Sunday 28th August 2016

EFCC: Nigerian Bar Populated by Rogues, Vultures Faults NBA president’s call for reduction of commission’s prosecutorial powers

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has taken a swipe at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for demanding that its prosecutorial powers be

whittled down. According to EFCC, such call should not be made by a bar peopled with suspected rogues and vultures incapable of being professional and objective in the on-going anti-corruption war.

The Head, Media and Publicity of EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, who rebuked NBA in a statement yesterday, disagreed with the association’s proposition, which specifically stated that the role of the commission

be limited to investigation alone.

The NBA had at its 56th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State advocated the reform of EFCC and the Judiciary.

Its President, Abubakar

Mahmoud, who delivered his inaugural speech shortly after being sworn in as the 28th President of the NBA at the occasion, called for the review of the broad operations of the EFCC as an investigative

and prosecutorial agency, recommending that the commission should be limited to only investigation.

But Uwujaren said the commission viewed with Continued on page 8

Nigeria International Airport Hits a New Low, as Passengers Board Flights in Darkness ...Page 8

Sunday 28 August, 2016 Vol 21. No 7795

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Bala-Usman Moves to Reposition NPA, Redeploys 19 GMs For the first time, southerners head London, Abuja Offices

Eromosele Abiodun Less than 48 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari approved the composition of the

Governing Boards of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the new Managing Director of NPA, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman, has redeployed 19 senior management staff, a move

aimed at repositioning the agency.

A significant development in the redeployment was that southerners now head the London office and Abuja

liaison office of the agency for the first time.

They are Mrs Akinbayo C. O. and Ephraim Okon who were Asst. General Managers Admin and Commercial respectively.

While Akinbayo is to head the London Office as Ag. General Manager, Okon will now oversee the agency’s Abuja liaison office as Asst. General Manager. The London

office and the Abuja Liaison Office were formerly headed by Abdullahi Buhari and Mohammed Nasir Anas respectively.

Military Begins Operations in Niger Delta, Says Army

Continued on page 8

Kills 5 militants, Arrests 23 as FG vows to rid region of criminalities

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja and Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

Notwithstanding promises by the President Muhammadu Buhari government that it would employ dialogue, as an option, in dealing with the resurgent militancy in the Niger Delta, the military at the weekend launched an operation to root out militants in the oil-rich region. Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement yesterday that the military campaign was “a precursor operation” to a planned offensive against the militants, code-named operation “Crocodile Smile”.

But in a quick reaction Saturday, president of Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, condemned the decision of the federal government to use strong-arm methods against the groups, which had been attacking oil facilities in the region. Eradiri accused the Continued on page 8

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ON THEIR MINDS

President Muhammadu Buhari (left) and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe at the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Nairobi, Kenya ...yesterday

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

28.08.2016

EDITH AKWU-UDE

HER VICTORY OVER WEIGHT GAIN

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2016 • T H I S D AY T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

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Nigeria's International Airport Hits a New Low, as Passengers Board Flights in Darkness The Murtala Mohammed international airport on Saturday night hit a new low as darkness enveloped the premier airport due to power outage at the time passengers were boarding flights to different foreign destinations.

The power outage at the airport occurred between 10pm and midnight, when about four international flights – British Airways, Air France, South African Airways, and one other were boarding.

The departure lounge was pitch dark as airlines officials deployed gaspowered lanterns and battery-powered flashlights to check-in passengers and walk them through the boarding gates.

Passengers groped their ways through the boarding gates into the aircraft.

They discussed the security implications of conducting check-in and boarding processes in darkness in a country

currently battling terrorism and at a time when aviation security should be a high priority.

“The place was full of heat and people were sweating. It was a disaster. Our international airport has reached a new

low,” a passenger on one of the flights told THISDAY. The cause of last night’s power outage at the airport could not be ascertained at the time of going to press.

like that. This battle is more of an intelligence-civil strategy instead of an invasion that is old-fashioned. It will clearly jeopardise the dialogue."

In its own reaction, the Supreme Council of Militia Forces under which the Ultimate Warriors of Niger Delta operates, warned the military to be extremely cautious, threatening that it will not take the killing of innocent civilians lightly. The group said in a statement, “The Supreme Council of Militia Forces is also asking the military to be professional and cautious with its on-going exercise in the Niger Delta waterways. It is unfortunate that we have a military that is lagging behind in amphibious training at this digital age compared to their counterparts in other climes and want to use the Niger Delta crisis as an excuse to further perpetuate their evil of causing panic and fear within our communities.

“This is what the Nigerian Army is known for; violation of human rights and abuses are their hallmark, they seize by the butt of the guns what doesn't belong to them, including sending our poor farmers and fishermen/ women out of the rivers because they want to show off their strength.”

It added, ”You send local people whose only means of eking out a living is fishing to stay away from their occupation without any palliative for them as if there are no rivers in the northern part of country where they can candidly embark on such training.

“But we will not be provoked; we are not for them and we will not give them the room to attack our

communities. If anything unpalatable happens in the Niger Delta now that stakeholders have secured a ceasefire deal from agitators, the whole world will know who should be held responsible because the deployment of military devices, personnel and gunboats at a time the region is still fragile is to provoke

the sleeping dogs.”

The Ultimate Warriors also welcomed the decision by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta to disband its AARON TEAM 2 and lend its support to the elders, monarchs and stakeholders committee headed by elder statesman, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark.

MILITARY BEGINS OPERATIONS IN NIGER DELTA, SAYS ARMY government of insincerity in its pledge to peacefully resolve the emergent armed agitations, saying the use of force may jeopardise efforts by leaders of the people to resolve the crisis.

The Nigerian Army had been amassing troops, arms and ammunitions for “Crocodile Smile”, which it said was in support of the wider “Operation Delta Safe” being conducted to protect the oil infrastructure in the nine oil producing states.

Usman stated yesterday, "The 133 Special Forces Battalion of Nigerian Army troops have carried out a precursor operation to Exercise 'Crocodile Smile' aimed at getting rid of all forms of criminal activities in the Niger Delta geopolitical region of Nigeria.” He said in the course of the operation, "five militants that attacked the troops were killed in action, while numerous others were injured and 23 suspects were arrested."

The army spokesman said the military operation, conducted on Friday, was carried out by the Special Forces at the militants’ camps. He listed items recovered from the camps to include two AK-47 rifles, 11 Pump Action Guns, a locally made revolver pistol, 292 cartridges of live Ammunition, 199 rounds of AK-47 rifle Ammunition, four electricity generating sets, and a camp gas cooker.

The troops also recovered an abandoned engine boat left by the fleeing militants, he said.

There was intense apprehension along the waterways of the Niger Delta at the weekend following Friday’s announcement by

the army spokesman that the military was amassing as part of a broader “logistics build-up” in the Niger Delta.

“The military training exercise embarked upon by the Nigerian Army to train its Special Forces, formations and units located in the South-south geopolitical zone of the country has commenced in earnest,” Usman had stated.

It was gathered that the Sapele waterways in Delta State were used as springboard for the troop deployment to the creeks of the region.

However, the IYC called for caution and advised the federal government to pull the troops out of the area in order not to endanger ongoing peace efforts. The IYC president said he had been inundated with complaints by people scampering for safety and fleeing into the forests at the approach of the troops, who operated in military gunboats in the creeks.

One militant group, the Ultimate Warriors of Niger Delta, also warned that the military would only succeed in maltreating innocent locals, who have always borne the brunt of such exercises.

Eradiri said it amounted to insincerity on the part of the government to be pronouncing dialogue while at the same time conducting a major military operation in the region.

He said, "The EK Clark committee has brought all Niger Delta leaders together.

The MEND and the Avengers support them. The other day, the Minister for Petroleum, Ibe Kachukwu, met with them again.

"The unfortunate fact

is whether government is sincere in this whole business. How can the military within the period announce that they are carrying out an exercise in the Niger Delta? They should have suspended whatever exercise they wanted to carry out. There is heavy presence of military mobilising into the Niger Delta through Sapele. But whether it is for ordinary exercise or not should have been suspended at this period.

"The communities are apprehensive and many people are now running away from their homes.

As at yesterday (Friday) night, there was this rumour that they were going to attack Gbaramatu and the entire community started scampering into the forest because soldiers were seen mobilising in Sapele.

"When we asked, they said the military had met the governor and said they wanted to do a twoweek drill in Niger Delta.

It is wrong. They should suspend any form of activity because there is an interpretation of a sinister motive in their activities."

The IYC leader urged Buhari to demonstrate sincerity of purpose in solving the problems in the Niger Delta. According to him, "President Buhari has not shown sincerity. He must withdraw the military from the Niger Delta if he wants genuine discussions.

We are sceptical seeing many soldiers mobilising and jumping here and there.

"We don't have a Sambisa forest where militants are stationed and waiting for the federal government, like in the North. There is nothing

BALA-USMAN MOVES TO REPOSITION NPA, REDEPLOYS 19 GMS The London office in particular is seen as a pathway to becoming the agency's Managing Director.

In a memo sent to the affected staff, the NPA boss directed that the redeployment takes immediate effect and asked all affected staff to report to the MD and other EDs for the duty assigned them.

Top on the list is the General Manager ND & JV, Mrs Madubuike Ugowho, who is now General Manager, Special Duties while the General Manager, Western Ports, Ajayi Micheal Kayode was asked to report to the Managing Director for duty as General Manager, Public Affairs.

Capt. Ebubegu Ihenacho who was before now the General Manager, Public Affairs was asked to report to Executive Director, M

& O for duty as General Manager, M & C Western Ports.

Also, Talabi Tolulope who was General Manager, C&SP was asked to report to the Managing Director for duty as General Manager, NB&JV while General Manager, Marine and Operations, Goje Abdulahi Aliyu, was asked to report to Executive Director, M&O for duty as General Manager, Eastern Ports.

On his part, General Manager, London Office, Abdulahi Buhari is to report to the Managing Director for duty as General Manager, SERVICOM. General Manager, Abuja Liaison Office, Mohammed Nasir Anas, is to report to Executive Director, F&A for duty as General Manager, Admin while the current General Manager SERVICOM,

Kabir Edward was asked to report Executive Director, M&O for duty as General Manager, M&C Eastern Ports.

The General Manager, PP&D Yusuf Ahmed, was redeployed as General Manager, HSE and is also to report to Executive Director, M&O while General Manager, Maintenance, Obinomen Peter Micheal, was directed to report to the Executive Director, E&TS for duty as General Manager, Capital Projects.

General Manager, Eastern Ports, Asanga Joshua, was redeployed to Marine operations as General Manager and he is to report to Executive Director, M&O while Mohammed Ahmed Rufai who was General Manager, Capital Projects was asked to report to Executive Director, E&TS for duty as

General Manager PP&D. Others are the General Manager, Special Duties, Efere Caroline (Mrs), now General Manager, Superannuation; Ag, General Manager, HSE, Gbadamosi R.A. is now Ag. General Manager, Western Ports; Ag. General Manager, M&C, Onuenyenwa Simeon Obumneme now Ag. General Manager, Corporate & Strategic Planning, Ag. General Manager, Procurement, Jatto Adeiza, is now Ag. General Manager, Maintenance and Asst.

General Manager, Operations, Dandare Ahmed, is now Ag, General Manager, Procurement.

Buhari had on Thursday approved the composition of the Governing Boards of the NPA and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

EFCC: NIGERIAN BAR POPULATED BY ROGUES, VULTURES concern, the call by the NBA president that the EFCC be stripped of its prosecutorial powers and deplored the views.

He lauded Mahmoud's pledge to reinvent the association by reclaiming its moral high ground through a campaign for ethical rectitude by members of the bar, quoting him: “The NBA under my watch will fight judicial corruption. We shall make the legal profession unattractive for corrupt lawyers.”

“This,” the EFCC spokesman pointed out, “is reassuring considering the evidence that senior members of the bar have become complicit in cases of corruption and money laundering, leading to the EFCC, arraigning two members of the inner bar for acts of corruption.”

He therefore argued that, "A bar populated or directed by people perceived to be rogues and vultures cannot play the role of priests in the temple of justice."

Uwujaren noted that, "The commission’s discomfort over this seeming innocuous proposition, stem from the fact Mahmoud was silent on the reason for his position.

"More importantly, the commission cannot comprehend how the redefinition of EFCC’s mandate in narrow terms, ultimately whittling it down, fits into the clamour by Nigerians and the vision of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration for a vibrant and courageous anticorruption agency."

"Instead, Mahmoud’s suggestions appears perfectly in sync with a cleverly disguised campaign by powerful forces that are uncomfortable with the reinvigorated anti-graft campaign of the EFCC and are hell-bent on emasculating the agency by stripping it of powers to prosecute with the tame excuse that an agency that investigates cannot also prosecute," he added.

According to Uwujaren, the question Nigerians must ask the Mahmoud-led NBA is, what is wrong with EFCC prosecution, adding that "Mahmoud is in a position to answer this question".

The EFCC Spokesman noted that the NBA President was the Attorney General of the Federation’s counsel in the trial of former Delta State governor, James Ibori, at the Federal High Court, Asaba, a case which EFCC lost in questionable circumstances.

He alleged that "the same ingredients from that case were used to fetch Ibori a 13year jail term in London", and that "Mahmoud is also the commission's counsel in the appeal against the infamous perpetual injunction from arrest and prosecution by former Rivers State governor, Peter Odili, which is still pending before the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, many years after it was filed".

Uwujaren considered it too much of a strange coincidence that the suggestion to strip the EFCC of its prosecutorial powers is being floated few months after the commission, in unprecedented fashion arraigned some senior lawyers for corruption.

For the avoidance of doubt, he stated, the commission had recorded more convictions in the last one year than all the states and federal ministries of justices combined.

Against this background, he added, the current campaign appeared to be self-serving, intended to create a cabal of untouchables who could be investigated but may never be prosecuted.

"The EFCC however wishes to reassure Nigerians that there will be no sacred cows in the renewed fight against corruption in Nigeria," he stated.

Uwujaren, however, said that the EFCC appreciates the NBA’s acknowledgement of the commission’s strategic place in the fight against corruption in Nigeria and the modest achievements that it has recorded so far.

He said the commission also welcomed the suggestion for reform, saying that its "Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, has repeatedly stated in his public pronouncements, the agency is open to suggestions that will improve its operations as it cannot pretend to have a monopoly of ideas on how to fight corruption".

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

SUNDAY COMMENT

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

MUCH ADO ABOUT EMERGENCY POWERS President Buhari has more than enough powers to deal with the economic crisis

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here were media reports last week (later confirmed by the office of the vice- president) that the federal government would be seeking some emergency powers for President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle the economy. Many people are drawing parallels with the year-long powers granted President Nicholas Maduro by Venezuela lawmakers in November 2013, essentially to regulate the economy and stamp out corruption.

Unfortunately, while the power to pass laws without congressional approval might have given President Maduro some political victory at the time, Venezuela’s economy is now the worse for it. Should If all he intends to Nigeria travel that achieve is as simple same road? as amending some The President legislations, the of Nigeria is one of the most powerful in the president should world. Apart from section see this as an 5 of the 1999 Constituopportunity to tion (as amended) which deepen democracy confers on the occupant executive powers of the by engaging federation, either directly the National or through ministers and Assembly, rather other aides, section than seeking some 130 thereof regards the president as “the Head of powers that could State, the Chief Executive short-circuit it of the Federation and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation.”

Besides, by virtue of section 315 of the same constitution, the president is vested with the powers to modify any existing law “as may be necessary to bring it into conformity” with provisions of that same constitution; and any such presidential modification shall be deemed to be an act of the National Assembly. Only President Olusegun Obasanjo once invoked such power of modification (in November 1999) to repeal the act which established the Presidential Task Force on Petroleum (PTF), incidentally then headed by the current president.

Beyond the latitude granted by the constitution, the

Letters to the Editor

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n recent times, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has frequently been in the news for mostly the wrong reasons. If its chieftains aren’t hounded like petty thieves by our corruption watchdog, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), they are most likely busy shouting themselves hoax, decrying the unfair and unjust treatment meted to them by the ruling APC. In less than two dozen months, we’ve seen their hit men faced nearly all thinkable counts of corruption charges, and displayed unbecoming tendencies that ranged from asking a full grown adult - the branch manager of a leading deposit money bank - to “dictator style” kneel in front of the whole world to shopping for court injunctions. We’ve seen them hold rough-and-ready

Nigerian presidency also occupies a peculiar cultural space in which the person, in the eye of a largely illiterate populace, is regarded as a combination of king, field marshall and chief executive. Added to all this is the lack of rigour in the National Assembly whose members are hardly interested in checking the powers of the executive for as long as their bread and butter concerns are taken care of. So, as far as many of our lawmakers are concerned, the president can get away with anything if he plays the politics of bipartisan deal making, not necessarily in the usual corrupt definition.

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

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

ndeed, a recent study by a think-tank indicated that less than 10 per cent of the members of the National Assembly read sections of newspapers that do not concern their affairs. Less than five per cent read any books at all even when most of them hardly sleep at night in the name of politics. Such an indifferent legislature is a package of emergency powers in the hands of any serious president. That perhaps explains why many argue that seeking additional powers to deal with the economy could be a smokescreen designed to smuggle in draconian actions which may include the curtailment of individual freedoms.

While the critical challenge in the economy and governance generally is that of new ideas, a series of missteps in the last one year has chased away foreign interest, frightened local investors and eroded the wealth of innocent Nigerians by causing panic in the system. Even at that, most of the items in the proposed emergency economic powers bill do not call for the amendment of any law while the danger in acceding to such request is in its inherent vulnerability to attaining a life of its own. Once enacted, what stops the president from seeking an expansion of the powers to respond to all manner of inconveniences?

If all he intends to achieve is as simple as amending some legislations, the president should see this as an opportunity to deepen democracy by engaging the National Assembly, rather than seeking some powers that could short-circuit it. While we agree that the challenges within the economy are enormous, we do not believe that President Buhari needs any emergency powers to deal with them.

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

PDP: A HOUSE DIVIDED caucus meetings and conventions, split into factions and splinter groups, and more recently, displayed before our prying eyes and curious minds how daunting a task it is to find a person who will steer its oars to dominance or ram it to perpetual oblivion.

We wouldn’t have moved a muscle if a regional or sectional party decimate or polarise its own ranks. We wouldn’t have bulged if such fate bedevils a mushroom party. But it is the largest political party in West Africa we are talking here. We are talking of a party that has since 1999 ruled Nigeria for 16 out of its 18-year democracy stint.

PDP’s biggest headache in the seventh republic was the All Progressives Congress. Like a sick infant, they were there, on standby, always ready to cry us a river. When the PDP implemented

a well-meaning policy, they cried.

When they didn’t, they cried still.

There was nothing they didn’t do to bamboozle and hoodwink Nigerians into believing they have superior offerings and policies.

They faulted every of Goodluck Jonathan’s move and promised to land Nigeria and Nigerians in Canaan. They played down and described GEJ’s achievements as nonsensical and at best secondrate and assured Nigerians of superlative offerings.

From this backdrop, no other political party is better suited to put Mr. President and his broomwielding party in check. No other party can better recall and replay APC’s pre-election promises.

But you see, PDP has been too busy to play opposition.

Rather than develop narratives with APC’s broken promises, the unthinkable hardship foisted on

Nigerians, the unprecedented job losses and power outages, the record-high inflation and exchange rates, and several other miasmas the country is presently immersed in, it is busy washing its dirty linen before the world.

Why is the PDP tearing its almighty umbrella in dribs and drabs? Why is she bringing down her fortress brick by brick?

The reason, according to some of its serving governors, is not farfetched. It is simply because of 2019’s presidency.

From the forgoing, it is safe in hazarding that “Election 2019” is the straw that will break the camel’s back. PDP’s 2019 presidential ticket is the match in the party’s powder barrel. If the 18-man reconciliatory committee headed by Professor Jerry Gana succeeds in calming frayed nerves within the party, they

have automatically succeeded in moving the party’s apocalypse to a later date.

The PDP has succeeded in boxing itself into a binary corner.

She can now only deal in ones and zeros. Like a patient battling obesity, she is left with no option than to eat less to avert her doomsday or starve less to her own detriment. She can put her house in order or sustain and maintain this present state of vertigo. She can converge at the fountain of love and acceptance, the table of sincere brotherhood or keep basking in an air of chasms, contention, hate and rivalry. Election 2019 will be either heaven or hades call for West Africa’s largest party. A three-fold cord is not quickly broken. A house divided against itself will not stand.

Joel Pereyi, Agidingbi, Lagos.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

SUNDAYNEWS

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

Abdulmumini: I Collected N650m in Five Years Damilola Oyedele in Abuja

REMEMBERING ADEFUYE L-R: Mrs. Shola Adefuye, wife of former Nigerian Ambassador to US, late Prof. Adebowale Adefuye; Mrs. Rebecca Aikhomu; children of late Ambassador Adefuye, Baba, Bunmi and Tolu; at the 1st year memorial service for Prof. Adefuye at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos...yesterday Photo: Mubo Peters

Japan Donates $800m to Fight Malaria, TB, in Nigeria, Pledges $30bn Investment in Africa Tobi Soniyi in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed special appreciation to the government of Japan for donating $800 million to the fight against malaria, tuberculosis among other deadly diseases in Nigeria.

The contribution was part of the $1.3 billion made available to the Nigerian health sector by the Global Fund.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in Nairobi, Kenya yesterday, Buhari gave an assurance that his government would ensure full rehabilitation and resettlement of the victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east who are currently scattered in different camps as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The two-day summit which had a theme ‘Advancing Africa’s Sustainable Development Agenda - TICAD Partnership for Prosperity’, was attended by Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo

Abe, some 35 African leaders and chief executives of at least 80 major companies from Japan.

The TICAD VI agenda and programme specifically focused on three thematic areas which included “Economic transformation through diversification and industrialisation; promoting resilient health systems for quality life; promoting social stability for shared prosperity.

Buhari said the Nigerian military had decimated the insurgents and that normal life was beginning to return to North-east Nigeria. The president however said the welfare of the IDPs remained his primary responsibility. He commended development partners for their help to improve the lives of the two million IDPs in the country.

He said: “The bottom line is that these problems are our primary responsibility. We must tackle them and find lasting solutions for ourselves. I took over the mantle of leadership in Nigeria when the North-Eastern part of the country was being ravaged

by Boko Haram.

‘’However, soon after assumption of office, our administration with the support of our immediate neighbours - Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin - and international partners including Japan, faced the challenge frontally. ‘’As I speak, the terror group has been decimated, and life is beginning to return to normal in the affected region. The challenge we currently face which is also being addressed, is that of the IDPs which number over two million to get them re-integrated with their families and their original homes.”

On the gains of TICAD which was holding on African soil for the first time since its beginning in 1993, the president noted that partnerships between Africa and Japan would help create and improve investment opportunities in industries, agriculture, information technology, science and technology among others for the good of the continent and investors from Japan.

He told the conference that already his government had

taken concrete steps to diversify the economy. ‘’In view of the challenges Africa is facing, the imperative for a viable partnership like the Tokyo International Conference on African Development cannot be over emphasised. Today, many countries in Africa including the oil producing ones are wisely seeking to diversify their economies away from mono-cropping. ‘’In Nigeria, our administration has already taken concrete steps to diversify the economy by making agriculture not just a development programme but a thriving business. Investing in the economies of this continent especially through Public-Private-Partnership can contribute to building capacity for our economies,’’ he said.

Prime Minster Abe announced that Japan would be investing $30 billion in different areas ranging from agriculture, industrialisation, health, energy, water among other things in Africa. He expressed delight that finally TICAD has come to Africa.

Ondo: APC Aspirants Accused of ‘Kidnapping’ Delegates • Professionals endorse Akeredolu, seek free and fair election Abimbola Akosile in Lagos and James Sowole in Akure

As controversies trail the alleged endorsement of an All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant by a National Leader ahead of the August 31 primary of the party in Ondo State, a contestant for the party ticket yesterday alleged that his colleagues who were not sure of their chances had kidnapped some delegates.

An aspirant, Dr. Olusegun Abraham, levelled the allegation while featuring on a live programme of a private radio station in Akure, Ondo State. Abraham said those aspirants who knew that they would lose the primary election out of their desperation invited some delegates to a meeting but later held them hostage.

“These delegates who never knew the intention of the desperate aspirants went for the meeting

but only to be confined and never allowed to go home”, he said.

Apparently referring to the comments of another aspirant, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, against the National Leader of the party, Senator Bola Tinubu, Abraham described the former’s comment as unfortunate and an ungrateful act.

Akeredolu had in a live radio programme, asserted that it was not Tinubu that made him the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate in 2012 and that Tinubu had lost his national leadership of the party by endorsing an aspirant ahead of the forthcoming APC primary.

Abraham described the statement as an act of disrespect to one’s helper highlighting all that Tinubu did for Akeredolu.

“Without our National Leader, President Buhammadu Buhari would not have won the ticket of

the APC in 2015 and he would not have become the president of Nigeria. The National Leader was being accused of imposing me, I was not imposed. Endorsement is different from imposition. Those who regarded the two as the same did not know what they were saying. Abraham, who said he had used all he can for the CAN candidate in 2012 election, said he expected that he would enjoy the same treatment from other aspirants now that he had been endorsed.

He said it was not right for aspirants to make appointment into political positions a campaign issue, saying what one would do to turn the state around is what should be paramount. He advised the delegates to be careful of empty promises so they are not disappointed.

Meanwhile, a group, Ondo Concerned Professionals, has

called on the leadership of the APC to ensure that the up-coming governorship primary in the state is free, fair and credible. It has also endorsed one of the aspirants, Rotimi Akeredolu, as a credible hand that can restore the fortunes of the state.

In a statement issued at the weekend, the group reviewed recent developments within the party and the challenge they posed to the future of the party, democracy and development of the state as it reiterated the need for justice and fair play in the election process. The statement signed by the group’s Secretary General, Mr. Francis Olagbuji, noted that politics was not without contending interests but that the onus was on the leadership to provide a level playing field where the delegates could be allowed to express themselves through the ballot without recourse to “undue influence”.

The sacked Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Jibrin Abdulmumini has disclosed that he has recieved the sum of N650 million as running costs since he joined the National Assembly in 2011.

In a statement issued yesterday, Abdulmumini however noted that he has kept records of how he spent the money.

The embattled lawmaker had on Friday alleged that Dogara and the nine principal officers of the House have received N10billion as ‘running costs’ since they joined the House in various assemblies.

According to Abdulmumini, the allowances, which he termed running costs, are col-

lected by many members and used as personal funds.

“No more, no less - case closed! Most of these members use it to acquire properties, cars and live a life of luxury they never lived before coming to the House. Though there exist systems for retirement of such money but a simple investigation by a primary school pupil will reveal the massive fraud therein,” he had said in Friday’s statement.

But in yesterday’s statement, the lawmaker said he had not been comfortable with the N650 million he collected. “However, I have never been comfortable with the money! Thank God the wasteful allowances regime has reached its Waterloo! The country and House will be better off,” he said.

Ogah Asks Supreme Court to Reverse Appeal Court’s Decision on Abia Tobi Soniyi in Abuja

Dr. Sampson Ogah has rejected the Court of Appeal judgment which set aside the judgment of a Federal High Court that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue him with a certificate of return as the governor of Abia State. In a notice of appeal filed by his lawyer, Dr. Alex Izinyon, SAN, Ogah raised seven grounds of appeal upon which he relied to ask the apex court to affirm the decision of the trial court. Among others, he said the Court of Appeal judgment was against the weight of evidence.

Apart from the appeal to the Supreme Court, he asked the Court of Appeal to issue an

order of injunction restraining the Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu from applying for any certificate of return from INEC pending the hearing and determination of the appeal at the apex court.

Ogah also asked the Appeal Court for an order of injunction restraining INEC from issuing any certificate of return to Ikpeazu pending the determination of the appeal.

He also asked the court to issue an injunction restraining INEC from retrieving or revoking or cancelling the certificate of return issued to him on June 27, 2016 in relation to the office of the Governor of Abia State pending the hearing of his appeal to the Supreme Court.

ExploreUntappedNaturalResources, RMRDCChargesManufacturers Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Director General and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Dr. Hussaini Ibrahim, has charged manufacturers to key into the untapped natural resources in Nigeria as a way of diversifying and reviving the current economic situation in the country.

Ibrahim, who was represented by the Director of Industrial Extension at the council Dr. En-

efiok Asanga, gave this charge yesterday in Abuja during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the RMRDC and Adcelerate Limited; a multi-media company, on the upcoming Nigeria Raw Material (NRM) Media Expo.

He deplored the difficulties sourcing materials in recent times, and stressed on the need for indigenous companies to show the world the resources available in Nigeria.

Sponsor Gender Bills, Rivers First Lady Urges Women Groups Anayo Okolie

Wife of the Rivers State governor, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, has called on women groups in the continent to organise themselves into a strong network with a view to sponsoring legislations that would address challenges faced by women and children.

Nyesom-Wike said this at the Government House, Port Harcourt, weekend, when she received members of the African Women Lawyers Association. The first lady noted that African women and children were faced with

ever-changing challenges and called for dynamic legislations to tackle them.

She lamented that many countries in Africa were still lagging behind other parts of the world in terms of the promotion of the rights of women and children rights. She said there was need for a coordinated approach to the problem because no one single group could effectively address the challenges.

Nyesom-Wike said, “We should come together to sponsor bills in our various parliaments, so that we can get legislations that promote the rights of women and children.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

SUNDAYNEWS

Concerns Mount over Missing UK-based Businessman • As 60 groups petition IGP over missing Charity Aiyedogbon Abimbola Akosile For the family of Mojeed Kola Animashaun, the last one month has been traumatic. This has to do with their endless search for 54-year-old Mojeed Kola Animashaun who went missing on Sunday July 31, 2016. Mojeed, a businessman, relocated from the United Kingdom to Nigeria two years ago.

On that last day in July, Mojeed, who is married with four children - three in London and one in Nigeria - had set out from Ikorodu with a couple of visits to different areas of Lagos on his itinerary. His first port of call was his property at Aguda located on No 2 Ademola Oki Street, Surulere.

On that short trip from Ikorodu to Aguda, he was in the company of two people - his brother, Rafiu Alaba Animashaun, and a yetto-be identified friend, who later dropped off.

At his Aguda property, Mojeed met with his two tenants, Morris and Fuad, and informed them of his decision that they should move out of the property by year end. He later proceeded to Itire where he dropped off his brother, Rafiu, and informed him that he was heading to Ajah, where his friend lives. But at that time, his friend was in London.

His plan was to hold a meeting with a lady at his friend’s house.

Curiously, no one knew who the

lady was or where she lives.

That was the last that was heard of him since that fateful day. His disappearance has however raised a number of puzzles.

Who was the unnamed man that was with him from Ikorodu to Aguda? Who was the lady he was heading to Ajah to meet at his friend’s house? Did the meeting with the lady hold?

Posters with his photograph and basic details were printed and circulated by his family as part of efforts to locate him.

His disappearance had been reported in a few police stations in the state while hospitals and even mortuaries had been visited in search of him.

“Yes the police has been informed and they said they will investigate,” a family member told THISDAY. His family is hoping that he would one day walk through the door to the embrace of his loved ones.

Meanwhile, pursuant to an earlier call on the Police over the missing Abuja business woman, Charity Aiyedogbon, 63 Civil Society Organisations under the aegis of Coalition against Crime in Nigeria have petitioned Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, urging him to take necessary steps to effect the arrest of a prime suspect in the matter, Paul Ezeugo, presently at large.

The petition dated August 22, captioned: ‘Re-Missing Char-

ity Aiyedogbon: pertinent issues; our demands, signed by the group’s National Coordinator, Harrison Pepple and made available to newsmen, also called on the Police to conduct a DNA test on a body displayed on Facebook by a Lagos lawyer (name withheld) to ascertain the veracity of his claim that it is that of the missing woman.

The two-page petition made a six-point demand and reads in part: “Coalition against Crime in Nigeria is a network of 63 Civil Society Organisations advocating against crime, immorality and other social vices in Nigeria.”

“We first write to commend

you for your determination towards unravelling the mystery behind the sudden disappearance of an Abuja-based lady, Charity Aiyedogbon, aka Chacha, being handled by the Monitoring Unit of your office (IGPMU).”

“We are aware that the missing woman’s husband, David Aiyedogbon was directly accused by a Lagos-based lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye of having a hand in her disappearance. He also displayed a corpse on his Facebook group, Due Process Advocates, claiming that it was that of the missing woman, among others.”

NIMASA Denies Opposing Ali Becoming Chair of Customs Board Eromosele Abiodun

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has refuted the news making the rounds in certain sections of the media (not THISDAY) purporting that it is opposed to the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), also serving as chairman of the Board.

NIMASA in a statement said, “The reports which quoted Mr. Momoh Alhassan, a staff of the agency also stated that

NIMASA was pushing to be represented on the Board of the NCS. We want to state categorically that this is not the position of the Agency.

“The event which was held in Lagos and organised by the Nigerian Customs was intended to sensitise stakeholders and garner feedback on the proposed amendment to the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA). Mr. Momoh Alhassan, though a staff of the Agency was merely expressing his opinion in his personal capacity.”

Senate Vows to Probe Diversion of IDPs’ Food Items upon Resumption Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday vowed that the Senate would investigate the severe hunger and nutrition crisis rocking the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the North-east.

Saraki also called on the Nigeria Police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other law enforcement agencies to immediately commence investigation into alleged diversion of food aid deliveries, noting that government officials and contractors should be held accountable for how truck-loads of provisions meant for the IDPs camps mysteriously got missing.

“Anyone that is found to be diverting the food aid deliveries should be investigated and brought to book if investigations prove their participation in these vicious schemes. Profiting from a complex humani-

tarian crisis is unacceptable.

The people of the North-east have suffered enough indignities in the past four years from the marauding Boko Haram terrorists. Stealing food meant for starving children is beyond the pale and only adds insult to injury”, Saraki stated.

The threat to probe the situation was the fallout of last Thursday’s protest by hundreds of women from various camps in Borno State who took to the streets and barricaded the Maiduguri-Kano-Jos Road over alleged diversion of foods meant for them.

Saraki described the development as desperate as he called for better coordination amongst government and international aid agencies managing the affairs of the camps. He also emphasised the need for Nigeria to quickly operationalise a more effective and efficient humanitarian response infrastructure to address the dire situation.

Book on Suntai for Presentation A book chronicling the intrigues, drama and undercurrents that played out in the struggle for the political control of Taraba State following the impairment of former Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai in a plane crash is set for public presentation. The book written by two-time Commissioner for

Information in the state, Emmanuel Bello, will be presented to the reading public in Abuja on September 15.

Titled ‘Suntai: Betrayers, Loyalists and the Media War,’ the 130-page book encapsulates the political manoeuvring and bitter struggle for the soul of Taraba State.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

SUNDAYNEWS

Lagos-Ibadan Expressway: Fashola Urges Contractors to Speed up Work Ahead Festivities

•Appeals to commuters, workers, as FG moves to retake all right of ways Abimbola Akosile and Anayo Okolie

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, has urged road contractors working on the reconstruction of the LagosIbadan expressway to speed up work in order to guarantee smooth journey experience for travellers across the country during the coming festivities.

The minister made the call at the weekend when he undertook an inspection tour of the ongoing dualisation of the Oyo-Ogbomosho road and reconstruction of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, in a release issued by his Special Adviser, Communications, Mr. Hakeem Bello.

Fashola, who inspected the

roads while returning from Ilorin where he attended the 5th National Council on Land, Housing and Urban Development, said although the contractors were faced with some constraints such as unpredictable weather and the fact that they have to work while also managing traffic, they must plan their work in such a way that would ensure a more tolerable driving experience during the festivities and general safety on the roads.

“You must plan your work in such a way that you’re able to accommodate that traffic and also help to make the journey time of commuters better during that period. They will be travelling home and coming back, and I also will like you to improve the safety signs on this highway,”

Fashola told the contractors.

Noting that the Moslem festival, Eid-el-Kabir was around the corner and that the end of the year festivities like Christmas and the New Year were fast approaching, the Minister urged the contractors handling the reconstruction, rehabilitation and expansion of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to consciously plan to accommodate the expected high ™volume of traffic from the events.

“Start calibrating your activities to prepare to take in that traffic, it will come, but the big one will come I think sometime in the end of the year when everybody is moving back from home. The target is to make that experience better than last year’s,” Fashola said.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE HEALTHCARE EXECUTIVES LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME The Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA), an initiative of the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PHN), the Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF) and EpiAFRIC, proudly announces a call for application for the Healthcare Executive Leadership Programme commencing 14th October 2016.

The Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA) launched in October 2015 as a platform to provide world-class leadership and management training to healthcare providers, policymakers and administrators in the African health sector to support them in their roles, build leadership capabilities and effect catalytic macro- and meso-system wide changes.

To execute its vision, the HLA delivers bespoke training programmes aimed at two categories of healthcare professionals: healthcare providers at the frontline of service delivery; and healthcare policymakers and administrators in the public sector who are central to health system governance.

The Healthcare Executives Leadership Programme (HELP) HELP is specifically tailored to respond to the learning and career development needs of high-level healthcare executives. The curriculum was designed following a period of extensive engagement with medical directors of clinics and hospitals to comprehensively address those critical areas that healthcare executives need to excel in order to offer good quality services, improve health outcomes and maintain financially healthy organisations.

Using a balanced scorecard approach, HELP aims to build capabilities in four critical areas as follows: • Financial Management;

Deal with Exchange Rate, Soludo Urges FG

• Leadership and Organisational Development;

Ugo Aliogo in Asaba

• Population Health and Health Systems; and

Former Central Bank Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, has appealed to the federal government to deal decisively with the exchange rate issue, stressing that the parallel market rate is overshooting, a situation which he described as self-inflicted.

Delivering his keynote address weekend at the Delta State Economic and Investment Summit held in the state capital Asaba as part of activities marking the state’s silver

jubilee celebration, Soludo said if government doesn’t want goods to come into the country, then there is need to use tariffs.

He noted that this is not a monetary policy issue, therefore as long as items are kept, the exchange rate will continue to diverge and overshoot, “it would create a distortion in the market that will prevent foreign investors from coming into the country to invest.”

He also explained that there is need to address the exchange rate issue, adding that each day the distortions

are kept, the exchange rate continues to overshoot and the economy continues to bleed.

“Government should work on an agenda for supply side structural adjustment of the economy and infrastructure,” he noted.

He further stated that the economy has been on a free fall, primarily as a consequence of the global shock and selfinflicted efforts, stating that the economy in dollar terms has compressed by about 50 per cent from $575 billion economy to $296 billion.

W’Africa Risks Instability from Silence on The Gambia, Fayemi Warns Chineme Okafor in Abuja

The Minister for Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has said that emerging political trends in The Gambia, one of West Africa’s smallest countries with a sittight president, was a biting issue leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) must quickly look into before it gets too bad and escalates.

Fayemi who spoke recently as a guest of honour at the sixth biennial people’s forum of the West African Civil

Societies Forum (WASCOF) in Abuja, stated that political practices in The Gambia have not been in line with extant democratic protocols of the ECOWAS. He said the region was risking its stability by keeping quiet on the Gambia.

He explained that ECOWAS leaders were not happy with the way the country was going about its political system, and would appreciate an improved pressure from the region’s civil society network to enthrone democratic governance there.

Since overthrowing the

government in 1994, Gambia’s president, Yahya Jammeh has reportedly ruled with an iron fist. He has also allegedly won four widely criticised multi-party elections, as well as faced down several coup attempts on his government.

Fayemi however said while delivering his opening remarks at the forum that ECOWAS must move in quickly to compel The Gambia to open up its political system for good governance to prevail. He said the regional integration group must brace up to this task.

Made-in-Nigeria Products Will Boost Nation’s Economy, Says Abuja Chamber The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has called on local industrialists and other stakeholders in the manufacturing sector to step up production to boost the nation’s economy.

Chairman, Organising Committee for the forthcoming 11th Abuja International Trade Fair, Mr. Jude Igwe, gave the advice at a news conference recently in Abuja. The trade fair, with the theme ‘Make it Nigeria’, according to the organisers, is to begin on Sept. 22 and end on Oct 8.

Igwe blamed the nation’s economic challenges on the dwindling oil revenue which had resulted in rapid depletion of its foreign reserves to an all-time low. According to him, the connection between the low revenue and depletion of existing reserves is the reliance on a sole product.

This, he said, had encouraged massive importation of goods and services to the detriment of local production of these goods.

“Experience has now shown that our economy can no longer be sustained by that and that

is why the chamber has, after careful consideration, chosen the theme `Make it in Nigeria’ as very apt. We must make it in Nigeria if we must find our way out of the current economic challenges. There are no two ways,” Igwe said.

He said the chamber would support Federal Government’s programme aimed at diversifying revenue base of the economy. According to him, ‘Make it in Nigeria’ is a clarion call to government at all levels to do all they can to encourage the private sector.

• Quality Improvement HELP is a one-year programme, delivered using “field and forum” methods to ensure that the conceptual knowledge gained in the classroom is applied to real life situations at the workplace.

The programme is structured into two distinct phases: • A period of classroom instruction, during which the curriculum content is delivered – this is done over the first six weekends of the programme.

• A period of experiential learning – this denotes the following 9-month period during which participants are make substantial progress on a chosen project within their respective healthcare facilities/organisations. During this period, participants are supported through quarterly shared learning sessions and faculty mentoring.

Participants of the programme are tutored and mentored by expert faculty from world-renowned institutions including Cambridge Judge Business School and Lagos Business School amongst others, who all have significant experience in teaching healthcare providers and policymakers.

At the end of the programme, participants will have the requisite skills and capabilities to expand into their roles and catalyse transformative change within their organisations and communities.

Who are we looking for?

The HLA is calling for applications from enthusiastic and committed healthcare executives who are looking to broaden their healthcare leadership skills.

Ideal candidates are confident, innovative medical directors of provider groups (hospitals, clinics and health systems) who have a genuine desire to transform their institutions and systems.

This programme will be of particular benefit to healthcare facilities with an existing and fully operational structure.

This programme is open to Chief Medical Directors only.

Participation on the programme is non-transferable and attendance at all sessions is mandatory.

Carefully consider the time commitment required before submitting an application.

Credits, Fees and Logistics • Participants are eligible for 20 CME points upon successful completion of the six-week training period.

• Successful applicants will be offered full scholarships for tuition. Participants are, however, expected to pay a N30,000 (thirty thousand naira only) enrolment fee to cover the cost of printed training materials.

• Applications are encouraged from all states of the federation. However, please note that the classroom teaching and quarterly learning sessions will take place in Lagos State. Accommodation and travel arrangements will not be covered by the HLA. For more information on the programme and how to apply, please visit the HLA website at www.

hlaafrica.org or contact the HLA by emailing info@hlaafrica.org

Note that the programme begins on October 14th, 2016 and only applications received on or before September 9th, 2016 will be considered.

T H I S D AY SUNDAY AUGUST 28, 2016

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14

AUGUST 28, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

OPINION The Gulf Between Nigeria and South Africa Tochukwu Nwachukwu contends investors pay more attention to growth prospects than the size of economies

I

n April 2014, it was assessed that Nigeria’s economy was the largest in Africa after a rebasing exercise nearly doubled its Gross Domestic Product. Prior to this South Africa was regarded as having the largest economy, but the rebasing exercise put Nigeria’s economy at about 30% larger than South Africa’s with the 2013 Nigerian GDP valued at $509.9 billion while that of South Africa was valued at $372 billion. The large increase in Nigeria’s GDP was attributed to the inclusion of sectors such as telecommunications, e-commerce and the film industry which did not exist during the previous rebasing exercise carried out in 1990.

The 2015 GDP figures published by the IMF showed that South Africa’s economy has again surpassed Nigeria’s, thus, regaining its former spot as the largest economy in the continent. The figures put South Arica’s 2015 GDP at $301 billion at the rand’s current exchange rate, with Nigeria’s standing at $296 billion at the naira’s current exchange rate.

