Sunday 20th November 2016 r

Emefiele: With Inflation at 18.3%, It’s Not Rational to Cut Interest Rate Obinna Chima As the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) prepare to commence its last meeting for 2016 tomorrow, the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has signalled the likelihood of the retention of the monetary

policy rate (MPR), the benchmark interest rate.

Emefiele, who gave the indication when he delivered a keynote address at the annual bankers' dinner organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos Friday night, pointed out that although interest rates are a veritable tool for

curtailing inflation, with inflation at 18.3 per cent; "the CBN would be abjectly failing on one of its cardinal objectives if it cuts interest rates at this time."

The comment, the CBN governor, however stressed, was solely his opinion and should not be interpreted as those of the board or manage-

ment of the CBN or those of the MPC. According to him, although he remains a strong believer in low interest rates, discussions around low interest should be based on facts, rather than politics or emotions.

"For those who say we need a rate cut to spur growth, we need to remind (them) that

high inflation is highly inimical to economic growth. Indeed, many empirical studies have estimated the threshold level at which inflation becomes significantly growth retarding to be 11 percent for developing countries.

"With ours at 18.3 per cent, one must question the judgment of cutting interest rates

at this time. Finally, I think it is important to underscore that interest rates reflects not just the cost of capital but also the cost of doing business, and so we need to also look at interest rates from the perspective of the lender.

"Given that most banks Continued on page 10

Buhari Orders Prosecution of People Bearing Arms Illegally ...Page 11 Sunday 20 November, 2016 Vol 21. No 7885

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82-year-old Mother of Ifueko Okauru, ex-FIRS Boss, Dies from Gunshot Wounds Abimbola Akosile and Adibe Emenyonu in Benin 82-year-old Mrs. Grace Onaiwu Omogui, mother of former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS),

Mrs. Ifueko Okauru, died yesterday in a Lagos hospital, following multiple gunshots wounds she sustained from an armed robbery attack in Benin City, Edo State.

A statement released by her family, said the armed robbery attack

took place in Edo State capital, on her way from the Sapele Road branch of the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).

However, the exact date of the robbery attack was not disclosed in the family’s statement issued by her eldest son, Nowamagbe. Efforts by

THISDAY to confirm the actual date of the attack from the family were unsuccessful.

Extolling her virtues, the statement by the family noted that, “Even in the face of unprovoked attack, she did what she does best: rightly questioned the indefensible

actions of the armed robbers as she felt it was wrong.”

According to the family statement, the late Madam Omoigui, born on December 28, 1933, had an illustrious professional career, first as an educationist and former Vice Principal of Federal Govern-

ment Girls College (FGGC), Benin City, before she later became a lawyer, and eventually retired as a magistrate in the Lagos State Judiciary. She also represented the Federal Ministry of Education on the

Continued on page 10

Tinubu, 3 South-west APC Govs Absent as Buhari Launches Party’s Campaign in Ondo

President says APC primary process transparent PDP factions bicker over governorship election date Candidates make last minute pitches

Tobi Soniyi and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, and James Sowole in Akure and Gboyega Akinsanmi President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday led other leaders of his All Progressives Congress to the grand finale of the party’s governorship election campaign rally in Akure, the Ondo State capital, in a final effort to seek support for the APC candidate in the November 26 election in the state, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu SAN. But at the event, which took place at the Democracy Park, the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and three of the party’s four governors in the South-west were conspicuous by their absence. The only South-west governor present was Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State. His counterparts in Oyo, Osun, and Lagos states, Abiola Ajimobi, Rauf Aregbesola, and Akinmunmi Ambode, respectively, did not attend the rally.

The reason for the conspicuous absences was, definitely, not unconnected with the outContinued on page 8

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WEEKLY PULL-OUT

TOYIN ADEBOLA RIDING FOR A CAUSE

GOOD TO SEE YOU, MR. PRESIDENT

President Muhammadu Buhari in a handshake with Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, while APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Minister of Mines and Steel, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and Jigawa State Governor Badaru Abubakar look with interest at the Akure Airport shortly after the grand finale of the Ondo APC gubernatorial campaign rally in Akure ...yesterday

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2016 • T H I S D AY T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

PAGE EIGHT TINUBU, 3 SOUTH WEST APC GOVS ABSENT AS BUHARI LAUNCHES PARTY’S CAMPAIGN IN ONDO come of the September 3 governorship primary of the APC, which did not go down well with Tinubu and his loyalists.

Meanwhile, at the rally Buhari spoke for the first time on the controversial primary election of his party in Ondo State, endorsing the winner of the contest, Akeredolu, and declaring the process through which he emerged as transparent.

However, as the candidates made final pitches to the electorate ahead of the governorship poll, the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led national caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the party yesterday disputed over whether or not the election should hold as scheduled. While the Makarfi group called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to postpone the election to allow for judicial determination of the party’s authentic candidate, the Sheriff group dismissed the call as “malicious, short-sighted, offensive, and irresponsible.”

The issue of the PDP governorship candidate in Ondo State is currently the subject of litigation at the high court, Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. This followed INEC’s substitution of the Makarfi group’s nominee, Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, with the candidate of the Sheriff faction, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, in obedience to a court order.

At the APC rally in Akure, Buhari’s remarks, which were short but weighty, were preceded by solidarity messages by other party leaders and federal government functionaries.

On the Akeredolu candidature, the president said, “I am very proud of my party because it conducted a transparent primary. The candidate won the primary with respect and in a week’s time he will win the election as the governor of Ondo State. We are all here to show our support for Akeredolu.”

