money into the economy at a very rapid rate, but it would take a little time for the effect to be felt, she stated, noting that for the country to make serious progress, a whole-hearted fight against corruption was imperative while massive infrastructure development was required “Fighting corruption is fundamental and if we stick with that and all the money stolen or diverted is directed at projects that could grow the economy, we would recover,’’ she said.

On why funds recovered under the Treasury Single Account (TSA) arrangement cannot be appropriated and spent by the federal government, she said the funds belonged

NIGER DELTA LEADERS DEMAND END TO MILITANCY, TROOPS WITHDRAWAL causing fear, unease and social dislocation of innocent people.

“The situation is potentially explosive and is capable of compounding the economic conditions of the Niger Delta and Coastal region,” noted the stakeholders.

The meeting called on agitators and aggrieved groups to hearken to the appeal of the traditional rulers, elders and leaders of thought to stop further attack on oil and gas facilities and give room for dialogue.

“Without prejudice to efforts made so far, the federal government should demonstrate seriousness by reaching out to the authentic representatives of the region to discuss peace and the way forward,” said the participants.

The meeting also resolved to support the popular demand for the restructuring of the Nation’s political system as recommended by the 2014 National Conference.

“The practice of equitable fiscal federalism is a precondition for sustainable peace and development of our Country,” they said.

The participants resolved to establish a pan-Niger Delta Platform that would speak for and negotiate on behalf of the region. The meeting further resolved to set up the said platform with effect from yesterday.

The Meeting was addressed by the convener Chief (Dr.) E K Clark and Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta State.

Clark said the meeting was convened because of the tension building in the six coastal states

of the Niger Delta as a result of high presence of the military.

He emphasised that only genuine restructuring of the political administration of the country would bring peace to the region and country.

He also said that answer to many of the issues raised in the Niger Delta region were contained in the report of the 2014 National Conference.

While commending the efforts of those clamoring for fiscal federalism, Clark noted sadly that "Our forefathers lived a better life than we are living now, because they were able to manage their own affairs.

"We must find a permanent solution to the various problems that we are facing in this country, including the youth revolt in the Niger Delta, Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, Biafra agitations, kidnapping, and recently the inability of the various states to pay their workers’ salaries and pensions."

Okowa called for cessation of all forms of hostilities in the region, saying more would be achieved through dialogue and advocacy.

He said, "There is need to agitate, but it should be agitation based on dialogue and advocacy."

While commending the convener of the meeting for giving room for the people of the Niger Delta region to talk, Okowa stated that more would be achieved when the people of the region have credible people speaking on their behalf rather than persons who will claim to be speaking for the people

whereas they were looking for personal gains.

"Are we ready to be a true voice of the people? Today, we are talking about dialogue but it is important that we have those who can represent us, not the governors, because, with governors, it will be viewed as political, and I know that if we have well-selected stakeholders to go to Abuja to speak for us, the President will listen because those people will not be seen as speaking for their pockets.

"We should stop all forms of violence; with violence, we are taking actions that are destroying our land, our waters in anger.

"Our traditional rulers and our leaders should let the youths know that they should stop violence, with a firm assurance that the elders will speak for us; we know that fiscal federalism, restructuring of the country are important but, we should look at what we can benefit from President Buhari's administration as a people," Okowa said.

The governor disclosed that plans were on to reopen the Maritime University, and that when the gas revolution project comes on stream, the Escravos sand bar would be dredged.

"We should be peaceful, please let us give peace a chance, we need to create the enabling environment, we need to be ready to accommodate investors because, the gas revolution project will cost in excess of $15 billion and the process of dredging the Escravos Bar is part of the bargain," he stated, adding that Chinese investors

were already sourcing for funds to finance the project.

Publisher of THISDAY newspapers, Prince Nduka Obaigbena was amongst the dignitaries that graced the occasion.

Suspected Militants Blowup NPDC Gas Pipeline in Warri Suspected militants, in the early hours of yesterday, blew up another gas pipeline operated by the NPDC at Owhrode and Orhuwhorun in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State.

The burst gas pipeline supplies gas to the defunct Delta Steel Company (DSC) at Orhuwhorun community.

Security sources disclosed that about two pipelines operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company were affected in the incident which occurred at about 2 am.

A new militant group, Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, sources said, was behind the attack.

President General of Owhrode community, Mr. Michael Odjo confirmed to THISDAY that they heard the sound of the explosion and immediately he mobilised his co-executive members, youths and members of the local vigilante to points of oil facilities in their area but couldn’t find anything.

“So, we returned and blocked all access roads in and out of the community in a bid to apprehend the suspected militants who blew-up the pipeline but couldn’t find any of them,” he said.

to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and tied to specific items, which cannot be diverted and spent by the government without creating problems.

The minister also disclosed that about N200 billion had been recovered from independent revenue sources.

On why luxury items are yet to be taxed, Adeosun stated that this had not commenced due to the absence of the necessary legal framework.

According to her, the committee she inaugurated recently which is to review the National Tax Policy would seek ways to ensure that the right laws are put in place, adding that

the Joint Tax Board (JTB) was also working to harmonise taxes that are overlapping among federal, states and local governments.

She said that the Joint Tax Board (JTB) was working to harmonise taxes that were overlapping among federal, states and local governments.

“It is part of the ease of doing business initiative because these are some of the things that cause businesses to close down.

“It puts one off and even in the federal government, we are working on various revenues and looking at who is the best agent to collect revenue,’’ she said.

I CAN’T GUARANTEE CONCLUSIVE POLLS IN 2019, SAYS INEC CHAIRMAN malpractices responsible for some of the many hitches the commission has been dealing with.

Dismissing the swirling assumption that virtually all the elections conducted by the commission under his leadership were inconclusive, Yakubu said so far since he assumed office, the commission had concluded about 137 elections, 80 of which were rerun and the rest were isolated polls like the Kogi and Bayelsa States elections, including also, the recent elections into the Federal Capital Territory.

While noting that the commission has continued to conduct elections practically every weekend unknown to many Nigerians, Yakubu maintained that “We won’t conclude elections at all means. But we will only always conclude elections with regards to the laws of the land and the Electoral Act.” The INEC chairman, who noted that inconclusive polls were not peculiar to his leadership, went down memory lane to recall some of the major elections that were not concluded in the past with resounding emphasis on the 1983 re-election of former President Shehu Shagari, which propelled the military takeover of the Muhammadu Buhari junta.

Although he claimed not to be proud of such developments, Yakubu said the narratives trailing some of the elections conducted under his watch have made it look like it had never happened before, citing also the start of the 2011 elections, which the former INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega had to postpone even when voting had commenced in some parts of the country.

He, therefore, reiterated that “I can’t guarantee conclusive

elections in 2019. I cannot second-guess Nigerians and I don’t know where they would head in 2019,” adding that he would not step a foot outside what the laws and guidelines dictate for the conduct of elections, urging Nigerians to work with him in ensuring that the polls are conclusive through shared roles and responsibilities.

Continuing, Yakubu said “The Electoral Act envisages the commission to sufficiently comply. You can’t second-guess any election. You can’t conclude an election on behalf of the people. The Kogi election came within two weeks that we assumed office and with its peculiar challenge. I don’t think anyone should blame the commission, but we found a way out.”

Identifying some of the challenges being encountered by the commission, Yakubu said the prosecution of electoral offenders was crucial to successful elections but noted that INEC neither has its own police nor the capacity to investigate infractions during elections.

He also identified threats of violence as well as over-voting as some of the challenges that informed why some of the elections usually turned out inconclusive. He maintained that “every vote in Nigeria must count and every polling unit must account. What they do at the polling units must be recognised and respected,” he added.

In addition to some of the distractions that the commission has had to deal with, Yakubu said his leadership met about 680 litigations in which it was joined, adding that whilst 600 of them were dismissed, 80 were upheld and that 80 were part of the ones responsible for some of the reruns held so far.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

SUPER SATURDAY Udoka Onyeka

My Parents Stopped Me from Music but Couldn’t Stop Me from Movies Tall; talented and tenacious, he exudes a kind of passion that fills the air and makes everyone a believer of what he believes. He doesn’t do it with force. He does it with a persuasion that appeals to both the head and the heart. Udoka Onyeka, Nollywood’s poster boy for brawn and brain, is an embodiment of a new generation of Nigerian film-makers, directors, actors and scriptwriters. From the United States to Nigeria, he’s come with a fresh breath to redefine, in his own way, Nigeria’s entertainment industry – particularly, the movie sector. He is a firm believer in the Nigerian movie project and characterises a confidence uncommon to Nigerian film stars. A fascinating man of values and an enduring storyteller, and as he reveals, a lover of dogs, Onyeka speaks with Adedayo Adejobi about his creative spark and experience on Tinsel set, why he dropped music for acting and his film production projects. The US-educated movie star also gives Nollywood an unparalleled ranking among world’s movie hubs; he rates Nollywood above Hollywood – and he’s not joking. As a charming star with a chiselled figure – you call it a man with six packs – he comes across as a man any doting lady will live for. While he’s not in any relationship right now, he hasn’t stopped hoping for the right lady. Besides that, he also talks about his yet-to-be released suspense-filled, intriguing 16 minutes short film –No Good Turn – on the ongoing infamous Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria’s North-East

Why I Moved From Music to Movies Acting is a Job, I Don’t Need Inspiration to be in a Movie

W

hy did you choose a career in the creative industry?

I had my selfdiscovery while in the United States at the university. I had wanted to study Music – to compose classical music – but my parents wanted me to study what they termed more professional. So, I enrolled for a degree in Accounting. But my second year, I took a Theatre elective. The passion I have for music is still there; I transferred that passion to the stage. I did some school plays and after graduation I did some community theatre around Dallas and put myself through drama school for two years.

Share the experience of your first major film My first major film was my own film.

When I came back, I was just an actor and it was hard to find very good productions to be a part of; because I was not in that network. So, I decided to make my own films because I have my own stories to tell. It took me two years while making the movie Red House 7. I was at that time doing a lot of research about filmmaking and directing. I played a small part in it as well. We did the pre-production in Toronto (Canada) and brought it back to find two distributors and went with Silverbird Distributions, and the movie was in the cinemas.

After that, have you been part of any other project?

After Red House 7, I made my first short film – Down and Out – which had three nominations at the AMVCA. It was in a bunch of international film festivals. It starred Kemi Lala and Kenneth Uhoho. I followed that up with Living Funeral in collaboration with Pink Pearl Foundation.

It had eight nominations at the AMVCA. I was nominated for Best Director and the film was nominated for Best Film.

It was also at the Cannes Festival at the Short Corner, and then it did a few other festivals like AMAA, Durban, New York, and Los Angeles. I just finished a film, No Good Turn, which deals with the Boko Haram insurgency. So far, it’s been doing well at international film festivals like Cannes, European Independent Film Festival and Durban International Film Festival, all this year.

Udoka Onyeka

Perhaps, it’s obvious but why did you choose to do a film on Boko Haram?

Boko Haram has been a big issue in

Nigeria and (the sect) got extremely violent in 2009; the year I returned from the United States. I had made three films already, and nobody was talking about them. Films being (a part of) our biggest export, it was impressed upon me to tell the Boko Haram story. The spark (of the film) was telling the story of the many souls dying every day. Going forward, I had a friend who had a script on Islamic terrorism in the North, and the story wasn’t really strong enough for me. (Out of dissatisfaction with that piece) I went ahead to write No Good Turn. I met with Bolanle Austen Peters of Terra Culture, and she loved the project. We also talked to Ford Foundation and Neri. People got onboard and we made the film. It took about two years for the film to crystalise.

Finally, the film is out.

When will it be officially out?

Maybe towards the end of the year; by then, I’ll release it for a short period of time and then re-release it early next year for free, online, so people can watch it.

Generally, what would you say inspires you to act and write?

I think for acting, you don’t need inspiration to act. It’s a job. What I look for is a story and a character that speaks out to me. The character must be interesting and should challenge me. Because it’s a job, it must be good as well. These things attract me to being part of a project. But as a director, making a film is more emotional.

It’s a long-term project with a minimum of one year to make a film. When acting, shooting and directing, you are attached to the production and until it’s done you can’t move unto the next one. With directing, it’s a longer process. In view of that, I am picky about the kind of films I direct or decide to make.

In the last 10 years, Nollywood has evolved. Is there any basis to compare Nollywood with Hollywood?

I think we are on the right track. If you look at the history of Hollywood, it’s about 100 years in the making, with Nollywood hitting about 25 years. In the last seven to eight years there has been a huge leap in the growth of the industry. Almost every film you see now has production values that are way better than you would see in the last decade; production values which have reached new highs, with better technical crew. I think the only area we are lacking is in the area of how we tell our stories, and that for me is real film-making.

I think we have a few film-makers who are trying to address that issue. In another

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

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SUPER SATURDAY I Am Not Just An Actor with a Pretty Face...

I do my thing and they do their thing. I honestly try to stay grounded with my work because I am not just an actor with a pretty face. I write, I direct and produce films. Most of the time, I am engrossed in my work. At every point in time, I have at least two to three projects I am developing. I don’t know if I have time for that (co-existing with ladies). I get admiration (from ladies) and I think it’s important to understand them and be mature cope with them?

Do I have to cope with them? You think we co-exist?

few years, we will get to the stage where we’ll see Nigerian films compete on the global stage. We already have films doing well in film festivals. As you know, film is a capital intensive investment. So, for you to make a film that will compete on the world stage, you are looking at a minimum of $500,000 to get the right cast, crew, post-production, etc., on the film. If you put Nollywood side by side Hollywood, I think Nollywood is doing better.

Doing better? Is that a fact?

Yes; Nollywood is better. It’s just the fact. I am looking at 100 years industry as compared to a 25-year-old industry and the amount of progress made in those years. If we do it five times more, we would be where they are, because we are already competing with them in the area of production. By the time we get better stories, with more sectors sponsoring our industry, in no time we’ll be competing with them.

The issue of storytelling is critical to film-making and exporting the Nigerian story to the world. If you look at storylines of most Nollywood films, it’s either they are poorly written, inconclusive, plagiarised, or they lack depth, but these movies get awards and recognition. Are the judges not seeing this or what?

You want to look for trouble, don’t you? Well, the honest truth is that awards, especially in Nigeria are a politically charged atmosphere. I don’t want to knock anyone down, but there are some awards that people receive and they are not worthy of them. One begins to question the grounds and merit for such awards and recognition. There are cases where people support who they want to support. A lot of lobbying goes on behind the scene. I have heard a few award

organisers talk about how people come to lobby them into buying a category of the award. The organiser of the BON awards said recently that he loses friends every year because people try to bribe him. He gave the example of an actress offering him N500, 000 to win a category. So, these things happen. The awards system is very political. If you are playing the game, you might get the nominations by merits, but winning the awards most times, there are other influences and influencers involved.

Why is it that ingenious film-makers sometimes don’t get recognised and awarded for their great efforts and what should be done?

Except you want to go and start a riot somewhere, I am not sure. But what I think award organisers should do is to bring independent juries who cannot influence the process, such that good stories, plots, production, style and technique are really recognised and rewarded. If the organisers would give awards to people who are undeserving, it would only reflect badly on the creative ranking of the country, as they would think that is how all filmmakers are. But, more crucial, they may wonder: is that the best Nigeria can offer because better films have been placed side by side and have been duly recognised or rewarded?

Have you watched the movies Exam and The Perfume?

Oh yes, I have seen those films.

You may have equally seen October 1 and The CEO by Kunle Afolayan. What is your assessment of these films as a film-maker?

First and foremost, I have seen Exam and The Perfume, October 1 and The CEO; the only person who can say if he copied or not is the film-maker. I have no

issues with paying homage to an older film or doing a remake of an older film. There is also a possibility that it’s not homage to these films, or maybe he didn’t copy these films. Maybe the stories are similar. We’ll never truly know except the film-maker comes to state that. It’s also left for the critics to say he copied these films or not. I am not a critic, and what I judge is what I see in front of me. I can judge October 1 and The CEO and just give my own opinion of those films.

There is a good that the film-maker is doing.

However, whether or not he is a copy-cat, I don’t think that’s in my place to say. But I feel more can be done with someone in his capacity, especially with the kind of funds he raises for his films. There is a lot more riding on his back as a film-maker. It’s about telling the story right, and that’s what we should be focusing on. If you are going to tell the story, just tell it right.

As a lead actor in Tinsel, what is your experience?

It has been joyous, to say the least. It’s a family. And I think I have just been blessed working with the crop of people in the cast – and how close we have all become! Ireti Doyle has become my big sister off the set, as I talk to her a lot about my personal issues. I think she knows way too much about me. I can tell her anything and I know I would get an honest advice from her like a sister. Same goes for Madam Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett. She has become my mother off the set. I was at her house recently, and we talked about the industry, the future, my new projects and she goes out of her way (to be of help to me). She is a real mother off the Tinsel set. Same thing goes for Beverly Naya; she is like a sister to me. We are like a big family. I am glad I am part of that production, and I hope the audience enjoys what we are giving them.

With a six-packed physique, you sure cut the figure of a charmer. How do you

If you feel more comfortable with the word ‘co-exist’; how do you co-exist?

I do my thing and they do their thing.

I honestly try to stay grounded with my work because I am not just an actor with a pretty face. I write, I direct and produce films. Most of the time, I am engrossed in my work. At every point in time, I have at least two to three projects I am developing. I don’t know if I have time for that (co-existing with ladies). I get admiration (from ladies) and I think it’s important to understand them and be mature.

Are you not in any relationship?

At the moment, I am not in any relationship. My last relationship ended two years ago. It is not that I am not ready for another one, but when the right person comes along (I’ll be in a relationship); getting into a relationship has a way of working out (for people).

So, what’s your routine in terms of acting, writing, directing, etc?

It’s chaos. It depends on what is more important at a particular time. I do not consider myself a writer; writing happens only when I have a strong story close to my heart. Then I have the impulse to write. And because I have envisioned the story in my head, it comes alive when I direct. I don’t write too often; I don’t direct daily; I can make one or two films in a year. Acting occupies most of my time. I have family as well. I have time for family, friends, basketball, and soccer. I make time to be a normal human being. I make time for physical fitness too.

You like dogs?

Yes, I have had dogs since I was 10 years old. I don’t think I have ever lived without a dog in the house. We used to rear Doberman when I was younger. But now, I have only two dogs – an Alsatian and a Doberman named, Summer and Trixy; those are my babies.

I Am Waiting for the Right Person, Two Years after My Broken Relationship

10

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

NEWS

News Editor Ahamefula Ogbu 08116759810 (sms only) Email ahamefula.ogbu@thisdaylive.com

Bail-Out Fund: Dogara, Others Move against Bauchi Governor Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bauchi State chapter have kicked against Governor Muhammed Abubakar over alleged misappropriation of the bail-out fund for salaries of workers.

Dogara led other key stakeholders of the party in Bauchi on Friday to the national secretariat of the party in Abuja to present their complaints to the National chairman of APC, Chief John Oyegun.

Addressing journalists shortly after the closed-door meeting with the leadership of the APC, Senator Ali Wakil representing Bauchi Central said the stakeholders of the party in the state were very miffed with the manner the governor had been running the government in the state.

He specifically made reference to the governors handling of the recently allocated bail-out fund to the state.

Bauchi State has so far received over N8.6 billion as Federal Government's bail-out meant to assist states with poor finances to pay up arrears of workers’ salaries.

When asked to speak on his mission to the party office, Dogara declined comment but referred journalists to a member of the delegation, Senator Wakil.

Senator Wakil who was flanked during the briefing by Speaker Dogara, and Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu said the leaders deemed it wise to seek the intervention of the APC leadership in order to arrest the pending doom in the state.

“That is part of the problem. You know that it is an agrarian and civil services state and we must do everything to see that workers are paid as, at and when due "We did not come to speak about the governor; we came to speak about Bauchi State. The governor is not Bauchi State; the people are the determinants of history, not individuals. Individuals come and go. How many governors were there before? He might be part of the problem but it is collective problem we are trying to solve. He is our governor. If you look at section 176, 177 and others of the Constitution, he has the constitutional role of governing the state.

"We are not comparing ourselves with Osun or Edo or other states that have backlogs of nine months, it is not our business, our people must be paid as at and when due and the remaining balances of the stipends must be paid and all the unending verifications must end," he said.

Earlier another Senator from the state, Senator Suleiman Nazif representing Bauchi North, told journalists that the delegation had

HONOURING MADUEKWE...

L-R : Mr. Ukiwe Maduekwe; Dr. Uwuji Maduekwe; Son In-law, Dr. Charles Dike; Daughter; Mrs. Ulari Dike; Wife of the deceased; Mrs. Ucha Maduekwe; Dr. Uma Maduekwe and daughter in-law, Mrs. Yetunde Maduekwe; during a Court Session held in Maduekwe's honour by the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) at the Judiciary Headquarters in Umuahia, Abia State come to ask the leadership of the party to rescue the Bauchi chapter for the crisis that had befallen it due to the governor's handling of the affairs of the state.

"Everything is not okay with the APC in Bauchi State; therefore

we needed the attention of the APC at the National level to come to the rescue of the APC in Bauchi because there is fire on the mountain in the Bauchi APC. When asked to disclose some of the issues that were discussed

during the meeting with Oyegun, Nazif said that the party had agreed to wade into the matter.

"There are so many issues, but these are party issues and we felt that there was a need for us to come and discuss with

our leaders and those issues are being handled.

The national chairman has assured us that he will take a drastic measure immediately and address the APC Bauchi pending problems.

Military to De-mine Farmlands in Adamawa, Borno,Yobe

800, 969 Applicants Fail Police Screening as 110, 469 Shortlisted take Test Monday

Michael Olugbode

Dele Ogbodo in Abuja

The Nigeria military will be embarking on massive de-mining and clearance of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from farmlands in the Northeast, it disclosed on Friday.

Addressing a press conference in Maiduguri, the head of military counter-insurgency operation in the Northeast (Operation Lafiya Dole), Major General Lucky Irabor said the troops would soon embark on the exercise across the three Northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in order to clear all farmlands of land mines and other explosives.

He disclosed that enough machines and equipment had been procured by federal government and in the possession of military to undertake the task.

He said with the determination and commitment on the side of troops, many of the displaced farmers had started going back to their liberated communities, insisting that there still remained “No go Areas” in parts of Sambisa Forest where farmlands needed to be de-mined and cleared of IEDs planted by insurgents.

He said as soon as the equipment get to the theatre, all identified farmlands would be cleared and declared safe for farmers in the region.

On the success recorded recently in the ongoing operations, Irabor said, "On 23rd July 2016 at about 0530hrs, own troops sprung an ambush against the Boko Haram

Terrorists (BHT) element between Komala and Musafanari villages.

Some BHT elements on motorcycle and bicycle were engaged while trying to cross SAMBISA Forest.

Consequently, two BHT were killed while several items were recovered which include two AK47 rifles, four loaded AK47 magazines, assorted food items, laundry items, a motorcycle, two bicycles and assorted clothing.

"Similarly, on 28th July 2016 at about 0700hrs, own troops conducted a clearing operation in Shuwari 1 and the adjoining villages. The villages were successfully cleared and all BHT structures were destroyed. In all five BHT were killed while a Dane gun and a bicycle were recovered. Also, some food items which were found in several houses were destroyed. Additionally, 13 suspected hostages comprised of a man, six women and six children were rescued".

Likewise, in an ambush operation, troops at Pulka community of Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State Crossing Point killed some terrorists, while many escaped with gunshot wounds.

Among the items recovered according to the theatre Commander were one AK47 rifle, a General Purpose Machine Gun, a bicycle, a motorcycle, several live ammunition, a TECNO phone with Nexttel SIM card and food items in sacks.

He added that: "On 29th July 2016 at about 1830hrs, own troops

embarked on an ambush operation to a suspected BHT Crossing Point off Damboa- Kubwa road towards Multe village axis. As troops laid in wait, some Boko Haram terrorists (BHT) elements on bicycles appeared and were accordingly engaged.

Consequently, one BHT was killed. Items recovered include an AK47 rifle with 14 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, a Dane gun (shaped like an AK47 rifle), a locally fabricated double barrel pistol and four bicycles.

"On Cordon and Search Operations and following an intelligence report that large quantity of arms and ammo were being moved into areas outskirts of Gamboru for a possible BHT attempt to retake Gamboru and Rann Local Government Areas of Borno State, own troops conducted a dawn cordon and search operations around Gamboru town. A total of three AK56 and two AK-L rifles were recovered. Also, 235 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and seven AK magazines were recovered".

He also said: "On 1 August 2016 at about 2000hrs, own troops in response to a distress call at Yauri village came in contact with some BHT elements and engaged them.

As a result of the operation, five BHT were killed and several items were recovered which included two AK47 rifle, a General Purpose Machine Gun, a 60mm mortar tube, an FN rifle, two Dane guns, two AK47 magazines and two FN magazines".

The Police Service Commission (PSC), on Friday, said 800, 969 applicants who applied for openings in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) failed the screening exercise across the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

A total of 911, 438 applicants applied for various positions in the 10, 000 advertised openings declared by government in May. Briefing journalists in Abuja on the outcome of the screening test, the Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Mike Okiro, said 110, 469

applicants had been shortlisted to write aptitude tests on Monday August 22nd through Wednesday 24th next week.

He however said 115 applicants were arrested for breaches ranging from forged documents and impersonation, adding that they would be further interrogated and prosecuted in due course.

According to him, some applicants took the commission for granted as there were so many mis-match between date of births, year of graduation from secondary schools and University and certificates presented.

On the criteria used in screening, he said: "The commission adhered strictly to the requirements needed from the applicants in terms of qualifications and physical features as many of them fail to meet these requirements were therefore dropped.

"The reasons why some of the candidates were screened out include overage, alteration and falsification of forged documents, physical features, e.g height, chest, eye, bow/k-leg, tattoo marks, year of graduation, class of degree of diploma, certificate of origin of local government/state and first leaving certificate."

AIG Zone 9 Vows to Tackle Herdsmen Menace in S’East Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia

New Assistant inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 9 Umuahia, Mr. Hosea Karma yesterday said that he would evolve effective strategy to find a lasting solution to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

Zone 9 comprising Enugu, Anambra, Abia and Imo states have continued to witness clashes between herdsmen and host communities, resulting in loss of lives and destruction of farm crops and properties.

But in his maiden press confer-

ence held at the Zone headquarters Umuahia, Karma said that a solution to the nagging problem was in sight. Describing the herdsmen menace as “a national issue” the Zone 9 AIG said that he would set up a committee that would mediate between herdsmen and farmers and take proactive action to nip any problem in the bud.

He said that this strategy proved effective while he was the Police Commissioner in Anambra State hence he was prepared to adopt it in other states within zone 9.

Karma also said that he would effectively use the platform of the

Eminent Peoples Forum (EPF) to ensure the peaceful existence between herdsmen and the host communities. The EPF, which was initiated by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has already been inaugurated in Imo and Abia with the Zone 9 AIG saying that Enugu and Anambra would follow in due course.

The AIG identified the crime challenge in the zone to revolve around violent crimes of kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and human trafficking, adding that he would fight the crimes and guarantee security of life and businesses.

11

AUGUST 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

RingTrue

Yemi

Adebowale Economy: Osinbajo, Oyegun, Please, Stop Wailing 07013940521 yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com

I

doubt if the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, knows that it will be judged by what the federal government is able to do for the traumatised masses of this country and not what their predecessors failed to do. Rather than settling down to do something, they persistently come up with all sorts of preposterous excuses.

The other day, it was the party’s National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun saying that the APC did not know, while it was campaigning, that the economy of Nigeria was in an extremely very bad state.

Odigie-Oyegun, at a reception in Abuja to mark his 77th birthday said: “When we were campaigning – it is necessary to continue to hammer on this point – we were not in government; we knew things were very bad but we did not know they were as bad as we eventually found them. Secondly, and that is very important, nobody ever expected the prices of crude to collapse in the way they have done.” It was the turn of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday in Abuja when he declared that the APC-led federal government met an economy that was already in a meltdown. Osinbajo stressed that the country did not adequately exploit the oil boom era by investing massively in infrastructure and diversifying the economy.

Garba Shehu, one of President Buhari’s numerous media aides was also quoted recently saying: “Buhari’s critics have already forgotten the ruinous years of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. When they ask the question, ‘is this the change we voted for’? The critics forget how far we have come from the scam-tainted years of the PDP rule.”

Back to Odigie-Oyegun, his party knew that the economy was “very bad”, but did not know that it was extremely very bad.

So, what has the APC-led government done in the last 15 months to tackle the “very bad” aspect of the economy that it was aware of, prior to assuming office? To what extent has the economy been diversified as being chanted since assumption of office?

I challenge the party to point to a single tangible achievement of this administration in critical sectors like security, education, health, road, economy, power, housing or fuel, in the last 15 months. My problem with the APC government is that rather than settling down to work, it devotes time and resources to propaganda. Instead of telling Nigerians what they are doing (that is if they have any) they persistently spend quality time telling Nigerians what their predecessors did not do.

I find it startling that a government that inherited an economy with persistent GDP growth is now describing what it inherited as “very bad”. We all really need to critically examine this inherited “very bad” economy. It is a fact that during the Jonathan administration, virtually all economic indices were on the positive side.

Industrial capacity utilisation rose to 49% between 2012 and 2014, as confirmed by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.

This was because the economic policy was friendly to industrialists. Inflation rate never went beyond single digit while unemployment rate was low. The Naira/USD rate never went beyond N220/$ at the parallel market. Then, Nigeria was the destination of first choice for foreign investors coming to Africa. GDP growth hovered around 7%per annum, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to a World Bank data, the Foreign Direct Investment in just the first six months of 2014 stood at $9.7 billion. Over $27 billion FDI flowed into Nigeria under five years of Jonathan; the largest in sub-Saharan Africa. The moribund automotive industry was revived. Vehicles are currently being assembled in Nigeria after over 30 years comatose. The GSM companies, a product of the “very bad economy” inherited, created thousands of jobs, paid trillions of Naira in taxes and contributed significantly to our GDP. Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) and the Integrated Personnel Payroll

Osinbajo

Oyegun

I find it startling that a government that inherited an economy with persistent GDP growth is now describing what it inherited as “very bad”. We all really need to critically examine this inherited “very bad” economy. It is a fact that during the Jonathan administration, virtually all economic indices were on the positive side. Industrial capacity utilisation rose to 49% between 2012 and 2014, as confirmed by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria

over N3 trillion saved in the TSA. This is outlandish. Revenue and expenditures of ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government can still be effectively and efficiently monitored to reduce corruption, without padlocking their treasuries.

Nigerians are being deceived to think that padlocking the money is progress.

They tell those who don’t understand the technicalities of the TSA that the nation now has such a huge amount of money in the TSA. Money remitted into the TSA is not operating profits of the MDAs and should not be locked up. The MDAs are expected to use their money in the TSA to fund their operations. Many even take grants from the government to augment this revenue. Of course, with strict monitoring, some of them will end up with surplus at the end of the financial year. It is only such surplus that should be transferred to the federation account.

This is what can be regarded as operating profit, to be shared by all tiers of government.

Ordinarily, the TSA is never steady, as money goes in and out of it for the daily operations of the MDAs. But what this administration did for many months was to completely deny the MDAs access to the TSA. The money in the TSA is rising while the economy suffers. For example, because of the restrictions, the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria are struggling to maintain their facilities. The federal government-owned higher institutions are also badly affected as the schools struggle to function properly. This is why university teachers have been clamouring for the removal of schools from the TSA This policy that was adopted ostensibly to ensure transparency and avoid misapplication of public funds, now constitutes a clog in the wheel of progress of MDAs. Just imagine the multiplier effect of about N3 trillion on the economy if the MDAs are operating maximally with their money. This talk about so much money in the TSA is bogus and must stop. It is just

Information System (IPPIS), introduced

by APC’s predecessors helped to reduce overheads and personnel cost. The icing on the cake was that our economy became the largest in Africa, with about $30 billion left in the external reserves for the Buhari administration. So, how did the APC government inherit a “very bad economy”?

The task ahead is to put our economy back on the path of sustainable growth with job prospects for Nigerian youths instead of all these propaganda.

The APC leadership must face the reality that our nation’s economy is in a mess today, because of the warped economic policies of the Buhari administration. A good example here is the implementation of the Treasury Single Account, TSA. What the TSA sets out to achieve is good. Unfortunately, it has done more harm than good to our economy due to slapdash implementation.

In just one fell swoop, trillions of Naira was moved from money deposit banks to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) without any consultation with stakeholders. This greatly contributed to the current economic crisis and the gale of retrenchments in the banks.

Good cash that should be used to reflate our depressed economy is locked in the vault of the CBN, while Ministries, Departments and Agencies are gasping for breath. Then, members of this government go around telling the unacquainted that they have

like a man whose family is struggling to get a meal a day, but goes about bragging that he has millions of Naira in the bank. There is an urgent need to judiciously free the trillions in the TSA to reflate our economy.

Again, to rescue the economy from recession, this administration must practically demonstrate the basic principles and imperatives of prudent spending. For example, I can’t understand how a president that is persistently complaining about paucity of funds will grant waivers to pilgrims to buy USD at subsidised rate of N197/$. This action alone will cost this country an estimated N16 billion. Why is this government still maintaining 10 aircraft in the Presidential Fleet amid dearth of funds?

Why is our president operating with four media aides amid shortage of funds? Why is our president maintaining a retinue of special assistants and senior special assistants amid financial crisis?

How can we be talking about scantiness of funds and the president is directing the NNPC to plunge millions of USD into a search for oil in the Chad basin and Benue trough? How can Buhari indulge in this amid dwindling revenue? This is strange. Our president must halt this plan. In this age, oil exploration is private-sector-driven.

This government must get serious and spend more on social and physical infrastructure and the settlement of the huge domestic debt. The N2.2 trillion that accrued to the federal government within its first 12 months is good money to start with. It must learn to complement its monetary policies with appropriate fiscal policies such as the abrogation of arbitrary tax waivers/exemptions and improved tax collection with emphasis on widening the tax net. It must also constructively engage the real sector.

For example, manufacturers have for over a year, been calling on the Buhari administration to re-introduce Export Expansion Grant (EEG) to salvage the sector. Under Buhari’s predecessor, the EEG was used to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on oil both as a source of income and a foreign exchange earner. Recipients of the export grant held an instrument called Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate (NDCC) which they used in the payment of import and excise duties. This gave manufacturing a big boost.

The suspension of this scheme is negatively affecting manufacturers. Also, outstanding Negotiable Duty Credit Certificates are no longer honoured by government agencies.

“We have made it clear to the government to re-introduce EGG and pay the outstanding NDCC to save many companies that are folding up. Some have folded up already. If nothing is done fast, many companies are still going to fold up; we are hoping that this government will soon do something positive regarding the NDCC,” said MAN President, Frank Jacobs.

Clearly, this economy must be reflated urgently to create jobs. The suffering in our land is becoming unbearable. Just as a former Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Sunday Ola Makinde stated recently, except stringent measures are taken, the country may explode because of the current biting economic hardship. He declared: “We are sitting on a keg of gun powder. The day it will explode, it will consume us. So many graduates are not employed. Unemployed people are the people behind the militancy in the Niger Delta region.”

Justice Okon Abang Really Messed Up Thrice, I have gone through the judgment of the Court of Appeal reversing the sack of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu. The points raised by the appeal judges against Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja who sacked Ikpeazu were really thought-provoking. The judges came down heavily on Justice Abang: “Justice Abang went beyond his remit as a judge, was biased and turned the law upside down. He erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice against the governor when he refused to give

fair hearing. The judge pre-judged the matter when he touched on the substantive issues at the preliminary stage without hearing the appellant. He committed grave violence against one of the pillars of justice relating to fair hearing. Justice Abang raped democracy in his order that INEC should issue a certificate of return to Samson Ogah when there was no evidence of forgery or criminality against the appellant.”

Okon Abang clearly acted like an interested party. This man has no business remaining on the bench a day longer. He is a disgrace to the judiciary.

12

AUGUST 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

A GLIMMER OF HOPE

N

Uzor Maxim Uzoatu argues the Integrated Produce City initiative is pivotal to Nigeria’s agricultural development

igeria’s agricultural revolution is on the hop of a historic launch in Benin City, Edo State. The ground-breaking ceremony of the Integrated Produce City calls for national celebration. It is indeed epochal to bear witness to the inauguration of the Integrated Produce City which will serve as a regional wholesale produce market hub for farmers in eight or more Nigerian states. It will contain an agro-allied industrial park, serving about 50 local and international processing factories. There will also be a preservation park with silos and other preservation systems. The city is crucially positioned as an export hub as well as agricultural equipment, implement, seeds and fertiliser hub. The necessary support infrastructure include: 24-hour electricity through the city’s gas turbine that guarantees embedded 25mw generation; 24-hour water supply of international industrial standard; treatment and conversion plants for effluent, waste water and sundry wastes, etc.

The ennobling vision of the promoters of the Integrated Produce City is “to be the preferred African agricultural produce/products hub with a complete and integrated value chain solution for stakeholders with world class infrastructure and operation.” The mission statement goes to the heart of the agricultural matter thus: “To develop a sustainable agricultural produce/product hub that provides real value chain solutions for stakeholders using world-class resources: infrastructure/facilities, technology, human capital, and operations and thereby elevating the operations of stakeholders to meet international standards by operating a farmer-growth centered wholesale produce market, processing and preservation park with implement and export centres.”

According to Prof. Pat Utomi, the Chairman of the project, “Our core business is to invest time and other resources in building value adding relationships amongst agricultural value chain operators using premium human capital, strategy and appropriate technology and infrastructure in accordance with world best standards and practices and consequently create an effective and efficient system that will provide sustainable value for all the agricultural value chain stakeholders.”

The Integrated Produce City initiative is indeed the pivotal way forward for Nigeria’s agricultural development.

This is rooted in the belief that for agriculture to become a business for the farmer, four major opportunities must be present for the farmer, notably: opportunities for complete disposals of all the farmers’ produces or to keep the produce wholesome till sold; opportunities for good margins with profits; opportunity for credit from lenders; and finally, opportunity to increase production and/or reduce production/

marketing losses. In its conception, the Integrated Produce City is aimed at making agriculture a business for the farmers and thus help in reducing cost significantly for other stakeholders in the value chain.

THE CITY IS CRUCIALLY POSITIONED AS AN EXPORT HUB AS WELL AS AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT, IMPLEMENT, SEEDS AND FERTILISER HUB. THE NECESSARY SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE INCLUDE: 24-HOUR ELECTRICITY THROUGH THE CITY’S GAS TURBINE THAT GUARANTEES EMBEDDED 25MW GENERATION; 24-HOUR WATER SUPPLY OF INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL STANDARD; TREATMENT AND CONVERSION PLANTS FOR EFFLUENT, WASTE WATER AND SUNDRY WASTES

The project has several world class partners and funders who are committed to the project and desire to meet all project objectives. These partners and funders fully support the strong farmer-development focus of the project which tallies with their declaration that the farmer and the final consumers are the most valuable members of the value chain and they are equally the most vulnerable. There is no gainsaying that without the farmers and consumers there is no agriculture value chain.

Both the farmers and consumers were the focal points in the designing of the Integrated Produce City Concept, a concept that is not in existence in this complete package in any part of the globe. The IPC provides unprecedented economy of scale for all stakeholders: farmers, processors, consumers, government, community, etc. The city is comprehensive and well-integrated. It drives market structural change laden with value for all stakeholders with the broker operations. It is all capped with efficient power, water, and other physical and soft infrastructure.

Nigeria’s IPC towers over its competitors all over the world because while it serves as a regional market the competitors remain as just municipal markets. For instance, the states of New York and California have over 12 such markets between them. These markets have limited preservation facilities as opposed to Nigeria’s IPC. Most critically, these markets do not have processing facilities/factories that would have increased demand for produce from the farmer in a very fair exchange ensured by the structure and designed operations of the market.

To understand the quantum of business that Nigeria’s IPC stands to make, it is important to cite the example of what the Johannesburg Produce Market showcases on an average trading day thusly: 10,000 farmers, 6,000 buyers, 3,500 pedestrians, 2,900 trucks, 5,000 light motor vehicles, and 35,000 people in total and 20,000 sales transactions.

The IPC idea is indeed coming alive, and it is a clear case of government living up to the responsibility of providing an enabling environment and support for the private sector as demonstrated by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and his economic team. Without them the project would have still been a dream. They were the fifth state approached to locate the project in their state but after five years of no significant result Edo responded in less than six months.