Countries’ economies are measured using their nominal GDP figures at their current exchange rate with a common international currency, such as the dollar, in order to provide a common base for comparison. Therefore, although the relative sizes of their actual nominal GDPs may remain the same when measured in their domestic currencies, the exchange rate of the dollar plays a major role in determining the estimated size of a country’s economy and, thus, its ranking.

Bloomberg noted that the rand has gained more than 16% against the US dollar since the start of 2016, with the recent vote for a Brexit attracting foreign investors in search of emerging economies with liquid capital markets to invest in. In contrast, Nigeria’s naira has lost more than a third of its value after the Central Bank removed the 197-199 naira per dollar currency peg in June 2016. These exchange rate movements have, thus, led to a relative increase in the US dollar value of the South African GDP, vis-à-vis that of Nigeria.

Although higher-ranked economies will attract more foreign investors, these rankings do not mean much and are not really useful for economic policy and investment decisions. This is because the rankings are heavily dependent on exchange rate fluctuations, which can be very volatile. Thus, international investors pay less attention to the relative size of economies than they do to growth prospects. For instance, investors want to know if there will be economic growth and improvement in standard of living as measured by GDP per capita increase which then increases the returns on their investment in an economy.

Unfortunately, the current economic growth prospects of both South Africa and Nigeria are poor, with both countries facing the risk of a recession after their economies contracted in the first quarter of 2016.

While Nigeria’s contracted by 0.4%, South Africa’s contracted by 0.2%.

The South African Reserve Bank has forecast that there would be no economic growth in the country in 2016, and that the economy would grow at a rate lower than the population growth rate in 2017 and 2018.

The implication is that the country’s standard of living is expected to worsen over the next two years. Nigeria’s economic prospects also remain dim due to the country’s over-dependence on oil whose price in the international market has remained under intense pressure.

It is a bit unrealistic to compare the Nigerian GDP produced by a population of about 187 million people with that of South Africa generated by just about 54.9 million people. While Nigeria’s larger potential workforce and consumer base increases its attractiveness as an investment destination, with the likelihood of producing a larger GDP, it also means that the country has a long way to go in order to reach the standard of living that obtains in South Africa. According to the World Bank, Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 2015 was $2,640.3 while

While Nigeria’s larger potential workforce and consumer base increases its attractiveness as an investment destination, with the likelihood of producing a larger GDP, it also means that the country has a long way to go in order to reach the standard of living that obtains in South Africa

South Africa’s was $5,691.7. The former’s GDP would therefore need to be substantially larger before the average citizen can be as prosperous as the average South African, even if Nigeria was ranked as the largest economy in Africa.

While the 2014 rebasing exercise gave some insight into the magnitude and increasing diversity of Nigeria’s economy, the country still has a long way to go to reach South Africa’s level of economic maturity. This explains why South Africa has always attracted more Foreign Direct investment (FDI) projects than Nigeria. According to the EY 2015 Africa Attractiveness Survey, in the last five years South Africa received twice as many FDI projects as any other African country as investors are attracted by a diverse economy, solid infrastructure, and ease of doing business. In addition, the World Economic Forum ranked South Africa and Nigeria 49th and 124th respectively out of 144 countries in the competitiveness index.

It is not hard to see why Nigeria’s economy lags behind that of South Africa when one considers the fact that the former is more reliant on commodity exports than the latter. Nigeria receives more than 90% of its foreign income from oil exports, while South Africa has only 65% of total exports as commodities, which is diversified over several different commodities. South Africa therefore generates much more through its manufacturing and service industries.

In addition, South Africa surpasses Nigeria in terms of the quality of regulation and supervision of the financial services sector, which enhances the ease of doing business in a country.

Although there have been recent improvements in the regulation of the Nigeria banking sector, it is still very much a cash-based economy as less than 35% of Nigerians have a formal bank account compared to 70% in South Africa.

The fact that Nigeria is less developed than South Africa means that there are more growth prospects in it. Minor investments can lead to substantial economic gains and growth in Nigeria compared to South Africa that already has lots of economic infrastructure in place. Similarly, Nigeria’s significantly higher population size can be harnessed to contribute positively to economic growth.

While Nigeria is likely to regain its position as the largest economy in Africa due to its population advantage in the medium to long term, the ranking of African economies is likely to be determined by exchange rate movements in the short term.

––Dr Nwachukwu is an Economist and CEO of Preston Consults, an Abuja-based international development and management consultancy.

Perspectives on The Petroleum Industry Bill

T

Chijioke Nwaozuzu lists the contending issues that should be put into consideration in the bill

here is a fundamental interdependence between host countries and the multinational oil companies (MNOCs) in the development of natural resources. The interests of these two parties differ much but mainly converge on resource production-sharing. Two other major stakeholders are the national oil companies and the host communities.

The fact that oil and gas resources are vested in the federal government of Nigeria does not exclude the host communities as major stakeholders. These communities bear the brunt of environmental degradation (acid rain, oil spillage, foul air and water) that usually attend resource extraction and refining processes. These call to question the urgent need for environmental remediation in host communities and environmental justice for those that bear the brunt! A successful negotiation of the PIB will take into account the contending interests of stakeholders, which I will briefly narrate here.

Let us commence with the host country’s interests. Nigeria is characterised by high population growth, excessive unemployment, low per capital income, a low level of economic development (reflected in a lack of social services and resources), a low quality of education, low electric power supply, poor infrastructure development and maintenance, and short life expectancies).

Given this setting, the critical concern of government should be economic growth. As a major oil exporter, oil E & P activities should secure a reasonable tax base for the government, revenue from the world oil market, capital for economic expansion, and employment and income for individual workers. There are other economic, social, and political factors of interest to the host country. These include acquisition of technology and expertise from foreign oil companies, increasing local content in supplies and other forms of contracting, access to foreign markets, infrastructure development in the course of E & P activities, such as roads, communications, port facilities, etc. Few developing countries have the capital, technology and trained personnel necessary to develop oil reserves, and so must rely to varying degrees on foreign investment by the MNOCs. The Foreign Direct Investment offered by the MNOCs provides the host country with technology, managerial and technical expertise, and a reduced vulnerability to downturns in the world’s economy, and with capital. FDI also provides the opportunity to shift the responsibility of building and maintaining the requisite support services and infrastructure facilities to the MNOCs. Therefore, it is in the interest of host countries to maintain this historical interdependence with the MNOCs. The MNOCs interests are principally driven by the characteristics of petroleum E & P operations. There is a considerable lag between an

investment in a petroleum prospect and the realisation of any profit from the enterprise. E & P operations are capital intensive and frequently entail the creation of a robust infrastructure before actual extraction can take place. These operations are also high-risk in nature (the existence, extent and quality of oil reserves; production costs; and world crude oil prices are all difficult to determine well in advance). Therefore profitability is never assured. Generally, most MNOCs tend to improve their profitability by improving the crude oil which accounts for why they get involved in the entire value chain of the industry. Also hydrocarbon reserves are finite, so MNOCs must continually acquire new reserves which again are capital – intensive. The fiscal incentives available in different oil producing countries tend to determine where the MNOCs sink their oil rigs.

MNOCs are compelled to be far more concerned about government policies and regulations than most other businesses. These companies have to deal directly with the government (through their agencies) being the custodian of national oil reserves, but also must deal with the political and legal hazards associated with extracting the reserves that in most cases is the host country’s major source of revenue. The primary interest of the MNOCs as with any other business are maximisation of profits and minimisation of risks or at least ensuring that unavoidable risk are factored into the potential ‘upside’ of the enterprise. For the MNOCs the principal risks are geological, economic, and political. Political risks include a sudden increase in taxes, unfavorable alteration of the production- sharing ratio, government instability, agency – in-fighting, outright confiscation of production, and nationalisation of foreign oil assets.

These interests and risks have to be factored into the PIB debate and negotiations to ensure the MNOCs are not discouraged from making further investments in the host country. Else, they would be encouraged to move away and invest in other countries with more stable and better fiscal regimes.

NOCs (e.g. NNPC) are created to develop petroleum resources within the home (host) country and in most cases are typically multi – layered in structure, and organised into subsidiaries in accordance with function, such as E & P, refining, marketing, petrochemicals, retail, etc. The corporate forms of NOCs mimics that of the MNOCs, but the overall objectives of NOCs are less clear than the purely–for- profit MNOCs. NOCs are basically government agencies, and as such are responsive to government pressures and policies. Examples are: capping prices to domestic purchasers, purchasing from local suppliers (i.e. increasing local content) whose materials may be inferior and costlier, paying high wages that are not co-related to profitability, adopting in efficient labour-intensive

production methods to increase employment, making uneconomic investments to promote political goals, etc.

The NOCs can afford to carry on in this manner, confident in the belief that when and where necessary, the government is likely to grant the company better tax treatment than private companies. Additional state aid or bail–out measures may come in the forms of providing access to capital on favourable terms, including low-cost government loans, government loan guarantees, and direct capital infusions from the government coffers. In a situation where the NOC is economically threatened, the government will most likely step in as ‘saviour of last resort’ and take remedial steps to prevent the NOC from collapse, or from defaulting on its obligations.

The widespread dissatisfaction with the efficiency levels of NOCs has led many oil-producing countries to gravitate towards privatisation. This trend is more evident in South America than in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. For example Argentina began to privatise its NOC, YPF (Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales) as early as 1989, and most other South American countries have at least partially privatised their NOCs. Some of these NOCs have broadened their role into international downstream activities, which include building transnational pipelines to transport petroleum and natural gas to the marketplace, acquisition of refineries in the US and Western Europe, and also retailing directly to consumers in these foreign countries. For example, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A (PDVSA) owns CITGO Petroleum Corporation through which the NOC carries out extensive refining, marketing and transportation operations in the US. Conversely, countries like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Nigeria, Angola, etc., have made no significant efforts toward privatising their NOCs which still enjoy monopoly control. However, countries like México, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia have reorganised and restructured their NOCs and introduced diverse cost–cutting measures and audit controls to make them operate more efficiently and competitively in the global marketplace.

To arrive at this minimal point is part of what the PIB seeks to achieve. The suggested restructuring of NNPC in the PIB would ensure that the Nigerian petroleum industry at the least operates efficiently and an eventual privatisation of NNPC assets would ensure competitiveness in the global marketplace.

–– Prof. Nwaozuzu, a Downstream Petroleum Economics & Policy Expert, wrote from University of Port Harcourt.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

LETTERS

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FG, BBOG AND THE CHIBOK GIRLS

pril 14, 2014, would for long remain a watershed in the history of our dear nation. On the night of that fateful day, some notorious agents of darkness murdered sleep when they stormed Government College Chibok, Borno State, and abducted 276 girls from the school.

They broke into the school pretending to be guards on a mission to rescue the girls from insurgent attack. The dastardly act was met with outrage and wide condemnations across the world. Indeed, some of the leading nations of the world offered to help in rescuing the girls.

In the heat of the girls’ abduction and amid the erstwhile President Jonathan administration’s lackadaisical handling of the situation, a renowned 17- year- old Pakistan’s child right activist, Malala Yousafzai, visited the country to meet with the former president on the plight of the Chibok girls.

Over two years since the sad abduction of the girls, 218 of them are yet to be found.

Their parents are understandably distraught while some of the groups crusading for their liberation are equally perturbed. One of such groups is the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group which has been in the vanguard of civil actions aimed at ensuring the girls’ freedom. Without a doubt, the BBOG has been consistent in ensuring that

Buhari

the issue of the Chibok girls remains in the public domain.

But for the group, the matter could have died a natural death.

It could be affirmed, to a reasonable extent, that the activities of the group was partly responsible for the demise of the Jonathan administration. The group was so obdurate in its attack of the Jonathan administration over what it considered the latter’s amateurish way of handling the Chibok girls’ affairs; some analysts were quick to hint that the group might be clandestinely working for the then opposition APC. But then, recent development seems to have rubbished such claim as the BBOG is ready to fully bare its pangs

on the Buhari administration.

Presently, there seems to be no love lost between the group and the federal government.

Few days back, protesting members of the group led by former federal minister, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili were reportedly barred from gaining access to the Presidential Villa by security operatives. Since then, the group has been unrelenting and scathing in its criticism of the Buhari-led government.

Its leader and co-founder, Dr. Ezekwesili has been particularly piercing in her denunciation of the federal government. A few days ago, she mockingly denounced a military report which suggested that Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko

Haram militant group, might have been killed or wounded in military aerial bombardment. She said: “We have heard such news four times over but we are yet to see our girls”. Similarly, Dr. Ezekwesili recently told President Buhari to stop giving excuses on the abducted Chibok girls still in captivity.

In another development, Dr. Ezekwesili asked President Buhari to immediately tender his resignation letter, over his failure to rescue the abducted girls. Parents of the abducted girls were equally reported to have expressed regret at voting for President Buhari during the last national election.

Now, based on the foregoing, it is important, at this juncture to highlight certain realities on the subject.

One, no one should begrudge the BBOG and other such groups as well as individuals canvassing for the freedom of the Chibok girls. But for their efforts, it is unlikely for the issue to still be in the front burner. Here, we don’t really value the sanctity of the human life. So, the BBOG has done well by keeping the girls’ plight in our consciousness.

Two, the government should not see the group and other such movements as enemies.

Rather, they should be commended for taking it upon themselves to crusade for the girls’ rescue. They are like the conscience of the nation.

Thus, the government should be more open minded and creative in dealing with the

DEMYSTIFYING ROLE OF MONEYBAGS IN ELECTIONS

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bout two weeks ago, August 17-20 to be precise, the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) organised an interactive session with the gubernatorial candidates of the various political parties. The motive was to get all 19 political parties to sell their programmes and policies to Edo people. Hitherto, there had been a gulf between the governorship candidates and the people they seek to govern. This contributed to poor delivery of infrastructure from their side despite the significant amount of resources at their disposal. Having been in government for so long, politicians have uninterruptedly controlled the political space and controlled the economy as well, owing to the absence of a robust engagement and advocacy by the people who should ask for transparency and efficiency in policy implementation.

The highly participatory interactive session created room for the participants to know who these candidates are, ask them questions and get necessary responses on how they want to close-mark and tackle the socio-economic challenges at the fore. In a normal political climate and in Nigeria, politicians often draw their breathe from moneybags rather than from the people they seek to serve. But apart from this norm, most of the candidates from the relatively

unknown political parties had no political god-fathers with moneybags to canvass for votes, campaign entourage, or political structure to boast of.

One of the candidates came to the interactive session with his wife, whom he described as very beautiful and his talisman against the influence of the sharp-looking women lurking around politicians. When asked where his campaign funds came from, he said from his pocket and from his life’s savings.

But that was not just it. Some of the not-too–popular candidates were able to stimulate ideas such as gender equality, encouragement of youths as commissioners, good housing policy, adequate security, building of new hospitals, and restructuring of old ones with good medical facilities, encouragement of mechanised farming and functional primary healthcare centre in the state. This is a good example of an ideal politicking where equal and unbiased opportunity is given to small and so-called “big political parties” to share their campaign manifesto and how they intend to fulfill them.

ANEEJ played a strong role in promoting civil governance and political empowerment, in building the confidence of candidates who funded themselves to pursue their governorship ambition, in providing the platform for “smaller” and relatively

unknown governorship candidates to ventilate their ideas to the people. The platform helped in discovering upcoming politicians who ordinarily may not have been able to fund their political ambition to contest and campaign for the forthcoming governorship election in Edo state. That they showed strong commitment and ideas which can provide lasting solution to the plight of the people is to the credit of the organisers as well.

What this translated to is that voters had the opportunity to assess their options beyond that which had been presented to them by the bigger candidates.

Prior to the interactive session between the governorship aspirants and civil society, the polity was charged up along social, religious, ethnic, regional, and political lines. But I must insist that certain interests that negate the entrenchment of true democracy, people friendly policies must be jettisoned and should not be used to short change Edo people. Therefore, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as an electoral umpire should join ANEEJ and other CSOs in Edo State to carry out massive voters’ sensitisation exercise that will enlighten citizens with a view to complement the effort to enlighten voters on the dangers of casting their votes along ethnic and religious sentiments. The candidates should be judged by the electorate based on their track records

and capacity to deliver good governance to Edo people.

What the interactive session organised by ANEEJ and Civil Society proves is that it is possible to present your ideas without impugning on the character of a political opponent. So far in Edo State, we are happy that there has been no resort to violence and the shedding of human blood.

I want to recommend to other states in Nigeria to copy the ANEEJ initiative of interactive sessions in their various states, to engender a social contract which binds the people and their leaders in trust, performance rating and transparency in governance, and a lasting solution of government accountability to the people so that we can all achieve the needed economic deliverables that will move Nigeria forward.

Let this kind of interactive session be a signal to politicians. People are no longer as simple as they once were.

For politicians who want to remain in the corridors of power, they should be ready to implement people-friendly policies, workable public utilities, strong institutions and other deliverables. They must be accessible to the people they wish to govern and there must be a common ground where they must meet to agree on how they want to be governed as a people.

Charles Iyare, ANEEJ, Benin City.

BBOG and other such groups.

Acts such as sending security operatives to block them from gaining access to the Presidential Villa should, as much as possible, be discouraged.

The least the government could do is to decently engage with the group. This is a democracy; the BBOG has a right to its position on any issue of national interest while government is equally entitled to stating its position on such through institutionalised means and platforms.

Having said this, it is, however, crucial for the BBOG to be more discreet in its intervention. As things

currently stand, needless grandstanding and other such ‘aluta’ acts might not really help. Our nation is currently passing through very tough times, which are in reality not a creation of this present government and, as such, everything must be done to ensure that the polity isn’t unduly heated up. It is important, at this moment, that we avoid all acts that could distract the government from focusing on the herculean task of healing the land.

––Tayo Ogunbiyi, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Lagos.

NIGERIA’S ENDANGERED DEMOCRACY

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gentleman from southern Kaduna State who incidentally was once in the National Assembly as a legislator gave me a call recently.

This man has been my friend for nearly two decades.

Although for nearly five years, I have not seen nor spoken with him, we maintained our contacts largely on the social media platforms.

So when his call came through I was curious to know why he chose to call so early in the morning but he sounded downcast and scary of the prospects of peace and interethnic harmony in Nigeria.

It took him over 25 minutes on the phone to narrate to me what his people were passing through in the hands of armed Fulani herdsmen whom he said had turned southern Kaduna farming communities into killing fields even as he expressed doubts in the ability or willingness of Governor Nasir el-Rufai to galvanise security resources to put an end to the killings.

He reminded me that the current Kaduna State governor is a well-known Fulani irredentist who had allegedly boasted on his social media page that his Fulani people are very ready to take on any farming communities that would stop them from gaining access to breed their cattle.

The issue of the sinister plots in some quarters to smuggle in a national legislation to create grazing routes for Fulani herdsmen has being on the front burner with almost a unanimous opposition from a large section of the country.

This friend who sounded very afraid said he was calling from Godogodo town which is located in Jemaa Local Government area of Kaduna State.

That community is currently ravaged by incessant armed Fulani attacks which so far have led to the killing of many villagers even as hundreds -of -thousands of persons are now internally displaced.

So far the federal government’s funded National Emergency Management Agency has yet to take relief materials to these needy persons as against allegations

of speedy response by this same publicly funded agencies to emergencies in the Moslem dominated sections of the North. The top management teams of NEMA are from the Hausa/Fulani axis.

The director in charge of relief materials had severally denied these allegations of discriminatory distribution of relief materials to needy Nigerians but many observers still raise same allegations all the time.

Still on the serial attacks in southern Kaduna, only recently a pastor of a Pentacostal Church was waylaid and slaughtered in the same community by some armed Fulani herdsmen.

The leader of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in Kaduna was recently quoted as saying that the killings in Godogodo were a sort of revenge killings of a Fulani traditional ruler by suspected southern Kaduna people.

This scenario signposts grave danger for democracy.

If aggrieved persons are not freely roaming the communities unleashing vengeance on innocent people and the central government is completely detached from these evil deeds, then the consequences on the survival of Nigeria are grave.

Under the constitution the law enforcement agencies ought to maintain law and order. The push to illegally take possession of people’s land and hand over to Fulani herdsmen has constituted serious threat to national security. The southern Kaduna people, just like most other people in the south of Nigeria have consistently opposed the carving out parts of their ancestral land forcefully by government and allocated to the Fulani herdsmen.

There’s also the ethical question of why the federal government should deploy public funds to support the private commercial businesses of only a section of Nigerians when the constitution completely outlaws discrimination.

Indeed the oath of office sworn to by the president forbids him from allowing his private affairs or sentiments to becloud the policy direction of his administration.

–Emmanuel Onwubiko, Head of Human rights Writers association of Nigeria.

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SUNDAY AUGUST 28, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY SUNDAY AUGUST 28, 2016

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 28, 2016

INTERNATIONAL

John Kerry’s RecentVisit to Nigeria: The Untold Dimensions of Nigeria-US Relations

J

ohn Kerry is the incumbent US Secretary of State, the equivalent of Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. He had come on official visit to Nigeria twice in the past. His third and most recent visit to Nigeria was on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23, August 2016. It was a two-day visit. The visit generated much interest from different perspectives: why did the visit take place at this material time? Why didn’t President Barack Obama come in person in the spirit of reciprocity, especially that President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) had paid official visits to the United States, and more so that President Obama had also visited many African countries without deeming it fit to visit Nigeria, a de facto giant leader in Africa? What does John Kerry want in, or from, Nigeria with his august visit? In fact, the question has also been asked: of what benefit is the visit at this time in the context of Nigeria-US bilateral relations which are still fraught with suspicions?

If questions are raised as to why the US president did not come himself to Nigeria, several reasons can be adduced. First, Obama may have a very tight schedule already agreed to several months back. Presidential visits take a long time to plan. Besides, Nigeria’s relations with the US were not all that good towards the tail end of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, hence contemplating a US presidential state visit to Nigeria would not have been a priority. Unless there are critical issues warranting an urgent attention, there wouldn’t have been any basis for giving priority to visiting Nigeria.

Second, if we admit that Nigeria is important enough to warrant the visit of the US president, a two-day visit may also not be enough for a state visit. In other words, Obama is not likely to just come to Nigeria on a simple working visit, or officious or official visit.

What will be befitting is a state visit but the little time left for him to complete his second term in office cannot easily allow, hence the need to send his Secretary of State.

Third, it may also be that the issues to be attended to are not worth the while of the US president. In fact, it does not make much sense for the US President to visit Nigeria now when there is no accredited Nigerian ambassador to the US who would have the responsibility to coordinate the visit with the US Secretary of State. The best that could happen was the visit of John Kerry.

In any case, there is no way John Kerry would have come to Nigeria without a purpose, thus legitimising the many questions asked. First, deepening threats of insecurity can be one of the major rationales for the visit. The US government had given an advisory according to which American citizens residing in Nigeria should be more security conscious when travelling to some states that are considered conflict spots. Demands for self-determination are increasingly made forcefully. Nigeria has also been recognised as another terra cognita for international terrorism. In fact, the US led the international recognition when it labelled the Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation and as the deadliest in the world.

Second, Nigeria has also been internationally described as fantastically corrupt. The US is pretty much interested in PMB’s anticorruption drive, and may therefore want to give active support to PMB’s effort. The interesting question to ask is that everyone knows that Nigeria is quite corrupt and that, according to the Chairman of the Political Bureau, Professor J.S. Cookey, in 1987, corruption and indiscipline constituted the bane of the Nigerian society since 1967.

Why did the developed countries of the world keep quiet about it? At the La Baule Conference in France in 2005, emphasis was not only placed on good governance, democracy was also made a

President Buhari in handshake with US Secretary of State Kerry

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

conditionality for any development assistance. Are the developed countries unaware that, since 2005, corruption still remains the bane of the Nigerian society?

Thirdly, and specifically on US interest in John Kerry’s visit to Nigeria, it can be posited that Barack Obama is already preparing for his end-of-tenure report card. In this regard, how many of the US allies are still with him as at today when compared with the time he assumed duty as US president? Will Nigeria still remain friendly or friendlier, especially in light of the deepening special entente with the Chinese? In fact, will US interests and expectations in Nigeria be better protected? These questions cannot but have informed John Kerry’s visit.

The Politics of the Visit

John Kerry’s visit is another best business as usual. It appears to be more of an evaluation of the Nigerian situation for purposes of redefinition of US strategy towards Nigeria, in particular, and Africa in general. Besides, Nigeria-US relationship is always vertical in which the US always offers an advice to Nigeria on what to do in dealing with her problems and Nigeria will not only accept with much gratitude, but will also be asking for more help. Additionally, it was the usual visit during which both parties would have one another tell the other what it wants to hear. The US would not only expect expression of gratitude for what it had done for Nigeria in the recent past but would also await possibly a new list of requests. This has been one of the patterns of the relationship, even though both countries are said to have sovereign equality on paper, especially at the political level.

In light of this, it is argued in this column that what is known about the visit is not as much as what is not known about the visit.

The untold aspects of the visit are multidimensional in design and strategy, and therefore go beyond the visit. They concern more about the US global strategy. But let us first focus attention on the reported conversations of the visit which has both an official and officious character.

It is an official visit because it has a government-to-government content. John Kerry met with the elected President of Nigeria, PMB. He was not only given a presidential audience but also had the opportunity to exchange official views on issues in Nigeria-US relations. It is also officious because, as a government man, John Kerry visited the palace of the Sultan of Sokoto, a quasi-government establishment, to discuss the aspect of religious tolerance in containing Islamic extremism.

At the official level of Buhari-Kerry dialogue, emphasis was

placed on insecurity, democracy, corruption and the economy, as well as on US assistance. On insecurity, PMB acknowledged the training and intelligence given to Nigeria, both of which, in the words of the Nigerian leader, ‘has made Boko Haram less of a threat to Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region, while the military hardware has given our troops added confidence.’ The appreciation is largely predicated on the consideration that Nigeria, on her own, is not in the position to muster them. In this connection, PMB said he would not use real force in dealing with the Niger Delta militancy, except when constrained to do so. The issue is the determination of the extent of the tolerance: At what juncture will the constraint come in?

In terms of democracy and corruption, PMB was not in any way surprised that the US intervened before the 2015 presidential elections in Nigeria to demand for free and fair elections. This is because of what the US stands for in international relations. In the words of PMB, the US did not intervene ‘because of what it stands to benefit from us. You (the US) did it for the Nigerian people. It tells so much what the US stands for in the world.’ Interpreted differently, the US was only protecting its own vested interests by seeking to defend free and fair election. Democracy is a western value that all efforts are being made to market to the whole world to buy, keep and cultivate.

The issue of corruption was given greater attention for obvious reasons: it is acknowledged to be the major source of development setbacks in Nigeria. PMB made it clear that the anti-corruption war will be sustained and institutionalised in such a way that the war on corruption will be irreversible in the short and long run. As he explained it, public servants will be retrained and government will ‘insist on the standards we’re establishing. We are laying down administrative and financial instructions in the public service that must be obeyed. any breach will no longer be acceptable.’

More significantly, Government ‘will re-train our staff, so that they understand the new orientation. And those who run foul of these rules will be prosecuted, no matter who is involved. But we will be fair, just and act according to the rule of law. Anyone perceived (to be) corrupt is innocent till we can prove it. We will work very hard to establish documentation for successful prosecution, and those in positions of trust will sit up.’ This statement looks good, except to the extent of its assumptions. It first assumes that the agents of corruption are only Nigerians and that the commission of an act of corruption is not a resultant of trans-border networking. In other words, how will the Government of Nigeria prosecute those who aid and abet corruption in Nigeria but do in countries with which Nigeria does not have extradition treaties?

Secondly, it is assumed that corruption in Nigeria is not largely driven by Nigeria’s political system. The Nigerian system itself is sharply corrupt, especially by rewarding and honouring people who should not have been honoured. Seeking to punish offenders without reviewing the laws that gave room for such corruption cannot but be an effort in vain.

On the issue of the economy, PMB also made it clear that the main focus of his administration is diversification in order to limit the much dependence on oil. A breakdown of the modalities for the diversification was not given and it was not also clear from the Buhari-Kerry conversation the extent to which the US would want to provide assistance to Nigeria on the diversification strategy.

In all the foregoing, John Kerry heard what he expected to hear.

He said what he heard constituted opportunities and challenges on the basis of which to build stronger ties, cooperation and commitment. It was in light of this that he commended PMB for all his efforts. In presenting the position of the US, he said: ‘we applaud what you are doing. Corruption creates a ready-made playing field for recruiting extremists. You inherited a big problem, and we will support you in any way we can. We will work with you very closely. We don’t want to interfere but will offer opportunities as you require.’

This statement does not say much in terms of real commitment beyond applauding what Nigeria is allegedly doing. And inquisitively enough, what really is Nigeria doing? PMB is trying to bring to book those who had allegedly embezzled public money but also consciously or otherwise covering up what the Government had stolen from the general public. Government collected deposits from the general public in 1994 for houses that would not be built.

Government has neither allocated any house, nor refunded the monies it collected, nor bother to want to have it discussed even as at 2016. How do we describe this type of government theft of public money? Is corruption not made endemic because of Government’s own malpractices?

John Kerry pledged support for Nigeria in the fight against corruption and insecurity. but subject to capacity and capability of his country. More notably, the US does not intend to interfere in Nigeria’s domestic affairs but wants to provide opportunities if required. In other words, Nigeria will need to make a demand for the opportunities to be created. This is how Nigeria has always been forced to be happily dependent on the US and its allies in such a way that Nigeria has never seen the light to seek development on the basis of self-reliance. In fact, John Kerry has it further that, in dealing with humanitarian challenges in the Boko Haram-inflicted terrorism areas in the North-East of Nigeria, the US pledged to get the UK, France and other allies ‘to augment the support,’ because Nigeria is of priority and the US ‘won’t miss the opportunity to work together because you (Nigeria) are making significant progress.’

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

BUSINESS QUICK TAKES Food Importation

President,UnitedNation’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), KanayoF.Nwanze,hasadvised thattheUS$35billionayearthatAfrica spends on importing food should be used to create local jobs in agriculture.

AddressingthesixthTokyoInternational Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Nairobi Friday, Nwanze is expected to tell African leaders that the potential for prosperity on the continentisenormous,butinvestments needtoberedirectedtodevelopingthe agricultural sector.

Althoughithasaquarteroftheworld’s arable land, Africa generates only 10 per cent of global agricultural output.

“Africanleadersarefailingtheirpeople bytheirweakinvestmentsinagricultural inputs and infrastructure, and their lack of policy support for the sector,” a statement quoted Nwanze to have said on the eve of his departure.

“If even a portion of the money used forfoodimportswasspentoncreating jobs in rural areas, not only would the world’s largest youth population see a viablefutureonthecontinent,butAfrica would be able to feed itself,” he said.

Convened by Japan, the purpose of TICAD is to promote high-level policy dialoguebetween African leaders and partners, with a focus on African-led development.

Oil Exports A view of Central Business District Lagos

Analysts Optimistic about MTEF, 2017 Budget Assumptions Kunle Aderinokun

Reaction have begun to trail federal government’s approval of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for 20172019, which predicated the 2017 Budget on $42.50 per barrel oil price benchmark and exchange rate of N290 to the dollar. The government, which set the budget assumption of $42.50 per barrel oil price in 2017 , projected that it would rise to $45 in 2018 and $50 in 2019.

The MTEF is expected to foster growth and return the economy to stability with a projection of an average gross domestic product (GDP) of 3.73 per cent in the next three years.

Analysts at FBN Capital Research stated that with the oil price projection in the MTEF, the federal government had made conservative assumptions, noting that the projection “provides protection if the output projections are not met, starting with 2.20 mbpd for 2017.” By their position, the analysts aligned with the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, who said, “government is being

ECONOMY very conservative in terms of the reference price of crude oil, even though we are expecting it to go higher than this, but we are keeping to an extremely conservative price scenario.”

As for basing the framework upon an average exchange rate of N290 per dollar for 2017, the FBN Capital analysts said, “We do expect a correction once the new FX regime including the OTC futures contracts is fully functioning and the offshore investor community make the textbook response.” They, however, pointed out that, “given import demand which has proved resilient, we suspect that the correction will leave the naira well south of the projected level.”

According to Udoma, who spoke with journalists shortly after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, the economy is projected to grow by three per cent in 2017, 4.26 per cent in 2018 and 4.04 per cent in 2019.

He clarified that, “ the reason the GDP growth rate for 2019 is

slightly lower than 2018 is because it’s an election year and usually in an election year, because of the uncertainties, we have also made provisions for that . ” He added that the federal government would retain this year’s estimated production level of 2.2 million barrels per day for 2017 regardless of the adverse impact of militancy in the Niger Delta, which has forced oil production to below one million barrels per day.

The MTEF is expected to foster growth and return the economy to stability with a projection of an average gross domestic product (GDP) of 3.73 per cent in the next three years

Nevertheless, Udoma expressed the intention of the government to intensify effort in pursuing a manpower-driven economy in the 2017-2019 MTEF. “So we intend to intensify efforts to diversify the economy; we intend to go on with the implementation of on-going reforms in public finance; we intend to enhance the environment for ease of doing business so as to generate private sector

investments.

The federal government, Udoma noted, also had the intention to “continue to pursue gender sensitive, pro-poor and inclusive social intervention schemes, similar to what we did in 2016 – our social intervention programmes is going to be sustained.”

“We intend to devote even more resources to critical infrastructure projects, just as we did this year.

So we will continue to spend more on roads, rails, transport infrastructure, ports and so on.”

The FBN capital analysts believed the federal government’s release of N400 billion year-to-date for capital projects in comparison with the full-year 2016 projection of N1.60trillion, was “traceable to the underperformance in the collection of both oil and non-oil revenue.”

The analysts also noted that, “for oil, we need look no further than the increase in sabotage of industry infrastructure, which has pushed output year to date well below the projected 2.20 mbpd,” adding, “for non-oil revenue collection, we take comfort from the bullish comments by the chair of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.”

As four ofthenation’s crudeoilgrades remain under force majeure and the schedule for two other grades face delay, the country is losing at least N10.7bn in revenue daily.

Following the declaration of force majeures on the grades, more than 700,000barrelsperdayofproduction havebeenaffected,denyingthecountry a huge revenue, according to a report

by Reuters.

Nigeria relies heavily on earning from oil exports, and the recent production disruptionscausedbymilitantattacks came as an additional headache for an economythatalreadysuffersfromthe sharp drop in oil prices since 2014.

The nation’s crude oil production has fallen from an average of 2.2 million bpd to as low as 1.3 million barrels per day, the Federal Government has said.

Accordingtothegovernment,theplunge isprimarilyduetothedestructionofoil andgasinstallationsintheNigerDelta region,andithasdecreasedthecountry’s revenue by over 60 per cent.

$100m Investment

ASingapore-basedinvestmentorganisation, Ashdene Associates Nigeria, hassignedanagreementwiththeAkwa IbomStateGovernmentonagricultural development,infrastructuralexpansion and consolidation worth about $100 million investment.

At the signing of the memoranda of understanding(MoU)atthegovernor’s office, Uyo, the State Governor, Udom Emmanuelsaidhisadministrationwas committed to laying aformidableeconomicfoundationtofast-tractallround development of the state.

Hespokeofhisadministration’sdisposition towards investment and assured the investors of a conducive business environment for their venture.

“We are not ignorant of the environmentthatyouneedforinvestmentlike this to grow and we are determined to create the right opportunity for your investment to thrive”, declared.

TheCountryDirectorofAshdeneAssociates Nigeria, Dr Patrick Adiel, had said that the company which is faith based none profit organisation is in the state to explore the abundant agricultural resources to help create wealth and openupemploymentopportunitiesthat wouldengagethepeoplemeaningfully.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

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BUSINESS/MONEY

Cole

Shonubi

Odunsi

For Sahara Group, It’s 20 years of Inspiring Story Olaseni Durojaiye

I

f trust is never given but earned, how does a crew of three Nigerian businessmen accumulate it by the truckload? How do these young men turn it into a currency they can spend all over the world? How come they can accumulate it for 20 years straight?

These are the questions for Tonye Cole and his partners, Tope Shonubi and Ade Odunsi, founders of Sahara Group, the epoch-making home-grown company that’s marking two decades of operations this year.

The trio has come a long way from their dreamy days to birth a rapidly growing energy that’s quickly becoming a wealth creating wealth and playing a leading role in the global quest for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Since they began as an oil and gas entity with core interest in trading excess crude from the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, these three businessmen have had to contend with the unrelenting scrutiny that accompanies every Nigerian entrepreneur playing on the international stage. That they are still growing the brand sustainably in the face of sundry challenges speaks volume of their resilience and passion for excellence.

Remember that Sahara Energy Resources Limited opened for business in 1996. This was the year the country’s Dream Team won the soccer gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics.

For a minute, that record-breaking feat put a halo on the West African nation. What a coincidence that Sahara would share that golden moment with its debut. Well, it would appear the golden halo never left Sahara!

Sahara’s expansion took it to Geneva, Switzerland where it relocated its trading hub in 1998. Its international spread continued from there, leading to Ghana in 2000, Cote D’Ivoire in 2001, Singapore in 2009, and Dubai for Middle East and North Africa in 2011.

It’s currently spreading into East Africa with Tanzania and other countries in its sights.

In 2006, it became the first local off-taker of liquefied natural gas from Nigeria LNG Limited. The same year, it bought its own LPG vessels and acquired equity in OKLNG and BRASS liquefaction plants.

Since 2006, when it first sold aviation fuel to Nigerian and international airlines as an independent aviation fuel marketer, Sahara in 2009, became the first independent IATA certified fuel marketing company.

Now, the Sahara Group is a leading energy conglomerate with strong footprints in the power sector and operations in eight countries across four continents.

But second-guessing corporations of Nigerian

origin has become the global economic community’s favourite pastime. These days, no one feels the burn of the widespread mistrust more than Internet start-ups which are trying to take advantage of the vast opportunities offered by the Web. Ironically, though, local consumers seem to be showing the same lack of confidence in these e-commerce brands.

Obi Ejimofo, managing director of real-estate marketplace Lamudi (now Jumia House), said the only way to survive is to be extremely open in their dealings. Plus, they have to keep innovating. It appears that, even for companies operating at home, trust is a challenge that just won’t go away.

“The challenge is to continue to innovate,” he said.

Interestingly, Cole and his partners have continued to attract the respect and admiration of the world by continually leading the charge for innovation and sustainability in their operations.

Over time, as their businesses grew from that humble beginning to acquiring oil wells and power assets, to establishing million-dollar tank farms across Africa, to expanding into seven countries on four continents, they have built relationships on the back of their word being their bond.

Aside that, repeatedly winning people to your side has to be an outstanding achievement in human understanding. You should even get a bonus when these people are investors that are extremely sceptical of Nigeria. And you should get a gold star for doing all of this against all odds. Ultimately, your success should only be translated thus: you really are good for it.

For years, researchers have studied the requirements for business success. Repeatedly, they have found that trust is one of the seeds needed to grow a thriving enterprise. They also usually conclude that it takes a keen understanding of people and their motives, as well as the willingness to be transparent and consistent, to stimulate breakthroughs.

This is why there are innumerable listicles these days on how business leaders can gain trust. For instance, in his writing for Forbes, Marjorie Adams, CEO of business process and software consulting firm AQB, noted that apart from delivering good service and being transparent, what companies need to build customer trust is consistency.

“Everyone wants to be liked,” she writes.

“But creating customers and clients for life is more about them trusting you to deliver on your promises.”

Others such as Andy Atkins, CIO of Interaction Associates, a global leadership development company; and David DeSteno, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University, agree with her.

In his post for Fast Company magazine, Atkins explains that while executives need to involve people in the decisions that directly affect them while also paying attention to relationships, being transparent and consistent is equally treasured.

And DeSteno, a researcher whose book The Truth About Trust: How It Determines Success in Life, Love, Learning, and More dwells on the subject, says it’s all about synchronicity.

His studies of human behaviour show that when people synch their motives, they tend to trust one another.

“You need to build trust with your counterpart so you can align your interests and increase the likelihood that he will honour his commitments,” he writes in the Harvard Business Review.

So it makes sense that Sahara Group was chosen as one of the few private corporations working with the United Nations on the Sustainable Development Goals. In 17 areas of focus selected to make the world a lot more meaningful for many people, the UN has elected to involve for-profit organisations that are willing to partner with it. Sahara has aligned its priorities with nine of these SDGs. They include poverty and hunger eradication, good health, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, renewable energy, good jobs and economic growth, peace and justice, and partnerships for the Goals.

The Sahara Group executes its fight against hunger via the Food Africa Project. Through an alliance of Sahara Foundation, the Kaduna State government, and the SDG Fund, the agricultural programme will provide lands, machinery, food processing assistance, and technical knowhow that will create new livelihoods for farmers, traders, and everyone in between. Eventually, it will lower the cost of food, easing the pressure on low-income families in that part of Nigeria. It is expected that up to 500,000 people will gain from the initiative in five years.

On July 13 this year, the Food Africa project was launched in Kaduna, the Kaduna state capital. But it will not end there, says Cole.

“At the moment, we are working with the UN SDG-F and other UN agencies in Africa to develop the required network to make this happen. We expect that the Food Africa project would ultimately become a global model,” he said.

Beyond this, however, the Sahara Foundation, the corporate responsibility vehicle of the energy conglomerate, has created what it calls an Extrapreneurship scheme. This is meant to be a springboard and shared hub for young businesspeople who need guidance and, sometimes, funding.

Currently, Sahara Foundation is working with Kunle Afolayan, the actor and director of

popular movies such as the CEO, October 1 and The Figurine, to train film entrepreneurs.

Aspiring filmmakers are invited to enter their short films in a competition where the winner will become a protégé of Afolayan.

“You’d be amazed at the creativity, tenacity and never-say-die spirit of everyday Nigerians…. This is the narrative of Nigeria that we need to highlight. That’s exactly what Sahara Group and Kunle Afolayan intend to do with this project,” the moviemaker told the media recently.

And for those who are more interested in start-ups, there is an incubator-like system being built by the foundation. In conjunction with ENACTUS, a youth development organisation, Sahara intends to unlock a network of mentors and angel investors to young bright stars with innovative business ideas.

If you look around the world, you will continue to see bold footprints being left by Sahara in the sand. It has not only sponsored water, sanitation, ad hygiene project via a partnership with UNICEF in Lagos; it has also supported CARE Singapore with a career counselling event for teenage boys. Unite for Sight Nigeria, an NGO focusing on help to prevent blindness in the country also cites Sahara Foundation as a partner in its Eye Care Programmes done in Onne, Rivers State and Abuja.

In Dubai, Sahara facilitated a community relations gathering whose purpose was to be “a platform for people of various nationalities in Dubai to bond and foster unity and progress.”

The evidence of Sahara Group’s sustainable interventions is best experienced through the testimony of beneficiaries. Aside from being a profitable venture that regularly makes investors happy, the company’s continued intercontinental growth shows that its leaders have earned tremendous goodwill with their good work, which is largely powered by good relations with those they do business with—partners, suppliers, host communities, governments, and the media. Sahara’s phenomenal success can be safely linked to its trustworthiness.

Whilst Cole and his friends may not have fully divulged their plans for the next 20 years; it won’t be a herculean task to speculate.

So how about this for speculation: space exploration.

It is the logical next step, especially if they’re in any way similar to other audacious disruptors who have earned remarkable success in the same length of time.

Think of Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk. As far as they are concerned, the next frontier on this planet has been conquered. It’s perhaps time for the next, next frontier: Mars.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

A Life Buoy for Manufacturing Sector...

As the Central Bank of Nigeria continues to tinker with ways to make forex available to the manufacturing sector with its latest directive, which mandated authorised forex dealers, mainly banks, to allocate 60 per cent of their forex sale to the sector, Olaseni Durojaiye examines the issues arising from the directive

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he efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on how to lessen the burden of manufacturers, particularly in the areas of availing them the requisite forex, turned another chapter last week with the directive to authorised dealers to dedicate 60 per cent of their transaction in the country to the sector.

The policy has been roundly welcomed by the operators concerned, especially the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (NACCIMA) as they both hailed it at separate fora.