Earlier at a meeting with the governorship aspirants who had contested against Akeredolu and leaders of the party, the president commended the aspirants for their loyalty to the party and for supporting the party’s candidate. He said the unity of the party was crucial to the outcome of next Saturday’s election.

He told the aspirants, “I am very pleased that those of you who lost the primaries are still very much in the party. That you lose elections doesn’t mean you should walk away, you keep on trying. I went to the Supreme Court three times in my bid to become the president of Nigeria.

“I like your high spirit and your commitment to the party and I hope your constituencies are taking note of that.”

Buhari was accompanied to the meeting by Senate President Bukola Saraki, APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, several APC governors, and ministers. He assured that the APC was determined and steadfast in its effort to transform the country’s ailing economy.

In his remarks, Mr. Tunji Abayomi, who spoke on behalf of the other aspirants, assured the president that they had resolved to deliver Ondo to APC. “No single aspirant left the party after the primaries. Those who left the party were not party members; they returned to where they belonged,” Abayomi alleged.

Also speaking, the chairman of APC Elders Council, Ondo State, Senator Olo-

runnimbe Farukanmi, said Akeredolu was eminently qualified to lead the state. “We have fielded an experienced, informed, hardworking and capable legal practitioner to work with President Buhari to carry out massive industrial development, job creation, eradication of poverty and massive economic improvement in the nation,” he said.

However, like it happened on November 10, when APC opened its governorship campaign also at the Democracy Park, Tinubu, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and three of the four APC governors in the South-west were conspicuously absent at the grand finale of Akeredolu’s campaign.

But many other APC governors attended the rally. They were the chairman of the Akeredolu National Campaign Committee and governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong; chairman of APC Governors’ Forum and governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha; Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa State; Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State; Governor Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State; Governor Abdulahi Ganduje of Kano State, and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.

Saraki and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Lasun Yusuf, led some other members of the National Assembly to the rally.

Also at the rally were the Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed; Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Minister of Niger Delta, Usain Usain; Minister of State for Niger Delta, Professor Claudius Daramola; Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, and APC Deputy National Chairman (South), Mr Segun Oni. There was also in attendance the party’s national vice chairmen for South-west, North-east, and South-east, and the National Women Leader.

All those who spoke at the rally stressed the need for the people of the state to vote for the APC candidate so that the state could join other Southwest states in the progressive party.

Specifically, the senate president urged the people to vote for Akeredolu, saying his mother hailed from Owo, which is the home town of the APC candidate.

In an address of welcome, the APC chairman in Ondo State, Isaacs Kekemeke, said the presence of Buhari and the other leaders of the party showed that the candidacy of Akeredolu was acceptable to all. He said the State Working Committee and the State Executive Committee of the APC were united in their resolve to ensure the party’s victory at Saturday’s poll.

How the Candidates Stand The stage is set for the next governorship poll in Ondo State. Already, the Independent National Electoral Commission has released a list of 30 political parties, which it said, had presented candidates for the contest. Of the 30 parties, only the Alliance for Democracy, All Progressives Congress, and Peoples Democratic Party are forces to reckon with.

From all indications, the three political parties share one common trait: they are plagued with internal crises.

The leading parties are internally divided at different levels, a condition that has thrown up legal actions that might threaten the political future of any party that wins the poll. And behind the rift are

the conflicting interests of the political gladiators and their allies.

What appears incomprehensible is the failure of the leadership of the parties to resolve their internal conflicts in order to go to polls undivided.

The conflict management mechanisms of the parties have not yielded much outcome, especially in the cases of the APC and PDP, which have been engaged in legal actions that are challenging the process through which their candidates emerged.

INEC has already confirmed Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu as the APC candidate; Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP flagbearer, and Mr. Olusola Oke as the AD nominee. But Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, whom the INEC first accepted as the PDP candidate, might reclaim the ticket if the Court of Appeal eventually decides in his favour. The Appeal Court adjourned indefinitely on Friday for the Supreme Court to rule on Ibrahim's application.

Political Dynamics Beyond the internal crises that tend to cast a pall over the electoral fate of the APC and PDP in the contest, political gladiators are working at cross-purposes at both parties. In the APC, for instance, the Akeredolu candidature did not receive support from its national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It did not receive Tinubu’s support because the process that produced him was allegedly flawed.

But the APC constituted an appeal committee to look into the complaints of the aggrieved aspirants. After a review, the committee recommended that the process be cancelled. But the National Working Committee rejected the committee’s report and nominated Akeredolu as the APC candidate, despite protest by other aspirants that he did not properly win the September 3 primary election.

The decision of the NWC stoked disapproval among the aggrieved aspirants, especially Mr. Olusegun Abraham, Sen. Ajayi Boroffice and Mr. Olusola Oke. It compelled Abraham to initiate a court action in which he laid claim to the APC ticket. Boroffice remained in the party, though grossly displeased. But Oke defected to the AD to pursue his aspiration.

The emergence of Akeredolu deepened division in the ranks of the APC leaders at different levels. On the one hand, the Akeredolu candida-

ture pitted Tinubu against the APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who is being accused of failing to implement what the appeal committee recommended. It was the reason Tinubu called for Odigie-Oyegun’s resignation.

The Akeredolu candidature equally pitted Tinubu against the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, and the APC national legal adviser, Dr. Muiz Banire, among others. Some South-west leaders see these men as aligning with some external forces to undermine Tinubu.

On the other hand, it is believed that the northern political elements are unduly interfering in the politics of Ondo State. But their perceived interference, some South-west leaders argue, is to decimate Tinubu’s political influence in the APC, and also part of political calculations ahead of 2019 presidential election.