Uzoatu wrote from Lagos

BARU’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN

T

oyin Akinosho’s piece titled: ‘Baru’s triumphant return: Be Afraid! Be very afraid’ that appeared in THISDAY of August 16, 2016, leaves us with much food for thought as the President Muhammadu Buhari administration strives to engineer a paradigm shift away from the governance environment that has left Nigeria’s economy prostrate.

If my understanding of his piece is correct, the central theme is that Makanti Baru, who replaced Ibe Kachikwu as group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is not fit to spearhead the envisioned paradigm shift being, himself, a scion of the old order that architected the rot in the petroleum sector.

But that is a moot point.

Being an industry insider, Akinosho’s piece was prodigiously laced with rich information on those technical details that transcend the immediate concern of the common man. However, it also contained some serious contradictions that, left unattended to, could do incalculable damage to the reputation of Kachikwu, minister of state, petroleum. While the body of the article gives due recognition to Kachikwu’s effort to get the IOCs to the negotiation table, the intro is awash with broadsides that not only taint the minister’s competence but cast aspersions on his integrity.

Let me quote Akinosho here: “There are reasons to believe that Kachikwu could have done a much better job than he did in his year long position as NNPC GMD. He tended to over promise and under deliver.

He began too many experiments with little or no planning. He talked too much. He had a re-organisation that changed a few titles

Ibe Kachikwu performed remarkably as boss of the NNPC, argues Emma Agu and increased NNPC’s already unacceptable opex by creating a number of pointless and expensive senior positions. And he could not perfume away the “smell” of corruption around him: he seemed enthusiastic about every “lucrative” transaction, one of them reportedly blocked by the Presidency”.

From the outset, it will be completely naïve if not hypocritical to contest the view that Kachikwu could have performed better than he did. The same point could be made about every other minister. As a matter of fact, not a few persons have gone ahead to completely write off the entire Buhari cabinet cum administration as a misfit, indeed, an unmitigated disaster. But is that correct? My answer is no. First, any assessment of public officers without considering the environment of their operations will miss the point flatly. This is not about who caused the rot or when the rot set in. Truth is that Buhari inherited an economy that was already on its knees. It doesn’t matter what the statistics said.

Now, if, as Akinosho posits, vested interests within the NNPC were resisting change, is it any surprise therefore that Kachikwu could not have delivered to the expectations of Nigerians or his selfappointed benchmarks? In spite of that, Kachikwu’s performance, particularly with respect to the fuel crisis, will go down as one of the stellar displays of the Buhari administration so far. His was frank, bold and positive. Even when the National Assembly tried to brow beat him into a corner, his response was as brilliant as it was reassuring. To wit, his position on the fuel issue carried the day: for the first time in the annals of our country, we were able to achieve a substantial deregulation of fuel

prices with concomitant amelioration of the scarcity without the country going up in flames. If that is not a major achievement, I wonder what is.

Again, I wonder what Akinosho meant when he said that Kachikwu talked too much. The man was in the eye of the storm.

For over one month, nothing else mattered in the country except the fuel situation.

Everybody was on his neck: oil marketers, commuters, transporters, legislators, the media, the organised private sector, even his party men! I guess that it was in the context of the crisis that the issue of over promising and under delivering plays up.

But if it had to do with his road map, one can only sympathise with this ‘outsider’ who, bristling with private sector ideas and energy, enthusiastically embraced his mandate with uncommon passion and unaccustomed patriotism only to be ambushed

by Nigeria’s debilitating intrigue network.

Of course, I had excused myself from the somewhat technical aspects of Akinosho’s presentation. But how does one reconcile Akinosho’s acknowledgement that Kachikwu had taken the unprecedented step of getting the IOCs back to the negotiating table to tackle the JVC cash call problem that had lingered for over two decades and at the same time suggesting that he did not deliver as expected?. Was he supposed to solve a challenge that had lingered for two decades within 12 months? I doubt that most other ministers or heads of strategic national assets could have recorded the level of success Kachikwu achieved within so short a time.

And that leads to Akinosho’s thinly disguised indictment of Kachikwu on the transparency scale. The ordinary interpreta-

tion of the allegation that he could not perfume away the “smell” of corruption around him is that he was greedy, that he probably engaged in insider dealings or was out rightly corrupt. He talked about a transaction allegedly stopped by the Presidency but fails to give details of the transaction, when it happened or the parties involved. Akinosho needs no reminding that such innuendoes, sooner than later, begin to acquire lives of their own and are repeatedly recycled by mischievous elements to discredit solid technocrats like Kachikwu whose interest in joining the Buhari team hinged largely on the president’s much vaunted zero tolerance for corrupt practices.

He could also not feign ignorance that the Presidency had denied the rumour that Kachikwu was being investigated for corruption. To now tar such a man with the brush and “smell” of corruption would be seen as an unfair cut indeed.

Whatever the case, the evidence abounds that Kachikwu has scored very high marks on the transparency index. Long before now, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, and other stakeholder groups had commended the minister for his demonstrable effort to enthrone transparency in the NNPC. As has been widely acclaimed, Kachikwu, more than any minister or GMD before him, ushered in a new era of openness hitherto unknown in the industry. He threw bids open, initiated the monthly statement of accounts and restored some credence to the operations of the NNPC. Agu, one time Chief Press Secretary to former Head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan, is Publisher of Zesttraveller magazine

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AUGUST 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

Where are they?

Faleke’s Thorns-Strewn Pathways To Justice Let us admit that the scenario that led us to the Faleke vs INEC (and APC?) litigation is both bizarre and extra-ordinary. Indeed, it was an unprecedented occurrence that defied our collective foresight and thoughts.

From the first day that the Attorney General of the Federation made that spectacular pronouncement empowering INEC to call on the APC to provide a substitute candidate, a proclamation which many of us decried as hasty, political rather than administrative, strange things have happened and lots of us have become bewildered and disillusioned by the way things are turning out. In the beginning, a great percentage of political or judicial analysts who ventured opinions on the matter were sceptical about the unsustainability of the AGF’s proclamation and considered both INEC’s decision to render the election inconclusive and the All Progressives Party’s forwarding of Mr Yahaya Bello’s name as its substitute candidate for the remainder of the elections erroneous and ill-advised. However, the two verdicts so far given at the level of the election petitions’ tribunal and the appeal court manifested differently. The absurd rulings at the tribunal and at the appeal court are the ‘no case’ verdict preferred against the petitioner, Mr Faleke. Judging from the convergence of the rulings, one is tempted to conclude that rather than premeditated, the need for survival has conditioned judicial reflexes to conform to the social moods and mores. It was Thomas Paine who pointed out that “society was created by our wants and government by our wickedness”. There is the serious need to draw a clear line between the interpretation of the law and the constitution on the one hand and the issuing of executive order on the other hand.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, my thoughts hover around more basic yet fundamental issues. In the course of this matter, we have heard Faleke-Audu sympathisers allege various forms of court compromise and manipulations.

Of course, in litigations, such accusations are common place but since no one has ever come out to repudiate or substantiate them, it’s no use giving it any percentage. Nevertheless, recent revelations, mostly unsubstantiated as yet are the conspiracy theories angle. The theory

sequenced developments from Audu’s death to the outcomes of the courts’ proceedings. Prince Audu died like all mortals and naturally life should go on but greed, ambitions, and selfishness have catalysed the intrigues, scheming, power plays, and manoeuvrings that we see in the evolution of the Faleke case.

Point to point analyses would lead us to the convenient inference that for all his effort, including material, mental and physical exertions, Faleke is pushing on because it’s worth the struggle. But when one reflects on the initial actions of Mr Mohammed Audu, the late Prince Audu’s son who upon seeing that his father had died, immediately put calls to Senator Dino Melaye and about five Northern State Governors among whom was Nasir el-Rufai, the question of whether he acted out of naivety or as a stratagem of self-preservation becomes relevant. In any case, it has never been clear where his interests lies or what his target is for the struggle.

Jamila Musa, Lokoja

The Tragedy of Taraba Recently there was a boat mishap in River Donga in Mambilla Plateau and five people lost their lives. Many others are still missing. The River Donga (also called Mayo Ukari) bridge is a federal government project. However, like many federal projects, it has never been a priority.

The River Donga links some parts of the Sardauna Local government with the rest of Nigeria. In fact the whole of Mbamga Constituency is on the other side of the River.

It’s also believed that the construction of the bridge was one of the campaign promises of Sir Ahmadu Bello during the plebiscite of 1961. There was no access road to the then Mambilla Plateau, but Sardauna had to trek the famous Mambilla Mountain (Hawa Biyu da Sisi) to campaign to the people and also promised that the Nigerian government would cater for them if they voted to remain in Nigeria. Although Sardauna’s life was cut short, he had shown interest in keeping his promise when in 1963 the Nigeria Army Engineering Corps under the then Lt. Olusegun Obasanjo first opened up the Mambilla road and made accessibility possible although only the rugged

T H E S AT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R

EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

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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 DIRECTOR 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

Land Rovers could ply the road. The people were happy, none the less, because it took them now less than a week to travel to Yola.

Initially it took over 20 days. In fact Alhaji Musa Daggash who was a forestry officer in the then Northern Region spent over 40 days to travel to the Mambilla Plateau from Yola in the 1940s. He is credited to have introduced the Eucalyptus tree to the Mambilla district.

However, there are steps that the state government can take to avoid this man- made disasters – the construction of a temporal bridge like what was done in Jalingo when the bridge was washed away about a decade ago, or buying modern speed boats or even buying life jackets. But No! Spending hundreds of millions to sponsor people for pilgrimage is a better priority to the Jalingo government.

Some kind-hearted people from Mambilla including Bobboi Bala Kaigama, TUC President, had to contribute and buy life jackets under the banner of Mambilla Legacy Forum and distributed to the riverine communities. The state government has not even issued a statement on that mishap not to talk of sending any emergency relief package to those involved.

The Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abel Peter is also to be commended. He provided some life jackets and has, together with Hon, Bashir Mohammed and Dr. Jugulde sponsored a bill before the Taraba State House of Assembly on the construction of a temporal bridge across the River Donga along Mbamnga-Gembu Road.

It is yet to be seen if the state government can implement this bill if it is eventually passed into law.

It’s on record that local government employees are owed months of salaries and state workers are also not being paid; billions are owed pensioners and over N2 billion outstanding for retirees. Its budget is over 60% recurrent; and has one of the highest numbers of political appointees in the country. Lest we forget, Taraba is one of the poorest states in Nigeria with the second highest prevalent rate of HIV after Rivers State. All this and many more are serious challenges facing the Darius Ishaku -led government . Taraba State deserves better and it is in the interest of every Tarabian for Darius Ishaku to succeed. But the state needs to prioritise its needs and not spending scarce resources on pilgrimages.

Bashir Bello Kakara, Kakara, Taraba State

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AUGUST 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

POLSCOPE

with Eddy Odivwri eddy.odivwri@thisdaylive.com 08053069356

PDP: Will This House Fall? Canticles...

Chibok Girls: Like

I

f you ask ten leading chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) why the party seems permanently set on the turbulent mode, they will give you ten different reasons why the “largest party in Africa” is as restive as it is.

But one major reason that sewed the seed of the unending crisis is impunity.

It is a party that took all the time to put together a constitution, but its leaders always believe they are a head ahead of the constitution, and so too many times, ran the party based on the rule of the thumb.

The signs that the party was gone to selfdestruct have been there. What had managed to hold its incompatible fabrics together is the greasy allure of power. And as soon as that nectar was removed from the withering flower, the storm of self-determination has been blowing the party. The result is what we see today: an umbrella that is not only in shreds, but its pieces and strips being pulled asunder, while a few party god-fathers clutch on to the handle of an umbrella that no longer has a covering.

And as the Bible would say, a house that is divided against itself cannot stand. That is the present fate of the PDP. This explains why all the reconciliatory efforts of the party have hardly yielded desired results. I recall the Alex Ekwueme committee: how it went round and round trying to reconcile aggrieved and wronged members of the party. While a few returned, many simply journeyed out of the party, irretrievably.

The PDP is a party that whimsically reverses itself at will, depending on the “signals from above”.

It is a party where the “body language” of the leader (oftentimes the President) is superior to the clear provisions Makarfi of its constitution. It is a party where its operations are structured and tweaked to agree with the narrow preferences and idiosyncrasies of its leader. That was why former president Olusegun Obasanjo operated and ran the party like an emperor. Party chairmen who dared to differ from Mr. President were shown the door. Party Chairmen who wanted to remain in the corridors of power and enjoy the perks thereof had to zip their own understanding of the party’s constitution and do the stated or implied bid of Mr. President. That was why even elective conventions were organized to fulfil the desires of Mr. President.

That was why Obasanjo almost got his third term ambition while the party apparatchik watched haplessly. That was why former President Jonathan reversed himself on the power-rotation agreement between North and South. That was why Jonathan even denied the agreement of not seeking second term in office. And as it were, he did not get it.

Have we forgotten how Alex Ekwueme felt he was manipulated out of reckoning in one of those conventions where he wanted to become the party’s presidential candidate? And when his protests were struck down, the old man simply packed his bags to Okoh to nurture his grey hair.

Ever since then, the culture of imposition of candidates had become the bane of the party at all levels. So-called party leaders will negate party guidelines and impose their godsons or aspirants who had “settled” them most as the candidates of the party… all because almost always, whoever the party presented (in its strongholds) was bound to win the election. It was so assured at the time that one former National Chairman of the party, Vincent Ogbulafor (where has he been even?) boasted that the PDP will be in power for 50 years.

Not anymore! The party was stopped on the 15th year. And that is why there is irreconcilable tension and polarization in the party.

And in those days, the much talked about internal conflict-resolution mechanism of the PDP was not far from a “settlement” mechanism where those who were unjustly pushed out of party candidacy line, were compensated either with contracts or appointments, to calm their nerves.

But with PDP out of power, the internal conflict resolution mechanism has simply refused to boot.

Neither the nectars nor the petals of the flower are in sight anymore. That is why the falcon can no longer hear the falconer, and it seems things are gradually falling apart.

Were it not so, the party will not be under the siege of 17 court cases running at the same time, with the courts, in various jurisdictions and divisions, firing very divergent and conflicting judgements as if the facts are not the same.

I wonder what the National Judicial Council (NJC) says about all these contra-judgements.

Beside the cockiness and indiscipline of party chieftains, one other plague the PDP will have to deal with is the judicial bullets being fired at the heart of the party from all directions.

Almost like a throwback to the sad days of June 12 1993 saga, the courts are at their whimsical best.

While a particular judge in Abuja Division is always granting the prayers of Ali Modu Sheriff (accused of being a despoilation agent) and recognizing him as the authentic and valid national chairman of the party, another judge somewhere in Port Harcourt is always shooting down Sheriff and hoisting the flag of Ahmed Markarfi as the valid Chairman of interim national Committee of the party.

In the latest drama that ended last Wednesday, while an Abuja judge—Justice Okon Abang granted Sherif’s order seeking a ban of the Port Harcourt convention and even ordering the Police IG to enforce the order, another judge in Port Harcourt, Justice Ibrahim Watila granted Ben Obi’s request that the convention be allowed to hold. Justice Watila went ahead to order both the INEC, Police and DSS to provide coverage for the August 17 convention.

The Chairman of the convention committee and governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike had boasted last Tuesday, that the convention would hold as planned.

They were shocked to find out when they woke up Wednesday morning, that the venue of the convention—Sharks Stadium, Port Harcourt, had been sealed off. Meaning is that the IG chose to obey Justice Abang’s order.

Left with no choice, the party apparatchik assembled at the state’s party secretariat where they extended the tenure of the Markarfi committee by another 12 months. The idea is that before then, all the fiery darts of court cases and court orders would have been doused and the party will come under one umbrella again.

But while the party chiefs were drafting the resolution of the convention that never really was, another Abuja judge, Justice Valentine Ashi affirmed the June 29 sack of Sherif as the party’s chairman. Surely, the last has not been heard, as Sherif is bound to yet release another volley from his armoury.

While we wait for the next scene of this comedy of errors, I ask a few questions: First, since Sheriff is against the holding of the so-called convention in Port Harcourt, why do the party leaders insist on holding it in no other place but Port Harcourt?

Second, why was the Jerry Gana reconciliation committee in a hurry to submit a report whether or not the aggrieved parties are still firing from different cylinders? Is it not now obvious that the “micro-wave strategy” of Jerry Gana did not work as the party is back to point origin?

Third, who is bearing the cost of these political fiascos?

All things considered, the PDP needs to be re-tooled and re-launched in a way that it will be equipped to play its historic messianic role of delivering the nation from any philistine administration like the Abacha junta from which Nigeria was rescued in 1998. It can only do this on the ethos of justice and fairness predicated on sincerity of purpose, otherwise the house shall not stand.

Jonathan , Like Buhari?

L

ast week, the notorious terrorists called Boko Haram released another video showing some of the abducted Chibok girls to mark their 28th month in captivity. It re-awakened the hope that the girls are yet rescueable after all.

It is not question of re-awakening hope. It is question of activating practical means of the rescue. We have never lacked in hope.

You don’t understand.

I mean that seeing them in that video again showed that they are not all dead.

And that something can still be done to free them from their captors.

I understood you perfectly. I am saying that we have hoped enough. We have prayed enough. In fact, we have strategised enough. Let the girls be brought back. That is all that matters now. Nothing else!

Huh, you talk as if the girls are wilfully being held back or ignored or abandoned to their fate.

That is what it seems.

Noooo, that is not fair. Are you not aware of how the military has been routing the Boko Haram insurgents? Are you not a witness to how the insurgents have been degraded, sacked, chased, killed, maimed, arrested ravaged and Buhari even--(cuts in) Enough of your chain of circumlocution. That’s not what the Chibok parents need now. That’s not what Nigerians need now. Not glib talks. They need action. An action that will retrieve the girls back home. An action that will end this prolonged trauma and agony. An action that will change their tears for laughter. An action that will be a soothing relief.

My dear, the soldiers are doing their best. You know how the dreaded Sambisa forest has been demystified. You know how the many camps of the terrorists have been damaged, how many have been captured and even killed. You know that the remaining grains of terrorists are on the run. When last did you hear of attacks as they used to do those days? Be still. Boko Haram will soon be history.

I am not doubting you. I don t care if Boko Haram becomes Geography. All I am saying is that this is a new government. The failure of former President Jonathan’s administration to rescue the girls was used against him and got voted out of power.

Many thought that Buhari will come smoking the terrorists out and handing over the girls back to their wailing mothers within a short time. But alas, Buhari has been in office for 15 months now and unable to deal with the Chibok issue decisively, whereas Jonathan was with the Chibok problem only for 13 months. And Nigerians were abusively impatient with him. So who, between Jonathan and Buhari has had a longer time to deal with the Chibok question now?

Don’t forget that Buhari never promised having or using a magic wand to rescue the girls. You must also note that Buhari is facing too many distractions: from killer herdsmen on rampage, through the destructive Niger Delta Avengers down to a fast-shrinking economy occasioned by fall in oil price, not forgetting other pockets of troubles ranging from the Biafra threat of IPOB, increasing number of illegal bunkerers, the menace of corruption that had left the nation hollow, padding-friendly lawmakers, huge deaths at the IDP camps etc. etc.

What an excuse! Is there any government without governance challenges? Didn’t the Buhari government say Jonathan bought no arms and that was why the insurgents had a field day? And that was why the Chibok girls remained in captivity? Didn’t the APC propaganda machine say the Jonathan administration was clueless on how to rescue the Chibok girls? So where is the clue they have now? What have they done with the arms they have bought? Are the Chibok girls not yet missing and hapless? And do you know many of them have died? Over 40 have been married out? Many have long become mothers? Didn’t you see some pregnant in that video? Are you not worried that only about 50 of the girls were in the video? Where are the others?

Don’t misrepresent facts. Even the worst critics of Buhari know that the narrative about the insurgents in Nigeria is no longer the same? Yes, not all 219 or so girls are likely to be found and rescued, but if you remember where we are coming from with the insurgents, you will hail the Buhari administration for having run roughshod over the Boko Haram terrorists. As at today, no territory or even community is under the control of the terrorists. They have been completely put to rout in all directions. Look, the technology being deployed right now by the military will soon end the Chibok girls’ nightmare. Didn’t you see what the Nigeria Airforce did to the Arepo pipeline vandals? Just be patient.

A solution is being worked out. Don’t forget the few remaining terrorist use the Chibok girls as shields. That is why all care is being taken to ensure that the military does not apply a medicine that will kill both the disease and the patient at the same time.

Or are you not aware that the military has declared some three persons including a journalist wanted in connection with their link with Boko Haram?

Just be calm. A little while, the sun will shine on the rescue plans and strategies being planned.

Hmmm, this is like sermon on the mount. Look, all these will amount to nothing if the Chibok girls remain elusive. They have to be rescued and reunited with their families. Otherwise people will say of this Chibok challenge, it is: like Jonathan, like Buhari.

God forbid. Be optimistic. It will soon be dawn.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

INSIGHT

A Dog Named Buhari and A Hippo Named Patience

I

Well consider that the complainant who lodged a complaint with the police against Mr. Chinakwe is allegedly a foreigner from Niger Republic (by the testimony of Mr. Chinakwe). On the strength of a complaint by a foreigner that he feels offended by the name a Nigerian chose to give his dog, the Nigerian police swung into action and became so efficient overnight that it sent its men to fetch the erring Chinakwe and locked him up for his audacity.

Then also consider that the herdsmen (notice I said herdsmen, not Fulani herdsmen) that have killed thousands of Nigerians are said, by no less a personality than our President, to be foreigners from faraway ‘Libya’ and perhaps other nations in between.

Reno Omokri never believed that true life is stranger than fiction until I read the case of Joe Fortemose Chinakwe, the young man who named his dog after his hero, Buhari, only to be arrested and detained by the Nigerian Police on the excuse that his actions were likely to breach the prevailing peace in his community of Sango-Ota, Ogun State.

Really? Is this how low Nigeria has sunk?

About two weeks ago, Chinakwe’s hero, President Muhammadu Buhari, ordered the police to reopen the cold case murder mysteries involving Bola Ige, a former Attorney General of the Federation and Chief Aminasoari Dikibo, a one time ex-Deputy National Chairman, South-South, of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Little or nothing has been heard from the police since that order was given only for Nigeria to wake up to the almost telenovela tale of a dog named Buhari. When they are meant to deliver results, the police is busy delivering activity.

Comical activity.

Perhaps what I find most interesting is that a man can be arrested for naming his dog after his hero yet in this very same country no one thought it wrong when the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, called a man, and not just any man, but a governor at that, a ‘mad dog’!

Now I get it! In today’s Nigeria, you can name a man after a dog without consequence but you cannot name a dog after a man without consequences!

Do you see how low Nigeria has fallen? Perhaps our police would like to visit the netherworld to arrest the late English novelist, George Orwell, for naming the pig in his allegorical novel, Animal Farm, after the French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Didn’t Chinua Achebe write that “when an adult is in the house, the she-goat is not left to suffer the pains of parturition on its tether.”

But why should I be surprised? Hasn’t Nigeria degenerated to become an ‘Animal Farm’? Just like in Orwell’s novella, we are living in a country where animals have displaced humans.

Why won’t our morals become warped to the extent that we care more for animal rights than for human rights when

Now we have established the pattern. But why is the pattern troubling?

It is troubling because it is beginning to seem that when the interests of Nigerian citizens clash with the interests of certain classes of foreigners, the interest of the foreigner prevails over the interest of the Nigerian.

And there are more instances to prove my hypothesis.

I was recently in Nigeria to preach at a church in Abuja and I noticed that foreigners clear through immigration faster than Nigerian citizens at our airports. At foreign airports the reverse is the case. Citizens clear faster than foreigners.

Buhari

elders like Professor Wole Soyinka did not see anything wrong in calling the wife of a seating President a ‘Hippopotamus’?

Why won’t our morals go to the dogs when our government is more interested in protecting the rights of cows via grazing reserves rather than protecting the lives of its own citizens by way of prosecuting killer herdsmen, who, as our president assures us, are from ‘Libya’? These marauders, who have killed thousands of innocent Nigerians in the last 18 months have for some reason become so bold even as our security agents have become so timid before them.

And the case of Joe Fortemose Chinakwe exposes a troubling pattern. We seem to have a government that cares more for the right of certain categories of foreigners than for the right of its own citizens.

Why do I say so?

I am betting that I am not the only one who has experienced this anomaly.

What is it with Nigerians? It is this same attitude that makes us worship anybody with a foreign accent. We do not like ourselves and we like foreigners and yet we expect foreigners to like us.

Foreigners are not fools, you know. They will find it difficult to like us if we do not like ourselves. After all we know ourselves better than they know is, and if we do not like ourselves then that sends a red flag to the foreigner.

And to the Nigerian police, let me say that the popular flutist Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli has a dog named Obasanjo (seriously, he does). Should he also prepare for arrest?

What more can I say? Nigeria never ceases to amaze!

–– Omokri is the founder of the Mind of Christ Christian Center in California, author of Shunpiking: No Shortcuts to God and Why Jesus Wept and the host of Transformation with Reno Omokri

Why the Desperation to Rope in Dr. Goodluck Jonathan?

Reno Omokri

T

he coordinated attack on the integrity and credibility of former President Goodluck Jonathan is unfortunate. That the same hastily cooked up lies were reported simultaneously and almost word for word by The Nation, saharareporters. com, premiumtimesng.com and other known client media of the powers that be is evidence of the fact that someone powerful is out to get the former President.

Let us even consider the report in itself. One of the conjectures used by the propagators of this lie to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians is contained in this quote “It has been known in government circles that Jonathan may be behind the NDA. The speed with which he denied the allegation spoke volumes.”

There has never been such a childish and amateurish justification for sullying the hard earned peaceful reputation of a man like former President Jonathan as this.

When in November of 2012 Boko Haram named Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), now the current President of Nigeria, as one of its chosen mediators did he not quickly and immediately deny and reject the nomination by Boko Haram?

Flowing from the same warped reasoning, his speedy denial is also evidence that he had a hand in the terrorism occasioned by the radical Islamic sect, but we know that is not true because Boko Haram tried to kill Mr. Buhari.

If it were that Dr. Jonathan did not quickly and completely deny any links with the Niger Delta Avengers and any other militants group, then the sponsors of this wishy washy story would have changed their tactics and would have said that his non denial is evidence of his complicity.

Another so called evidence used against the former President in this sponsored report is the fact that he called for peace and urged militants not to declare a republic or contemplate secession.

In the disturbed thinking of the sponsors of this report, this is evidence against Dr. Jonathan?

Has it occurred to these demented persons that this is precisely what a genuine statesman should do in times like these? In September of 2011, former President Olusegun Obasanjo visited Maiduguri to see the family of the late founder of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, in search of peace. He was applauded for such a courageous act, as he should have been, because that is

Jonathan

what is expected of statesmen.

In other climes, they give people Nobel Peace Prizes for prevailing on belligerents to sheathe their swords, but apparently in Nigeria, it is evidence of your complicity. Should Nigerians be surprised then that passers by refuse to help those attacked by armed robbers or accident victims on the roadside like the Good Samaritan? If you do, the government may accuse you of being the perpetrator instead of the savior.

But these happenings are not surprising to me. We were all witnesses to the threat to withdraw the licenses of the two major fertilizer manufacturers in Nigeria, Notore Petrochemical and Indorama Eleme Petrochemical, for providing the materials used by terrorists and militants to make Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

Now, according to this new tale inserted into the media, it was Dr. Jonathan who instructed militants to mine oil installations before the May 29th, 2015 handover date.

Now it is confirmed that liars do not have a good memory and so must contradict themselves. If the oil installations were rigged with mines the question to be asked is are mines made

from fertilizers? Can they not get their story right?

There is a troubling pattern here. It seems that any time Dr. Jonathan is advancing on the world stage for his humanitarian and pro-democracy activities, these fallacious stories appear in the media to distract him.

When he was on his very successful international speaking tour earlier in the year, the lie was told that he was away on exile.

Now that he is back from his second successful outing as head of the African Union Elections Observation Mission to Zambia the usual suspects are up to their old tricks. Who knows what they would do next when they behold the great things that Dr. Jonathan is set to do very shortly?

And to the Minister of Information, Dr. Lai Mohammed, who was quoted in the said report as saying “these allegations have refused to go away and those making the allegations are not backing out”, let me remind him that there are allegations against him that have refused to go away.

In fact, the allegations against Lai Mohammed come with documentary evidence. We remember that he was alleged to have begged his subordinates at the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for a ‘loan’ of N13 million against civil service rules and against the rules of public decency.

Have those allegations gone away, Mr. Lai Mohammed?

Should we then accept them as true? Of course not! Why? Because allegations, no matter how weighty, are not evidence.

Like I said before, I am ever proud of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

Somebody asked me what I gained by working with Goodluck Jonathan. My response was that I learnt wisdom. I learnt that It is better to lose power and gain honor than to gain power and lose honor. I learnt not to defend myself when my enemies falsely accuse me. The same media that gleefully reported their lies will eventually expose them when they see that the public is no longer buying their lies.

Finally, I learnt that the best revenge against those who criticize how you do your job is to step aside and let them have the job and watch them underperform in such a manner until they get so desperate that the only achievements they can boast of are the ones you achieved during your so called underperformance.

May God bless Dr. Jonathan for teaching me such wisdom! In Jesus name.

––Omokri is the founder of the Mind of Christ Christian Center in California, author of Shunpiking: No Shortcuts to God and Why Jesus Wept and the host of Transformation with Reno Omokri

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

ENCOUNTER Buhari Creating a Scene, Doing Nothing New Ladi Adebutu is a grassroots politician representing Remo Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives and son of billionaire Kessington Adebutu, also known as Baba Ijebu. He shares his hopes and challenges in politics with Bayo Adeoye

Adebutu Whatreallywastheattractioninpoliticswhen you went into it, given that it is often described as a dirty game? want to assure you that what I do is a calling. That I come from a wealthy background is a privilege. I am on this path because I believe it is a calling. Some are called to be priests, lawyers, medical doctors etc. But for me, politics is a calling.

I believe in the necessity of life that some of us must leave our comfort zones for the betterment of all. It has not been an easy process because I have had to sacrifice great resources. Most important, I have had to sacrifice my upward mobility as well. In fact, it has cost me time and money that could have made me a more affluent person today. However, I made this sacrifice because if good people don’t so, we will be left in a situation where dirty people will pursue the dirty governance and then good people will be slaves to dirty people.

How did your father react when you told him about your interest in politics?

The truth of the matter is that, I have always had the desire for community service since 1992. When the opportunity came to go to the third National Assembly, I felt sincerely that it was like aluta in the university. When I first got the idea, my father rejected it with passion.

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He said he had steered clear of anything that could tarnish his image all his life. He also said that if I must continue with politics, I must go and build my own house and do it there. Thank God, he has a very good friend, Chief Bayo Ayoku, who convinced him that various people have various ways of thinking.

So, he reluctantly supported me. That was my first assignment as a member of the third National Assembly.

So, how has the journey been so far?

Very turbulent! When I started the journey, I thought it was going to be easy, straightforward and rosy; I thought that people had no option than just to do what is right. So, I pursued this with passion. But one of the first shockers I got was when Abiola won and the election was annulled. We had the opportunity to discuss it at the National Assembly at that time and it was very interesting. For the first time, I discovered that what is right for this person might not necessarily be right for the other person.

Some people have attributed your success story in politics to the fact that you are wealthy. Is that true?

The truth of the matter borders on the character and content of the character. For example, I am a member of the House of Representatives, where we have 360 members having equal vote

and voice. But the only thing that works in that House is superior argument and intellect.

We have billionaires in the House. I think with time, we will get there, where superior intelligence is the basis of our success. Being in the National Assembly is quite different from the politics of the electorate. As I said earlier, being in a position to fund extensive campaigns does matter and that is the reality.

In a situation where we have abject poverty, the content or message might not be much most of the time, but the availability of bread and butter to the people. I like to think that I am lucky. My upbringing and pedigree afford me character and content of character; and by the grace of God, I have been able to rally support from different quarters to propagate my agenda.

Your party, PDP, is now the opposition party. How would you describe the fate of the party in the political calculation of Nigeria, since power has changed hands?

The truth is, for democracy to be viable, there has to be a ruling party and an opposition party. Any genuine democrat must be able to play on both sides. If you are in the opposition, it gives you room to sit back and think of how you can do it better. The PDP is in that position now. So, the PDP is now thinking of the failure of All Promises Cancelled, APC. We are thanking God that we succeeded where they are failing now and we are also learning from their mistakes now, just as we are also learning from our own failures too. But definitely, our failures brought this situation on. As a party and as a people, I am certain that we will do better in 2019.

Do you think President Muhammadu Buhari is on the right path with his anticorruption war?

Buhari is just creating a scene, as if he is doing something; Buhari is not doing anything new. The BVN was a product of the last administration. I can assure you that anybody trying to move money out now can be easily identified. The Single Treasury Account is the creation of the last government. This is one of the tools that control the process of corruption. If you develop institutions that are able to make corruption less, then, you are on the way to combating it. But if you simply undermine those institutions, you will find out that you are doing very little. For example, I am sponsoring a bill to assist the EFCC to become more independent and if one is able to do that, we will be reinforcing the EFCC. The commission will become less open to persuasion from the government. Those are the institutions that can guide against corruption.

In the last few weeks, there have been issues on court orders, which are an insult on the judicial system; it is the height of corruption.

There is no way you can handle corruption, if these institutions are not properly in place.

In my own opinion, all the people who are being harassed are all PDP members. I have not seen an APC member being accused of corruption. To me, I am inclined to feel like we had a time when it was the ICPC that was used to chase various political opponents. I want to make a point here: these institutions are being

controlled for limiting corruption. But in this era, where we have a selective imbursement of foreign exchange at preferred rates, can this government give us a list of those who have received foreign exchange over the last six months? If that list was published, it would be the offence of the government and ruling party. If you say you are curtailing corruption in one way and then you are opening up a new medium of corruption, it’s all lies.

How strong is the PDP as an opposition party?

You must recall that one of the beauties of the PDP is an opportunity for politicking and dialogue. You find it a policy to engage people to stabilise the party. They are many in PDP, but they are not PDP members. They are businessmen, but they come and foster disunity in the party. So, when this happens, that is when things go wrong. In spite of the reported differences, we believe that PDP has a better platform for Nigeria than the All Promises Cancelled (APC).

We understand that you currently have the PDP structure in Ogun State. How were you able to achieve that?

Let me quickly correct this notion; I don’t have the party structure in Ogun State. What has happened is that the good people of Ogun State now have the good fortune of taking and cutting their party back. The party is back in the hands of the masses, the true Nigerians; so, democrats now have their party back. We have now been able to get out of the shackles, where a businessman high-jacked the party and held everyone to ransom. Every ward and polling unit now has its stakeholders in control.

What have you done to empower the people in your constituency?

As you are aware, we arrived June last year and the truth of the matter is that except for programmes that have been ongoing, the budget we have now is one with a question mark. It is coming late -midyear 2016. So, a lot of that budget will have to continue for the sake of continuity. Our personal and input direction will not even come into this budget, except we tidy up things that are ongoing.

However, we were able to start pushing bills that will impact positively on the lives of our people. I am now processing a bill for e-library.

I believe seriously that unless we have access to knowledge, we won’t have freedom from poverty.

One of the constraints our farmers have is capital. I am processing a bill, which will enable us have a land registry that can confer ownership on individuals, and will translate into a kind of collateral that can help them do a kind of advanced agriculture. If some people have N20, 000, it will make a lot of difference in their lives, but they don’t have it. If we have an agric land registry to convert ownership and you get an opportunity as collateral, then, it’s like making money available to rural famers. This is because every rural dweller has a small parcel of land with which they can do farming.

Read full interview online: www.thisdaylive.com

One of the constraints our farmers have is capital. I am processing a bill, which will enable us have a land registry that can confer ownership on individuals, and will translate into a kind of collateral that can help them do a kind of advanced agriculture. If some people have N20, 000, it will make a lot of difference in their lives, but they don’t have it. If we have an agric land registry to convert ownership and you get an opportunity as collateral, then, it’s like making money available to rural famers. This is because every rural dweller has a small parcel of land with which they can do farming

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LOUD WHISPERS MEDIA AUTO GLOBAL SOCCER FAIRGROUND FASHION FILE

pg. 20 pg. 25 pg. 26 pg. 29 pg. 36 pg. 41

Ara OlamuyiwaTeniola Some People Consider Me Spiritual, Powerful

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 20, 2016

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Plus

Some People Consider Me Spiritual, Powerful

She didn’t hesitate to debunk claims of her spiritual power, on account of her genre of music, and the beads she wears. In this interview with Femi Ogbonnikan, Sherifat Aralola Apeke Olamuyiwa, popularly called ‘Ara’, the Royal Ambassador of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja 11, speaks about her life and talking drum

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Tell us about yourself y name is Sherifat Aralola Apeke Olamuyiwa. I am from Ondo town, in Ondo State, but my mom is partly from Oyo town, a direct descendant of the Alafin of Oyo, Oyo State. I was born in Lagos on January 23, 1975. And I attended International Nursery School, here in Lagos, before going to Methodist School, also here in Lagos. My father went on transfer to the then Bendel State, because he was a bank manager with UBA. He was with UBA for over 35 years.

And I went to Nana Primary School, in Warri. Thereafter, I went to Our Lady High School, Effurun, also in Warri, now Delta state. My father went on transfer again to Ondo State as a senior manager with UBA branch, then. I went to Fiwasaye Girls’ Grammar School, Akure, before I proceeded to University of Ilorin, between 1993 and 1994 Law course set. I studied Law for a year, but my passion was in Performing Arts and, without my parents’ consent, I crossed over to the Performing Arts. I had a lot of issues or to say, problems, with my HOD, and so I had to redirect my footsteps. I went fully into music, at that point in time; it was more like a rebellious act. And at the end of the day, I went to Kwara Polytechnic, Ilorin and I took the Interim Joint Matriculation Examination (IJMB), so that I would go directly to my second year in the University. You know, IJMB takes you to second year. Unfortunately or fortunately, my result was not fully released. I took it a second time and I didn’t do well. And so, I went on with my music, until I took JAMB examination again in 1999. I got admission into Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ife, and Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo State, but I eventually went to Ekpoma, to study English. I was in my first semester, third year, when I was dis-

covered by a record label, Atunda, owned by Wale Akinboboye, who forcefully took me out of the school at that time. Wale Akinboboye is also the promoter of Lacampagne Tropicana and he is also the CEO of Corporate Guards. He advised that I should get my transcripts to the satellite campus, which was off Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos, at that time. But, on getting there, he went through the transcript and he turned it upside down, and said he believed a career in music would be better for me. I was doing a lot of travelling at that time. I was the Vice President of the English department at that time, and I was actually being groomed for the Presidency of the Students’ Union Government (SUG). So, that is a brief introduction of my background.

How and where did you draw the inspiration for music?

For me, the love for music was cultivated by my late dad. My dad loved music. He played different kinds of music at home; from Ogunde to IK Dairo to Comfort Omoge to King Sunny Ade to James Brown to Barry White, name them.

My father was a collector. He discovered my talent at a very tender age, and I wrote my first song in 1987. My dad bought me a keyboard and he would rehearse with me at home and at the end-of -year party for UBA staff and students, I would perform my songs. So, I always looked forward to performing at the end-of-year party. I also danced; I love dancing, and my father used to arrange dancing competition at home for my brothers and I, and I always won, and he would give me a gift. I was always the best dancer at every children’s party I went to, from the Indian dances to everything it could be, I would always win.

So, my late father, Alhaji Ahmed Oluwemimo Olamuyiwa, actually discovered my talent.

Where did you learn to per-

Ara performing

form with ‘talking drum’?

The drumming, for me, started very early. I started playing local traditional drums when I was in school, right from my Primary School days and I started drumming very early. Everything in the house, I would drum, use my cutlery, use the table, and everything was drum, because I grew up in a house full of boys. They were about eight or nine guys at home and I was the only girl. At Nana Primary school, I was the head of the cultural group and I used to be the lead drummer and singer at the same time. So, my father, being a Muslim, during Ileya festivity, we would go to Ondo town and we would go to ‘Yidi’ (praying ground), and I would see the Babas with the drums. I used to be fascinated with them, and my mom’s great grandfather in Ondo town has a palace they have drummers. There was this old man, then that I used to

get very close to. One day, I told him I wanted to carry the talking drum.