While the directive appears a right step in the right direction, ability to meet the set objectives, including smooth access to FX, breathing life back into the sector, employment generation and boosting non-oil export among others will become clear with time given that the sector faces more challenges beyond ease of access to FX for critical imports.

Indeed, the latest directive is yet another strategy by the CBN to tinker with making FX available to the critical sector coming after a couple other measures that were earlier adopted. It will be recalled that as part of easing pressure on FX availability in the official window, the CBN had earlier banned 41 items from accessing FX in that market.

A major milestone was however recorded with the adoption of a market-driven, flexible exchange rate on June 5, 2016. The policy shift aligned with calls by a wide section of the economy who had all along clamoured for a demand and supply-driven FX market as against the former regulated regime. According to the apex bank at the time, the policy was to help improve access to FX by manufacturers but the problem persisted leading to the new directive.

The New Circular The circular, which was signed by the apex bank’s acting Director of Trade and Exchange, W.D Gotring, directed FX seller, many of who are deposit money banks (DMBs), to sell only 40 per cent of transacted FX to users outside of the real sector. It was reportedly prompted by the review of returns on the disbursement of FX and the discovery that the amount of FX that is eventually sold to manufacturers was negligible.

The circular read in part: “Following the review of returns on the disbursement of foreign exchange to end users, it has been observed that negligible proportion of foreign exchange sales are being channelled towards the importation of raw materials for the manufacturing sector,” the circular stated.

“Against this background and in order to address the observed imbalance, authorised dealers are hereby directed to henceforth dedicate at least 60 per cent of their total foreign exchange purchases from all sources (interbank inclusive) to end users strictly for the purpose of importation of raw materials, plant and machinery.

“The balance of 40 per cent should be used to meet other trade obligations, visible and invisible transactions,”it stated.

How much the new initiative will engender availability of FX to the real sector in the face of the prevalent FX scarcity in the economy, only time will tell. This is more so as industry sources revealed that total dollar requests based on the letters of credit (LCs) stood at well over $4.02 billion.

As the circular takes effect, it is expected that a huge burden has been taken off operators in that critical sector of the economy. But a deeper look would reveal that some challenges bedevilling the sector that have limited the scope of operations in the sector still persist.

Looking Beyond the New Directive Apart from smooth access to FX for critical imports including raw materials and machinery not available locally, a few challenges continue to limit the scope of operations in the sector and continue to bedevil the sector. These include the nation’s perennial infrastructural constraints, shortage of FX in the system - that has seen the CBN embarked upon road shows to some economic capitals of major economies of the world in a bid to woo both portfolio investors and Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) - and high lending rate.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has always insisted that the prevailing lending rate to the sector which range between 20 and 30 per cent is too high and called for a single-digit rate. In arguing for a single-digit lending rate, MAN through its President, Dr. Frank Jacobs, argued that the thinking that the rate must be above the monetary policy rate (MPR) is faulty and not in line with international best practice. He backed his argument with what obtains in Britain even after the BREXIT. There is also the issue of infrastructure deficit and multiple taxations.

All of the challenges continue to burden the sector and manifest in different ways. At least 56 companies have closed shop and lay off workers since the FX challenge compounded the woes of operators in the sector. Other companies have either down size or reduce capacity utilisation and this has further compounded the unemployment problem in the country.

But while the new directive is welcomed by players in the sector, it has thrown up other issues. These include capacity to absorb 60 per cent of the transacted FX in the economy given that 56 companies have closed shop; compliance by FX sellers as well as how the new directive is perceived among portfolio investors many of who are still

One of the industries that may be beneficiaries of the CBN directive

In the same vein, Executive Director, Corporate Finance, BGL Capital Ltd, Femi Ademola, said the CBN directive appeared to be“a good idea when we consider the need to boost domestic production and enhance capacity utilisation of local manufacturers.” He however, cautioned that“the sustainability of the exercise is suspect.”

“This is because it is not always a good idea for business decisions to be regulatory driven. While it is desirable for the manufacturers to get the needed foreign exchange to import raw materials, it will be good to know why they are not getting as much as possible from the banks prior to the CBN intervention.

“If the manufacturers have applied for foreign exchange following the same process like others and they have demanded as required, they would probably get supplied the FX proportionately, except their demand is so low compared to other trades in which case, this development would help to push more proportion of the available FX to them. But if they are not getting enough due to affordability challenges, then the banks would have to sell to whoever can afford the market rate,”he explained.

Divergent Views Ademola therefore pointed out:“In other words, the sustainability of Expectedly, in welcoming the CBN directive, operators in the sector have renewed the call to revisit the issue of the 41 banned items. this directive would depend on the economic viability of the exercise. If While some analysts, believed the directive if well implemented would the manufacturer’s complaint is mostly hinged on the cost of acquiring engender growth of the sector, a few others queried the rationale the foreign exchange, this would mean that they require a discounted behind allocating 60 per cent of available FX to a single sector. They exchange rate as well as availability of the FX. Since the banks won’t wondered what the justifications are, given the fact that the sector take this loss, it would require the deployment of unconventional contributes less than 10 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic monetary policy specifically to boost the domestic manufacturing base.

However, if the problem is only that of supply of FX to the sector, the Product (GDP).

Jacobs believed the directive would breathe life to the sector, even directive is a very laudable initiative from the CBN.” As for the Associate on Macroeconomic & Fixed Income Analysis at though he was non-committal when the impact will become visible.

Nothing that other variables counts in how soon an improvement will FBN Capital, Chinwe Egwim, if implemented effectively, the directive be seen in the sector, he stated that the latest development provided should have a positive impact on the manufacturing sector.

According to her,“Output has plummeted on the back of FX scarcity. manufacturers with the opportunity to determine the exchange rate This has been visible in our Purchasing Manufacturers’ Index (PMI) and urged MAN members not to bid too high for FX. “MAN commends the Federal Government and the CBN on this where the output sub-index has remained below water for the past directive. It is at the right time because 56 of our members have closed four months. Since the launch of the new FX regime in June which shop in the last one year. With what has happened many of our is market driven, the naira has depreciated considerably. Increased members that have closed down will begin to return to business. This pressure on the naira exchange rate has resulted in further increase is an opportunity for manufacturers to determine the exchange rate in the cost of imported manufacturing inputs.

“Most manufacturers have been forced to source FX from the parallel of the dollar. I will urge our members not to bid too high and to also understand the power that they have to determine the exchange rate. market which is trading at a premium to the interbank; this has led With 60 per cent allocation, the banks will be willing to sell to banks at to a drop in output as manufacturers are struggling with maintaining a comfortable rate because they cannot keep the dollars to themselves.” their profit margins.”

Pointing out that, the “sector contracted by -7 per cent y/y in Q1 “The directive will help give fillip to the efforts of government to reflate the economy.You would recall that MAN has been in the forefront of and is most likely to contract in Q2 and as for Q3, contraction would advocating a special consideration and allocation of foreign exchange be at a slower rate at best,” Egwim noted that,“Until stability in FX to the manufacturing sector of the economy. This is in view of its supply is achieved, the manufacturing sector will remain in limbo.”

But, Lagos-based economists and analysts, Wilson Erumebor and contribution to the development of the economy; job creation, and most importantly the much needed diversification of the economy, Rotimi Oyelere, noted that in as much as the objectives are good, the which is one of the priorities of the present administration. The new strategy may be faulty arguing that it amounts to policy inconsistency circular is therefore a welcome development and would give fillip to the since it’s a government policy. Oyelere wondered why the CBN should efforts of the government aimed at reflating the economy.”he stated. allocate 60 per cent FX transaction to the sector with the backward Continuing, he added: “I assure the government that MAN will integration policy in play.

“What the directive implies is that CBN has yielded to pressure. It continue to encourage its members to engage in backward integration, import substitution and the realignment of operations in line with the is a bid to stop the economy from going into recession and need to reflate the economy but it is not coming at the right time. present economic realities.” wary of institutional meddlesomeness in the supposedly market driven FX market. Operators in the sector believe they have the capacity to absorb the whole 60 per cent FX. Even though one commentator argued that Dangote Group alone has the capacity to purchase 50 per cent of the available FX leaving the remaining 10 per cent for the other users in the sector, which he argued is far below the demand, Jacobs shared the view that the sector had the capacity to purchase the allocated per cent.

“I think we do because most of our members buy FX on a weekly basis; some buy new machines, some buy raw materials,” he told THISDAY in an interview.

The issue of how foreign investors take the latest directive is not that straight forward. Same goes for compliance among FX sellers.

However, compliance may not pose as much problem especially as the CBN continue to insist that banks report sales of FX and its increasing vigilance as regards monitoring.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

BUSINESS/ENERGY

A vandalised oil pipeline

New Window for Oil Production Increase with FG-Militants Dialogue

For the first time, an arrowhead militant group in Nigeria’s oil rich Delta region, the Niger Delta Avenger (NDA), agreed to dialogue with the government, giving it a very good chance to stabilise oil production in the region and recoup lost volumes.Chineme Okafor writes that this is a golden opportunity Nigeria’s hugely slow-paced government must not allow to waste

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ust last week, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, stated that unless militants in the Niger Delta stopped their vandalism of oil facilities and disruption of oil production in the area, Nigeria stood the risk of not meeting up with her budgetary expectations.

According to Kachikwu, the government would have to quickly initiate a profound dialogue with the militants or continue to forfeit revenues from deferred oil production in the region.

He had indicated that production was down to about 1.5 million barrels per day (mbpd), some distant 700,000bpd away from the 2.2mpbd production benchmark in the 2016 budget.

Such development, he said, meant that the country would need that much of extra production every day to recover oil volumes and revenue lost in the process.

Kachikwu, who spoke to the Cable Network News (CNN), explained that the government was really bent on extending its dialogue with the militants.

He said President Buhari was keen on putting the ugly development behind Nigeria and restoring the country’s production levels.

“It is a difficult time, production is about 1.5 million barrels a day, but we intend to get that up. We are putting a lot of energy around it, a lot of dialogue, a lot of engagement, a lot of security meetings to try and resolve it,” said Kachikwu.

He explained that: “President Muhammadu Buhari is very concerned about these things, a lot of executive time is being given to this. We are expecting that over the next one month, two months, we would find some final solution that would bring production upward.

“Beyond that, the reality is that we have lost quite a lot of months, about five, six months of continuous problems. So, it is going to be difficult to catch up with the 2.2 million barrels on which the 2016 budget is based. “But we are certainly going to try, once things are calmer. We need an average of 900,000 barrels per day, excess production to catch up. That is going to

be very tough, but we are going to work on that.”

A Guarded Calm Opens up Few days after Kachikwu disclosed that much needed dialogue between the government and militants had been progressively positive and should result to something tangible, top militant groups in the region suddenly announced their decision to suspend hostilities and hear out the government.

While this came as a huge surprise to most people in the industry, it however provided the government a genuine opportunity to sit in the table with the militants and iron out their grievances.

Although the militants have warned that their suspension of hostilities was based on their trust for the arrowheads of the process –Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, and elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, they also indicated that they will evaluate the government’s honesty with the intention of heading back to the trenches if nothing good comes from the dialogue.

Led by the very potent Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), which for over seven months bombed oil facilities in the Delta, thus cutting production volumes and revenue, other militants involved in the act soon joined in the dialogue train to mark what could be an end to renewed militancy in the Delta if well managed.

Reports had indicated that the NDA in deference to some leaders of the region led by Clark, accepted a ceasefire late Saturday. They were followed shortly by the Reformed Egbesu Fraternities which comprises of Egbesu Boys of the Niger Delta, Egbesu Red Water Lions and Egbesu Mightier Fraternity. They also announced a 60-day armistice within which they hope an end will be achieved.

Similarly, another group of fighters, the Iduwini Volunteer Force (IVF), which operates from Bayelsa, on Monday joined the band. In choosing to join the party, the IVG noted that it was quitting the creeks temporarily to give the government a chance to meet the demands made by the militants.

IVF stated: “The leadership of the Iduwini Volunteer Force (IVF) rose from a crucial stakeholders meeting with all its unit commanders and zonal commanders to review the security situation in the Niger Delta vis-a-vis the attacks on oil and gas installations in the oil-rich region of the Niger Delta.”

“We deliberated extensively on the current security situation in the Niger Delta, the efforts of notable leaders to seek peace and dialogue in resolving the crisis,” it added.

But the NDA which led in the cessation drive warned that it would not hesitate to engage in asymmetric warfare if the government resorts to intimidation or harassment of its suspected members during the dialogue.

It categorically said: “We are going to continue the observation of our unannounced cessation of hostilities in the Niger Delta against all interests of the multinational oil corporations, but we will continuously adopt our asymmetric warfare during this period if the Nigerian government and the ruling political APC continue to use security agencies/agents, formations and politicians to arrest, intimidate, invade and harass innocent citizens, suspected NDA members and invade especially Ijaw communities.”

Notwithstanding this, reports noted that another militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) was not convinced of the sincerity of the characters piloting the dialogue process. While this on its part indicate that the dialogue may be a guarded one, insiders familiar with the whole process told THISDAY that MEND has since outlived its potency and could just be blowing hot air.

They explained that MEND has lost the key people such as Government Tompolo and others who made it potent and difficult to be sidestepped in the past, adding that its leader, Henry Okah, was still imprisoned and ineffectual.

The insiders also said the decision of NDA especially to accept the invitation to dialogue with the government through Clark’s intervention was welcoming. They opined that NDA since it started its onslaught on

oil assets in the Delta, has not agreed to dialogue with the government or any group until now with the intervention of Clark.

According to them, the direction of the dialogue was now squarely placed in the hands of the government which has until the suspension ends to come up with a good dialogue plan.

Oil Market Reacts Crude oil prices in international market soon reacted to the development in the Delta with Brent crude falling below the $50 per barrel on Monday.

Reports from Bloomberg news showed that the market was responding to worries about growing Chinese fuel exports and more production volumes expected from Nigeria and Iraqi.

It said the announcement by militant groups that they were ready for a ceasefire and dialogue with the government contributed in increasing the market’s sentiments and price movements.

The report also quoted industry experts such as Bart Melek of Toronto based TD Securities, to have said: “Certainly, the news out of Nigeria, Iraq was a catalyst to get this market a bit lower. We had a nice, robust rally into bull market territory. With that, I think the market is somewhat uncomfortable to take it much higher.” The development meant that oil prices, which recently hit an eight-week high of $50.69 per barrel, soon fell to $49.20 per barrel on Monday.

The price gains of last week was from news that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other key exporters may revive talks on freezing production levels when they meet in Algeria in September.

But while OPEC members meet to decide on a possible production freeze, Nigeria which is in a dire economic strait may overlook such proposal.

Kachikwu had in the CNN interview expressed doubt of any success in the production freeze, he rather emphasised his desire for Nigeria to quickly recover its lost levels, an opportunity the dialogue offers to it.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

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BUSINESS/PERSPECTIVE

The Milestones that Shaped Omotowa’s Tenure at NLNG Ifeanyi Mbanefo

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here are many complaints you can make about the Nigerian oil and gas industry: crude oil theft, illegal refining, and pipeline vandalism. Oil money has ruined the economy and stunted virtually all other sectors. Oil money makes the government unaccountable to the populace. Politicians – legislators, commissioners, ministers, governors and all – live only for revenue allocation (please read oil money).

In the end, though, these objections tend to dissolve when met with one simple fact: oil is responsible for all the development that has happened in Nigeria since the civil war. The roads, the bridges, the schools, the hospitals, the houses, the gleaming jeeps, the private jets, the Abacha loot, the millionaires and the billionaires all came from oil and gas which accounts for over 80 per cent of Nigeria’s revenue and over 90 per cent of its foreign exchange.

It has also produced more visionary and ethical leaders than experts tend to acknowledge. One of them is Babatunde Jolayemi Omotowa, the outgoing managing director of Nigeria LNG Limited.

Six feet, four inches tall, Omotowa is huge, but not imposing, as if he deliberately makes an effort not to command attention.

He is after all only a star; not a celebrity. When he travels or enters a room, nobody recognises him – until somebody does, for Omotowa is self-effacing, polite and gracious. What makes Omotowa anonymous is also what makes him compelling as a star. He is not conceited in any way and would probably go down the history as the only oil and gas company executive in Nigeria who drove a Kia Picanto as his private car. His official photo shows an unsmiling, attractive man, even if his closely cropped hair gives him a boyish look.

Despite his efforts at anonymity, Omotowa remains a star performer and a lightening-rod for the troubled oil and gas industry. Employers, colleagues and subordinates tend to outdo each other showering his work with superlatives. Last Tuesday, Omotowa became an unlikely challenger for Luciano Pavarotti’s world record for the longest applause when he received long drawn ovation from workers thanking him for leading them through the most difficult period in oil and gas industry history without losing a single job. Most oil and gas companies have been downsizing because of the recession, but NLNG has been employing, consolidating and preparing for future growth.

Appointed by Nigeria LNG Board of Directors at its meeting in December 2011, Omotowa had predicted early on that the industry will run into strong head winds in a few years because the global debt crisis will slow down the world economy, suppress demand, contract the market and tighten operational margins. New global competitors (Qatar, Australia and USA) with mega trains will reduce Nigeria’s share of LNG market. And that a more complex Nigerian business environment – end of tax holiday combined with emerging new regulations, domestic gas/power, deregulation, Petroleum Industry Bill and increasing demand for cooking gas and inefficient business processes - will put the company in a very difficult position. In many public conferences where he spoke, he warned about a “closing window of opportunity”.

The future he painted was challenging and daunting but Omotowa was equal to the task. He is not merely good. He is ‘wickedly smart,’ to borrow the adjective with which President Barack Obama described Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Hillary Clinton recently. To prepare for the headwinds and ‘rainy days’ that he had identified, Omotowa immediately implemented a three pronged agenda within NLNG which covered expansion, strengthening of governance, controls integration and efficiency, review of organisation’s long term strategy and culture, and restructuring of the company.

Explaining his strategy, Omotowa said: “One thing that was clear to me at the beginning was that the LNG world was becoming more revolutionary with reserves doubling with the coming on stream of shale gas. By the time I came on board, shale gas was already coming into production and quite a lot of LNG projects were on going in Australia, Qatar and in other parts of the world, clearly indicating there would be a lot more production into the LNG world and with this, the industry will be much more competitive, which would see prices go on the decline. In addition oil price was about $100 per barrel then and it was obvious to anyone with some experience that there would be a drop.

It was clear to me that the world that NLNG will be facing in the future would be quite different, challenging and much more competitive. So the next thing then was to think around what will be the priorities and at that time I saw three clear priorities: First was that NLNG has been a successful company up until then, it had grown significantly, it was one of the fastest growing companies in the world, it had delivered value to its shareholders, thus we needed to make sure that success story continues. Notwithstanding that the world was changing and the future will be more challenging, we needed to make sure that the company continues to deliver exceptional performance to remain profitable and successful; that was my first priority.

The second priority was to grow the company because I could see we needed the growth if the price will be lower, as volumes will allow you to balance out the lower price thus the focus on Train 7. The last priority was that this company is actually an opportunity for us to inspire our compatriots. To prove that

Omotowa

Nigerians could actually run big business in Nigeria successfully and sustainably into the future and as a result change some of the narratives about our country. The narratives about Nigeria in the world have always been negative and here is a good opportunity to show that Nigerians can also do great things.

Those were the three main objectives I came into the organisation with. After my appointment I then started to look deeper into the internal environment. And a few things jumped to my attention very quickly. There was the need to develop a positive culture within the company that could enable it compete despite the challenges ahead and also drive cost leadership. There was also the need to build on the studies my predecessor had carried out to restructure the company towards top quartile benchmarks.

NLNG’s plant achieved over 96% reliability throughout his tenure and the Company ran for four years without a single fatality and over a year without a major injury. This was no mean feat for a company that recorded before his arrival an average of two fatalities and seven major injuries a year.

Omotowa also focused on improving the society by driving forward the vision of the company: ‘…helping to build a better Nigeria”. He increased supply of cooking gas into the Nigerian market by about 70%. He hired KPMG to develop a road map towards making the country use more of cooking gas in place of firewood and kerosene and by so doing reduce the health, environmental and financial effect of those alternatives. Prof.

Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President, has graciously accepted to lead the campaign.

He moved forward the work on acquiring six new ships by securing $1.4billion international financing. Not a man who leaves value on the table, Omotowa led the efforts to boost local content in the deal. And he got plenty of value for Nigeria including training of 600 Nigerians in Korea and Nigeria. He commissioned a study of made in Nigeria goods and services and ensured that Nigerian companies exported to Korea, paints, cables, anodes, furniture, worth over $10m for building the ships. He also facilitated the building of a dry dock in Badagry, Lagos as part of the Nigerian content for the new ships.

One of the things that Omotowa will be most remembered for across the country was providing the famous “bail out” funds to the Buhari regime. What is widely known is that NLNG’s tax bailed out the government and the workers. What is not known is that he almost paid a heavy price for his action. NLNG had since 2004 been paying monies to the government as dividends and for purchase of gas. Over $25billion paid to the government and NNPC from 2004 to 2014 were never announced. After its 10-year tax holiday in 2013 the company paid an income and education tax of $1.4billion in 2014 to the Federal Inland Revenue Service and over $1billion to NNPC in dividends and also paid for gas supply.

So when senior government officials began to mount pressure on him for the payment of the company income tax by January 2015, instead of waiting till June as stipulated by the law, Omotowa smelt a rat and refused to cooperate. With a month to election, it seemed obvious what the government would spend the money on. Unrelenting, immense pressure was mounted on Omotowa,

to force his hands. And when he did not budge, negotiations ensued on whether offering discounts on the payment would be a way to get him to accept to make the payment. It got worse when the elections were postponed and the government was desperate to fund its campaign, as is now common knowledge with the arms procurement scandal. The siege on Omotowa was not lifted even after the elections, but he stood his grounds despite personal threats and campaign of calumny. Omotowa was immensely happy that the tax which he eventually paid in June 2015 enabled the new government to pay salaries of millions of federal and state workers. The nationwide bailout was a very good outcome because it showed that NLNG has impact on the Nigerian people. Several people from across the country, including the Governors of Borno and Osun states have personally thanked Omotowa for the money and the effect it had on their state.

Other beneficiaries of Omotowa’s vision were six Nigerian universities that got new ultra-modern laboratories worth $12m for research and education. And of course Bonny Kingdom, NLNG’s host community. Working in Warri and other communities in the early 90s, Omotowa had seen, first-hand, how under-developed communities in Niger Delta were and also how the leaders in some of the communities were more interested in themselves than about development of their community.

Omotowa said: “Bonny to me was like Warri, though I think Bonny affected me more. The first day I entered Warri, I felt this is impossible, this is a town I have heard so much about and I entered it and it was like a shanty town and I thought this cannot be right. I had assumed Warri would be a mega city. I had the same feeling when I entered Bonny. I had also heard so much about Bonny and I thought this must also be another big city.

I expected to see high-rise buildings, manufacturing industries, 5-star hotels, etc but I saw nothing of the sorts.

Once you see that, then the next thing is, what can we do?

And we started to look at a few things. First thing we realised was that there were quite a number of legacy projects. Promises made that were not fulfilled. For me, that was unacceptable. We could not have a situation where we don’t keep promises. So we had to address those immediately. Then we started looking long term and visioning about how to turn the story of Bonny into a story like a Dubai or Singapore and the thinking started to crystallise. We simply could not leave Bonny to continue the same way. One good thing was that the Joint Industry Companies (JIC) had already done a lot in Bonny by providing 24 hours electricity; water and roads. So the infrastructure was in place. What was missing was a thriving local economy with good housing, small industries, diversified economy and employment for the masses. The town depended so much on NLNG for a lot of things which was unsustainable. I knew that as the years went by and the community grew bigger, NLNG and the JIC will just not be able to meet the socio economic demands. We needed to diversify the economy of Bonny.

And so in my early engagements with the king, I started to discuss these concepts with him and my desires that we work in this direction. Luckily the King was also already in that mindset about how to make the community grow. While my thinking about having the community take the lead was something he was a bit concerned about, but with time he warmed up to the ideas. The initial fear was that NLNG will walk away but I was very clear to him that NLNG will be part of it … all the way.

The King then led the engagements with the various community groups. At a sustainable development conference in 2013 the king articulated, very clearly, what we had been working on and the vision ahead. We later hired Accenture to help us with the crystallisation of the idea. A Bonny Master Plan was then updated to showcase the vision in concrete terms and is now available on video and as a model of what Bonny would look like in 25 years. This was unprecedented and had never been done to this level in the industry in Nigeria. The Bonny Kingdom Development Foundation (BKDF) is being put in place to take the journey forward and hopefully we will look back in 10, 15, 25 years’ time and see a totally different Bonny that indigenes will be very proud of.

Omotowa worked for the good of the community and not individuals as was traditionally the case in the region. The Board of NLNG supported his vision and provided N60 billion to support the construction of the Bodo-Bonny Road, a project that had been on the drawing board since 1975. No other company in Nigeria has ever had such corporate social responsibility.

Omotowa who will return to Shell, The Hague as Vice President in the Upstream Business will be remembered for providing NLNG with moral leadership. He demonstrated unequivocally that it is possible for a Nigerian to lead with integrity a multi-billion dollar company in Nigeria. In his time, the company earned over $40 billion and all has been audited and with no cent missing.

“I took all decisions in my time here only for the best interest of country, community and company; not for once did I interfere in contracts, employments, finances, etc for any personal benefit, nor did I ever favor anyone in the discharge of my duty. If we all did the right thing in our little corners then this country will be better”, he said.

– Mbanefo is a manager with Nigeria LNG Limited.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

BUSINESS/INDUSTRY/PERSPECTIVE

Enhancing Investment Climate through Effective Regulatory Reforms

In this analysis, James Emejo examines the relevance of strong regulatory reforms to reflect current global economic realities as well as enhancing the investment climate in Nigeria, particularly at a period when emphasis is on ease of doing business and economic diversification from oil to non-oil revenue prospects

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ike many other obstinate English laws in Nigeria, the companies Act of 1968 took after the English law system without giving cognisance to the peculiarity of the Nigerian system and its people. In order to correct the inherent anomalies however, the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) No. 1 of 1990 was promulgated in the aftermath of the directive of the federal government in March 1987 that better set of laws that would take care of the peculiarities of the society be enacted. This stemmed from the determination of the federal government to reform the law regulating the affairs of companies and its administration in the country.

The law reform commission recommended an independent, well-funded and well-staffed body to administer companies regulations and related matters, thus the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) was birthed on February 14, 1991 and charged with the responsibility of registering companies, business names and incorporated trustees (NGOs).

But, the commission has not been immune to challenges and like any other government-owned parastatals as there were issues ranging from inefficiency and too much time and resources wasted on registration of businesses, a development which had ranked the country among global destinations where it is difficult to easily register and commence business.

Nigerians have variously had to contend with touts who paraded themselves as intermediaries between customers of the commission and the commission itself. It was therefore not strange to see lots of jobless youths milling around the premises of the commission in a bid to desperately hijack customers who wanted to register their businesses, often times defrauding unsuspecting prospective business owners.

These nefarious acts were often time done in collaboration with unscrupulous staff of the commission- an unfortunate scenario which made the commission appear ineptitude and backward in computer skills; at the time, the incorporated process was very slow because of the manual mode of operation coupled with touting that reigned supreme and incidences

Mahmud of duplicated business registration numbers were a common feature while names of companies were often wrongly spelt.

Although the commission had previously been steered by two substantive registrar generals, the appointment of the current Registrar General of the Commission, Bello Mahmud on October 9, 2009 ushered in a new era, both in the administration and efficiency of the organisation.

Therefore, repositioning the commission on the path of greatness wasn’t difficult for having being a director of compliance previously.

One of his first major breakthroughs was the dislodgment of the touting regime which had become endemic in the commission while accredited lawyers, chartered accountants and secretaries were engaged in partnership to do business registration on behalf of customers.

This arrangement, was however, not without challenges as lawyers’ fees are not easy for customers to come by and their charges were even higher than the amount CAC charges for business registration, a situation which also led to concern by the World Bank in its Doing Business Report that the cost of

doing business in Nigeria is outrageous.

The CAC was severally faulted by Nigerians and accused of only trying to create avenue for some ‘charge and bail lawyers’ to make ends meet.

But Mahmud repeatedly denied the accusation, describing them as baseless, maintaining that the commission would not deliberately mount financial pressure on its customers all in the creating wealth for lawyers. He said the desire to bring sanity and sanctity to the operations of the commission informed the idea of using lawyers and chartered accountants and secretaries.

According to him: ’It is a mistake to say that we are doing business with lawyers just to create avenue for them to make money. If you know our system before, the way things were being done, there were lots of touts who come to do business for their supposed clients and in most cases, and they dupe these clients. So we said things cannot continue like that and we decided to make things cleaner, neater and tidier. So we accredited people who can deal with us, lawyers, accountants and chartered secretaries.

“So they do business with CAC on behalf of their clients and that is why you can see a neater CAC now, before now, every Tom, Dick and Harry comes in; now it is only the people we accredited that can come in and even at that, government felt that arrangement was not good enough and that we should give opportunity to those who feels that they can handle their business registrations themselves without the services of lawyers or other accredited people, that was why the e-registration portal was launched but if you feel you still need lawyer, why not, it is now a matter of choice.”

But there were other challenges on the e-registration platform launched by the commission to speed up registration processes for customers as well as customer reportedly hot stocked in the process of registering their businesses online.

Some prospective customers claimed that the e-registration platform fluctuated in the process of registration.

A customer also believed the failure of the eregistration platform was a deliberate connivance

between CAC and lawyers.

“According to him: “You know there are lots of jobless lawyers out there now, a lot of them do charge and bail or manage houses for people, they need to survive and CAC is just creating an avenue for them to do so. The platform is slow and one gets frustrated, they want you to go back to lawyers for the service.”

However, Mahmud described the allegations as laughable and that anyone who is conversant with the way internet works will appreciate the fact that the commission has no infrastructure to operate the e- business registration platform.

He said: “It is a new portal and it’s been developed by a local vendor, we did that on purpose in order to give Nigerians chance to grow instead of going to look for an offshore company to come and do it for us. The portal is working, it’s being tested still and many innovations are being done every day. It is not that it is perfect but it is a work in progress. I also need to point out that, most times the problem may not be with the portal but the network which we don’t have control over. For instance, payment is done online and the service for this is not done by the portal’s vendor but another platform, so let’s say there is a challenge with the payment platform, people will conclude that the CAC portal has issues.

But like i said, it is still being tested and we will get there, the upgrade is a continuous process.”

According to him: “The target is not only Nigerians residing inside the country but for people in the Diaspora and foreigners alike, the e-registration would serve their purpose because they would be able to transact business with the CAC and get their businesses registered wherever they are around the globe in the comfort of their offices and homes. The idea is to ensure that people are able to register their businesses anywhere in the world. We felt that it is not fair for people living outside the country not to be able to do business with us, and don’t forget that the world is now a global village. If you are in UK or Asia for instance and you are able to do your stamp duty electronically and get your business registered.” (see concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

Much Ado about the Proposed Communication Service Tax Bill Jane Ohadike

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he subject of tax has gained prominence in the political and boardroom agenda in Nigeria. The severity of the economic downturn has also offered a life lesson to key stakeholders on balancing the odds.

Consequently, there is pressure on the government to expand the tax net and curb aggressive avoidance and evasion, while board executives are managing tax efficient strategies with competing consumer demands and projecting a positive corporate image.

Whatever a country’s level of economic development, the administration of taxes across sub-Saharan Africa - and indeed the world over - face the same fundamental issues. Citizens will continue to demand more from their government, and businesses always need an enabling environment to sustain profitability and essentially contribute to the economy.

Recently there has been a lot of commentary around the proposed Communication Service Tax (CST) bill. A draft of this bill seeks to introduce a tax of nine per cent on telecommunication services spanning voice, data usage and other specified services. Communication service providers will be required to charge CST on in-scope services, and remit the CST charged to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

Severe and cumulative noncompliance penalties

have been proposed. While it is understandable that government needs to raise revenue in order to meet its growing funding demand, questions are being raised by stakeholders regarding the economic impact of the proposed tax, given that the established size and growth potential of the ICT sector could unintentionally be stifled by the impact of the bill.

Key areas likely to be affected include the desired broadband penetration across Nigeria, and the progress made so far on social and financial inclusion of the less privileged and unbanked public.

There is no doubt that the sector offers huge prospects for economic diversification plans, but the pertinent question is; will the economic costs of the CST outweigh its benefits? This question is especially pertinent as tax should exist to create benefits for society, and not be a burden upon it.

ACCA supports that a clear exposition of what makes an efficient and just tax system in government is essential. Going back to the basics of the fundamental objectives of tax to achieve revenue generation, wealth redistribution, resource reallocation and behaviour modification, ACCA’s report on the 12 tenets of tax looks at the wider tax landscape and the new pressures facing governments. These tenets offer a sounding board to the effectiveness of any tax bill: • Ensuring the openness and transparency of a proposed tax will do well to nurture public ownership and acceptance. It wouldn’t be far from the truth to say that no one likes to pay tax, but

if tax payers understand what they are paying, why they are paying it, and what the benefits of paying will be, the demonstration of a fair tax policy through open and transparent engagement with government, would make compliance more palatable. There have been some positive steps in this direction seen in the recent laudable efforts of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry to bring government and sector stakeholders in dialogue over the pros and cons of the proposed CST bill. How this initiative will influence the law will depend on the policy makers’ actual involvement in the dialogue process, and if they indeed have the ears of stakeholders who represent the public.

In any case, to foster healthy relationships between business owners, tax payers and the authorities, government should institutionalize transparent clearance mechanisms for constructive dialogue in advance of a proposed tax legislation.

• Tax should be simple and straightforward to enable public understanding and compliance.

The bill raises some degree of complexity, which include the appointment of third party agents in the monitoring process and the filing requirements. The former flags concerns around data protection and security of user information and the latter indicates the possible challenges in the remittance process and complying with the tax in the first instance.

In a PwC tax report on the ease of paying taxes, Nigeria currently ranks 181 out of 189 economies surveyed. If passed into law, how will this tax legislation impact Nigeria’s ranking?

• Tax neutrality arises where certain economic behaviours are not encouraged over others as a result of the tax. The motivations of the CST bill should not be discriminatory or an instrument of social policy seeking to modify the behavior of the tax payer such as the heavy duties imposed on tobacco to discourage smoking. If this is not the case, then it would be critical to consider the counter economic drawbacks which may arise from its implementation. The ICT sector is already contending with multiple taxes across all levels of government. Given the sector’s role in digital transformation, improving the level of literacy, social and financial inclusion across the country, any success to be achieved by the tax bill could be short-lived considered within the context of impact on further investment, broadband penetration, access to ICT services in remote areas, and reduced service usage by existing users.

It is essential that government commits to facilitate simple tax laws and administration, as society ultimately pays the price for complexity.

In the same vein, open and transparent processes should be institutionalised within the tax system and the overall legislative process. In the long run, this will also reduce administrative costs resulting from proper understanding of the tax pitfalls and challenges; and increased stability of tax revenue as unintended consequences will be avoided and counter measures instituted.

– Ohadike is Regional Head of Policy subSaharan Africa at ACCA

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

BUSINESS/ MEDIA

How Etisalat Deepened Brand Equity among Stakeholders

Good stakeholder relationships can build brands while poor stakeholder relationships alike can destroy brands. To this end, Raheem Akingbolu examines how Etisalat Nigeria innovatively built and deepened brand equity through relationship with its diverse stakeholders

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he market place today, no doubt is highly competitive, and there is nothing to suggest it would get less.

Therefore there is increased awareness of good stakeholder relations as a core business imperative among brands. More importantly as a stimulant for building brand equity. This is more compelling for brands at a time like this when the market place has become a hot battle ground. Almost per second, brands are competing for consumers’ attention, share of mind and share of wallet amidst dwindling consumers’ disposable income. Therefore, only brands that take conscious efforts to engage innovatively and stay closer with their critical stakeholders get the best out of the current realities.

Experts have defined stakeholders to be persons or group of persons who are directly or indirectly affected by a firm, its products or activities. They can also be persons or group of persons who have the ability to influence a firm either positively or negatively.

Stakeholders may include the consumers, government at the national, state or local level including legislative arm, regulatory bodies, local communities, civil society organisations and the academic community among others.

Relationship-building takes time no doubt, but the benefits of a good stakeholder relationship are immense. These benefits include but not limited to trust, understanding, mutual respect and loyalty. Underlining this need, firms like Etisalat Nigeria have been committing time and resources to creating and sustaining good relationships among their stakeholders, thereby continuously securing positive top of mind awareness, share of voice and share of loyalty among their target stakeholders.

The International Finance Corporation in a publication, Stakeholder Engagement: A Good Practice Handbook for Companies Doing Business in Emerging Markets (2007), underscores the imperative of good stakeholder relationship for businesses thus: “Companies that have grasped the importance of actively developing and sustaining relationships with affected communities and other stakeholders throughout the life of their project, and not simply during the initial feasibility and assessment phase, are reaping the benefits of improved risk management and better outcomes on the ground.”

Since its launch into the Nigerian market in 2008, Etisalat Nigeria has been committed to leveraging its key reputation drivers: Innovation, Youth and Customer friendliness to build brand equity across its various stakeholder groups. This way, it has successfully beaten through the clutter and remained outstanding as a market force of reckon. It is a well known fact that Etisalat came into an already established telecom market seven years after MTN, Airtel and Glo had gained significant market shares. This is coupled with the fact that the market is even more competitive with the entrance of the fifth operator. Added to them are changing consumer trends one of which is the emergence of informed and more discerning consumers, who continuously spend less and ask for more benefits from their service providers.

How did the Etisalat rise from being the last market entrant in 2008 to becoming a major player with 23 million subscribers today? The answer is in Etisalat Nigeria’s optimised leverage of its three core reputation drivers of Innovation, Youth and Customer Friendliness to build brand equity among its critical stakeholder groups in ways that are different from competitors’.

It’s in the Brand DNA Etisalat Nigeria is an international company and one of the 19 operations of the Etisalat Group spanning Africa, the Middle East and Asia and serving over 182 million subscribers. Etisalat has a good reputation in the global market and across different stakeholder groups as an innovative, youthful and customer centric brand, and it was launched in Nigeria with a commitment to deliver innovative and quality services to its subscribers. True to type, the first market disruption created by the telco was its highly successful unique 0809Uchoose campaign which offered subscribers opportunity to choose their preferred numbers. This unique initiative gave Etisalat unprecedented one million subscribers at start, while the telco has gone ahead to notch up the figure to 23 million subscribers in just about eight years.

Relationship with Customer and Supply Value Chain Etisalat has established itself as most customer-friendly network, and has continued to create initiatives that deliver excellently on its ‘customer is king’ proposition. Examples include Customer Forum, Channel Partnership and Franchise Centres that foster enduring relationship with customers, distributors and critical partners on the supply value chain. The Etisalat Customer Forum brings together Etisalat customers and the management team to take customers’ feedback on Etisalat products and services. Feedback from the forum, which holds quarterly in key cities, is utilised for product and service improvement. Director, Brand and Experience, Etisalat Nigeria, Elvis Ogiemwanye, said “as the leading customer-focused company, we make it our duty to feel the pulse of our customers

Matthew Willsher

regarding the products and services we offer. We are keen to understand how best they want us to serve them. So, the forum enables us to meet with them, hear their views on our offerings, products and services and then respond to these needs in the best ways that would positively impact on their lifestyles.”

Through Channel Partnership Etisalat bonds with its retail channel partners by hosting them to exclusive business conference and gala night from time to time. The two-in-one event offers a platform to share new business insights, strengthen existing bond, network and appreciate the channel partners for their contributions to the success of the Etisalat brand. Etisalat Nigeria’s Vice President, Consumer Sales and Service, Ken Ogujiofor, explained that the company’s inclination for innovation and quality of service necessitates that its partners align with the vision of bringing value to customers on the network.

“We need to align these goals and visions with them to be able to continue giving value to our customers. This is one of the efforts we make to sustain our innovative streak and remain steadfast in delivering the best customer experience through”, he said. The Director Channel Sales, Etisalat Nigeria, Victor Nwaobia, said “We recognise the place of our channel partners as critical stakeholders in our business drive and also the value they bring to the whole chain. This platform enables us to share our strategic business insights, visions and plans for the year and then have the partners contribute with useful feedbacks.”

Etisalat Franchise Centres is a strategic initiative aimed at enhancing brand affinity through increased retail presence across the country.

Franchise Centres are under Etisalat’s third party operated specialist retail programme otherwise known as Franchise Operations. The aim of the initiative is to ensure that customers have easier access to Etisalat services and to experience the same level of quality service regardless of where they are. Six of the Franchise Centres were launched recently in key Nigerian cities: Zaria, Katsina, Abakaliki, Port Harcourt, Ado Ekiti and Lagos.

The CEO, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher, said the initiative affirms the telco’s commitment to continuous positive customer experience. “It is because at Etisalat we believe that our customers deserve an excellent experience no matter how small your order/

question maybe”, he said, adding that through the franchise approach, Etisalat is helping to drive the Nigerian economy through the empowerment of entrepreneurs - startup businesses and Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) - who are vital to the nation’s economic growth and recovery.

Strategic Business-to-Business Partnerships Strategic business-to-business partnerships form part of Etisalat’s stakeholder relations programme. Examples are partnerships with Samsung Mobile and TECNO Mobile that enable Etisalat customers become proud owners of trendy smartphone devices of their choice at very pocket-friendly prices. Also is the partnership with Vodacom that enables Etisalat to provide improved enterprise solutions to its customers as well as deliver superior telecommunication services to businesses in Nigeria.

The partnership with Samsung Mobile and Union Bank of Nigeria provides flexible payment plans for Etisalat customers to purchase high-end smartphone devices on instalments at select Etisalat Experience Centres nationwide, under the scheme entitled ‘Get a Smart Device with Ease’. The launch of GTEasySavers account in partnership with Guaranty Trust Bank enables customers to own and operate bank accounts on their mobile phones. It was designed to enable under-banked and unbanked individuals achieve their financial goals while operating a regular bank account via their mobile phones.

Most recently, Etisalat in partnership with Singapore’s YuuZoo Corp launched the new social and e-Commerce platform called “SME Arena”, which allows small and medium-sized enterprises to showcase their products and interact with customers and business partners. YuuZoo CEO, James Sundram said, “YuuZoo is excited to be the first Singapore-based company to in a significant way engage in the booming Nigerian e-Commerce market. We are deeply honoured that Etisalat, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators, has chosen us to be their trusted technology and solution partner for their new massive social e-Commerce launch.” (see concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

NIGERIA’S TOP 50 STOCKS BASED ON MARKET FUNDAMENTALS

AIICO INSURANCE PLC: AIICO reports massive growth in top-line and bottom-line earnings

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stablished in 1963, AIICO Insurance Plc (AIICO) is one of largest composite insurance companies in Nigeria; offering both life insurance and general insurance businesses. The company is publicly listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange and currently has 33 business offices spread across Nigeria. In addition to being a foremost life insurer, AIICO is also a major underwriter for general insurance including business and special risks and provides both personal and business insurance products. The types of individual insurance products the company offers are annuities, term life insurance plans, education plans, funeral plans, home plans, legacy assurance plans, mortgage protection plans, motor insurance plans, personal accident plan and travel insurance. The company’s business insurance products include civil construction risk and industry specific products in agriculture, engineering, financial services, legal, logistics, hospitality and entertainment.

The Company’s results for the first quarter period ended, March 31st 2016, showed growth in key metrics as premium income rose notably along with underwriting profit. The insurance giant, AIICO Plc’s management paid a total dividend payment of N346.51 million (on the basis of N0.05 per share) for every 50 kobo share for the full year 2015 after a few of non-payment of dividend.

SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN NET PREMIUM INCOME BACKED BY REDUCED REINSURANCE EXPENSES For the first quarter period ended March 31st 2016, AIICO’s result showed an increase of 3.48% in gross premium written to N8.22 billion from N7.94 billion in the corresponding period of 2015. This was followed by a moderate rise of 9.04% in gross premium income to N5.07 billion from N4.65 billion in the corresponding period of 2015. Another reason for the spike in gross premium income was due to a 4.39% decrease in unearned premium.

Unearned premiums are proportionate to the unexpired portion of the risk, for which coverage has been sought by the insured party.

Thus, it is deemed to have not yet been earned by the insurer. It appears as a liability on the insurer’s balance sheet, as it would have to be paid back upon cancellation of the insurance policy. Also, re-insurance income decline by 24.47% to N859m from N1.14m in March 2015.

Owing to the various aforementioned factors, net premium income for the year rose by a notable 19.90% to N4.21 billion in March 2016 from N3.51 billion in corresponding period of 2015. This translates to improved market share despite stiff competition in the insurance sector.

AS ONE OF THE LEADERS IN LIFE INSURANCE BUSINESS IN NIGERIA, AND A REPUTABLE PLAYER IN THE INDUSTRY, AIICO INSURANCE IS WELL POSITIONED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE INITIATIVES

BY EXPANDING ITS CLIENTELE AND THUS INCREASING PREMIUMS

INCREASE IN UNDERWRITING PROFIT FURTHER IMPACTS PROFITABILITY For the first quarter period ended March 2016, gross claims expenses decreased by 24.23% to N2.34 billion in from N3.09 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2015. Claims expenses recovered from reinsurers also followed suit with a 123.24% decrease to N130m from N558m during the period under review. However, due to a positive recover of claimed expenses from reinsurers in March 2016, net claim expenses decreased slightly by 2.44% to N2.47 billion in March 2016 from N2.53 billion in the corresponding period of 2015.

Moreover, total underwriting expenses decreased moderately by 5.02% to N3.35 billion in March 2016 from N3.52 billion in the corresponding period of 2015. We believe that the company’s management has adopted a more effective risk management practice that is enhancing the reduction of its previously increasing underwriting expenses.

Due to decline in various expenses, AIICO Plc recorded an underwriting profit of N1.38 billion in March 2016 from N454m in the corresponding period of 2015; representing a change of 204.38%. Investment income in the year under review, increased by a substantial 43.09% to N1.48 from N1.04 billion in the same period of March of 2015.

MASSIVE GROWTH RECORDED IN NET INCOME

Owing primarily to the substantial increase in investment income and a moderate decline in total underwriting expenses, pre-tax income rose massively by 166.77% to N1.26 billion in March 2016 from N473m in March 2015.

Net income also followed suit with a 111.60% massive rise to N937m from N443m in the corresponding of first quarter 2015. The increase was recorded despite an extra-ordinary rise in income tax expenses by 974.11% to N325m from N30m in March 2015.

ASSET QUALITY IN FIRST QUARTER 2016 AIICO’s total assets grew by 3.04% to N82.56 billion in March 2016 from N80.13 billion in December 2015. The key drivers of the company’s total assets were 89.46% increase in trade receivables to N562m from N297m, 53.75% improvement in cash and cash equivalents to N13 billion from N8.45 billion and a 42.01% rise in deferred acquisition cost to N376m from N265m in the first quarter of the 2016 compared to December 2015 figures.

On the other hand, the company’s total liabilities shows a growth of 4.06% to N73.27 billion in the period ended March 2016 from N70.41 billion reported in December 2015. The key drivers of the increase in liabilities were an increase of 57.13% in trade payables to N2.43 billion from N1.55 billion, and a 32.17% rise in Current Tax Payable to N784m from N593m over the period. Due to a higher rise in total liabilities compared to total assets, the company’s net assets declined by 4.63% to N8.94 billion in March 2016 from N9.37 billion in December 2015.

With respect to returns, the company’s return on assets (ROA) rose to 1.14% in March 2016 from 1.49% in December 2015 while return on equity (ROE) followed suit with a rise of 10.49% in March 2016 from 12.76% in December 2015.

BUY RECOMMENDATION MAINTAINED The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has embarked on a host of reforms to the Nigerian insurance industry including the introduction of risk-based supervision, the migration to the International Financial Reporting Standard from the Nigerian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, market conduct reforms, and financial inclusion, with the aim of developing the industry and improving the general perception of insurance amongst the populace. We believe that these industry reforms will help in the development of the untapped Nigerian retail insurance market and in turn lead to greater insurance market penetration.

As one of the leaders in life insurance business in Nigeria, and a reputable player in the industry, AIICO insurance is well

Valuation Metrics 26-Aug-16 Recommendation

BUY

Target Price (N)

0.76

Current Price (N)

0.62

Outstanding Shares (m)

6,930

Market Cap (N'm)

4,851

Rolling EPS (N)

0.24

Rolling PE Ratio

2.87x

Forward EPS (N)

0.26

Forward PE Ratio

2.64x Source: NSE Data, BGL Research

Q1 March 2016 unaudited Results Gross Premium Income (N'm)

8,216

Profit Before Tax (N'm)

1,262

Profit After Tax (N'm)

937

Pre-tax Margin (%)

15.37

Source: Company Report 2016, BGL Research

Full Year 2015 Audited Results Gross Premium Income (N'm)

32,919

Profit Before Tax (N'm)

1,799

Profit After Tax (N'm)

1,195

Pre-tax Margin (%)

5.47

Source: Company Report 2015, BGL Research

Shareholding Information Shareholders

% Holding

DFB Holdings Limited AIICO Bahamas Limited Public float

15.40% 14.73% 69.87%

Outstanding Shares (m)

6,930

Source: Company Report 2015, BGL Research

positioned to take advantage of these initiatives by expanding its clientele and thus increasing premiums. Furthermore, the improvements on the company’s policy offerings are intended to increase penetration in the Nigerian market, and in turn drive growth in gross premium income.

We have valued each unit of AIICO’s stock using the Net Assets Valuation (NAV).

Therefore, using an industry average price to book value of 0.73, consisting of peer insurance companies (Continental Reinsurance, Custodian and allied insurance, Mansard Insurance and Wapic Insurance), we arrive at a 6-month target price of N0.76 for each unit of AIICO Plc stock, which represents a 8.57% upside potential and thus maintain a BUY position.

27

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 28, 2016

NIGERIAí S TOP 50 STOCKS BASED ON MARKET FUNDAMENTALS

CADBURY NIGERIA PLC: Growth in operational efficiency and key performances metrics

C

adbury Nigeria Plc (Cadbury) recently released second quarter result for the period ended, 31st June 2016; shows a steady performance in revenue while posting extraordinary profitability as it upturns the preceding quarter loss indicating progress with managementí s operational efficiency.

The Company is a manufacturer and seller of fast≠ moving consumer goods in Nigeria.The companyí s confectionery and food drinks segment produces and sells confectionery products and food drinks under the Bournvita, TomTom, Ahomka ginger, Hacks, and the Buttermint brands. In addition, Cadbury Nigeriaí s intermediate Cocoa products segment produces and sells cocoa powder, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and cocoa cake.

SLIGHTDECLINE IN CADBURYí STOP-LINE EARNINGS In the first quarter, Cadbury Nigeria Plcí s revenue grew by 5.79% to N7.12 billion in March 2016 from N6.73 billion reported for the corresponding period of 2015. However, in the second quarter ended, 31st June, 2016, revenue declined to N13.92 billion from N14.14 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2015; this indicates a mild decline of 1.56%.

The reasons for the drop in sales ranges from a continuing tussle for market share due to stiff competition to lower disposable income as a result of the fiscal revenue challenges of the government on the fall in crude oil prices, other effects of a changing and unpredictable macro≠ economic terrain in the country during the quarter past twelve months. Many state governments are unable to pay staff salary and many projects are stalled with implications for diverse sectorsí revenue and household income in the half≠ year 2016.The Nigerian economy declined by 4.35% while unemployment increased by 19.1% on a quarter on quarter basis in the first quarter of 2016, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Cadburyí s challenging market space is further highlighted by a sizable and growing inventory displayed in its book at it rose from N1.94 billion recorded as at December to N2.19 billion and N3.15 billion as at the first quarter and second quarter of 2016; thereby indicating a quarter on quarter percentage change of 13.12% and 43.96% respectively.

In manner that suggests notable production efficiency, cost of sales decreased in the first quarter by 5.94% to N4.74 billion in March 2016 from a first quarter 2015 figure of N5.04 billion; and a decrease of 1.47% to N9.87 billion from N10.01 billion in March 2015. The decrease was despite increase in the cost of raw materials used during production and packaging of its products and foreign exchange differentials. Expectedly, due to the decrease in cost of sales, gross profit soars by 40.74% to N2.38 billion in March 2016 from N.69 billion in the same period of 2015.

However, in June 2016 gross profit recorded a slight drop of 1.79% to N4.05 billion from N4.12 billion reported in June 2015.

THE PERFORMANCE OF CADBURY NIGERIA PLC IN THE FIRST AND SECOND QUARTERS OF 2016 DESPITE A HARSH BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT WHICH IMPACTED REVENUE AND EARNINGS NEGATIVELY HAS BEEN IMPRESSIVE COMPARED TO THE PRECEDING PERIODS IN 2015.

TURNOVER ROSE IN THE FIRST QUARTER YEAR ON YEAR AND PROFITABILITY DID A COMEBACK TO POSITIVE FIGURES. THE MANAGEMENT HOWEVER STRATEGIES AND PLAN TO STAY AHEAD OF COMPETITION MUST WHILE IT MAINTAINS THE REDUCTION OF OPERATING

COSTREDUCTION AND OTHER INCOME IMPACTS OPERATING PROFIT Cadburyí s released financial statement for first and second quarter 2016 indicates managementí s efficiency in handling its operating expenses which significantly impacts profitability.Total operating expenses decreased by a notable figure of 13.98% and 11.10% in March and June 2016 respectively. Highlights of the decrease in the second quarter ended, June 2016 indicates that distribution expenses decreased moderately by 6.82% to N2.90 billion from N3.11 billion in March 2015; while a substantial decline of 21.07% was reported in administrative expenses to N1.06 billion from a June 2015 figure of N1.34 billion.

Furthermore, profitability was boosted by an extraordinary increase of 204.05% recorded in other income in the second quarter which rose to N40m from N13m in second quarter 2015.

Hence, operating profit expectedly increased by a massive figure of 291.50% in the first quarter, March 2016 to N639m from a loss of N3334m recorded in March 2015; while it increased by a substantial 142.19% in second quarter, June 2016 to N135m from a loss of N315m recorded in June 2015.

PROFITABILITYGREWFURTHER ONTHE BACK OF INCREASED FINANCE INCOME Besides increase in other income and reduced

operating expenses which significantly impacted profitability, higher finance income of 31.01% further enhance profit before tax. Finance income increased to N84m from N64m in June 2015. Hence, profit before tax increased by an extraordinary figure of 186.31% to N216m as it upturn the loss before tax of N251m recorded in the preceding period.

Similarly, net finance income rose by 158.69% to N147m in March 2016 from N251m loss reported in March 2015. Since the Company recorded a profit in pre≠ tax earnings it income tax was N69m compared to a non≠ payment of tax in the preceding period due to the loss.

NOTABLE EXPANSION INTOTAL ASSETS AND OTHER KEYPERFORMANCE RATIO As at half≠ year ended, June 2016, total assets grew by a noteworthy figure of 6.05% to N30.14 billion from N28.42 billion recorded as at December 2015. The reasons for the improvement in asset size in the last six months can be traced to an extraordinary 200.11% increase in prepayments to N703m from N234m as at December 2015 and a significant rise of 62.85% in inventory to N3.15 billion from N1.94 billion recorded in December 2015; plus 15.55% rise in trades and other receivables.

Total liabilities as at June 2016 stands at N17.70 billion, representing an increment of 9.74% and 16.68% when compared to June 2015 figure of N16.13 billion.The primary causes of the rise in the last six months is from a notable increase of 13.78% in trade and other payables to N12.63 billion from N11.10 billion recorded as at December 2015, and an increase of 10.09% in employee benefits to N4.55 billion from N4.13 billion over the same period.

Further analysis indicates that net income margin for the first quarter ended stood at 9.45% and 1.06% as at the first quarter ended and half≠ year 2016 respectively. Also, the balance sheet liquidity ratio stands at 1.39% for the quick ratio and 1.16 for the current ratio in the first quarter 2016; it stood at 1.37% and 1.16 respectively in the half≠ year 2016.The Companyí s Return on Average Equity (ROAE) stood at 1.19% as at June 2016 while Return on Average Assets (ROAA) is 0.50%.

BUYRECOMMENDATION AS IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES The performance of Cadbury Nigeria Plc in the first and second quarters of 2016 despite a harsh business environment which impacted revenue and earnings negatively has been impressive compared to the preceding periods in 2015.

Turnover rose in the first quarter year on year and profitability did a comeback to positive figures.

The management however strategies and plan to stay ahead of competition must while it maintains the reduction of operating.

Despite, a tough and challenging half≠ year for most consumer goods companies as it has been beset by macro≠ economic headwinds which includes foreign exchange challenges, dynamic policies and regulations, high inflation which is not triggered by increased money supply and others; aside the usual operating challenges such as: the continued poor state of transport infrastructure, insecurity, high input costs and unreliable power

Valuation Metrics 26≠ Aug≠ 16 RATING

BUY

Target Price (N)

26.93

Current Price (N)

14.00

Market Cap (N'm)

28,210.60

Outstanding Shares (m)

1,878.20

Rolling EPS (N)

0.83

Rolling PE Ratio

16.95x

Forward EPS (N)

0.84

Forward PE Ratio

17.97x Source: NSE Data, BGL Research

Q2 March 2016 Unaudited Results Gross Earnings (N'm)

13,917

Prot Be fore Tax (N'm)

216

Prot A fter Tax (N'm)

147

Pre≠ tax Margin (%)

1.55

Source: Company Report 2015, BGL Research

Q1 March 2016 Unaudited Results Gross Earnings (N'm)

7,121

Prot Be fore Tax (N'm)

694

Prot A fter Tax (N'm)

673

Pre≠ tax Margin (%)

9.75

Source: Company Report 2016, BGL Research

FYE December 2015 Audited Results Gross Earnings (N'm)

27,825

Prot Be fore Tax (N'm)

1,577

Prot A fter Tax (N'm)

1,153

Pre≠ tax Margin (%)

5.67

Source: Company Report 2015, BGL Research

Shareholding Information Shareholders

% Holding

Mondelez International

74.97

Public Float

25.03

Outstanding Shares (m)

1,878

Source: Company Report 2015, BGL Research

supply.This is in addition to the contraction in household consumption expenditure during the period under review as a result of the restrictive economic activities in the country.

Considering in our expectations for the current financial year with respect to intense rivalry in the sector and sufficient evidence of the companyí s capacity to control costs, we have valued each unit of Cadbury Nigeria Plcí s share using the Net AssetValuation (NAV) Method and the price to earnings multiples (PE).Therefore using an industry price to book value of 10.00 (PB/V) made of other FMCG firms operating within the same sector, we arrive at a target price of N26.93 per share. Since this represents a significant increase of 179.28% on the current stock price.We therefore place a BUYrecommendation on the shares of Cadbury Nigeria Plc.

28

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

TRAVEL

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

Bryan: Delta Air Not Going Anywhere, Committed to Nigerian Market Bobby Bryan is the Commercial Director for West, East, Central and Lusophone Africa at Delta Air Lines. He speaks with Demola Ojo on the resilience of the Nigerian market, the top US destinations Nigerians travel to, the new innovations Delta has put in place to improve customers’ inflight experience and more…

I

n a couple of months, Delta will mark a decade of flying to Africa, Nigeria to be precise. Looking back at the past 10 years, what will you say are some of the biggest achievements in connecting Africa to the US and beyond?

Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Boston…But what’s interesting, and I’ve mentioned this before, is that Delta flies to literally hundreds of destinations in the US. And we find that over the course of the year, Nigerians go to almost all of them. So you have the concentration of those big cities, but Nigerians go everywhere in the US and that’s an important thing for us because Atlanta is our biggest hub, with connections to hundreds of cities and Nigerians use all of them. And that’s something that we can offer that many other carriers can’t. That makes us a bit different.

For starters, 10 years is an achievement in itself. To maintain a market, to develop a market, to bring our world class service to a market and keep it going for 10 years is incredible. One of the incredible things is the way we evolve the same time the market evolves.

We started with morning flights here, now we have evening flights, because that’s what the market wanted. Now we have flat beds here, which the market wanted. The fact that we are continually transporting people back and forth; the students, the businessmen, the investors, the oil people, the NGOs… everybody is able to come because of that. I think that really is the achievement. And it’s also interesting the kind of mix we get.

When you take any of our flights, every kind of passenger is on it. You have families, you have immigrants, you have people trying to get an education, you have people trying to develop the economy, you have people going to New York to the UN. It’s just amazing.

Is there any particular connection that has seen a surge in passengers in recent times?

I think the biggest increase we’ve seen has been the Washington-Baltimore area. It’s always been a big destination, but it seems to be particularly strong.

Any particular reason why?

Washington is growing as a capital city especially with education, with NGOs and with technology and I think that drives a lot of the growth.

What are the new innovations or services from Delta the Nigerian public should look forward to?

As the first US airline to launch flights to Africa, are you looking at flying to more cities within the continent?

A: We are always looking and evaluating.

We don’t have any current plans to add to this but things change rapidly in Africa and we’re continually evaluating new cities, new routes and new opportunities. We certainly see the future opportunities in Africa.

United Airlines exited the Nigerian market in June, leaving Delta as the only American carrier in Nigeria. How does Delta plan to take advantage of this vacuum?

You know, we always say competition is a good thing. Carriers come and go, that’s a market-based decision. We’re here, we’re not going anywhere. We see growth here, whether there are other carriers or not. So it doesn’t change our plans particularly.

On the other hand, it reinforces that we made the right decision to stay in this market.

And I think that is what our message is, that we’ve been here for almost 10 years and we’ve never wavered, we always keep flying. It doesn’t matter if there’s Ebola, or a change in the political climate. We keep flying. And I think that’s the message for people to hear. We’re not going anywhere, we’re committed to this market.

Dollar repatriation and a weak Naira resulting in high ticket prices is a big issue in Nigeria presently. What strategies has Delta put in place to swim above the tide?

The currency situation has been an issue for all carriers and for most industries. On our part, we’ve taken the approach that this cannot stop our business. We have to manage this. We have financial strategies and operational strategies in place. You’ll see us continue to fly and we want to remain competitive in the market from a price point of view.

We view this somewhat as a passing phenomenon. It will not always be this difficult with the currency so like any other challenge we have, we keep fine.

How has Delta managed to make

Bryan

profit despite multi-million dollar investments in acquiring new aircraft and improving on-ground and inflight experiences for its passengers?

From a corporate point of view, we need to have a balance. We need to make a profit for our shareholders but we also need to provide the best experience for our passengers. So yes, you’ve seen our profit announcement which is fantastic, because that’s what enables us to make those investments that the passengers want. So it’s a positive circle. You can’t have one without the other.

At the moment, travelling abroad is a luxury that many Nigerians are reluctant to indulge in due to the present economic situation in the country. What are the incentives to encourage Nigerian travellers to consistently fly Delta?

What’s interesting is that actually, the passenger numbers in economy class are up year over year, most likely because our passengers from Nigeria have a link to the American economy which is very strong right now. So our goal is to make sure we still have planes here to fly them. It seems that people are ready to go. There are challenges for our passengers but we find that they’re still going. They still want to go to America.

The demand is still strong so our goal is that we’re still flying, we’re reliable, that we’re on time, that people get their bags, that they can make the connections to wherever in America they want to go, because one of the interesting things is that Nigerians go everywhere in America.

You’ve been in Nigeria (personally) for

a little over 10 years. What strikes you as uniquely different about the Nigerian market?

I think what sets Nigeria apart – and this is something I feel and notice almost every day – is how resilient the market is. No matter the challenges, people want to do business here and they want to travel here. In other markets you might find a cycle, sometimes it’s better, sometimes it’s worse, but in Nigeria, every single day people want to travel, to go do business, see the world. And that never changes. And I think it’s particularly strong here in Lagos. I mean, it’s amazing. People don’t get down in Lagos, do they? You just bounce back.

Lagosians just go. It’s a great trait, one that not everywhere in the world has.

You recently installed high-speed wi-fi internet on your trans-Atlantic routes including flights to Lagos. What has the response been like?

Very positive because ours is a long flight from here. It’s up to 12 hours. So people have time to have a meal, to have a drink, to watch a movie and to sleep but they still want to get a bit of work done because they have the time, and they’re able to do so.

People get really excited that they can check their e-mail before they arrive and so when they arrive it’s a calmer experience not having to respond to urgent e-mails. So it really has been a real change in the in-flight experience.

Which are the top US destinations Nigerians travel to through Delta’s Atlanta hub?

Of course, Atlanta is in itself, a big destination. Others are Houston, Washington,

There will be lots of new innovations coming.

The all-suite offering in Delta One is a major part of that. It is the first business class cabin to feature a sliding door at each suite.

You know baggage is very important here in Nigeria so it’s imperative to reiterate that Delta is the first airline to install the RFID baggage tracking system. It’s important to recap that because everybody is travelling with baggage here.

We already had an industry leading baggage program and now we’re adding this extra element to it. It’s really amazing. You can track your bags on the Delta App on your phone.

You don’t have to wonder where your bags are. You have your bag tag that tells you that your bag is being loaded on the plane, that it’s coming off… it’s amazing. The RFID chip in the bag tag broadcasts so your baggage is always with you.

So how many cities have you been to in Nigeria?

A: Let’s see. Port-Harcourt, Calabar, Benin city, Kano, Abuja… I’m forgetting somewhere but at least these big five. Q: Are you thinking of flying from any of those locations?

Are you thinking of flying from any of those locations in the near future?

We used to fly from Abuja but right now we’re going to concentrate on Lagos, that’s where most of the market is. We still have our office in Abuja and Abuja is a good market.

Any particular favourites when it comes to Nigerian cuisine?

For me, when it comes to Nigerian cuisine, the best of the best is suya. I like all of it and I even have my own house recipe. So we make suya prawns at home.

Any particular spots you go to regularly?

I play golf at Ikoyi Club which I really like because you meet different people on the golf course and you find out new opportunities. It’s a nice mix and you can get to be outside and walk.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

TRAVEL/MONEY

At the Hilton’s Pastry Corner

T

Demola Ojo

he sheer size of the Transcorp Hilton Abuja means the hotel is somewhat like a small village. There’s everything from luxury shops to extensive recreational facilities, bookshop to nightclub, fine dining restaurants to airline offices. You can get most things done within the confines of the hotel and that includes a quick bite at the hotel’s Pastry Corner.

For the business traveller especially, keeping to time is vital. This means that despite the different dining options at the hotel, the Pastry Corner has its place, an important one at that. It is easy to envision buying an airline ticket on the hotel’s first floor, take a brisk walk down the stairs, order for sandwiches and coffee while waiting for your ride to the airport, like this writer did. Oh, and the Pastry Corner has a great view of the hotel’s drop-off/pick-up point and car park, which makes this convenient.

This is not to say the Pastry Corner is only useful for those trying to make it to the airport. On this particular Sunday for example, a few families stopped by, probably on their way from church by the way they were dressed.

The young ones were visibly excited. You wouldn’t blame them, considering what the menu has to offer.

There are 15 different twists to the sandwich from the traditional club sandwich to Nigerian specials like the chicken suya wrap. And everything in-between. There is also the option of hot sandwiches, salads and different snacks; scotch egg, chicken jacket, beef jacket, Mediterranean veggie basket and fish puff.

Also on the menu are specials like Muffin of the Day, multi-cereal croissant, raisin whirl and lots more. And the cakes. I’m no

View of Pastry Corner expert but from the different options and the beaming faces at the table next to mine, you won’t be disappointed if this is your thing. All these with a full range of coffees, hot chocolate and tea (herbal tea too).

Pricing is also a reason why the Pastry Corner is attractive. Not everyone wants to shell out on a buffet or three-course meal, especially when you’re not so hungry. It’s

pretty convenient to quickly refuel and energise at the city’s premier hotel without burning a hole in your pocket.

The Pastry Corner’s location (opposite a bookshop) and ambience – it is extremely calm and quiet for such a busy hotel – make it an ideal location for those who would rather read a book while nibbling on a cake or flip through newspapers

(THISDAY is complementary) over hot chocolate.

It’s also a great location for small informal meetings, its cozy confines cutting you off from the never-ending activities at the hotel, which is great news for the business traveller. Now you can sneak in a quick meet while having a quick bite just before dashing to catch your flight.

Stanbic IBTC: Giving Hope to the Indigent Kunle Aderinokun

H

aving a body part missing could be traumatic for those involved: the victim and the care givers. For instance, losing an arm, a leg, fingers or any other body parts presents the individual with a challenging prospect. This is worsened by the society’s predilection for stigmatisation of physically challenged persons, which sometimes leaves such individuals and their loved ones psychologically and mentally distressed. The situation is made worse when such individuals or their families are financially handicapped to seek corrective measures.

That was the plight of five young children who each had lost a limb either through circumstances of birth or unfortunate accidents. Two of them suffered traumatic damages to their legs from accidents, which resulted in amputation; two were born with defects that necessitated amputation and the last suffered multiple congenital amputations of the leg and fingers from birth. “The first time I held my boy after delivery, it was really devastating. I wept for days,” says Mrs. Elfrida Joseph Osuma, mother to one of the children, who were born without limbs.

These children and many like them have dreams and aspirations like the rest of us but the physical handicap, coupled with the stigmatisation that comes with it, is often a huge burden that holds them back, leaving many at the mercy of others and many more resorting to begging. And the much-needed break in life mostly never comes.

Everybody needs a shoulder to lean on in such situations. Fortunately for the five children mentioned above, Stanbic IBTC provided its very broad shoulders for

them to lean on. They were given the break they needed when last year, Stanbic IBTC undertook to provide them with prostheses or artificial limbs as well as provide each of them with N1.5 million educational trust funds to ensure they get quality education.

This heartwarming role by Stanbic IBTC is nothing new. In fact, it is in line with the brand’s corporate social investment (CSI) thrust, which rests on a tripod of health, education and economic empowerment. The financial institution had last year adopted the provision of prostheses and scholarships to indigent children with missing limbs as its signature CSI initiative.

Explaining the rationale behind the adoption of the initiative, Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Sola David-Borha, said: “Stanbic IBTC’s corporate social responsibility has three areas of focus: health, education and economic empowerment. We wanted to have a flagship cause that people will identify us with and we did a survey among the staff and arrived at health for children, which was then narrowed down to prosthetic limbs. We are focused on children who are not well supported so that we can make a real difference in their lives.”

Indeed, there is no doubt that the five beneficiaries will experience a difference.

With the prostheses, social integration becomes easier and they are guaranteed equal opportunity in life with the quality education the trust is expected to equip them with. Perhaps to fully appreciate the impact and far-reaching nature of Stanbic IBTC’s gesture, it is important to note that a prosthetic limb costs an average of between N700,000 and N1 million to procure and fit; “a proper and functional prosthesis not just to walk but so that later in life the health (spinal cord) won’t be affected.” And this is not a one-time cost. “Imagine me saving N1 million yearly for prosthesis. How much is my salary?” says Mrs. Osuma while expressing gratitude to Stanbic IBTC for picking her

son as a beneficiary. According to experts, the lifespan of a prosthesis is three to four years after which a new one must be fitted.

Children quickly outgrow such limbs, even before the three-year expiry. This means, a child will probably need 15 to 20 refitting before he is grown up and start to earn income to handle his/her own affairs.

It is this cost that often act as a barrier to many getting the limb and living a fulfilled life. According to the International Organisation of Scientific Research Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences, Volume 13, Issue 10, only about 9 per cent-12 per cent of Nigerians without limbs are fitted with prostheses. Thus, there is a vast majority that are most likely frustrated and go through life with very low self-esteem.

Beyond the provision of prostheses and scholarships to beneficiaries, Stanbic IBTC took an important step to raise awareness yearly and perhaps in the process encourage other well-meaning individuals and businesses to pitch in to boost access to prosthetic limbs by those who need them. Part of the awareness drive is to also enlighten Nigerians on the need to be proactive in terms of their health and those of their children. Research has shown that “36 per cent of amputees in Nigeria are as a result of diabetic cases.”

Last year, the financial institution organised a charity walk in Lagos to draw attention to children who need limbs. “The event (the charity walk) will go down in history as one of those with the most profound impact on the children of this country,” said wife of the Lagos State governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, who flagged of the 5-kilometre walk.

Hundreds of people, including DavidBorha, Yinka Sanni, the chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, other top executives of the financial institution and guests took part in the charity walk, which started from the corporate offices of Stanbic IBTC on Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island,

through Ozumba Mbadiwe to the Lagos Law School and back to Walter Carrington.

Having adopted the event as its signature CSI initiative, Stanbic IBTC has committed to yearly focus attention on it. According to the institution, it is an ongoing project and it plans to take on an additional eight beneficiaries this year, drawn from across the country, bringing to 13 the number of beneficiaries. A strict governance structure is adopted to ensure the selection process is transparent and inclusive enough across the target group, it assured.

The missing limbs initiative provides a broad platform for Stanbic IBTC to tackle the three focal areas of its CSI initiatives.

By addressing the health and educational needs of the children, the institution has with the same stroke helped in empowering their parents. Their financial burdens have not only been reduced, the little family income could then be channeled into other productive uses.

The determination of Stanbic IBTC to alleviate the plight of children with missing limbs was further underlined when it formally launched the signature initiative last December to public aplomb. Bolanle Austen-Peters of Terra Kulture produced a breathtaking dance drama performance that kept guests speechless at the event in Lagos.

Such dramas usually address societal issues; they give life to issues in a way that elicits deeper understanding and the need to do something. It challenges deep-rooted practices, beliefs and culture while subtly calling for action.

The beneficiaries are five now, soon to become 13. With an unwavering commitment and consistent awareness drive, a few years down the line, the 9 per cent-12 per cent prostheses coverage will no doubt be nearer full coverage. This needs to be encouraged by all.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

As TSA Clocks One… Kunle Aderinokun

O

n September 15, 2016, it will be one full year since the President Muhammadu Buhari administration implemented the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy, initiated by his predecessor to minimise the cost of government borrowing and maximise the opportunity cost of cash resources.

While the policy has only been in force for a relatively short time, the mix of hard knocks and accolades that this administration has received for its implementation is increasing by the day.

The TSA is a public accounting system, which collates and deposits all government revenue, receipts and income in a single account, maintained by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It is primarily aimed at ensuring accountability of government revenue, enhancing transparency and avoiding misapplication of public funds.

In the case of Nigeria, the adoption of the policy is in line with Section 80 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that all revenues raised or received by the Federation…shall be paid into and form one Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federation.

In recent times, government officials have taken turns to justify the adoption of the policy. They claim it has turned around the country’s fortunes, giving teeth to this administration’s avowed war against corruption in the administration of public funds. Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, reiterated these recently when he asserted that the judicious management of the TSA has helped to promote the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s fight against corruption and saved Nigeria from imminent collapse. While speaking at the All Nigerian Editors Conference (ANEC) 2016 in Port Harcourt, he claimed that this administration had managed scarce resources prudently, thanks to TSA, the anti-corruption fight and elimination of ghost workers. He actually said the judicious management of the policy was the reason this administration had managed scarce resources prudently, taking the country from the brink of economic collapse in the nick of time thereby “averting Nigeria’s collapse”.

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, made the same submission earlier this year. At a workshop with accountants in Abuja, she emphasised that the TSA had provided the government financial information on the revenues of agencies it funds, reducing revenue suppression.

“This information is being used to drive our programme to enforce compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and ensure that revenue generating agencies generate expected surpluses and remit to the Federal Purse,” Adeosun explained.

President Buhari has been no less vocal in his defence of the policy. When he assumed office on May 29 last year, the president claimed he inherited an empty treasury which constrained him from executing developmental projects that would ease the hardship experienced by Nigerians in line with his campaign promises. As such, he lost no time stipulating that all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) pay their revenue into the TSA or designated accounts maintained and operated in the CBN, giving them September 15, 2015 as the deadline for full compliance. During an interactive meeting with the Nigerian community in the United Kingdom back in February, Buhari reportedly berated his predecessors for operating multiple accounts which they diverted into private pockets, assuring that he would make every Nigerian accountable going forward.

True to his word, the President’s implementation of the TSA has been far-reaching and impactful. Before the implementation of the TSA, government agencies reportedly

Buhari

operated about 17,000 scattered and poorly monitored bank accounts. Naturally, this bred a culture of corruption, manifesting in fragmented bank accounts, compromised revenue remittances and deposit dormancy. But the story is fast changing.

Today, details of funds kept within the TSA could be accessed by each agency holding a TSA account, including the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Ministry of Finance. More importantly, government can keep close tabs on its income and expenditure, and revenue generated by its MDAs could be tracked with relevant details such as payer, purpose, time and place of payment, etc.

The monetary policy management and control of the CBN have been strengthened, and the losses the government recorded from loan repayments greatly reduced.

At present, the government can receive funds from any part of the country, pay salaries without necessarily uploading salary schedules from separate software to the e-Payment platform and has overall, ensured accountability and transparency in financial transactions.

“The economic challenges affecting our nation demand optimum efficiency in the management of public funds. TSA at the federal level has allowed, for the first time, visibility of the total quantity of government funds at any point in time,” Adeosun explained while highlighting the impact of the policy recently.

Though the benefits of the TSA may be overwhelming, the policy still has its fair share of critics. A school of thought argues that the TSA is laudable but ill-timed, adopted when the real sector is unable to access credit from banks and the majority of Nigerians are struggling to make ends meet. Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that the Nigerian economy was likely to contract by 1.8 per cent this year. CBN Governor Godwin Emefelie’s prognosis aligned with this. He disclosed that Nigeria was experiencing

economic stagflation, resulting in high rates of unemployment, inflation and a decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Banks have since keyed into this argument, claiming that their inflow is weak lack of payment for TSA services rendered. So far, Diamond Bank laid off 200 staff, Ecobank 1,040 and FBN projects it will lay off 1,000 staff nationwide so it can stay afloat. Last Tuesday, the CBN barred nine deposit money banks (DMBs) from the foreign exchange market following their failure to remit $2.334 billion belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the TSA. First Bank, Diamond Bank, Sterling Bank, Skye Bank, Fidelity Bank, United Bank for Africa, Keystone Bank, First City Monument Bank and Heritage Bank made the list of errant banks. CBN officials assured newsmen the sanction would remain in force until the DMBs

The economic challenges affecting our nation demand optimum efficiency in the management of public funds. TSA at the federal level has allowed, for the first time, visibility of the total quantity of government funds at any point in time

remit the funds, after which they would be subjected to further disciplinary action.

But some economic watchers assert it has to get worse before it gets better.

They explain that the implementation of the policy is timely, and has exposed Nigeria’s weak financial system, built on banks whose claim to strength was reliance on interest generated from multiple deposits which they ironically loaned to the government at high interest rates.

On Tuesday, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) managing director, Umaru Ibrahim, was quoted as saying the full implementation of the TSA had signalled the end of armchair banking. He stressed that over three years ago, banks had been warned to diversify their sources of deposit mobilisation to avoid overly relying on government deposits.

“It is an opportunity for banks to refocus on the original purposes for which they were set up to collect depositors’ funds, keep them safe; engage in intermediation to create wealth and jobs for the economy and in the process earn profit for themselves,” noted Prof. Stephen Ocheni of the Department of Public Sector Accounting, Kogi State University, during a recent lecture on the TSA held in Abuja.

Amidst the public debate, the clock may be ticking on the lifespan of the TSA policy just when it is beginning to gain some traction. Indigenous software giant SystemSpecs invented Remita, the software which powers the TSA. However, despite having a valid contractual agreement with the CBN for a 1 per cent service fee to be shared in an agreed formula with the CBN and DMBs, the ICT firm has not been paid by the government. As such, the implementation of the policy may be unsustainable, since SystemSpecs may be unable to provide its service indefinitely while the government withholds its statutory remuneration for services rendered.

“We must promote and reward indigenous entrepreneurs. Except our nation begins to respect intellectual property rights and reward innovation, we must be careful not to scare intellectuals and core professionals from wanting to do any business with government,” SystemSpecs said in a recent press release.

Its Executive Director, Deremi Atanda, reiterated this during an interview with CNBC Africa recently when he argued that it was tough for SystemSpecs to continually render services to the government but remain unpaid indefinitely. “We have taken this challenge upon ourselves for the sake of other IT entrepreneurs,” he said. “It’s not been easy going ahead without being paid for months. But we know that once this is sorted out, it charts the path for others coming into the market.”

If the impasse lingers and the TSA fails, observers say the economy would virtually grind to a halt. Government would basically be cash-strapped and unable to keep tabs on its income and expenditure.

Remita is integrated into the commercial bank and MDAs’ systems. The network is so vast that if the banks stop operating the Remita e-collection arrangement, it will cause some significant disruption to the economic life of these agencies. Civil servants would be left unpaid and more significantly, this state of affairs would mark a return to the era of full-scale corruption and misappropriation of public funds.

Government would be forced to resort to borrowing from commercial banks at high interest rates. Unfortunately, the process would not be as smooth-sailing as it used to be, considering that banks are currently grappling with liquidity problems resulting from the implementation of the policy. So, if according to Lai Mohammed’s submission two weeks ago that the TSA “Averted Nigeria’s collapse”, then Mr President must do all that is in power to ensure that the singular most remarkable achievement of this government is not jeopardised, setting us on the path of “collapse”.

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

28.08.2016

EDITH AKWU-UDE

HER VICTORY OVER WEIGHT GAIN

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COVER

HER VICTORY OVER WEIGHT GAIN From a cheerful and beautiful persona, Accountant-turned Nutritionist, Edith AkwuUde, an alumnus of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant, fell into a traumatic spell of depression because her fiancé mocked her for gaining weight. Vanessa Obioha records how she fought back from the brink of emotional wreck; turning her once-upon-atime pitiable dilemma to an instructive tale of triumph

I

f there was one thing Edith Akwu-Ude had in abundance, it was confidence. That was until an intimate friend punctured her poise. As a child, she was secure in her looks. She needed not be reminded every time by the paid compliments of family and friends that she was good-looking.

And she carried this splendour like a badge. She knew she was good-looking, even her mirror was very aware of it. She showed a keen interest in gorgeousness at a young age. Her mother would fondly tell her how she used to play dress-up with her aunt. It was only a matter of time before her creative skills began to manifest.

It was no surprise then when she decided to contest in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Beauty Pageant in 2009. It was a golden opportunity for her not only to showcase her

attractiveness but also to impact lives. Edith knew right from childhood that she wanted to live a significant life. She was not going to be an ordinary woman who will be married off when she grew up.

She made up her mind to touch lives and leave a lasting footprint in the sands of time.

Therefore, she entered the beauty contest with a noble and altruistic plan to clinch the coveted beauty crown and use the bounty to set up a charity that would raise funds for unemployed graduates.

Her preparation was simple, or she thought. With the funds, these struggling graduates could set up their own small businesses.

Unfortunately, she missed the crown. Nevertheless, she carried on with her plan.

Like a thief in the night, she amassed some pounds of flesh; a development that could be celebrated by some caused her some trauma. Considering her obsession with prettiness, gaining weight was not the way to go.

Cont’d on pg.57

FOR EDITH, THAT LITTLE ENCOUNTER KICK-STARTED A JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF NUTRITION. FIRST, SHE STARTED TO CUT DOWN ON HER CALORIE INTAKE. ONCE THE RESULTS WERE VISIBLE, SHE WAS ENCOURAGED TO GO THE WHOLE MILE. EVERYTHING WENT ON SMOOTHLY. SHE LOST 20 KG IN SIX MONTHS. SHE WAS HAPPY. HER CONFIDENCE WAS SLOWLY BOUNCING BACK

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COVER

Akwu-Ude...at 86.3kg

At the time, she weighed 86.3 kilogrammes.

“My weight addition wasn’t intentional, it just happened. I loved the extra flesh in certain areas.

A graceful woman is a graceful woman, her size notwithstanding. I carried myself well.”

She admitted that she was self-conscious particularly when she smiled. Her cheeks usually covered her eyes and it made her uncomfortable. Sickness and dizziness also contributed to the discomfort.

There was never a time she imagined that her self-confidence could be rocky. At least, not in the manner it happened.

Two years ago, she met a man who swore heaven and earth to her.

She fell in love and agreed to marry him.

It came as a surprise to many who knew her well. Edith, it turned out, was very specific about her choice of husband to the letter T. “I’m very particular about the man I will marry. My dream man is a spiritually and emotionally mature man with a strong sense of responsibility,” she wrote in an email.

While her shining knight didn’t have his full armour, he was still able to sweep Edith off her feet.

Everything was going on well until her weight interfered.

Her fiancé no longer found it funny. His new state of mind was triggered by his mother’s disgust for Edith’s corpulence. She found it very shocking that her partner would suddenly find her unattractive, and even took sides with his mother.

Albeit, she made an attempt to shed the extra flesh, but her effort was not appreciated. Instead of finding a supportive partner, he became abusive. He began to maltreat her emotionally. Slowly, her self-esteem was torn to shreds.

That rock of confidence that had been solid all her life became shaky.

She would stare at her mirror and wondered if it had been playing tricks on her all these while. Was it really true that her new weight made her unattractive?

The relationship that began on a promising note had become very uncomfortable. Edith had the option to stay or leave but she didn’t, at least for a while.

“I don’t believe in ending relationships over nothing. I think that’s the problem with our generation and the reason divorce rate is high. I thought it was something that could be resolved with communication and compromise.”

In the end, she had to walk away from the relationship when it became too insufferable. Moreover, she had just lost her dad to hypertension. The pain was very overwhelming. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that her weight could lead to the break-up of her relationship. She thought those types of things only happened in movies and fairytales. Slowly, she began to slip into depression.

However, a visit to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) led to a life-changing experience. “I went to LUTH to see my doctor, an elderly woman. One look at me and she knew I was not feeling well. I narrated my ordeal to her. She advised me to lose weight so I don’t trigger my family disease of hypertension. I knew the struggles my family faced with my late dad’s case. I definitely did not want to go down that route.”

For Edith, that little encounter kick-started a journey into the world of nutrition. First, she started to cut down on her calorie intake.

Once the results were visible, she was encouraged to go the whole mile. Everything went on smoothly. She lost 20 kilogrammes

in six months. She was happy. Her confidence was slowly bouncing back. But at a point, she realised that despite her miraculous weight loss, she had difficulty moving her bowels.

“I was finding it difficult to move my bowels and I bled each time I tried. It was a problem I had for years even before I put on weight.

I was asked to take oranges. I did this but it was not helping. I was scared as the condition could lead to rectal prolapse or worse, colon cancer. One day, it occurred to me to calculate the quantity of fibre someone my age needs daily. I did.

I also put together all the foods that would provide me with that amount of fibre in my daily meal.

I did and it was nothing short of a miracle. The problem I had struggled with for many years disappeared in that instant.”

A very curious mind, Edith took her research further by finding out the necessary vitamins and minerals the human body needs to function optimally. “There are 91 essential vitamins and minerals the body needs to function optimally and there are certain amounts that must be present in the body and must not exceed the upper limit.

“It has been stipulated by the US Food and Drug Administration.

It varies according to age, sex and medical condition of the individual.

This discovery made me realise that many people are deficient in many micronutrients and this can present many symptoms. Some, in an attempt to fortify their foods have toxic levels of nutrients and this presents many symptoms as well.”

That discovery would lead her to the birth of her diet plan, known as ‘243’. “243 diet is a healthy eating plan. It does not offer quick fixes. The theory is based on pure science. It is an adequate diet. Most popular diets track major nutrients and calories but 243 diet tracks all

HER FIANCÉ NO LONGER FOUND IT FUNNY. HIS NEW STATE OF MIND WAS TRIGGERED

BY HIS MOTHER’S DISGUST FOR EDITH’S CORPULENCE. SHE FOUND IT VERY SHOCKING THAT HER PARTNER WOULD SUDDENLY FIND HER UNATTRACTIVE, AND EVEN TOOK SIDES WITH HIS MOTHER….