In its own case, the PDP is largely polarised between the ousted national chairman, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, and chairman of national caretaker committee, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi. While the Sheriff faction presented a business mogul, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, to INEC, the Makarfi group nominated the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede. But INEC accepted the nominee of the Sheriff faction.

Even though INEC has accepted Ibrahim, the court remains the final arbiter. Already, Jegede has approached the appellate court, challenging the decision of the trial court that nullified its candidature. In truth, the battle is not really between Ibrahim and Jegede. It is purely between Sheriff and Makarfi, though the Ondo State poll offers them room to test the legality of the processes that brought them to office.

The Candidates Olusola Oke Of the three leading candidates, Oke is the one relatively free from legal battle for now.

Initially, the AD national legal adviser, Mr. Kehinde Aworele, had challenged Oke’s candidature in the light of Article 21.4 of the AD Constitution.

The article states that a governorship candidate must have been a member of the party for at least six months before he or she can emerge the party’s candidate.

However, Aworele explained that he discontinued the action challenging Oke’s eligibility to avoid anything that might affect the victory of AD. He said the party leadership “did not want a situation where there would be a petition against his eligibility after the election. There is no crack in the walls of the Alliance for Democracy.”

Oke’s other advantages are his previous governorship election experience and the strong likelyhood of him being the preferred option for many aggrieved PDP and APC stalwarts.

But Oke did not defect to the AD initially. After he fell out with the APC, Oke sought to realise his aspiration in Action Alliance. But due to the interference of the northern elements in the Ondo politics, the South-west leaders persuaded Oke to contest on the AD platform. So, Oke was asked to defect to the AD because it originated from the South-west and people could easily identify with it.

Across the South-west, the AD leaders have already rallied around Oke. Similarly, the Oke candidature received support among the Southwest leaders, especially after Jegede suffered setback. Aside that the AD and the key leaders in the region accepted his candidature, Oke has been able to garner support from the PDP. Being former PDP national adviser and past governorship candidate of the party, Oke has large simpathisers in the PDP circle. Even though the political lieutenants of Tinubu are working for his victory, many believe Oke is running on a relatively weak party platform and he seems to have a largely shadowy backing by political leaders and he is seen by many as political deserter.

Rotimi Akeredolu To many party faithful, the Akeredolu candidature is the best thing that would happen to Ondo State. Those who share this view always refer to Akeredolu’s stewardship as president of the Nigeria Bar Association and his role in pursuing election petitions for the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria.

Akeredolu has the backing of federal government and the ruling party APC. He has a large war chest to prosecute the election and the advantage of previous governorship election experience.

But the process through which Akeredolu emerged as the APC candidate is still

an albatross. Also, the role the some political elements outside the state played in his emergence is creating an image crisis for him. In the South-west, the role Tambuwal, el-Rufai and Malami among others are, allegedly, playing to force northern interests on the Ondo people is widely treated with utmost disgust and suspicion.

Even in the rank of Afenifere, the new allies of the northern political establishment have already been tagged agents of the Fulani. That is why the national publicity secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, described the northern interference in the Ondo politics as an affront on the hegemony of the South-west. For an Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the plot against Tinubu is a ploy to divide the Yorubaland so that the northern oligarchic powers can take over the South-west.

Apart from undue interference from the northern political establishment, Abraham is already in court, challenging the process that produced Akeredolu. He has kept faith with the APC. He has relocated to his political base in the Ondo North, which according to reports, has been a source of concern for all opposition parties and his political opponents.

While Akeredolu enjoys the support of the federal government and the ruling party, and has valuable experience as a former governorship candidate key factors for a successful electoral bid, he may face a gang-up by aggrieved aspirants and suffer transferred aggression from the electorate over perceived non-performance of APC federal government.

Jimoh Ibrahim The emergence of Ibrahim is indeed a key factor in the Ondo politics. It is a factor not because Ibrahim can garner much support that can swing the pendulum of electoral victory to his side. It is a factor because his emergence reordered the contest for the Alagbaka House. It is equally a factor because his emergence undermined Mimiko’s plan to install Jegede as his successor.

Even though the trial court decided in his favour and INEC accepted his nomination, the Ibrahim candidature has not gained much support.

Two reasons explain Ibrahim’s feeble political campaign.

SEE THE CONCLUDING PART ON www.thisdayive.com

T H E C A N D I D AT E S : H O W T H E Y S T A N D

AKEREDOLU (APC) STRENGTHS •Has the backing of federal government and the ruling party •Has a huge war chest to prosecute the election •Previous governorship election experience WEAKNESSES •Largely unresolved post primary election crisis •May suffer the consequence of gang up by aggrieved candidates •Transferred aggression over perceived non performance of APC federal government

JEGEDE (PDP) STRENGTHS •Backing of the state government and strong political structure •Has support of the PDP national mainstream •Strong financial base WEAKNESSES •His candidature remains uncertain •Depleting support base due to protracted litigation •Lack of previous governorship election experience

iBrAHiM (PDP) STRENGTHS •remains a choice for PDP enthusiasts •May get the support of those who want a change from traditional political establishment •Seen as not beholden to any political godfather WEAKNESSES •Weak financial base •Seen as an outsider in Ondo politics •Weak political structure

OKE (AD) STRENGTHS •No pending litigation over primary •Previous governorship election experience •Likely option for aggrieved PDP, APC stalwarts WEAKNESSES •relatively weak party structure •Has largely shadowy backing by political leaders •Perceived as political deserter

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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 • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

SUNDAY COMMENT

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

BOKO HARAM: THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS

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The brutal insurgent group still constitutes grave danger to civil order

here is no doubting the fact that the military has whittled down the striking powers of the violent insurgent group, Boko Haram, which has over the years been responsible for the death of thousands of innocent Nigerians. The five-nation regional military coalition led by Nigeria has recaptured much of the territory Boko Haram once controlled and the insurgents no longer operate as freely as they used to. In fact, the insurgents are practically on the run.