He gave me and that was ‘Iya Ilu’, and he gave it to me. I don’t know, but there was something about the drum that mesmerized me. So, I said to myself, there is something!

And when the ‘Ara band’ was created and I was trying my hands on different instruments to play, and then I saw the talking drum that was used as a doorbell in the resort where I was that is owned by Mr Akinboboye. I now told him one day, that I would like to play this instrument and that I have always been fascinated by the instrument.

But of course, before then, he had tried to make me play the xylophone, play the base guitar and other instruments, but I never dealt with those instruments. Every instrument has got its own unique spirit and I was never bored with those instruments, until I said one day, you know what? Let me beat this talking

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AUGUST 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

Plus One Needs a Formal Education to Succeed in Engineering Field

the talking drum chose me. I think it was just a time for a female to be recognised, because one, nobody knew that the talking drum was a means of communication, before it became a musical instrument.

And the whole world knows that a woman is a powerful force, and I am sure that a message was supposed to be passed on through my being chosen to play the talking drum. And I think that message had been rightly passed, and it is still being passed

drum and it was what I had wanted to beat. It was the same thing also with ‘Ara brand’. I saw the hair in a dream and, one day, I decided to do it, because we were talking about hairdo and I said nobody has done the ‘braids’, no one has ever done it. Even sow-to-sow didn’t have that kind of long braids. And I said, let me try this and I knew where to go and get it done. That was how that went.

Being a Yoruba, isn’t it a taboo for a lady to play the talking drum, because there is a belief that ladies that play the drum will not have children?

Well, as of the time I picked the talking drum, there was no female, publicly, beating it. Maybe, they were doing so in hiding, but none was known or popular or famous or recognised. As at the time I picked the talking drum, it was more of a spiritual thing, really. Because I could remember, when I picked the talking drum, there were so many things I used to see in my sleep, yes, until a day I told my mom about this; of an old woman I used to see. I described her to my mom, and my mom said, oh, that was the person, that was the direct daughter of a late Alafin of Oyo, Oba Abiodun, whom we came from. So, she gave me her blessings and that is why when people ask me why I chose the talking drum, I tell them the talking drum chose me.

I think it was just a time for a female to be recognised, because one, nobody knew that the talking drum was a means of communication, before it became a musical instrument. And the whole world knows that a woman is a powerful force, and I am sure that a message was supposed to be passed on through my being chosen to play the talking drum. And I think that message had been rightly passed, and it is still being passed.

Specifically, tell us about your first album and when was it released?

It may interest you to know that Ara has never released any album.

Ara has been a performer for years, travelling far and wide. And I could remember my first song that I recorded was in 1987, and my first time on television was in 1988. The first song I wrote was shot on video; and the video was shot for me by the ‘Even Ezra studio’, owned by Mr Obafemi Lasode. That, I think, was in 1988/89 on NTA. It was Afro beat programme, ‘which one you dey’?

Then I shot another one, ‘mukulu mukeke’; it was also on the ‘Even Ezra’ collections, then with Yinka Davies and a lot of other artists.

I have never released an album. I have released a couple of singles, but not a full album.

How much do you charge to perform at an event?

It depends on the person who is speaking with my management.

And it depends on the agreement between them. Ara is affordable.

Not quite long ago, you signed a contract with Osun State Government. What was it all about?

And has it seen the light of the day?

It was not a contract. I was commissioned for the OsunOsogbo festival, which we put together- a fantastic concert. We featured Olamide, 9ce and a host of other people. And part of what I was asked to do was just to put together a documentary for a movie,

Ara paying homage to Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi

showcasing the culture and tourism potentials of the state. That movie is titled, ‘Osun Funke’. We have done that and we have packaged it properly. We are just waiting for a go-ahead and round up of what we have done, and the movie is ready.

Are you married?

No, I am not married.

Are you considering marrying an artiste?

Well, I can’t say, but you see, it is whom God has chosen. If God says it is going to be a singer like myself, why not. If God says somebody, who is outside my field, why not.

Everything is in the hands of God. My destiny is what God has chosen for me.

With your genre of music, don’t you think people may have been regarding you as a traditionalist?

Well, as a matter of fact, I have got that reaction a whole lot, especially because I do wear beads. Most times I wear beads on my legs. And I have seen people’s reactions, and they consider it fetish, as people consider our culture fetish and barbaric, which is very painful. It is high time we started looking at

our culture from a different point of view. We are who we are, because of our culture, and nobody on earth can run away from their DNA. Our culture is our DNA, and we are our DNA. We can’t run away from our culture. It is not barbaric. Yes, there are some aspects of worship, which is not compulsory for everybody, but we can’t do without identifying with our culture. Yes, a lot of people say a lot of things that that make me to laugh. Some people consider Ara a spiritual and powerful woman. Well, you might not be too far from the truth, but when it comes to Aralola, you are speaking about a different person. When you talk about the act Ara, you might not be far from the truth, because you must be spiritually strong like legends such as Michael Jackson, the likes of James Brown, Steve Wonder, King Sunny Ade. You must be powerful, before you can attain that height. And in no negative form, you are born that way. You are born to fulfill a destiny.

You are equipped from the creator with powers to carry out that assignment. Just like pastors, prophets and people with different callings, like Luther King of this world, like the Malcom X of this world, the Hitlers; in fact, you will be shocked

that everybody has an assignment and they are equipped to carry out that assignment. The same way Ara is equipped spiritually, physically to carry out her assignment.

What religion do you parctise?

I am a practising Christian.

Which denomination?

I now attend Daystar of Pastor Sam Adeyemi.

With your concept, in the next five years where do you think Ara band would be?

In the next five years, yes, I would look beyond the next five years, because our culture and, what I do is culturally inclined. Culture will never go out of fashion. What I play, the instrument that I carry is a cultural instrument. So, till thy Kingdom come, even long after I am gone, it would go on. So, it is beyond and even when I can no longer dance the kind of dance I dance and as long as our culture exists the name, and the brand Ara, would not cease to exist. In history, when I am long gone, it will be on record that Ara was the first female talking drummer. People would come all over the world to study the brand, Ara; to study her kind of music. So, the brand, Ara, is a very strong brand, extremely powerful.

So, culture never goes out of fashion, culture never dies and Ara would never go out of fashion and Ara, the brand would never go down.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • August 20, 2016 with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

LOUD WHISPERS

Solomon Dalong

An Olympic Waste of Time I have always been totally against sending athletes to the Olympics. I have always seen it as a platform to celebrate and showcase our collective mediocrity . We send a throng of so called athletes to the sporting event, wasting hard-earned taxpayers money without any commesurate medal haul. In the past, numbers of government officials accompanying these ‘clowns’ used to be almost double the number of athletes and then when one person manages to win a medal, usually in weightlifting or long jump, the whole country goes into a frenzy of national epilepsy, forgetting that it was not even gold but bronze o. Streets and national monuments would be named after this ‘almost achiever’, who would be received by the Head of State and rewarded with lots of hard currencies. But in most cases we usually go, gape at other athletes, go shopping, do small tourism, buy electronics and come back empty-handed and some of us even use the opportunity to run away. This Rio Olympic is beginning to look like previous ones and except the Siasia football team pushes really hard, it will be another journey into the abyss of mediocrity. This is especially more painful especially if you consider the fact that we are in a recession, where very serious enterprises are looking for the same hard currency these set of people have gone to fritter away by gaping at the beaches of Rio. The funds used for this Israelite journey should have been saved and used for better services in sectors needing attention or better still, should have been given to Osun State to pay salaries. My advice is that going forward until we are ultimately certain of our seriousness as an athletic nation, in subsequent Olympics, Nigerians in the host countries should represent us instead of flying people from Nigeria.

After all, na the same ‘last’, we go carry. For example, we have enough Nigerians living in Brazil to represent us in all the events. That way, we save hard currency as Nigerians there will represent us judiciously and even have fun while doing it. That is my simple advice we now have refugees participating, so why can’t our own economic refugees represent us after our so-called professional athletes, na last dem dey carry. So refugee or athlete na the same Nigerian and na the same result, LAST with no medals.

A word is enough for the wise.

President Buhari: It Cannot be Oil I have been watching all your presidential orders for oil to be found in the North and Benue basins with fascination. It has become clear that

Buhari

Nnamdi Kanu

..... That Airtel Advert To say I am highly disappointed in the recent offering by Airtel that tired network telecommunications provider will be an understatement of the year. Its advert is racism if I can say that.

The one that has a mediocre actor portraying the Ibibio man.

I take strong exceptions to the continued pushing of this very derogatory stereotype of my people. The unending portrayal of the Ibibio person as a domestic worker, near literate minion garbed in stupefying and logic defying sequences has continued to drive me to momentous levels of rage. Over the years, we have continued to be portrayed in this light in most showings and this has come to stay that today my people are mostly seen in that light and are generally not expected to aspire beyond this mediocre level. Any person from Akwa Ibom who has achieved some semblance of respect in our society is seen as an exception.

He is ridiculed and laughed at as that one person who has broken the mould instead of wallowing in the abyss of domesticated servitude. So you see my anger as an educated and proud Ibibio man with Airtel and this ‘rubbish’ of an advert. I have seen this advert only once and felt the wave of anger swell in my bowels that If we were not in a recession, I would have smashed the television set. Why for heaven’s sake would a grown up man be portrayed as a domestic servant to people who are obviously from another tribe and why would the

madam of the house, threaten this adult ‘mongol’ obviously from Akwa Ibom with violence and to the extent of going ahead to pull his ear like a semi idiotic infant simply because he was very joyous at getting extra credit on his phone and was going about it with the joy of the first man who landed on the moon? This advert has done a great disservice to a proud and cultured people. A people with a high level of sophistication and a culture that remains a source of pride and dignity. This company has shown that it does not have any regard for my people and we should in turn reciprocate this insult by boycotting their service and push towards its competitors who will respect us and what we stand for. It is not even their fault if we too did not celebrate this crassness by also throwing up actors like Ime Bishop whose caricature and amateurish portrayal of the Ibibio person continue to provide this window then people like Airtel would not be bold enough to throw this kind of affront on us. I implore Airtel to kindly pull that campaign, apologise to the Ibibio nation or face the wrath of the Ekpe Masquerade. As is the case, I do not expect any PR person from Airtel to contact me or even attempt to soothe my anger with their usual empty cajoling and ‘philistinic’ gifts, all me and the millions of self respecting and highly educated Ibibio people want is respect. Please pull it down NOW. We have spoken.

we are backing the wrong horse in our quest for economic revival. Oil cannot be the solution to our economic or political problems. Even if you find oil, it will only throw up the same issues that beset us in the Niger Delta with the rise of nationalistic fervor pushing for self determination and resource control at the political level.

At the economic level, the world is gradually moving away from oil as a major source of energy and demand for the commodity is daily shrinking and then the glut with over-supply.

Even the one we export is getting difficult to sell in the global market. So looking for oil in these places is only knocking our heads against the wall.

Sir, our heads will break and not the wall. The answer is a true and government-pushed full diversification of the economy. The opening up of other

areas of revenue-earning platforms that would not expose us to the volatility of the oil markets. Entertainment is a veritable source with a huge potential to create a buffer between us and oil shocks, if only an enviable environment could be created for a credible and legitimate opening up of the industry to international markets with a pragmatic taxable regime put in place. Other areas include, tourism, services, solid minerals, religious tourism, amongst others. Oil and more of it will never be the solution but shows your administration as being shortsighted. A small word from an, ‘Ibibio houseboy, as per Airtel’ . Sir, can’t we fine this Airtel, for this offence like we did their colleague the other time.

An Ode to You I cannot even mention your name.

But you know who you are. This is to tell you that your beauty and calmness continue to fill me with a sweet flow of melodious audacity in the face of economic and political crisis.

Each time you walk past me, I feel a sense of de ja vu that I go weak in the knees. I saw you first seven months ago, you had walked in like a gazelle, your milky skin shinning in the warm glow of the Lagos morning and with a smile you captured my imagination. This is illegal as illegal can be as you remain unattainable due to my status and your desire to live a normal life. But this does not disturb my dreams of a life together with you since in the world of sleep, there are no limitations of marital status and no limitations of what the world will say.

I continue with this very pleasant relationship in my dreams and wake up every morning to the reality of life’s emptiness without your warm bosom providing me a steady compass as I navigate this wicked world alone.

Well as you stay in your anonymity, I remain consoled by the fact that the feeling is mutual and in your sleep world you remain my companion and that you also share my sadness as you too realise that this Adonis of an Ibibio man will never be yours in this wicked world. Adiagha, I send my love...... Kai. Nnamdi Kanu: Good Thinking, Good Boy This week we have received several messages alluding to the fact that Nnamdi Kanu is flying the white flag. Although there has been some denials, I am still holding to the hope the reports are true. Look, Nnamdi, confrontation will only lead to violence and loss of vision and also physical suffering. In a democracy everybody reserves the right to push their positions but this must be done along democratically prescribed means which remains enshrined in the constitution. Take me for example, I also have my own issues with AIRTEL, but I will not go and kidnap their Managing Director or bomb their facilities. I will go through the prescribed processes of laying my complaint against them and where that is not working, I will resort to the courts where they themselves would be given a platform to defend their decision to deride a whole nation just because they want to get more subscribers. So you see my brother, I like you very much and look forward to meeting you when you are ever released to rub minds and exchange thoughts on peaceful protest and constitutional backed lines of protest.

So let the readiness for dialogue and peaceful resolution continue to be pursued and when you

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

SPY GLASS

with Bayo Adeoye ....08054680651

Olori Wuraola Ogunwusi

Hon. Suraj Adekunbi

Lara Banjoko’s headache

Lara Banjoko, CEO, Zone 4 Energy, is blessed with brains, beauty and confidence.

As one of the most-sought-after female experts in the oil and gas industry, not a few chief executives believe that she holds the magic wand that can turn around the fortunes of any moribund petroleum company.

Banjoko, a former Chief Operating Officer, Oando, once bestrode the Nigerian social scene like a colossus, thereby making many to think that her name would resonate in the social circle for a long time.

However, her popularity was temporarily eclipsed, following her exit from Spog owned by Jide Omokore in controversial circumstances.

But in a twist, she floated her own company, Zone 4 Energy , a development that instantly shot her back to reckoning in both the business and social circles.

Sadly, just when her fans were thinking that the storm was over, Banjoko fell into some troubled water. Her firm, it was gathered, is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for allegedly receiving N5bn from the former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Though she is said to be exploring a legal means to clear her name, she seems to be sinking deeper in the mess, as the anti-graft agency is said to be tightening its noose around her neck and other executive directors of the company.

Ogun Speaker, Adekunbi’s Show of Shame

‘‘Love is like a bird. If you hold it tight, it dies; if you hold it light, it flies.’’

For some reasons, you would have thought that the author of this deathless quote had the Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly, Suraj Adekunbi, in mind when he penned those words. Or how do you explain the shameful drama that played out on Thursday, August 11, 2016 when he allegedly threw caution to the winds within the premises of the Customary Court, Agbeloba, Ogun State?

The show of shame, according to witnesses, only showed that Adekunbi had either held the bird of love too tight or lightly, while he was on a romantic adventure with his ex-lover, Iyabo Adedotun.

Spy Glass gathered that aggrieved Adedotun, a staff of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, had dragged Adekunbi before the court for allegedly shirking his responsibility over their eightyear-old child, Samiat.

In the suit, Adedotun also accused the Speaker of threatening her life, while also preventing her from getting married to another man.

However, the court dissolved the 10-year-old marriage and ordered that both the complainant and the respondent could marry any person of his or her choice.

Adedotun, who was denied custody of the child, had reportedly attempted to stop the court officials from handing over the child to the Speaker.

Consequently, a policeman attached to the court was said to have called for reinforcement of policemen who later dispersed the shocked crowd that had gathered to witness the honourable lawmaker engaged in what they described as a ‘‘dishonourable act.

The Activist in Olori Wuraola Ogunwusi

While it may be too hasty to describe Olori Wuraola Ogunwusi, wife of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, as a feminist, what you can’t take away from her is her uncommon frankness, particularly on issues that are dear to her heart.

Recently, while speaking at the Emerging Women’s Forum in Maryland, U.S., she declared, matter-of-fact, that she did not believe in the clamour for gender equity, adding that ‘‘we can’t be equal, we can’t be men. We have our roles to play here, a very pivotal one.”

To underscore her conviction and seriousness, she highlighted the powerful roles women play and urged them to tap into their innate powers to reach ‘‘extraordinary heights’’, rather than fighting for power with their male counterparts.

Although her call was received with mixed feelings, those close to her maintained that she had only given the world a slice of her sterling qualities. Think of an emerging activist and her name will fit perfectly into the description.

Interestingly, this woman of substance, who was once vilified by her traducers after she got married to the respected monarch in an elaborate wedding, is also said to be an epitome of simplicity and artlessness, an attribute that is a rarity among some privileged beings or people of her social class.

Spyglass gathered that the woman of substance had, on several occasions, exhibited her humility in the public to the amazement of all. Some call this disarming simplicity, while others describe it simply as geniality. In such a short period of time, Olori Wuraola founded her Queen of Ile-Ife Foundation, an organisation that has already put the women of Ife to work through Project Siwaju. QIIF teaches women artisan trade skills to make high quality products such as soaps, accessories and household products from locally sourced materials, empowering these women with the business skills to take care of themselves and their families. The women of Project Siwaju have been trained in the craft of tie-dying to create traditional scarves, garments and bags. Household products such as shea butter and cocoa butter will also be available for purchase through Project Siwaju. These women create bags,

dresses, accessories and home décor for sale in local and international markets. Proceeds of the sale of these products are invested into their homes, families and business. As revealed Project Siwaju is enabled through the Queen of Ile-Ife Foundation’s provision of small business microloans and business management training.

A woman on a mission, Olori Wuraola’s humility and desire for a strong community and humanity development has endeared her to the hearts of many in the ancient city.

Ireti Asemota’s ageless beauty

If there is one woman who will continually win awards for the best dressed in Nigeria, it will be Ireti Asemota, wife of Sunny Asemota, an auto merchant.

Now in her ‘70s, she has been ruling the fashion and style scene for decades, and there seems to be no sign of her being eclipsed by the younger ones.

Call her an ageless beauty and you won’t be wrong. This septuagenarian still commands respect in the social scene with her dress sense and you cannot but turn your head in admiration anytime she makes a public appearance.

She floats well in either casual or elegant dress. Her dresses are timeless and she keeps a tab on modern trends without necessarily impressing anyone. She exudes simplicity and fits perfectly into the description of a radiant Queen!

Spyglass gathered that her trendy lifestyle and fashionable aura, among other sterling qualities, have placed her in the group of the most stylish women in Nigeria. Indeed, many younger ones look up to her for direction in fashion and style and pray for flawless body like hers.

Flipside of D’banj’s Career

His emergence on the Nigeria’s music scene 10 years ago was quite dramatic. It, undoubtedly, signified a new dawn in the nation’s music industry. He introduced his own style, an up-tempo dance fusion of Afro-beat and electronic dance music. It was done in collaboration with his friend, producer and business partner, Don Jazz.

The then kindred spirits launched MO Hits; and in no time, the duo became a phenomenon. They broke records and revolutionalised the industry. This led to the company signing in more artistes on the label, including Wande Coal, Dr. Sid and many others.

Over the years, D’Banj has carted home several awards, including Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007.

His achievement contributed to the African version of that award which he also won in 2009. Artist of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2009.

In fact, no major event was ever complete without his inclusion; guys craved for him while girls fell in love, to showcase their love for him by doing something crazy to

him on stages. His album sold millions while his popularity soared higher and he made millions of Naira doing what he know how to do best.

After this numerous awards came in and the young man’s career was heading for the moon, this led to him being signed on to internationally acclaimed star, Kanye West’s records label, G.O.O.D. But shortly after the collaboration that many see as one of the best thing to have happened to the Nigeria music, the Ogun State born talented music star parted ways with his partner, Don Jazzy over what Spyglass learnt was an irreconcilable differences.

Since the separation we gathered that his career has experienced serious decline.

His popularity declined while his songs that hit the scenes like volcanoes no longer make serious impact, in fact his 10 years anniversary in the Nigeria music scene that was celebration last year failed to make a serious impact expected of a star as D’Banj even with the importation of a foreign artiste, Amber Rose.

Abuja girl, Zara Dumps Spinsterhood

Undoubtedly, it was a prayer answered for Fatima Zara, daughter of ex- Sokoto State deputy governor, Mukthar Shehu Shaghari, when she bade bye to spinsterhood, amidst pomp and circumstance.

Together with her long-time love, Faizal, the couple embarked on the marital journey with the wedding”fathia” at Al-Noor Central Mosque, Wuse 2, Abuja, penultimate Friday.

The three- day ceremony, it was gathered, was also a celebration of culture and tradition, as the females adorned themselves with “Laale” , a traditional painting material, while the young men in attendance tried to outdo each other with their kaftans.

Though it has come and gone, the ceremony, which was attended by many dignitaries, including former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and Senator Rabiu Kwankwanso, will remain the talk of town for a long time.

Fatimat, a ravishing and irresistible beauty, until her marriage was an eligible spinster in the Federal Capital Territory, but luckily she was able to remain scandal free through her spinsterhood. Not that she was not in romantic affairs but she was able to keep it

22

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • August 20, 20 16

CRIME&PUNISHMENT

Sulaiman Bello, Poses as Air Peace Director, Defrauds Job Seekers

He claimed to be a director with Air Peace and could help with job placements with the airline. But as it turned out, Sulaiman Bello was an impostor out to defraud unsuspecting members of the public. Samuel Ajayi reports on how his call to a THISDAY editor led to the defrauding of innocent Nigerians for non-existent jobs

W

hat was supposed to be a complimentary call to the Editor of THISDAY, the Saturday Newspaper, Shaka Momodu, soon turned into a nightmare as an impostor and a fraudster ended up defrauding some individuals close to the editor of N208, 000 through it.

It all started on Friday August 11, 2016.

In the heat of production for the August 12, 2016 edition of the newspaper, Momodu received a call on the number on his back-page column of the newspaper. The caller, one Sulaiman Bello, who claimed to be a director with Air Peace, commended Momodu for his stand on national issues and expressed how he always looked forward to his column every other week.

After this, the impostor said Air Peace, one of the nation’s newest airlines, was recruiting and asked if Momodu had any relations looking for job and that he wanted credible people to nominate candidates for the positions for which the airline was recruiting. He specifically asked for three females and two males. And since the situation in the country necessitated that Momodu had more than enough people on his neck looking for jobs, he put a couple of calls to friends and relations, including his brother, who recommended two persons who had been pressuring him to help them Echesirim Onyedikachi (Chioma) money was paid into her GTB account which she withdrew and paid get job placements. Another of his friend, recommended one person, while Momodu to Bello, the fraudster on his part added two names to bring the On Monday morning (August total to five. The impostor now requested Momodu gave his contact phone number 13), he again called to remind to them to call him so he would then direct them appropriately. He did as requested me of his request. After he confident he had done his bit to help some hung up, I made a couple of hapless job-seekers. But no sooner had they contacted him than the story changed. calls to my friends and my An interview that was supposed to hold in Lagos suddenly changed to Abuja and immediate elder brother to Kano. ask if they had anyone looking One of the potential job applicants recommended by Momodu’s brother soon for a job and ready to work in expressed doubts about the genuineness of the whole process. According to her, an airline. They sent me three Bello gave her an account number through names to add to the two I text message belonging to a certain Mrs. Echesirim Onyedikachi, GT Bank account already had. I forwarded the number 0130304387, for her to pay N104, 000 into to cover her and another person’s names to Mr. Bello’s phone ticket costs. in a text message. He called Bello apparently playing on the naivety of the applicants and the fact that none of to acknowledge and told me them knew each other, texted a different account number to Miss Etta Mary Leko, to give his number to the jobwhom he also instructed to pay the sum of seekers to call him so he could N104, 000 into another GT Bank account number 0043553245 belonging to one Mrs. brief them on how to proceed Judith C. Onyenechere, whom he also stated in his text message to be the Head for the interview of Ticketing Reservations for Air Peace in Lagos. Unfortunately, when he told them them to proceed to the airport to board to pay money into accounts to cover to Abuja and Kano flights respectively. It was and fro ticket costs to Abuja and Kano, the when one of victims got to the airport that prospective employees didn’t revert to she discovered that Air Peace doesn’t even Momodu to alert him of the development.

Of course had they done that, it would have fly the Kano route. On calling Bello about the development, he quickly directed her immediately raised red flags. Bello cruelly to proceed to take Arik. And of course she played on the naivety of these innocent smelt a rat and fearing she may have been applicants and further asked them to also duped, she immediately raised the alarm. pay to and fro airfares for two other people THISDAY investigation reveals that he nominated. immediately the money hit the two sepaIn all, two of the prospective employees rate accounts, it was withdrawn within paid a total of N208, 000 into these accounts minutes. which were meant to cover the cost of Momodu later called Bello, the purported tickets for four people; two supposedly director with Air Peace, who started it all return tickets from Abuja and the other two and when he was challenged as to why he supposedly return tickets from Kano with was collecting money from those he sent the assurance that Air Peace will refund to him for employment, he stated that he their monies after the interview and upon would refund the money to the depositors presentation of the deposit slips to their that one of the job-seekers was rude to office in Abuja and Kano. He then directed

the money and paid into the account as instructed by Bello. I quickly called others not to pay any money into any account as directed by Mr. Bello, but unfortunately, one Miss Etta Mary Leko had also paid exactly the same amount into a different account, belonging to Mrs. Judith C. Onyenechere”, he narrated.

THISDAY was able to contact one of the owners of the accounts. She was asked if she works with an airline or if she had ever worked there. She said no and it was then she was told that her account was being used to defraud people with the promise of getting them jobs with an airline. She flared up on phone and she hung up. Later, the same number called back and this time, it was a male voice who claimed to be the husband of the woman. He said truly, his wife was the owner of the account but that his wife did not work with an airline. When asked why money that was paid into the account was withdrawn almost immediately, he could not provide an answer. Later, Onyenechere, who also goes by the name Chioma, said she did not know Bello too but had developed a relationship with him because he had indicated interest in real estate since she is into real estate and had communicated for a while without actually meeting each other. However, Bello told her to send her account details as someone would pay money into it to buy air ticket Judith Onyenechere, she also received payments in and he (Bello) would direct her who she her account with GTB on behave of Sulaiman Bello, would pay the money to for the air ticket. the fraudster According to her, Bello initially sent a UBA bank account number and she tried to pay him. Momodu said he told him to refund it the money into the account but the account immediately because there would be conwas blocked. It was later he sent another acsequences should he fail to. Immediately count name, Onyia Lilian Chika, a Diamond after, his number went dead. Surprisingly, Bank account number 0034227289. It was on Thursday August 18, the editor tried the this account she finally paid the money into. number again, this time it went through but In fairness to Air Peace, the airline seemed it rang out without anyone picking it. to be unaware of the scam being perpeIn a petition to the Assistant Inspectortrated in its name. In an advertorial in the General (AIG) of Police for Zone 2, PUNCH newspaper of August 16, 2016, the Momodu expatiated that the number the airline said it wished to “alert the general Bello used to call him was an Airtel number public to the activities of some unscrupu07082596928. Using his extensive contacts, lous elements using its name to defraud Momodu was able to establish that Onyediunsuspecting air travelers and job seekers.” kachi’s account was domiciled in Matori in The airline claimed the “fraudsters have Mushin, a sleepy suburb of Lagos, she lives also resorted to putting out fake advertoriin 63/65 Temitope Street, Ilasamaja, Isolo, als soliciting applications from desperate Lagos, while for Onyenechere, the account job-seekers who are usually instructed to was domiciled in Owerri while the owner make payments into personal accounts in of the account lives in No. 43 Area N Zone, order to secure non-existent job offers.”

World Bank Estate, Owerri.

The airline dissociated itself from these Momodu stated that he was surprised at the rapid turn of events and how an attempt advertorials and stressed there was no recruitment currently going on in the airline to help some innocent job-seekers had and that even if there was, the airline would ended in a tragic loss of scarce resources. never ask potential job-seekers to make payAccording to Momodu, it was Bello who ments in order to get jobs. In the same vein, was calling (Momodu) to remind him of the airline also restated the same message the employment opportunities and quickly on his official website which reads partly nominate applicants before entries close.

According to him, his last call to remind him thus: “Our attention has been drawn to certain was on Monday August 13, 2016. notices and/or publications on some “On Monday morning (August 13), he internet websites & public forums where again called to remind me of his request. some individuals and/or groups claim to be After he hung up, I made a couple of calls representatives of Air Peace Limited with to my friends and my immediate elder an aim of defrauding unsuspecting membrother to ask if they had anyone looking bers of the public by requesting for monies for a job and ready to work in an airline. to be paid into their private accounts for.

They sent me three names to add to the We hereby alert the public that such notices two I already had. I forwarded the names and publications are clearly fraudulent to Mr. Bello’s phone in a text message. He and should be ignored. Our company is called to acknowledge and told me to give not associated in any way with the people his number to the job-seekers to call him publishing fraudulent notices or with the so he could brief them on how to proceed activities described in them. Members of the for the interview. Moments later, one of the public are therefore advised to disregard persons, Leonard Ihechi Blessing recommended by my elder brother, called that such messages. Please take note that only Mr. Bello asked her to pay N104,000 into information on our website is authentic and the following account domiciled in Matori, interested members of the public should belonging to Mrs. Echesirim Onyedikachi, visit our website.” (the purported) Head Of Ticketing ReservaAs the police close in on these fraudsters, tions Air Peace, Abuja who will issue her perhaps they would have realised by now a to and fro ticket from Abuja for the job that they have bitten more than they could interview. And that she had borrowed chew.

23

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

TRIBUTE

C o nver sat i o n wi t h O jo

Osita Chidoka

O Mekaria,

n Friday, we had a praise and worship session for Aunty UC, your Wife and her twin Aunty Nnenna to celebrate their 70th birthday. It was so surreal to be in house 22 without you. The mood was somber; the energy in your house was Low. We tried singing but our voices were hollow; we tried doing the things you would have done, but the emptiness pervaded the environment.

On some occasion that I have represented you at events, I had prefaced my speech with, “if Ojo were here, he would have said this or that”. But on Friday, I tried to do what Ojo would have done: We played your favorite music, we tried dancing like you....yet all rang hollow.

As we sat in the Clinton room, where you hosted Mrs Clinton during her visit to Nigeria for a lunch, I couldn’t ask for black beans and fried yam, your must eat diet. The combination of vegetable and egusi soup brought you forcefully into the room. I could see you saying, “Osita nwannem, eat some more and let’s drink some civilized wine”.

Talking about red wine, you made me a convert to your love of fine wine. You recorded my conversion as a great success Since Pius Okigbo converted you to wine drinking, you were so happy you have influenced a protégé to the joy and art of wine drinking. You taught me many things. So every where I turn I see you: I hear your restless voice, I feel your presence in the art works in my house, in the wine opener, decanter, wine cover, and all the accoutrements of your almost sacramental wine ceremony.

As I entered my study, I could hear you say, “Osita nwannem...your collection is growing; you must read this new book or that new book...”.You were always ahead of me in finding and consuming new books. I always secretly competed with you trying to read new books before you, but whenever I bought a new book for you, alas you had already owned it. I never could beat you.

I just heard that in this last trip to Chicago, you spent almost a day at Barnes and Noble, as usual.

What did you buy? I am on Barnes and Noble website now trying to figure out what you must have bought before I take a look at the content of your luggage.

Ike-Ohafia, I have to go and deal with a few issues and will continue the conversation. Am sure you would have said, “Ike-Obosi, eat a few

Maduekwe more fried yams. It is crispy and the black beans is hot.... Ehen, one more thing Osita Nwannem, do you think there would ever be an African success story like Singapore?” Leaving you was usually impossible, but now I must go to return soon.

We have had the first meeting of the burial committee, and again it was difficult for me to discuss your funeral. I made effort to always differentiate the burial of the cloak you used on earth and Ojo the soul that lives on. As I rummaged on our usual debate on metaphysics, I thought of my friend I told you about who lives in Milan and planned to be buried in Milan because he believes Africans do not treat the dead with dignity. You were so excited about him that you said, you will like to meet him, and if you were to write a poem about him you would have titled it, “Who will light my candle”.

You even without a pen wrote the first stanza.

While I was thinking about dignified funeral, my mind drifted during the meeting to our first meeting. I met you first on the pages of Sunday Times where you wrote a column every Sunday, espousing the philosophy of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). A mutual friend of ours, late Mr. Martins Itotoi had asked me if I knew you, since he saw I was interested in politics. I said, “no, but I read you.” He said, “Ojo is a man you must meet; he is an Igbo man to watch.” You were writing your column as Adviser to a man you admired a

lot: Baba Gana Kingibe, Chairman of the SDP. You became Kingibe’s Adviser after you lost your quest to become the Secretary of the SDP. How did you lose? You refused to swear to the Oath administered by a certain powerful Igbo Politician, who was the clearing house for all the positions allocated to the East.

For refusing to swear to the oath you lost that position. As you told me, “Osita nwannem, what will my late father, a Presbyterian Pastor say if he heard I swore to a fetish oath for public office?” It was to assuage you for the loss that Amb. Kingibe appointed you his Special Adviser.

You had a difficult and tumultuous political career.

As a Minister, you would not bend the rules.

Your friends turned to foes and the rank of embittered extended family members swelled as you propounded your theory of zero tolerance for corruption. To demonstrate this, you fired Chief Executives of Agencies under you. You founded the first Anti-corruption unit in government before it was institutionalized in all MDAs. In my 8 years in public office, you were the only person who advised me consistently against corruption. You never sent a note to me even as I knew the pressure you were under. Whenever I had ethical dilemmas, I turned to you and your usual refrain was, “Osita nwannem, I worry for you, but it’s not worth it. After 16 years in government, I sleep well at night. I want the same for you”. You always wanted the best for me.

How can I forget your visit to Washington in 2005? That visit was a turning point in our relationship. You called me from London saying, “Osita I am coming from Korea on a government trip. I am heading to Washington, D.C. to see you, Chidi and the babies”. I thought you meant you were coming for government business; I picked you at Dulles Airport.

You were in DC for two days, and for the two days, you ate with us in my small two-bedroom apartment in Arlington VA. We discussed endlessly about Nigeria, I drove you to the mall to a bookshop as usual and back to where you stayed.

On the second day, I waited to hear when you will go for the government business. Lo and behold, you indeed came to see how I was faring in DC. To compound the matter, you indicated you wanted to spend another day but could not, because you bought an economy ticket from London to Washington just to see how I was doing.

Former Minister of Transport! On that trip you told me there was a conversation going on for you to become Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party,

PDP. As I watched you walk towards airport security at Dulles Airport, I was moved by the nobility of soul and my eternal respect for Mekaria rose exponentially. A few weeks later you became the PDP National Secretary.

My relationship with you was not always easy.

As your aide you were exacting. You suspended me for one month for disobedience; you demanded excellence that meant I had to always be on my toes. You will say, “Osita, I want to go to Onitsha to represent the President, from there to Benin for a wedding and then Lagos for a meeting before departing for London that night.” I ensured it happened seamlessly even without GSM phones then!

When at FRSC, we moved into the foreign Affairs building in 2012, and I sat on my chair for the first time, my Special Assistant remarked: “your former boss, Ojo Maduekwe used to sit on that very spot as Foreign Minister.” That realization that I was in the same room where you held sway as Minister really hit me. And when you visited a few months later, you said the same thing and prophetically added: “Osita, seeing you on that chair means you will be a Minister faster than I thought.”

In fulfillment of that prophesy, I came to your house in July 2014 to seek your advice on the Presidential call to serve as a Minister. You gave me your blessing that night and I accepted the call the following day. In about one year, your prophesy came to pass.

Our debate about life after death, reincarnation, advanced culture and low culture, the concept of soul, high music and low music and many more such topics would have become a little more clearer to you as you struggle to let us know, “I am not dead, I have only departed this life!” I can imagine you smiling and asking, “Osita nwannem, when will Africans think about monuments that outlives them?

Now I have finally gone through your luggage and as I had expected, you bought books from Barnes and Noble of over $700. As usual, the breadth of your intellectual curiosity still amazes me. You bought 15 books and ordered some to be delivered!

I remember our first trip to Washington DC; a city you made me to love, a few months after you assumed office as Minister of Transport. It was a global multi-modal conference on Transportation organized by then Transport Secretary Rodney Slater, whose friendship with you continued after both of you had left office.

Continued online www.thisdaylive.com

As Ojo Maduekwe Finally Departs…

I

Olusegun Adeniyi was privileged to know the late Ojo Maduekwe for almost three decades; in fact, for all my working life; beginning with my stint at The Guardian Newspapers as a Staff Reporter from January 1991. And he helped in no small measure to add value to my life by the fact of that association. Interestingly, perhaps because he had a distinctive first name, he was to most Nigerians simply Ojo, rather than Maduekwe. Yet, even when Ojo is a common name in Yorubaland, ever since I can remember, the most recognisable person with that mononym in our country happened to be Igbo!

With an abiding conviction that people in the political arena should be well informed about issues, including even the seemingly mundane ones, so long as they are important to citizens, Ojo demonstrated very clearly that the function of an intellectual in politics is to enact an authentic vision that would distinct those who fight for change from those who believe in sustaining the old order. And in all the spaces he created for himself, or were created for him by dint of his resourcefulness, Ojo made considerable difference.

Personally, I have several fond memories of Ojo but one will suffice. In 2002 or thereabout, he invited me to join the team from the Ministry of Transport on a trip to the State of Israel at a time he was the Minister. It was my first and only time in that country. On most of the days, Ojo would invite me to his hotel room and we would spend hours discussing

Nigeria as I learnt from his deep insights.

In the course of that particular visit, we were driven through the city of Tel Aviv in their buses and also taken through their two main ports in a special vessel. I recall Ojo telling his Israeli counterpart that what they took for granted were things we still battled with in Nigeria. “If you can do this in a country where the bus system has become both a symbol of transport and tragedy, then it is worth learning one or two things from you. When you talk of security inside buses, we understand; but we are even more concerned that we have the bus in the first place,” said Ojo as he explained the challenges of the transport sector in Nigeria to his host.

Whatever criticisms people may have of Ojo’s politics, and for sure he had his implacable foes, they are part of the larger debate about principles that are so important to a healthy democratic order, something Ojo himself most surely appreciated. That perhaps explains why at every point, and in all circumstances, he defended himself and what he stood for very vigorously. He did not always succeed, as persuasive as he was with words, but people close enough to know how Ojo lived would attest to the fact that he stood for the highest ideals of probity. His’ was a life well lived.

Shortly after he died, I had recalled a contribution I made to the special publication for his 70th birthday celebration last August, where I wrote that Maduekwe was often criticized, sometimes even lambasted, in certain quarters

for participating in every government, especially since 1999. “But contrary to what some of his implacable political foes would want people to believe, Ojo does not belong to the category of Nigerians derogatorily described as AGIP (Any Government in Power) for the simple reason that he never lobbied for all the positions he has occupied. At every point, and under three succeeding Presidents, it is Ojo’s talent that earned him those crucial positions and at all times, he distinguished himself.”

I also added: “With his rare intellect and that uncanny ability to explain some of the most complex issues in simple but never simplistic terms, Ojo was not the kind of man who would easily adapt to the role of backbencher in any environment. While this ordinarily should be an asset for succeeding administrations, in a milieu where mediocrity seems to be the order of the day, it is difficult for people like him to maximize their potentials…”

Ojo’s presence in national politics spanned four decades and in the last 16 years of the current experiment, he was a towering figure within the then ruling (now opposition) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Despite the PDP’s revolving door of leaders in recent years, Ojo remained a unifying and respected force. His last appointment as the Secretary to the Board of Trustees at a time the party was looking not only for direction but reinvention was a clear testimony to that.

Indeed, Ojo was a living proof that regardless of whatever could be considered

Maduekwe

impediments within our society (ethnicity, religion etc.) a superbly qualified person can still exert a meaningful impact in the affairs of Nigeria, with lasting legacies. It is therefore with sadness that we must acknowledge that Ojo is gone and as his remains are committed to mother earth today in his hometown, Ohafia, Abia State, I can only pray God to grant his wonderful wife, Ucha and children the fortitude to bear the loss.