ALBEIT, SHE MADE AN ATTEMPT TO SHED THE EXTRA FLESH, BUT HER EFFORT WAS NOT APPRECIATED. INSTEAD OF FINDING A SUPPORTIVE PARTNER, HE BECAME ABUSIVE. HE BEGAN TO MALTREAT HER EMOTIONALLY. SLOWLY, HER SELF-ESTEEM WAS TORN TO SHREDS. THAT ROCK OF CONFIDENCE THAT HAD BEEN SOLID ALL HER LIFE BECAME SHAKY….THE RELATIONSHIP THAT BEGAN ON A PROMISING NOTE HAD BECOME VERY UNCOMFORTABLE.…IN THE END, SHE HAD TO WALK AWAY FROM THE RELATIONSHIP WHEN IT BECAME TOO INSUFFERABLE…

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COVER

Akwu-Ude...at 66.3kg

nutrients - major and micro, one by one. It ensures there isn’t too much or too little of any nutrient.

“One can be eating a healthy variety and combination of foods yet be deficient in many vital nutrients and minerals because it all comes down to the quantity. All whole foods can be eaten based on our eating plan. We do not support an all vegetarian diet because some nutrients like vitamin B12 cannot be gotten from plant sources and yet they are needed by the body.”

The plan encourages all types of food but must be followed strictly to get the best results. An average of 600g of fat can be lost daily, and with a good exercise regimen, the results will be impressive.

She strongly advised against starvation while highlighting other benefits of the diet plan such as boosting the immune system of HIV and Sickle Cell patients; managing diabetes, hypertension; and that it is helpful to pregnant and breast-feeding women; and it also eliminates malnutrition.

According to her, the plan accomplishes more than a weight loss. It’s about healthy living, wellness, beauty and confidence. To her, a woman’s confidence “should spring from her understanding of

who she is and why she is here on earth; what needs she can meet.

Knowing she has something to offer is enough to make her walk with her shoulders high.”

Edith prides herself as the first Nigerian to develop a diet plan that is truly Nigerian. Using her accountancy skills with an additional training at The Institute of Integrative Nutrition, she was able to come up with the diet plan that has been proven scientifically.

She has concluded plans to kickoff a TV production for her diet plan. Also in the pipeline is her diet book which contains all the necessary fundamentals for users to understand their personality, style, patterns and value system. More information about the diet can be found on her website www.243diet. com Today, Edith feels very confident in her new look. It triggered various reactions from people who know her.

“Some think I look great. Others think I’m too slim. Some think I look a lot younger. Everyone has an opinion. Just do what you believe in your heart is the right thing and if you are comfortable with the way you look, you will carry yourself with all confidence,” she advised.

TODAY, EDITH FEELS VERY CONFIDENT IN HER NEW LOOK. IT TRIGGERED VARIOUS REACTIONS FROM PEOPLE WHO KNOW HER. “SOME THINK I LOOK GREAT. OTHERS THINK I’M TOO SLIM. SOME THINK I LOOK A LOT YOUNGER. EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION. JUST DO WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART IS THE RIGHT THING AND IF YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THE WAY YOU LOOK, YOU WILL CARRY YOURSELF WITH ALL CONFIDENCE

Akwu-Ude...when she weighed 86.3 kg

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EVENT

Integrity Forum’s Night of Tributes Stories by Funke Olaode

P

romoters of the Integrity Forum Initiative (IFI) appear to be living in the best of times as the objective of the not-for-profit organisation is in line with larger intentions of the government of the day.

Little wonder then that its recent outing in Abuja had the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, as the special guest of honour and the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed as chief guest of honour. The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina was also in attendance.

The Minister of Information and Culture was represented by Samuel Soughul, a Director in the National Orientation Agency while the Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim was represented by the Commissioner of Police, FCT, Usman Baba Alkali now an Assistant InspectorGeneral of Police. Country Focal Person of West African Women Association (WAWA) Nigeria Chapter, an affiliate of ECOWAS, Dr. Beatrice Abel Ubeku was also present.

Others in attendance were Senator Colonel Isa Kachako (rtd) who was also the Chairman of the occasion, guest lecturer Prof. Sabit Olagoke of Federal Polytechnic Ilaro, Alhaji Hassan Koguna the Dur ’bin Kano and Alhaji Shaban Nizazo, the Etsu of Kwali FCT the Father of the day, and Prof. E.T. Eshett, of Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) as well as over 70 Integrity Ambassadors.

Birthed by the Integrity International Magazine, IFI seeks

L-R: Abel Ubeku and Femi Adesina at the event

to institutionalise the culture of integrity. The Abuja event marked its fifth anniversary with a lecture on ‘Nation Building and Imperative of Fostering the Virtues of Integrity, Patience and Tolerance for Achieving

National Goals and Aspirations’, which was delivered by Prof. S.A. Olagoke.

The Professor emphasised that democracy and development cannot flourish in a society that lacks functional

education and functional religion to address moral challenge of teaching and instilling the core values of integrity to prepare for the task of nation building.

The night of tributes was presided over by Senator Isa Kachako.

New Fun Way to Drink Wine

Funmilayo Ademokoya displaying the cans Friends Funwine at the unveiling ceremony in Lagos

W

ine connoisseurs have a new array of friendly wine in four d i ff e re n t f l a v o u r s t o c h o o s e

f ro m . P a c k a g e d i n 2 5 0 m l i n quality aluminum slim cans, t h e G e r m a n - b re w e d w i n e with headquarters in Florida, U n i t e d S t a t e s w a s re c e n t l y i n t ro d u c e d i n t o t h e N i g e r i a n

market at a warm unveil at S t u d i o 2 4 , Aw o l o w o R o a d i n Ikoyi-Lagos.

Wi t h a n a m e l i k e F r i e n d s F u n Wi n e w h i c h h o l d s a l o t o f p ro m i s e i t s p ro m o t e r s s a y

i t i s a re v o l u t i o n t h a t i s e v e r y a g e f r i e n d l y. T h e f o u n d e r a n d g ro u p m a n a g i n g d i re c t o r o f t h e c o m p a n y, E n g r. Ya r i v B ro s h s a i d h e w a s d e l i g h t e d t o b e p a r t o f t h e re a l re v o l u t i o n in the beverage business in Nigeria.

A c c o rd i n g t o h i m , N i g e r i a is the first country in Afr i c a w h e re t h e b r a n d i s f i r s t l a u n c h e d . W h i l e t h ro w i n g m o re l i g h t o n i t s p ro d u c t i o n , B ro s h n o t e d t h a t u s i n g a s t a t e of-the-art beverage technology c re a t e s a c l e a r s m o o t h n a t u r a l o rg a n i c w i n e b a s e d f l a v o u re d drink.

F r i e n d F u n Wi n e w h i c h i s currently available in five flavours. It is the first ever coffee wine in Nigeria. “It comes in different flavours namely Moscato, Chardonnay (Coffee Cappuccino), Cabernet (Coffee Espresso) and S a n g r i a r. F u n w i n e c o n t a i n s vitamins, low alcohol and has minimum sparkling which makes the drink easy and fun.

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ENTERTAINMENT

with nseobong okon-ekong 08114495324, nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com

The Place Initiates Gathering of Sexiest Ballers Models and revelers at MBB

D

Nseobong Okon-Ekong

escribed as a gathering of the biggest ballers and the sexiest ladies in Lagos, ‘Models, Bottles and Ballers (MBB) – a concept from the stable of The Place - is set to berth in Ikeja for monthly gigs starting Saturday, September 10.

After a successful event that featured beautiful models and Lagos’ big spenders at The Place Lekki, the hospitality and entertainment outfit has decided to export the concept to its Ikeja outlet on Isaac John. This time though, due to popular demand according to its management, it won’t be a one-off but rather, a monthly party.

The Place means different things to different people. A brand that combines hospitality and entertainment effortlessly, for some, it is the fast food chain with the widest ranging and tastiest menu. For others, it is a collection of ultramodern clubs with unique club lights, exclusively cozy VIP corners and A-list guests.

Both sides of the coin are complementary; a variety of Nigeriancentric dishes are available 24 hours a day which makes it essentially a life-saver for night owls who need to replenish in the wee hours of the morning after the exertions that come with partying all night.

Franklin Okamigbo of Papas Entertainment manages The Place

Ballers at MBB

Lekki and has hosted multiple events including the debut of MBB. Popularly known as Frank Papas, it is difficult for him not to engage in a little chest-

thumping, figuratively of course. Uche Chukwudi handles PR for The Place, among many other things. She says, you may think you’ve seen it all: crazy

AFRIMA UNVEILS NOMINEES FOR 2016 AWARDS Nominees for the 2016 edition of the All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA were recently unveiled in Lagos. The adjudication process leading up to the announcement, considered 2700 entries received between May 20, 2015 and July 30, 2016.

There are 34 categories of the award. A new category, the ‘People’s Choice Award’ has been introduced to the reward platform which is being held in partnership with the Africa Union and the Lagos State Government.

Public voting for the nominees in the different categories of the awards opens on August 30. The calendar of events includes the Africa Music Summit on Friday, November 4, and the AFRIMA Music Village, an open concert-style festival featuring nominees and other music stars. The grand awards ceremony holds on Sunday, November 6.

FILMHOUSE PREMIERES HOLLYWOOD COMEDY The Filmhouse Cinema, Lagos was lit with excitement at the premiere of the movie ‘Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates’. The Hollywood comedy block buster features Hollywood stars like Zac Efron and Anna Kendrick from the ‘Pitch

club nights, stylish rooftop parties, wild beach parties and much more. But MBB offers a night in Lagos that would blow your mind.

AFRIMA Jury Members

Perfect’ franchise and was directed by Jake Szymanski.

The movie premiere kicked-off with a lush red carpet segment where avid movie goers and celebrities posed for the paparazzis and shared their expectations of the movie.

One of such celebrities was the graceful Afro-soul singer, Aramide who in an interview expressed strong enthusiasm on the impact of what such collaborations with international distribution company

could have on Nollywood.

“I think it will make our local film producers develop good quality content,” she said.

FilmOne Distribution Company acquired license from 20th Century Fox on rights to exclusively premiere and market the movie

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ENTERTAINMENT ‘Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates’ in Nigeria. The Assistant Manager, Marketing for the outfit, Ifeoma Nwonu, buttressed the significance of owning the rights to distribute and market major A-list movies.

“Our brand is ubiquitous so it provides a platform of contact to the Nigerian populace who are in demand of such cinematic products. It is also part of our efforts to encourage the theatre culture in the Nigerian society and promote the production of high quality local content for cinema.”

The premiere event was a collaborative effort between FilmOne Distribution Company and Amstel Malta.

MORELL RELEASES AURE

By King Akan Morell who is popularly referred to as the King of the North drops visuals to his single ‘Aure’ exactly a year after its release.

Morell who is popular for his hit single “Anti-social” which features Olamide welcomes us into his world by dropping this brilliantly executed video which is deliberately targeted to his fans in the North.

The video which was directed by creative genius Moe Musa is a body of art that has the charm of a Monalisa and the brilliance of a Picasso. Colourful is the simplest description that comes to mind as words seem insufficient to describe it.

Shot in Kano, it prides in its rich cultural representation and reflection – the props, the costumes, scenery. When last did you see a Nigerian music video with horses or ancient buildings? No these things no longer exist, they are extinct, long been replaced

by Ferrari’s, bottles of champagne, and girls of all sizes shaking their behinds. Yes it’s a love song. Yes there is a girl. But Aure video is different from your quintessential Nigerian love video. There is no rejection from in-laws or the lady in pursuit to later end in acceptance.

Originality is another word that comes to mind, even Morell’s dab in the video is fresh. The acting was also real, one would actually believe Morell and the beautiful model used were true lovers. There was a chemistry between them. For those that don’t know, Morell read Creative Arts and majored in Theatre Arts so it’s not hard to know where his acting skills came from.

When you are opportune to watch Aure video by Morell, these words will pop up in your thoughts: original, natural, and cultural. An obvious strength of the Aure video is its cultural abundance. Yes there are many videos which reflect our culture and tradition but none has been told in these narratives. What they lack is ideas; what Moe Musa and Morell boast of in Aure.

Morell

GREEN WHITE GREEN PREMIERES On September 14, at the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto International Film Festival, a rebellious Nigerian film will be among the major highlights of the festival’s city-to-city programme.

Produced by the dynamic Rimini Haraya Makama, the film is a kaleidoscopic exploration of Nigeria’s history and evolution of violence, art and film told through the coming-of-age tale of aspiring artistes in Lagos.

Actors depict helalth workers in the Ebola film, 93 Days

House on the Rock, Natives FilmWorks, Michelangelo Productions, Bolanle Austen- Peters Production Premiere 93 Days

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ouse on the Rock Church, Natives FilmWorks, Michelangelo Productions and the Bolanle Austen- Peters Production are collaborating to host the Nigerian Premiere of the Nigerian produced Film 93 Days, on Tuesday, September 13 at The Rock Cathedral, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos.

Starring Bimbo Akintola, Danny Glover, Tim Reid, Somkele Idhalama, Keppy Ekpenyong Gideon Okeke and other talented actors, 93 Days is a compelling story of dedication, sacrifice and resilience which celebrates the courage shown by the First Consultant Medical Team, the Lagos State and Federal governments and well-meaning organizations in combating the Ebola virus, which broke out in 2014 in Nigeria.

The movie tells the story of how a few sacrificed their lives at the frontline of the horrendous battle against the Ebola virus. Some lost their lives, but not without saving several lives. Noteworthy is the late Dr. Stella Adadevoh whose role is played by renowned Nigerian actress, Bimbo Akintola.

Working with her younger colleagues, her early detection of the disease in a patient and insistence on treating him contributed greatly to limiting the spread of the disease. This powerful movie has the central themes of triumph, heroism Three young men from different classes find a common ground to escape the monotony of their parents’ generational demands and chase their creative dreams.

In a satirical stab at the old straight to video Nollywood, Green White Green is a modern dramatic comedy that provokes the question, “What does it mean to be Nigerian?”

“I fought to make this film come to fruition despite many limitations,” says rising filmmaker, Abba T. Makama, the film director. “With this film, I wanted to express the experience of many young Nigerians who are lost inside a culture and history they are coming to grips.”

The film stars veteran actor Bimbo Manuel and Ifeanyi Dike Jr. among others.

ATUNDA RIDES HIGH WITH OLO OMIDAN BATA Olo Omidan Bata, an artiste on Atunda Entertainment stable who adapts the clay pot to creative use as a percussion instrument is set to embark on a tour of some

and a country’s determination to rise above storm.

One of the Producers of the movie, Bolanle Austen-Peters in her statement said, “93 Days is a masterfully crafted story of bravery and sacrifice and is definitely a must see. It showcases the best of Nigeria; it is powerful, gripping and an emotive piece. I am more than proud to have played a part in this project.”

The Lagos State Government’s rapid response and collaboration with other well-meaning organisations in combating the deadly virus earned the notable the theme-the power of collaboration. This movie tells the story of greatness and drives home the importance of unity in conquering and overcoming challenges.

Speaking on The House on the Rock Partnership with these notable bodies, the Senior Pastor of all House on the Rock Churches, Pastor Paul Adefarasin said, “House on the Rock’s mission is to work together with everyone that is invested in building a transformed nation, a better Nigeria, and this essence ties strongly into the courage displayed by Dr. Stella Adadevoh and her colleagues who brought hope to a nation that was being threatened by devastation, at the expense of their own lives. This is the kind of love and sacrifice that can truly bring transformation to all.” cities across Africa and Europe.

The young Nigerian act blazed the trail with her show of exceptional display on the three piece bata drum combin combining it effectively with her sensational singing and titillating performance that is accompanied by well – choreographed back up dancers.

H e r unique style o f

Omidan

performance has earned her accolades and huge following as she has over the years performed at a number of high profile corporate events across the country.

Her world tour begins on the Africa continent as she has been engaged as the star performer at the Made in Nigeria Exhibition holding in Abidjan, Cote d’ Voire on September 5. Next on the list is a visit to the Addis Ababa headquarters of the African Union (AU) to perform at the reception for world dignitaries attending the African Fashion show on September 15. The fashion event is being put together by AU in conjunction with the Legendary Gold for African Fashion.

This climaxes with appearance on the Paris stage as she performs for guests in October for a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) fashion show event in partnership with the Legendary Gold for African Fashion.

Olo Omidan Bata broke through a humble background as back up artiste to take on the act of bata drumming, which is one of the complex drums in Nigeria, especially South Western Nigeria where the instrument originates from. The three piece drum is the exclusive preserve of the male folks but Olo has perfected her performance on it to deliver on eclectic and exciting performance for her teeming audience.

THE LADY EKWE GOES ON TOUR Anu, The Lady Ekwe, a Nigerian female performer who has distinguished herself playing on the wooden gong is set to travel

Anu

out of the country for major high profile events holding across Africa and Europe.

Anu is noted for blending perfectly her velvety voice with energetic performance and deftness on traditional instruments to deliver excitement.

Her global performance itinerary includes appearance at the Made in Nigeria Exhibition holding in Abidjan, Cote d’ Voire on September 5. Next on the list is a visit to the Addis Ababa headquarters of the African Union (AU) to perform at the reception for world dignitaries attending the African SeptemFashion show on Septem ber 15. The fashion event is being put together by AU in conjunction with the Legendary Gold for African Fashion.

Anu is also listed to ply her sensational and scintillating act on the Paris stage as one of the guest artistes in October for a United Nations Educational, SciSci entific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) fashion show event in partnership with the legendary Gold for African Fashion.

Anu is also a beauty queen as the former Sisi Oge and an Economics graduate from the University of Lagos.

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Who Takes the Moonman Home Tonight?

Vanessa Obioha

Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Drake, Adele and Kanye West will be slugging it out tonight at the MTV VMAs for the Moonman award.

The coveted award is given to the artiste with the best music video. Beyonce’s Formation is up against Adele’s ‘Hello’, Kanye West’s controversial video ‘Famous’, Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ and Justin Bieber’s ‘Sorry’.

Each of the nominees are

also nominated in different categories of the awards.

The VMAs will hold for the first time in Madison Square Garden, New York city and will feature a lot of comebacks, firsts and surprising duets. Britney Spears will perform at the event since her 2007 controversial performance. Ciara’s ex Future will be performing at the awards for the first time. Ariane Grande and Nicki Minaj are also lined up among other performers.

AVRIL LAVIGNE HINTS ON NEW ALBUM. After a three-year hiatus, the ‘Complicated’ singer is reportedly working on a new album. She hinted on her upcoming album on her Instagram page on Tuesday where she shared a fan-made video of her Marilyn Manson collaboration song ‘Bad Girl’.

Earlier that day, her drummer Rodney Howard shared a throwback clip of the 31-year-old Canadian songstress performing “Here’s to Never Growing Up” on the “Tonight Show” in 2013 and captioned it, “Looks like the Disco Ball drums are gonna be coming back out for some September/October action.”

Lavigne’s last album ‘Avril Lavigne’ was released in 2013. The upcoming album will be her sixth album.

PRINCE’S PAISLEY PARK HOME NOW A MUSEUM In October, the luxurious home of the late revered singer Prince, will be opened to the public. His sister Tyka Nelson says that the decision was her late brother’s wish.

Located in Chanhassen, Minnesota, the 70-minutes public tour will be managed

by Graceland Holdings.

Fans will be able to see Prince’s studios, artifacts, concert wardrobes, awards, musical instruments, artwork, rare music and video recordings, concert memorabilia, automobiles and motorcycles.

“The new Paisley Park museum will offer fans a unique experience, an exhibition like no other, as Prince would have wanted it. Most important, the museum will display Prince’s genius, honour his legacy, and carry forward his strong sense of family and community,” said his sister in a statement.

The tour begins on October 6.

ASIAN ACTRESSES MAKE FORBES LIST OF HIGHEST PAID FEMALE ACTORS Fan Bingbing ($17m) and Deepika Padukone($10m) are strange names in Hollywood but not in their home countries.

Bingbing who occupy the fifth position in Forbes List of highest paid female actors is a renowned actor in China.

Her career started on TV before she moved on to the big screen. former TV star turned movie and today an iconic movie producer with her own studio Fan Bingbing studio. Bingbing played Blink in X-Men: Days of Future Past and acted in Chen Kaige’s Sacrifice and Wang Xiaoshuai’s Chongqing Blues. Today, she is famous as a fashion designer, supermodel, philanthropist and a prominent producer.

Her counterpart Padukone who is on the tenth position enjoys similar fame in India. She is famous for her roles on Hindi films. Starting her career in Bol-

The Moonman nominees

case will be viewed in similar way like the Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ where it was argued if a song that has breached a copyright should be assessed as a whole or in parts.

Padukone

Bingbing lywood in 2007 where she played alongside Shah Rukh Khan in the movie mOm Shanti Om, Padukone has on a pendulum swing of highs and lows. However, she has garnered multiple income from other sources and is known as a model, movie star, fragrance endorser, fashion designer and women’s rights activist.

PHARRELL WILLIAMS, ROBIN THICKE AND TI SEEK APPEAL FOR BLURRED LINES Blurred Lines artistes are still looking for a way to untie the financial rope of the Gaye’s family. The family of the late singer in a victorious lawsuit are expecting the artistes to pay the sum of $5.3m and 50% of songwriting and publishing revenues for the copyright infringement on Gaye’s ‘Got to Give It Up’.

Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and TI along with their lawyer are seeking an appeal to overturn the judge John Kronstadt verdict. The lawyer argue that the judge was wrong in allowing comparison of the recordings instead of the music sheet.

Recently, the Gaye family also accused British singer Ed Sheeran of copyright infringement.

However, the trio are hoping that the

NAVY SEAL WHO WROTE ABOUT OSAMA BIN LADEN KILLING SETTLES CASE WITH US GOVERNMENT After four years of legal tussle, the former Navy Seal Matt Bissonnette who wrote a memoir ‘No Easy Day’ about his role in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden settles his case with US federal government for $6.7m.

The book triggered a justice department investigation into claims it contained classified material. Bissonnette had signed non-disclosure agreements during his service as a Seal.

The US government although dropped other criminal charges against the author, it however said Bissonnette violated the non-disclosure agreements and published without clearance from the defence department.

Matt Bissonnette, who used the pseudonym Mark Owen, will give the US government all the proceeds from the book or movie rights which may take him four years to pay.

Under the new agreement, Bissonnette admits that he would acknowledge his mistake by failing to submit the book for pre-publication review. And in exchange for the payments, the US government has dismissed other liability claims.

Justice department spokeswoman Nicole Navas reiterated the importance of service members complying with the non-disclosure documents they sign.

AFTER FIVE YEARS, JENNIFER LOPEZ KISSES CASPER GOODBYE It is official, Jennifer Lopez and her young boyfriend Casper are nothing more than mutual friends. The couple have been together for five years, right after Lopez split from her third marriage to singer Marc Anthony. She has a set of twins from that marriage.

The couple were reportedly seen together last in Las Vegas this month according to a source.

JOJO IS BACK WITH A BANG After a twelve-year chequered musical career, Jojo returns to the limelight with a tour on her new album ‘Mad Love’.

In London, she set her audience ablaze when she performed a striptease on stage.

Before her obscurity from the limelight, Jojo enjoyed the envious reputation as the youngest the youngest solo artist to have a number-one single in the United States with her breakout single Leave (Get Out) at age 13.

Now 25, Jojo is leaving behind the bad deal with her former management, a bad

Jojo relationship to take the world by storm.

GEORGE CLOONEY TO HEADLINE MPTF The Motion Picture & Television Fund will be headlined by the charismatic actor George Clooney on October 1. The entertainment industry’s philanthropy will hold at Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills, California.

The event is notable for the celebrity meet and greet it avails the public.

Confirmed guests for the event include Matt Bomer,Yvette Nicole Brown, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jane Lynch and Hugh Jackman amongst others.

Outgoing 20th Century Fox Studios chief Jim Gianopulos and his wife will chair the evening.

This marks a change to the MPTF’s default fundraising template, that has traditionally been a star-packed, mediafree, A-list stuffed and held at venues such as the Beverly Hills Hotel or sequestered city blocks in Century City before a prominent award nights.

The charity provides vital housing and support services for senior citizens and palliative care for those who made their living in the industry.

Clooney

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ENCOUNTER

Eboda: There are Risks in Event Planning Bayo Adeoye

F

or one who hails from the south western part of Nigeria, Barrister (Mrs.) Oluwakemi Tenidade Eboda is not enthusiastic about attending parties. Not an aversion for socialising but she still believes certain buttons are not in place with event planning in Nigeria.

A qualified legal practitioner and the Chief Risk Analyst of Event Basics Limited, she is passionate about producing events in a responsible and safe manner. This drew her to being a disciple of event safety management which she preaches everywhere.

Recently, she hosted the Nigerian Event Safety Summit which had in attendance safety professionals from far and near. Wondering why she decided host the global event in Nigeria?

According to Eboda who is a certified Health, Safety and Environment professional, it was high time Nigerians especially event planners embraced safety management of events.

“The Event Safety Summit is an annual event organised by the Event Safety Alliance USA, a nongovernmental association committed to eliminating unsafe acts and practices in the live event industry. The association extended its affiliates right to Nigeria through our company and endorsed the Nigerian Event Safety Summit.

“Everyone has a role to play in putting on a safe event. However, the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that both workers and guests make it home at the end of the day lies squarely on the shoulders of an event’s leadership both legally and dutifully. Despite this awesome obligation, the event industry lacked until now, a comprehensive safety awareness programme tailored to specific needs of those working in leadership positions. Our events court so much risks that they have become norms. The inaugural Nigerian Event Safety Summit has the objectives of exposing the many associated risks embedded in event planning businesses including venue management.”

A Certified Event Safety Practitioner from the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Eboda still believes strongly that event planning in Nigeria cannot be scored high. Giving her reasons, she said, “Though event planning has evolved to be a multibillion naira business in the last decade unfortunately, it lacks structure. This is because most of the time, the activities that make up our events are dangerous and the planners are not aware of this. A lot of times, our events have witnessed unfavorable and preventable accidents which could have been identified before the event was even executed. All over the world, it is not allowed for an event organiser to execute an event without the necessary approval from government agencies/authorities but in Nigeria, events are organised by the whims and caprices of the event planners.

Earlier in the year, as a member of the Event Safety Alliance, she attended the event safety summit that took place abroad, she was the only African in the midst of whites who are top-notch events managers, artistes managers etc who are interested in eradicating unpleasant acts at events worldwide.

She was not happy that she was the only one present.

There and then, she brokered an affiliate right with Event Safety Alliance who are the organisers of the event safety summit to extend their affiliate right to Nigeria which they did. This

Eboda

is the first time they are establishing presence in any African country.

Her interest in safety management sprang from her experience as a tall, lanky child who was always falling! But she changed gears as an undergraduate of the Ogun State University, Ago Iwoye. Then she realized there were contributory encumbrances. She recalled: “I realised that it wasn’t that I was entirely clumsy but that there were unsafe conditions on my way—I had my right of way encumbered. As I grew older, I realised that it was not that I was clumsy but contributory negligence was the cause. Although, I hopped more than I walked back then but still most of those falls could have been prevented but for the unsafe conditions of my immediate environment which were as a result of the unsafe acts of people; in simpler term carelessness. Although this reduced my falls significantly, it also struck a chord of concern in me for others who lived in ignorance. My motto then became, “a place for everything and everything in its place.” I advocated this personal philosophy whenever and wherever I could and it birthed a knack for organization I never knew I possessed.”

Her skill at event planning was honed at the university where she helped organized parties for students.

The wife and mother recalled enthusiastically that, “Also, as an undergraduate, I helped plan events especially masters degree students who had no time to cook or have an organised party. I cooked a lot in school and I made sure nothing stood in the way of others that could cause any form of accident. I criticised activities that constituted our events.

I was very thorough and enforced good housekeeping values though it was tough getting people to comply because they just could not understand why they couldn’t litter since they still had to sweep eventually. I was tagged

Mamazilla! I remained undaunted, continued to cater and volunteered my help to coordinate parties whenever I could. As much as I loved to organise these parties I never became so absorbed in the excitement and merriment as I was more engrossed with ‘wagging war’ on encumbrances and ensuring clutter free events. I was constantly on the lookout for any condition likely to cause accidents though I didn’t understand what I did back then but one thing I was sure about was that I was not ready to suffer falls and as such knew it was therefore my sole responsibility to ensure I didn’t break a leg by constantly being on the lookout for myself and more importantly others! People just love to litter everywhere with all sort at parties. I still find such acts to be unfathomable.”

By the time she graduated, she had registered her business name, Event Basics Ltd. Then she was called to the Nigerian Bar and she reminisced, “I was very excited for what the future held for me as an Event Planner. The concept of consulting an event planner for parties was relatively new in Nigeria back then but it was one which gained recognition and acceptance quickly. However, I realised that the more events I planned, the more unfulfilled I became. I ventured into different aspects of event planning yet I didn’t get the much anticipated contentment. I yearned for what I couldn’t put substance to. I saw mostly what was wrong with the way our events were executed much more than the ideas behind them. I had no idea how to deal with this knowledge much more what it entailed.”

Luck smiled on her when she attended a seminar in the Unites States.

The bubbly Eboda said, “This quest took me to Event Solutions Idea Factory, Las Vegas, USA, organised by Event Solutions Institute where I earned a certificate in Event and Corporate Planning in 2008.It was at the summit that I read in the training brochure

presentations on introduction to Risk and Safety Management for Events. It dawned on me instantly that Risk and Safety were the missing limbs in my concept of event planning. I heaved a sigh of relief that I wasn’t paranoid after all and that the faults I found in the methods of event execution and activities had precedents. I attended the training sessions which were organised by the same institute in collaboration with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. One of the presenters was Julia Rutherford Silvers, a renowned lecturer of Meetings and Event Risk Management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA. The training set my journey into the sustainable world of Event Risk and Safety Management. I became certified in 2008. I have not looked back since then.

Though the journey has not been easy, I enjoy what I do— I was a columnist in The Nation; I tried to organise workshops for event planners in past.”

However, those event planners see her as the devil’s advocate. “When you highlight the risks involved in event planning and what they need to do, they see you as evil and you get responses like, “I reject it in Jesus name.” These event planners have forgotten that the only way to stop accident from happening is to have documented risks and assessment plan and we can proffer control measure to prevent such accidents in future. However, I remained undaunted and sought out better and improved ways to get the message of Event Safety Management across to stakeholders. Thus in June 2011 I organized the first ever Event Risk and Safety seminar in Nigeria.

It was a two days’ event and we had presentations on diverse aspects of safety as it relates to event management. It was such a herculean task putting the event together since we had no corporate sponsors and had to shoulder the burden of most of the expenses we incurred.

Event planning is a dangerous business, more dangerous than the job of a brain surgeon because you are attending to many people at the same time. All that we used to preach in the past are now happening—fire incidents, fire, and other havocs.

Asked if the Lagos born and bred attend parties and she said, “Yes, I do but I don’t get lost in the moment. Once I get into your venue, I am scanning, looking for exits and I see unsafe conditions.

There are 2000 guests in a venue and there is only one exit. Imagine if there was a fire?

Aside events safety advocacy, Eboda said she offers legal services to victims of events centres, entertainment venues, workshops etc. As long as your duty has been breached we render our legal service and help get necessary redress.

assistant editor nseobong okon-ekong senior correspondent funke olaode correspondent vanessa obioha designer ibirogba ibidapo CONTRIBUTORS onoshe nwabuikwu, temilolu okeowo, kelechi nduka THISDAY ON SUNDAY editor adetokunbo adedoja deputy editor vincent obia STUDIO art director ochi ogbuaku jnr THISDAY NEWSPAPERS editor-in-chief & chairman nduka obaigbena managing director eniola bello deputy managing director kayode komolafe

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KISS DANIEL’S NEW ERA IS A WORTHY DEBUT ALBUM… PAGE 68

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EKO: IWURE OLOFIN – CELEBRATING LAGOSTHROUGH FILM Scene from the film

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

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EKO: IWURE OLOFIN – CELEB LAGOS THROUGH FILM Toni Kan applauds the production team of the made-for-TV epic movie that traces the provenance of the original settlers of Lagos

T

Another scene from the film he best journeys lead not just to a destination but to discovery and this is at the heart of the Journey motif or Quest tradition in literary discourse from biblical times as in Abraham and Lot to literary antiquity as in Hercules and

Odysseus.

In stories that explicate the Journey motif, the hero usually answers a call to depart from his homestead to a promised locale and the journey is often fraught with danger and incidents that test the mettle of the quester thus proving his heroic credentials.

The Journey motif and Quest tradition is at the very core of Eko: Iwure Olofin, the madefor-TV epic movie tracing the provenance of the Aworis, who are believed to be the real owners/founders of Eko or what we now call Lagos.

The story begins with a charge from Ifa diviner, Adifala who instructs Olofin, (the brave Ile-Ife prince played majestically and with magnificent aplomb by Yemi Blaq) to depart from Ile-Ife with an entourage on a sea voyage with a floating calabash as their ancient GPS. Adifala tells Olofin that he is to settle at the place where the calabash sinks.

The journey leads first to Ijebu where

they stop for a spell before the calabash begins to move again. It makes a stop at a spot by Isheri where they build a settlement and call it Awori.

The calabash, which can be likened to the star guiding the Three wise men in the Biblical story of Jesus finally sinks at Iddo where they now built their finally settlement and where Olofin and his depleted entourage finally find the fulfilment of Adifala’s prophesy to the effect that they “will be blessed” at Ilu Iddo.

The choice of Yemi Blaq as Olofin Ogunfumire is a casting director’s triumph. He is not just imposing; he is possessed of a regal bearing befitting of a founding father. Handsome and composed, he is a true embodiment of a philosopher king.

Never has a Nigerian actor, since Pete Edochie played Okonkwo in NTA’s Things Fall Apart, embodied a role as much as Yemi Blaq does in Eko: Iwure Olofin.

Other casting triumphs are Aina Agan, the wealthy but badly behaved barren woman whose quest for vengeance brings calamity upon her people. Then there is Ibidun, the Amebo of Iddo whose loose tongue provides the spark to the keg of gunpowder that consumes the love between Olofin and his loving wife Afaye.

Olofin’s story is a catalogue of triumph and victory earned at great personal expense. While pursuing the realisation of the diviner’s prophecy, Olofin has to contend with his wife’s barrenness

and then his headstrong children finally set him on a collision course with Aina Agan, who is not just wealthy but with direct access to the Oba of Bini.

As with all heroic personages, Olofin does not just depend on the prophecy but goes ahead to “assist” the gods to his eternal chagrin. Charged by Adifala to sacrifice a spotless white ram to the gods in appreciation, Olofin searches for a white ram and when he does not find one, decides to sacrifice a black one. That slight indiscretion becomes the catalyst for near fatal consequences many years later.

As far as Nollywood movies go, especially those constructed on an epic scale, Eko: Iwure Olofin does not break new grounds but it manages to hold its own as a period piece that pays attention to detail.

Period pieces by their very nature are difficult creatures on account of the need for fidelity and authenticity; a quest in which, more often than not, anachronism becomes par for the course.

Eko: Iwure Olofin avoids many of those anachronistic pitfalls and in the process manages to emerge as maybe the first Nigerian movie which, though showing scenes of fully naked women will escape censure because the scenes are handled with

taste and elegance and without a modicum of salaciousness or gratuitousness.

One is constrained to ask though what finally became of Olofin’s young wife, Aduke, who appears to have been lost somewhere in the editing suite as the movie was cut to manageable length for the premiere. Her marriage to Olofin was the catalyst for tragedy but we never get to see nor hear from her again as soon as the marriage ceremony ends.

Nollywood directors and producers are often quick to call their movies epics once they are set in antiquity or post-colonial times but a period piece does not an epic make. An epic is so named on account of its scale, the sheer girth of its plotline and circumference of its world view.

Eko: Iwure Olofin is, in that sense, a true epic both in scope and ambition. Running at 13 hours with 400 actors and shot at a purpose built set in Badagry, the movie may well become a master class in large budget productions and tenacity and for this the producers deserve applause.

Fola Onifade of L’amour Productions and Actress Bukky Wright have produced a movie that is worthy of commendation and as it goes on TV and the cinemas the hope is that many more filmmakers will emulate them and begin to tell stories, which through the medium of film, explore and celebrate while critically inter-

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BRATING

rogating the oral traditions that approximate our origins.

Historical scholars will also do well to engage with the text as a means of crossexamining the veracity of the mythological and historical claims that L’amour and their director, Femi Ade Eketunde, have made.

One expects that such scholars who are familiar with both Bini and Lagos histories would have their own opinions while the movie is very likely to resuscitate the recent controversy over who has pre-eminence between the Yorubas and Binis.

But no matter what happens, at the end, Eko: Iwure Olofin would have opened up a new vista of discourse while succeeding in drawing attention to Lagos as it celebrates 50 years as Nigeria’s pre-eminent state, the nation’s commercial nerve centre and Africa’s most bustling metropolis.

Lagos is a garden of dreams and Olofin Ogunfumire underlines that attribute clearly when he prays that all who come to Eko will prosper just as the “land expands” to accommodate them all.

That is the ultimate triumph of this movie, which points us to the provenance of our city as a means of pointing us ahead to the future as benefactors, all, of the blessings of Olofin.

Toni Kan writes from Lagos.

The Inverted Pyramid; Adapted from a novel by Emeka Dike

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ARTS & REVIEW\\LITERARY CAFÉ

ON THE WINGS OF WAR

Tony Amadi

left happy they saw the general in his bunker; however the ADC would usually hand you the hard History of theWings, A Foremost Nigerian Pop currency of the time which was a Group of the Seventies by Manford Best, Book couple of rolls of Nigerian coins which was the equivalent of Konzult, Owerri, 2016 vintage dollars.

Coming to the book proper, it is a 260-page, 21-chapter book t is not often that a Nigerian and it is a well written thriller, band writes its own history and couches it in moving rhet- which will keep you clutching the book all day, all night like oric that you begin to wonder how a drummer with the band a James Bond thriller. This is with the unusual stage name of because the writer appears to be a master of storytelling with Manford Best and the author the command of language of the book, who particularly to prove the point. In the was never known for his literally prowess could come up with a well- Chapter Two – The Formation of the Wings, Manford Best written book about the band that hit the top of the charts with Loving veered into the prevailing condition of the war torn You in the early 70s. territory: “Towards the last Mr Best’s stylish vocabulary and quarter of 1969, the war the simplicity of his style is obviescalated so much that its ously the sweetener that motivates unfavourable effects were the readers to keep reading till the being felt by every inhabit inhabitend even with anyone who has no ant. The economic blockade idea that the group existed at all. had worsened the situation When the author (whom I knew causing inadequate impor imporvery well in Biafra) called from Jos tation of food, medicines after many decades since the war ended, I was surprised to learn that and ammunition for the armed forces too. The he had written a book that captures not only the history of his group, the morale of the soldiers was at an all-time low Wings, but also the music industry and casualties recorded at the time and a glimpse of the at the war fronts were music of Biafra’s years. staggering. Reports from During the war years 1967 to many sectors confirmed 1970, the “Republic of Biafra” was that Biafran forces were musically energetic with many retreating as more and pop bands mushrooming all over more territories were the territory and was somehow a being captured by weapon the Ojukwu government exploited to broaden its propaganda Federal troops. They seemed to have taken base, considered as one of the best war propaganda machines in recent the upper hand this time around.”

African history. The pop leaders in This was the setthe so called rebel territory were the Hykkers and the Fractions two solid ting when the Wings pop group was soul bands which I managed at the time and contributed through it my transformed in the dying days of Biafra. own war effort for the short-lived Formed as the encountry. There were also the Jets, the Figures, the Wings and Lasbury tertainment wing of the Biafra Air Force in Ojukwu’s band, (no relation of the the middle of the three-year war, Biafran leader) the Semi Colon.

Altogether, these bands managed to “the name BAF Wings was chosen liven up the lives of Biafrans during by the Air Force Commander in rank-the war despite the bellicosity of the consultation with other top rank ing officers.” Apparently the band environment. had a highlife wing but it was “the Since there was no other form of pop music section was made up entertainment in Biafra throughout of Dream Lovell or Dan Ian, lead the war, music became the only guitarist, Gabriel Ozoani or Gab social activity available and these Zani, lead vocals; Spud Nathan, pop groups managed to survive rhythm guitar; Arinze Okpala, the traumas that characterised bass guitar; Frank Moses Nwandu, the war period by playing their manager and Manford Best (the Sunday Jumps to make money author), drums.” Best, the author, and entertaining the Biafra armed agreed that the highlife section of forces as a motivation to the battlethe wings were more popular than hardened Biafra defence forces on the pop group The Wings at the the eve of their deployment to the battle fields. Most formations of the time, but over time, Wings made Armed Forces had a form of musical the appreciable hits and thus hit fame in the process. attachment primarily to boost the Like most Biafran bands of the motivation of their soldiers. For the war era, “we played mostly copymusicians, it was their own contriright numbers made popular by the bution to the war effort.

Beatles, Rolling Stones, Otis RedEven General Ojukwu was not ding and James Brown…by then we left out of the groovy train of the had not started playing our own entertainment power of the Biafran original compositions.” But as soon bands. Occasionally, some of these as the war was behind them, they bands were brought in to give breathed a sigh of relief and began light entertainment to the general whenever he wanted to wind down. to release some of the finest records I remember once when his ADC, late in Nigerian pop history including the epochal Loving You. This was May Nzeribe asked me to bring in the Fractions to entertain him in the the hit that made The Wings a household name in Nigeria, but it famous Ojukwu bunker at Umuawas never translated into money hia. That night, the general was decidedly taciturn and came clutch- for the bandsmen as most groups of that era compared with the riches ing his cigarette pack like a mobile of this generations musicians such phone and chain smoked his way as 2Face, Flavour, Dbanj or Davido through the night. Bands do not and Wizkid whose popularity is necessarily get paid a fee for comworldwide and rake money dollars ing to the bunker but they usually

I

or any other currency.

Historians and the general public will surely find this book helpful in their documentation of the Nigerian civil war because the book contains important data on the war, not just musical clichés and all that. The author noted that “After the Christmas of 1969, it became clear that Biafra was about to lose the battles and ultimately the war. When non-stop gunfire and mortar shells started landing everywhere indiscriminately, we knew that the advancing Federal soldiers had finally broken through in the several sectors of the war.

“On January 10, 1970, Ojukwu, the Biafran leader escaped to Ivory Coast and a few days late the war ended.

As people in general including the highlife section ran for their dear lives in different directions on foot, members of the pop music section decided to converge at Azia, which Spud Nathan’s village. Despite the fact that there was no time for a thorough movement plan, we were able to salvage two amplifiers, three microphones, loud speakers, the drum set and two guitars as we fled.”

The Wings after the war moved on and coincidentally was employed by the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri after regrouping in Enugu where they became famous with their own original songs. No more James Brown, Otis Redding copycatting

and were now playing only their own original songs and the public loved it. After a gig in Lagos, they went to EMI Apapa Studios and recorded their epic hit album that skyrocketed them into the top ten of Nigerian pop history.

Other chapters in the treatise includes The Period of Uncertainty, The Enugu Era, The Maiduguri Era and the Aba Era. The group were involved in several accidents, worse being the one that claimed the lives of members of the band including the hit-maker Spud Nathans but the driver of the Peugeot 404 wagon, Manford Best survived to tell the story of the band. There was also The Split, Wings Factionalised; Thirty Months of Gains and Upheavals; the Rumour Mills and finally At last: A Eulogy of the Men called The Wings.

For me this book is historic, probably the first book on a Nigerian music group as far as my memory can work out, it is well documented and well written. Manford Best deserves a special medal for this effort where he exhibits his Godgiven story telling powers and for those that went through the war on the Biafran side like me, it is simply a must-read.