Yet the brutal militant group cannot be said to have been defeated. Indeed, the group still poses grave danger and has been inflicting mortal wounds on members of the armed forces as well as The spate of civilians, particular fatal attacks in the North-east, in the thick of the epicentre of the battle, the series insurgency. These came mostly in form of brazen and of surprised, but suicide attacks devastating attacks. and gruesome In the past few weeks, killings by the there have been militant group increasing reports of in recent weeks soldiers either missing have shown that or killed by suspected the insurgents are rebels. There have been spikes in still very much in also suicide bombings, a business sign of desperation on the part of the insurgents that now go for soft targets.

For instance, last month, scores of soldiers were reported missing after they were attacked by the insurgents. The military initially denied the report but later owned up that 39 soldiers were indeed missing. More than a month later, their whereabouts are still unknown. A fortnight ago, the bodies of Lt. Col Mohammed Abu Ali and six others were committed to mother earth. The burial drew tears from the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, and many Nigerians. Ali, a brave and diligent military officer (who had been rightly rewarded with rapid promotions) and the six soldiers were on their way to reinforce troops

Letters to the Editor

S

ince the emergence of Donald J. Trump as the US President-elect, issue of racism has become a burning topic. The real or perceived racist rhetoric’s of Mr Trump during the campaign period has led to fear, election violence and widespread protest against his emergence as the US president.

Few days after Mr Trump emerged winner, Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was invited to a BBC discussion and something strange was said.

Those close to me can testify that I admire Chimamanda Adichie so much for her vocal personality. Not only do I often find time to watch interviews and events she is featured, I also do read most of her articles.

Despite the fact that I am not a fan of novels, because of Adichie, I became

at Mallam Fatori, in Borno State when they were ambushed by Boko Haram insurgents.

Two days after their grisly death, one soldier was killed while four others suffered various degrees of injury, also in the hands of the insurgents. And only last week, the Nigeria army lost Lt. Col. B.U. Umar, commanding officer of the 114 Batallion and eight other soldiers in yet another Boko Haram ambush in Borno State.

B

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

esides the spate of fatal attacks in the thick of battle, the series of brazen and suicide attacks and gruesome killings by the militant group in recent weeks have shown that the insurgents are still very much in business. Only last Friday, suicide bombers attacked a checkpoint and bus station in Borno State, taking in the process six lives, including two civilian defence fighters. It was the fifth attack in three weeks on Maiduguri, Borno State capital and the operational headquarters of the Islamic extremist group.

Although security agencies have managed to foil some of these attacks, it is all the same somewhat bogus to hawk the impression that the war against the insurgents is “technically” over. It is not. Even if we admit that the extremist group must have by now banished the idea of carving for itself a caliphate, because it cannot hold on to any ground for long, it still constitutes mortal danger to their immediate and outlying communities and indeed, to members of the armed forces.

The authorities must therefore admit that the insurgents have returned fully to their largely asymmetrical warfare that was once their hallmark. The military pressure has made them to shift tactics to what is now a hit-and-run approach. But the increasing spate of suicide attacks is stoking unease in many communities and indeed hampering the return of some of the two million internally displaced persons living in the poorest of conditions in the camps.

There is still a lot to be done. In the current state of the war, there is urgent need to scale up intelligence gathering to ensure these violent acts are nipped in the bud.

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.

CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE AND RACISM one.

Although, while I sometimes find myself disagreeing with her views on issues, that didn’t in anyway, take away the love and admiration I have for her as person. Probably, this opinion of mine is another way of disagreeing with her.

Here is the issue. Today, while surfing the Internet, I came across a story on nairaland front page with the caption, “Chimamanda Adichie on Trump, Racism and the KKK’’. The story was a video of her discussion on BBC Newsnight, about the outcome of the US election with Editor –in-Chief of a conservative magazine, American Spectator, Emmett Tyrrell.

As usual, I opened the story and read through. However, not only did I read through the story, I equally watched the video to be sure some transcripts or words, ascribed to

Adichie were actually hers. As I watched the very heated and engaging discussion, in which Adichie sat down with style, emitting character and confidence, making me admire her even more, I could not but shook my head in disbelief, when she expressed some views I considered very offensive to justify her stance on D.J Trump’s racists rhetoric’s during the just concluded US presidential election.

During the discussion, BBC reporter, Emily Maitlis explained that some Republican members, such as Paul Ryan and others have acknowledged the fact that Mr Trump used some racist language while running his campaign. However, Mr Emmett disagreed. According to him, “that’s not true” he said (referring to Mr Trump). He went on to ask what racist comment D.J Trump made during the campaign and Adichie responded by

citing the comment made against a judge handling Mr Trump’s case, in which the then Republican nominee said, “a judge, a United States judge is unable to judge him fairly because he is Mexican. That is racist”, said Adichie.

Sincerely speaking, Mr Emmett is being economical with the truth. Every objective follower of US presidential campaign wouldn’t deny the numerous racist comments made by Mr Trump. Yet Mr Emmett did, which is what most political pundits often do to defend their favored politician.

As I was pointing out the bias and sentimental position of Mr Emmett to the person watching the video with me, Adichie didn’t allow me; instead, she fired a disgusting missile about racism to justify her stand. I mean, she made a very offensive remark, similar to what she said made Trump racist.