––Adeniyi is Chairman,THISDAY Editorial Board

24

THISDAY, THe SATurDAY NewSpAper • AUGUST 20, 2016

WRITERS’ WORLD

The Powerful Effects of Music on the Mind Justaswedon’thavetobechefstoknowgoodfood,itdoesn’ttakeonlyaprofessional musician to know good music. However, music writing is not an all-comers game.

It takes a powerful natural gift and immense skills to write original, soul-touching music. And the results are songs that transform an ordinary day into something magical, even spiritual. Exactly what many people benefit from the songs of great writers and performers like Bob Marley and Fela Anikulapo Kuti. (Great musicians don’t die)Their songs provide solace, release, and strong sensations.

R

esearchers continue to discover more benefits of good music to the mind.

This compilation by Psyblog are some of the magical effects of music.

Music lifts moods

‘Mood management’ is the number one reason people love music. And, all music fans know that music can have a cathartic effect.

But, it’s still odd that, for some people, sad music can, under the right circumstances, improve their mood. Why? According to a study, sad music is enjoyable because it creates an interesting mix of emotions; some negative, some positive.

Crucially, we perceive the negative emotions in the music, but don’t feel them strongly.

Improve verbal IQ

Practising the piano won’t just improve your musical abilities, it can also improve your visual and verbal skills. A study of 8 to 11-year-olds found that, those who had extracurricular music classes, developed higher verbal IQ, and visual abilities, in comparison to those with no musical training.) This shows the benefits of learning an instrument are not purely musical, but extend into cognition and visual perception.

bisi.daniels@thisdaylive.com Blog: www.bisidaniels.com, 08093618000

This suggests that engaging with music, rather than allowing it to wash over us, gives the experience extra emotional power.

Singing together brings us together

Since music is often a social activity, making it together can help bring us together.

A study of almost one thousand Finnish pupils who took part in extended music classes, found they reported higher satisfaction at school in almost every area, even those not related to the music classes themselves (Eerola & Eerola, 2013) Explaining the results, the lead researcher Päivi-Sisko Eerola, said: “Singing in a choir and ensemble performance are popular activities at extended music classes. Other studies have established that people find it very satisfying to synchronize with one another. That increases affiliation within the group and may even make people like each other more than before.”

Effects of music on heart disease

Music can help deal with the stress and anxiety associated with having treatment for coronary heart disease.

A review of 23 studies covering almost 1,500 patients found that listening to music reduced heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety in heart disease patients.

Seeing happy faces

One of the effects of music is that it can make you feel different, but as little as 15 seconds of music can change the way you judge the emotions on other people’s faces as well.

A study in 2009 found that a quick blast of happy music made participants perceive other’s faces as happier. The same was true for a snatch of sad music. The biggest effect was seen when people looked at faces with a neutral expression.

In other words: people projected the mood of the music they were listening to onto other people’s faces.

BISI DANIELS

The colour of music

Marley

Feeling the chills

Have you ever felt chills down your spine while listening to music? According to a study, over 90% of us have. How powerful the effects of music, though, depends on your personality. People who are high in one of the five personality dimensions called ‘openness to experience’ are likely to feel the most chills while listening to music.

In the study, people high in openness to experience were more likely to play a musical instrument, and more likely to rate music as important to them.

The happiness effects of music

One of the effects of music should be feeling the chills; if not, perhaps you should try a little harder. A recent study contradicts the old advice that actively trying to feel happier is useless.

In research by Ferguson and Sheldon, participants who listened to upbeat classical compositions by Aaron Copland, while actively trying to feel happier, felt their moods lift more than those who passively listened to the music.

Music naturally makes people think of certain colours. Across different cultures, people pair particular types of music with particular colours.

In a study, people from both Mexico and the US showed remarkable similarities in connecting duller, darker colours with sadder pieces of music and lighter, more vivid colours with happier music.

A follow-up study showed that these music-to-colour associations were seen because of the emotional content of the music.

Babies are born to dance!

Infants as young as five-months-old respond rhythmically to music and seem to find it more interesting than speech.

In a study by Zentner and Eerola, the babies spontaneously danced to all different types of music, and those that were most in time also smiled the most.

Maybe the effects of music really are in our genes!

Amazon Books Releases Photo Documentary On Lagos City

Amazon Books has released worldwide, the“Lagos in Motion: Photo Documentary of Africa’s Largest Megacity”in both Amazon Kindle tablets and paperback versions.

The worldwide release dates are: Amazon America: From August 6, 2016.

Amazon Europe: From August 10, 2016.

Expanded Distribution channels: From August 30 - October 30, 2016.

The“Lagos in Motion”photo documentary is the book edition of the documentary film that will be shown on Afrinolly to more than 92 million people using the internet on all the GSM networks in Nigeria.

It will also be distributed by Dotstudio Pro of America forVOD, AVOD and SVOD worldwide.The documentary will be on cable TV networks in selected countries.

“Lagos in Motion Photo Documentary On Africa’s Largest Megacity is a must have for everyone who wants to know more about the most dynamic city in Africa and the heartbeat of the continent,”said Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, the author and producer/director of the documentary film.

This is Lagos in 2016, the Golden Jubilee of Lagos State.

The Lagos, the famous architect, Rem Koolhaas called“an exploding city”in his Harvard Project on the City for one of the first groundbreaking interactive documentary films.

“What is the Brazilian connection to Lagos?

What happened to the Brazilian Quarters in Lagos?

Why did the Portuguese explorers name it after their famous Lagos in Portugal?

What is the“Conspiracy of Lagos”?

See the“never say die”Igbo Obioma itinerant street tailor still in business since the 1970s to date and featured in a documentary for the first time.

See the Hausa“Mai Ruwa”street water supplier on the move.

See the white woman jogging and striding alone on the road in Ikoyi.

See the happy millennials having fun at the shopping malls and unwinding at the beach.

See the Mountain of Fire and Miracles (MFM) Sunday Market for the first time in a documentary.

Lagos has changed over the years since the colonial era to the post colonial period with the influx of people from different parts of Nigeria and the world and they all come with their peculiar cultures like the Hausas from the North and the Igbos from the East.

According to Chima,“Documenting the changes is very important for the knowledge of history and the benefits of the legacies for posterity. A new generation will not know about the ways of life of the old generation without any document of it in print or electronic media for them to see.There are magical and precious moments you can capture on camera as they occur which you cannot see again. Even if it is a regular daily activity in the same particular place or spot, it will never be exactly the same every day, because there will be something different the next time you see it.

“Landmarks may remain for years and decades, but may have been renovated or totally removed and in such situations, reconstructions will be required to capture the past environment and reenactments are necessary when producing a historical

documentary film if there is no available footage.

The famous Falomo Shopping Mall on Awolowo Road in Ikoyi was totally demolished last year and we are only left with our memories of the popular Bata footwear store, Glendora and Bestseller bookshops and Swedish-Nigerian Aino OniOkpaku’s famous Quintessence Arts and Crafts Gallery.The Sandgrouse Market in Lafiaji on Lagos Island is also gone and will be replaced by a new one like theTejuosho Market inYaba.

The Bar Beach onVictoria Island is now replaced by the construction of the Eko Atlantic City!

Chima says,“The sights and sounds of Lagos I am documenting today will be different from the sights and sounds of Lagos in the future.There were no BRT Lanes until the former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola AhmedTinubu introduced the Lagos Bus RapidTransit System and opened the first phase on March 17, 2008.

“Lagos in Motion: Sights and Sounds of Africa’s Lagos Megacity”is the first of three documentary films on Lagos and will be followed by“Lagos in Celebration”on social events and festivities and“Lagos is Working”on Lagosians at work on land, sea and air, from traders on the streets and markets to factory workers and office workers to show the dynamic manpower making Lagos the commercial capital of Africa’s largest economy and one of the most resilient cities in the world in motion picture.

––Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima who lives in Lagos, is the leading writer on Nollywood, Publisher/Editor of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® series and one of the most popular travel reviewers onTrip Advisor.

25

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • August 20, 2016

mediA & mArketing with

LG Light Bulbs Enter Guinness World Record

O

ne way to demonstrate greatness is setting a Guinness World Record.

No one does this better than LG Electronics.

It achieved another Guinness World Record for largest image created using only light bulbs to demonstrate the exceptional energy efficiency of its Centum System refrigerator.

A total of 18,072 individual fluorescent bulbs were used to create a 12 meter by 9.6 meter image of gargantuan proportions depicting an LG Centum System refrigerator. The finished work of art shattered the previous record of 11,022 bulbs, set in 2014.

“LG continuously thrives to be at the forefront of innovation that matters through its groundbreaking and energy-efficient technologies as well as its many world firsts that continue to impress and set the stage among industry leaders.

By breaking another Centum Systemrelated Guinness World Records this year, LG has once again demonstrated

its commitment to leading the global market with its top-of–the-line, high efficiency home appliances,” said Kevin Cha, President, LG Electronics, Middle East & Africa.

Illuminating the image for one hour required 198.8kWh of electricity, equivalent to what an A+++ -20% energy efficiency-rated Centum System refrigerator can save in a year compared to an A+ rated model. This is approximately the same amount of electricity required to power a vacuum cleaner five and a half hours per day for one year or to run a hair dryer approximately 30 minutes every day for nearly 18 years.

These figures are based on the minimum energy required for the LG GBB60 series to achieve A+ and A+++ -20% energy efficiency ratings (based on EU Regulation No. 1060/2010).

Teaming up with mosaic artist Serge Belo and media artist group, Everyware, LG designed and built the image in a 48-hour process that involved adding color filters to each individual bulb.

The light bulb image marks the

second Centum System-related Guinness World Records title set this year.

In April, LG proved the stability of the washing machine by constructing the

KASIE ABONE 08057511558 (sms only)

tallest house of ordinary playing cards on top of the washing machine while spinning at 1,000 RPM.

Nigerian Breweries, FG Partner on Teacher of The Year Award

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etermined to give its annual Maltina Teacher of the Year Award more value and to make it more relevant to teachers in different parts of Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries Plc has formalised its partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education as they plan to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on how the scheme could be more beneficial to target audience.

This was agreed when a delegation from Nigerian Breweries Plc paid a courtesy visit on Prof. Anthony Anwukah, Minister of State for Education in Abuja last week.

Victor Famuyibo, Human Resources Director, who led the NB delegation said that the concept of Maltina Teacher of the Year Award was conceived with a view to giving back to the society as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility through the NB/Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund.

He explained that the MoU was necessary to put in perspective the cordial relationship existing NB and the Ministry.

Famuyibo disclosed that since the NB/

Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund was inaugurated, NB had assisted over 20,000 students, built over 250 classrooms and 22 libraries in both primary and secondary schools across 49 communities in the country.

Famuyibo stated that NB Plc was impressed with the quantity and quality of entries Teachers usually turn in for the Maltina Teacher of the Year awards.

Responding, Anwukah commended NB Plc for its support for the education sector, saying that the Maltina Teacher of the Year award is a commendable way of motivating teachers.

The minister therefore promised that the government would reciprocate the good gesture of the NB. Anwukah consequently directed the relevant departments to quickly work out the MoU in order to have a defined platform for collaboration.

The Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative is aimed at recognising and celebrating exceptional teachers in Nigeria.

The initiative is opened to teachers in all secondary schools across the country.

Champions from each state of the federation and the FCT will compete at the grand finale, where the overall winner will emerge.

L-R: Mr. Victor Famuyibo, Human Resources Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc; Mrs. Rose Nkemdilim Obi, 2015 Maltina Teacher of the Year; Mr. Kufre Ekanem, Corporate Affairs Adviser, Nigerian Breweries Plc; and Mr. Wole Oyeniyi, Deputy General Secretary, Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT at the flagging off the 2016 Maltina Teacher of the Year in Lagos .... recently

Payporte Launches Online Food Store

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ayPorte online store has positioned itself as a forward thinking e-commerce brand with a new product line “Food store By PayPorte”, an online food store to make food shopping easy and more convenient.

With, yet another accolade to its collection, PayPorte was awarded E-Commerce Company of the year at the recently held CBN Cashless Expo 2016. The CEO, Eyo Bassey during the event said he was very happy with the award and “to be awarded the e-commerce company of the year amidst other market players is a huge honour that cannot be taken for granted”.

Speaking on the new product line, the head of strategy and planning, Irene Kayoma said: “PayPorte will be the first e-commerce shopping platform to introduce this to its

clients. We are hoping to cut short the hassle of food shopping by bringing food directly to your doorstep.

“While the brand continues to strive hard in meeting daily needs in terms of demand and supply, the management is mindful of key challenges and as a result has developed ways to manage some of the difficulties that may arise.

The food store, which will only be open for orders every Thursday at midnight and will end every Friday at noon, while delivery will commence from Friday to Sunday, has adequate hands to ensure the smooth operation of this new line.

“The reason for this order and delivery clause is to ensure that we are able to meet all orders and to ensure all food items ordered and delivered are fresh and hasn’t gone through any form of artificial preservations”.

CEO Payporte Online Food Store, Eyo Bassey

26

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

AUTo

BMW3 Series Delivers Outstanding Performance Stories by Bennett Oghifo

T

he new BMW 3-Series delivers driving satisfactionbothineverydaydrivingand on curvy rough roads—yet with better fuel economy than in the past, with most 3-Series cars now returning more than 30 mpg on the highway if you keep it smooth and responsible. This makes it a premium everyday car with lest maintenance cost.

Driving BMW is renowned for its prowess in driving technology and arguably holds the biggest class advantage in this regard – as a matter of fact, the previous 3-Series was regularly hailed as the best car in its class to point down a piece of tricky tarmac.

The current 3 series sustain this class act.

The new 3 series is not necessarily more tactile than the older ones, but it’s certainly smoother and more supple, particularly with the must-have optional Adamptive M Sport suspension. The steering is nicely weighted and the front end is so accurate and responsive that you know exactly where you are with it at all times. It’s smooth, enjoyable and exhibits deftness in all it does. What’s more BMW seems to have nailed the relationship between supple suspension and run-flat tyres. This 3-Series is more cohesive than ever, something that’s only enhanced by this tweaked and even more near-perfect facelift.

Crisp exterior design Exterior design is defined by the classic proportions of a sports sedan. The hood is lower at the nose, but rises higher than the previous model thanks to pedestrian safety regulations; the cabin is larger and longer. BMW gave the 3-Series a few styling tweaks for 2016. Headlights and taillights have been redesigned with even more distinctive signatures when illuminated. Front and rear fascias were also reshaped.

Now spacious interior Although its dimensions have grown considerably in recent years, the new 3 Series is still very much a compact sport sedan. That means you’ll find plenty of space up front, where a wide range of adjustability enables almost anyone to find a comfortable position—this is true whether you choose the base seats or upgraded Sport seats with extending thigh bolsters and stronger side bolstering. The 3 series is still true to the original design concept – a self driven luxury car that prioritises absolute fun for the driver.

The trunk space is good (480 litres), and with the right option package you can move your foot under

BMW 3 Series

the rear bumper to open the trunk when your hands are full. The Sports Wagon provides much more utility, and offers an appealing compromise for active families who want an engaged driving experience and a good measure of practicality.

Power train The BMW 3-Series has long set the performance benchmark for compact sport sedans. That continues to hold true, even as it has become slightly softer and competitors have gotten much better.

The current 3-Series lineup offers several turbocharged engine choices. To start, there are two variants of a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4: it makes 180 horsepower and 200 pound-feet of torque in the entry-level 320i, while rising to 240 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque under the hood of a mid-range 328i.

Under the hood of the new range-topping 340i is an all-new turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 that produces 320 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque. The 335i Gran Turismo

retains last year’s 300-hp six-cylinder engine.

With the same basic turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 as found in the 328i, but de-tuned to 180 horsepower and 200 pound-feet of torque, the 320i is BMW’s answer to the Mercedes-Benz CLAClass and Audi A3 sedan. The next step up the ladder is the 328i, rated at 240 hp and 255 lb-ft of torque.

Rear-wheel drive is standard on all sedan models, with available all-wheel drive.An 8-speed automatic transmission is standard, but BMW offers a 6-speed manual as a no-cost option for 316i, 318i, 320i and 328i models.

A3-Series delivers balanced handling and dynamics regardless of body style or drive type, but sedans with rear-wheel drive have a slight edge. It’s important to note that the 3-Series isn’t as sharp as it once was; it has gotten softer and more comfortable, but it’s still a capable back-road hustler. The 340i is undeniably potent, but the 4-cylinder turbo in the 328i still offers a lot of speed and fuel efficiency, and working to keep

its performance at full boil might make it more fun.

Asking prices Despite the over 70% increase in the prices of cars in Nigeria due to FOREX, the base prices for the 3-Series tend to be largely reasonable and highly competitive among its segment and even to other value sedan class. According to the Coscharis BMW Sales Divisional General Manager, Joseph Omokhapue, the starting price for the 3 series is in the mid-N19,000,000.

There is also the option of a service inclusive package, which guarantees the maintenance of the car for a period of 4 years or 100,000kms (whichever comes first) at no extra cost. Customers also get as standard, a 24-hour mobile service provision across the country; availability of back up vehicles in a case where we have to keep your vehicle beyond agreed service period and special packages for all fleet owners.

Inter-state Transporters Plan 70% Fare Hike

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rivate transport companies in the country plan to increase fares by as much as 70% to enable them stay in business.

The transporters stated this, recently, at a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos that was organised by the Association of Private Transport Companies of Nigeria (APTCON).

In a communique, they resolved that “As a means of survival, to increase transport fares by 70%, beginning end of third quarter 2016, if no immediate help or support comes from government and its agencies.”

They said their operational cost has increased considerably from increased cost of maintaining their fleet and poor state of roads in the country, among other challenges have greatly increased their cost of doing business, threatening their ability to stay afloat.

The transporter agreed, that “as a means of survival, to increase transport fares by 70%, beginning end of third quarter 2016, if no immediate help or support comes from government and its agencies”. Stakeholders at the

meeting included the FRSC, LASTMA, NARTO, God Is Good Motors (GIGM), Chisco Transport, Libra Motors, Cross Country, Eagle Transport, GUO Transport, Ekeson, EFEX Executive, First Tarzan Motors and Ecobus. Others were Jetvan Automobiles, Toyota Nigeria ltd, Goddy Edosa Motors, Fairplus International, Greener Line, Harmony Transport, TRACAS, Okeyson Motors and Ohomba Line, as well as Access and Wema Banks, among others.

A communiqué released at the end of the APTCON stakeholders’ meeting noted that road transportation remains the most visible and effective means of moving people and goods within the Nigerian economy; that the road transport sector has, over the years, suffered severe neglect with poor attention paid by successive governments to development of appropriate infrastructure; that the absence of decent infrastructure has been a major setback for efficient delivery of service and value in the road transport sector; that, being in the throes of economic recession, road transport operators have seen their little margins completely wiped away by inflation, ris-

L-R: Route Commander/Transport Standardisation Office, FRSC, Godwin Umweni Johnson; Senior Lecturer, Entrepreneurship, Academic Director, Lagos Business School, Dr. Henrietta Onwuegbuzie; Magaji of Ikorodu, Tajudeen Olukayode Bawa-Allah and Senior Traffic Officer, LASTMA, Nekan Olorode, during the General meeting of Association of Private Transport Company Owners of Nigeria (APTCON), at Victoria Island, Lagos... recently

ing cost of funds, double taxation, unstable value of the Naira as well as unnecessary harassments and extortion by security operatives.

The stakeholders said that the prostrate state of the automotive industry has made importation

of passenger buses not only prohibitive but unsustainable; that, in the face of poor Return-onInvestment (ROI), the road transport business is in danger of imminent collapse with attendant job losses and damaging impact on the economy.

2017 Audi Models to Talk to Traffic Lights

A

udi has announced its first vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) system that is heading to select 2017 models.

Developed in conjunction with Traffic Technology Services (TTS), Audi of America is launching the first V2I technology called Traffic Light Information, and it will be available on select 2017AudiA4,A4Allroad

and Q7 models starting this fall. It will be an Audi Connect Prime feature and will enable the car to communicate with the infrastructure in select cities and metropolitan areas across the U.S. The technology allows the car to receive real-time signal information from the advanced traffic management system that monitors traffic lights. The link between vehicle and infrastructure is routed

throughtheon-boardLTEdataconnectionandTraffic Technology Services, Inc. servers.

The system aims to give the driver more information while they’re waiting at traffic lights. For example, if a driver is stopped at a connected traffic light, the driver information system in the instrument, as well as the head-up display if there is one, will show the time remaining until the signal turns green.

“This feature representsAudi’s first step in vehicleto-infrastructure integration,” said Pom Malhotra, generalmanager,ConnectedVehicles.“Inthefuturewe couldenvisionthistechnologyintegratedintovehicle navigation, start / stop functionality and can even be used to help improve traffic flow in municipalities.

These improvements could lead to better overall efficiency and shorter commuting times.”

27

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

AUTo SAFE DRIVING

Mercedes-Benz GLE Available Ready for Immediate Delivery

JONAS AGWU

with

(Asst Corps Marshal) Zonal Commanding Officer Zone RS7 Abua phone 08077690700 FRSC TOLL FREE NO 122 Email:j.agwu@frsc.gov.ng

Stories by Bennett Oghifo

M

ercedes-Benz has thoroughly revised its bestseller in the SUV segment. Formerly known as the M-Class, the GLE has been redesigned with impressive new elements. Some of its highlights include a considerably more appealing front fascia that comes with new headlights, bumpers and grilles while the rear features redesigned LED stripes for an improved look. Depending on the trim levels, the SUV can have two different engine grilles and three different bumpers with one each reserved for its AMG versions.

Across the available engine range, fuelconsumptionandCO_2emissions are reduced by 17 per cent on average compared with the predecessor model series.

The powerful GLE 500 4MATIC with direct-injection twin-turbo V8 engine produces an output of 320 kW (435 hp) and a peak torque of 700 Newton meters, and combines appealing performance with the high level of refinement of these engines.

The GLE 400 4MATIC is powered by a direct-injection twin-turbo V6 engine with spray-guided combustion, new piezo injectors andMSImulti-sparkignition.This engine produces an output of 245kW (333 hp) and 480 Nm of torque from 1400 rpm and makes do on 8.8l/100 km or 209 g CO2/ km (NEDC combined).

Frsc And The Oct 1, 2016 Deadline On Speed Limiter

O

The all new Mercedes-Benz GLE

The new Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 4MATIC is now stronger and more appealing than ever with an expanded model lineup and even more power. The AMG 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 engine is even more powerful than before: in addition to the basic variant developing410kW(557hp),there is also the highly sporty S-Model to choose from which is rated at 430 kW (585 hp). The chassis was completely revised to deliver even better driving dynamics and

agility. The throttle response of the engine and the shift times of the transmission are now on a new, even sportier level and thereby underscore the hallmark AMG Driving Performance. With the characteristic AMG family face featuring “A-wing” and twinblade radiator grille, the power SUV also has a more dynamic appearance than before.

The GLE-Class also gets two new steering wheel designs, one of which is reserved for

the AMG versions, while, new material colours and trims are available options to contribute to a more upscale atmosphere.

Other stylish features include an 8-inch higher resolution colour screen, COMAND hard-drive navigation, hands-free Bluetooth interface, Harman/Kardon Logic7 ® ® sound system and a new touchpad controller that can be used in connection with the regular controller for the COMAND infotainment system.

Next-Gen Volkswagen Touareg Undergoing Testing

V

olkswagen is working hard to upgrade its crossoverandSUV lineup.

The German automaker has been adamant in investing heavily into crossovers and SUVs, as the segment continues to see growth. It appears that spy photographers havecaughtthenext-generation Volkswagen Touareg testing for the very first time, and there are some noticeable changes.

For starters, it is slightly shorter than the current model and the side mirrors are mounted on a different location. It also sports a different bodyline from the side, but the overall size hints that this prototype is the next-gen Volkswagen Touareg.

There is a possibility that this is another model that will be joining Volkswagen’s lineup, but giventhatthere’snocamouflage on the side of the vehicle, it’s more likely an existing model.

The Volkswagen Touareg is built on the same platform as

2017 Volkswagen Touareg

the Audi Q7, Bentley Bentayga and Porsche Cayenne and you can expect to see the new model making its debut sometime next year before it heads to dealerships as a 2018 model.

Meanwhile, the Volkswagen Touareg is getting a lower price

tag for the 2016 model year.

The 2016 Volkswagen Touareg will be priced from $43,615 including destination, getting a price reduction of about $2,000 astheGermanautomakerhopes to gain ground in the luxury SUV segment.

The Touareg received a facelift for the 2015 model year, so this year’s lineup will have minor content changes such as Lux and Executive models adding 14-way power adjustable ventilated seats. In addition, Executive models will also

Gold Award Recognises Toyota Service Quality

T

oyota Australia and its dealers have earned a gold national award from the world’s widest circulation magazine.

The Reader’s Digest Quality Service Award 2016 was based on a national reader survey of customer service

across businesses and companies in different industries.

Toyota achieved a 76 per cent rating to claim the gold award ahead of the NRMA and Kmart in the highly competitive car service category.

The extensive survey covered 30 different service categories, with the strict proviso that respondents must have

used a service within that particular category.

Companies were rated on five criteria: personalisation, understanding, simplicity, reliability and satisfaction, with simplicity defined as making the process quick and easy for customers, and satisfaction as delivering on customer expectations.

Respondents were asked to rank service providers based on their personal experience, including the quality, speed and ease of service.

They were also asked to highlight service that showed genuine insight into their needs and where their expectations were met or exceeded.

n Oct 1, 2016, I will be a year older by the mercies of the Almighty God. In anticipation, I have already planned to roll the red carpets, beat the African drums and click some glasses with friends, in addition to spending time with God to appreciate Him for His unwavering mercies over my life, family and career. Fortunately for me and for the first time in my career especially with the austere economic times that we are passing through, my friends will miss the special plantain and fish delicacy which I was planning to spoil them with. Instead, I will be spending Oct 1, 2016 on the road; thanks to my boss, the CorpsMarshaloftheFederalRoad SafetyCorps,DrBoboyeOyeyemi who last week announced that Oct 1,2016; my birthday is the deadline for commercial vehicles to install speed limiters in their vehicles or face the full wrath of the law.

What this means is that all my friends should not bother looking out for me on that day as I will be ontheroadlookingoutfordefaulters whose vehicles will be on the road without the speed limiter whichismandatoryforallvehicles althoughtheOct1,deadlineaffects only commercial vehicles. On a second thought, I must thank President Munammadu Buhari and my boss for saving me the trouble of spending my little cash on my friends and opting to wait on the Lord with the support of my friends as a novel departure.

The new deadline is coming on the heels of the final approval by President Muhammadu Buhari, for (FRSC) to begin the enforcement of the speed limiting device from October 1, 2016.The enforcement was initially to commence on September 1, 2015 but after plea by stakeholders was moved to 1, 2016 by the President, who thereafter moved it to Oct 1,2016 which has been identified by stakeholders and the National Assembly as timely in view of the need to apply technology that iscosteffectiveandadaptablewith capacity to regulate vehicle speed and checkmate the increasing spate of speed related road traffic crashes. In the character of our engagement with stakeholders, a meeting was convened to announce Mr. Presidents new date; in attendance were Senator Tijani Kaura,ChairmanSenateCommitteeonFederalCharacterandIntergovernmental Affairs, Deputy Chairman House Committee on Federal Road Safety Commission, on Engineer Solomon Bulus maren,representatives of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and of Standard Organization of Nigeria(SON), NationalAutomotive Design and Development Council, Office of the NationalSecurityAdviser,DS S,Association of speed limiters of Nigeria,PTD-NUPENG,Road

Transport Employers Association of Nigeria(Rtean),National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW),and National Association of Road Transport Owners(NARTO).

Speaking after the stakeholders meeting, Dr Oyeyemi said that the FRSC was particularly interested in enforcing the speed limiting device so as to reduce road accidents stating that vehicles without the device from October 1st will be impounded and the driver will be forced to do the right thing noting that, “The final directive from the Presidency is clear; the enforcement date for the implementation of the speed limiting device is on Oct. 1 and we have had series of stakeholders meeting and “The essence of today’s meeting is to finally convey the directive of the federal government to the stakeholders that with effect from Oct. 1, the implementation and enforcement would commence.“We already have the portal that we will use to monitor this, we don’t need to pursue any vehicle, we will just stopyoulikeweverifylicense.“On the tablet we will check whether your vehicle has been installed with the device, if it has not, we will impound the vehicle and we make sure that you do the right thing. He, however, noted that the FRSC would momentarily compel only commercial vehicles to install the device on their vehicles beforesubsequentlyextendingthe enforcement to private vehicles.

Although a contravention should warrant a fine, my boss however says the approach will be different as he noted that, “We are not talking about fines now, it’s to save lives so we will impound the vehicle then the owner of the vehicle will be made to install the device before the journey continues.

Let me state that the statutory powers on the regulation on the compulsory use of speed limiting device on vehicles in Nigeria is contained in the FRSC EstablishmentAct (2007) and the National Road Traffic Regulation 2012.In Section 10, sub section (m) of the (Establishment) Act, 2007, the Commission is empowered in determining and enforcing speed limits for all categories of roads and vehicles and controlling the use of speed limiting devices.

It states that , All motor vehicles plying the highway shall be in possession of good electric or air horn, jack, wheel spanner, tools, fire extinguisher, Inflated spare tyre, first aid box, emergency warning triangles or cones, laminatedwindscreenandmirror, speed governor(ie.speed limiter), wipers, insurance certificate and road worthiness certificate.

Similarly, in the National Road TrafficRegulations(NRTR,2012)it provides that,’’Aperson shall not drive a vehicle on any public road which is not fitted with a speed limiter(ie.speed limiting device).

28

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • August 20, 2016

FAMILY HEALTH

Pay Attention to that Lower Back Ache

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ain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. It is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli, and in medical diagnosis, pain is a symptom. It is a major symptom in many medical conditions, and can interfere with a person’s quality of life and general functioning.

Back pain can range from a dull, constant ache to a sudden, sharp pain that makes it hard to move.

It can start quickly if you fall or lift something too heavy, or it can get worse slowly. This lower back pain, could be acute or chronic. Acute pain starts quickly and lasts less than 6 weeks. It is the most common type of back pain. Acute pain may be caused by things like falling, being tackled in football, or lifting something heavy. Chronic pain lasts for more than 3 months and is much less common than acute pain.

Most low back pain is the result of an injury, such as muscle sprains or strains due to sudden movements or poor body mechanics while lifting heavy objects. Low back pain can also be the result of certain diseases, such as cancer of the spinal cord, a ruptured or herniated disc, sciatica, arthritis, kidney infections, or infections of the spine. Acute back pain can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, while chronic back pain is pain that lasts longer than three months.

Low back pain is more likely to occur in individuals between the ages of 30 and 50. This is partly due to the changes that occur in the body with aging. As you grow older, the fluid content between the vertebrae in the spine reduces. This means discs in the spine experience irritation more easily. You also lose some muscle tone, which makes the back more prone to injury.

This is why strengthening your back muscles and using good body mechanics are helpful in preventing low back pain.

Risk factors • Getting older. Back pain is more common the older you get. You may first have back pain when you are 30 to 40 years old.

• Poor physical fitness. Back pain is more common in people who are not fit.

• Being overweight. A diet high in calories and fat can make you gain weight. Too much weight can stress the back and cause pain.

• Heredity. Some causes of back pain, such as ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis that affects the spine, can have a genetic component.

• Other diseases. Some types of arthritis and cancer can cause back pain.

• Your job. If you have to lift, push, or pull while twisting your spine, you may get back pain. If you work at a desk all day and do not sit up straight, you may also get back pain.

• Smoking. Your body may not be able to get enough nutrients to the disks in your back if you smoke. Smoker’s cough may also cause back pain. People who smoke are slow to heal, so back pain may last longer.

• Another factor is race. Black women are two to three times more likely than white women to have part of the lower spine slip out of place.

Typical causes of lower back pain Lifting something in an improper manner is a common cause of back pain.

STRAIN - The muscles and ligaments in the back can stretch or tear due to excess activity.

Symptoms include pain and stiffness in the lower back, as well as muscle spasms. Rest and physical therapy are remedies.

• Strained muscles.

• Strained ligaments.

• Lifting something improperly.

• Lifting something that is too heavy.

• The result of an abrupt and awkward movement.

• A muscle spasm.

Mechanical problems with the back itself can cause pain.

• Disk breakdown

with

BOBO BODE -KAYODE

lifeissuesfromwithin@yahoo.com, .Cel, 08053372356

• Numbness in your legs • Fever • Weight loss when not on a diet.

Most low back pain is the result of an injury, such as muscle sprains or strains due to sudden movements or poor body mechanics while lifting heavy objects. Low back pain can also be the result of certain diseases, such as cancer of the spinal cord, a ruptured or herniated disc, sciatica, arthritis, kidney infections, or infections of the spine. Acute back pain can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, while chronic back pain is pain that lasts longer than three months

• Spasms • Tense muscles • Ruptured disks Injuries from sprains, fractures, accidents, and falls can result in back pain.

Back pain can also occur with some conditions and diseases, such as • Scoliosis • Spondylolisthesis • Arthritis • Spinal stenosis • Pregnancy • Kidney stones • Infections • Endometriosis • Fibromyalgia.

Other possible causes of back pain are infections, tumors, or stress.

Prevention of Low Back Pain There are many ways to prevent low back pain. Practicing prevention techniques may also help lessen the severity of your symptoms if you have a lower back injury. Prevention involves • exercising the muscles in your abdomen and back, • losing weight if you are overweight, and eat healthy. To have strong bones, you need to get enough calcium and vitamin D every day.

• lifting items properly (bending at the knees and lifting with the legs), and • maintaining proper posture.

• Sleep on a firm surface and sit on supportive chairs that are at the correct height.

• Avoid high-heeled shoes.

• If you smoke, you should quit – nicotine causes degeneration of spinal discs and also reduces blood flow.

There are certain danger signs , when you must see a doctor , if you are having lower back pain . These include : • Numbness or tingling • Severe pain that does not improve with rest • Pain after a fall or an injury • Pain plus any of these problems: • Trouble urinating • Weakness

Diagnosis To diagnose back pain, your doctor will take your medical history and do a physical exam.

Your doctor may order other tests, such as: • X rays • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) • Computed tomography (CT) scan • Blood tests.

Medical tests may not show the cause of your back pain. Many times, the cause of back pain is never known. Back pain can get better even if you do not know the cause.

Treatment Treatment for back pain depends on what kind of pain you have.

Acute back pain Acute back pain usually gets better without any treatment, but you may want to take acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen to help ease the pain. Exercise and surgery are not usually used to treat acute back pain.

Chronic back pain Hot /cold packs- Hot or cold packs can soothe sore, stiff backs. Heat reduces muscle spasms and pain. Cold helps reduce swelling and numbs deep pain. Using hot or cold packs may relieve pain, but this treatment does not fix the cause of chronic back pain.

Exercise- Proper exercise can help ease chronic pain but should not be used for acute back pain.

Your doctor or physical therapist can tell you the best types of exercise to do.

Medications -- The following are the main types of medications used for back pain: • Analgesic.

• Topical analgesics are creams, ointments, and salves rubbed onto the skin over the site of pain.

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are drugs that reduce both pain and swelling. NSAIDs include over-the-counter drugs such as ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen sodium. Your doctor may prescribe stronger NSAIDs. • Muscle relaxants and some antidepressants may be prescribed for some types of chronic back pain, but these do not work for every type of back pain.

Behaviourial cahnges -- You can learn to lift, push, and pull with less stress on your back.

Changing how you exercise, relax, and sleep can help lessen back pain. Eating a healthy diet and not smoking also help.

Injections – Your doctor may suggest steroid or numbing shots to lessen your pain.

Alternative and complimentary treatments, surgeries.

GLOBAL SOCCER

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • JUNE 16, 2011

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

Gbenga Okunowo Why I Left FC Barcelona

Seeking First Olympics Football Medal

PAGE. 29

20.08.2016

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

GLOBAL SOCCER

Why I Left FC Barcelona

Unlike most kids of his generation denied access to football, Gbenga Okunowo enjoyed the support of his parents. He is one of few Nigerians who have played for one of the power houses of European football, when FC Barcelona signed him in 1997. He tells Kunle Adewale how a nagging knee injury stopped him from achieving his dream of becoming a Camp Nou legend

G

benga Okunowo started playing football as early as his nursery school days, during inter class meetings, but little did he know that it would serve as a means of livelihood. After his primary education, Okunowo went to African Grammar School, Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State, he continued to play football.

Unlike most parents of his generation that would scold their wards for going out to play football, Okunowo’s parents did not discourage him from taken to his first love.

“Thumbs up for my parents; they did not come into my way anytime I went out to play football. Even my mom that does not know anything about football gave me all the encouragement,” he recalled.

After his secondary school, Okunowo joined Liberty Boys Club, later moved to Exide Sparkers and it was there he was spotted by coaches of the national U-17 team just before the World Youth Championship in Ecuador in 1995.

After an above average performance in Ecuador where Nigeria could only manage a quarter final place, his performance caught the eye of Shooting Stars Sports Club, and he played for the Oluyole Warriors. He was later invited to the Nigeria U-20 team and then the U-23 team to the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. He also played for the Super Eagles on a few occasions.

“In 1997, I was part of the team that represented the country in the Meridian Cup in Portugal and it was from there the scouts of Barcelona Football Club spotted me. They invited me for a week trial after the tournament after which I was invited for another round of one week trial, and

after four days of training with the team, I was given a contract by the club and signed to their youth team.

After then, Xavi Hernandez introduced himself to me as being a member of the Spanish team that lost to Nigeria in the Meridian Cup", he said.

After just one season (1997-98 season), Loius van Gaal, who was then the coach of Barcelona saw the potential in Okunowo and drafted him to the senior team.

Recalling life at the Nou Camp, Okunowo said, “Barcelona is a team that loves to give youth a chance to play and I happened to play under a very great coach (Van Gaal), who encourage me a lot and shaped my game tremendously.”

One game Okunowo would not forget in a hurry was the group stage match of the 1998/99 UEFA Champions League match against Manchester United where he was given the responsibility of marking the duo of the Red Devils strikers-Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole.

“Due to the numbers of injury to a number of our defenders at that period, I was drafted to the back. As a professional and playing for a big team like Barcelona, one must be ready to play in any wing. There was a lot of pressure on me in that game and considering that Yorke and Cole were the two best strikers at that time, made me so uncomfortable but I still gave my best and it was a relief we did not lose the game,” he recalled.

Okunowo also takes pride in having the privilege of playing alongside such great players like former World Footballer of the Year, Rivaldo. “I developed good relationship with all my colleagues during my time at Nou Camp and I still keep in touch with a number of them. Rivaldo and I still talk on telephone and when we happen to see, which is very rare, we still relish the good

Okunowo

days in Spain,” he said.

After returning from the 1999 U-20 Championship hosted by Nigeria, Okunowo could no longer pin down a regular shirt as Van Gaal preferred his countryman, Michael Reizeger to him.

He was soon sent on loan to Portuguese powerhouse, Benfica.

“Barcelona wanted me to gain experience and that was why they sent me to Benfica. It was not true that I was sent on loan because of Reizeger. In fact I was the one that agreed to the loan deal because I wanted to play regularly to develop myself.

“I never regretted leaving for Portugal because I was playing regularly there and moreover, Benfica is also a big club. However, the injury denied me a chance to make my name at Barcelona; but for the injury, I would have been one of the club’s legend today,” he said.

Van Gaal recalled Okunowo

from Benfica after he represented Nigeria at Sydney 2000, but unfortunately he suffered a knee injury and underwent surgery.

“It was a very sad moment in my life as I was ready to fight for a regular first-team role when the club recalled me from loan at Benfica. I was determined and in great shape during the pre-season before I started feeling pain on my knees,” he said.

After recovering from the injury, he was loaned to Badajoz in the Spanish second division, he later moved to Greek outfit Ionikos after his contract ended at Barcelona in 2001.