-Amadi writes from Abuja and can be reached at tonyamadi2009@yahoo.com

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 28, 2016

ARTS & REVIEW\\LITERARY CAFÉ

KISS DANIEL’S NEW ERA IS A WORTHY DEBUT ALBUM Artist: Kiss Daniel Album: New Era Label, Year: G Worldwide Entertainment, 2016

A

long with the arrival of a new talent come questions. Who he? Where he from? What are his influences? The answers are: Kiss Daniel, also called Vado; South west, Nigeria. The last question is tricky: On occasion his vocal styling locates early 2 Baba; on others 9ice; on most Kiss Daniel, whatever that turns out to be.

On the first song off his outstanding debut album New Era, Kiss Daniel gets in on the fun. He has his own question: Who the new king? he inquires. Quite a cheeky, provocative question to ask by a new artist who’s nominating himself for the throne.

His candidacy comes on the strength of four successful singles: ‘Woju’, ‘Laye’, ‘Good Time’, ‘Mama’. The first one was a surprise hit, after ‘Shoye’ his debut single failed to catch enough fire. The second was a rip-off of ‘Woju’, something he alludes to on ‘Nothing Dey’, an elegiac debut album closer in the manner of Asa’s ‘Iba’: “Nothing dey if I use one track to blow your mind away.”

‘Good Time’, the third single, was and remains excellent pop music. The fourth reassured his audience of the man’s talent for pop music. Together, these songs are Kiss Daniel’s submission to the kingmaking jury. If the only objection to his being taken seriously was the lack of an album, well here you go.

Every debut album announces an artist.

The Nigerian pop album goes one extra: It also announces a producer or a group of producers. New Era has Beatburx, DJ Coublon, Kimzbeatz, Young John, Masterkraft and J Sleek. The hit-making DJ Coublon has more songs, but Masterkraft’s two contributions are noteworthy—if only because, strangely, Masterkraft is well-known and yet underrated. His work on the dazzling ‘Sin City’ forces Kiss Daniel to pursue the beat in snatches, as the lyrics fragment into blissful incoherence. The

beat starts, pauses, resumes, changes, all the time leaving Kiss Daniel to get on, let go, laugh, play around. At the end, the beat just plays on, as though in triumph over an exhausted artist. It’s quite a lot of activity to pack into a song of under three minutes.

If ‘Sin City’ works by innovating as the seconds go by, Wizkid’s ‘Baba Nla’, another song of less than three minutes, works via repetition.

On Masterkraft’s other production, ‘Jombo’, the lyrics take the shine. A smart take on the popular Nigerian stereotype of the Yoruba male as coward, the song follows a romance doomed because of the ethnicities of the lovers. Smartly, the song inserts hilarity into a serious situation. Our narrator tells Amaka, his pregnant lover: I no wan run…

But then Your father is violent Your mother is black belt She sabi karate Love may conquer all, as they say, but on this evidence, it will not survive grievous bodily harm. Our Yoruba lover boy will have to leave his Igbo girlfriend, declaring love on the run. (On another song, Kiss Daniel, perhaps enabled by his college education, subverts the traditional romantic lines: “Girl, I’II shoot for you,” he says before adding: “Ain’t gone kill, baby just a bullet wound.” On ‘Kiss Me’, a deliberate wedding song, there is vulnerability and discomfort when he says “Kiss me, baby.

Open your mouth. Amuse me.”)

The listener has to pay attention to hear the album’s better lines for two reasons.

First, Kiss Daniel belongs to a special group of singers. Those with a style assuring you that whatever they say is immaterial. Like a kind of seducer, he has mastered the rhythm of verbal love and hardly enunciates. It is not about what he is saying. It is about how he makes you feel. The trick here is that those words are as important as the way they sound. So it’s easy to miss Kiss Daniel say what sounds like, “It’s okay if you snore” to a woman on the swoony ballad ‘Give Into’.

That line is unprecedented if those are his words. In contemporary Nigerian pop, women don’t do things like that. They mostly get paired with generic energetic

verbs. They shake, they twerk, they want your money, they dance, they get made love to, they get married.

Second, the assortment of producers on the record are engaged so much that the beats are well executed.

When Kiss Daniel says on ‘Another Day’, “Another album, another 17 hits”, better be sure that he means it. On repeated listens, unfortunately, New Era has a uniformity of pop goodness that threatens to remove the uniqueness of some songs. This flaw is aided by the presence of genuinely similar songs. Besides ‘Woju’/’Laye’, a number of the songs—the DJ Coublon produced ‘Are You Alright’/’Alone’ pair in particular—share similar progression in both Kiss-Daniel mood and music.

“If it ain’t broken don’t fix it” may be good advice in life but not within an album.

Certainly not one asserting the arrival of a new era. Fortunately, the fate of the album will rest on how instead of producing a compilation of singles, Kiss Daniel has made an album that coheres.

Even so, the sceptic may ask: What new era though? In terms of sound, in some ways and with calibrations, it is still Wande Coal’s era. In terms of pop success, it is Wizkid’s era. In terms of recording almost an entire album solo (label mate SugarBoy is on 3 of the album’s 20 songs), Olamide got there with his Eyan Mayweather album.

But those are wrong parameters of judgment. Wande and Wizkid are not the competition. Wizkid’s debut album was released a half-decade ago. Wande Coal’s

debut is almost ten years old. Both are dinosaurs at this point. With New Era, Kiss Daniel is staking a claim before anyone new does. Of the candidates for the new king position, Lil Kesh went first but named his album Young and Getting It, implying that money is the goal. Kiss Daniel wants more.

Kiss Daniel wants greatness.

“Lord, I have a feeling I’ll be here for long,” goes the hook from New Era’s penultimate song. Somewhat presumptuous? Yes. But then New Era proves Kiss Daniel can back it up. Any of the younger acts thinking to release a better album this year may have to invent a genre.

––Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, Entertainment Journalist of theYear at the 2015 All Africa Music Awards, is west African editor at Musicinafrica.net

SHUAIBU’S SOLO STATEMENT ON CANVAS

Yinka Olatunbosun

C

ollectors and aficionados received the works of a new-generation fine artist, Zainab Shuaibu, at her solo exhibition held in Abuja recently. Interestingly too, the Minister of Information, Alh. Lai Mohammed led the voices in appreciation of the show with the theme, “Matters of Heart and Mind’’.

“Zainab’s colours are real and attractive.

She responses to issues of the moment through art. She showcases our diverse cultures and uses her talent to raise awareness on issues. This exhibition is a milestone in her artistic endeavour and Nigeria is very proud of her,” said the Minister.

Although young Shuiabu is only 24, she has a sustained experience as an artist having started quite early. At six, she had demonstrated her interest in the art, playing around colours and paintings. It’s in the family DNA; her father does industrial design as well. Still, Zainab’s earliest adventures with forms grabbed the attention of her uncle, Isa Shuaibu. She had made a self-portrait which is still in her uncle’s custody till date.

Looking back, the artist had related with the paint and brush for close to two decades, developing a socio-political framework for her latest body of works.

Zainab Shuaibu “The main purpose of the exhibition is to deliver social, political and emotional issues that we all face. Of course, it also has some element of humour, so it can be light,’’ said the artist.

“I am deeply interested in national issues because as a nation we need more unity. We lack a lot of that. We don’t work together.

There is a massive divide going on and I think we need to come together more as a nation.

This is my own way of delivering the little I can.”

Some of the works in which Shuaibu held a dialogue with her fatherland and the world in general are “Oppression”, “Mind of Hostage”

and “Resource Course”. While “Oppression” serves as a call for justice and equity, “Mind of Hostage” is about a country waging war against itself.

Prostitution and drug addiction are two vices that constitute global concerns and the artist thinks that the efforts towards reducing these have been insufficient.

In “Hashish’’, the artist’s concern is about the devastating effects of marijuana while in “Harlotry’’, she presents a nude female figure, to provoke conversations on other genderbased topics such as rape.

“There are a lot of issues we sweep under the carpet in this country. I do not think

things like prostitution and rape should be ignored. I think the victims exist and not making statements about them or not discussing the topic make them feel worse about the situation. So, I got inspired by what I have seen and heard and from the stories I read in the papers. Around here, people don’t discuss that,” the artist said.

In all, Zainab’s works should speak to art lovers as an embodiment of artistic audacity, stylistic freedom with aesthetic appeal. James Irabor, the curator at the National Gallery of Arts, said at the event that she transcended various genres and techniques. According to Irabor, who was among the NGA team that attended the event, Zainab connects the near and the distant in her stylistic outlook.

“Hers is a combination of different kinds of styles. That is why although this is a solo exhibition, the works on display look as if we have a combination of artists on board. You can see traces of the Zaria school as well as the impressionist from the US or the minimalist from far and near. She is bringing home all available styles to Nigeria,’’ said Irabor.

“This is strength in the sense that she showcases varieties. You know, she is still at the experimental stage. Later, she will fall in love with one or two particular styles and even discover where her strength mostly lies. Then she will do more works in such areas.”

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• THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

AUGUST 28, 2016

INFOGRAPHIC

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

CICERO

Editor Vincent Obia Email vincent.obia@thisdaylive.com, SMS: 08054681757

IN THE ARENA

The New Agricultural Roadmap The federal government has launched another national roadmap for agriculture, but the ability to ensure national self-sufficiency in food and agro-industrial raw material production is what will make the difference to Nigerians. Vincent Obia writes

T

he extent to which agriculture has taken centre stage in the national economic discourse has not been seen in many decades – since crude oil became the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. From the controversial three working days, two farming days policy in Imo State, to the official directive in Abia State that every government official should own a farm, and many hyperbolic agricultural policies being pursued by various state governments, agriculture has emerged as a top issue in Nigeria’s economic calculation.

Yet, besides the photo opportunity and media promotion with all the usual hyperbole, the various agricultural initiatives have not made much impact. The country faces a serious challenge in food security and industrial raw material production.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, disclosed in February in Kano that Nigerians spent $20 billion annually on importation of food.

Executive Secretary of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, Professor Baba Abubakar, stated at a seminar in Abuja on August 11 that Nigeria spent N1 trillion yearly on importation of rice, wheat, sugar, and fish. With imports worth N635 billion annually, Abubakar said Nigeria was the largest importer of hard red and white wheat from the United States, and the world’s second largest importer of rice, with the cost put at N356 billion annually. He said every year Nigeria spent N217 billion on sugar importation and N97 billion to buy fish from other countries.

Huge sums are also spent annually to import agro-industrial raw materials that the country has great potential to produce. In October last year, the director-general of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Dr. Hussaini Ibrahim, disclosed that Nigeria spent more than N50 billion yearly on paper and paper products’ importation. Ibrahim attributed the huge capital flight to the inability of the three integrated pulp and paper mills in the country, the Nigerian Paper Mill, the Nigeria Newsprint Manufacturing Company, and Nigerian National Paper Manufacturing Company, to run at optimal capacity. The companies were established by the federal government in the 1960s and 1970s. H said, “Two of the mills, the NPM and the NNMC, were producing creditably in the 1980s, but the NNMC was shut down in 1993 and the NPM in 1996 due to low level production and poor quality products because of non-availability of local long fibre pulps and other technical problems.”

But the President Muhammadu Buhari government

ezeibe.aguwa@thisdaylive.com 08093842953 says it is ready to change all that. The government has launched a programme, which it says would mark an important change in the agricultural narrative. The Green Alternative Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016-2020 was launched in Abuja on August 15 as a four-year agricultural development roadmap. The vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who performed the public presentation of the policy, stated, “There is no question at all that if we get agriculture right, we will get our economy right.”

He said the Green Alternative contained strategies to resolve the problems confronting agriculture, stressing that it does not dismiss the past agricultural policies, but seeks to build on the successes of previous agricultural programmes.

It is difficult to differentiate between the Green Alternative and similar policies by previous administrations. Although, the Buhari government has not really attempted to show that the current programme is very different from the earlier ones. Whether it is the Operation Feed the Nation launched by the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1976, the Green Revolution launched by the Second Republic President Shehu Shagari in 1980, the Directorate for Food, Road, and Rural Infrastructure launched by the regime of former military president Ibrahim Babangida in 1986, or the Agricultural Transformation Agenda launched by the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2011, self-sufficiency in food is one fundamental target that the various governments have set themselves. But self-sufficiency in food has eluded the country so far.

That brings into question the whole essence of the centrally proclaimed and supervised agricultural programmes. Juxtaposed with the robust regional agricul-

tural programmes of the pre-colonial and immediate post-colonial eras, up to the end of the First Republic in 1966, what seems to come out clearly is that the central strategy is not working. The centripetal agricultural policy formulation and implementation system is a throwback to 1966, when a pseudo-federal system of government was substituted by the military for the true federalism that the country hitherto practised. That misadventure has remained the bane of progress in many aspects of the country’s life. It has bred inconsistency and friction between the development programmes of the federal government and the federating units.

Under the latest agricultural development programme, therefore, the federal government needs to tone down its role and influence, and allow the states formulate and execute their own agricultural programmes according to their peculiar situations.

There should also be a deliberate attempt to strike a balance between production for food and production to feed the agroindustry. Most of the federal government’s agricultural programmes have focused on food, with consequent industrial detriment.

Generally, too, there is the problem of lack of storage facilities, which is scarcely captured in many of the agricultural development programmes. When in season, food is too abundant to be fully utilised and most go bad every year, regular as clockwork. And when out of season, it is scare. The country must begin to invest seriously in food storage facilities to guarantee in and out of season availability. The goals of the federal governments’ agricultural policies are undoubtedly noble. But the Buhari government needs to develop a better strategy for pursuing those objectives.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

On the Recurring Blasphemy Killings

P Ibrahim Idris

rominent religious and traditional rulers in the country, especially in the North, have condemned the recent killing of eight persons at Abdu Gusau Polytechnic, Talata Mafara, in Zamfara State, for alleged blasphemy. The Jama’atu Nasril Islam said in a statement, “Individual Muslims are not Jurists, but faithful in the practising of the religion. Therefore, they don’t have the right to pass judgement on emotions.

The nasty behaviour of some miscreants should not be misconstrued as the Islamic teaching.”

President Muhammadu Buhari has also condemned the killings. What is now left is for the security agencies to take up the matter and ensure the culprits are made to face the full weight of the law. Acts like this cannot stop except those who perpetrate them are punished according to the laws of the country.

– Vincent Obia .

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

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CICERO/REPORT

APC Governors Brainstorm Way Out of Harsh Economy Governors of the ruling APC highlighted solutions to the national economic problems at their meeting on Thursday in Kaduna, reports John Shiklam

I

t was a thought-provoking moment for the Progressives Governors Forum, an umbrella body for the 23 governor of the All Progressives Congress. The occasion was the fourth Progressive Governance Lecture series organised by the governors at the Indoor Sports Hall, Murtala Square, Kaduna, with the theme: “Building the economy of states: challenges of developing inclusively sustainable growth.” Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Charles Soludu, was the guest lecturer.

Soludo held dignitaries spell bound with his presentation on, “A fragile state with a failing economy: making progressive change work for Nigeria.” Painting an ugly picture of the Nigerian economy and the attendant social problems, he charged the APC to come up with ideas that will address the economic woes and bring about sustainable development.

The vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who was the special guest and chairman of the occasion, maintained that Nigeria had the basic requirements for becoming a great nation. He said, however, that this could not be achieved except public servants took responsibility for the transformation of the country.

Soludu did not mince words about the seeming inability of the APC to make a difference by taking steps that would address the growing rate of unemployment and increasing poverty. He noted that Nigeria was facing both local and global economic problems and the APC must come clean on how to tackle the situation.

Moment of Truth

Said Soludo, “At a time like this, unprecedented shocks to our economy, oil price shock, political shocks and the way the economy is going, I don’t think there is a better topic to focus on at this time.”

He said it took notes that he thought would be delivered to only the governors at an executive session. “But now that we have a little bit of complicated audience, I have been struggling to see how best to deal with this, whether to go full throttle. I will just be selective a little bit in what to say.

“This is a moment to say the truth and nothing but the truth. I ask, where is the APC new deal for Nigeria? For the governors, I ask whether the APC governor will become a force for change. My thesis is that for the old distribution system, you just collect from Abuja and share and the manna will come again next month.

“But if you are going to have a productionbased economy, change must occur from below. States must become critical drivers of change and development.”

The former CBN governor said for this to happen, the APC governors must become the lobbying group for change.

“APC must not repeat the mistakes of the Peoples Democratic Party, where the opposition was largely from within,” Soludo said. “I ask the governors, how do we recognise APC state if we see one? How is it different from the PDP government in any state?”

He recalled, “The good old days of the UPN, NPN days. I still recall today, over 30 years after, the four cardinal programmes of the UPN – free education at all levels, free medical services, rural development and a strong national economy. Anybody you called after the elections in 1979, all the UPN states, you could see the difference.

“What can any Nigerian say that APC governors stand for? Take five leaders of APC from each state, put them all in a hall and bring them out one by one and let’s interview each of them in a live programme. Ask them what their party stands for and you will have a comic relief for the century.”

Challenging the APC to come up with an agenda for change, Soludo asked, “Where

Governor Akinwumni Ambode of Lagos State (middle) and other APC governors at the meeting is APC agenda for job creation? What is the APC policy on population moderation? If the 23 APC states operate progressively, then the average Nigerian would be progressive.”

He recalled that during the campaigns, the APC promised three million Jobs, to grow the economy at 10 per cent, but regretted that the reverse had been the case.

On the need for strong institutions, Soludo stated, “You cannot build a productive and competitive economy with the kinds of institutions in our constitution and the laws of federal government that are designed to collect and share. The two are incongruent; a system designed for consumption cannot be efficient for production.

“So I ask the question, where is the APC agenda of competitive federalism? The federal government must loosen its hold on the states to allow them use their mineral base for the states. You have right over land but the federal government has right over what is underneath it.

“May be the first place to start in freeing up the states, to first get the constitution amended.

There are 23 of you, you need one state to add, you can amend the constitution to take your mineral resources.”

He noted that the path the country was following was not a sustainable, saying the fall in oil prices is a clarion call to start afresh on a more sustainable ground.

“This topic given to me has been the topic since 1962. The focus has been how to create an inclusive and sustainable economy. Till today, it is still the same issue.”

Lamenting the dissensions in the country, Soludo said, “You cannot have sustainable development in the context of mass elite discord. You cannot have sustainable and inclusive development when you have localities and states that have been trapped…

“We must begin to think of population moderation. A poor man who has nothing to do but has 30 to 40 children with nothing to offer them and the state doesn’t have the capacity to give those people the capacity to participate; you are building an army and a time bomb that may consume everyone.”

Soludo condemned the tendency by the politicians to focus on short term benefits with an eye on the next election instead of the long term that may be required to enhance economic growth.

He challenged the APC “What will be the seven pillars or three pillars that the APC will show to Nigerians and say, we came and we

put these pillars and in the next 20 years it will take you out of the woods? Where are the out of box ideas for use?

Soludo counselled the APC governors to move from a power coalition to a governing team.

He said there was an urgent need to move the country to competitive federalism, saying, “For the fight against corruption to become enduring and to achieve a purpose, we need to get to the systemic level.” He said the current strategy was bizarre. “You finish, you close here, the other place is leaking. The system as currently structured, you can only fight the symptoms or fight them after the facts.”

Bright Future

Soludo, however, said that Nigeria had a very bright future in spite of the current gloomy picture. He maintained that certain fundamental issues needed to be addressed first. “The key to achieving this is to have a development plan that is anchored on realising inclusive and sustainable growth. Inclusive and sustainable growth cannot be achieved without conscious efforts to deconstruct the dynasties of poverty and maximise states and Nigeria’s comparative and competitive advantage.””

He said Nigeria could not be politically sustainable under the strangulating hold of the federal government on the states. “I, therefore, recommend the restructuring of the economy from consumption-driven to production-based and consistency in micro-economic policies.”

Public Servants as Keys Development Pillars

On his part, Osinbajo said the attitude of public servants was a key factor in the transformation of the country. According to him, “A lot will depend on us, the public servants, whether we are elected or appointed, we are the ones that can make a difference in this country.” He stressed that if public servants saw themselves as being responsible for transforming the society, “the change is really possible. But, without us taking responsibility, very little can happen.”

Osinbajo stated, “We don’t have shortage of ideas or shortage of intentions in Nigeria, but what we lack is ability and capacity to see something through and complete it. For me, one of the greatest frustrations of government is that there are so many great ideas, great thought, but we face difficulties of completing things.

“The challenges that many states in Nigeria

face today are not self-inflicted, some are historical, they are legacy challenges, but then, we are required to come to the table with fresh ideas to solve the problems. Some of the problems are not problems we can solve in few months or even years.

“We are called upon at this time to make a difference and I believe the time calls for creativity and innovation but more importantly, the time calls for depending on each other, looking up to each other for solutions.

We cannot operate in silence.

“We have the next few years to transform this country and I hope we would be able to make that change. I am sure the states here are the ones to make that change.”

Addresses

While welcoming his colleagues, the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir ElRufai, said Nigeria was facing unprecedented economic crisis arising from present and past circumstances. He said, “The worst job in Nigeria today is to be a state governor because we have to deal with the inherited problems that we did not have a hand in, but we have a duty to solve.”

The chairman of the APC governors’ forum and governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, said regardless of the fall in global prices of crude oil, the APC was committed to bringing change to Nigeria.

“We must however accept that change is a process not an event. It is important to emphasise that President Mohammadu Buhari, APC governors, and the host of our party leaders are committed to the change process, which accounted for our landmark victory in the 2015 elections,” Okorocha said.

The APC governors’ meeting in Kaduna was the first in the state since the party came to power last year. The Progressive Governance Lecture Series had, however, begun before the 2015 general elections, with the first lecture held on February 24, 2014 in Ibadan.

The governors say the objectives of the Progressive Governance Lecture Series is to try to find common grounds on which to develop and promote global best practices on some of the major challenges in the states.

Discussions like this are important in the efforts to resolve the country’s political and economic problems. But it could take years before Nigerians would begin to feel the impact of the brainstorming concluded on Thursday by the APC governors.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 28, 2016

CICERO/ONDO GOVERNORSHIP

PDP Getting Set For Ondo Governorship Poll WiththeconductoftheINEC-certifiedprimaryelectionofthePeoplesDemocraticPartyinOndoState,thepartyissetfor thegovernorshipelection.James Sowole,inAkure,writesontheprimaryelectionandthenexttowardstheelection

B

arring intrigues and unforeseen issues from the Senator Alli Modu Sheriff faction of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State, the party is set for the November 26 governorship election. The party’s primary was described by many stakeholders as more of a family affair than a political contest in the real sense of it. The exercise produced the immediate past Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, as the party’s candidate for the forthcoming election.

Jegede polled 760 votes as against the 22 votes scored by his opponent, Hon Saka Lawal. Like Jegede, Lawal was once a senior aide of the sitting governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko. Lawal had left Mimiko’s administration and the Labour Party and eventually became the deputy governorship candidate of the PDP in the 2012 election that ushered in Mimiko a second term.

Apart from the presence of adequate security personnel within and around the State International Event Centre, The Dome, the primary election looked like a mere meeting because delegates related well with one another and were orderly throughout the period that that the exercise lasted.

The display of maturity by all that were present made the job easier for the electoral committee led by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr Seriake Dickson. Senator Meredith Chuba-Okadigbo served as secretary to the committee.

The process started about 8am with the accreditation of delegates. In all, 840 delegates, whose lists were in different categories, were

supposed to participate in the voting. Out of this, 609 were categorised as ad-hoc delegates elected on the basis of three for each of the 203 wards, present state executive members of the party, past state executive members who are still members of the PDP, youth leaders of the party in the 18 local governments, women leaders in the 18 local government, secretaries of the party in all local government and party treasurers in all local governments.

Other categories of delegates were National Assembly members elected on the platform of the PDP, House of Assembly members elected on the platform of the PDP, the governor and the deputy governor.

In order to ensure that only bona fide voters were allowed into the main event hall, delegates were identified by party officials according to senatorial districts. Each delegate was identified with the party membership card before being given the congress accreditation card that admitted them into the hall where seats had been reserved for them on local government basis.

The accreditation of delegates was followed by the address of the electoral committee chairman, who explained the procedure and urged delegates to be orderly and see the contest as a family affair.

Dickson said the goal on the minds of delegates and members of the party should be for the PDP to win the real Election.

In what looked like a mini manifesto time, each aspirant was given the opportunity to address delegates on their plans for the state and the party if elected as the governor. The voting proper began when officials asked delegates to file out on local government basis with the party chairman

Jegede in each of the councils leading to certify that those accredited were those that would vote.

In order to make the process fast, 18 ballot boxes were provided for the 18 council areas so that delegates from at least two councils could vote simultaneously.

While the two aspirants sat beside each other watching the sorting and counting of ballots, agents and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission took active part in the process until the last ballot was picked. The election results were announced by Dickson, who said Jegede scored 760 votes while Lawal scored 22 votes.

Addressing the people, Dickson commended the delegates and all that gathered for the exercise for their orderliness and spirit of oneness demon-

strated while the programme lasted. He said since the event was a family affair, nobody should be described as a loser.

“In the exercise that we have just concluded, all of us are winners, there is no loser. I appreciate your peaceful and orderly behaviour. Your attitude today shows that you are ready for the battle ahead. I am optimistic that you are going to repeat what happened in Bayelsa State in ondo State by working hard to ensure that the PDP wins the November poll,” he said.

In the spirit of sportsmanship, Dickson invited the two aspirants to the podium to address the delegates one after the other. Lawal, who commended delegates and party leaders for the exercise, promised to join others for true and genuine reconciliation because the party had a lot of work to do. He said he would consult with the leaders and issue a statement on the way forward.

He denied the rumour that it was Mimiko that bought the PDP nomination form for him.

Lawal also declared that he would not leave the PDP for any other political party but would cooperate with others in the effort to ensure that the party became victorious at the governorship election.

Jegede, who started his acceptance speech with a thanksgiving song, joined others in the declaration of “no victor no vanquished” in the race.

“The race is a familiar affair. PDP is a large family and if there are differences among members of the family, we have to resolve them within ourselves. We shall open the door for reconciliation among members of the party,” he said.

While commending Mimiko, Jegede said “It is now time to talk about economy and economy.”

Olusegun Abraham: Quest of a Farmer’s Son Even though his father was a cocoa farmer and his mother a trader in agricultural produce, Mr. Olusegun Abraham, founder of Seg. Mahsen & Co. Nigeria Limited, has distinguished himself in business and the corporate world before his recent foray in the politics of Ondo State. Gboyega Akinsanmi writes

H

e never loves announcing himself or what he has done to assist the indigent at the grassroots through various social interventions. But the people he has touched one way or the other now speak for him, even when critics simply dismiss him as the stooge of a godfather. Mr. Olusegun Abraham, founder of Founder of Seg. Mahsen & Co. Nigeria Limited, is not actually what his critics often call him. Abraham’s account bears to what he represents.

His biography readily disappoints critics. Different from what people expect of him, Abraham’s father was a cocoa farmer. His mother was a trader in agricultural produce. Both of them hailed from Akoko in Ondo State. But according to his biography, his grandfather migrated from Irun Akoko to Ikare Akoko due to the high demand for blacksmith in the late 1800s.

Born more than five decades ago in Ikare Akoko, Ondo State, Abraham had lived a rustic life, helping his father in the farmland and assisting his mother in her little business. But his records showed that he was always at the top of his class, a record which encouraged his parents to educate him at all costs, amid the gravest challenges of their lives.

Despite what his parents encountered to educate Abraham, their challenges never took them from the presence of God. Rather, his biography said, they consciously lived their lives to serve God and humanity. Abraham bore testimony of how he was brought up in a very religious home. At 5am daily, he said, family members would compulsorily gather for devotions.

According to him, “daily morning devotion indeed moulded my life.”

He said, “My humble background too shaped my perception about the world…I am a living testimony of God’s compassion.”

Indeed, this perception must have spurred different social interventions he has been providing to the indigent in Ondo State before his foray into partisan politics. He founded two non-governmental organisations – the Abraham Foundation and Trinity Foundation – to provide succour for the indigent and bring meaning to the lives of the perceived dregs of the society.

Such is the story of a farmer’s son. Abraham is a trained mechanical engineer, a formidable business leader, an accomplished technocrat, a passionate philanthropist and a compassionate political leader, who by his good deeds has devoted much of his resources and wealth to championing the cause of the less-privileged at the grassroots in Ondo State.

Abraham

Through these foundations, Abraham has saved hundreds from dropping out of school, supported businesses of many rural women, empowered several youths in different vocations, granted scholarships to students at different tertiary institutions, and is still providing strategic support to the physically challenged at the grassroots.

No wonder, critics have linked his foundations’ aggressive interventions to Abraham’s quest to govern Ondo State. But, for him, the foundations and their social interventions are not just a source of satisfaction, but equally a spring of joy. He said, “I am indeed fulfilled when I take part in social works that redefine people’s fortune. It gives me so much satisfaction.”

In a recent interview, Abraham said politics was not the reason he founded the foundations. He said he would not like “to bring the foundations into politics,” explaining that his compassion for the socially disadvantaged people, where he once belonged, is his motivation for establishing the foundations.

He said, “When I see joy in the faces of people who cannot pay me, it gives me much joy. The foundations have reached out to over 2,000 indigenes of the state since their creation.

Some have conflicted with me because they believe the money from the foundation, which I am giving to poor people, should have been given to one important person or be donated to one important group to spend. But, giving it to the poor has given me so much joy.

“Some people see their NGOs as tools for them to be popular and publicise themselves. I do not really attend the programmes of my foundations most times because I do not want to be praised. In Christianity, when your right hand does something, the left hand must not know. A lot of grassroots people are happy that I am coming out in this governorship race.

“It is not about giving alone, but it has made others to see that you can serve your God through the poor around you. That is why many people in Ondo State love me so much. I think I will like to encourage more people to participate in NGOs, and effective ones at that, because the satisfaction comes in three ways, yourself, the people and your God.” Though unwilling to discuss his political ambition, Abraham noted that none of the aspirants “is a threat to my own ambition.

First and foremost, power belongs to God. It is only God who gives and who owns the power. Along the line, the devil would want to hijack the power, but our duty is to pray that we get it.”

After the era of former Governor Adebayo Adefarati, Abraham said Ondo State had suffered. Consequently, he noted that the state “needs someone who is God-fearing and would do the will of God. The other aspirants see me as their colleague, even though some of them see me as a threat to them. But I still extend my hand of fellowship to them.

“Despite the blackmail messages they spread against me, for instance, some are saying I left the progressives in 2012 when I was not picked as a candidate. When they heard about my contribution and support towards the growth of my party, they all kept quiet. So, I see no aspirant as a threat to my ambition.

Rather, I see it as a mission of God. I see it as a sacrifice and as a service of extending love to my people.”

Abraham is certainly prepared to take up the mantle of leadership in the state. Already, he has unveiled a plan to set up Government Demand Industry and People Demand Industry.

The former is designed to complement the major industry that will support the government policies and programmes, which he said, would generate 500,000 jobs in four years. The latter is structured to build small scale industries under the public-private partnership. He argued that 80 percent of what the people of Ondo State “need are brought in from outside.

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Oyegun: Edo Election is Choice between Terrible Past and Promising Future National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, in this interview with journalists in Benin City, expressed optimism that APC would win next month’s gubernatorial election in Edo State, premising his position on the delivery of democracy dividends by the APC led government in the state, the pedigree of the party’s candidate and the poor record of performance of PDP when the party held sway in the state. He also spoke on several other issues. Adibe Emenyonu, who was there, brings excerpts of the interview

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n fears that the national economic downturn under APC could sway voters against the party Again if you stretch it down, it is the same argument. One thing that pleases me today is that the ordinary voter is more perceptive than we think he is.

Yes, the APC at the national level have been in office for one year plus but everybody knows that the problems we have today could not have been created in one day. We have come to fix the nation, to fix the problems otherwise as a people, as a nation, we would have been going through a struggle for existence and a great challenge would have been confronting this nation. These were issues and challenges that were inflicted on this country by years of or a decade and a half of mis-governance at the national level. Unfortunately, as if that was not enough, we also took over at a time when the crude oil market collapsed from a $100, or sometimes $140 per barrel, to a time when sometimes we were managing to make $40. At some stage it was less than $30 per barrel, that is the reality and the people recognise this. It does not stop the fact that they are aching, it does not stop the fact that they are in pains, that they are hungry, it does not stop the fact that they are hungry but they know these are not the creation of the APC and that what the APC under Buhari is set to do is to ensure that the fundamental problem with the country - a mono-culture economy - is solved once and for all. That this nation does not ever have to depend on either one crop, one mineral or one source of major sustenance, that we have to go through these pains is unfortunate, it’s like a woman giving birth, there are pains, but the joy is going to come after delivery. We are going through these hard times now but the joy will come. You members of the media have to be of help to the nation, you need to make the nation understand that the problem we are going through today were accumulated over the years when we had excess crude account yet there wasn’t a single investment to develop new sources, whether in agriculture, whether in solid minerals whether even in petro-chemicals so that we can supply ourselves the full diversity of petroleum products, whether it is AGO, whether it is aviation fuel whether it is LPO and the rest of it or whether it is the chemical that emanates from the oil industry. Yet we had excess crude account running into multiples of billions which we kept on sharing until nothing was left by the PDP administration. They owe this nation a very tremendous apology.

Between Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu Again we are back to the same odious comparison.

For most of the ten years Ize-Iyamu was at the heart of the mis-government of this state, for a total period of eight out of the ten years of non performance, at a time also when funds from the excess crude account were being disbursed, there wasn’t a single, and I stand to be challenged, one single item of solid development in Edo state in those eight years. He was one of the most powerful people in that administration. Now that times are hard, is that the kind of person anybody would want to bring back to manage the affairs of this state? The answer is clearly no. Meanwhile you have a Godwin Obaseki who has been at the heart of the management of the economy of this state throughout this hard times and everybody attests to that. He was at the heart of the economic management of the state, the result is that out of the 36 states of the country, over 22 are unable to pay salaries and Edo state is not one of them. Out of the 36 states of this nation, Edo state is one of those that are still continuing with development projects, Edo state has remained one of the fundamental ones that have tremendous development in the field of infrastructure and he was at the head. So what kind of man do we need to lead the state through this hard times? The person, of course, is Obaseki who was very successful in the private sector and then came to Edo state to help out and have distinguished himself by making Edo state one of the very few states that is keeping its obligation

men outside, I say tell them to come in because it doesn’t ever occur to me that they may be after me because there is actually nothing for them to be after. I don’t fear about thugs because I don’t go into deals and I don’t take shortcuts that could create mortal enemies for myself.

If somebody calls me his enemy, it is either because he doesn’t like my face or he doesn’t have integrity so I have no worries and that in truth is the only way to live. Obey your conscience, know the difference between right and wrong and try to keep yourself on the right track, you will live long, you will live healthy. I can drive myself anywhere without a single fear that somebody will be after me.

On life as activist and politician Well, finally we are building what the pro-democracy fought, for that is that the nation will be under the control of the left to the centre party where the welfare of the people is the prime concern of government, they have no other business except to manage our common patrimony to utmost benefit of the common people. I bought into the struggle only because it suddenly dawned on me that the military was the major problem of this country, it doesn’t mean that the politicians are perfect, it doesn’t mean that the system is perfect, it does mean that politicians must now be allowed to make mistakes and then learn from it, correct it such that we continue to correct our democracy in stages and that is what brought me to the pro-democracy group and that is what is still influencing my attitude and actions.

Oyegun and at the same time continue to work in developing the economy. So it is good for us that we have an Obaseki available for us in the state and my appeal has been clear, there is no choice at all apart from Obaseki.

Fear of thuggery and INEC’s preparation There will not be thugs, there will not be anything like that, don’t forget that when we wanted to do the primaries, people were talking about thugs, about many other things people were fearful but these days, the political services are no longer under political control so they will make sure everything is under control. We are going to have a complete free, fair, violence free election.

I expect same thing from INEC now that INEC has been removed from the shackles of influence. It’s because this time we now have a government that will not tell INEC declare the result for us let the other person do whatever he wants to do and go to court. Our administration is not that type. INEC do your job, follow the law, follow due process, decide according what the rules say.

A Buhari administration will not say declare for APC, no, there is no such interference anymore. So INEC calls it as it is.

On tension in Ondo APC The party is not really boiling, I had to call them to Abuja just to tell them the difference between endorsement and imposition. Basically, anybody can endorse just as it is anywhere; and how do you make that endorsement? You tell the people, you give the person support to move on, that is endorsement and people do it but imposition is if the party itself now decides that it is a particular candidate that must be. No, the party will not do that, it will provide a level playing field for every one of them because all the aspirants are equally respected members of the family. So we had to get that difference clarified and cleared out so that you don’t think because an important member of the family has declared support for one of them it becomes the position of the party, no, that is not the case and they understood the situation. So we are prepared to go ahead with a transparent and free primary in Ondo state.

Issues that have shaped his life at 77 Basically, I do not do anything that I will not want to see in your headlines the next day. I sleep very well, I sleep very soundly. If they say there is a group of police-

On call for dialogue to end Niger Delta crisis The two must go together, I think that is fairly clear because the government has a duty to make it clear that they are ready to defend the nation but at the same time the government also has a duty to listen to whatever grievances people have, if they are sincerely and genuinely ready to also talk. But it cannot say because there is hope of talk therefore it will just sit down and watch things rot; government must defend its people at the same time be ready for peace.

On calls for restructuring We are looking at that, we haven’t publicly taken a party position but there will be a party position, we are studying the options right now and once government decides on that we will make it public.

Happiest and saddest moments Basically the job of a national chairman is to reconcile all the interests because there are so many interests in every party and you have to make sure that at all times, everybody must have a bit of the action and ensure that no one person becomes so dominant and will now feel he or she owns the party and of course at every stage, you have to give policy direction so that everybody can subscribe to it. So that is a continuing challenge. The way we operate we don’t settle our issues on the pages of newspapers. While the talkative ones are talking, we are busy getting to the nitty-gritty and settling the issues not in the fashion of the old PDP that will say public issues are private family affairs, no, not in that fashion. Where there are blames to be given we do.

Emergency powers for the president No, not this president. The reality is that in spite of his military background, he is more democratic than a lot of us who never got near the military. He is a strictly due process persons, strictly rule of law person. Like when you asked why INEC is declaring elections inconclusive, he will not take his phone and call INEC to declare for APC and let them go to court. He will ask you what does the law say, do it according to the prescription of the constitution or whatever relevant law there is. So I have no fear about that at all. If anything needs a quick fix and he needs the powers to do it, that is how he will do it. Look at the cases of corruption, a lot of us have been asking for a quick fix process to fight the battle against the corrupt elements but he insists on the rule of law.

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Maku: Ombatse is Al-Makura’s Creation Labaran Maku, the national secretary of All Progressives Grand Alliance, was the party’s governorship candidate during the last elections in Nasarawa State. Maku speaks on the allegations that he is linked with recent militia activities in the state, in this interview with Adams Abonu. Excerpts:

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hat is your reaction to the allegations by the Nasarawa State government about your links with the emergence of the New Ombatse, a new militia group in the state?

I have been the subject of a mischievous campaign by Governor Tanko Al-Makura to tarnish my image and frame me up as sponsor of an alleged New Ombatse militia in Nasarawa State. You have covered Nasarawa State and the crises that have engulfed the state in the past four years as a journalist. You are aware of the crises between Ombatse, Alago, Migili, and Fulani mercenaries that were imported into the state and the violence that took place. I am also sure that THISDAY covered the destruction of so many communities in the state from Asakio, Agyaragu, Duduguru, to Tudun Adabu, Deddere, Gidan Gambo and several others that were destroyed. I am also aware that you covered the destruction of Agbashi and Bassa towns that were almost totally razed down.

All these crises had two dimensions. One involved Ombatse and other communities, such as the violence in Asakio, the crisis in Agyaragu. The Ombatse cult or militia as the case may be was never part of the history of Nasarawa State. I am Eggon by nationality but Ombatse has never been part of Eggon culture because i grew up in my community and I am familiar with the culture and history of our people. Ombatse emerged in the political space in 2011 during the campaign of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change with Tanko Al-Makura as candidate and that was when we began to have crisis among Nasarawa people.

I have been a development activist and a journalist.

I have served in Nasarawa State as commissioner in two ministries, including internal affairs, youths and sports and information and as deputy governor spanning eight years. During those years, my boss (former Governor Abdullahi Adamu) assigned me to be art of peace processes that brought peace to communities in crisis. It is not at this time in my life that I would condescend so low as to begin to sponsor violence in the state, as is being mischievously alleged.

Are you insinuating that the Ombatse militia emerged with the candidature of Governor AlMakura in 2011?

Al-Makura set up a judicial commission of inquiry on the Ombatse crisis that threw up many issues.

Everything about Ombatse was surrounding AlMakura’s election in 2011. We never heard anything about Ombatse before he contested election. They (Ombatse) were the people that reportedly followed him during the campaigns and they would surround him in rallies. Ombatse was a club to fight for Al-

All these allegations started in the last four weeks and it is all aimed at causing disaffection so that people would see me as a sponsor of violence and, to the thinking of the authors of the mischief, bring me to disrepute politically. The Ombatse crisis ebbed out about two years now and since then we have not heard anything about Ombatse again. It is our prayer that they would never come back again in Jesus’ Name!

Maku

Makura’s takeover of power in Nasarawa State. The day he was sworn in on May 29 2011, they were all over in black uniforms at the stadium in Lafia. That was when Ombatse began to emerge from the election. We began to get worried where all these were coming from because it was strange to our cultures in Nasarawa State. So I began to speak out against the worrisome development as Minister of Information. I raised an alarm that this was a sign of danger to us as a people and needed to be nipped in the bud. Then Governor Al-Makura responded that the Ombatse group had a right to express their cultural identity.

Afterwards, I went to the palace of the Aren Eggon and suggested the paramount ruler issue a statement, which was released on radio and television, denouncing Ombatse and stating clearly that Ombatse was not and cannot be part of Eggon cultural expression. My life was even threatened because of my loud voice on this ugly situation. Why was the governor defending the group as a cultural group?

As the 2015 elections approached, it was rumoured that the alleged agreement between Al-Makura and the group broke down and we began to see all sorts of mercenaries coming into Nasarawa State. Suddenly, a big crisis began between Ombatse and the mercenaries and this distorted the structure of peace and harmony in the state.

Do you harbour any suspicion regarding the timing of this allegation about your association with the new militia group?

It is all part of a divide and rule ploy to set Nasarawa people against each other so that there would be opportunities for political manipulations and exploitation to maintain power by the ruling clique. All these allegations started in the last four weeks and it is all aimed at causing disaffection so that people would see me as a sponsor of violence and, to the thinking of the authors of the mischief, bring me to disrepute politically. The Ombatse crisis ebbed out about two years now and since then we have not heard anything about Ombatse again. It is our prayer that they would never come back again in Jesus’ Name! We want peace and development and violence has never been part of the Eggon culture or any other nationality in the state. As they are talking about this fabrication, communities are being sacked by herdsmen. This New Ombatse is a ploy to give me a bad name before Nasarawa people and Nigerians.

In fact, the widespread rumour in town is that the state government is so desperate to criminalise my good name that moves are still being made to get some Eggon boys to make wild allegations against me as

sponsor of new Ombatse to enable security agencies arrest me in order to destroy my reputation by all means as a political imperative before 2019. There is so much rumour of evil in the air in my state, all aimed at maintaining the status quo in 2019.

The mischievous allegation is driven by the fact that, suddenly, Maku has become the opposition leader in the state and their calculation is: let’s destroy him before 2019. They desperately want to present me as sponsor of violence because they fear that I may re-contest election in 2019; the intention is to whip up sentiments against me among the various ethnic communities as an alleged sponsor of a new Ombatse group. Since I’m Eggon by nationality, the idea is to stir hatred by other ethnic groups against the Eggon and ahead of 2019. And let me remind you that the Eggon people voted Al-Makura into Government House in 2011 because of the pact he had with Senator Solomon Ewuga.