Hear her:

‘’If you are a white man, you don’t get to define what racism is. I am sorry, you really don’t’’. Adichie said.

Firstly, there is something fundamentally wrong with Adichie’s statement. In fact, everything is wrong with it.

Here is why.

According to Adichie, Mr D.J Trump is racist, because he said a judge won’t judge him fairly because he is Mexican. Then, Adichie went on to say, “If you are a white man, you don’t get to define what racism is.’’ Meaning, you can’t discuss racism fairly simply because you are white.

If D. J Trump is a racist based on what he said about the Mexican judge, I am afraid, isn’t Adichie also guilty of the same offence for what she said about white people?

––Abdulrazaq Hamzat, discus4now@gmail.com

10

NOVEMBER 20, 2016 • T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

SUNDAY COMMENT

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

BOKO HARAM: THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS

T

The brutal insurgent group still constitutes grave danger to civil order

here is no doubting the fact that the military has whittled down the striking powers of the violent insurgent group, Boko Haram, which has over the years been responsible for the death of thousands of innocent Nigerians. The five-nation regional military coalition led by Nigeria has recaptured much of the territory Boko Haram once controlled and the insurgents no longer operate as freely as they used to. In fact, the insurgents are practically on the run.

Yet the brutal militant group cannot be said to have been defeated. Indeed, the group still poses grave danger and has been inflicting mortal wounds on members of the armed forces as well as The spate of civilians, particular fatal attacks in the North-east, in the thick of the epicentre of the battle, the series insurgency. These came mostly in form of brazen and of surprised, but suicide attacks devastating attacks. and gruesome In the past few weeks, killings by the there have been militant group increasing reports of in recent weeks soldiers either missing have shown that or killed by suspected the insurgents are rebels. There have been spikes in still very much in also suicide bombings, a business sign of desperation on the part of the insurgents that now go for soft targets.

For instance, last month, scores of soldiers were reported missing after they were attacked by the insurgents. The military initially denied the report but later owned up that 39 soldiers were indeed missing. More than a month later, their whereabouts are still unknown. A fortnight ago, the bodies of Lt. Col Mohammed Abu Ali and six others were committed to mother earth. The burial drew tears from the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, and many Nigerians. Ali, a brave and diligent military officer (who had been rightly rewarded with rapid promotions) and the six soldiers were on their way to reinforce troops

Letters to the Editor

S

ince the emergence of Donald J. Trump as the US President-elect, issue of racism has become a burning topic. The real or perceived racist rhetoric’s of Mr Trump during the campaign period has led to fear, election violence and widespread protest against his emergence as the US president.

Few days after Mr Trump emerged winner, Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was invited to a BBC discussion and something strange was said.

Those close to me can testify that I admire Chimamanda Adichie so much for her vocal personality. Not only do I often find time to watch interviews and events she is featured, I also do read most of her articles.

Despite the fact that I am not a fan of novels, because of Adichie, I became

at Mallam Fatori, in Borno State when they were ambushed by Boko Haram insurgents.

Two days after their grisly death, one soldier was killed while four others suffered various degrees of injury, also in the hands of the insurgents. And only last week, the Nigeria army lost Lt. Col. B.U. Umar, commanding officer of the 114 Batallion and eight other soldiers in yet another Boko Haram ambush in Borno State.

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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

esides the spate of fatal attacks in the thick of battle, the series of brazen and suicide attacks and gruesome killings by the militant group in recent weeks have shown that the insurgents are still very much in business. Only last Friday, suicide bombers attacked a checkpoint and bus station in Borno State, taking in the process six lives, including two civilian defence fighters. It was the fifth attack in three weeks on Maiduguri, Borno State capital and the operational headquarters of the Islamic extremist group.

Although security agencies have managed to foil some of these attacks, it is all the same somewhat bogus to hawk the impression that the war against the insurgents is “technically” over. It is not. Even if we admit that the extremist group must have by now banished the idea of carving for itself a caliphate, because it cannot hold on to any ground for long, it still constitutes mortal danger to their immediate and outlying communities and indeed, to members of the armed forces.

The authorities must therefore admit that the insurgents have returned fully to their largely asymmetrical warfare that was once their hallmark. The military pressure has made them to shift tactics to what is now a hit-and-run approach. But the increasing spate of suicide attacks is stoking unease in many communities and indeed hampering the return of some of the two million internally displaced persons living in the poorest of conditions in the camps.

There is still a lot to be done. In the current state of the war, there is urgent need to scale up intelligence gathering to ensure these violent acts are nipped in the bud.

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.

CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE AND RACISM one.

Although, while I sometimes find myself disagreeing with her views on issues, that didn’t in anyway, take away the love and admiration I have for her as person. Probably, this opinion of mine is another way of disagreeing with her.

Here is the issue. Today, while surfing the Internet, I came across a story on nairaland front page with the caption, “Chimamanda Adichie on Trump, Racism and the KKK’’. The story was a video of her discussion on BBC Newsnight, about the outcome of the US election with Editor –in-Chief of a conservative magazine, American Spectator, Emmett Tyrrell.

As usual, I opened the story and read through. However, not only did I read through the story, I equally watched the video to be sure some transcripts or words, ascribed to

Adichie were actually hers. As I watched the very heated and engaging discussion, in which Adichie sat down with style, emitting character and confidence, making me admire her even more, I could not but shook my head in disbelief, when she expressed some views I considered very offensive to justify her stance on D.J Trump’s racists rhetoric’s during the just concluded US presidential election.