Okunowo moved to Romanian side, Dinamo Bucharest on a free transfer in 2003. But after playing two matches for the Red dogs, he cancelled his contract and joined Albania club, Tirana. Okunowo spent a season at Ukrainian club, Metalurh Donetsk and a season-long loan at Ukrainian

Barcelona wanted me to gain experience and that was why they sent me to Benfica. It was not true that I was sent on loan because of Reizeger. In fact I was the one that agreed to the loan deal because I wanted to play regularly to develop myself

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AUGUST 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

GLOBAL SOCCER

Anabi: International COPA Coca-Cola Camp Gave Me a Lifetime Experience Ikenna Anabi is a 13-year-old boy talented football player. Recently, through the Copa Coca-Cola U-15 football tournament, Ikenna was selected to join other young talented footballers from various countries at the 2016 COPA Coca-Cola International Camp in Paris, where he spent six days

T

ell us about your experience at the 2016 International COPA Coca-Cola Camp.

It was an amazing experience interacting with other people from different countries, seeing the way they play and adding that to the way I play to become a better player.

Okunowo

Why I Left FC Barcelona side, Stal Alchevsk before joining Maldivian football VB Sports in 2009.

He was also at Waltham Forest before returning to Nigeria to play for Sunshine Stars of Akure.

Despite playing for a top team like Barcelona, one would have thought Okunowo would have a firm grip of the Super Eagles shirt, but not so as he only managed to play for the senior national team few times. He however blamed it on an injury.

“Actually, with my status then, I was supposed to play more for the national team but for the injury I picked after the Nigeria/Ghana 2000 Africa Cup of Nations. I had to go for surgery which put me out of football for almost a year and half because I did not want to force it. Had it been I forced it, I would not be able to walk now. So, after being out of football for a year and half, it was difficult making a comeback to top flight game.

And who remembers you again after G LO B A L S O C C E R ASSISTANT EDITOR KUNLE ADEWALE LAYOUT DESIGNER WAHAB AKINTUNDE THISDAY ON SATURDAY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE THISDAY NEWSPAPERS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE

that long a time out of football,” he wondered.

Asked whether the Nigeria Football Association, NFA, (as the federation was called then), supported him, Okunowo said: “Nigeria doesn’t support you when you are injured; it is only when you are playing that the federation is aware of your existence.

When you get injured, you only pray that God should send a helper to you because the federation will never be there for you. My case was not the first and it would not be the last. But the leopard would never change its skin. Nigeria will always remain Nigeria”.

Okunowo now works as a scout and supplies football clubs with players. “I helped a lot of Nigerian clubs with players and also served as advisers to some of these clubs. Like Ikorodu United, I supplied them with players when team was facing difficulties but it was too late to salvage the situation. I just hope they would be able to keep these players next season,” he said.

He cited corruption, lack of sponsors and non-payment of salaries as some of the factors hindering the development of the Nigerian League.

“The League lack sponsors, salaries are not paid and there is too much corruption in the country. In our days, without a solid contract, a footballer does not travel abroad. But now, with just $500, a player is ready to travel out of Nigeria to play,” he noted.

The father of three takes pride that all his children (a female and two boys) took to football. The female, who is the first child, plays for Colchester United, the second plays for Colchester City while his last born plays in Ipswich FC. But Okunowo hopes they would move to Barcelona when they are grown up.

How do you think this experience will help you It has given me the experience of a lifetime, the ability to relate with different people in different conditions, so that I’m not enclosed to the same country, the same temperature, and the same people. In this way, I can learn from different people and learn how to play against different people, while also learning the perspective of different managers in football, as well as learning how to perfect my play.

What were the things you were taught in the camp?

They took us through a set of drills, there are drills (archetypes) called the perfectionist, the machine, the rock, the rebel, I can’t remember all of them right now, but they are just a set of drills. The perfectionist is how to place your shots into far corners to score in the net, the rebel is a dribbling and defending exercise, kind of like a Blaise Matuidi-esque style, a midfielder that’s able to dribble with the ball and also able to defend against the opposition.

COPA Coca-Cola has different archetypes for the players, which among them would you call yourself or which one do they see you as in the camp?

I think I’m the joker. I like to bring inspire my team in good and bad times by making them laugh at whatever situation we are in. So generally I am a fun person, I am energetic, I am an encourager and above all very optimistic about things.

So that means you made friends quickly in the camp and you made them laugh?

Exactly, I made quite a number of friends and got them laughing all the while we were in camp.

How do you think the 2016 International COPA Coca-Cola Camp will impact your off-field life?

For starters, it gives me a feel of Paris, to know how many clothes to pack (jokes). I have made new friends from different part of the world and I saw how great the world will be if there is unity.

So which position do you play?

I am a midfielder basically, I can play from either the right midfield, left midfield or attacking midfield position, I occasionally strike as well.

Was there a mini tournament in the camp?

And did your team win?

Yes we did, but we were on the receiving end for the day (quips).

Did you make any real close friends in camp and would you still like to keep in touch?

Yes, I made friends with quite a number of the other participants; some of them, I have plans to stay in touch because of the experience we shared.

So did you meet anyone big in Paris?

Yes, PSG had coaches and trainers. They came to train us and also observe our attributes and abilities, which was to help make us better. I also met the legendary Xavi.

Did you watch any of the Euro 2016 matches?

Yes, I watched the France versus Iceland match, it was a good game with seven goals.

So do you have anything to say to CocaCola?

Yes, I want to say a big thank you to Coca-Cola for this experience, thank you for believing in teens like me. We promise we won’t let you down.

With this experience you have gone through, do you think you want to be a footballer in future?

If it runs past my course of way, then definitely.

Ikenna Anabi

Who is your favourite footballer?

My favourite footballer is Lionel Messi.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

GLOBAL SOCCER

Leicester Welcome unwanted Guest to King Power Stadium After failing to start from where they left it last season as they were humbled 2-1 away to newly promoted Hull City in the Premier League opener. Leicester face another uphill task as the Claudio Ranieri-led side welcome Arsenal-a team they have not beaten in 19 meets

R

eigning champions Leicester City and contending squad Arsenal will both try to redeem themselves from their respective opening game defeats as they face each other at the King Power Stadium today.

Leicester City, who became English top flight champions for the first time last season, were stunned by an undermanned newly-promoted team Hull City, 1-2, last Saturday during their season-opener at the KC Stadium.

Hull City played with only 13 seniors, with the starting eleven never substituted throughout the game, but the Foxes could still not blow them off their own home field.

Norwegian forward Adama Diomande netted the opening goal for the hosts at the first half injury time, but Leicester midfielder Riyad Mahrez quickly answered with his own two minutes after the restart to level the count.

However, Scottish winger Robert Snodgrass broke the deadlock after ten minutes to give back the lead to the Tigers and head coach Claudio Ranieri's boys were not able to score another goal for the rest of the match.

Meanwhile, Arsenal is coming off a hard-fought 3-4 defeat to fellow contender Liverpool FC at their home ground of Emirates Stadium last Sunday.

Arsenal drew first blood with a goal from

striker Theo Walcott at the 31st minute, but four straight goals from the Reds, courtesy of a brace from Philippe Coutinho at the 45th+1 and 56th and one each from Adam Lallana and Sadio Mané at the 49th and 63rd respectively, completely wiped them out of their game.

The Gunners were able to score two more goals, with midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and defender Calum Chambers both netting one at the 64th and 75th minutes, to cut the lead to only one point, but it was the closest the team would come against the visitors.

Head coach Arsene Wenger admitted after the match that Arsenal is currently lacking in "experience and stability" with most of his veteran starters, such as Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Mesut Özil, and Per Mertesacker, sidelined with various injuries.

They will face an uphill battle against the Foxes, who are eager to snatch their first win of the term at their home field this week.

Leicester would be buoyed by Riyad Mahrez, who just signed a new four-year contract to end speculation about his immediate future.

"Leicester City Football Club is delighted to announce that Riyad Mahrez has signed a new contract, committing his future to the Foxes until June, 2020," said a statement issued by the Midlands club on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Liverpool will attempt to make it back-to-back Premier League wins at the start of the 2016-17 campaign when they travel to newlypromoted Burnley on Saturday afternoon.

The Reds recorded an impressive 4-3 victory at Arsenal last weekend, but it was a disappointing

Real Switch Focus to Barca, La Liga

W

inning the Champions League last season ensured Real Madrid their status as European football royalty but their focus for the coming campaign is to halt Barcelona's domination on the domestic scene.

President Florentino Perez has thus far resisted the temptation to dig deep into his pockets to sign anther Galactico ahead of the new La Liga season next weekend.

Meanwhile, Zinedine Zidane has won over those who doubted his ability to convert his world class playing abilities into those of a competent coach.

The European success over cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid on penalties in the Champions League final in May was enough to ensure his continued presence in the Real hot seat.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" has been the motto of Madrid's transfer dealings.

Zidane himself admitted ahead of their north American tour last month that "it is difficult to improve on this squad".

Whilst title rivals Barca and Atletico have added significant depth and quality in the latter's case, Real have restricted themselves to a homecoming for Alvaro Morata after two years at Juventus by triggering a buyback clause for 30 million euros.

Even that deal looked to have been done with the intention of then selling Morata on to the cash-filled Premier League.

But after scoring three goals in four games for Spain at Euro 2016 the 23-year-

old will now battle Zidane favourite Karim Benzema for a place in the starting line-up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

"They have been two long years and a long wait to return, but I am back at home," Morata said as he was presented on Monday.

Morata was far from the only Real star to shine at the Euros, another reason for Madrid's uncharacteristic prudence in the transfer market.

Ronaldo cried tears of pain and then of joy as was carried off with a knee injury before Portugal finally won a major international tournament by upsetting hosts France in the final.

But for many the central defender Pepe was Portugal's outstanding performer.

Bale was inspired as he led Wales on a historic run to the semi-finals and Luka Modric dazzled for Croatia, whilst Toni Kroos' passing in the German midfield saw him named in the team of the tournament.

Zidane masterminded a run of 22 wins in 27 games from the point he rescued a shipwreck of a season in January. However, their strong run to the end of the campaign and of many of his players at the Euros was partly thanks to a light schedule after their early expulsion from the Copa del Rey. Maintaining that form over a full season, which will also include a mid-season trip to Japan for the Club World Cup, will be a much tougher test of Zidane's managerial mettle.

Moreover, having won just one league title in the past eight years, there is huge expectation on Real to stop Barca boss Luis Enrique matching his friend and former teammate Pep Guardiola's achievement in landing a hat-trick of La Liga titles in his first three years in charge.

Liverpool celebrating their equaliser against Arsenal at the Emirate Stadium last Sunday

start for Burnley as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Swansea City on their return to the top flight Burnley were, by some distance, the best team in the Championship last season, only losing five of their 46 matches to finish top of the division and earn the right to compete in the Premier League once again.

The Clarets have never managed to consolidate in England's top flight, however, and that will once again be the challenge for Sean Dyche and his players this season.

The Clarets actually played pretty well against Swansea in their Premier League opener last weekend, but an 82nd-minute effort from Leroy Fer saw the Welsh outfit claim all the points at Turf Moor. It is still very early in the campaign, but Dyche will be wary of suffering back-to-back home defeats at this stage.

Meanwhile, with no European football this season and a squad that has been boosted in this summer's transfer window, there is a general feeling that Jurgen Klopp could oversee a strong Premier League campaign for Liverpool.

The Reds might have reached the final of the League Cup and Europa League last season, but they finished eighth in the Premier League after losing 10 of their 38 matches and drawing 12 times in the process. The board will expect improvement this term and the Merseyside club made a strong start to the campaign last weekend.

It should have been more comfortable against Arsenal after racing into a 4-1 lead just past the hour at the Emirates, but the home side responded with goals from Alex OxladeChamberlain and Calum Chambers to set up a nervy final 15 minutes. In the end, Liverpool held on to win 4-3 and start their Premier League season with all three points.

Burnley have never scored a Premier League goal against Liverpool, losing all four of their previous encounters.

Indeed, of the Premier League clubs that Burnley have faced four times, Liverpool are the only side to defeat them each time. The

Match facts

Reds are also just one of two Premier League clubs - the other being Swansea City - to have prevented the Clarets from scoring during their clashes in England's top flight.

Burnley will have learned from some of their mistakes against Swansea last weekend, but it is difficult to back them upsetting a Liverpool team that will dominate most of the possession.

We believe that Burnley have a goal in them, but expect Liverpool to make it two wins from two games at the start of the new campaign.

Fixtures TODAY Stoke Burnley Swansea Tottenham Watford West Brom Leicester

v v v v v v v

Man City 12:30 Liverpool 15:00 Hull 15:00 Crystal Palace 15:00 Chelsea 15:00 Everton 15:00 Arsenal 17:30

SUNDAY Sunderland West Ham

v v

Middlesbrough 13:30 Bournemouth 16:00

Fixtures La Liga TODAY Barcelona Granada Sevilla

v v v

Real Betis Villarreal Espanyol

SUNDAY Sporting Sociedad Atletico

v v v

Bilbao Madrid Alaves

17: 15 19: 15 21:1

17: 15 19: 15 21: 15

• Leicester are on a 19 game winless run against Arsenal in the Premier League (D6 L13) and lost both games last season.

•Two of Leicester's three Premier League defeats in 2015/16 were against the Gunners, including their only home defeat.

•Leicester City and Arsenal, who finished 1st and 2nd last season, both lost their opening matches. The last time the top two from the previous season in the English top-flight both lost on opening day was in 1953/54.

•Simon Royce is the only Leicester goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet against the Gunners in the Premier League, doing so in a goalless draw in January 2001.

•The last time the reigning top flight champions lost their first two league games was in 1981-82 (Aston Villa).

•Arsenal have never lost an away Premier League game at the King Power Stadium, drawing two and winning 5-2 there last season.

•Arsenal have scored four Premier League hat-tricks against Leicester (Dennis Bergkamp, Nicolas Anelka, Thierry Henry and Alexis Sanchez), the joint-most against one opponent in Premier League history (Manchester United vs Newcastle also on four).

•The Gunners haven't lost their opening two league games since the inaugural Premier League season in 1992/93.

•Alexis Sanchez has scored four goals in his two previous league games at the King Power Stadium with the Gunners.

•Aaron Ramsey has scored in 5 of his last 6 competitive appearances for Arsenal.

33

AUGUST 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

AFRICA PLAYS

with KENNETH EZAGA 0807 0530 677, zigi199@yahoo.com

CRAZY-HowEnyimbaGaveuponaMillionDollars!

I

have used the expression ‘gave up’ because there are many who would have said - given our legendary a-bird-in-hand mentality - “forget it, this Spain opportunity we can see, what if we don’t win in Cairo, we would have lost both ways”.

C’mon people, if we are ever going to make the NPFL great again it would come from the great stories of conquest at home and abroad, not having our clubs being easy meat. Our clubs cannot be subservient to our national teams or in this case a PR tour. A variant of this that I have in the past howled against is our clubs having to release their key players to national team camps weeks at a time while the league is ongoing.

In South Africa clubs only release their players during the FIFA windows, why not the same with us? Again I say, it is the league that is the business not the national teams. Even worse is that, while in South Africa the PSL players form a majority of the national team, in Nigeria we force clubs to collectively release 20 to 40 of the league’s best players to national camps only to take five or less in the end.

Imagine Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho being asked to release players to the England squad outside the FIFA window while the league is in session, how is that different from us in Nigeria? I can’t even say Africa, because it is not an African problem, it is a Nigerian problem.

Fans go to the stadium to watch the stars and we cannot deprive them of this because some national team coach cannot work with the same timing as his peers around the progressive world.

Heartland points the way forward

Enyimba FC

for NPFL clubs It is untenable that government is going to play nanny to our clubs forever so now is the time for club leaders to start thinking and being innovative. In that regard I would like to praise the Heartland FC initiative. Reports say the club’s chairman Goodfaith Etuemene has activated plans to engage international partners that can help take the club to a new level. He is currently discussing with clubs in Poland, Germany, Czech Republic and Turkey. Typically, a good partnership should see the foreign club offer financial and technical support to the NPFL side as they search for the next big talents out of Nigeria. It is also a way for the foreign clubs to globalize their appeal, and no country in Africa should be a more important market than Nigeria.

This is frankly the most sensible bit of business news I have seen from an NPFL club in a while, these are thinking men who understand how modern football business should be run and how to grab a share of

the billions of dollars crisscrossing the world annually in football investments.

This is the kind of project I would have loved to be involved in, and believe me when I say I can offer my advisory time for free, so call me if you need help. We are Nigeria, we are a country of 180m people, we have oil and vast quantities of various mineral resources, we have football pedigree, we have groomed global stars like Austin Jay Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Mikel Obi, Finidi George etc and can groom more, we should at the very least appeal to any mid-level club in the developed world.

Way to go Heartland.

The Spain trip and why big business should take notice Apart from what I consider the ridiculous involvement of Enyimba players in the All-Star team, I think the Spain trip is another monumental step

in the right direction for the NPFL and, were we thinking men, now would be the time to start taking positions in the local football industry. It never ceases to frustrate me when the so-called elite Nigerians point their noses upward when one talks about how we need to support local sport. They often hold the different sports leaders responsible for the failure of our sports, while they themselves offer no support as they are mostly ensconced in foreign sports. The NPFL organisers have proven that they are keen to make a success of the league and the Spain trip was a further way to globalise Nigerian enterprise. So there is work being done and we all must join in with our little bits to help make this a success for all of us. The joke actually is on the elite if they keep neglecting to support the local league as ultimately the financial consequences will be theirs to bear.

When Ford Motors opted to pay the groundbreaking five dollars per hour in America in the early 20th Century and everyone shouted that it was too much and unsustainable, the Ford management simply said something like “the more money people have, the more of our cars they’d buy”… that is what enlightened self-interest is about. It is a lesson our mostly blank captains of industry should learn in this country. The more successful the local game becomes the more jobs people will have and the more disposable income they will have to spend on businesses locally.

When our banks and other businesses sponsor foreign football and not the local league, they ultimately encourage a capital flight that enhances business for their foreign competitors while weakening their own business communities. If a look at the Nigerian economy of today cannot teach us any wisdom, then our journey has not even begun.

Brazil Seeks First Olympics Football Medal in Germany Rematch

B

razil will get a shot at redemption after its men's football team thrashed Honduras to set up an Olympic gold medal match against Germany.

Brazilian fans are still reeling from the 7-1 humiliation suffered at the hands of the Germans at the 2014 World Cup, the most devastating defeat in the nation's history.

But the selecao will finally have the opportunity to play in a final at the iconic Maracana, an honour it was denied just over two years ago.

Brazilian soccer fans are savvy, of course, and they know that beating Germany today won’t erase the 7-1 in a World Cup that mattered far more than this age-restricted one. Each team has only one player from that World Cup, Neymar for Brazil (and he missed the dismantling with a broken bone in his back) and Matthias Ginter for Germany. But winning a long-awaited soccer gold medal would begin to restore Brazilian pride in ways that transcend soccer and extend to the Brazilian culture as a whole.

And, after the women fell at the semifinal stage against Sweden Tuesday, the weight of expectation from 200 million Brazilians now falls firmly on the shoulders of Neymar and teammates.

While hoards of empty seats in venues across the city have become one of the defining images of the Rio 2016 Games, when Brazil's football team has been playing, men or women, there's not a spare ticket to be had.

This was why the Brazilian public came, why they were ready to welcome these Olympics against a backdrop of political tension and health fears; to see captains Marta and Neymar, who scored twice in a 6-0 victory Wednesday, standing on the podium with gold around their necks.

"Neymar is a monster," Brazil coach Rogerio Micale said after the game. "He has

Neymar and Gabriel Jesus will lead Brazil challenge against Germany today

a gift of playing football and delights everybody with his talent. He is a gifted football player. He is very happy in the team. The team has embraced him. There is pressure on him but he is living through a positive period, compared to a week ago when there was a lot of pressure on him. I still believe in Brazilian football and when you have a star like Neymar you have to be grateful as he pushes Brazil to a higher level."

With Marta's dream of adding Olympic gold to her vast array of accolades coming to an abrupt end Tuesday; it came as a relief that the poster boy of Rio 2016 opened the scoring against Honduras after just 14 seconds - a new Olympic record.

Johnny Palacios dallied in defense, allowing Neymar to steal the ball off his toes before fortuitously finding the back of the net via a deflection off the keeper.

Yet, just as the Maracana exploded with relieved joy, it descended into a nervous hush.

Its captain and talisman was down injured

after suffering an awkward fall while scoring and was soon being stretchered off.

The anxious hush didn't last long, though, as Neymar gingerly made his way back onto the pitch and was soon back to his creative best.

And it was the Barcelona man that orchestrated the second goal, threading the ball through to Gabriel Jesus to slide his shot under the onrushing Luis Lopez and double the hosts lead after 26 minutes.

If there were any remaining nerves inside the Maracana, they were dispelled 10 minutes later as Brazil added another.

It was almost a carbon copy of the second goal with the same two players combining, only this time Gabriel Jesus lifted to ball over Lopez and into the roof of the net.

Despite his tender age of 19, Pep Guardiola's latest signing is already living up to his reported $37 million transfer fee.

Brazil offered the Honduran defense some respite until half time but five minutes into the second period Marquinhos made it four.

More haphazard defending in the Honduras box allowed the PSG defender to prod the ball home from close range at the second attempt.

It was a confirmed rout 10 minutes from the end when Luan turned home substitute Felipe Anderson's cross inside the six yard box before Neymar ensured his goals book-ended the result with a penalty in injury time.

In the day's other semifinal, Germany comfortably beat Nigeria 2-0 thanks to goals from Lukas Klostermann and Nils Petersen.

The last time Brazil met Germany, it endured the most humiliating defeat in its history. Today offers the chance to exorcise the most heinous of demons.

Simply put, Brazil is tired as a nation of taking it on the chin. It’s tired of hearing foreigners take shots at Brazil’s economy, at the Zika virus, at the organization of these Olympics, at the lack of safety here in Rio. It’s tired of hearing jokes about 7-1, too.

Brazil wants to have faith in its futebol again, and that starts today.

Although neither side have won the Olympic gold, communist East Germany won it in 1976, that is largely irrelevant to Germany but of huge importance to Brazil and they have gone all out to break their gold medal hoodoo.

While, Brazil called up Neymar, arguably their only world-class player, as well as a host of their top performers that includes Jesus, Gabriel Barbosa, the 19-year old striker who goes by the nickname Gabigol; and Paris St-Germain defender Marquinhos.

Brazilian sides were happy to let their players miss league duty to play in the Olympics because they are so desperate to win that one elusive title.

German sides, meanwhile, were reluctant to let their top stars prioritize the Olympics over the Bundesliga and clubs are not obliged to release them.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

34

GLOBAL SOCCER\\OTHER SPORTS

NextGen Search boxers working themselves out

CFA Under 15 team River Benue celebrating their victory at the closing ceremony of the 2016 SUMMER CAMP at the main bowl of the National Stadium, Surulere on Saturday, August 13th

L-R: Martin Mabutho, General Manager, Marketing and Sales, MultiChoice Nigeria; John Barnes, Former Liverpool FC Player; and Felix Awogu, General Manager, SuperSport, West Africa during the DStv premiership new football season held at the Indoor Sports Hall of National Stadium Surulere, Lagos yesterday, 14th of August, 2016

Boxers Troop Out For GOtv Boxing NextGen Search 2 About 100 boxers turned up for GOtv Boxing NextGen Search 2, which opened at the Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame Gym on Wednesday.

The initiative, conceived to raise a new generation of young and talented professional boxers, featured a press conference and sparring sessions by selected boxers.

In attendance were officials of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBBC of C), Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame, both partners, and the spon-

sors represented by Ms. Efe Obiomah and Johnson Ivoseh, GOtv Public Relations Manager and Marketing Manager respectively.

Also present were boxing coaches Obisia Nwakpa, Joe Mensah and Jerry Okorodudu, who supervised the sparring sessions. Speaking at the event, the CEO of Flykite Promotions, Jenkins Alumona said the partnership between GOtv and boxing is aimed at raising the standards of the sport locally.

“At the first edition, we had

plenty of boxers from around the country, an indication that boxing has regained its footing. We are happy at the turnout on the opening day, which offers a further proof of the sport’s revival. Within a few years, Nigeria should be able to produce elite-class boxers. That is the aim of this enterprise,” he said.

General Secretary of the NBB of C, Remi Aboderin, praised the sponsors for reviving professional boxing in the country. “We all know

that without GOtv, we would not have professional boxing as we currently do in Nigeria.

Their support has been immense and we at the NBB of C are grateful for that,” said Aboderin.

Obiomah explained that GOtv will continue to support Nigerian boxing and make it stronger.

The sparring session continues Thursday. Selected boxers, whose professional licences will be paid for by the sponsors were announced on Friday.

…Unveils 16 Young Boxers The second edition of GOtv Boxing NextGen search ended on Friday, with the unveiling of 16 promising young boxers at a brief ceremony held at the Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame Gym. The boxers were selected from a crowd of over 100 boxers, who participated in sparring sessions that lasted two days.

Joe Mensah, renowned

boxing coach and head of the selection panel, thanked the sponsors for their desire to see the country produce a new generation of professional boxers. General Secretary of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control, Remi Aboderin, described the decision of the sponsors to pay for the professional licences of the boxers as a bold sign of encouragement, adding that the products of

GOtv Boxing NextGen Search 1, who benefited from a similar gesture, have started doing well as professionals.

Jenkins Alumona, Managing Director, Flykite Promotions, organisers of the talent search, said one of the boxers selected from the GOtv Boxing NextGen Search will make his professional debut at GOtv Boxing Night 9 on October 2.

The selection panel identified three boxers as having showed more promise than others. They are Oluwaseyi Samson (light weight), Akintayo Femi (super middleweight) and Emmanuel Chukwuma (light heavyweight).

The three were given GOtv decoders and will join three others in camp at the Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame Gym in September.

West Ham to Partner Capital Oil and Gas, FC Ifeanyi Ubah Oil giants, Capital Oil and Gas and Anambra based NPFL club side FC Ifeanyi Ubah have inked a long-term partnership deal with West Ham United FC, one of the leading clubs in the English Premier League.

The deal, which was officially signed in London is set to be unveiled at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday before West Ham United FC's first home league match against Bournemouth.

This was contained in a press release made by West Ham

United FC via its website and it reads: "West Ham United are delighted to announce the Club’s first ever official partnership in Africa, following the signing of a long-term agreement with Capital Oil and Gas Ind. Ltd, the principal investor in the Nigerian Professional Football League outfit, FC Ifeanyi Ubah.

The partnership will provide Capital Oil and Gas with a range of rights to promote the business through the football club, driving

visibility and awareness as well as focussing on B2B interaction through the use of hospitality at the Hammers’ iconic new home.

Based in Nnewi, Anambra State, and currently competing in the Nigerian Professional Football League, FC Ifeanyi Ubah are to become the Hammers’ official Nigerian football club partner.

The long-term agreement will also see the two football clubs join forces on a number of football-related projects led

by FC Ifeanyi Ubah, from bestpractice coaching initiatives to establishing grass roots football programmes in Nigeria, all with a view to improving the standard of football across the region.

West Ham United ViceChairman, Karren Brady said: “This ground-breaking partnership serves to further emphasize our growing international profile, bringing the famous West Ham United name to Africa for the first time in a partnership context.

Parents, Stakeholders Hail Cowbell Football Academy Initiative Amidst funfair and entertainment, the final of the 2016 summer camp of the Cowbell Football Academy came to an end last Saturday at the main bowl of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, with parents and stakeholders hailing Cowbell for the initiative.

In a chat with the Rector, Cowbell Football Academy, Godwin Dudu-Orumen, he thank Cowbell for the support it’s giving to the academy.

“Support from Cowbell has been great, they’ve been very supportive. We have 17 coaches

in three centers and Cowbell paid all of them as at when due, and some of them have been sent on refresher courses. We boast of equipment that some professional football clubs don’t even have. Though it could be a lot better as we want to have our own hostels and training ground and create a bit of formal environment but so far cowbell have done well for the camp, Dudu-Orumen emphasised.

According to him, his experience with Cowbell Academy is all year round, saying that

the summer camp is only an activity for three weeks mainly for children in boarding houses.

“The regular academy closes to accommodate the summer camp. We have played about 160 friendly and competitive matches and we incurred less than 20 yellow cards, meaning what I set out to do to bring up good and sound minds and bodies is being achieved. Parents have accosted me and said to me that Cowbell Academy had taught our children discipline.

As early as 6.am they are getting ready for summer camp.

So the object of bringing up good Nigerians and teaching them values on the platform of football had been achieved in terms of discipline. A lot the children from the academy that sat for the last West Africa Examination Council had five or more credits,” he noted.

Orumen further noted that two of the products from the academy were part of the Nigerian team that won gold at the Africa Youth Championship (AYC), saying one of them, Toheeb Gidado, was the team’s captain.

MultiChoice Excites Football Lovers as New Season Kicks off It was an enthralling football experience as MultiChoice Nigeria treated fans to an exciting live screening of Premier League matches played last Sunday at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

This year’s football season kick-off event staged by MultiChoice provided football lovers and MultiChoice customers with the opportunity to witness live commentary and analysis from the Liverpool legend, and SuperSport pundit, John Barnes, including other pundits such as Segun Agbede, Nigeria’s ex international, Victor Ikpeba, and Charles Anazado, who were all on ground to give the fans a real-time football experience with a personal touch.

In his opening remarks, General Manager, Marketing and Sales, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho, said: “MultiChoice is committed to delighting its customers with exciting football action this new season. We are especially happy to do so at this time when the Premier League parades top-class coaches who are all set to contend for the most coveted premiership title, and other exciting continental leagues.”

“As part of plans to give our subscribers a memorable experience, we invited John Barnes to Nigeria to join us in ushering in the new football season. For us at MultiChoice, this event has become an annual obligation to our subscribers and football fans. It is designed to bring the game of football closer to viewers while also creating a convivial atmosphere of fun and excitement which sets the tone for the season”.

Mabutho also expressed his appreciation to the broadcast sponsors, Guinness Nigeria and Glo, for making the event a rewarding one for football fans.

“DStv and GOtv subscribers are in for a bumper football season with SuperSport beginning with the Premier League which kicked-off on Saturday, 13 August. All 760 games of the new Premier League and La Liga season will be available on DStv, and SuperSport will bring viewers unprecedented football coverage including the UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Champions League, the FA Cup, the Capital ONE Cup, the Spanish Super Cup, Copa Del Rey final and the German Cup and more”, said Felix Awogu, general manager SuperSport, West Africa.

“As always, our viewers should expect the best of coverage from SuperSport and commentaries from top-class football pundits who are committed to giving football fans a worthwhile experience,” Awogu concluded.

DStv Compact customers will continue to enjoy the best football leagues in the world this new football season for a monthly subscription of N6,000. SS11 will continue to be the home of the EPL while SuperSport 12 will once again become a dedicated 24-hour La Liga channel where fans of teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona will have plenty to enthuse about when the season starts on August 19.

35

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

WITH

MARITIME BITS

JOHN IWORI

08057763164

L-R: Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibot-Ete Ekwe Ibas with the Chairman, Board of Directors, John Holt Plc, Chief Christopher Ezeh in Abuja…recently

L-R: General Manager, SIFAX Shipping, Henry Ajoh; General Manager, SIFAX Offdock Terminal Okota, Saheed Lasisi; Group Managing Director, SIFAX Group, John Jenkins; Acting Managing Director, SIFAX Ports and Cargo Handling Services Limited, Alhaji Mohammed Bulangu; General Manager, African Ports Services, Kristof Van Den Branden, at the SIFAX Group RORO vehicle service importation launch in Lagos...recently

NLNG: Why We Reduced Wages of Seafarers The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) has given an insight into why it decided to reduce the wages of the seafarers working for one of its subsidiaries, NLNG Shipping Management Limited (NSML).

It stated that its decision to review manning levels and wage scale for officers on board one of its subsidiaries, Bonny Gas Transport (BGT) vessels was in line with the depressed global market situation.

The firm explained that besides the 60 per cent reduction in its revenues, global oil price

have dropped from $140 to about $40 per barrel in recent times .

Describing itself as a caring company, it maintained that contrary to some media reports, there is no strike by seafarers or any other employees within NLNG) or any of its subsidiaries.

Signed by its General Manager (External Relations), Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, NLNG revealed that the reviewed manning levels and wage scale would only become effective on September 1, 2016.

Expert Flays Ex-CBN Director on Agriculture Policy An expert in the maritime industry, Prince Olu Ologbese has flayed a statement credited to a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Director of Development Finance, Mr. Garba Ibrahim on the Federal Government agricultural policies.

Ibrahim was quoted saying among other things that Nigeria has not been consistent in her agricultural policies over the years.

Ologbese who is also the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ogbese International Limited however maintained that there was consistency in Nigeria’s agricultural policy, especially as it relates to rice importation and some essential products. He spoke to THISDAY at the weekend against the backdrop of the increase negative impact of the poor economy on the citizenry since President Mohammadu Buhari took over the reins of administration over a year ago.

According to Ologbese who is also the life patron of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ondo/ Ekiti Chapter, the adoption of Agricultural Production Policy (2016 -2019) has come to stay and the government is focused on its implementation, which has been tagged “Diversification of the Economy”.

Continuing, he said: “One should not blame or fight the former CBN Director for his concern and interest of the masses as regards food availability in the country. When you hear that people are crying that things are hard presently, it is because there is no food on their table, whereas, the main reason of our going into agriculture in full force is for us to be able to feed ourselves and our neighbours. This is the reason the large expanse of land in Kebbi State has been secured for rice cultivation. Lagos State has also emulated such development strides by going into large scale farming”.

“The fact remains that the CBN and the government could not open their eyes seeing people die of hunger hence its short time remedy. Like it was done by our fathers in those days when they would buy other food items to feed those working in the farm because it is not the very day we get to the farm the harvest will start. It takes months, and in some cases, years”.

According to him, it is wrong to create the impression that the money we use in importing rice and other food is a waste. As we trade with other countries, they also trade with us as well. I was shocked when I read that some groups in Kaduna State protested against the propose ban on our beans in Europe. They opined that they will be losing more than 100 billion yearly. Just imagine that!

He stated that we should not forget in a hurry the huge amount of revenue that comes with importations.

The statement which was made available to THISDAY said: “This action is in line with the depressed global market situation, and consistent with prevailing industry rates – and has been taken in the interest of the sustainability of the business. In reality, the reviewed wage scale cannot be said to be a salary reduction as claimed. The fact is that company has simply adjusted and aligned wages with internationally obtainable benchmarks”.

Continuing, Eresia Eke said: “For example, our Nigerian officers’ dollar denominated wages

upon conversion at existing rates far exceed wages for their peers who are paid in naira.

This decision has been taken in absolute good faith, in response to a more than 60 per cent reduction in company revenues and global oil price, which have dropped from $140 to about $40 per barrel. Several BGT vessels have already been laid up while many more areas of reduction are being explored. This is consistent with the national oil company guideline for relevant industry operators to reduce OPEX costs by 40 per cent.

Environment Minister Calls for Synergy to Tackle Insurgency

John Holt Partners Nigerian Navy

The Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed has enjoined civil society groups to work closely with government to fight the menace of insurgency and other militancy in the country.

Mohammed who made the call while speaking as a guest lecturer at the 7th Environment Outreach Magazine public lecture in Abuja recently stated that government alone cannot win the war against insurgency in any form without the active collaboration of the people, especially the civil societies.

He also stressed the need for closer cooperation in view of the enormous damage the scourge has cost the country in material terms and general damage to the environment.

According to her, the economy of Nigeria has suffered greatly in the last two decades since the activities of militants escalated in the Niger Delta region. Pipeline vandals have wreaked havoc on our environment due to the huge amounts of crude oil spilled into the environment by their nefarious activities. This has in turn reduced our oil production output with attendant consequences for the economy.

Represented by the Director General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr. Lawrence Anukam, the Minister lamented the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents that have in the last few years caused serious dislocations untold hardship to the people of the North-east and other parts of the country.

She called for an immediate end to the activities of insurgents in all parts of the country so that development can thrive.

Also speaking, Chairman of the occasion and former Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey commended the Publisher, Chief Noble Akenge for his foresight and commitment

As part of the current administration’s drive to reposition the country, the Federal Government has contracted the manufacture of gun boats to Almarine, a division of John Holt Plc. Leading a delegation of the Board of Directors and management of the firm on a courtesy call to the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibot-Ete Ekwe Ibas, its Chairman, Chief Christopher Ezeh, assured of his company competence to deliver on the contract.

His words: “My presence today with my colleagues is to gratefully acknowledge the Navy’s contract to us for the manufacture of gun boats. As your senior officers sent on inspection of our facilities can confirm, we have sufficient expertise to successfully deliver this project and others such as Ambulance Boats, Mass Transit Boats and Patrol Boats which may be of need to the Navy”.

Ezeh also commended Ibas for his commitment towards equipping the Nigerian Navy for readiness in combating incidents of pipeline vandalisation, piracy and other crimes on our waterways.

He assured of his company support in the Navy’s fight against sabotage, which he stressed is a threat to Nigeria’s national security and has a negative impact on the economy.

Ibas in response thanked the company team for their visit and pointed out the government’s current interest in locally manufactured products. He assured of the Navy’s support provided their needs are met. He also highlighted the Navy’s continued determination to ensure security of the nation’s waterways.

THISDAY has reported that John Holt Plc is a key player in various sectors of the economy for about 120 years.

Its key competencies are in the areas of boat building and marine services, power generation, construction, fire and safety equipment, cooling systems and warehousing services.

in ensuring an enduring and well protected environment for the country by creating awareness of environmental issues across the country.

He called on the authorities and other corporate bodies to support and partner with the magazine in sustaining the fight against environmental abuse and degradation in the country.

He described the topic of the lecture “Insurgency and its effect on Nigeria’s economy and environment” as very apt and urged all stakeholders to close ranks and ensure that our environment is protected from abuse in all forms.

In his remarks, the special guest of honour, Dr. Daru Owei, stressed that the environment has become a strong issue now both locally and globally, not only to the oil industry but to all strata of society.

Owei, who was the former Deputy Managing Director of Nigerian Agip Oil Limited (NAOC) also commended Akenge for initiating the series of public lectures as a way of creating environmental awareness in the citizens of our great country.

Akenge stated that the reason for initiating the public lecture series was to create awareness and also bring environmental issues to the front burner of national discourse and action.

He said that the theme of the lecture was very appropriate in the light of the heavy damage insurgents, militants and pipeline vandals are doing to our environment and economy.

“From the Boko Haram insurgency in the North which has devastated our environment and virtually halted most of the desertification projects in the frontline states to the activities of militants and vandals that have made life virtually unbearable for the people of the Niger Delta and Nigerians in general, the story is the same”, he said.

236

JUNE 2011 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER THISDAY, THE16, SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

FAIRGROUND

Polo Avenue Welcomes Uberstyle.org to Nigeria with High Fashion Party

with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

L

uxury retail store, Polo Avenue welcomed media personality, Efe Tommy’s fashion and style website www.uberstyle.org to Nigeria for the very first time with an exclusive event that held at the Polo Towers.

Upon arrival, guests were treated to cocktails from Cointreau, canapés and finger foods from Café Jade, while they mingled, networked and received gift bags from Zen Décor, Hairven, among others.

The event was filled with top celebrities and socialites, Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Mudi, Dakore Egbuson, Tomi Odunsi, Alexxx Ekubo, Uti Nwachukwu, Bobby Taylor, Karen Koshoni, Yung L, DjSpinall, Shina Pella, Ene Maya-Lawani, Queen Ahneva Ahneva, Olisa Adibua, Bisoye Fagade, Charles Aigbe and Emeka Opara.

This exclusive event gave guests a breakdown of what Uberstyle.org represents and some of its future projects.

“Uberstyle.org is the next big thing to hit the continent as regards fashion, style, celebrity style, upscale lifestyle and all things in between,” said Efe Tommy, Creative Head & Founder of Uberstyle.org.

What is Uberstyle about?

Uberstyle.org is a one stop online magazine and the home for fashion, celebrity, entertainment, music, lifestyle and exciting and enthralling news, celebrity news and pop culture. Our target locations are the cosmopolitan cities within the African continent, Lagos, Cape Town, Johannesburg. We also focus on the busiest fashion capitals on other continents where the style and lifestyle flags are in high octave like London, New York, Paris and Dubai – merging each story with some African vibes,” the outfit said.