The idea now is to scandalise me, scandalise my ethnic group ahead of 2019 so that they would have the chance to plant a puppet who they would easily manipulate. The attack on me is politically motivated and this is seen through their unwillingness to mention just Ombatse because it was their creation, so they have to rename it new Ombatse so it can be attached to me since everyone knows I was never part of the cult they set up for their politics in 2011. The idea of new’Ombatse is to detach it from the earlier one created for Al-Makura to get power. As a matter of conscience, I can never support violence, as this has never been my approach since my university days of activism, all through to my development work with USAID and my journalism career. It is on record that I mobilised well-meaning sons and daughters of Nasarawa State to engender peace and harmony among our people, which ended in a blueprint for peace which I forwarded to Governor Almakura to help end violence in my state. So to put it clearly, I can never be part of any group, new or old, to promote violence or evil against any human being. It is a matter of conscience here.

Recently, you called on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of economic emergency in Nasarawa State. Why did you make this call?

What is your grouse against Al-Makura?

My case against Al-Makura is his continual misrule of Nasarawa State. Since he assumed office, Nasarawa State has never known peace or any positive development again. Workers have been on strike for more than three months in Nasarawa State and they even accused the workers of being sponsored by me. They wrote all manner of things against me in the social media but I refused to react because I would not want to distract the public from the real issues. But months into the situation, it got worse. As the opposition party in the state, we in APGA felt we should fulfil our obligations and air our views so that the public would be properly enlightened on the issues on ground. The entire state was shut down and even six members of the House of Assembly were suspended from the Assembly for opposing the governor. The economic and social situation became so tense and pressure mounted on us to intervene. The governor received N18 billion as bailout fund from CBN which we understood that N8 billion was for salaries. When nothing was done to alleviate the plight of the workers in a civil service-based economy, we felt it was time to review the situation and I addressed the press to demand for a state of economic emergency in the state. Despite all these antics

by Al-Makura, I cannot be daunted in calling attention to how he continues to short-change the state.

What would you tell your supporters in the light of the recent allegations against you?

I urge the good people of Nasarawa State and my numerous supporters not to give in to Al-Makura’s divide-and-rule tactics again. Let us not be distracted as a people from the pursuit of the common good for Nasarawa State. I have been committed to peace and development all my life and I encourage every Nasarawa person to remain resolute in peaceful coexistence and watch out for the antics of our distractors. Ours is a state where everyone must coexist peacefully and the current disorder being orchestrated by Al-Makura will eventually give way to a new dawn of peace, good governance and rapid development to ensure a prosperous future for our children.

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Odumakin: 2014 National Conference Report Has Solutions to Nigeria’s Problems The implementation of the reports of the 2014 National Conference, which held in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, have been recommended as a way to solve the myriad of problems confronting Nigeria. A participant at the conference and spokesperson for the Afenifere Renewal Group, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, in this interview with Oladipupo Awojobi, speaks on key recommendations of the conference and other issues. Excerpts:

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lot of things have been happening in the country and the Federal Government has put the blames of our problems on the past government. Do you think we should blame the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan or that of President Muhammadu Buhari for our economic woes?

I don’t like that very lazy argument and that can only make impression on a few people. After the war in Liberia, a country that was badly destroyed, people took over and put it in a good shape. I can mention many countries that were war ravaged and reduced to rubbles and people took over to rebuild them rather than putting blames on anybody. You can see what happened in Abuja four days ago, when they had a town hall meeting and they were giving all sorts of excuses, campaigning 14 months after the general election. We are tired of that, we are hungry, stop telling us stories. This is the first time I see a government campaigning 14 months after election, promising to do this or that, what are you doing? From May 29, 2015 to May 29, 2016, the Federal Government did not tar one kilometre of road throughout Nigeria. Yet, within that same period, several state Governors such as Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and others were busy commissioning different roads and projects here and there. You just keep giving excuses, is it in a different country that those that are commissioning roads are operating from?

The Federal Government has spoken about fighting corruption, dealing with the Boko Haram sect and the fact that the revenue of the country is dwindling due to fall in the price of oil, don’t you think these are their achievements?

That is why I am telling you that all these are excuses and stories, give us tangibles and work. When you were campaigning for elections, you promised to do it better. So, we have had enough of excuses, begin to work. They are sharing money every month in Abuja, they should get to work, you cannot continue to regale us with propaganda, the whole country is falling apart, people are hungry, people are jobless, they are working and they are not being paid. Go to filling stations now, you cannot see queue anywhere again, people have abandoned their cars at home and they are now jumping from one bus to another or trekking. You see frustration on the faces of the people. Those of us in the public sphere know the number of people, who come to us for help everyday, and if you try to attend to all of them, you too would be broke and start begging for money. It is that bad, industries are closing down. An Indian friend of mine told me that over 300 children have been withdrawn from an Indian school here in Ilupeju, Lagos because their families went back to their country as there is no foreign exchange to do businesses again. Those whose children are schooling abroad are withdrawing them because they could not get dollars to sponsor them again and yet you have dollars to support those who go on religious tourism.

Would you say President Buhari is on the right path by fighting corruption and probing the excesses of the past government?

It is right to fight corruption, we must restore sanity to our public life to show that there is a moral boundary, but let us just hope that many of the things we are fighting are still not happening now. If you have a situation where the Chief of Army Staff was cleared over an allegation that he has properties in Dubai, where the Minister of Interior was exempted after he was implicated over arms deal. When you begin to see this, you would raise suspicion. For instance, former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, is being tried over security funds, did you see this year’s budget and how much was voted for security again? I support the anti-corruption war because every society must have dos and don’ts as well as moral standards, but we are fighting symptoms and leaving the disease very intact.

We have not dealt with what causes corruption and we are only dealing with individuals. If you are accusing Dasuki of spending security funds for the election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC) also have governors, who sponsored the party, there are allegations against them over what they did with the state funds to prosecute the election. So, the war against corruption would have been on a higher pedestal if the APC had published what they spent on the 2015 general election and the sources of the funds.

But there are allegations that the PDP had access to federal funds because they were in power...

So, if they are probing the people that spent federal funds, and some people spent the money that accrued to the state

Odumakin governments, is it not government at all levels? Corruption is not an animist that you can tie to the stake and shoot or that you can put in prison and would not come out again. I learned this lesson in 1984, when I witnessed the shooting of some armed robbers at the Polo Ground in Ibadan, Oyo State during the military era of Muhammadu Buhari and the late Tunde Idiagbon. That time, armed robbers were being shot openly to discourage others, about three or four of them were shot. As we turned our back, we heard the shout of ‘thief, thief, thief,’ someone was picking the pocket of another person right there, where armed robbers were being shot. That is what happens, when you are fighting symptoms and leaving the disease. The kind of electoral system that makes people to empty state treasury to go and look for money at all cost to finance elections is still what we would adopt in the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States, and the general elections in 2019 because we have not addressed electoral reforms now. There is a law that limits what people should spend during elections, have we complied with it because no party, either the PDP, APC or any other party, can win elections on the basis of that law. If we don’t make our electoral system to conform with that law, we are wasting our time. All the people accused of budget padding are trying to make money to prosecute the 2019 elections.

On election day alone, you need between N8 and N10 billion to take care of the agents of your party in the 774 local governments in the country. Where can somebody get that kind of money if not through the purse of the government. This was why only the PDP and the APC were prominent in the last election. The PDP had access to federal fund and the APC had access to state funds. Now, the APC is now in charge of federal fund, so we are joking if we say we are fighting corruption and we don’t address the institutions that produce corruption. If we do not address what allows people to steal state money, then there would be problem. It is not that people don’t have the tendency to steal in the United States of America, but they cannot have access to that kind of money, the system does not allow it. I think it was in the days of the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, he was on an official duty and he was already in the plane, but he forgot something and went back to do it, they gave him the bill, when he got to the White House for the time the plane was around. Many people don’t know that in the White House, apart from state events, the food the President and his family eat, the president pays for it. Look at our own budget and see how much we voted for feeding in the villa alone. Today, we are talking about budget padding, it was the executive that started the padding now. Have you forgotten, when they had to withdraw the budget after submitting it to the National Assembly. So, we are dealing with the symptoms and not the disease. In 1984, we fought corruption and jailed people 100, 200 or even 400 years, has that killed corruption in Nigeria?

But people are saying that President Buhari should be

given enough time to rebuild what was destroyed by the PDP for 16 years. Don’t you think Buhari should be given more time?

We allow this deception about this issue of the PDP being in power for 16 years whereas 50 to 60% of the people in the APC today were in the PDP. Why didn’t you say these were the people that destroyed Nigeria for 16 years and stop them from joining you when you were seeking power? So, it is part of the propaganda that they are promoting. Budget padding now is being treated like a party affair. Part of the problems we had during the 2015 general election was that people were saying ‘Jonathan is bad, Buhari is good’ without addressing the problems confronting Nigeria. Now, the good man has come and things are getting bad.

Jonathan is not the problem and Buhari is not the solution. What we should address are the fundamental problems, the basics, the structure of Nigeria that has been giving us the same problem for over 50 years. You cannot be doing the same thing in the same way and get different results. It was Pastor Tunde Bakare that said that we should restructure the country before holding any election.

He said we should restructure for one year and tell Jonathan that he would not contest election after that. With that, we would have put the country on a different path and on a sound footing and then we could have begun to implement the whole thing. I said it on the floor of the Sovereign National Conference (SNC) around May, 2014, that if the price of crude oil should crash that only Lagos State and one or two others would be able to pay salaries. Newspapers reported it, it was even on the front page of Vanguard Newspapers. I calculated what each state of the federation was earning as at that year and now many of the states can no longer pay salaries. For many of the states, the money they would get for the next three years cannot pay six months salaries.

Talking about the constitutional conference, it was alleged that the people that went there were selected and not chosen by the people and that the reports should be discarded.

What is your advice to President Buhari on the reports of the conference?

The 1999 Constitution that we are using today was not produced by the people. I said it on the floor of the conference that after the 1994 constitutional conference, the late Gen. Sanni Abacha gave the document to Yadudu to write as the constitution of Nigeria. It was what they produced that Justice Nikki Tobi reviewed and as at the time former president Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn-in, there was no clean copy of the Nigerian Constitution and we are referring to the constitution today. Majority of the delegates at the 2014 constitutional conference were nominated by their constituencies. The ethnic group, labour unions and professional groups had their delegates. Those that the president selected out of the 492 delegates at the conference were not up to 100. The people were picked through indirect elections by their people. It was not that former president Goodluck Jonathan just sat down in his office and picked the delegates. Even in the South West, the governors nominated their representatives. Without being immodest, I would say that it would be difficult to assemble that calibre of people in Nigeria again. If you look at the resolutions that were unanimously adopted, and the crises that are confronting us today, the reports addressed them. Fulani herdsmen have killed more than 1000 people in the last one year, that conference dealt with it. We said we should build ranches, not grazing, we are not barbarians, we are in 2016. Now, they are roaming cows on the overhead bridge in Lagos, in front of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and everywhere. Someone called Abuja, Federal Cattle Territory, in 2016. When you get to the scene of a crime in Nigeria, you would see the Commissioner of Police lamenting because the federal police is overwhelmed, they cannot deal with the issue.

That conference addressed state police. Our friends from North West opposed state police, but the next day, a national newspaper published the picture of a Sharia Police on the front page. So, I made copies of the page and circulated all among the delegates.

You have Sharia police and the state governments, who have constitutional duties, cannot operate a police force.

When you look at the state that cannot pay salaries today, we addressed their issue by looking at minerals and mines that are on the exclusive list. That conference suggested that the state should control their resources.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State said on the television that if they come across miners in the state and try to stop them, the miners would show them approval documents from the Federal Government. We discovered at the conference that there are N50 trillion untapped resources under the soil in the states of the federation and all we are fighting over oil now is N6 trillion.

(See the concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

AsCANRaisesQuestions,SuspicionoverKerry’sVisit United States Secretary of States John Kerry’s visit to Nigeria elicited celebration within government circles, but it has also left an eerie atmosphere in some quarters, as the Christian Association of Nigeria says the visit is divisive and accuses the Obama administration’s top official of discriminating against Christians. Paul Obi writes

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igeria’s relations with the United States between 2014 and 2015 was everything but cordial. The two had had a frosty relationship during the days of former President Goodluck Jonathan over US refusal to support Nigeria’s anti-insurgency war. That cat and mouse relation dovetailed into the 2015 general elections, where US Secretary of State, Mr John Kerry, was instrumental then in getting the commitments of both Jonathan and President Muhammadu Buhari for peaceful polls. As the events turned out, Buhari emerged victories under the All Progressives Congress. Since then, the Buhari administration has been trying to rev up the friendship.

With several visits by Buhari to the US, the American government had appeared to resurrect the friendly relationship it once sent to the coolers. Months back, speculations were even public of a possible Obama visit. It remains uncertain whether Kerry’s visit was in preparation for the Obama visit or the administration’s farewell to Nigeria, as Obama prepares to leave the White House next January.

Controversy

On his arrival in Nigeria, Kerry was ferried to the caliphate, Sokoto, the capital of Sokoto State, to felicitate with the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, and discuss important issues. Speaking at the Sultan’s palace in company with the governor of the state, Aminu Tambuwal, Kerry declared his journey as a “great visit”, adding, “Sokoto, a place of faith, tolerance and scholarship, honoured to be hosted by the Sultan Abubakar.”

On a good day, a mere visit by any ordinary American to the caliphate will not raise eyebrows; neither will it spark some religious colouration.

But a visit by US Secretary of State carries with it a good deal of officialdom that Nigeria’s polar religious divide of Christianity and Islam would want to court. According to the Christian Association of Nigerian, it is that failure by Kerry to understand the peculiarities of Nigeria’s ethno-religious strand of politics that stirs suspicion about his visit.

To make matters worse, Kerry, aside from only visiting the Sultan of Sokoto, met with the 19 northern governors, only three of whom are Christians. At the Presidential Villa, where Kerry was hosted by Buhari, the US top official only met with select northern governors, which also irked critics who questioned the selection process of his hosts.

CAN President, Rev. Ayo Ayokunle, condemned in strong terms Kerry’s visit to Nigeria, describing the visit as discriminatory, personal and divisive. He said the visit was warped with a grand agenda to further the federal government’s plan to isolate the teeming population of Nigerian Christians.

Ayokunle lambasted Kerry’s lack of respect for the heterogeneous nature of Nigeria, accusing him of nakedly favouring northern Nigeria and Muslims to the detriment of the Christian community. While calling on Kerry to “stop interfering in Nigerian affairs,” the CAN president explained that the visit was a complete fiasco and exposed Kerry’s negligence of Nigeria’s unity in diversity ideology that has remained the foundation of the country.

“Why did he meet with 19 states governors, without southern governors? Is Nigeria the North alone, why did you go to the North alone?” the CAN president asked. Ayokunle contended that Kerry’s visit sent a wrong message and confirmed the report that Christians under the Buhari administration were under siege. “There’s a siege on Christians. Kerry, his actions speak volumes, his actions, body language were very divisive.”

Ayokunle added, “If US Secretary of States is coming for official visit, it’s understandable, but we demand explanation why he was selective.

Has the Sultan’s palace become another State House? Was Kerry invited by the Sultan? We have 36 states in Nigeria; he only selected northern governors to meet with them. It was a visit to the North, not to Nigeria.

It was surely a very divisive visit. With the visit to the North, Kerry’s

Secretary Kerry and Sultan Abubakar III visit has heightened fear and tension among Christians in Nigeria, if they cannot bring us together, they should not interfere in our affairs.”

In a similar vein, the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria and Archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Kaigama, told THISDAY that Kerry’s visit would have been more packaged and considerate, taking cognizance of Nigeria’s religious sensibilities. In the opinion of Kaigama, both the Nigerian government and the diplomatic contacts that superintended the visit failed woefully in that regard. “He should have been more sensitive; he would have sort advice on more strategic places to visit and how to go about it. Granted, there are serious problems in northern Nigeria, he should have known that there are other Nigerians in the South also. He should have been more inclusive,” the CBCN president stated.

Kaigama insisted that though Kerry has the right to visit anywhere he chooses, an understanding of Nigeria’s multi-ethnic and religious nature would have saved the visit the current controversy. “Kerry is free to visit anywhere he likes, anyone he likes, it is his right. Understandably, he wouldn’t have been able to visit everywhere in Nigeria, but they would have invited traditional rulers, Muslims and Christians leaders and talked with them about peace, not just northern governors. There are diplomatic contacts, those who invited him, should have briefed him properly, that he should visit the North and somehow the South, we have problems in the South too,” he told THISDAY. The Catholic clergy also tackled the Obama’s administration over his Nigeria policy. He argued that given Nigeria’s status, pedigree among the comity of nations and standing in the history of the black race, America’s first black president should treat Nigeria with more respect.

The Archbishop explained that US treatment of Nigeria since Obama’s ascension had not accorded Nigeria its rightful place. “They should do their homework so that they don’t create alienation. Remember President Obama visited Ghana and did not visit Nigeria. All through his administration, he did not visit Nigeria, the most populous black nation and a strong economy. So I don’t know what criteria the Obama administration uses,” Kaigama stated.

Suspicious Visit

Kerry’s lopsided visit to northern governors and the caliphate came at a time Nigerian Christians were crying over killings of their members in the North, including overt marginalisation of the faithful. Already, apprehension among the Christian community was in the air, fostering distrust across the broader society. The Nigerian Christian Elders Forum highlighted this fear during the week, stating that the discrimination against Christians has sent fears among members.

NCEF decried the situation where “those in the ‘Security and Intelligence Committee’ of the federal government, who by some unexplained reasons are mainly Muslims. President Buhari, (Muslim), Chief of Defence (Christian), Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Minister of Defence, Minister of Internal Affairs, Inspector General of Police, National Security Adviser, Director General of DSS are all Muslims from the North.” The group said Christians were apprehensive about the situation.

Even in the midst of the public outcry against Kerry’s visit, it remains uncertain what went wrong. As journalists were barred from covering the visit, economic deals might have been struck, and security and counter-terrorism agreements made in the interest of Nigeria. The visit itself, according to diplomatic circles and Nigerian officials, was beneficial and underscores Buhari’s quest to reset Nigeria as a dependable nation. That in itself is a plausible venture. The snag lies in its absolute lack of inclusiveness. Nigeria is a heterogeneous country, practically divided along religious lines.

Observers believe that government’s penchant for isolation, including marginalisation of a section of Nigerians in the last one year, might have inflamed the toga of diversion and divisiveness over Kerry’s visit. Neither did the planners try to save the best for the last. The Obama administration’s relationship with Buhari’s government has only four months left. After then, a new chapter of friendship would ensue either with Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Hilary Clinton.

Kerry Has Spoken, But is Anyone Listening?

Tobi Soniyi, in Abuja, writes on US Secretary of State, John Kerry’s visit and his message to Nigerian leaders

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hose wondering why the United States’ Secretary of State, Mr John Kerry flew to Sokoto to meet with the Sultan, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, only need to refresh their memory and recall several incidences of extra judicial killings in the name of religion.

While the American official appear to have read the signal correctly and saw a time bomb that could explode any time, Nigerians are still playing the ostrich and have yet to realize that intolerance in the name of religion is capable of setting the country ablaze. That was why the US government sent a high-ranking officer to Nigeria to talk to a highly influential religious leader who can help douse the tension.

Kerry’s visit could not have come at a better time, hours before he was due to meet with religious leaders in Sokoto, eight people were killed in Talata-Marafa, Zamfara just some kilometres away from Sokoto. The incident in Zamfara took religious

extremism to another level because as the governor, Abdulazeez Yari, explained, the killings were prompted by a false allegation.

Nobody insulted the prophet. Someone made it up so as to win sympathy and support. As a result of this misinformation, eight people, many of them Muslims were killed and properties destroyed.

While in Sokoto, Kerry described the city as ‘the place with an extraordinary history of faith, of tolerance, and of scholarship in all of its forms.”

After condemning the activities of Boko Haram, Kerry said: “So make no mistake: We do not have to be the prisoners of this violent extremism. It can be eliminated. No one anywhere has to live, or should have to live, among this evil. And it is evil. But it isn’t going to disappear on its own, and that is something that his Eminence the Sultan understands better than anybody as he preaches tolerance and brings interfaith groups together in order to do the hard work of pushing back against extremism. It takes work and it takes leadership. And it will require sustained effort

from all of us – from regional, national, and sub-national leaders, from the United Nations and other multinational institutions.

“It’ll take great efforts by law enforcement and civil society.

And I want you to know today that the United States is deeply committed to this effort, including by helping our partners to be able to build counterterrorism capacity. That is why at the State Department we introduced a countering violent extremism strategy earlier this year, and it is why we are working so hard to implement it – though I might add you all are already, under the leadership of the governor and the sultan, are already engaged in your own countering violent extremism efforts.”

Noting that defeating Boko Haram on the battlefield was just the beginning, Kerry said attacking the root causes of violent extremism should also be given high level consideration.

According to him, to win the struggle for the future, Nigeria must do more than just denounce bankrupt, dead-end ideologies that the terrorists support.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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PERSPECTIVE

On the Paradoxical Wailing in Zamfara Adamu Hassan

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he right word in the above caption could have been “legislators’, but with an apology to Randolf Quirk, grammar is neither my popular junk nor my palatable eatery. In fact, I pour out my reasoning unarranged and directly from my conscience. Its blunt and scathing nature is definitely intended.

The marked difference between dictatorship of all sorts and modern democracy is the provision of an institution that is called legislature.

A dictator designs the laws and executes them personally through cabals. In democracy, a certain body is charged with the responsibility of making the laws while its execution is left in the hands of the executive, with a caveat of an oversight function by the makers of the law for better review. The legislature is, therefore, a powerful institution in curtailing executive rascality and in ensuring checks and balances in governance.

Alas! It has never been the case in Zamfara State. Since the advent of democracy in 1999, the state has had a legislative house. But except the executive bills, one cannot pin-point a single bill sponsored privately by any of the legislators. In fact, the laws inherited from the old Sokoto State, known as Green Books, are the only pieces of legislation operating in our courts.

Shamefully, a lawyer in court, while citing a statutory authority, will have to say “section so and so of so and so law, Cap so and so, Laws of Sokoto State applicable in Zamfara State.” This is still so 20 years after the creation of Zarnfara Sate. What an embarrassment!

The lawyers reading this piece will bear me

witness.

More so, the so-called lawmakers in Zamfara State are never short-changed, whether in remuneration or logistics. In addition to the jumbo salaries they are statutorily entitled to, like others that are at par with them, they have their operational allowances.

Now if I may advise, legislative functions include law-making, representing the people, performing oversight functions, helping constituents and educating the people. I do not need to say more concerning the law-making function of the lawmakers in Zamfara State. As for

representation, the adage that says “all politics is local” applies aptly to members of legislative body. These members, ordinarily, must please their constituencies if they want to stay in office. The weapon of recall enshrined in the constitution is there to be applied to punish an erring member.

Close scrutiny of the actions of members of Zamfara State House of Assembly can tell even a reasonable blind man that they care less about representing their people. They will rather represent their pockets. How could one explain their silence on all issues except the issue of their monthly allowances, disregarding the state of the nation and its economy?

I am not a mouth piece for the executive, but I have to be fair to it. In the heyday, during the oil boom, the present administration did all it could to provide the necessary infrastructure in the form of good roads, potable water, well-ventilated classrooms for learning and well equipped hospitals. Even now that the economy is down, it is still trying to meet the expectations of people regarding such public utilities.

It is the duty of members of the House of Assembly in the state, being the representatives of the people, to educate the people on this vital government policy of providing the necessary infrastructure for the state. We cannot gamble with our meagre resources. We don’t have the liberty to do like the older states. We are emerging. We are in the nursery stage.

But here they are joining the chorus that chastises the executive for not being extravagant. They ran from pillar to post condemning the executive just because, like all other sectors of the government, the money to impress their offices is not

available. Impresses their redundant offices more important than the continued provision of infrastructure in these trying times, when the mono-economy of the nation seems to crumble? They should know that it is no more business as usual in Nigeria.

Why can’t they take a cue from other parliamentarians the world over? The former prime minister of the UK, David Cameron, being the head of his party in parliament for 11 years and for six years as the prime minister, had no ready accommodation when he resigned. He had to consult an estate agent after parking from 10, Downing Street. He was only helped “by a friend, Sir Alan, with an emergency accommodation because his modest family home at Notting Hill was rented out. He is from the conservative, a capitalist party. All the members of the House of Assembly in Zamfara are from APC, a party that seems to be tilted to the wishes of the masses.

Now hear this from me: nemesis will catch up with you for abandoning the masses and for reacting at the wrong time for a wrong cause.

Nemesis will catch up with you for misleading your people to believe that you have a good cause and painting the executive bad just because of your self-aggrandisement.

Nemesis will catch up with you when the masses turn against you, when they know their rights and, therefore, demand from you what they deserve. Nemesis will catch up with you, ultimately, in 2019, when you need another mandate to come back to the legislative house or seek for another political office. Finally, nemesis will catch up with you when the readers of this piece share my emotions and feelings and so are no longer paradoxically wailing.

––Hassan writes from Gusau

form, he hinted that his major goal is economic rejuvenation of Ondo State.Asked what his focus will be if elected, Jegede, who had a successful legal practice before joining the administration of Dr Mimiko in 2009, said: “Our number one agenda is economy; our number two agenda is the economy and number three agenda is also the economy”. He reiterated his position that he is contesting to become the next Governor of Ondo State in order to harness the State’s enormous natural resources to buoy its economic fortunes and enhance the living standards of the people.

Analysts are of the view that the art of governance cannot be sentimentalized to the level where a charlatan is put into a sensitive position of authority, especially the position of Governor of Ondo State, a model for other States not just in Nigeria, but in sub-SaharanAfrica.

In the assessment of Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) he possesses quintessential genetic traits and impressive resume that works in tandem with his ambition. He is a gentle man to the core with high ‘ambidextrous’ disposition, amiable, reticent, respectful and above all, God fearing with class and finesse.

The qualities that stand Jegede out, giving him an edge over his competitors are indeed the factors that would most likely determine the outcome of November’s election in his favour. The twin factors of experience and competence play the first crucial roles in swaying public opinion, and without a doubt, Eyitayo stands head and shoulders higher than any other competitor as the most qualified to assume leadership after 8 years of remarkable world-class growth in Ondo State.

Eyitayo devoted better part of his career to Ondo state, hitting the ground running, certainly, won’t be an issue for a Governor like him. When analysts say Eyitayo Jegede’s combination is not just intellectually fortified, but also understands governance in practical terms, they are in effect submitting that it will be a costly gamble to hand over the affairs of such an important state to any other candidate without the requisite experience and working knowledge of government precisely in Ondo State. The excellence that the Jegede’s team portends, therefore, helps the argument for continuity that PDP preaches.

Thankfully, Jegede is not entering November’s contest with any popularity deficit. His effective communications strategy has proven that he

could beat his opponents. With more opinion polls and endorsements affirming his superior visibility, Jegede’s consistent edge over his opponents, in terms of followership on every social media platform in the past 3 months, has also established that not only does thisAkure-born technocrat have better acceptance but that the contest might not be as close as some people imagine.

This reality is however a strong factor that will work in favour of PDP in this contest. It is no news that a country without the rudiments of rule of law would be vulnerable to perfidies and held hostage by power-mongers. On this note the indefatigable, principled and irrepressible people of Ondo state who are known to politically conscious and informed have the final say when it comes to deciding who succeeds Governor Mimiko.At a time like this, Eyitayo Jegede-SAN stands out as a credible successor to the outgoing Governor of the state.Added to the mix is the fact that the outstanding feats of Eyitayo Jegede remain overwhelming and far reaching to his detractors and forces from the opposition.

Barrister Jegede said he was overwhelmed with the massive show of love and support by the people of Ondo State which transcend religious, ethnic and party affiliations. He promised to justify the confidence reposed in him by offering good governance which will consolidate and improve upon the achievements of the Mimiko administration. He dismissed insinuations that he was being sponsored to represent the interest of certain individuals, saying he is old and mature enough to take his decisions. “I did not become a SeniorAdvocate of Nigeria (SAN) by being sponsored. I have paid my dues as a legal practitioner in this country, and I have worked hard to rise to the pinnacle of my profession. I had a successful legal practice before I was invited in 2009 to serve the good people of Ondo State as the number one legal officer. To the best of my ability, I have served diligently”, he said.

Barrister Jegede said nobody could query his right to aspire to be the governor of the state because he is eminently qualified by all standards “I am a bona fide indigene of Ondo State and a law abiding citizen. Having served my state as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice for seven years, I think it is legitimate for me to aspire to a higher office so as to continue serving the good people of Ondo State. However, my

ambition to become the Governor will be subjected to all legal and constitutional procedures, especially the primaries scheduled forAugust 22. I believe in due process and I am a committed party man. Therefore, I am ready and willing to abide with the outcome of the primary elections”, he added.

Mr Jegede is hopeful that the current crisis in the party will not affect his chances in the elections, stressing that the issue will soon be resolved. He said he was in the race to win. “We are coming into this race with tested and trusted years of service with integrity. Our chances are exceedingly bright and we are sure to win this race. We are in this business for service and our priority is the economy. We will partner those who will bring in their money and skills. We will have a friendly business environment that will help create jobs for our teeming youths as well as facilitate needed money in the economy”, he added.

Barrister Eyitayo Olayinka Jegede (SAN) was born on 26th April, 1961, to Chief Johnson Jegede, the Odopetu of Isinkan, Akure, and Mrs Caroline Oluwatola Jegede (nee Asokeji) from Ipele town, in Owo Local Government Area. His late father retired from the public service of Ondo State in 1982 having joined the service of the Old Western Region in 1948.

He was the Supervisory Councillor for Health in Akure Local Government and Treasurer of the Anglican Diocese of Akure. Eyitayo Jegede’s grandfather was Chief Gabriel Jegede, a prominent trader and merchant dealing in heavy equipment, chains, machines etc.

Eyitayo’s family pedigree is of high repute.

He is the fifth of the seven children of his parents. He attended St. Stephen’s Primary School, Modakeke, Ife and was at Aquinas College Akure from 1973 to 1978 for his secondary education. He was one of the prefects at Aquinas College and took active part in Sports in the best traditions of the family. He had his Higher School Certificate education at Christ School, Ado Ekiti. He was the school volleyball captain both at Aquinas College, Akure and Christ School, Ado Ekiti. He also captained the University volleyball team at the University of Lagos where he studied Law from 1980 to 1983.

Governor Yari

AsEyitayoJegede Becomes Ondo PDPFlag-bearer Emmanuel Ajibulu

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n line with ElectoralAct and in accordance with the extant rules of the PDP, the immediate pastAttorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Ondo State, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), was on Monday,August 22, 2016, elected as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) standard bearer for the November 26 gubernatorial election in the state. To all political observers, the orderliness, transparency of the process and spirit of sportsmanship devoid of bitterness that characterized the process signposts a better future for democracy not just in Ondo State, but in Nigeria. Jegede scored 760 votes to defeat his opponent, Hon. Saka Lawal, who scored 22 votes.

As the race for the November gubernatorial elections hots up in Ondo State, political analysts and keen observers have noticed the emergence of a new crop of “new breed” politicians who have become forces to reckon with in the unfolding scenario. These are successful professionals who have had chequered careers both in the private and public sectors. Leading the pack of these new kids on the block is Barrister Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), an aspirant on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the immediate pastAttorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the State.

Despite the ethnic agenda and the arguments for rotational politics being advanced by a minority section of the political class in the State, feelers across the state indicate that the indigenes of the sunshine state are more interested in the competence and integrity of the man who will be their next governor, rather than where he comes from.

Majority of Ondo State indigenes at home and abroad have rejected the ethnic card being played by some politicians, saying good governance and economic development are what matter to them, and not the repulsive issue of ethnic balancing that some politicians are striving to achieve in order to cause division and affection among the populace.

It is against this background of a level playing field and an issue-based politics that Barrister Eyitayo Jegede has emerged. Jegede is clear headed and very focused on why he wants to be the Governor of Ondo State. While picking up the expression of interest and nomination

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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PERSPECTIVE

Nailing Lagos Land Grabbers Banji Ojewale

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ome years ago well known African Philosophy teacher, 80-yearld old Professor Sophie Bosede Oluwole, told the world about her anguishing experience at the hands of indigenous land speculators (land grabbers) popularly called omo-onile. She said she had bought a land in Lagos several years earlier. Trouble came when she wanted to develop it. Her account: “I bought my land 18 years ago. A fellow, who was six years old at the time, now comes to me, saying his brother did not give him his own share of the money. I can’t understand whether he wanted to take his own share in the womb...Somebody would come and say ‘I was not around when you bought the land, pay me my own share.’”

Mamalawo, as Professor Oluwole is fondly referred to, lived to tell the story.

She was fortunate, unlike others who had more macabre encounters with the omoonile. Some have been maimed for life.

Others have died. Several more have been traumatised after having their land seized and resold without a kobo for compensation. Many more are locked in a cycle of unending court cases over trespass on their land that is taking forever to settle.

Governments that have tolerated these vampires called omo-onile have violated the constitution that says government should protect life and property.

So when penultimate week Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State moved in to roll out a law nailing the nefarious activities of the miscreants, he met not only a popular demand, but also he adhered to the fundamental essence of government. He has continued to receive deafening applause for his action.

The instrument, known as Lagos State

Property Protection Law, will make the menace of land grabbing in Lagos a criminal act and a thing of the past. It stipulates a 21-year jail term for convicts. Ambode said: “The need for the law followed the fact that one of the issues that discouraged and hindered the ease of doing business in Lagos in the past had always been the menace of land grabbing.” He noted that a lot of would-be property owners encountered untold harassment from the exploitative land grabbers, declaring that the law now marked the end of the road for such people.

“The main objective of this law,” Ambode says, “is to ensure that our investors, business men and the general populace carry on their legitimate land-property transactions without any hindrance or intimidation henceforth...The Property Law will eliminate the activities of persons or corporate entities who use force and intimidation to dispossess or prevent any person or entity from acquir- Ambode ing illegitimate interest and possession of property.” as we thought they could with the Land The government has followed it up with Use Act which put ownership of all land the establishment of a Special Task Force in the hands of state governors. Even the on Land-Grabbers and a Neighbourhood so called private sector mortgage system Safety Agency and Corps to assist the Po- hasn’t been of help. lice and other security agencies maintain Part succour lies only in individuals law and order across the communities. having unfettered access to land for Given the virulent operations of the housing in the communities. But there, land speculators also called ajagungbale the omo-onile chaps have ambushed this and how they have killed, maimed, critical window of intervention. They defrauded, and retarded investments, present land titles which they alter or property developments and housing disown at will to swindle buyers. Then delivery in this state of close to 20 million at various stages of building on your persons, many agree that this law had property they throw in more obstacles: been overdue. They have a point, if we You pay them huge sums for laying the consider some salient statistics. foundation, for decking, roofing, erecting The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria a perimeter fence, digging a borehole, in a said some years ago that Nigeria is in word for putting up any extension in your grave deficit of housing of about 18 million compound! At other times, as in the case housing units. Government (Federal, State of Sophie Oluwole, some other group of and Local Councils) cannot fill the gap, omo-onile surfaces to stop your project on

the claim that there is a court judgement wresting ownership of the land from those who sold the land to you.

Outlawing the activities of land grabbers completely as the Lagos State government has done is the answer to the nightmare the citizens have been subjected to all these decades. It is also in the interest of government because the authorities can now streamline the levies the land grabbers have been collecting into a tax regime to boost the revenue of government. The authorities must implement the law to the hilt. In the past, the people had been distrustful of government when it came to lifting such laws from the cold print and giving it prosecutorial teeth.

The government should offer the people a new impression of seriousness in giving life to the law.

The citizens also have a role to play if the law must work. The citizens would need to report omo-onile infractions to relevant agencies. Hotlines and social media contacts are needed for the public to reach the newly created operatives of the Neighborhood Safety Agency and Corps.

Law courts and the Police must be advised not to allow themselves to be compromised in cases patently meant to defraud property owners and thwart the spirit and letter of the new law. There have been occasions where security agents allegedly worked hand in hand with the land grabbers to perpetrate heinous acts.

It is expected that with Lagos State taking this radical step of finally hemming in the land grabbers, its fellow south-west neighbours, notably Ogun which is on a new drive to boost investment and Internally Generated Revenue, will follow suit to save its citizens from the hoodlums euphemistically called omo-onile.

–– Ojewale is a writer in Ota, Ogun State.

Bring Back our History Philip Afaha

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sense of their history. This development has disastrous consequences for our political t was Frank Olize, ace TV broadcaster economic and socio-cultural spheres of life. and pioneer anchor of NTA Newsline The impact of that callous policy is palpable who customarily starts his series with as our youths are more at home with foreign histories and ways of life. Apparently, there a simple question; “do you know appears to be a yawning disconnect between where your children are”? If that our children and the very values and culture question is asked today few Nigerian parents would manage to score a pass they are supposed to inherit. They are mark. Our children’s minds have been beginning to be ashamed of their identity and cultures. It is trite to blame our youth poisoned because we have abandoned our disconnect on the impact of globalism, but history. Our brotherhood is under severe Nigeria is not the only country grappling threat, from within. with global dynamics. Let’s not ignore the That Nigerian history is not taught in our schools despite two presidential directives is threat that the coinage, Naija, is not only supplanting the name Nigeria as our national no longer news. What is news is that Nigenomenclature, it has become an euphemism rians are now demanding for its immediate re-inclusion in our school curriculum due to for venting anti-Nigerian sentiments among the youths. They are now questioning our its overriding strategic relevance to national corporate existence more than we have ever development and cohesion. It is common seen before and the amalgamation of 1914 knowledge that every country worth its name has their histories compulsorily taught is now perceived as forced marriage which they now feel obliged to undo. It cannot be as a critical component of their curriculum. denied that the violent agitations for self Such policies are often without prejudice to determinations across the country is a sad a student`s course of study or citizenship status in those schools. It is a known fact that reflection of this disconnect. Our government cannot continue to ignore this national slide embedded in the histories of every country especially at a time when everything should are norms and nationalistic values that are be conjured to restore the national spirit imparted from generation to generation which has been greatly battered by national it is the knowledge of history that shapes complacency. It is worrisome that at a time national character and patriotism. It is a when other countries of the world are exsad commentary that Nigeria is the only ploiting their historical resources to enhance country where its history is not taught in her colleges, and because of that most of her their comparative advantage, Nigeria had long abandoned its own in blind pursuit of youths cannot effectively discuss or defend quick fixes. Nigeria`s historical infrastructures her existence. such as museums and archives are the most Since 1982 when the Federal government ignored in national budget and planning erroneously replaced the study of history when other countries have even gone a step with social studies and civics in school further by not only digitizing their history curriculum, the Nigerian school system lost but having presidential historians or advisers its capacity to transmit her national history on their national histories. and culture to about 65% of her current About thirty years ago it was inconceivable population. It cannot be denied that we for any Nigerian to contemplate suicide are now training future leaders with no

and committing mass murder or any of these bestialities meted on the country in the name of any creed or indoctrination.

Our souls bleed when we watch helplessly as our millennials fuelled by disjointed histories of their country talk down on our hard won unity and historical realities.

There is no gainsaying the already known fact that irredentist sentiments are at their peak in recent days. As a teacher I can say on good authority that our youths are so disenchanted about their national identity and we need to do something fast. They have come to accept what the social media and home movies wrongly project as their heritage. Let’s start to communicate our true story by teaching our children our national history. Let’s tell them that movies don’t tell our true story, they are mostly meant to entertain for profit.

We need to teach our children who we are, what we believe in and the common heritage we hold dear before they set this house on fire. Our children have been deceived by the social media to believe that our unity was conceived in error. The deliberate neglect of our national history has only bequeathed to these children a dizzying victim mentality which only cure is the current distrust, agitations for new identities and nihilistic disruptions of whatever they perceived to represent the system they inherited. Posterity will also ignore what we are achieving today if we sit back and dismiss the exploits of Ahmadu Bello, the political charisma of Nnamdi Azikiwe, the managerial sagacity of Obafemi Awolowo, the parliamentary acumen of Anthony Enahoro or the significance of Sir Udo Udoma to our jurisprudence. Nothing can be sadder than to deliberately ignore the sacrifices of those who toiled or fought to give us a country. No nation ignores her history without dampening her citizens sense of

Adamu, Education Minister patriotism and ultimately losing her identity.

Let’s pretend the omission was in error and hurriedly return history as a compulsory subject in our school curriculum as done in other climes. The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the National Education and Research Development Commission (NERDC), and the National University Commission (NUC) must be reminded to wake up to their responsibilities in this regard. History is not only about past events, it is also about the dramatis personae within a time and space. History is about us and our actions as it affects our society. Let’s act now to reverse this national oversight and upgrade our curriculum to close this gap.

The theme Bring Back Our History does not intend to parodize the current search for our daughters from the Chibok school, it is a battle-cry for the restoration of our national history. We can only navigate our future from the knowledge of our past. To pretend to be moving forward without looking back is no wisdom, it is self delusion. I cannot imagine what would make a people to be so scared of their history. Please bring back our history.

––Philip Afaha (PhD) is an academic

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PERSPECTIVE

PDP National Convention: AVictory for Democracy Simeon Nwakaudu

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hen the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party reappointed Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike as the chairman of the August 17 National Convention Planning Committee, the party obviously wanted a strong and dedicated political strategist with the right skills to weather the storm of the ruling party’s anti-democratic antics. The PDP leaders knew ab initio that it would take the political skills of a tested political horse to ensure the success of the repeat national convention.

A few days to the convention, it became quite clear that there was a deliberate plot by the powers that be to scuttle the event in Port Harcourt. As preparations reached fever pitch, the judicial struggle over the propriety or otherwise of the convention came to the fore. The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt in Suit Number FHC/PH/ CS/585/2016, between Senator Ben Obi for himself and other members of the National Planning Committee of PDP, and the Inspector-general of Police, the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, State Security Service, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, ordered the police, DSS and INEC to participate in the August 17 convention. He declared, “It is necessary for the defendants to carry out their respective functions at the 17th August, 2016”.

The court further declared that its judgement of July 4 remained valid until it is set aside by a higher court, which in this case is the Court of Appeal.

On the other hand, another Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Okon Abang gave an interlocutory injunction asking the Inspector-general of Police not to provide security for the August 17 national convention.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dejo Lamikanra, explained that regarding the PDP conflict, there was only one judgement--that delivered by Justice Liman of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, which validated the May 21 national convention of the party and gave life to the National Caretaker Committee of the PDP under the leadership of Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

Lamikanra noted that the interlocutory injunction by Abang was inferior to the judgement and therefore could not be placed above the considered judgement of a court.

In a similar vein, the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, through its judgement on the originating summons filed by the secretary of the caretaker committee on August 16, reaffirmed that the national caretaker committee was the only organ with executive powers at present in the PDP. Therefore, there was no controversy as to the body that had the legal backing to conduct the activities of the PDP. It was clear that until the Court of Appeal decided otherwise, the Makarfi-led PDP caretaker committee was in legal control of the party.

The Board of Trustees of PDP declared its support for the conduct of the national convention in Port Harcourt.

Speaking during a solidarity visit on Wike at the Government House, Port Harcourt, a day before the convention, chairman of the BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin, said board members at their pre-convention meeting endorsed the contributions of the governor for the repositioning of the party.

The BoT held that the appointment of the governor as the chairman of the National Convention Planning Committee was commendable, as it had helped to set up a worthwhile convention. Jibrin said all the leaders of the PDP were in Rivers State for the national convention.

Head of publicity of the caretaker committee, Dayo Adeyeye, on the eve of the national convention announced that the convention would go ahead on the strength of Justice Ibrahim Watila’s judgement of August 16. A statement by Adeyeye read: “Our attention has been drawn once again to another act of judicial recklessness by the Honourable Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Okon Abang, of the purported suspension of the PDP national convention holding in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday the 17 of August 2016.