During the discussion, BBC reporter, Emily Maitlis explained that some Republican members, such as Paul Ryan and others have acknowledged the fact that Mr Trump used some racist language while running his campaign. However, Mr Emmett disagreed. According to him, “that’s not true” he said (referring to Mr Trump). He went on to ask what racist comment D.J Trump made during the campaign and Adichie responded by

citing the comment made against a judge handling Mr Trump’s case, in which the then Republican nominee said, “a judge, a United States judge is unable to judge him fairly because he is Mexican. That is racist”, said Adichie.

Sincerely speaking, Mr Emmett is being economical with the truth. Every objective follower of US presidential campaign wouldn’t deny the numerous racist comments made by Mr Trump. Yet Mr Emmett did, which is what most political pundits often do to defend their favored politician.

As I was pointing out the bias and sentimental position of Mr Emmett to the person watching the video with me, Adichie didn’t allow me; instead, she fired a disgusting missile about racism to justify her stand. I mean, she made a very offensive remark, similar to what she said made Trump racist.

Hear her:

‘’If you are a white man, you don’t get to define what racism is. I am sorry, you really don’t’’. Adichie said.

Firstly, there is something fundamentally wrong with Adichie’s statement. In fact, everything is wrong with it.

Here is why.

According to Adichie, Mr D.J Trump is racist, because he said a judge won’t judge him fairly because he is Mexican. Then, Adichie went on to say, “If you are a white man, you don’t get to define what racism is.’’ Meaning, you can’t discuss racism fairly simply because you are white.

If D. J Trump is a racist based on what he said about the Mexican judge, I am afraid, isn’t Adichie also guilty of the same offence for what she said about white people?

––Abdulrazaq Hamzat, discus4now@gmail.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 • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

SUNDAYNEWS FG’ll Develop Culture, Tourism Sector to Revive Ailing Economy, Says Mohammed Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

ACADEMIC LAUREL L-R: Former VC, University of Benin, Prof Grace Alele Williams; Ph.D. graduand, Monday Philips Ekpe, and Prof. Festus Adesanoye of the University of Ibadan (UI), at the 68th Convocation of UI in Ibadan, Oyo State...recently

Leahy Law: US Arms Embargo Beyond Buhari, Obama, Says Ex-DSS Boss Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to purchase weapons needed for the counter-terrorism operations and lift the restrictions placed on Nigeria by the United States (US) Leahy Law is beyond the current cordial relationship between Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Barrack Obama administrations, THISDAY has been told.

Concerns are mounting against the backdrop of the fact that Nigerian arms’ stockpile are depleting in the face of resurgent Boko Haram terrorist attacks and difficulties imposed by the US arms embargo.

But former Director of the

State Security Service (DSS), Mr. Mike Ejiofor, in a chat with THISDAY yesterday on the issue, said lifting the sanctions requires more efforts than what the goodwill Nigeria currently enjoys from the Obama administration could solve.

Ejiofor called on the federal government to expedite action in this regard following the unpredictable nature of the US President-elect Mr. Donald Trump and recent report that the Leahy Law-based arms embargo could hamper the planned purchase of attack aircraft from Brazil and other regions.

“Moreso, I don’t see President-elect Donald Trump working closely with Nigeria because of his isolationist policy

of ‘America First’,” he said.

The Chief of Air Staff (CoAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, had disclosed that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) plans to induct at least 10 attack aircraft into its arsenal last week in Abuja at the NAF’s operations seminar tagged ‘Developing Effective Air Power Responses to National Security Challenges in Nigeria’.

Abubakar, who gave a breakdown of the expected aircraft to include four Mi-35m attack helicopters from Russia, three Super Tucano from the Brazil and three JF-17 Thunder from Pakistan, however, said the ongoing US arms embargo would not stop the countries in question, especially Brazilians from selling the A-29 Super Tu-

cano fighter aircraft to Nigeria like it did to Israel in 2014.

He further assured that despite the arms embargo, the US has in recent times shown willingness to assist in the country’s counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency efforts in the North-east.

“All I can tell you is that the US is supporting in the Northeast, they are helping us with a lot of intelligence, so I don’t see any reason why we should have difficulties,” he insisted.

Nevertheless, Ejiofor has disclosed that the law was imposed on Nigeria during the time of late Gen. Sani Abacha, contrary to popular belief that it was during the immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Oshiomhole: I Never Dreamt of Becoming a Councilor Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Immediate past governor of Edo state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday said he never dreamt of becoming a councillor, given his family background and upbringing.

Oshiomhole stated this at Auchi, when the people of Afemai (Edo North) district hosted him to a grand reception in honour of his eight years’ meritorious service as governor of Edo state.

The former governor who reflected his humble background

Atiku Hails Buhari on War against Terror, Seeks Better Measures for IDPs Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar yesterday commended President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government for recording giant strides in the fight against insurgents in the North-east part of the country.

He said due to the farreaching successes scored by the Nigerian troops in the on-going war on terror, some internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been able to return to their homes to try and resume normal lives.

Atiku, who made the remarks in a speech he delivered at the 11th Founder’s Day ceremony of the Nigeria-American University (AUN) in Yola, Adamawa state, however urged

the government to adopt better measures to make the lives of the returning IDPs better.

The former Vice President whose zone, the North-east, has been the theatre of years of violent activities of the Boko Haram sect, said 2016 has witnessed a significant improvement in the security situation in the zone.

He said an improvement in the security situation has enabled some IDPs to return to their homes, adding that the efforts of the security forces in making these possible were commendable.