Kareen Koshoni

Jennifer Obayuwana and Efemena

Ogholoh Osaz

Olisa Adibua and Kelechi Amadi-Obi

Queen Ahneva Ahneva and Mudi

Ric Hassani

Toyosi Phillips Joro Olumofin and Idia Aisien

Uche Nnaji

Moses Ebite

Johanna Obayuwana, Shina Peller, Jennifer Obayuwana, Bisoye Fagade and Dj Spinall

Ugonna Omeruo, Eunice Efole and Yvonne Nwosu

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

37

FAIRGROUND

Ali Baba , Arese Ugwu and Japheth Omojuwa, Brand Influencers of #OneLifeLiveThem Campaign

R

émy Martin Cognac announced the launch of its global campaign that recognizes and celebrates individual’s multi-talents in October last year. Since then, the brand has selected and celebrated different individuals that embody the brand DNA. Arese Ugwu, Japheth Omojuwa and Ali Baba last week were unveiled as the new set of influencers for the campaign.

The campaign tagline, One Life/Live Them®, which assumes its grammatical error, identifies that today’s consumers are not defined by one talent or skill, but are multi-faceted and should be applauded for their many passions. Rémy Martin’s One Life/Live Them campaign encourages consumers to explore and celebrate all their talents. It is a call to live richer, larger lives, to expand the horizon and seize all the wonderful opportunities that life can offer, beyond the one-dimensional paths that former generations could have embraced.

ARESE UGWU is the Founder of Smart Money Africa, a personal finance platform for the African millennial. She is also the author of The Smart Money Woman: An African girl’s journey to financial freedom; A fictional personal finance book with smart money lessons.

As a contributor to one of the leading newspapers, the host of two personal finance shows, “Your Life Your Money” and co-host for “Analyse This” on Ndani TV, she has helped to shape the new narrative on personal finance in the media.

She also serves on several boards, including House of Tara and the Nigeria Higher Education Foundation as a non-executive director, and is also an associate member of WIMBIZ, serving on its planning committee since 2015. She was most recently a 2015 finalist for the Access Bank W Award for young professional of the year. After eight years working in wealth management, Arese is now engaging young Africans on the importance of financial literacy and the impact it has on helping them get money, keep money and grow money as they drive the continent forward.

She holds an MSc in Economic Development from University College London (UCL) and a BSc in Business and Management from Aston Business School, Birmingham. She is also an alumna of the of the Lagos Business School, INSEAD Abu Dhabi and The London Business School

Ali Baba

Arese Ugwu

Japheth Omojuwa

executive education programmes.

Nigerian Stand-up Comedy” Ali Baba is undoubtedly one of such men.

Atunyota Alleluya Akporobomerere was born in Warri, Delta State to the Royal family of Agbarha Otor. He acquired his first degree in Religious Studies & Philosophy from Bendel State University (now known as the Ambrose Alli University), Ekpoma.

But, it was during his time on campus there that he discovered his first passion and purpose in life: making people laugh.

After making his professional debut on television shows in 1991 on the NTA network, with several cameo appearances on radio as well, Ali Baba dared to take his craft beyond being seen as a jester and irrelevant to being professionally acclaimed and accepted. He believed stand-up comedy could thrive as a profession in Nigeria, and he dared to stand up for his convictions. After all, he only had one life to live so why not live them to the fullest.

Today, after a career spanning well over two decades, he is well acclaimed and respected home and abroad. Over the years, he has also delved into his other passions: photography, painting, writing, and motivational speaking. He is also an accomplished entrepreneur who has a strong flair for creating and developing ideas. In his words: “The value of your creativity can only be defined by you. Your creativity pushes your value proposition.”

In 2012, he was given the privilege of ringing the Year End Closing Bell of

the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the first comedian to do so. A car lover, as well as an avid reader, he also spends a lot of his time involved in mentoring and motivating young men and women. CEO, Alibaba Hicuppuray 3rd, he has been honoured with several awards from various organisations, institutions and brands across the world in the last 15 years. He is also a Special Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps.

Rémy Martin remains committed to the core principles and values that its founders used to establish the company more than 290 years ago.

Supporting the community, highlighting skills and revealing the talents of people and nature, honouring craftsmanship and embracing the luxury of time, enables Rémy Martin to cultivate the most premium products. It is this depth of history and skillful mastery that goes into every bottle of Rémy Martin Cognac.

“Rémy Martin has always been about sharing – the fruits of our labours, the talents of our cellar masters, a range of cognacs crafted to suit different tastes but always with a distinctive style. It’s a philosophy which strikes us as tailor-made for today’s social networked world,” said Augustin Depardon, Executive Director of Rémy Martin.

“The most inspiring people are never just one thing, they are diverse and multitalented and we can’t wait to discover their passions, just like Rémy Martin.

JAPHETH OMOJUWA: One can say Japheth is a reflection of his name, which means enlargement in Greek. As a public speaker, political expert, ideologist, Omojuwa has truly enlarged his life to be a multidimensional one, turning it all to a lifestyle.

As a product of his environment, he is one of many individuals dubbed the slash generation, living his life between slashes knowing that the real fulfillment comes from realising all of their talents while helping others find theirs.

Named on a list of Africa’s top “50 Movers and Shakers” by Switzerland’s Credit Suisse; JJ as he is fondly called has built a solid career as a public speaker having participated in various economic, civil society and media development panels from London, New York, Berlin, Nairobi and many other cities. Dabbling in political analysis; his role as an outspoken figure on social- economic issues has made him a member of the World Economic Forum’s global shapers. “The king of the click,” as he has been called, Japheth can also be referred to as a mastermind.

ALI BABA: There are quite a few men in all of history whose works resonate with such perfection and excellence that they actually need no introduction wherever they find themselves. The “Grandfather of

Bukas and Joints Enters Second Season

B

iola Alabi Media (BAM) has announced the premiere of the second season of its docuseries, Bukas and Joints.

Sunday nights will come alive again as the new season of the hit docu-series, Bukas and Joints airs this August. While Season One of Bukas and Joints left audiences smacking their lips in satisfaction and expectant with wetted appetites, the second season promises to be a bigger hit, with more locations, a variety of cuisines and businesses spellbound to take African cuisine to the next level. This season will definitely have audience asking for more.

Olisa Adibua, the show’s prolific host, returns this season and this time around he is taking on joints beyond our borders, sharing the richness of African cuisines at home and abroad. The show will allow everyone, Africans and Europeans, to explore the wide range and diversity of the African palatte.

From the pacesetter city of Ibadan to the centre of excellence, Lagos and to the heart of London, the 13-episode, 30-minute

production of Biola Alabi Media, not only dazzles in its central narrative, which is an expose on the richness of the African culture and its diverse cuisines, but also serves to usher business owners into the spotlight.

“Here at Biola Alabi Media, we are committed to showcasing the richness of Africa’s cultural heritage and communicating that narrative to the world. With Bukas and Joints, we have found the voice to tell the world about the awesomeness of our culture through our cuisines,” said Alabi, creator and executive producer of the show.

She also explained that the new season would have a wider reach than the first.

“The second season of Bukas and Joints is expanding its reach beyond the confines of our continent. There are a lot of untold stories behind the evolution of our cuisines over time, and we are looking to get a global perspective on the imprints our cuisines have made over different cultures,” She said.

So join Olisa and his celebrity guests at 7pm on AIT and follow via social media as he continues his journey of unraveling the mysteries behind our traditional cuisines

Olisa Odibua and Biola Alabi

which are deep reflections of our cultural heritage.

Alabi supervsed the production of some of the most successful shows in Africa like Big

Brother Africa, Face of Africa and the first ever Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards, while serving as the managing director of MNET Africa.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • August 20, 2016

August 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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SATURDAY AUGUST 20, 2016 T H I S D AY

AUGUST 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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FASHION FILE

The Cruise Line Collection

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FASHION FILE Aspect Fashion

T

he word, ‘cruise’ evokes travel, luxury, style, boats, yachts and summer.

Ade Bakare has designed a capsule Cruise Line Collection for summer 2016, influenced by his constant travels between London and Lagos where he maintains his design studios and boutique, respectively.

The Cruise Line has been greatly inspired by his clients on both sides of the Atlantic who desire something colourful, modern and ethnic to wear while abroad. To satisfy these demands, Ade Bakare came up with an exquisite range of vibrant jackets and dresses in neoprene textiles and adire in modern geometric and circular designs embellished with his unique signature style of wood and glass intersected with beads that sparkle.

High-necked coats with eyelets that are roped with silk adire and large balloon sleeves, capes and empire-cut jackets are teamed with straight silk adire dresses, some cut off the shoulder, whilst sleeveless shift dresses and halter neck styles are all shown in bright effervescent colours such as neon pinks, yellows, deep purple and cobalt blues.

Picture a slight commotion at the airport as a lady emerges from the crowd in a vibrant orange neoprene coat and an adire orange and yellow dress with heaps of her luggage being moved by several porters and imagine that behind her bejeweled reflective glasses lies that anonymity of reserved elegance, she just might be wearing the 2016 Cruise Line by Ade Bakare.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

By Azuka Ogujiuba azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •AUGUST 20, 2016

WITH

MARKET PLACE

OMOLABAKE FASHOGBON 08033621009

Group Head,Public Relations and Event Manager Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr Tope Ashiwaju; Chairman, Nigeria Society for the Blind[NSB], Asiwaju Fola Oshibo; Student NSB Academy, Omoigui Abiodun; and Chairman, 2016 White Cane Day, Chief Olu Falomo at the 2016 White Cane Day fitness walk for sight exercise sponsored by Dufil Prima Foods in Lagos

L-R Chief Technology Officer, OLX Sub-Sahara Africa, Stephen Ballot ;Country Manager OLX, Lola Masha; and Product Owner, OLX Sub-Sahara Africa , Stephen van der Hejiden, when OLX partnered TechCabal on product masterclass for developers in Lagos recently

Dufil Supports Visually Impaired In what has become a tradition to Dufil Prima Foods, makers of Indomie Noodles, the firm has again thrown its support behind the Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind (FNSB), as the society marks this year’s White Cane Day. The company which has always been supportive of activities of the society stated that its gesture formed part of the its life-changing initiatives to improve the living condition of visually impaired persons.

According to the company’s Group Head, Public Relations and Events Manager, Mr. Tope

Ashiwaju, the effort further highlighted the company’s commitment to supporting the society.

“At Dufil Group, we have always ensured that our CSR cuts across all sectors of the society. We have been consistent supporting the FNSB because they are also part of our society; which we believe we need to extend a hand of fellowship to. We will continue to participate in the White Cane Day and offer assistance to rehabilitate the visually impaired as government alone cannot meet all their

MTN Keeps Low Profile on 15th Anniversary

Coca-Cola Excites Kaduna Neighbourhoods

That leading telecommunication company, MTN Nigeria, clocked 15 years recently is not news but that it decided to keep a low profile on the occasion.

In 2011, when MTN clocked 10, the telecommunication giant went to town with pomp and circumstance, literally painting the town yellow, with its acclaimed “Thank You” anthem.

Surprisingly this year, it took to its Facebook page to announce its 15th year presence in Nigeria. Even though many looked forward to a “yellow” merrymaking, MTN did not throw any party either real or virtual.

In an expectant tone, one of the firm’s Facebook fans said, “Ring the bell, sound the alarm, MTN is 15.

We just want to say, ‘Thank you!

I love the Thank You song. I wish they could do it again this year.”

When our reporter contacted MTN for a reaction on the Facebook comment, it did not respond.

Sources, however hinted that the fact that the company has not made the event a loud one may not be unconnected to the fine slammed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), coupled with the present economic situation in the country.

They noted that despite the fact that the fine was reduced with an option of flexible payment, the firm was cautious about spending.

Notwithstanding all that, MTN had recently announced plans to list its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange next year.

Global beverage giant, Coca-Cola, has hit Kaduna city with its mobile studio to excite customers with its latest anthem, “Taste the Feeling.”

Since the anthem was released a couple of months ago, it has not stopped to delight the young and the old, including artistes like Tuface Idibia, Yemi Alade and a host of others who have made a remix of the song.

While fans have continued to praise the company for its impactful appearance in Lagos where it discovered and rewarded talents who recorded their versions of the anthem, the mobile studio again moved to Centre of Education, Kaduna State, to entertain its fans.

Just like Lagos performance, some

needs,” he said.

The 2016 White Cane Day which held at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, witnessed a turnout of members, friends of the society and well-wishers as they walked from National Stadium to Costain and back.

Speaking after the fitness walk, which was part of activities to mark the event, Chairman, Nigeria Society for the Blind, Mr. Asiwaju Fola Osibo, commended Dufil for supporting the society.

He urged other corporate bodies, as well as

selected fans performed and recorded their versions of the Coca-Cola anthem to the delight of spectators in Barnawa Complex, Kaduna.

At the end of the performance, best three talents were presented with a Samsung J6, J4, and J2, respectively.

According to the Marketing Manager of Cola-Cola Nigeria, Cletus Onyebuoha, the “Taste the Feeling” studio bus activation was an initiative designed to connect with consumers and promote their passion.

“Music is one of the ways Nigerians express themselves. This platform provides them the opportunity to express their feelings and give them the confidence they need to pursue their dreams,” he said.

OLX Marks 4th Anniversary in Style It was a gathering of the crème de la crème at the newly opened office of OLX in Ilupeju, Lagos, as the online classifieds firm celebrated four years of fulfilment in Nigeria’s e-commerce industry.

According to its Chief Technology Officer, OLX Sub-Sahara Africa, Stephen Ballot, in the last four years, the firm has made remarkable achievements and plans to get better in its service delivery.

“All thanks to the wonderful team we have in Nigeria. They have really done the company proud as seen in our achievements so far. It has been four successful years in Nigeria. We feel excited coming from Cape Town (South Africa) to see the amazing things that the Nigerian team is doing.

As we are celebrating our fourth anniversary today, we are also opening a new office. We are growing, so we needed a larger and newer space for convenience and efficiency,” Ballot

said.

In her remarks, OLX Country Manager, Lola Masha, said, “In the last four years, we have come up with different innovations that help keep the business going. More recent is the ‘Do It For Me’ service which Nigerians have embraced more passionately.

“With this service, our customers are relieved from the hassles of searching for buyers and selling their items.

With the aid of our sales champs, we help them to handle the whole process. Although we are still growing and have made our mistakes, we’ve learnt from them and have improved.

We are stronger now.”

Masha noted that while the company currently has about 150 workers, it planned to expand its base. Part of the expansion, she said, would be to set up a new office with three floors that will accommodate a sales department, a call-contact centre and meeting room, among others.

government, to imitate the company’s example.

Osibo, however lamented poor societal response to the cause of the blind and other physically challenged persons in Nigeria.

The NSB chairman added that the idea behind the White Cane Day was to enlighten people.

“When you see someone with a white cane, you will recognise immediately that he or she is blind and that the person needs your assistance, not monetary, but in terms of assisting them to cross the road or lead them to the right path,” he said.

HP Partners Yudala on Zero Gravity Global Information and Communication Technology (ICT) giant, Hewlett Packard, (HP), has shown keen interest in the upcoming musical concert, Zero Gravity, which will be hosted by Yudala.

The ICT giant, as a platinum partner in the forthcoming concert qualifies automatically for prominent positions at the musical event as well as road shows that will precede the concert.

HP, a leading global IT company, recently launched OMEN gaming PCs portfolio which is built exclusively for gamers needing the latest in PC innovation, delivering power and performance to dominate competition, with an Omen X line which will be unveiled later this year.

Its endorsement of Zero Gravity is considered a major boost in confidence, not just for Yudala, but for Nigeria.

According to industry watchers, the endorsement is a fillip to ecommerce in the country.

The inaugural edition of Zero Gravity will hold in three cities: Lagos, Abuja and Enugu.

Each city will host two concerts: a contemporary Nigerian music blast and a rock gospel concert. Audiences are expected to witness “pure acoustics and live performances from the best of Nigerian artistes in both genres of music.”

As an initiative to reward patronage, Yudala said it was offering free tickets that will be delivered to its customers for online purchases made from August this year or in any Yudala Experience Store nationwide.

Customers will also be upgraded to VIP or VVIP on the basis of further purchases.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Tosin Clegg

07062816737 e-mail: tosinclegg@hotmail.com

LIL KESH

I Have the Backing of Olamide for My Label Keshinro Ololade, known in the music industry as Lil Kesh, does music not just as a hobby but as serious business. Kesh shot himself into limelight with his chart-topping song, ‘Shoki’ which got him acclaim from music critics. Affiliated to YBNL as a recording artiste, Lil Kesh is currently signed under his record label YAGI Records, an acronym for ‘Young and Getting It’. In this interview with Tosin Clegg, Kesh talks about YBNL, his new label and next project

I

Leaving YBNL had a two-year contract which ended some few weeks back and, the thoughts of Olamide from time, was that his prayer stands firm with all artistes on his label; which is that after two years, all artistes he signed should not consider signing into another record label, rather they should be able to stand on their own and try and help other people, just as he believed in me.

Olamide was aware, because we had discussed it before my contract ended, that I was going to float my own label which he is in total support of, as I know I have his backing always.

like an online thing (NOUN University) for me now, because that works for me more than going to class as I need utmost concentration to face my academics. Education is key and very important; if you are young and out there and making money at a very tender age; you still need to be educated as it is mandatory; that makes one to compete with others. You are enjoying the money now but when you are old, you’ll wish you had the certificate.

My Music Career Next for me now is shooting videos of the YAGI album; more singles and better work ahead; planning tours across the continent and focusing on how to make my own label stand too.

Most songs come in quick succession. For instance, I might be sleeping and when I wake up, an idea or lyrics come to my mouth, I quickly dash into the studio to do my lines and much later I sit down and outline my lyrics and lines accordingly.

I say that because I had a nice year from two years back and this is another year. I can only hope for God’s favour and showers of blessing over me. I am positive that this year and the coming years will be better. I am just at the starting point of the career, as I still have a long way to go.

I am still hustling.

About YAGI It means Young and Getting It and YAGI is like me, because everybody knows my new logo now; I am 22 and I am doing well for myself, even with the name of the album. As I said earlier, it talks basically about me; I am just starting off, I am learning and, at the same time, I am getting it. I stand for YAGI and YAGI stands for me. Good stuff is still going to come out of my stable and YBNL. The fact that I am floating my own label does not matter and does equally mean I am no longer under YBNL, because that is where a lot of people are getting it wrong.

Olamide and YBNL movement is still managing me as an artiste and the fact that I have my own label simply means that YAGI Records is being managed by YBNL. We are still together; Olamide and I still record in the same studio and work with the same set of producers. As you all know, YBNL is a family thing and we all support each other.

My Fame Most people got it wrong because he designed the label logo and my album artwork. Gold has always supported me from day one, as well as other people on the YBNL label. I am the only artiste on YAGI records; come to think of it, where do people expect me to get money from to sign Adekunle Gold?; my bro it’s expensive. My life has moved from not being famous to being famous It’s actually something; stages and experience that come with it. Trying to adjust from a life of walking peacefully on the street and people not disturbing you to one where you are restricted to what you can do and what you can say online.

For me, that change was quite difficult. Many don’t know how freely I do my things back then before the fame came in. Basically, my album is a reflection of my past, present and probably the future, as the case maybe.

Life of a star came as a reflection of all I have been through. I was actually mediating when the song vibe came in. So, I called Pheelz the producer that I was ready and that Adekunle Gold will be dropping few lines too.

The funniest part was that Adekunle and I went for a show in Abeokuta and we travelled down to Lagos the following morning. We lodged in a hotel due to fuel scarcity then and we had all the recording tools available and Adekunle did his verse, went back to sleep, woke and continued and at the end of the day, the song came out nice.

My Music Each time I want to record a song, I go down memory lane to where I was coming from; the street, my environment and every situation I find myself in. I’m also an online person and I play a lot. So, at times, I put my hobby and character into my music. I am trying to make the best of the situation I have found myself. My story is quite different from everyone else’s, because things started happening for me at a very young age and the number of things I was able to achieve within two years has been great, as so many people ordinary did not believe that I will go this far. So, the only thing that is still making be relevant is the music; outside the music, Lil Kesh is just a boy.

The Olamide Factor If there is another percentage after 100, I think Olamide deserves that and more. He did not make us regard being an artiste, celebrity and famous the way every other people see it. He made us believe so much in our potentials and always advises emphatically that when fame comes, we should tread softly and always remember where we were coming from. Before I was officially signed on YBNL record, I had moved and studied Olamide as a person because I was curious to know what made him successful in the industry and, within a short time, I learnt a lot from him. One fact people don’t know is that Olamide does not see himself as big in the industry yet, he hustles like he is an upcoming artiste.

Best vacation spot That will surely be South Africa, because the very first time I travelled there; I loved the place and wanted to go back.

Lil Kesh

My Parents My case is different, because my father is a Christian and I grew up in a very gospel family. My father has his own church, and there I had music to enjoy from my parents; because music was all around me and that also informs the creative side of me. Despite the fact that my parents are good Christians, they are always in support of what their children are willing to do and, more importantly, they preach the education gospel too. My parents will give their blessings as long as you are on the right cause; they are my number one fans and have always supported my music from the onset.

Childhood and Education Bariga was most memorable; I represent my hood 100%, and that’s why I speak about them in my music and all around. I am proud of my hood, I learnt a lot growing up there. The environment was the best fun-spot for me that made me realise I had a great potential in music. I can brag anywhere that there are lots of hidden talents in Bariga. I represent my hood at every corner, on social media.

Believe me sincerely, it’s crazy, I must say, but it’s more

First experiences out of the Nigeria I was just eager to get on the plane; my first time outside the country was to London and then I was supposed to travel a day before but my manger had issues with his paper; so we had to go the next day and because I had my eyes on the plane, and had pictured how I was sitting in the plane; I asked my manager if I could go before him so he could join me later.

From the Church I don’t joke with my creator; despite all the celebrity thing; this life doesn’t freak me, I always remember where I came from and how far God has position me because my story is a testimony; what excuse do I have not to praise my creator.

Social Media Beefs I don’t understand oo. This year has been so funny, the level of beef is so high, it’s like they are just importing more cows into the country. For me, I don’t think beefing or hating your fellow is necessary but I think the social media is doing the most part of it because a lot of people get to talk nonsense and contribute to other people’s business; because social media is allowing it. But at some point, come to think of it, Nigerians are bored and suffering, no water, no light, no fuel; if what is good or bad about celebrities is what is making them happy, they should keep it up then.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

SHOWBIZFLAIR

MY STORY MR. IBU STORMS GAMBIA, GETS 5-STAR RECEPTION

AIRO

My Music Soothes the Soul

Popular Nollywood comic actor, John Okafor, aka Mr. Ibu, was in The Gambia, where he received a five-star reception from people of the country, who were happy to see the Nigerian movie star for the very first time.

On the trip was Mr. Ibu’s international manager, Mr. Okechukwu Nwuzor.

The movie star visited Gambia’s radio and television stations where he was interviewed.

An official, Don Singles, said Gambians were delighted to see Mr. Ibu in their country, adding that the artiste is a big hit in the country.

According to him, Gambians love the actor.

He said, the hospitality accorded to Mr. Ibu in Gambia was massive all through the period he was in that country. Don Singles further disclosed that Mr. Ibu also visited the Nigeria Embassy in The Gambia where he exchanged pleasantries with officials at the embassy.

Also reacting to his recent visit to the Gambia, Mr. Ibu said he appreciated the hospitality he received from the Gambians during the period, and particularly, thanked President Yahya Jammeh, whom he described as one of the best leaders in Africa, noting that he would continue to support the good governance rendered by the President to his people in Gambia.

Uche Iroha, aka Airo, started his career about a decade ago and grew largely from onset as a studio engineer. He has worked with 2face. In this chat with Tosin Clegg, he talks about music

DAWN , VOICE NIGERIA CONTENDER TO RELEASE A NEW SONG Dawn has been singing for some years, but it was mostly plain, background stuff. She was involved in a recent popular singing competition, The Voice Nigeria which further launched her music career.

The Airtel-sponsored show was a major avenue for her to grow and wax stronger in her craft as a musician. Waje was her mentor on the show and that aided her growth.

What to expect from Dawn is her debut single, which she will put out in a few weeks. She is excited about it because it is her first song ever.

INEH THE MUSICAL STARTS SHOWING IN SEPTEMBER Ineh The Musical is a music drama about mothers and the sacrifices they make for their children as they grow up. It’s captivating, inspiring, and for the family, exciting and entertaining.

It’s directed by Makinde Adeniran and produced

by Ijewere Production. The musical drama is set to start showing from September and will run till December, this year. The cast is of a vibrant league of talent and an energetic band to fire up the quality of theatre performances expected on the set of Ineh. It will be playing at the National Theatre to the delight of esteemed guests.

T

ell us more about you?

I’m Uche Iroha, aka, ‘Airo’ from Abia State and an Engineer. I am a song writer and have been into entertainment for a while now. My kind of music is soothing to the soul and sweet to the ears. It’s informative and educative.

How long have you been in the music industry?

I have always been in entertainment; from films, scriptwriting, making music videos, productions and a lot more. I’m also writing and there is a book in view.

What is your new music about?

My new music, Samba Rumba is a good feeling and it’s Brazilian. It has something to do with sport and it passes a message on bringing back humanity. Generally, it is about life in a sportive form.

What’s your relationship with 2face?

2face is my boss. I majored in sound engineering and we met in Festac. I met 2face casually and that’s where we started from. Working with a big act like 2face was a big experience for me, and every sound engineer wants to work with a big act.

How do you feel about your progress so far?

It makes me feel great. And I never envisioned what the buzz will be like, and someone advised me to start the push for my music. It’s been overwhelming and it’s been playing over the radio, especially this new track.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

PERSPECTIVE

Leadership Selection in Contemporary Nigerian Politics: Challenges and Prospects Abdullahi Usman

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” - Dr. Seuss

D

iscussing various issues around poor leadership selection in Nigeria’s contemporary politics has become something akin to the proverbial broken record or, perhaps scratched compact disc (CD) may be the better term to apply in this instance, since we are talking about contemporary issues here, as opposed to the traditional ways of doing things. In other words, the problem with our candidates selection process - and I use the term “leadership” liberally to encompass any elective or appointive position, from the bottom up, which includes candidates for all appointive and elective positions, as well as the leadership of the various legislative houses after elections - is fast assuming the status of the conventional problem with the weather; everyone knows and talks about it, but nobody seems to be able to do anything to change it.

However, much unlike the weather systems, where there is little or nothing any one of us can do as humans to change the course of nature, the problem of our leadership selection process is well within our powers and wherewithal to work and improve upon, but we somehow always fail to do those vital little things that are required to make a marked difference. Indeed, the process of leadership selection in our own peculiar environment is a totally different ball game altogether in the sense that those who have somehow appropriated and cornered for themselves the rights to pick out or select from amongst the long list of aspiring politicians on our behalf appear to be either reluctant or strangely uncomfortable with pushing forward and implementing the kinds of reforms that will ensure only individuals who meet the relevant criteria of qualification, knowledge, experience, vision, skills, wisdom and courage, amongst others, are put forward for such positions.

This is, perhaps, because such people may not be amenable to being teleguided or pushed around in a manner that their benefactors have come to expect over the years.

As a result, they often prefer the largely docile type, regardless of whether they possess or lack these vital criteria or skills set, or, indeed, even the necessary educational qualification to deliver on the job. In fact, more often than not, such ‘favoured breed’ usually end up having to use fake or cooked-up certificates - sometimes with the foreknowledge or even at the prodding of their benefactor(s) - in order to meet the prescribed minimum qualification for the envisaged office or position. All this, happening in a country that is substantially blessed with highly educated and experienced pool of qualified personnel in virtually all spheres or disciplines of human endeavor one can possibly think of under the sun. Consequently, the envisaged realistic elimination of the “garbage - in, garbage - out” syndrome will take quite some doing, and one personally sees it remaining with us for a very long time to come. Unless, of course, this set of self-appointed ‘kingmakers’, also known locally as “godfathers”, who perennially go about oozing their familiar overbearing attitude on the rest of the population either change their ways, or we somehow collectively find a way to dislodge them from their current vise-like grip on our political leadership selection process, with a view to liberalising and democratising it, to make it a more open one eventually.

In addition to its prevalence in almost all the registered political parties we have today, the pervasive ‘godfather challenge’ also exists in virtually all parts of the country, and is not necessarily limited to any one state or geopolitical zone in particular. But you certainly witness more of such instances with the candidates submitted from one specific state in the South East, for instance, where the added problem of double nomination appears to be a persistent challenge and recurring decimal with virtually every election conducted within

Buhari the last two electoral cycles. By and large, one is merely speaking in general terms, based on one’s very little experience and admittedly even far less knowledge of how these things played out in the past. However, that is not, in anyway, suggestive of the problem being particularly restricted to that specific state alone, by any chance.

Of course, one very much understands and appreciates the concept of expecting the voters to choose the best among the candidates on offer across party lines. But the main challenge here is that majority of our largely uneducated pool of electorate, on their part, do not still understand or appreciate the fact that they can, indeed, vote for the candidate of a different party other than the main party they support, depending on the quality of the candidate presented by each party. In other words, the concept they seem to generally accept and entirely go by, more often than

Again,sincethiskingmakeror godfathersyndromeappearsto havepermeatedvirtuallyallor mostofthemajorpoliticalparties thatstandanychanceofwinning aseatinanyelectionaswespeak today,whatthismeansisthateven wherethevotersaresufficiently informedaboutthepreferredor desirabletype(s)ofcandidate(s) tovoteinanelection,theymay sometimesactuallyendupbeing leftwithnotmuchofachoicefora particularposition(notall,perhaps, admittedly),ifthegodfathersinall themajorpartiesdecidetofield lessthandesirablecandidates.

Inthatcase,therefore,itsimply becomesthesmallmatterof choosingbetweenthelesseroftwo or,perhaps,more‘evils’,ifyouexcuse theuseoftheterm

not, is one which tends to imply that once they massively support a particular political party or candidate in a state or an area, it then automatically follows that they just have to vote and return any and all candidates presented by that party across all the conceivable election types conducted by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) - i.e.

Presidential, Governorship, Senatorial, House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly elections - and possibly, even local government council elections conducted by the various State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), regardless of whether or not other more qualified or better suited candidates may be running for the same position on another party platform.

The resulting dangerous phenomenon, which is largely fuelled by such mindset, has appropriately been dubbed and has since come to be known and regarded as the “bandwagon effect” in local electoral parlance.

Again, since this kingmaker or godfather syndrome appears to have permeated virtually all or most of the major political parties that stand any chance of winning a seat in any election as we speak today, what this means is that even where the voters are sufficiently informed about the preferred or desirable type(s) of candidate(s) to vote in an election, they may sometimes actually end up being left with not much of a choice for a particular position (not all, perhaps, admittedly), if the godfathers in all the major parties decide to field less than desirable candidates.In that case, therefore, it simply becomes the small matter of choosing between the lesser of two or, perhaps, more ‘evils’, if you excuse the use of the term.

It is the full realisation of this fact, coupled with the vise-like grip of such godfathers on existing party structures that informed INEC’s decision to include amongst the list of amendments to the legal framework it submitted to the National Assembly as far back as late 2012 or thereabouts, the need for the introduction of Independent Candidacy in our electoral laws. The idea behind that is for the purpose allowing (an) independent candidate(s) - i.e. any eligible person(s) who happen(s) to meet a very strict set of specified qualification criteria for such - to be able to circumvent the influence of godfatherism in deciding who gets to be on the ballot as a party candidate.

Perhaps, not totally unexpectedly, that amendment did not sail through in the end.

I recall one presentation at an international elections forum where the representative from the Electoral Commission of India informed the audience about a new radical inclusion

on their ballot - the first and only country in the world to have done that, so far - during their last general elections known by its acronym, ‘NOTA’, which stands for “None of the Above”. This unique voting option, which was introduced following persistent pressure from the voting public who consistently complained that they often do not like any of the candidates vying for certain positions in an election, allowed such voters to still go out and cast their vote (a right they consider as their sacred constitutional duty), by rejecting all the candidates on offer, rather than the more traditional way of signifying such rejection by staying at home and abstaining from voting completely on election day.

During its first year of introduction on a test basis, over 6 million people opted to vote ‘NOTA’ in place of any of the party candidates, which sent a very clear message as a way of registering their utmost discontent with all the competing political parties in the elections over what they considered as their wrong choice of candidates. The next logical question I asked the presenter afterwards, which he wasn’t able to satisfactorily respond to, is what then happens if the faceless ‘NOTA’ ends up receiving the highest number of votes at the end of the day?The presenter could not come up with a satisfactory response, which may, perhaps, be because, even though 6 million votes may appear to be a huge number on the face of it, they do not envisage such a scenario happening any time soon.

For instance, while many relatively smaller countries within the African continent still marvel at Nigeria’s huge registered voting population figure of just over 70 million (i.e. those with valid Permanent Voters Cards) during the last general elections in 2015, the Election Commission of India put the number of people who were eligible to vote in their 2014 general elections at a whopping 814.5 million, representing an increase of a whopping 100 million people in a space of just 5 years over and above those registered for the 2009 elections! It would, of course, be nice to see how that figure compares with what may be obtainable in the world’s most populous country, except that China, with a population of 1.4 billion compared to India’s 1.3 billion people, is not a democracy, so we may never have a basis for such a comparison any time soon and, perhaps, never will.

And, yes, the legally permissible recall of elected officials in Nigeria is a rather tedious process, which probably explains why none has succeeded thus far in our recent history. I am not exactly sure what may have obtained during the First Republic, but as much as I can tell, nothing of that nature has happened ever since. Of course, there is this ideal notion that the voters should be free to choose the preferred candidates of their choice, regardless of party affiliation, and there are, perhaps, a number of instances one can possibly cite where that has, indeed, been the case. But, having said that, what about a probable situation where all the possible alternatives as presented by the different parties end up not being from among the “experienced bests”?

One might say that appears rather farfetched or highly improbable, but it is not completely beyond the realm of possibilities, as far as some of these godfathers - who actually exist in most of the major political parties, by the way, although, admittedly, more prevalent in some than in others - are concerned. The most conceivable solution, therefore, still lies in the ultimate release of the party structures from the vise-like grip of godfathers and other money bags, to make way for a more open and democratic system of selecting candidates, because even the Independent Candidacy route is not entirely accessible to everyone, in the sense that one still has to have the wherewithal mostly financial - to campaign and sell oneself outside of the formal party structure, even if the requirement for such has been met. As Abraham Bell rightly argues, “it is a moral and sociological absurdity if the best men are not elected”.

Abdullahi Usman (usmanabd@gmail.com) (PA to former INEC Chairman) August 8, 2016

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

PERSPECTIVE

Restructuring will Be in Nigeria’s Best Interest Eddie Mbadiwe

“2

7 States cannot pay salaries” That was President Buhari speaking at a recent occasion. Restructuring is not a swan song neither is it a mantra. It cannot also be called a slogan. Rather it is a direct appeal to our collective soul and wisdom to decisively reflect and preserve our nationhood so that, quoting Chinua Achebe in reverse; “the centre can hold”. It is a road to that dream Nigeria that has to be.

In our current environment, it is beyond belief that some people are still advocating for the creation of more states – certainly for selfish reasons. It was that sage William Shakespeare who asked many years ago whether the fault was in us or in our stars. In Nigeria without a shadow of doubt the fault is I n us.

All the indices for growth irrespective of who does the analyses (for some are skewed) point in one direction.

Unless we restructure Nigeria and drastically change our business ethics, economic growth will be painfully slow.

For the pessimists who equate restructuring with fragmentation or dissolution of Nigeria, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Restructuring means creating viable economic units possibly along the lines of the current 6 geographical zones. Unless for those who delude themselves or are in denial, our country Nigeria has not made any appreciable progress after 56 years of independence. South Korea and Malaysia which started the race with is at about the same time are light years ahead of us. Infact Seoul is ahead of many western capitals in terms of living standards.

Chinua Achebe Our current arrangement has so much baggage and this must be shed by direct action.

Years ago highly motivated and idealist undergraduates at the University of Ibadan many of us simply identified ourselves as Nigerians. Some in this group include late Stanley Macebuh, Oti Ejobe, Philip Edore, Tunde Akogun, Goke Adeniji, Kemi Ajayi, Julie Onum, Zazza Lorenzo, Dada Iweka, and

Jide Osuntokun among others.

How times have changed and our dream of a great nation is almost going into an eclipse.

In the same vein, as a young lecturer of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, I was a contributor to Nsukkascope an in-house magazine positioned to help transform UNN to a world class University. Chinua Achebe was editor. Other contributors were Chimere Ikoku, Emmanuel Obiechina, Ikenna Nzimiro, Mana Obasi and Okey Emordi.

Nsukkascope not only offered constructive criticism but also proffered solutions. That is the kind of debate I believe Nigeria needs.

Let us have serious discussions about the gargantum economic problems now confronting us. The more people that are actively engaged, the better the country will be.

When General Murtala Muhammed inaugurated the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) in 1975 under the chairmanship of eminent lawyer Chief F.R.A. Williams SAN he charged them among other objectives to “The constitution of a federal system of government with constitutional law guaranteeing fundamental human rights, maximum participation and orderly succession of political power. To avoid the pitfalls of the first republic the new constitution should be designed to eliminate over concentration of power and ensure free and fair election”.

This group aka “the 49 Wise Men” took their assignment seriously. I write from first-hand knowledge because my late uncle Dr. K.O Mbadiwe was a member and anytime he put his hand on the plough, he gave his all.

After much debates, argument, disagreements and walk outs the Constituent Assembly produced a draft constitution which was promulgated as Decree 25 of 1978

by President Obasanjo. It is sometimes histori-

cally important to go back retrospectively in order to understand the foundation of the 1999 constitution which we now operate with amendments.

Going back further still the founding fathers of Nigeria agreed at the Ibadan conference in 1950 “ That only a federal system that allowed each of the 3 regions (North, West and East) as created by the Richards Constitution of 1946 to progress at its own pace would be acceptable”. It is important to remember where we are coming from.

The founding fathers in their wisdom recognised that there are fundamental differences between the ethnic nationalities that constitute Nigeria and took steps to avoid unnecessary friction.

Only a person who plays the Ostrich will fail to see the tension in the land and this tension has to be defused. The American Presidential system which CDC recommended and which was adopted cannot in our present circumstances solve Nigeria’s problems. For the Presidential system to work efficiently certain fundamentals must be in place and the most basic is minimum level of education of the populace.

This is a sine-qua- non for the people to understand and be part of the discussion and decision making. The other one is absolute respect for the rule of law. That discipline still has to be acquired here. In a largely illiterate society such as ours, a few out of step individuals buy up the votes and impose themselves on the nation. One current governor is reported to have scolded his people who came up with demands by telling them not to bother him since he bought the election. i.e. their votes.

Read full article online: www.thisdaylive.

Doyin Okupe, the PDP and Futility of Compromise Femi Fani-kayode

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hen I warned the Nigerian people about what the APC represented and that, if given power, they would be the most reactionary, repressive, vindictive, insensitive, vicious, thinskinned, paranoid, divisive and, worse of all, incompetent government in the history of Nigeria no-one listened.

When I told the people that the leaders of the APC were not only unfit to hold power but that they were also Nigeria’s local equivalent to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, no-one listened.

When I warned the people that their initial plan was to field a Muslim/Muslim ticket for the 2015 presidential election (until public outrage killed the idea) no-one listened.

When I told the people about the future implications of the dangerous sectarian seed that the APC was planting in our politics by openly encouraging Muslim clerics in the north to preach in the mosques that a vote for Jonathan was a vote for an “infidel” and when I pointed out the fact that all those that supported the PDP from the north would eventually be subjected to violence and persecution and labeled “traitors”, “heretics” and “unbelievers” no-one listened.

When I warned our people about the limitations of President Muhammadu Buhari and what he would do if trusted with power no-one listened.

When I warned the PDP leadership and particularly our PDP governors and Board of Trustee members about the dangers of making Ali Modu Sheriff National Chairman of our party, they would not listen.

When I warned them to remove him immediately and not to let him stay as National Chairman for the three months that he asked for, they would not listen.

When I told them that the government would NOT allow the National Convention of the party to hold on 17th August or indeed at any other time, no matter what, because Sheriff is working for them, they would not listen.

Now I have been proved right and vindicated on all fronts. Let us consider what took place in Port Harcourt on the day of the convention.