“We wish to however state that a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has earlier in the day given a comprehensive order wherein the Honourable Judge specifically ordered the PDP to proceed with the convention as scheduled without hindrance. Indeed, his lordship while giving the order mandated all relevant agencies, including the police, DSS and INEC to cooperate with the party in organising a hitch free national convention.

“You may also wish to note that the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, gave an interlocutory order while Justice Okon Abang, Abuja, gave an interim order. The order of Port Harcourt is clearly superior and earlier in time to the interim order given by Justice Okon Abang. In the light of the above, The Peoples Democratic Party as a law abiding party is obeying the order of the Port Harcourt Federal High Court until set aside by any

Wike addressing delegates at the convention

competent court.

“In view of the above, the 2016 repeat national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party will continue as scheduled as we welcome all delegates, party leaders, other critical stakeholders, INEC monitoring team and other friends of PDP to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while wishing all our members and supporters a successful national convention.”

However, in the early hours of August 17, security agents, acting on orders from above, invaded the Sharks Stadium, venue of the PDP national convention.

Numbering over 500, they chased out all delegates and party officials who were gathered at the venue and waiting for the convention to kick off. Armed to the teeth with armoured personnel carriers and sophisticated weapons, they also blocked all routes to the stadium.

The police high command claimed that they were obeying an interlocutory injunction from Abang. With the benefit of hindsight, Nigerians now know the value of Abang’s judgements.

The Court of Appeal has made very fundamental pronouncements on Abang. Following the action by the security agencies, all the organs of the PDP met at the Government House, Port Harcourt, where they took far reaching decisions. The principal decision being that the PDP must defend the nation’s democracy. They resolved to go ahead with the convention.

The process of the successful PDP national convention started with the inauguration of the National Executive Committee of the party by the National Caretaker Committee chairman, Makarfi, at the Government House, Port Harcourt. Performing the inauguration on Wednesday, Makarfi said the NEC included the PDP governors, National Assembly Caucus, BoT, National Caucus, 36 state PDP chairmen, and national officers of the party.

The PDP national convention approved the extension of the tenure of the National Caretaker Committee led

by Makarfi by 12 months. The motion for the extension was moved by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekeremadu and seconded by the former Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Zainab Maina.

The chairman of the National Convention Planning Committee, Wike, put the question for the extension of the lifespan of the committee to vote, and it was unanimously approved.

The National Caretaker Committee was expanded to have a membership of 13 persons. The convention further directed that no member of the current National Caretaker Committee will contest elections whenever it was held.

The national convention had earlier adopted a motion moved by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Leo Ogor, to amend the agenda of the convention and step down the issue of election.

Party leaders in separate goodwill messages at the convention condemned the federal government for entrenching political impunity in the polity, saying it is a threat to democracy.

In his acceptance speech, Makarfi assured that the

party would continue to forge ahead.

The August 17 national convention attracted thousands of PDP faithful from the 36 states of the federation and Abuja. The population far exceeded the number that attended the May 21 national convention.

In attendance were the 12 PDP governors, several former governors, senators, House of Representatives members, House of Assembly members, former ministers, BoT members, 36 state PDP chairmen, and party elders.

From the list of leaders and delegates that participated in the convention, it was clear that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff was being used by external forces to distract the party. The former acting national chairman has no founding member or leader of the PDP with him.

It is instructive to note that before the amendment of the agenda of the national convention to remove election of party officers, 57 candidates had been screened for the voting process.

One point that cannot be ignored in any postconvention analysis is the peaceful nature of Port Harcourt and Rivers State. Over 100,000 Nigerians directly and indirectly connected to the convention converged on the state without any incident. Even the illegal actions of security agencies did not provoke the people, as they insisted on maintaining peace so that democracy could thrive.

Wike stated that the successful conduct of the August 17 national convention of PDP flowed from the commitment of all bona-fide members to reposition it in the interest of the country. The governor said in an interview that the calibre of members who graced the convention proved that the party had moved on after the unnecessary crisis generated by Sheriff.

Wike said, “The calibre of persons who attended the national convention is an indication that the PDP remains strong with quality members who are ever ready to make sacrifices…We are happy that the party has moved on.”

He noted that the PDP was a law-abiding party, which did not struggle with the security agencies after they invaded the initial venue of the national convention. He said the party leaders and delegates simply moved to another location for a successful national convention.

The resolve of the PDP leaders to go ahead with the convention, despite the display of impunity by the powers that be, is a victory for democracy and the rule of law. It proves that no level of deployment of the agents of state violence can stop the PDP from working towards the deepening of democracy, with the ultimate goal of changing the change in 2019.

The successful national convention further proves that the leaders and members of the PDP are determined to stake their resources in defence of democracy, which they have groomed since 1999. After all, Nigeria is enjoying its longest spell of democracy, courtesy the PDP. ––Nwakaudu is Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media.

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PERSPECTIVE

How Senate Plans to Stimulate an Economy in Recession Chuks Okocha

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he passage of the Public Procurement Bill by the 8th Senate would not have come at a more auspicious time than now. The bill when concurred to by the House of Representatives and assented into law

by President Muhammadu Buhari would turn out to be the tonic needed to grow the Nigerian economy that is said to be currently in recession.

The reasons for this is simple. The bill will help to curb the frequent capital flight and increase the patronage of local content by empowering local companies to produce locally made goods. Also, it will help fight and reduce corruption in this era of crusade against corruption. In other words, the bill when eventually passed into law will enhance transparency and competitiveness, the ingredients needed for national growth.

For instance, in section 34 of the bill titled, ‘Domestic Preference’ it says, “A procuring entity shall grant a margin of preference in the evaluation of tenders, when comparing tenders from domestic bidders with those from foreign bidders or when comparing tenders from domestic suppliers offering goods manufactured locally with those offering goods manufactured abroad.”

This is a welcomed development as preferences would be given to goods made in Nigeria.

This is by no means meant to whittle down standards. No. There are several made in Nigeria goods that can compete favourably with foreign made goods, but due to the craze for foreign goods, such locally manufactured goods suffer neglect, whereas goods that are of sub-standard qualities are given patronage

by Nigerians. A very good example is in the textile industry. This law will help in curbing capital flight and improving the value of the local currency, the Naira. By so, doing, that is, by increased preferential patronage of the local industries, the usual practice of transferring profit to the home country of the manufactures would be gradually reduced. The new bill has capacity to also assist and support local business community to become competitive

Saraki and efficient suppliers to the public sector.

One of the problems of public procurement in Nigeria is delayed payment by government agencies. But this bill has an answer that would cure this. In section 37, it proposed payment of interests for any delayed payment. This would act as a panacea to local competitors that took bank loans to execute government contracts.

There are several Nigerian companies (from all sectors) that are technically competent and with human capacity but lack the requisite capital to compete or bid for contracts to be awarded by government ministries and agencies, However in the proposed amendment that have been passed by the senate, the usual practice of 15 percent mobilisation fee is to be increased. Under the new plan, the mobilisation fee is to be increased to not more than 25 perrcent. This idea is to give financial strength to technically competent Nigerians companies to bid and tender for big government contracts.

Another aspect of this bill, especially in this era of the anti corruption mantra, is the open competitive bidding. According to section 24 of the bill, “ all procurement of goods and works by all procurement entities shall be conducted by open competitive bidding.” This means that every thing that regards government procure-

ment shall be transparently done. Bye bye to ‘long leg and god fatherism’. Every qualified bidder shall be given equal opportunity.

This bill that is currently awaiting concurrence by the House of Representatives will seek to harmonise all government policies as regards procurement in standards and benchmarks. It will also ensure application of fair competition, cost effectiveness and professionalism in the public sector procurement system.

It is in line with this position that the chairman of the Senate Committee on Industry, Senator Sam Egwu, said that he championed a bill that amended the Procurement Act to encourage local manufacturers to invest more in local production. He also said the bill, if passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, would put an end to capital flight.

Sam Egwu, who threw more light on why he proposed an amendment to the existing act, said his decision was predicated on what he termed as “high quantum of capital flight taking place in the country on yearly basis.”

He explained that the new legislation made it compulsory for ministries, departments and agencies of government to first seek to procure certain percentage of locally made goods before considering foreign products, where such local products are available.

According to the former governor of Ebonyi State, “I was inspired by the fact that I realised that a lot of money is appropriated for capital projects every year and most of these funds end up in the hands of foreign companies that produce the goods and services that we need.

“This is because once a budget is passed, it simply goes for procurement of goods and services. Then you start asking yourself, what is the fate of this huge amount of money that has been appropriated in a local economy?

“You will find out that more often than not the money so appropriated just ends up in capital flight because the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) will end up the procurement with foreign goods and services, leaving our local manufacturers who produce such things without patronage.

“You know that importation is not done with the local currency; importation is done with foreign currency, and this causes a lot of pressure on the foreign reserve, and it keeps depleting everyday. But when we now patron-

ise our made in Nigeria goods, there will be no need for much pressure on our forex”.

Egwu also stated that the Senate, in the new proposal, increased the contract mobilisation fee from the current 15 per cent to 25 per cent, as a means of addressing the issue of rampant cases of abandoned projects across the country.

According to him, when contractors are mobilised with reasonable percentage of the contract sum, they will have no reason not to execute the project but when the mobilisation fee is small, they can be tempted to leave the contract undone.

He also stated that the improved mobilisation fee would facilitate timely completion of contract procurement process, which used to drag under the extant procurement Act. He further explained that the Senate decided to remove the power of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to approve contracts and ceded the power to the National Council on Public Procurement, NCPP. The legislator pointed out that the National Council on Public Procurement would be made up of professionals and bureaucrats, who know the right decisions to take in order to make things work.

For instance, Egwu noted that the Senate also approved the inclusion of Nigerian institute of Architects and the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors as members of the Council.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who did not hide his excitement over the passage of the bill by 8th Senate, said that the new amendments to the act would help stimulate the nation’s economy.

According to the Senate President, “We all have a role to play to ensure that the Executive complies, especially in the area of giving first priority to locally produced goods.

“This has helped many countries to develop when they had issues of downturn in their economy.

“I want to commend my colleagues for passing this bill,” he said.

The passage of this all important bill is in line with the agenda of the 8th senate to encourage local manufacturers by championing procurement of made in Nigeria goods and enthrowing transparency into the economy.

–– Chuks Okocha is a Special Assistant to the President of Senate on Print Media.

Meeting Africa’s Universal Health Challenge

Graça Machel and Ricardo Lagos

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he right to health is a basic human right, one that depends on access to timely and affordable health care of appropriate quality. Yet, we know that approximately 100 million people globally are needlessly pushed into poverty every year as a result of costly health care expenditure.

Nobody should be forced to choose between seeking medical care and staying out of poverty. It is unacceptable that families, sometimes whole communities, are denied life-saving health services and forced to pay unaffordable fees for their care.

This burden is particularly felt by women, children and adolescents, who often have high needs for health care but the least access to financial resources. The needs of these populations were identified as a priority in the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by 193 countries during the United Nations General Assembly last September.

The upcoming Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), which takes place in Nairobi on 27-28 August, is a moment when decisionmakers can take important political steps towards Universal Health Coverage.

At last year’s conference, Japan issued a loan of 4 billion yen (US$ 39 million) to the Kenyan Government to work towards Universal Health Coverage by 2030. We hope this year’s conference will see even greater commitment, from all sides.

The Elders, the group of independent leaders founded by Nelson Mandela to work for peace and human rights which is

Graca-Machel

Ricardo-Lagos

today led by Kofi Annan, are campaigning for Universal Health Coverage because of its basis in equity and rights. We believe that everyone must be covered, with services allocated according to people’s needs and health systems financed according to people’s ability to pay.

In our own countries, emerging from decades of colonial and military rule, we know from personal experience how important affordable, accessible and quality health care is in building inclusive, prosperous and sustainable societies.

We also know that this requires both unwavering political leadership and public financing commitments. Governments and global development partners should develop and implement health financing strategies that increase levels of public financing and reduce the role of inefficient and inequitable private financing, especially health service

user fees.

It is essential to allocate these public resources efficiently and fairly, in particular to services that benefit the most vulnerable. Priority should therefore be given to primary health care, especially to maternal, newborn and child health services. This is the process Japan, for example, underwent in 1961 when it made its own giant leap towards Universal Health Coverage.

Sadly, many African countries are still to make this transition. In 30 sub-Saharan countries out-of-pocket costs account for nearly one third of total health financing; in some countries, such as Nigeria and South Sudan, this rises to 70 percent. At these levels, the poor are effectively excluded from the health system. And this can have dire consequences for the population as a whole when health emergencies such as the Ebola epidemic occur.

However, other African countries are achieving impressive results. Malawi has never charged user fees in public health facilities and allocates 5.6 percent of GDP to public health financing – above the 5 percent target the Elders urge governments worldwide to commit to spending on health. As a result, Malawi has relatively low levels of poverty caused by health expenditure and a child mortality rate of 64 deaths per 1,000 – in contrast to 109 in Nigeria, which is seven times wealthier.

Ethiopia has made tremendous progress towards Universal Health Coverage and now provides universal and free primary health care services to the entire population through an extensive network of 37,000 community health workers. Countries like Malawi and Ethiopia prove that, even at low income levels, if governments prioritise health in their budgets, it is possible to provide free services to the entire population. In turn, this brings huge health and economic benefits.

As the development economist and Nobel laureate, Professor Amartya Sen argued in 2015, Universal Health Coverage is “an affordable dream”. We applaud Japan for its leadership in promoting Universal Health Coverage to other countries and hope that the African leaders gathering in Nairobi for TICAD will heed Professor Sen’s words and invest substantial political capital in making this dream a reality for their peoples.

- Mrs. Graça Machel is the first Education Minister of Mozambique and co-founder of The Elders, with her late husband Nelson Mandela, while Mr. Ricardo Lagos is former President of Chile

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eacher,educationistandcommunity leader, the late Pa Joseph FolorunshoOlorunfemiwasrecently laid to rest after a funeral mass at SacredHeartCatholicChurch,Kabba,Kogi State.Thechildrenofthedeceasedhosted friends and family members at St. Mary’s PrimarySchool,Kabba. Photos: Julius Atoi.

L-R: Francis Olorunfemi and his wife, Ani

L-R: P F Adebayo and Segun Folorunsho

L-R: Biodun Kojotoni and Tunde Adeleke

R-L: Dada Dimeji Johnny and Arokoyo Raph

L-R: Hon. Duro Meseko; Ms Labake Durowaiye; Mrs Kehinde Adebayo and Mrs. Olu Solomon

L-R: Ms Veronica Ojo-Kutu and Ms Shola Olorunfemi

L-R: Mr Joel Ojokutu and his wife, Toyin

L-R: Kunle Olorunfemi and his wife, Simi

L-R: Stephen Bolarinwa and his wife, Foluke

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

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L-R: Mr. Clement Onayo and his wife, Mary

Stephen Ogedegbe and his wife, Grace

Children, grandchildren and family friends of the Late Olorunfemi

L-R: Mr. Jide Olorunfemi and his wife, Titi

R-L: Kola Ologbondiyan and Dimeji John Dada

L-R: Joseph Ologbondiyan and Tony Komolafe

Cross section of the family

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

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High Life

wiTh LANRE ALFRED 08076885752

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

Ugwuanyi’s Curious Love for Amaka Anajemba

•Governor appoints ex-convict as waste management boss

T

he nuisance of the tropics is the sheer necessity of the fizz and temperate region.

Little wonder Enugu State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, appointed an ex-convict into his government, particularly at a time when the country is reeling and groaning under the weight of bad image and corruption.

Why would Governor Ugwuanyi, appoint Amaka Anajemba? Was it his way of showing appreciation and payback for some significant work done, or support in gaining entry into a powerful political clique controlling immeasurable wealth and authority? Or was it simply an outpouring of human kindness, reflective in the Christ-like injunction: “Go and sin no more?”

Whatever the truth is, Ugwuanyi’s appointment of Amaka Anajemba, a woman widely acknowledged as Nigeria’s Queen of 419 (Advanced Free Fraud), as the Managing Director

REALITY BITES! OKOCHA, NIGHTCLUB NOT SOCCER PITCH The finest plans have always been spoiled by the littleness of those that should carry them out.

Even emperors couldn’t do it all by themselves, likewise Austin “JayJay” Okocha. The former Super Eagles mercurial midfielder and playmaker could not replicate his

Austin Okocha

of the Enugu State Waste Management Agency (ESWAMA), is ruffling a lot of feathers in the state. Since Anajemba’s appointment was announced, several commentators on the social media have expressed dissatisfaction with the state government’s preference for a woman convicted for fraud.

Back in 2005, under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, Anajemba bagged a prison term of two and half years for conspiring with others to commit a scam to the tune of $242 million in faraway Brazil.

She was convicted in July 2005 by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja.

According to a news report in Daily Trust on July 26, 2005, “by her conviction, Mrs. Amaka Martina Anejemba, mother of four, became the undisputed Queen of the scam that continues to wreak havoc to our international image and integrity.”

Her conviction had earned a success on the soccer pitch in the challenging world of nightclub management thus the failure of Bar 10, his wondrously constructed nightclub. The venture which cost the former Paris Saint German and Bolton Wanderers mercurial midfielder quite a fortune became the favoured watering hole of many fun seekers in Lagos until the sad news of its closure stealthily crept in. Though there was no specific reason attributed to the closure, rumour has it that Okocha had persistently complained about the viability of the business. Okocha reportedly lamented that he was not making money from the capital intensive venture claiming he regretted venturing into bar business.

He was quoted as likening the bar business to another failed investment of his in the distressed Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN) where he lost about $1million. Though he was lured into the business by some bootlickers, we gathered he has gone back to the drawing board to repackage the business.

LOVE FINALLY! PELEBO BANIGO’S ELDER SISTER, EYAMBA HENSHAW, FINDS LOVE Love is never limited, and it is never complete; it

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi

presidential recognition, with Obasanjo writing a letter of commendation to the EFCC is an immense sensibility, a kind of huge spider-web of the finest silken threads suspended in the chamber of consciousness, and catching every air-borne particle in its tissue. It catches on with both old and young, male and female. It confounds the wise and it teaches even fools. Thus when a sensible

Eyamba Henshaw

boss, Nuhu Ribadu, for the first time, for a job well done in the successful prosecution. woman like Princess Eyamba Henshaw, gets caught in its silken thread, the end result becomes truly fascinating.

At a time when many would have given up on love and marriage, one of Nigeria’s most accomplished female professionals, Princess Eyamba Henshaw, has found love. Recently, she got married to Dr. Henry Ezekwu, the popular Lagos Big Boy. She was in her mid-50s. Eyamba is the first daughter of the late Professor Nta Elijah Henshaw, the former Obong of Calabar. A lawyer by training, Eyamba is the elder sister of Pelebo, wife of Ebitimi Banigo, the Amanyanabo of Okpoama Kingdom. Eyamba is currently a director at SLG Limited. Her close friendship with a former handsome governor was reported to have resulted in the birth of a child. But while Eyamba’s story reads like an interesting script on the beauty perseverance and undying hope, her groom, Ezekwu’s story is even more intriguing. Ezekwu is the founder and Managing Director of CSA Ltd., an experiential communications outfit. An accomplished public speaker, television presenter and public affairs Cont’d on pg. 85

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

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HIGHLIFE

How Police Foil Kidnap Attempt on Femi Otedola

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he fear of kidnappers, for some of Nigeria’s successful top corporate players and business moguls, seems to be the beginning of wisdom.

Not just because of militants’ predilection for creating a storm in a tea cup, but because of their newfound sport; kidnapping.

In the last couple of years, the kidnapping scourge has gone beyond just capturing Caucasians working in oil companies.

Now, Nigerians, especially the elites, are becoming prime targets. Of course, nobody wants to be held to ransom, not just because of money, but for the fear of mindless killing. As you are reading this, many of these elites are planning to relocate their kiths and kin abroad. However, an armed robbery suspect, Ikechukwu Daniel, also known as Ike, has disclosed that his gang hatched

a plan to kidnap businessman, Femi Otedola, but the plot was foiled by the police. He also confessed that his gang, which was linked to the abduction of Senator Iyabo Anisulowo, operated with military uniforms and hijacked three trailers on the LagosIbadan Expressway.

Ike was arrested sometimes in June at Festac Town in Lagos while negotiating the ransom of a victim kidnapped in Ibadan.His disclosure emerged following Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris’ directive to the Force Intelligence Response Team (IRT) to arrest anyone linked to the kidnap of Senator Anisulowo.

Within a few days of receiving the instruction, the IRT operatives arrested one Mohammed Babuga, and he owned up to the fact that he and one Mamman masterminded the kidnap.

commentator, Ezekwu is a medical doctor of repute whose interest in public relations and media work spans 25 years of sterling accomplishments for corporations and governments across West Africa. Ezekwu once caused a storm in the society through his alleged affairs with Omua Oni-Okpaku, the former mistress of Dr. Tunde Soleye, the famous businessman and society patriarch. The affair between Omua and Soleye had lasted many years and produced a son, Olamide. Ezekwu has since found lasting love in the arms of Eyamba, and sources disclosed that the couple opted for a low-key wedding ceremony, to avoid the prying eyes of the public.

He is also in his mid-50s.

ON THE LOCAL PASTORS’ ALPHA WIVES One of the great trends of the current century is undoubtedly the rise of the alpha female; that highly educated and motivated new breed of woman. Like unquenchable cultural fire-starters, these women are threatening to tear apart what many believe as gospel when it comes to changing gender roles and modernity. Many have described their emergence to be a result of the sexual

revolution that has spawned a relatively new being called the “Alpha female”.

Affluent and successful, the alpha female’s fast-living world is that of powerful, influential professionals – she holds jobs that only men used to have. Many of them become neurosurgeons, pilots, marine combatants, pastors to mention a few.

Some however, simply choose to support their husbands by assuming more challenging roles and becoming more visible in the Church. This latter breed represents a tectonic shift in gender roles and perception according to the gospel.

As wives to prominent pastors, no more are they scarcely seen and never heard. Today, they have become more visible, more assertive and fashionable too. The dawn of the 90s no doubt triggered a new awakening for these women in the Lord’s vineyard. Their fashion culture changed, so did their attitude to various other issues. Not that they have grown less subservient but they have become self aware and enamoured to do things their own way. And today, these Pastors’ wives have become as prominent and conspicuous as their husbands; even dandier and more outstanding to the delight and amazement of

Femi Otedola

their teeming congregation.

Such pastors’ wives include Ifeanyi Adefarasin, Ibidun

Ifeanyi Adefarasin

Nike Adeyemi

Ighodalo, Nike Adeyemi, Faith Amaga, Siju Iluyomade to mention a few.

Ibidun Ighodalo

Siju Iluyomade

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 28, 2016

ON ARISE TV Arise TV Washington Town Hall Meeting Charts Way Forward After Police Killings

Clinton

Trump

The Arise Television Town Hall Meeting which held last Wednesday in Washington DC agreed at the end of the conversation that African Americans had come a long way, in spite of the killings of members of the community by the police. Ongoing reforms in the US criminal justice system and the great achievements of African Americans in various fields of endeavour suggest that beyond the Barack Obama years in the White House, African Americans have so much to crow about. Agreeing there will be a drastic fall in the number of deaths and crimes when policemen are chosen from the communities they serve with the abolition of the notorious BrokenWindow theory that has nailed black neighbourhoods as perpetually criminally infested zones, the conversation proffered trust and accountability as the binder between communities on one side, the Department of Justice and the Police on the other. In a way, it was an agenda for the next US President. Nduka Nwosu who monitored the meeting reports

T

he Arise Television Town Hall Meeting that held last Wednesday in Washington DC with the theme: Guns, Cops & Black Lives could not have come at a more appropriate time, what with the emergence of a Donald Trump as Republican candidate for all he represents to the white supremacists and the emergence of Hillary Clinton as Democratic Party candidate.

Hosted by Debbye Turner Bell and Charles Aniagolu, it was another evening in DC where participants and key speakers weighed in on why in spite of eight years of Barack Obama presidency, racism in America continues to be the bane of the African-American. As if the participants were being listened to by the two presidential candidates whose surrogates in any case debated their cases strongly during the conversation, last week was one of finger pointing, Clinton telling the world Trump is a bigot, promoter of the alt-right movement led by Steve Bannon, Breibart News CEO and Trump’s new campaign boss, the likes of his tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos for his racist rants on tweeter, and Trump calling Clinton the bigot because she and her party have been exploiting African-Americans, giving them nothing in return for their votes.

The conversation reviewed two turbulent years in America, years that gave rise to outrage, anguish, frustration, pain and sorrow over the loss of loved ones and the birth of a movement, Black Lives Matter, with the question: how did we get to this point in history and where do we go from here? Experts in the field of law enforcement and civil rights are confronted with the vital question whether the police will represent safety and protection rather than fear, oppression and death for coloured people moving forward.

By way of personal experience, sometime in 2014 this reporter had arrived Union Station Washington DC from New

York and picked a cab heading for Maryland preparatory for the coverage of the summit between Barack Obama and African leaders with Goodluck Jonathan in attendance. Along the way shortly before connecting the Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway) from Potomac, a police patrol car waved at the driver to park which he did. The officer accosted the African-American driver of Senegalese descent and asked if he had his papers correct. He answered in the affirmative with a Yes Sir his hands on the steering. Everything else was a yes sir, yes sir. The police officer said “okay. I saw a tag behind you and I wanted to be sure who the owner of this car is. You can Proceed, the police officer, ordered. “Yes Sir, thank you sir” The driver later explained the only reason he was halted was because of his colour and this criminalization of the AfricanAmerican.

With this mindset in view, the Arise News Town Hall conversation is best appreciated from the perspective of experience. Many blacks as accomplished as they may be express fear when encountered by the police, not because they are criminals and hateful of the police but because there are scores of documented evidence of black people who were gunned down in questionable circumstances and blacks more than any other group suffer from racial profiling. A research carried out by the Guardian, revealed 37 per cent of unarmed people killed by police were black in 2015 despite being only 13.2 per cent of the US population Britanny Packett who is described as an activist and a member of the White House taskforce on policing added: “This epidemic is disproportionately affecting black people. We are wasting so many promising young lives by continuing to allow this to happen.” The analysis observed 102 unarmed black people were killed in 2015, about five times the number of unarmed whites killed about the same time.

Around the St. Anthony Police Department within the neighbourhood Philando Castile was shot, the police department showed figures or citations on its traffic stops just about the same rate as other close suburbs but with 47 percent of African Americans receiving more of the arrests and this has been the trend since 2011. The US Justice Department observed that in Ferguson the focus was more on raising revenue than keeping public safety By way of response St. Anthony City Manager Mark Casey lamented: “We do share concerns about the information and what it represents. Racial inequality, in terms of arrests, citations and incarceration, is a complex yet urgent challenge for all of us.”

The Roll Call

Trayvon Martin Earlier in 2014, Arise TV had hosted a similar town hall meeting following two deadly attacks by police officers on unarmed black men, an all too common feature in black dominated communities. Prior to the hosting of the town Hall meeting in 2014, Trayvon Martin a 17 year old African American from Miami Gardens in Florida was in 2012 shot in Sanford Florida by a neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman who sustained head injuries during his scuffle with Martin who insisted he acted in self defence. The Florida Stand Your Ground Statute allowed him to use lethal force, his lawyers argued. Citing the same law the police released him sparking thousands of protesting blacks pouring into the streets.

A special prosecutor appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott charged Zimmerman for murder but was acquitted by the jury July 13 2013 while the US Justice Department said there was not enough evidence for a federal hate crime prosecution.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • AUGUST 28, 2016

SUNDAYSPORTS

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

NPFL: Appeal Court Takes over Giwa Reinstatement Case

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he legal battle seeking to compel the League Management Company (LMC) to reinstate Giwa FC into the 2015/16 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) has shifted to the Court of Appeal, Jos Division which two days ago enrolled the suit.

LMC’s appeal is against the interim order granted by Justice I.I. Kunda of the Plateau State High Court, Bukuru on August 12, in a case filed

by Mustapha Abubakar seeking to reinstate Giwa FC into the NPFL and also reschedule all the games the club was excluded from playing following its expulsion in May. Abubakar claims to be the Chairman of Giwa FC Supporters Club and that his fundamental human rights has been violated.

Giwa FC was expelled by the LMC from the NPLF in May for failure to honour and play three matches cumulatively contrary to the provisions of the NPFL 2015/16 Framework and Rules and punishable by expulsion from the League.

LMC had reached the decision after a protracted process of appeals and hearings as provided for by the rules of the football governing authorities The LMC through its lawyer, Olumide Olujinmi is asking the Court of Appeal to grant a stay of execution of the lower court’s order and an application for departure from the rules of court to allow for the appeal to be heard as a matter of

urgency.

In one of its grounds of appeal, the LMC argued that Abubakar has not been shown to have any connection or relationship whatsoever with the LMC or the NPFL and that there was no urgency as required by law for the judge to make the interim order which is nearly three months after the expulsion of Giwa FC from the NPFL on May 22. At the resumed hearing last Thursday, Justice Kunda had sought to know if the LMC had complied with the interim order of August 12 and Olujimi in response referred to an affidavit of compliance filed by the LMC as proof of compliance. Olujimi also told the court that he has filed for a stay of proceedings at the Appeals Court.

However, Barrister H.S Ardzard, the Counsel for Abubakar disagreed, claiming that there has not been full compliance since according to him, the LMC was yet to reschedule the matches involving Giwa FC. He then pleaded with the judge to give an order stopping the league until there is full compliance.

The LMC however said there was no basis for stopping the league which is an industry representing the multifarious interests of 19 other clubs from states all over Nigeria with players on contract as employees, officials and other employees of the clubs, broadcast right holders, corporate sponsors and the public interest and national and international image of Nigeria.

Giwa FC players celebrate a goal before being expelled from the League The LMC continued that rescheduling of matches cannot be done at a whim and explained that it involves several considerations and processes that will take some time.

It was also the submission of the LMC that

Giwa FC’s interest cannot supersede other interests and urged the plaintiff’s Counsel to seek other judicial remedies to enforce compliance with the court order if he was sure there had been none.

Premier League: Man City Host West Ham with Eye on Top Spot

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ew Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo will not go straight into the team for today’s clash with West Ham as Pep Guradiola’s team aim to retain top spot in this nascent season.

Willy Caballero, who has played the first two league matches, is therefore expected to feature again, even though Joe Hart kept a clean sheet in the midweek Champions League play-off win over Steaua Bucharest.

Meanwhile, Slaven Bilic believes West Ham can pick themselves up after their Europa League elimination by Astra Giurgiu and prove their character by getting a result against City.

For the second year in a row, West Ham failed to make the competition’s group

stage after being eliminated by Astra, following up a 1-1 draw in Bucharest with a 1-0 defeat at the London Stadium on Thursday - their first loss at their new home.

Despite the disappointment, Bilic believes his side can lift themselves and get a result from Pep Guardiola’s City, having masterminded a 2-1 victory in the corresponding fixture last season.

“We are all disappointed because it was a big blow last night,” Bilic told reporters on Friday. “But we have to pick ourselves up and show character and quality.”

Striker Kelechi Iheanacho has been cleared of serious injury after being carried off against Steaua, but captain Vincent Kompany, right-back Bacary Sagna and

midfielders Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan are not yet fit.

For West Ham, Bilic has recently been without his main creative threats, Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini, but hopes at least one of them will be fit to face City.

Skipper Mark Noble should be available after he rested a minor knock against Astra, but fellow midfielder Havard Nordtveit is set to miss out.

City have lost only one of their last 10 Premier League meetings with West Ham on home soil (W8 D1), though it did come last time out in September 2015 (1-2).

Sergio Aguero has been involved in eight goals in his last seven Premier League matches against West Ham United (six goals, two assists). Aguero has scored

37 goals in 47 Premier League games against London teams and six in eight league apps against West Ham United.

The Argentine striker is the fourth player to score a penalty in each of the first two matchdays of a Premier League season (Duncan Ferguson in 2001/02, Frank Lampard in 2012/13 and Roberto Soldado in 2013/14). None of those players managed to continue the run into MD3.

West Ham have now scored in 15 successive Premier League matches - the longest such current run in the competition.

Substitute Marcus Rashford scored an injury-time winner as Manchester United finally overhauled a stubborn Hull at a sodden KCOM Stadium.

Rashford Scores Late to Lift Man United over Hull

Arsenal Confirm Mustafi, Perez Signings

arcus Rasford yesterday scored in the last minute of injury time to give Manchester United a last minute victory over Hull City. The 18-yearold - making his first appearance of the season - steered home Wayne Rooney’s cross to spark wild celebrations on the away bench. Moments earlier, David Meyler had blazed over in a rare Hull attack. But it was a deserved win for United, who had gone close though Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba.

United and Chelsea are now the only Premier League sides with a 100% record from three games, with Manchester City - who have two wins from two games - playing West Ham today.

Rashford’s winner was the climax to a performance of persistence and intelligence from the visitors, who changed tack several times before eventually breaking down Hull. Ibrahimovic arrived at Old Trafford with a reputation for audacity, but, in the first half, it was his physical size rather than mercurial skill that posed most threat. Offering himself as a constant target in the box, the Swede headed just over the bar in the 10th minute before an extravagant backheel found the side-netting.

rsene Wenger has confirmed that Arsenal have signed Germany defender Shkodran Mustafi and Spanish striker Lucas Perez. The pair are set to cost Arsenal around £52m - taking the club’s summer spending to almost £100m - and Wenger says he expects no more transfers before Wednesday’s deadline.

“We have bought two players, Mustafi and Perez. We had to work very hard to get signings done,” he said. “We have no plans for anyone else now.”

Former Everton centre-back Mustafi, 24, is set to sign a five-year contract from Valencia, for a fee in excess of £35m. Arsenal had already agreed to meet a 20m euro (£17.1m) clause to sign Deportivo La Coruna forward Perez, 27, who scored 17 goals in 37 games last season.

They have already added midfielders Granit Xhaka and Kelechi Nwakali, defender Rob Holding and forward Takuma Asano, 21, to their squad.

Everton were closing in on Perez before Arsenal declared their interest. Japanese

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Rashford leads United celebrations yesterday

PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS & FIXTURES Tottenham Chelsea Crystal Palace Everton Leicester Southampton Watford Hull West Brom v Man City v

1 – 1 Liverpool 3 – 0 Burnley 1 – 1 Bournemouth 1 – 0 Stoke City 2 – 1 Swansea City 1 – 1 Sunderland 1 – 3 Arsenal 0 – 1 Man United Middlesbrough 1:30pm West Ham 4pm

A

Mustafi

striker Asano, who joined from Sanfrecce Hiroshima in July, will join Bundesliga side Stuttgart on a season-long loan.

Sunday August 28, 2016

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UT H

& RE A S O

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Price: N400

MISSILE

Osibanjo to Nigerians

“On assumption of office last year, this administration inherited a badly managed economy with a high level insecurity; we decided from the beginning that we will tackle the challenges without fear. By the grace of God the Buhari administration is re-laying the foundation of a new Nigeria to the Glory of God.” –The Vice President Professor Yemi Osibanjo, reassuring Nigerians that the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari will not be a failure

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

Restructuring the Debate on Nigeria

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hy is Nigeria like this — I mean grossly underdeveloped? I’ve been asking this question all my life. And until Nigeria exits the underdevelopment club, it is one question that will remain relevant. I believe that it is in asking this central question, and in attempting to provide well-reasoned answers, that we can begin to focus the development debate more productively. Unfortunately, the way we are in Nigeria, issues are always jumbled up and insults are traded with such ease that it is practically impossible to have a decent conversation on national development. Sure, we do not need to reason alike, but at least we should be able to reason together. This I believe.

Commentators and analysts have attributed our backwardness to many factors: the 1914 amalgamation by Lord Lugard, the political structure, the revenue formula, corruption, poor leadership and such like. The proffered solutions include restructuring, Balkanisation, diversification of the economy, aggressive antigraft war, good governance and such like. I do not intend to analyse these positions today.

My intention, rather, is to highlight some of the issues that shape my own perspective in the hope that they can become useful in this unending debate. I do not suppose to have answers to the questions, but I am going to question the answers.

A common argument is that without “resource control” and “fiscal federalism”, we are grounded. While resource control can address the issue of equity and fairness, does it resolve the issue of poor leadership? Does more allocation mean more development? The Niger Delta states, for instance, have been getting 13% extra since 1999, in addition to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ministry of Niger Delta and Amnesty Programme. Can we say the vast majority of the Niger Delta people are better off today? Maybe bigger allocation, as good as it is, does not automatically mean bigger development. Maybe there is a bigger problem somewhere.

I have heard many northern governors boast about “our agriculture” in response to demands for resource control by the oil-producing areas.

I’m forced to wonder: what is stopping them from unlocking the billions of dollars in agriculture? Wait. I know the response. Let Nigeria break up first and then we will start to develop our agriculture. Really? Is there any law that says you cannot start earning the billions right away? Why must Nigeria break up before all the agro-allied potential is tapped? Can somebody explain the logic to me? Many governors still can’t figure out how industrialised agriculture can generate more billions than oil. Pity.

Talks on restructuring in the north focus mainly on adopting the Sharia code. Many northerners will tell you they want to be ruled by Islamic laws. Which is very fine by me. But is that why the governors are always in Mecca and Medina for lesser hajj? Every month, they go for Umrah with loads of government officials — all at public expense. It wouldn’t be a problem for me if they finance this “religious” lifestyle with personal resources. Or if they continue with the lifestyle long after leaving office. But with no access to free money, the story changes. That tells me something about the misuse of state resources in the midst of poverty.

And why are these governors always going for Umrah? Let me guess their prayers. O Most Merciful and Beneficent God! Come and provide

Buhari water for my people so that they will stop dying of cholera! Come, O Merciful God, and provide healthcare for my people! They are dying of curable diseases, but our hospitals lack basic equipment and personnel! Really? But why don’t they start by diverting the Umrah budget to at least one hospital in their states? Let them buy equipment and drugs, and let’s see if God will not save the lives of many of these helpless poor patients. Let them use the Umrah budget to sink a few boreholes and see if God will not save more people from cholera deaths.

The south-west is the geo-political zone reputed for its “fiscal federalism” and “true federalism” activism. Which I support, by the way. But without any amendment to the constitution, Lagos has moved its monthly internal revenue from N600 million in 1999 to N25 billion in 2016. I’m not lying. When Asiwaju Bola Tinubu became governor in 1999, over 90% of Lagos revenue was from federal allocation. By 2007 when he was leaving office, federal allocation had reduced to less than 50%. IGR had jumped to N6 billion under him. Today, federal allocation contributes only 30% to Lagos. Believe me, we are yet to hold the sovereign national conference.

As I write this, Lagos Governor Akin Ambode is targeting monthly IGR of N30 billion from 2017. And I am wondering why other southwest states have to wait for a sovereign national conference before making good use of what they have to get what they need. I recently travelled through Ekiti state — one of the states with the least allocations — and I shook my head throughout the journey. Ekiti has one of the most wonderful landscapes in the world.

The way we are in Nigeria, issues are always jumbled up and insults are traded with such ease that it is practically impossible to have a decent conversation on national development.

Sure, we do not need to reason alike, but at least we can reason together

While awaiting the restructuring of Nigeria, the state can generate billions of naira from tourism alone — by taking advantage of the landscape to create sights and sites. And this is without spending state money!

Kogi state must rank as one of the most pathetic.

Lokoja, the state capital, is gateway to 22 states of the federation. There is a huge economy that can be built around this alone. But when I visited the city two years ago, they did not have simple motor parks, so how can they even do the more complicated things? Meanwhile, Lokoja is host to the confluence of River Niger and River Benue, with the huge tourism potential that comes with this. But there is not one decent hotel in Lokoja! This is a historical city that can brand itself “Nigerian Marrakech” if there is anybody thinking in the state house. I can say this of many other states in Nigeria.

Igbo kwenu! Kwezuenu o! You see, until we have Biafra and leave the Nigerian zoo, we can never develop. Nigeria is holding us back. This Lord Lugard contraption must be dismantled. I hear you very well, loud and clear, my brothers and sisters across the Niger. But can something be done while we wait for Biafra? We don’t know when the dream sovereign state will become reality. It could be 2016 or 2056 or never. The wise thing, then, is to look within and see how Igboland can be far better than it currently is — even in all this “97% vs 5%” brouhaha.

The governors are in a good position to call on the best brains for the development of the south-east, with or without Abuja.

To start with, the Igbo have distinguished themselves all over the world in virtually every field of human endeavour: science, technology, creative industries, law, sports, commerce, education, journalism, medicine, etc. Therefore, I don’t believe anybody is doing the Igbo any favour by giving them appointments. But that is not the point. Who says Aba cannot become Taiwan without leaving the Nigerian zoo? Who says Nnewi cannot assemble 10 million mobile phones per year — without confederalism? No electricity? True. But many parts of Lagos are powered by IPPs, not PHCN. It can be done!

Billions of dollars are crying to be tapped in Igboland!

Nigeria is like this, I dare to suggest, partly because we have been bewitched into blaming our problems on circumstances beyond our control. I would accept these excuses if we have put in our best and still cannot get results.

I would accept these excuses if the bulk of the allocations had been spent on improving the quality of life of the masses rather than on chartered flights, 4WDs, state-of-the-art governor’s residences, weekly Umrah, hyperinflated contracts and hopeless trips to China and Turkey in search of the legendary “foreign investors”. I would accept these excuses if we had used our brains appropriately the way the Arabs and the Chinese are using theirs.

I conclude. Somebody is reading me and yelling: “Shoot the bastard!” Before you load the bullet, listen carefully: I have not said you should not hold your sovereign national conference, or have your Sharia, or get your resource control.

I, too, believe Nigeria needs to be reformed economically and politically. But listen to me: in spite of all the excuses we give for “why Nigeria is like this”, in spite of the spite for Lord Lugard, in spite of the “bad” constitution, there is still a lot of lemonade we can make from these lemons. However, we are too lazy, too conceited, too deluded, too bitter, too parochial, too blinded to see the opportunities. All we can see are the problems. Shame.

And Four Other Things...

BLASPHEMY BANDITS The ease with which people are accused of blasphemy and murdered in cold blood in northern Nigeria must now become a matter of urgent national importance.

On Monday, eight persons (reportedly all Muslims) were burnt to death by a mob at Abdu Gusau Polytechnic, Talata Mafara, Zamfara state, following an allegation of blasphemy. I preach respect for beliefs and cultures all the time, but more important is respect for the sanctity of human life. I plead once again that the religious leaders and the government must establish a system for people to channel and manage their grievances properly to avoid such stone-age mob action. Anarchy.

THE EMERGENCY President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic emergency bill to tackle the crippling crisis is still being fine-tuned, I suppose.

The media leak, however, has raised a few questions that need to be given a second look. Many of the powers being sought can be exercised through a simple administrative process, like granting visas on arrival and improving procurement speed. Some indeed require fiat, especially because of legislative and bureaucratic bottlenecks.

By the way, though, nearly 15 months after coming to office, Buhari is yet to constitute the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), meaning the privatisation process is effectively on hold. Emergency.

FACTIONS AND FICTIONS First, a “breakaway” group of Niger Delta Avengers declaring ceasefire in the attacks on oil installations. Now, a “breakaway” faction of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) denouncing the agitation for Biafra. Some years ago, we had a “breakaway” faction of Boko Haram declaring ceasefire. We all remember the outcome. I advise all the forces behind these “breakaway” factions to get real.

This drama has never worked and will never work. Government must work sincerely and seriously towards addressing these agitations so that we can make meaningful progress. More so, the peace of the graveyard serves no purpose. Duplicity.

AGRIC LOGIC In my article on agriculture last week, I sought to do two things: one, challenge the conventional wisdom that farming is the magic cure for our petrocentric economy; two, draw attention to the need to optimise value derived from both farming and agro-allied industry. It is clear, from the reactions I got, that many Nigerians want the sector to be naturally attractive — beyond the seasonal rhetoric anytime oil prices crash. We must concentrate resources, energies and policies on how to get much more value and become world beaters in both agriculture and agroindustry. Better techniques, better infrastructure, better finance, better incentives. Explosion.

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