He also said it would not be enough for people to simply return to their pre-insurgency lives but that government should try to make their lives better than it was before the outbreak of the insurgency war.

said he has surpassed his own expectation by becoming governor of the state. He said he was forever indebted to the people for the privilege he was given to serve adding, “for my mother who is in this occasion, it was not in our expectation that I will ever become a councillor.”

Oshiomhole, who used the occasion to tender apology for coming fiveandhalfhoursbehindschedule, said it was not deliberate because he went to support President Muhammadu Buhari who was in Ondo state for the grand rally for the APC candidate.

Niger Delta Professionals Laud Heritage Bank The Niger Delta Professionals in Banking and Financial Sector (NDPBFC) have praised the management team of Heritage Bank for its professionalism, which has kept the fledging bank in good financial standing.

The group, made up of banking and financial sector professionals from the Niger Delta, spoke in Abuja yesterday against the backdrop of social media speculations aimed at de-marketing the bank which recently got a clean bill of health from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“The management team at Heritage Bank has shown resilience and tenacity. They have shown that they are not the type of bankers that would bend the rules of banking to accommodate unwholesome interests,” the head of the group,

Mr. Joshua Amachre, said at a press conference, stating that the bank remained one of the healthiest banks in the country.

The social media had trended stories of alleged distress of the bank, claiming that it was heading for insolvency. But the apex bank, saddled with the responsibility of oversighting the banking sector had issued a strong rebuttal of the distress claim, assuring that Heritage Bank was sound.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria wishes to state that Heritage Bank is not in distress and as such its depositors should go about their transactions without fear. For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to further state that no Nigerian bank is in distress,” the CBN’s Director of Corporate Communication, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, said in a widely publicised statement.

In its quest to showcase the social economic opportunities in the creative industry, the federal government has vowed to develop the culture and tourism sector as a response to the country’s present economic situation.

The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the 9th African Arts and Crafts (AFAC) Exhibition 2016, organised by the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), with the theme, ‘African Arts and Craft: A Catalyst for Investment in the Nigerian Creative Industries.’

The minister, who was rep-

resented by the Permanent Secretary, Ms. Ayotunde Adesuba noted that with the population of about 180 million, Nigeria is a fertile market for any qualitative product.

According to him, “the event which has attracted the relevant stakeholders, including several nations of the world has been put together to bring to the fore the economic opportunities that abound in the creative industries.”

Mohammed noted that its potentialities should therefore be properly harnessed as this would contribute towards arresting youth restiveness, rural-urban drift, reduce poverty, unemployment and other societal vices.

UN Okay Nigeria’s Proposed Policy Roadmap on Control of Small Arms Senator Iroegbu and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The United Nations (UN) has expressed satisfaction on Nigeria’s proposed roadmap document on the control of illicit flow of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) into the country.

The Project Manager, UN Institute for Disarmament Research, Mr. Himayu Shiotani disclosed this weekend in Abuja, at the end of a five-day workshop on ‘National Baseline Assessment on Weapons and Ammunition Management, organised by the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons

(PRESCOM) in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and the Bonn International Centre for Conversion (BICC).

Shiotani stated that the federal government through PRESCOM has demonstrated sustained commitment to curb the illicit flow of small arms and ammunition in the country.

He said: “We know that globally this is a big challenge, where one in four people is either affected by arm conflict or high violence committed by arm issues. Nigeria has done a lot of effort to improve control on the issue of arms and ammunition.”

Stanbic IBTC Fine Arts Event

Deeper insights on the connection between arts and business will be on showcase in Lagos as Stanbic IBTC organises its annual Fine Arts and The Acts event. The event, slated for Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, on November 23, will feature an arts exhibition. The art exhibition will also feature a wide range of art works from abstract art to photography Contemporary artistes such as Olumide Oresegun, D Okhai Ojeikere, Kainebi Osahenye and Muraina Oyelami will be showing. Others are Jumoke Sanwo, Angela Isiuwe, Gerald Chukwuma, Dipo Doherty and Olufemi Oyewole. The event is themed ‘Inspired by Nigeria’ “Our support for and collaboration with the arts community is designed to drive economic development, inspire creativity and innovation and create the background for the existence of a diverse group of people whose skills and expertise are instrumental in moving society forward,” stated Mrs. Sola David-Borha, CEO, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc.

CEO Vintage to Wed TREM Bishop’s Daughter Dec 10

The Chief Executive Officer of Vintage Deluxe Interiors, Mr. Francis Nwaogwugwu would on December 10, 2016, take the daughter of Bishop Walter Chika Mbamara to the alter. The wedding service, which would be chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of Westfield, Mr. Henry Okolie-Abor, will take place at TREM Church, Ijesha, along Oshodi-Apapa Express Way, Lagos at 10am. The reception will follow immediately after the wedding service at NAF Event Centre No 1 Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. The Chief Executive Officer of Nedcom Oaks, Dr. Kennedy Okonkwo and his wife, will be the sponse of the wedding.

Rave FM Concert

The city of Osogbo, the Osun state capital will be agog on Sunday, November 27, with a host of A-list Nigerian musical artistes and comedians lighting up the city for Rave 91.7FM First Anniversary Concert. The concert is part of activities marking the first anniversary of Rave 91.7 FM which was unveiled on November 26, 2015 by Osun state Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. A statement by the CEO of RAVE FM, Mr. Femi Adefila says the concert will witness live performances from ‘Godwin’ crooner Korede Bello, street rappers Pepenazzi and Skibii and YBNL Viktoh, Tolu of MTN Project Fame, Tee Blaq as well as Diva Toby Grey. The stage will also feature live performances of top comedians Woli Arole, Peteru, Still Ringing, Acapella and Rave FM’s Mc2much. DJ Bassman, DJ Rap2rious, DJ Chascolee will be on ground to spice up the event.