In collusion with some questionable judges, this administration set out to destabilise, destroy and silence the opposition.

It was well planned, well-orchestrated and well-executed. Governors were temporarily barred from moving around freely and were essentially put under house arrest.

The convention venue was sealed off and delegates were prevented from entering the stadium by gun-wielding mobile police men and soldiers. It was not only a show of shameful, naked brute force but it was also thoroughly evil.

Let me make another prediction: this is just the beginning of their tyranny. It will get far worse. That is “mai chanji” for you!

The sooner the leaders of the PDP wake up, smell the coffee and appreciate the kind of monster they are dealing with and the sooner they elect and select leaders that are prepared to risk their lives and liberty to confront this government, the better.

If you want democracy and freedom, you must be prepared to confront the dictator and fight for it. Where there is no justice, there can be no peace. Where there is no freedom, there can be no development.

Where there is no equity, there can be no progress. Our land has been turned into a barren and poverty-striken shell of its former-self by this administration.

They have stripped away the glory of our nation, ruined the economy, created ethnic and religious divisions, impoverished the people, brought tears to the eyes of the down-trodden, dashed the hopes and dreams of the young and destroyed the destiny of millions.

The only thing that is left for them to do is to crush the leading opposition party and to attempt to silence, humiliate, discredit, destroy, jail or even kill every single opposition leader that remains vocal.

That is where Senator Ali Modu Sheriff comes in and that is why his disruptive role and questionable mission in the PDP is of so much interest and so useful to the government.

That Sheriff has turned into the proverbial stubborn bone that is stuck in the throat of the PDP is no longer news.

The role and noble efforts of the Makarfi-led Caretaker Commitee have been exemplary and commendable and, in my view, they have earned the support and affection of every loyal party leader and member.

I am not surprised by that because I happen to have known Makarfi, Senator Ben Obi (the Secretary of the Committee) and Hon. Minister Dayo Adeyeye (the Publicity Secretary) for many years and I can attest to the fact that they are all profoundly good men who are very restrained in their manner and approach to complicated issues and who are not only experienced but also rational, reasonable and balanced.

Yet, despite their efforts, the question that still needs to be answered is how best to handle Sheriff.

Dr. Doyin Okupe, a man for whom I have the greatest respect and affection and one of the most formidable and credible leaders in our party, suggested on his Facebook wall that we should “negotiate” with Sheriff with a view to settling this issue.

He has also said that we should “not blame Buhari and the APC for our woes” but rather we should blame ourselves. He may be right on the latter point but I beg to respectfully and humbly differ with him on the former.

There can be no question of any further negotiation with Sheriff. My response to him, which was posted on his Facebook page and on twitter, reads as follows: “My dearest brother, I beg to differ with you on your suggestion that we must negotiate with the former National Chairman of our party Ali Modu Sheriff. If you remember, I warned the governors about Sheriff when they imposed him on us. The PDP Ministers Forum rejected him as did the PDP Board of Trustees did at the initial stage but the governors would not listen.

Now, we have been vindicated because everything that we said would happen came to pass.

The imposition of Sheriff by the Governors Forum was the biggest mistake that we have made since President Goodluck Jonathan and the then leadership of our party conceded the election to Buhari without at least contesting the matter in court.

Frankly, as I wrote at the time, I believe that Sheriff bewitched the governors that brought him to us and indeed those in our party that accepted him and agreed to work with him.

Now the power of the spell has worn off and their eyes have opened. Sadly though, things will get worse because Sheriff is under orders: he is working a script and that script was crafted by those who commissioned him to

divide, weaken and kill our party.

When you open your doors to a snake what do you expect? I am not surprised by all that he is doing because he is acting true to type: he is a green snake who has dipped his fangs deeply into our flesh and whose poison is killing us slowly. The truth is that there can never be any compromise with Sheriff. You cannot compromise with the devil or a snake. You cannot wine and dine or attempt to cohabit with a creature that the great writer and teacher, Mr. David Icke, describes as a “shape-shifting sociopath and reptilian”.

There can be no fellowship between light and darkness even in politics. You cannot negotiate with a narcissistic meglomaniac who wants your head to be cut off and served to him on a silver platter. Sheriff is working for the ruling party to destroy the PDP and he has almost succeeded in his mission.

The only solution to this intractable and difficult problem is for us to continue to fight him in the courts and elsewhere and, if push comes to shove, form another political party, get our members and supporters to join that party and leave the desperate old scavanger to feed on the carcass of the old PDP. Very few people will stay with him because, after some time, carcasses tend to stink and because he is the quintessential plague.

After some time even his most diehard supporters will get sick of him, run away and abandon him.

Permit me to conclude with the following counsel. We must never attempt to appease a bully and a tyrant: it encourages him in his tyranny and it gives him pleasure. To the bully, compromise is seen as nothing more than weakness. We must be prepared to stand up, stand firm and speak out against the evil that has gripped our land till the very end knowing that the Lord is with us and that He will never forsake us.

If necessary, we must also be prepared to pay the price for doing so because the future of our nation and our children depends on it. We must not waiver. We must hold the line, firm in the knowledge that no matter how dark the night, joy comes in the morning. We must never forget that our God is mighty in battle and that with Him all things are possible. He makes a way where there seems to be no way.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

POLITY

Smart, Resilient… a Feather in Lagos’ Cap

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Steve Ayorinde

mart and resilient are great adjectives to describe a person or an entity that knows how to get the job done admirably.

These words more than qualify the giant strides that Lagos State is recording lately and two key events of the past couple of months underscore the remarkable profile that Lagos is enjoying especially from global institutions.

When Governor Akinwunmi Ambode declared right from the outset of his administration that he was looking beyond Lagos being a megacity, but to build and project the state as a Smart City, the import of that profound aspiration was probably lost on many people. However, it became clear in June when the governor, in company with a few members of his cabinet, signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Dubai towards a plan to build Africa’s first Smart City in Lagos.

A smart city, of course, is a growing concept that draws from the success of Dubai’s innovative knowledge-based industry clusters to empower business growth for companies and knowledge workers all over the world.

Technology drives a smart city and Dubai itself, with its enviable wonder-clusters like the Media City, Internet City and Financial City all within the Dubai megalopolis, is testimony to how something close to an el dorado can emerge in modern urban planning.

Malta has since caught the bug, with its own Smart City. And next is India, with Smart City, Kochi. It is now the turn of Lagos to have this wonderful initiative that is expected to bring multi-billion dollar investments to the state, create thousands of jobs and transform the Ibeju-Lekki axis of the state into a jewel by the Atlantic.

To Governor Ambode, this is a deliberate attempt “to establish a strong convergence between technology, economic development and governance,” he spoke excitedly in Dubai when the first step to making the Lagos Smart City dream a reality was taken. To him, the vision is clear. “A smart city Lagos will be the pride of all Lagosians. We are encouraged by the fact that we do not, as a government, need to develop at a slow pace but take full advantage of the digital age and fast-track development of Lagos to a real megalopolis that we can all be proud of.”

Even before the Smart City project commenced, there had been a cause for Lagos to celebrate a month earlier when it was named among the final group of 37 cities chosen in a highly competitive selection process to be part of the 100-member Resilient Cities Network.

Nine other African cities joined Lagos on the list of the world-acclaimed project that aims to build urban resilience, an idea pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation in the United States.

Lagos was chosen from more than 325 applicants on the basis of willingness, ability and need to become resilient in the face of future challenges. And it does say something about the arrival of Lagos on the main global arena when the President of 100 Resilient Cities, Michael Berkowitz said: “We are so proud to welcome Lagos to 100 Resilient Cities Network. We selected Lagos because of its leaders’ commitment to resilience-building

Governor Ambode

and the innovative and proactive way they have been thinking about the challenges the city faces.”

It is evident that the pro-people, innovative ways in which Governor Ambode-led administration has been tackling issues confronting this Africa’s most-populous city-state is not lost on the international community and is indeed earning their nod and applause.

“For us,” Berkowitz remarked thoughtfully, “a resilient city has good emergency response and meets citizens’ needs. It has diverse economies and takes care of both its built and natural infrastructure. It has effective leadership, empowered stakeholders and an integrated planning system. All those things are essential for a resilient city,” he stated.

What the 100Rc boss has described is indeed the story of Lagos and the hit-theground running approach adopted by Governor Ambode to tackle the myriads of challenges that confront Lagos as a megacity with the highest population in the country but with the smallest landmass. Innovative thinking that comes with courageous execution and prudent management of resources, therefore, are two essential elements that Lagos State government has adopted in approaching its ‘continuity with improvement’ policy.

Month after month, Lagosians are seeing the benefits and Nigerians as a whole now see the evidence of exceptional leadership that is on offer in Lagos. Safety is top-notch with ceaseless support for the Police and other security agencies through the innovative Security Trust Fund. Emergency Rescue Operation is the best in the country, perhaps in the whole continent, with the massive investment in the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA) Rescue Unit.

Traffic management has recorded its most significant improvement ever with the infusion of well-trained university graduates into the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), phenomenal construction of new roads and relentless rehabilitation of bad ones all across the state as well as ingenious ways that ensure that traffic flows freely along previously notorious routes.

The lay-by at Oworonshoki that ensures free-flow of traffic for vehicular movement from Third Mainland Bridge has been described as something akin to a miracle while the pedestrian bridge and the lay-by being constructed at Berger-Ojodu axis is already widely acknowledged for the ingenuity behind it. Of course the walling off of the problematic Ketu-Mile 12 Ikorodu Road service lane has brought succor to millions who move to and from Ikorodu town.

Yet, resilience must be in the DNA of a thinking government that bequeaths to Lagosians the Light Up Lagos project as one of its prime legacies; while noting the fact that the teeming youthful population needs empowerment through an initiative like the N25bn Employment Trust Fund which seeks to support young entrepreneurs and start-up businesses with soft loans.

The good news about Lagos joining the league of resilient cities is that it is not a mere jamboree. The gains are enormous. “As a member of 100RC, Lagos will gain access to tools, funding, technical expertise and other resources to build resilience to the challenges of the 21st century,” Berkowitz said.

In other words, Lagos will now be eligible to receive grant funding to hire a Chief Resilient Officer who will lead the city-wide resilience building process and engage stakeholders from across different government

agencies, public and private sectors and various communities “to incorporate diverse perspectives and knowledge.”

Lagos will also receive technical support to develop a Resilient Strategy that reflects the city’s distinct needs and the support and services they need as they work towards implementing the strategy. In the class of 2016 Resilient Cities are Capetown, Addis Ababa, Luxor and Nairobi from Africa as well as Atlanta, Washington DC, Toronto, Kyoto, Seoul, Tel Aviv, The Hague and Salvador.

This is the company that Lagos now keeps.

As a new network member, Lagos is expected to gain access to a variety of work platform partners, who offer tools and services valued at more than $180m at no direct cost to 100RC members, in areas such as innovative finance, technology, infrastructure, land use and community and social resilience.

Undeniably, it all comes down to the qualitative leadership that Governor Ambode is providing and his vision to see this citystate blossom as the jewel of the south of the Sahara. No wonder that as the profile of the state continues to rise, the governor too, like a general that is forging ahead courageously at the battlefront, is having his cap decorated with a feather.

One of such worthy commendations is the latest by the United Kingdom-based African Leadership Magazine whose online poll on Good Governance in Nigeria saw Governor Ambode emerge as the winner for the remarkable developments that Lagos State has witnessed in the past one year.

Governor Ambode came tops with 37.2% of the total votes cast, ahead of Governor Nyesom Wike (Rivers) with 29%, Governor Willie Obiano (Anambra) with 18%, Patrick Okowa (Delta) with 13% and Nasir el Rufai (Kaduna) with 5%. The online poll, which ran for a month from July 5th attracted Nigerians from all walks of life who voted to select the country’s top five Best Performing Governors.

The publisher of the magazine, Dr. Ken Giami, in announcing the winners practically summed up what has endeared the Lagos State governor to millions of residents and visitors. “Mr. Ambode’s emergence as the winner of the polls,” he said “is a clear indication that more Nigerians are increasingly becoming aware of his strides in Lagos State, which is quite commendable.”

Yet another testimony to Lagos’ good fortune under Ambode came from one of those polled, who noted that “Akinwunmi Ambode came to power with his blue-print for the greater development of Lagos State which he has since then pursued with precision. His pursuit of 24-hour economic mechanism, when attained, would propel revenue generation for Lagos State in ways unmatchable by any other state in Africa.”

On September 22 when Ambode will be formally decorated with the prestigious African Leadership Excellence Award as Best Performing Governor in Nigeria during the International Forum on African Leadership at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, the world will have another opportunity to hear the good news emanating from a smart state being run by a smart governor who, perhaps, also doubles as its Chief Resilient Officer.

–Ayorinde is a Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy

‘Bishop Howells Memorial Grammar School Thrives on Excellent Academic Culture’ Rebecca Ejiforma

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ishop Howells Memorial Grammar School, an approved private, co-educational missionary school, located in the serene part of Bariga, Lagos, prides itself as a place where men and women that fear and worship God in all ramifications are raised. By sheer responsibility, the provision of training that affects the heart, hand and the head is the hallmark of Bishop Howells Memorial.

The experience was at the school’s valedictory service and graduation/prize giving ceremony of 2015/2016 academic session.

Parents, guardians, staff and students of the school had all gathered. The auditorium of the school’s Chapel of Grace was moderately

packed and brimming with excitement. “This is the only school where God lives and visits others,” the college principal preaches as he welcomes guests to the school. Yes it seems, but not without the school motto which says “Fear God and Be Wise.” It somewhat admonishes the students and lends credence to the principal’s assertion. So virtuous is the school motto that it can be seen to connect with the family, parents, and the teachers, as it is expected of them their primary duty to impart in these children morals and religious values that guides their daily conduct.

The amiable principal, Reverend Bamidele Adeshina Osunyomi, is your regular academic administrator that is worth his mantle. “In the school, discipline, in all ramifications is given high premium and priority,” he claims. “Our conviction is based on the counsel of the sage, King Solomon in the Holy ‘writ’ which says ‘Train up a child

in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” That the bulk of the work in training children is done by parents and the home, while religion, teachers, and the society play a role, cannot be over-emphasised.

It is of note that the foundation of every society is the children; and any child imbued with religious tenets and good education holds a pride of place in every society.

Founded in 1980 and managed by the Lagos Anglican Schools Board (LASMAB), “The motivational force behind the establishment of the school is the utmost desire to provide qualitative and all-round sound education to the Nigerian youths”, Reverend Osunyomi stated. However, this comes at moderately subsidized costs. “With a reservoir of experienced, God-fearing, and well trained professional educators. The ingenious, intellectual acumen, diligence,

understanding and love for the youths by all staff make the school many a parents’ delight. Coupled with the various in-service training and workshops being organized for the teachers from time to time offer them the needed skills and competence for effective teaching.”

Situated in the school premises are decent structures with relatively modern architectural designs on balanced topography with easy accessibility, marked with conducive and serene environment to create an inspiring and comfortable learning experience for the students. There are well equipped science (physics, biology, and chemistry) laboratories, standard classrooms with sizeable teacher/ student ratio, an ICT centre, structured and equipped typing pool, a fine and creative art studio, a graded and conducive library.

Read full article online www.thisdaylive.com

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

EXPRESSION

MEDIAGAFFES

Augean Stables, not Stable

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aily Sun opinion page headline blunder and two other errors in the edition of August 15 welcome us today: “Cleaning the Augean stable (stables) at NIMASA” “Tips to booking cheap flights amidst (amid) rising airfares” “LP flags off campaign” Edo governorship THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER, of August 6 takes over the baton from the Voice of The Nation with copious infelicities: “Nigeria beats Japan 5-4 despite delay (delayed) flight” “Ikeja Golf Club celebrates Late (the late) Ibru” “Are Christians second class (second-class) citizens in Nigeria?”

“Nigeria must scale-up (scale up) none-oil (non-oil) exports for economic growth” “Cross River remains safe, secured (secure) for investment, tourism, says Ayade” From the August 13 edition of THISDAY come the next series of errors beginning from the front page: “The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has called on the federal government to declare a 30-day moratorium in the Niger Delta and allow the congress to restore peace in (to) the region.”

“Budget padding: Abdulmumin seeks court (court’s) protection from arrest” “6 fear (feared) dead as Hausas (Hausa), Akokwa indigenes clash in Imo” “Congratulations to our matriarch on her 80th (80 years or 80th year) years of amazing grace” “Calls (on the same quarter page) for Ekiti poly (Poly) rector’s sack unreasonable, says CSOs” Why the disagreement?

“Egypt (Egyptian) court acquits ex-oil minister of corruption charges” “Who wins (win) Kogi senatorial seats?” A senator is entitled to only a seat!

“The Board and Management of Niger Delta Power Holding Company invites (invite) the world to the official commissioning (auspicating/inauguration) of the 750 megawatts….”

“Cameroon (Cameroonian) troops recover Nigerian armoured carrier from sect” “Sanusi, the man at the centre of the melodrama, had, in September 2013, written (written to) President Goodluck Jonathan alleging that….”

THE GUARDIAN of July 26 contributed just one impropriety: “Role of meter testing (meter-testing) equipment” THE NATION ON SUNDAY of July 25 comes next: “APC flag (standard) bearer says PDP’s desperation frightening for Nigeria” “Boko Haram failure of govt, says Catholic Bishops” Why the slip? Yet another slip-up: ”Ondo APC chieftains condemns attack on Buhari” “After the mudslinging and other inanities that have characterized electioneering campaigns in the last few weeks….” (THE NATION ON SUNDAY COMMENT, February 1) ‘Electioneering’ and ‘campaign’ cannot co-function.

“Crocodile tears for late (the late) coach….”

“Odo: Where masquerades (masqueraders) celebrate love” ‘Masquerade’ is the mask/effigy worn by masqueraders.

“Eye catching (Eye-catching) brights (sic)” “Microsoft launches internet user friendly (user-friendly) phone” “His joy was shattered by a distressed (distress) call informing him that the dutiful PRO of the university…died in an auto crash few (a few) minutes after he left the school for his home in Ogun State.”

“Second hand (Second-hand) clothes business boom (booms) in Ilorin Sunday Market” “Why people patronize second hand (sic) clothings” ‘Clothing’ is uncountable.

“Nissan reinvents X-Trail SUV with family oriented (family-oriented) values”

“Happy 45th Birthday Anniversary to my mentor” ‘Birthday’ and ‘anniversary’ cannot co-exist because ‘anniversary’ is otiose in that phrase.

“Truck load (Truck-load) of Cheers” “Oil price drops below $50 per barrel,, in over five year (five-year) low” “Taking a journey into the Abia State governorship election campaigns…reckons that the Abia electorate appears (appear) wiser now.” (THISDAY PERSPECTIVE, January 19) “Buhari’s grouse with (about) senior citizens” “Reps in last minute (last-minute) move to….” (THE GUARDIAN, July 25) “African economies have great potentials (potential or potentialities) to build on their demographic dynamism, rapid urbanization and natural resources assts.”

“Why we can’t continue display of voter’s (voters’) cards at polling units, by INEC” “Worries over incessant fire outbreaks” Just fires—no need for outbreaks.

“The post election (post-election) petrol price increase (1)” “Ascendancy of social media in build up (build-up) to US elections” “Achieving balance in work ethics (ethic), industrial harmony” “Presidential declaration: My take away (takeaway)” “Investing into (in) toothpicks manufacturing and packaging business” “Police disrupts (why?)APC rally in Akure with teargas” “President’s convoy trapped, heavy causalities (casualties) recorded” “Day Egba in Minna rolled out drums to celebrate 50 (50th) Anniversary” “Rags to riches (Rags-to-riches) story of university proprietor” “FG commended over (for) rice value chain” “Pensioners demand payment of 29

BY

EBERE WABARA

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

months (months’) arrears” The last three errors this week are from THE NATION ON SUNDAY of July 25: “Assemblies of God sets (set) for great awakening” “Apostolic Church commissions (inaugurates) road, building” “Beckham watches son takes (take) on Liverpool youngsters” The wages of spiritual ungrammaticality is journalistic death!

ONCE more, corrections in this column are mostly in brackets immediately after the wrong word or expression—excluding, of course, the attributions, emphases and elucidations.

FEEDBACK

WORDSWORTH, whip The Nation, February 22, Page 7, for not upholding good grammar.

“Jonathan assures on (promises, pledges) stable power supply”. “Assure” is a transitive verb; it requires an object such as residents, citizens. Also in its Comment on Page 15 on “Military and our democracy: Assurances (countable, plural noun) by the military that it is set to defend democracy is (why “IS”, a singular verb, and not “ARE”, plural?) suspect.” “The junta and the hunters”, The Nation, February 22, “blocks” in “major power blocks” and “hegemonic blocks” should read “blocs”. The two differ. (KOLA DANISA, 07068074257) PLEASE note that “evidence” is both countable and uncountable, but, in a law case, we correctly say or write: a piece of evidence/ pieces of evidence, some evidence/enough evidence/a mass of evidence, etc. We cannot afford to have the mediocre.

The mediocre cannot teach/communicate is correct. “Reoccur”, like “reoccurrence”, is Americanism, “bus station” is Briticism while “motor park” is Nigerianism. “Host-guest” is Briticism while “invitor-invitee” is Americanism. Usage is king.

(BAYO OGUNTUNASE, 08056180046)

Magu: Nigeria’s Next Anti-Corruption President Nduka Uzuakpundu

H

is name is fast gaining currency at the United Nations headquarters in New York, United States ofAmerica, amongst some diplomats in Canada, the European Union (EU) headquarters, in Brussels, the United States Department of State, in Washington, D.C.And it’s for good reason: his rare show of industry and devotion to duty, as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); that top policeman, Mr. Ibrahim Mustafa Magu, is being considered to address a GeneralAssembly of the United Nations, on what strategic approach he had applied to expose so much gargantuan corruption that took place under President Goodluck Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration.

Indeed, there’s an ambitious lobby involving a dozen countries of the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to invite Magu to Brussels for the same mission. The lobby, headed by a key member of the Department of State, in Washington, D.C., have it that what had endeared Magu to policy-makers in NATO-EU countries was the fact that he had done more than his sires at the EFCC. “We are immeasurably impressed by the performance of Mr. Ibrahim Magu – the head of the Nigerian anti-graft agency. We’re pleased that he has improved upon the feats of Mr. Nuhu Ribadu”, said Disberg McRailley – a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist. “He’s a good choice by President Muhammadu Buhari. We’d like to see him here; encourage President Muhammadu Buhari to bring in more Magus into the Nigerian anti-graft crusade. With Magu in charge at the EFCC, Nigeria is sure to put corruption behind her as a matter of necessity”.

But, whenever Magu arrives New York to address the United Nation GeneralAssembly (UNGASS), some of the points he’d make are that the Buhari administration is striving, assiduously, to build strong democratic institutions – including the Nigeria Police Force, EFCC, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Judiciary, Legislature, Executive, labour organisations, and an army of peaceful voters. He’s expected to say that two years into the Buhari administration, it’s becoming quite imperative to have Legislatures and Executives that have little quarters for corruption; that the Legislature should cease, henceforward, to be a haven for crooks; individuals who should be executed publicity. Some of his listeners would, naturally, include a posse of members of the Ways and Means, andAppropriation Committees of the United States House of Representatives and the Senate, Harvard - and Princeton-trained psychologists, and dour-looking cops, who are working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central IntelligenceAgency (CIA).

McRailley is on record to have told a group of NorthAmerican diplomats and anti-graft specialists – all based in New York – that “for Magu’s unearthing of so much gargantuan corruption, it may interest the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration to groom him for the Nigerian presidency in a post-Buhari era. The intent, as McRailley told a former public affairs aide at the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, was “to enforce the concept of sustainability of the war against corruption – the Buhari style, which has, as its leitmotifs, non-compromise and zero tolerance”.

Magu

McRailley, 76, is visibly delighted that the Buhari-Magu, anti-graft duo is gradually setting a standard for theAfrica continent – especially for the genuinely democratic countries that, given the political will, they could fight corruption to a standstill.

One of the most crucial issues involved, he said, was to have an EFCC headed by an unsmiling, serious-minded policeman like Magu; someone who’s versed in gathering intelligence that has to do with money-laundering and unconscionable looting of the country’s till.

Aclose ally of the Carter administration, in the late ’70s, McRailley, said that the Buhari-Magu duo should be applauded by Washington and Brussels, in that theAPC government was about the first sign of seriousness, byAbuja, in the fight against corruption. Still, he said that, “for the avoidance of doubt, my suggestion for a post-Buhari era Magu presidency, is to press the continuity of the war against a crime by a tiny – if viciously oppressive – minority, that is bent on killing the Nigerian economy. It would be extremely costly not to make Magu – solely for the continuity of the war against corruption – the next President and Commander-in-Chief of theArmed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”. He told this writer that for Magu’s exploits, so far, Washington and Brussels would, in the months ahead, pump in more anti-graft resources into the EFCC; about $3.9billion to recruit and train more hands, employ seasoned lawyers, launch nation-wide, anti-graft campaigns in schools and markets, organise anti-graft workshops, conferences and capacity-building programmes for members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian financial institutions, members of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the Judiciary, the Nigeria Police Force, the NigerianArmy,Air Force, Navy, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian MedicalAssociation (NMA), Nigeria Prisons Service, Immigration, State and Federal Ministries, Departments andAgencies, members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), key officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Independent Petroleum Marketers, members of State Houses ofAssembly, Governors, members of the NationalAssembly, university lecturers and administrators, members of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), operatives the NationalAgency for Food and Drug

Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Drug Law EnforcementAgency (NDLEA), Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), skippers of print and broadcast media, captains of the organised private sector (OPS), royal fathers, members of ChristianAssociation of Nigeria (CAN) and Pentecostal Federation of Nigeria (PFN) – two bodies that deserve to be banned for encouraging corruption, etc.

“The Magu phenomenon”, said McRailley, “offers the Nigerian government an ample opportunity to lay a new foundation for the rejuvenation of the Nigerian democratic experiment. Magu’s feat calls for a new national re-orientation”. He told this writer that the Magu exploit was about the first time that Nigeria was following the dictates of the Lagos Doctrine on Democracy of the Carter years – to which he was a contributor – and by which she was expected to practice good governance and anti-graft for the substantiality of multi-party democracy.

It was the failure of the Shagari administration, McRailley recalled, to follow the letter and spirit of the Lagos Doctrine on Democracy that led to the fall of the Second Republic.As he rightly observed, the Magu anti-graft exploit was about the first time – in nearly two decades of the Fourth Republic – that Nigeria, as a state-party to the United Nations ConventionAgainst Corruption, was winning international support.

He agrees with ex-Police Commissioner, Chief Frank Odita, that Magu is a rare gem; that, like the gold medalist – in Long Jump – at the Olympic Games, inAtlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., in 1996 – policewoman, Chioma Ajunwa – “Magu is one of the many brains and honest operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, who have rendered clean, honest service to the brightening of the country’s image in the congress of nations.”

It has taken Magu’s rare, anti-graft exploit for the Obama administration to declare Washington’s readiness to assist the Buhari administration in repatriating Nigeria’s funds stashed away in foreign banks – by corrupt officials. For Magu’s rare exploit, the Swiss government has queued behind Washington.

He was of the view that the Buhari administration shouldn’t be tempted to promote Magu to the position of the Inspector-General of Police. If anything, the security around him should be beefed up, because, said he: “Corruption – all the criminals, who have stolen public funds, after whom Magu’s EFCC is – is fighting, desperately, back. It regrets its failure to fell Buhari, some years back, in a car bomb explosion.

It calculates that if it succeeds, anytime, hence, in slaying Buhari and Magu – a latter-day ’Tunde Idiagbon – Nigerians would see the development as refreshingly tidy. The Judiciary has been overtaken – somewhat arrogantly – by ravenous maggots. It’s now a den of Magistrates and Judges, who should be purged, because they all have the Shakespearean itching palm. The Judiciary is peopled by a shameless tribe that demands a gargantuan sop to deliver faulty judgements – in a clear perversion of justice. But Magu is firm, for which he has made an army of enemies, who can go to any extreme to silence him. Buhari should not allow this, because the future of Nigeria’s democracy – it’s now pretty obvious – leans, quite burdensomely, on having Magu as the next Buhari – with a mission to uproot corruption”. To do otherwise, under such senseless and retrogressive policy as Zoning or Federal Character, would, inevitably, cause the rifle to come calling – at the price of the disintegration of the Nigerian federation.

Readers can continued online www.thisdaylive.com

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

MEMOIRS Alhaja Asiata Aduke Onikoyi-Laguda

My Amazing Story of Living with Sickle Cell Disorder at Age 90

I Wouldn’t Have Been Educated If My Father Hadn’t Died I Was 40 When I Discovered I Have Sickle Cell Anaemia I Was in Primary School at Age of 15 Aduke Onikoyi-Laguda

Small. Sickly. Skinny. She faced a lifelong, often devastating, medical condition.There were times her heart heaved heavily as she sobbed and asked God, ‘Why did you allow me to bear this pain?’ Yet, her life has been characterised with hope, resilience, faith and conviction that life can be lived to the fullest no matter one’s limitations. With a life fraught with health crises, she was more than determined to live and 90 years after, Alhaja Asiata Aduke OnikoyiLaguda is still telling her amazing story of happily and successfully living with sickle cell disorder. Born November 1, 1925, Onikoyi-Laguda said, “Once you are a ‘sickler,’people see it as a death sentence.” “When I wrote common entrance into Queen’s College in 1947 I was admitted into Form Three instead of Form One,” she recalled with nostalgia, admitting that providence played a key role in her life. Like a life in a movie, after four children, she decided to travel to England on the eve of Nigeria’s Independence to pursue her childhood dream. Though she’s considered as the world’s oldest living person with sickle cell disease, Onikoyi-Laguda’s life has not always been that of defying the odds; she experienced the tragedy of losing her only son. But, no regrets, she says as she shares her 90 years on earth narratives with Funke Olaode about her trials, triumphs and trust in God

I

Born into illustrious Onikoyi family

was born on November 1, 1925 into the popular Onikoyi family in Lagos.

By the time I was born, my late father was into merchandise selling of tobacco or what was then called a produce buyer. He was a relatively well-to-do man with a big store in the centre of Idumota on 44/45 Onikoyi Street. My mother on the other hand was a trader who dealt in aso-oke and adire. She used to travel to Osogbo, Benin, Onitsha,

Cotonou and Sierra Leone. My mother had three children. I am the first and only child of my father because my mother had my two other children (a boy and a girl) for another man – my stepfather. My immediate younger brother died long time ago while my sister lives in Jakande Estate around Mile 12 in Lagos.

It was a privileged beginning because for six years, I was the only child of my father and he dotted on me. In fact, I wouldn’t have attended school if he hadn’t died early. He

adored me so much that I could never go wrong. I was so pampered that if he wanted to make eba for me he would add sugar.

By the time I grew up my mother had left him and moved to Osogbo. So I was living alone with my father. I remember before he died, my father sent for my mother to come and take me to Osogbo because his illness was contagious and wouldn’t want me to be affected. It was a tough moment in my life because I didn’t want to leave him. But I had to go. Unfortunately, it wasn’t up to two

weeks after I left that he died. This was in 1938; I was about 13 years old.

I was nearly denied of Western education

My father’s death paved the way for the education I later acquired. While I was with him, I was not attending any school because if I went today and the teachers punished me he would ask me to stay back. He would go and fight the teachers. At a point he said there was no point disturbing myself, an inheritance was already waiting for me. He

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

MEMOIRS At Age 90, I Was Still Cooking and Washing Clothes by Myself..

Well, I discovered that I was a ‘sickler’ at well over 40 years of age. When I was young I used to have a lot of crises and my parents thought I was ogbanje or abiku.

I was so sickly that I almost got burnt. You know I had to sit near fire all the time. I couldn’t sit close to a fan and I always had joint pains.

I got so fed up that one day I said ‘God, why did you send me to this world to suffer me?’ There was not much awareness or education about sickle cell disease back then.

I was married to a medical doctor at a time, the late Dr. Mobolaji Alakija but he didn’t know what was happening. You know when one has problems people would suggest all kinds of medicines. I looked robust that you wouldn’t know that I was a ‘sickler’

Cont’d from Pg. 50

During sent off to perform her first Hajji in 1970

had a big shop that I could inherit and if a caring man came my way I could settle down and start my life afresh. I was in Osogbo for two years and came back to Lagos in 1940 to watch the first ever Eyo Masquerade that was staged. I was planning to go back when one of my aunts who lost her only child – a brilliant young man pleaded with me to stay back. That was how I decided to stay with her to comfort her. Unfortunately, my aunty later died. Again, I was about going back to Osogbo when one of my aunt’s family friends, the Emiabatas, pleaded with my mother that I should stay with them.

Embracing education again

I eventually enrolled in Ereko Methodist School for my primary education in 1940. I was about 15 years but you wouldn’t know because of my small and skinny stature.

From there, I took common entrance examination in 1947/48 and was offered an admission by about three colleges including Queen’s College. I eventually chose Queen’s College. It was a significant year in my life because instead of being admitted into Form One, I was moved to Form Three – my result was outstanding. This is providence at work which allowed me to make up for the lost years. I only spent three years in Queen’s College. I left in 1950.

My childhood ambition was to travel abroad

I desired to further my education after secondary school but my mother was discouraged by relatives who believed that sending a female child to school was a waste of resources. They felt that after all, I would end up in a kitchen (as a wife). So I got a job at Post and Telecommunication (P&T).

While growing up, my ambition was to travel to England for further studies. It was in vogue and it was a big thing in those days. I was married and had four children but I was hopeful. Again, providence played a big part because my dream came to reality in 1960 when I got the chance to go to England for further education. I was fortunate to board the plane that brought Princess Alexandra of Britain to England.

It was the eve of Nigeria’s independence and the Princess was in Nigeria to declare the country as a sovereignty entity. I went to England as a student in 1960 and enrolled at Pitman College where I was trained as a secretary. I didn’t have financial support but I had saved enough money while working and because I was so determined I could fulfill that ambition. That is the power of resilience and perseverance.

My mother was in Sierra Leone trading and I just cajoled her to come and stay with my children. I stayed in England for five years and even had one of my children there. By the time ‘heaven opened its doors,’ I was just travelling frequently. I visited Saudi Arabia for the first time in 1970 to perform Hajj and I went 13 times thereafter.

I was late S.L. Edu’s Secretary

As said earlier, I left for England on the eve of Nigeria’s Independence. I missed my children and Nigeria’s Inde-

With late husband, Alhaji Hakeeb Laguda when she returned for her first Hajji in 1970

pendence celebration. There were a lot of jubilations going on because all hotels were opened. You could walk into any hotel and enjoy yourself. I just closed my eyes and went after my destiny. I landed in England and stayed briefly with my half-brother, who was an artiste until I was able to find my feet. I immersed myself into what England had to offer and after my studies in 1965, I came back home and joined African Alliance Insurance Company as a secretary to the then Chairman, S.L. Edu. I was later seconded to the director’s office, Mr. Bayo Braithwaite, also as secretary. I was in the company till 1970 when I quit and dabbled into private business.

I discovered I have sickle cell anaemia at age 40

Well, I discovered that I was a ‘sickler’ at well over 40 years of age. When I was young I used to have a lot of crises and my parents thought I was ogbanje or abiku. I was so sickly that I almost got burnt. You know I had to sit near fire all the time.

I couldn’t sit close to a fan and I always had joint pains. I got so fed up that one day I said ‘God, why did you send me to this world to suffer me?’ There was not much awareness or education about sickle cell disease back then. I was married to a medical doctor at a time, the late Dr. Mobolaji Alakija but he didn’t know what was happening. You know when one has problems people would suggest all kinds of medicines. I looked robust that you wouldn’t know that I was a ‘sickler.’

This ailment almost truncated my going to England because of the country’s wintry nature. I assured my mother that God of Nigeria also resides in England. If He could take care of me in Nigeria, He would look after me across the sea. And when I got to England I was not told about the nature of my sickness because I was well taken care of. Also, I didn’t have much of a health crisis because of their sound health care system. It was when I came back to Nigeria that the truth came out. Again, none of my children have sickle cell

Alhaja Onikoyi-Laguda...recently

disease. So, living close to the age of 91 is by God’s grace, because up till last year December I used to cook for myself and even wash my clothes. Honestly, I didn’t know I would live this long. Is it by my power? No. Although I don’t have a non-governmental organisation but I make myself accessible and available (to counsel people who have sickle cell disorder). I go to hospitals to talk to parents whose children are suffering from sickle cell anaemia. People also call me for advice.

I am blessed...no regrets

I am blessed with five children – four daughters and a son. My only son passed away three years ago shortly after celebrating his 60th birthday. I was devastated but at the same time the Bible says, ‘Count your blessings and name them one by one.’ It was a sad moment losing a grown-up child. I see it as one of life’s challenges and didn’t break down over it because of God’s countless blessings in my life.

Today, I am blessed with my children, 12 grandchildren and seven grandchildren.

Life is what you make it

The lesson about my life is that life is just a violin. Life is about one’s belief in God; taking care of one’s self. I knew in those turbulence periods as a sickly child that I should not walk on bare floor, especially when it rained. I knew I should keep myself warm, I shouldn’t sit under the fan. Today, I can sleep soundly in air-conditioned room. Above all, life is what you make it. If you make it royal to yourself, you will enjoy it and if you make it miserable you will experience the opposite. For me, living a fulfilled life is only by God’s grace and I give praises to Him every second. Some people who are hale and hearty don’t get to live up to 90. To be alive and agile with my medical condition is by God’s grace. So I will be eternally grateful to him for preserving me.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

POLITY

Lafarge Africa Hosts Awareness Workshop on Awards

I

n an effort to create awareness and build recognition for sustainable construction in Nigeria, Lafarge Africa Plc has organized a one-day workshop to sensitize and mobilize stakeholders in the building and construction industry to participate in the 5th LafargeHolcim Awards. The LafargeHolcim Awards being the most significant global competition in sustainable design, seeks leading projects of professionals as well as bold ideas from the next generation that combine sustainable construction solutions with architectural excellence.

Some of the stakeholders who were present at the workshop included architects, planners, engineers, project owners, builders, construction firms, NGOs, and Students from across Nigeria.

The workshop held at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday was organised to bring to the attention of stakeholders in the industry, the opportunity to focus global attention on buildings being constructed in Nigeria, which stretch conventional notions about sustainable construction and also balance environmental, social and economic performance - while also amplifying architectural excellence and a high degree of transferability.

Stakeholders were made to under-

stand the focus of the award, which seeks projects or ideas that embody the target issues for sustainable construction; the 5Ps – Progress, People, Planet, Prosperity and Place. These elements showcase the innovation which are at the cutting edge of sustainable construction, provide an advanced response in terms of environmental and ethical performance, social responsibility, a preservation of natural resources, economic growth, and with a lasting aesthetic impact on the surrounding environment.

Speaking to the participants, Lafarge Africa Plc’s Director of Aggregate & Concrete, Mr. Loren Zanin stated that the LafargeHolcim Awards “is the most significant project competition in sustainable construction and It reinforces the commitment of the company to ensuring a net positive contribution to society and to nature”. He explained that the workshop was meant to share not only the value with the stakeholders, but also to ensure that their efforts in sustainable construction, earns a deserving global recognition.

Mr. Zanin added that the workshop was in sync with the company’s vision of “building a stronger Nigeria safely, ethically and sustainably through innovative construction solutions”. “We are ensuring this by creating an oppor-

tunity for Nigerians in the construction industry to participate in this award and leave a significant mark that will turn them into leaders and models for other countries” he remarked.

While commenting on the awards, a Nigerian and past winner of the LafargeHolcim Awards, Mr. Kunle Adeyemi of NLE Works, Lagos and the Netherlands, said the “LafargeHolcim Awards truly uphold the multinational’s values and long-term sustainability goals by giving precedence to the innovations of students and young professionals across the globe” Other stakeholders at the workshop commended Lafarge Africa Plc for its continued efforts in ensuring that it makes a positive contribution to the growth of its stakeholders and society at large.

The 5th LafargeHolcim Awards opened for registration since July 4,

2016 and closes on March 21, 2017, with a total of USD 2 million in prize money to be awarded to the winners in two categories - LafargeHolcim Awards Main Category and Next Generations.

The Main category is open to projects at an advanced stage of design with a high probability of execution, while students and young professional between 18 and 30 years of age are eligible to share their bold ideas in the Next Generations category.

The eligibility of projects will be irrespective of scale, any sustainable response to technological, environmental, socio-economic and cultural issues affecting contemporary building and construction, and the execution may not have started before July 4, 2016, and the project can compete in the region in which they will be implemented irrespective of location of the main author.

PHOTO NEWS L-R: HOD Vocational, Mrs. Obot Ngozi; HOD Business, Mrs. J.B Akano; Vice Principal Academic, Mr. Oyebanji Lawrence; Guest Preacher & Rep of Bishop Diocese of Badagry, Venerable Dickson Ilegbusi; Executive Secretary LASMAB, Venerable Victor Olusa; Principal BHMGS, Rev. Osunyomi Bamidele; Chairman Board of Governors, Mrs. Odejimi Olubunmi; Vice Principal Admin, Mrs. Meregini Gloria; and HOD Science, Mrs. Ogbuchiekwe Daniel, during the school valedictory service and graduation/prize giving ceremony for 2015/2016 academic session... recently

L-R: Executive Secretary, Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Mr. Muftau Adeniyi Okoya; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr. Adeola Senayon Hundeyin and the Executive Secretary, Lagos State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Mrs. Olayinka Oye-Bamgbose, during a working familiarization tour of the Permanent Secretary to the Boards’ offices, at Lagos old Secretariat, Ikeja GRA...recently Photo: Kola Olasupo L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Standard Alliance Insurance Plc , Mr. Bode Akinboye; Chairman, Mr. Johnson Chukwu; and Company Secretary, Mrs. Uruemu-Esiri Oghen, at the Standard Alliance Insurance Plc Court-Ordered Meeting held in Lagos

L-R: Executive Director e-Tranzac, Mr Ike Eze; Lead Faculty Jeff & Obrien Retail Banking Academy, Kohn Berry; CEO Efina, Chidinma Lawanson; Country Director, Jeff & Obrien, Pascal Odibo; CEO Infographics, Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu and official of Etisalat, Seun Omotosho, at the recent Jeff & O’Brien Africa Retail Banking Roundtable, held at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Lagos… recently

L-R: Deputy Comptroller, LASTMA, Mr. Adetimiro Isaac; Senior Traffic Officer, LASTMA, Olagoke Adeola; Route Commander/Transport Standardiation Office, Lagos, Godwin Umweni Johnson; Senior Lecturer, Entrepreneurship, Academic Director, Lagos Business School, Dr. Henrietta Onwuegbuzie; and Magaji of Ikorodu, Tajudeen Olukayode BawaAllah, during the General meeting of Association of Private Transport Company Owners of Nigeria(APTCON), at Victoria Island, Lagos...recently Photo: Kolawole Alli

53

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

NEWS

In Brief

Man Who Named Dog 'Buhari to be Charged

Mr. Joe Fortemose Chinakwe, a trader in Sango area of Ogun State, who named his pet dog 'Buhari' will be appearing in court on Monday, according to the Ogun State Police command.While disclosing this to news men in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, the state acting Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, described Chinakwe's action as capable of fueling ethnic crisis if not well managed. Oyeyemi said: "The man is here with us, he is at the Criminal Investigation Department. The charge will be prepared here and he will be arraigned at Sango Magistrate Court on Monday. He is going to court on Monday because what he did was highly provocative.Itcancauseethnicandreligiouscrisis.Wehavetobeproactive, we cannot fold our arms and allow the state to be plunged into crisis", he said.ChinakwewasarrestedlastSaturdayafterhisneighbourofNorthern extractioncomplainedthathenamedthedogafterhisfather,Alhaji Buhari.

Police Interrogate Alaba Market Executives

STEMMING AN EPIDEMIC...

R-L: DeputyController of Enugu Prisons Felix Lawrence; Controller of Prison, Enugu State Command, Amarili Ifeanyi and Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State his during an on-the-spot inspection of a burst sewage channel at the Enugu Prison, Enugu North Local Government Area, Enugu, yesterday

Crisis Looms in Delta Over Alleged Nonpassage of N28bn DESOPADEC Budget Sylvester Idowu in Warri As the Federal Government is battling hard to curtail militancy in the Niger Delta, another round of crisis is again brewing in Delta State as a group, Delta Oil and Gas Stakeholders threaten to resort to violence over the non-passage of the N28 billion budget of the state's oil producing areas development commission (DESOPADEC).

The group warned that the refusal of both the state government and the House of Assembly to pass the budget, four months to the end of the year was an invitation to anarchy.

According to a release issued and signed by the President of the group, Dr. Tagbiretse John and External Affairs Officer, Obakpo

Goodluck, "We believe that we must speak out now in view of the precarious security challenges in the Niger Delta region and the need to avoid giving violence-prone elements an opportunity to latch onto the present despondency to unleash further havoc on oil facilities and our communities because of the deliberate decimation of DESOPADEC by the powers that be in the state is an invitation to anarchy".

It accused both the state government and lawmakers of deliberately denying the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) of 50 per cent of the 13 per cent derivation funds for the development of the oil bearing communities in the state.

"We have watched with grow-

ing exasperation the languor and systematic rot that has currently crept in and overtaken the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) since the present administration took over in 2015.

"We can no longer sit down and do nothing while a colossal conspiracy to cripple the only hope of oil producing communities in the state is unraveling before our eyes", the group noted.

It recalled that in the run-up to the governorship election in 2015, opponents of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, warned Deltans, particularly those from the oil bearing areas against supporting him over alleged clandestine plan by him to scrap DESOPADEC in favour of policies

that would give him power to control the 13% derivation fund and favour his people in the allocation of infrastructure development projects in the state.

"This allegation was waved off as propaganda by the opposition party. Unfortunately those who supported Okowa can now see that the prophesy of doom is becoming a sad reality. The body language of the governor, who vehemently denied that he would scrap DESOPADEC, is now fervently supporting this. How else can one explain the deliberate and systematic grounding of DESOPADEC by this present administration in league with House of Assembly under Chief Monday Igbuya and other conniving appointees?

Suspected Militants with High Caliber Cross River Prepares for Imminent Bombs Arrested in Akwa Ibom Flooding of 10 LGAs Okon Bassey in Uyo

Three suspected militants have been arrest by the Police in Akwa Ibom State with high caliber bombs capable of sinking any ship, boat, building or destroy pipelines.

The State Commissioner of Police, Murtala Mani who paraded them Friday at the state Police Headquarters, Ikot Akpan-abia said the suspects were arrested on August 18, 2016 through intelligent report.

Mani who briefed newsmen on the development through the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Command, Cordelia Nwawe said the suspects were arrested at Modern City Hotel, in Eket local government area of the state.

The State Police boss gave the names of the suspected militants as Nelson Seimiyefa aged 34 from Bayelsa State, Victor Emmanuel Williams aged 34 from Etinan local government area of Akwa Ibom and Nseobong Dickson aged 38 from Eket local government area also of Akwa Ibom State.

Mani said bombs recovered from the suspected militants included

two high power IED bombs measured 60/80.5 cm, 44/5.5 cm respectively; and one long single high power propel launcher bomb measuring 78/4.55cm.

The arrest of the suspected militants came just as a seven day ultimatum given by a new militant group in the Niger Delta "Oyobio-Oyobio" to Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to relocate its headquarters to Akwa Ibom or face dire consequences expired.

“We had intelligence report on August 18, 2016. And in a swift reaction the police intercepted a group of young suspected militants who had actually planned to vandalise pipelines in Akwa Ibom State.

“The three militants have been found and the command has been able to find two high power IED bombs measured at 60/80.5 cm, 44/5.5 cm respectively. One long single high power propel launcher bomb measured at 78/4.55cm.

“The bombs are capable of destroying from any length and height, pipeline, oil lines and capable of taking human live.

It is unacceptable”, he declared.

Bassey Inyang in Calabar

The Cross River State Government has raised the alarm that about 216,000 people in the state stood the risk of becoming internally displaced persons if the impending floods predicted in some states occur.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),earlier this month warned that many communities along the river Niger banks and those in the coastal areas could be devastated by flood from excessive rainfall and rise of water level between the months of August and October, this year.

Making the disclosure in Calabar on Thursday evening, the Director-General of the Cross River Emergency Management Agency (CR-SEMA),Mr. John Inaku, said the Agency had conducted a survey of the flood-prone communities in the state, adding that the areas cover 10 local government areas, with an estimated 216,000 people that could be displaced if the areas become flooded as predicted.

He said the local government areas include Calabar Municipality, Calabar South, Odukpani, Biase, Obubra ,Ikom, Abi, Itung, Bakassi and Yala.

"These are areas where it is obvious that, if the water level was the way it was in 2013; all of these things will now repeat itself and that will be more devastating,"Inaku said.

He said the state had made elaborate preparations to establish camps that would accommodate any displaced population should the communities be submerged by flood.

Inaku stated that aside from making plans for the establishment of temporary camps for those who would be displaced, government had finalised plans to provide permanent houses for them in the 10 local government areas that had been identified.

He disclosed that constructing the proposed housing units in areas that had already been acquired by the state government would cost between N700 to N800 million to complete.

The Lagos State Police Command yesterday commenced investigations into the raging crisis over the leadership of traders at the Fancy and Furniture section of the popular Alaba International Market in Ojo area of the state. Already, the executive members of the section were said to have been invited for interrogation, following the crisis which nearly led to bloodbath inside the market last Monday. Police sources hinted that issues raised against the executives include allegations that one of their leaders was an ex-convict who served 13 years for drug peddling in far-away Thailand after which he was said to have been wrongly and unconstitutionally elected as their chairman. It was gathered that seven members of the executive led by the 1st Vice-Chairman, Acholamukwu Mmadueke, signed a strongly- worded petition alleging amongst others that their chairman registered the union’s official vehicle in his personal name; that he built 30 container shops, sold and used them to illegally block other member’s shops in the market and that he invaded the market with thugs and cult boys with dangerous weapons and inflicted bodily injuries on some of the traders.

Continent’s ‘StrongWomen’ on AfricanVoices

CNNAfricanVoicessponsoredbyGlobacom,willthisweekendshiftfocus to some of Africa’s most enterprising women.The 30-minute magazine programme last week featured Olympic Sports with focus on Julius Yego, Kenya’s Javelin thrower; Paralympics swimmer Achmat Hassiem of CapeTown, South Africa, and Zambia’s runner, Ngozi Asinga. However, this weekend’s edition will feature strong women across Africa who are breaking down boundaries by being the best they could be regardless of the challenge. According to Globacom, those to be featured include South Africa’sfirstAfricanfemalepilot,AsnathMahapa,oneofUganda’sbiggest media personalities, FlaviaTumusiime, and Ghana’s social media curator, Nicole Amarteifio. “Viewers of the popular magazine programme will see how this icon –Tumusime – continues to build her legacy by empowering women to move into the spotlight,” Globacomsaid in a statement. For the pilot, Mahapa, who currently flies Airbus 319 and 320 for South African Airways (SAA), she will take viewers through her amazing journey in a profession dominated by the menfolk. But as viewers will find out, it has not been all rosy: “To cut my story short, I went through a nightmare to get to where I am today; I went through periods where I didn’t have a job.

Ooni Charges Rich men to Assist the Poor

In an efforts to grease the wheel of the present economic hardship facing the country, Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, yesterday urged privileged Nigerians to assist government in combating poverty among the less privilege andWidows in the country. Ooni, who stated this whileaddressingbeneficiariesofhisempowermentprogrammeforwidows in Ile Ife in his palace, said the effort was geared towards empowering them to self-reliance. Oba Adeyeye noted that the initiative would not stop his monthly food and cash donations to women, stressing that he conceived idea of the empowerment shortly after ascending the throne.

He said the beneficiaries had been grouped into five cooperative societies and announced that Olofin Microfinance Bank would disburse loans to the beneficiaries soonest . Also speaking , the Managing Director of Olofin Microfinance bank, Mr.Toyin Olufolahan, asked the beneficiaries not to mismanage the opportunity, but to make full use of it to empower themselves.

All Female Group at TerraKulture

A group art exhibition showing 60 aesthetic works of about 50 girls and young women, will open today at 2 p.m. at the Terrakulture art gallery in Victoria Island Lagos. The show, which will run until Monday August 22, will display a repertoire of 60 works ranging from oil paintings on canvas, drawings, mixed media, ink/acrylic painting and charcoal on canvas and photography. The expo, which is on the theme, 'Africa4her' is tailored to createaplatformforgirlsandyoungwomentobeempoweredthrougharts.

Through this programme, girls are exposed to mentoring opportunities, building leadership and social skills.The displayed art pieces are expected to birth a combo of dialogue, education, entertainment and commercial purpose. Their works will exude gender inequality, community building, identity crisis, visionary women, violence against women, sexual abuse/ molestation,struggleofAfricanwomen,leadership,beauty,self-acceptance and love, empowerment, entrepreneurship, education and fantasy.

Deformed Baby Abandoned

A three weeks old baby boy deformed on the right leg was abandoned by an unknown person along Osu/Ife expressway area of Ile-Ife.The baby boy was found at the abandoned spot by a ‘Good Samaritan’ who reported to the Nigeria police, Ile-Ife division. According to the statement by the Director, SocialWelfare, Ministry ofWomen, Children and Social Affairs, Mrs. G. Adegoke, after the case was reported at the police station, the ministrywasnotified,andneedfulmeasuresweretakenfortheabandoned baby. The abandoned baby boy with the deformity of the right leg had since been in the custody of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Affairs.The general public were implored to avail the police or the ministry of necessary information for possible location and identification of the biological parents or relations of the baby.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

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Gbajabiamila: Decision to Relieve Abdulmumini Collective Damilola Oyedele in Abuja Following speculations that the budget-padding allegation in the House of Representatives was part of a plot to impeach and replace Speaker Yakubu Dogara in a manner that would conform with the original arrangement of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday stated that he was part of the collective decision by the body of principal officers to sack Jibrin Abdulmumini, as Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation.

On the same day, Gbajabiamila met with the police, “for a proper and thorough investigation” of his role, if any in the allegations, even though his name was not mentioned by Abdulmumini in his petitions.

Gbajabiamila was slated to be the Speaker, in the original plan of the party at the birth of the eighth assembly, but Dogara backed by Abdulmumini, rebelled against the wishes of the APC, and emerged Speaker.

The clarification, Gbajabiamila said, became necessary in the light of insinuations that he was fuelling the crises which erupted with the sack of Abdulmumini.

The Majority Leader was part of a meeting of the body of principal officers on Thursday, whose resolution reiterated that Abdulmunini remain sacked for abuse of the budgetary process, following intense pressure from the members of the House.

The statement had been signed by all 10 principal officers.

Gbajabiamila disclosed that he had given a caveat, which included

submitting himself to the police, before signing the resolution, which was made public.

“I made it clear to my colleagues in the leadership that because somehow my name had been sullied in all of this and fake documents and publications had been put out there in traditional and social media which stated I was also involved in the so called padding of the budget, that I would need to clear my name and that even though no petition was filed against me by Hon. Jibrin and no invitation was extended to me by the police, I would be submitting myself on my own volition to the police for investigation,” his statement read.

“I have just this afternoon (Friday) met with the police authorities for a proper and thorough investigation of my

role if any in this whole bizzare episode,” Gbajabiamila said.

The Majority Leader disclosed that the meeting of the principal officers, had been fixed at his instance, by the Speaker, to address the allegations raised by Abdulmumini.

“I returned from the United States just yesterday after a three week break… At the meeting, Speaker Dogara, Deputy Speaker Lasun, Chief Whip, Hon. Ado Doguwa and Minority Leader, Hon. Leo Ogor passionately and vigorously clearly stated their zwas read and we all agreed to sign. For me, as the Leader of the House, I felt it was important to give them the benefit of doubt which in any case is what our constitution says.

The decision to relieve Hon. Jibrin was indeed a collective decision of which I was a part of,” he said.

EVOLVING STRATEGIES...

L-R: Partner, SIAO, Mr. Ladi Smith; Global Head, Risk Advisory Services, RSM Global Networks, Mr. Richard Smith; Managing Patner, SIAO, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo; Partner and Head, Financial and Risk Assurance Services, SIAO, Mr. David Raggay and Chairman, SIAO, Mr. Robert Ade-Odiachi at a recent SIAO breakfast discourse on using Governance, Risk and Compliance to improve business performance in challenging economic times held in Lagos

Rivers to Sue Police, DSS over PDP National Convention Ernest Chino in Port Harcourt

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that the State Government would sue the Police and the Department of State Services, DSS, for sealing up the Sharks Stadium, initial venue of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Convention of August 17, 2016.

The governor also stated that the people of the state allowed the security agencies take over state facilities because of the

visitors from other states .

Speaking at the Government House, Port Harcourt yesterday while inaugurating the Peace and Security Committee of the State, Wike said the Rivers State Government would seek judicial interpretation to determine if the Federal Government was right to take laws into its hands.

The governor stated that the security agencies should not think that the illegal invasion of Sharks Stadium and other government property was a dress rehearsal for the rigging of

the forthcoming rerun elections in the State.

He said: "I hope what you did that day is not what you plan to do during the rerun elections. We allowed it because we had visitors from outside.

Nobody will allow you rig elections in this state".

The governor charged members of the Peace and Security Committee to work towards promoting security of lives and property within the ambit of the law.

The membership of the

Peace and Security Committee inaugurated by the governor include: The Commander of the NNS Pathfinder, the representative of the Nigerian Army, the Rivers State Police Commissioner, the Director DSS, Comptroller of Prisons, Comptroller of Customs, Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps, Comptroller of Immigration, Commander of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and a representative of the State Traditional Council.

Obiano Replies Ngige over Allegation of Poor Performance David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Anambra Governor, Chief Willie Obiano has responded to the comments credited to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige that he (Obiano) would not return to government house for second term due to his poor performance indices.

Responding to Ngige’s claim, Obiano who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Political Matters, Hon. Tony-Collins Nwabunwanne, described Ngige

as a confused politician and attention seeker who only wanted to distract him from the good work he was doing in the State.

Ngige had in an interview said that his achievement in three years superseded APGA’s eleven years in office in Anambra and vowed that Obiano would not return to the government house in 2017 as APC was coming to take over.

Hon Nwabunwanne condemned Ngige for his utterances, saying that if APC was that good, it should first

fix Nigerian economy that had caused untold hardship to the people rather than looking for any state governor to grab.

“If Ngige is a super leader, he should endeavour to address the lingering Labour problems in the country which even degenerated to the killing of a civil servant in Kogi and other states.

"What he needs is attention because I am yet to see any political party that has been able to do what APGA government has done in Anambra State. Ngige should listen to Senator Ben Bruce

who is not even from Anambra or an APGA loyalist but urged Federal Government to borrow a leaf from Anambra State in terms of Security, infrastructure and prompt payment of workers’ salaries.

“Anambra is today an investment destination and safest state in Nigeria, courtesy of His Excellency the Governor of Anambra state, Chief Willie Obiano. So, I don’t actually know what the Labour Minister meant by poor performance in office", he exoained.

Customs Intercepts 31 Containers of Rice Declared as Yeast John Iwori

No fewer than 31 containers laden with imported rice were yesterday intercepted by men and officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at Tin Can Island Port, Apapa, Lagos.

The containers were laden with 14, 000 bags of rice which was falsely declared by the consignee in collaboration with his licensed customs agent as yeast.

The value of the cargo which is a staple commodity in Nigeria was put at over N71 million.

The seizure described as “spectacular” by NCS in Tin Can Island Port (TCIP), Apapa, Lagos, notorious for “machine out” (MO) exports and imports.

MO is an euphemism for under hand release of goods in the ports.

The interception of the containers is coming barely one week after a fraud syndicate in TCIP was dismantled by a crack team of security operatives.

Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Enforcement at NCS Headquarters, Abuja, DCG Dan Ugo who disclosed this yesterday while conducting newsmen round the 31 containers stated that a company named Destiny Limited made false declaration.

Ugo revealed that his men seized the consignment when the false declaration was uncovered during routine checks.

His words: “Rice importation through sea ports is not prohibited but the agent claimed in the manifest that he imported 31 containers of yeast. Our duties to government is to ensure

compliance and any defaulting agent will bear the consequences which is already stated in the laws guiding Nigeria Customs Service operations in the nation’s seaports, land borders and airports”.

The DCG stated that the yeast claimed to be imported by the licensed customs agent attracted only five per cent duty. He pointed out that the consignee and the licensed customs agent were trying to cut corners since the duty payable on rice is high in line with the present government desire to diversify the economy through agriculture.

Also speaking, the DCG, Administration and Discipline, Alhaji Iya Abubakar, said that the era of importers engaging in false declarations and hoping to escape NCS clearance was over as the present management of the service under the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Colonel Hameed Ibrahim Ali (retired) was poised to block all revenue leakages in the cargo clearance chain.

He enjoined all port users, especially importers and agents to stop the criminal act of shortchanging the government in revenue generation.

Abubakar gave an instance in the past when NCS once intercepted a container having arms and ammunitions but was falsely declared as toys by the consignee.

The Zonal Coordinator, Zone `A’ of NCS, Assistant Comptroller-General Eporwei Edike, urged importers to feel free to bring rice through the nation’s seaports only.

Bakare Asks Nigerians to be More Patient with Buhari Tobi Soniyi in Abuja

The General Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare has told Nigerians to be patient and endure the hardship they were currently facing saying they stood to gain thereafter.

Bakare, who was the running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 presidential election on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), paid a private visit on the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja yesterday.

Bakare said the nation had been driven in the wrong direction in the past and that redirecting the country to the path of rectitude must definitely come with some pains.

Asked to comment on the hardship facing the nation, Bakare said "When you are driving on a wrong direction, for example, you are going to Ibadan and you face Badagry and you get to Cotonu and you realise you have gone in the wrong direction for too long a time, then you turn back and make a u-turn, there will be some suffering you have to go through.

"Pain is part of gain. No pain, no gain. The years of wastage and all that we have done wrong had finally caught up with us. All we are praying for is wisdom for this government

to do things right and to do the right things so that gradually, we can begin to come out of the woods."

Asked to comment on Buhari's performance so far, "It is too early and too soon to begin to judge.

If there is anything I know about Mr. President, it is that he has a good heart. He loves this country and he wants the country to run well. But it takes time. I know we are all impatient and in a hurry and I trust we will come out of the woods."

On whether he would advise the president to reshuffle his cabinet following the lack lustre performance of some of them, the pastor said "He knows what he has given them.

For example, I have not given any appointment to anyone so I can't judge their performance.

But if there are yardsticks and standards given to them and if they have performed below par, definitely, the president would not mind at the right time to do those things.

"I will like to appeal to all Nigerians that we should just exercise a bit of patience. This change will not become chain that will tie all of us down.

Change for good takes time and we should just exercise a little bit more of patience. We trust that government is listening and the leaders are listening too and they will respond to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians."

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 20, 2016

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FG to Build for First Time Ugwuanyi Appeals to Traders over Homeowners, Says Fashola Burst Sewage at Enugu Prisons Bennett Oghifo The Federal Government’s housing policy will target first time owners, with income within the bracket of level 09 and 15, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has said.

This includes private sector people whose earnings fall within the prescribed grade levels.

The minster stated this as he unveiled the roadmap to the Federal Government’s Housing Programme, during the maiden City People Real Estate and Housing Lecture in Lagos, yesterday.· Fashola said architects in the ministry were able to evolve nationally acceptable housing designs that reflected the nation’s diversity of culture and weather.

According to the minister, “My

thoughts are directed on how to gradually and consistently increase the number of tenants who become owners, with a focus on first-time owners.

“Our first thoughts and actions are to avoid the limitations of the past initiatives and deliver a sustainable programme of National Housing that has wide acceptability.

“The Roadmap to this in our view is to evolve nationally acceptable designs that respond to and accommodate our diversity.

I am happy to announce that we have concluded this, starting from about 21 different designs, working down to 12, and concluding on six.”

He said one, two and three bedroom bungalows, with court yards that respond to the climate situation and cultural leanings of the North, would be built in states in the North East, North West and

North Central parts of Nigeria.

Also, blocks of 16 and 24 flats of one, two and three bedrooms and bungalows of one and two bedrooms would be built in the South-South, South-East and South-West and in the FCT. The government, he said intends to mass-produce these homes, stating that “Our plan for sustainable supply is to standardise these designs (or modifications of them that may become necessary) and industrialise production, by standardising fittings such as doors, windows, roofing sheets, tiles and other components in order to use these standards to stimulate local mass production of fittings and finishing to meet the demands of mass housing.

“In this way, we will be achieving one major objective of the President’s economic plan of diversifying our

economy. For example, the smallest of houses will have at least a main door, a kitchen door, a room door and a bathroom door making a total of four doors.”

He gave an hypothetical situation, saying “In order to build 250,000 units of that type of house, this market will need to produce one million doors.

This does not include pipes, taps and sockets for electrical appliances.

I leave you to imagine what this can do for our economy if we produce all these items locally.”

He said with this, it would be boom time for small and medium scale businesses that were in this line of business, adding that the government would not use imported doors, windows, tiles, ceilings, plumbing accessories, cables, paint and iron – mongery on its housing schemes.

Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has appealed to traders of Ogbete main market, Enugu for understanding and calm over overflow of sewage from Federal Prisons, Enugu to the market, which poses health hazard to the traders and the public.

Ugwuanyi who made the appeal when he visited the sites at Enugu Prisons and the market to assess the level of damage caused by the incident, promised to intervene to provide a lasting solution to menace of the spillover.

He frowned at the development and sympathised with the traders and the public, informing them that “what affects the people of the state also affects me”. He wondered why the incident was not brought to his notice for timely intervention as the Chief Security Officer of the state.

The governor, who also walked through market to appeal to the traders, said that the visit was necessitated by the need for him to

see for himself and feel the pains the traders were experiencing and collaborate with the Federal Prisons authorities to proffer permanent solution to the problem.

"May I sincerely apologise for this ugly incident. What affects you, also affects me as your Governor.

The greatest objective of the government is to alleviate the sufferings of the people. I have come and I have seen what you people are passing through. You are the true heroes of democracy. Actions will start immediately to address this issue," Ugwuanyi assured.

The Controller of Prisons, Enugu State Command, Mr. Ifeanyi Amariri, thanked the governor for the prompt visit, saying that the incident was as a result of over population of inmates in the prisons.

He regretted the inconveniences caused by the incident, noting the issue required a holistic approach to tackle.

Obasanjo Tasks Buhari on Mambilla Hydro Power Project Wole Ayodele inJalingo

CHARTING A SECURITY COURSE...

L-R: Anambra State New CP Sam Okaula with Momodu Sule State Commander NDLEA Anambra State during his courtesy visit to NDLEA office

Boroh: Oil Discovery Brought Innovation Fuels Preference Hunger, Starvation to N’Delta for Hollandia Milk’ Emmanuel Addeh inYenagoa

Coordinator of Nigeria’s amnesty programme for repentant militants and Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs, Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh, retd, yesterday argued that the discovery of crude oil in the region fueled hunger and starvation in the area.

Boroh, who spoke in Bayelsa, his state of origin, maintained that the paradox of the oil find in the Nigeria had remained the cause of the various conflicts experienced in the past and which was presently threatening to crumble the country’s economy.

He added that the over-reliance on oil had led to a mono-economy, destruction of the ecosystem, poverty, and conflicts as evidenced by the current agitation by militant groups in the region.

Speaking after inspecting facilities at the Bio Resources Development Centre, Odi, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the Bayelsa State, Boroh disclosed that 500 ex-militant youths from the Niger Delta would be trained in various agro-based related skills as a means

of engaging the youths.

He warned that the amnesty office would no longer be a place to share ‘free money', and urged the youths in the Niger Delta to embrace change and join hands with the government to make the area the agricultural hub of the nation.

Boroh, who also witnessed the graduation and passing-out ceremony of ex-militants from the trainees’ pilot scheme at the Centre, described the scheme as a success, noting that the potential that abound in the agriculture sector was enormous.

He pledged that some of the ex-militants would be sent to Songhai Farms in Delta State, while others would be sent to the various agriculture programmes departments at the Delta State University, DELSU, University of Port Harcourt, UNIPORT, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, RSUST, and the Peremabiri Rice Farms in the state.

Boroh stressed that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had resolved to diversify the economy from oil and gas to agriculture, which he said was the best alternative.

A recent assessment of health drinks in Nigeria shows that innovation, convenience and value for money form the core essence of a brand like Hollandia Evaporated Milk and its marketing.

According to brand experts, “All over the world, brands embrace innovation to continually add value to consumers. Innovation is key, as it creates excitement for products and triggers demand. Brands like Kodak and Nokia have stagnated because they refused to go with the times. While their competitors were offering trendier products and breaking new frontiers, they relied on years of supposed heritage.

Smart customers went for the trendier innovation and the rest, they say, is history.”

They said back home in Nigeria, “the dairy market is faced with an almost similar scenario. For one major dairy brand in the market, 60 years of heritage is an important message for its marketing but for a brand like Hollandia Evaporated Milk, innovation, convenience and value for money forms the core essence of the product and marketing.”

They stated that “Brands like Hollandia Evaporated Milk, which

have embraced innovation have steadily built loyalty and affinity with millions of consumers. Trending now is its 65grams 'Correct Wazo' pack. For N50, you can get 65grams of creamy nourishment which is actually 10grams more milk than other brands in the same category. Hollandia Evaporated Milk 65grams 'Correct Wazo' pack offers quantity plus quality at a consumer friendly price.”

They said, for some dairy brands, “the strategy to remain relevant in these challenging times has been to reduce product quantity and quality in order to retain the N50 price. For Chi Limited, however, consumer consideration is key. The 65grams pack is popularly called 'Correct Wazo' because it makes all the difference by offering you 10 extra grams of creamy nourishment more than other milk brands selling at N50.

“Hollandia Evaporated Milk is hygienically produced with modern technology in aseptic Tetra Pak packaging unlike other milk brands especially those in tins which raise great concerns about the hygienic condition of the milk due to the corrosive nature of the packaging material.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has enjoined President Muhammadu Buhari to make the construction of the Mambilla Hydro Power Project a priority if his administration was serious about achieving greater socioeconomic development of the country.

Fielding questions from newsmen in Jalingo yesterday, the former president noted that it had become imperative for the present administration to continue with the project in order to tackle the energy challenge facing the country.

Obasanjo who stated that he was in the state to assess some of the projects he started in the past in order to grow the economy of Taraba and the country further stressed that Nigeria could no longer ignore the great potentials of Mambilla Plateau, adding that the cost of executing the project was getting higher and higher by the day.

"I sited the Mambilla Hydro Power Project on the plateau due to the great potentials it has for electricity generation for the country. Nigeria must complete the project because the cost is getting higher by the day, and if we do not do it today, we must have to do it tomorrow," he stated.

Stressing that Taraba was a great resource to the nation's progress, Obasanjo also noted that

he established the Tea Factory in Kakara when he was Military Head of State to harness the potentials of the Mambilla plateau.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known as OJELEKE BUSAYO ODUNOLA, now wish to be known as ABEJIDE OLUBUSAYO OLAMIDE. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

I, formerly known as MRS EBEYE FLORA OLASUNBO, now wish to be known as MS OJO OMOLABAKE OLASUNBO. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

I, formerly known as MATTHEW ONAH, now wish to be known as MATTHEW OGAR ONAH. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

I, formerly known as MISS IKHEOLA GLADYS OMOZELE, now wish to be known as MRS. EDETANLEN GLADYS OMOZELE. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

TR

Saturday, August 20, 2016

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MISSILE Makinde to APC “The All Progressives Congress (APC) administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari is not fit to rule the country. The APC is part of the corruption in the country.

They are not fit to be there, they must handle the issue of padding very carefully. The APC must be fair in their fight against corruption” – Former Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Sunday Ola Makinde chastising the APC during the inaugural meeting of retired Christian leaders of major denominations in Nigeria facilitated by El-Rehoboth Global Leadership Foundation in Abuja.

PENDULUM Dele Momodu

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Tinubu, PDP And The Road to 2019 F ellow Nigerians, you must be wondering what this title is all about. Please, calm down, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, one of Nigeria’s iconic politicians, is not about to dump his party, APC, for PDP, the party he fought hard with others to sack from power just last year.

The reason for bringing PDP into this article which largely concerns the Tinubu conundrum is very simple and straight-forward. PDP has suffered calamities upon catastrophes since General Muhammadu Buhari sacked President Goodluck Jonathan from office. It is hard to imagine, or believe, that a party that held Nigeria by the jugular for 16 solid years could attain meltdown so soon and almost disappear into oblivion.

One would have expected PDP, despite its electoral misfortune, to provide a formidable opposition to APC and keep President Buhari on his toes but that has not been the case.

APC has wasted no time in sending PDP to an early grave by throwing poisonous darts at it from every angle.

The war against corruption has been a most veritable weapon with stupendous impact used

by APC to scatter most of the PDP apparatchik to the winds. The strategy was to weaken them by showcasing the humongous corruption that was perpetrated and perpetuated during their reign. The PDP brand was thus obliterated in a jiffy. Many of their bigwigs confessed to nefarious and horrendous crimes of looting and brigandage. They coughed up or vomited incredible sums of cash.

All entreaties and shouts of a vengeful witch-hunt against President Buhari fell on deaf ears. The more they screamed the more they were horse-whipped into submission and made to weep bitterly.

As if that was not bad enough, PDP engaged itself in a war of attrition and became a house divided against itself. It was only a matter of time before it crumbled like the proverbial cookie does. Today, PDP has become its own worst enemy with the brickbats being thrown at one another by members of what used to be touted as the biggest political party in Africa.

How are the mighty fallen!

The aim of my piece this week is to attempt what I did in 2014 when I wrote a permutative article titled ‘In Search of Mathematicians’. That was how I predicted a win for Buhari when many pundits still doubted such possibility.

I intend to do so again in this column by painting a picture of what to expect in 2019.

If you think that year is still far away, perish the thought.

The battle for the next Nigerian Presidential election started as soon as the last one was lost and won. The hurly-burly of the elections had not yet settled down when the potential gladiators picked up their gauntlets in readiness for the next combat.

The ruling party APC has suffered its own casualties as a result of its self-immolating wars of anticipation. What do I mean? The new men of power are already thinking ahead and wondering who may be too ambitious within their own fold. Any of such recalcitrant and ambitious rebels must be cut down to size, no matter his or her contribution to past victory and glory. Without mincing words, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, is the first victim and he has suffered massive collateral damage on account of suspicion. APC itself has suffered almost fatally in the process.

The only thing holding it together for now is the fact that it is the party in power and

Tinubu

Makarfi

thus presumably has limitless opportunities to distribute largesse to the army of party operatives and their cronies.

By this time next year, as this government enters its third year in power, reality would begin to set in and President Buhari will begin to discover and see original animals in human skin.

I foresee and predict a re-alignment of political forces from 2017. President Buhari will be encouraged and persuaded to run a second term by those who are currently profiting from his government. It is only normal and it is their legitimate right. Nothing stops the President from seeking a re-election within our Constitution. The only snag is that many politicians are going to gang up against him because they see him as an outsider in politics who has benefitted from their massive support but in return has been messing things up for them.

If the President remains stoically stubborn and refuses to play ball with politicians, he would have to fight dirty to win his ticket.

It seems to me that he would have to do everything to retain the loyalty of one man by all means, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

It is almost impossible for any candidate to become President of Nigeria without the overwhelming support of the Yoruba and their current generalissimo, Tinubu, in particular.

Tinubu derives his stranglehold on power from his iron grip on Lagos. Lagos is a microcosm of Nigeria. Whoever controls Lagos owns the commercial nerve-centre of Nigeria, just like the California of America.

Tinubu has been very lucky in that his anointed candidates, Babatunde Raji Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode, have been very cerebrally successful. The current Governor of Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, is already set, after just one year in office, to surpass all expectations.

According to impeccable sources, Buhari may therefore be forced to risk and pick Tinubu as his running-mate if push comes to shove.

Tinubu’s protégé, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, is the current Vice President, who comes with intimidating credentials but may not have enough political muscle to deliver enough votes to the kitty. The dilemma for Buhari is whether he should buck the trend set by his

predecessors, starting from Shehu Shagari, and jettison his Vice President, especially when a cordial and mutually respectful relationship exists between them. In addition, Osinbajo has been doing exceedingly well and he is seen as one of the few shining lights of this Administration.

There is also the fact that Prof Osinbajo is a highly regarded and esteemed senior Christian figure and the President has needed him to silence those detractors that consider him an Islamic fundamentalist.

However, I believe that the controversy that could ensue from a potentially volatile Muslim/Muslim ticket may have been fixed substantially. Firstly, there is a precedent set

by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola the acclaimed winner of the 1993 elections who picked a fellow Muslim, Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe, as his running-mate and still won in Nigeria’s freest and fairest election to date.

Secondly, though Tinubu is a devout Muslim, his beloved wife is a hard-core Christian and a top-notch member of the same Redeemed Christian Church of God as the Vice President.

Thirdly, there is the fact that Tinubu supported a Christian, Akinwunmi Ambode, as his anointed candidate for Governor of Lagos State, a deft move calculated to pacify those who may wish to foment religious crisis and conflagration then and in the future.

Tinubu is believed by many to have served Nigeria meritoriously and selflessly by suppressing his own personal ambition for that of others and it is believed that the kingmaker deserves a chunky reward the next time around if he so desires. He is acknowledged as being one of the most knowledgeable leaders in Nigeria today and a lot of people feel that his background in business and politics could bail Nigeria out of the economic quagmire of the moment. He is known to be a practical politician who knows how to make the world better for most people.

If the hawks succeed in getting Buhari to snub Tinubu because of his perceived threat to the President himself, the APC may split like PDP did before the collapse of the Jonathan Presidency.

One potential candidate is hovering in the wings and that is the Turaki of Adamawa, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who has never hidden

the fact that he wants the Presidency by all means. My next permutation is that the former Vice President and Tinubu who are two of the three most powerful and influential politicians in APC today (the third is Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki with his firm control of the Senate) may combine forces to thwart a Buhari re-election bid. They have been old allies since the time of Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. If they join forces, it may therefore spell doom for those seeking the re-election of President Buhari.

After the seeming lull in the Buhari-Tinubu love, it seems the recent appointments given to some of Tinubu’s acolytes appear designed to assuage his feeling. But would this be sufficient to bury the combustive ambition of a man who believes he still has so much to give to his country?

The third option which also involves Tinubu in the mix is one on which for a variety of reasons Buhari chooses not to run again. Without doubt, there are several other forces contending for power in case Buhari decides not to seek re-election. In this category, Tinubu’s name still features prominently. No one can deny the ability of Tinubu to transform Nigeria the way he did in Lagos. It is presumed that Buhari may generously want to pay Tinubu back for the support he gave him. He may also want to leave a lasting legacy and shed the toga of an ethnic jingoist by handing over to a Southerner. If this happens, I foresee the visionary Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, a core Buhari loyalist, becoming Tinubu’s running-mate, notwithstanding that this is another Muslim/Muslim ticket. Many APC loyalists believe this combination may fly.

There is a fourth option and this is coming from the direction of PDP. The theory here is that PDP can still spring a surprise on Buhari and pay him back in his own coin. The PDP apologists believe the North has lost more under Buhari despite allocating many political appointments to the region. They are of the opinion that former President Jonathan did more for them and gave them access and respect than their own man Buhari who they accuse of being standoffish. This is the reason that many Northerners, apart from his kinsmen in the South South, have become the biggest promoter of PDP. In case you think Jonathan is dead and buried politically, perish the thought! He still holds the biggest ace in PDP. In fact, many in PDP today see him as their best candidate in 2019 because some of his transformation agenda are beginning to come to fruition. They are hoping and banking on Buhari becoming so unpopular that Jonathan would be sorely missed by Nigerians who would practically beg him to come back. The rising profile and the promotion of Jonathan in the international community is part of that systematic way of re-polishing, repackaging, redefining and preparing him for a return to power. Every attempt to smear him with a tar brush would be rebuffed by his die-hard loyalists who see Buhari as someone trying to kill any future role for Jonathan as Nigerian President. They are totally committed to ensuring that Jonathan is well protected between now and next year when serious politicking would have reached a crescendo again. The hope is that as a former civilian President, he can bounce back to power like President Mathieu Kerekou did in Benin Republic, when he returned in 1996 after quitting in 1991.

Who knows tomorrow?

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