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SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2016

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NOVEMBER 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

OPINION

A Long Walk Towards Anarchy

The authorities are sending wrong messages by rewarding impunity, argues Emmanuel Ojeifo

I

knew it would come to this. I knew that the murderers of Mrs Bridget Agbahime, the 74-year-old Igbo Christian trader killed by irate Muslim youths at Kofar Wambai market in Kano would not be brought to book. I knew that the typical political Nigerianspeak, “We will ensure that the culprits of this dastardly act are brought to book,” is only a euphemism for intrigues, betrayals and cover-ups. I knew that the political powers that be would ensure that the case is silenced and that nothing comes out of it. I knew all of these when I wrote my article, “The Media and Extrajudicial Killings” published in THISDAY of September 12, 2016.

In that piece I argued that the Nigerian news media ought to stay on course and, with patience and persistence, pursue issues regarding human rights violations to their logical conclusion in order to hold political leaders accountable. I spoke in favour of what I termed ‘protest writing’ and ‘protest broadcast’ in media practice in order to bring to the consciousness of media practitioners the huge moral obligation that they have “to take sides with the powerless against the depredations of power.”

Thus, when the news filtered into the public domain some days ago that the five Muslim culprits who were arrested and arraigned for the gruesome murder of Mrs Agbahime, have been set free – “discharged and acquitted” – on frivolous grounds by a Kano Magistrates Court, I wasn’t any bit surprised. That has been the pattern of gross human rights violation in Nigeria. The sad part of it is that in the eyes of many Nigerians, tragedies claiming multiple human lives have become “one of those things.” Like a national ritual, whenever tragic incidents happen we talk about them soberly. Our security agencies run around and get busy for a few days. Political leaders come out to assure us that the culprits would be brought to book. They then pledge that every possible effort will be made to forestall a repeat of such tragedy.

End of discussion! We return to business as usual, and wait until something tragic happens again.

Has anyone heard anything about the killers of Mrs Eunice Elisha, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) pastor who was murdered in Kubwa, Abuja, during the early hours of June 9, 2016 when she went out to preach? Has anyone heard anything about the eight students of Abud Gusau Polytechnic in Talata Marafa, Zamfara State, who were set ablaze on August 22, 2016 by some fanatical Muslim youths on allegations of blasphemy

against the Prophet Mohammed? Fifteen years have passed since a famous Nigerian Minister of Justice was murdered in cold blood in his Ibadan residence. Has the slain Minister of Justice found justice?

We can count many other illustrious and unknown Nigerians who have suffered a similar fate. For many people, Nigeria is simply a jungle, a modern version of the Hobbesian state where human life is brutish, nasty and short, but also valueless. If not, how could criminals get away with blood-stained hands, in such manner that makes laughable the acclaimed professionalism and investigative rigour of our security agencies?

Frankly, I am close to tears as I write this. There is something downright sickening about a nation that has no regard for human life. As a people and as a nation, we have become so accustomed to scenes of bloodshed to such an alarming degree that the wanton destruction of human lives no longer generates any sense of moral

Nigeria is simply a jungle, a modern version of the Hobbesian state where human life is brutish, nasty and short, but also valueless. If not, how could criminals get away with blood-stained hands, in such manner that makes laughable the acclaimed professionalism and investigative rigour of our security agencies?

revulsion in us. Every day in this country, the consciousness of human life being sacred and inviolable is gradually being depleted as we witness gruesome violence and deaths in monumental proportions. Our country is fast becoming an endless theatre of sanguinity, daily watered by the blood of innocent citizens. But for as long as our leaders continue to politicise human lives and human deaths and vacillate where they should take a tough stand against criminal acts, they are setting the stage for an eventual showdown, a violent clash of “titanic forces” that is destined to consume us all.

I am sick and tired of the conspiracy of the Nigerian political elite against the poor fellows who have nobody in the pyramid of power to fight their cause. I am absolutely sure that if the son or daughter of a Governor or a Minister or a Senator was killed in the manner in which poor Nigerians are being executed daily, something drastic would have happened by now. We cannot continue on this path as a nation, where the lives of poor people do not matter but the lives of the rich matter. We refuse to live in a nation where the rich and powerful get justice, but the poor and powerless suffer untold injustices. We must put an end to this Orwellian “animal farm” called Nigeria where some lives are more important than others. Unless we do this, we are on a long walk towards anarchy.

This much was implied in the editorial of THISDAY of November 11, 2016, which reported the outrageous acquittal of Mrs Agbahime’s suspected murderers: “As relations of the suspects who gathered at the court premises rolled out the drums, celebrating their wards’ release, an angry Christian community raged with anger, condemning the turn of events as provocative and subversive of years of efforts to restrain adherents of their faith from retaliating serial fatal attacks.” The court seems to be sending the wrong signal that impunity is rewarded. All concerned citizens should speak up now and press on President Muhammadu Buhari to order a re-opening of the murder case and bring the murderers to account. The ‘Prayer for Nigeria in Distress’ composed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria in 1995 concluded by imploring the “God of justice, love and peace” to “spare this nation Nigeria from chaos, anarchy and doom.” That is my prayer for Nigeria.

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

Abiding Lessons of The US Election

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Jossy Nkwocha gives tips on marketing and managing political campaigns

he emergence of Mr Donald John Trump as the President-elect of the United States, against all odds, has left many people shocked. This piece identifies six abiding lessons that marketing, public relations, advertising and communications practitioners and the general public must learn in planning political marketing campaigns. #1. Research remains the Key to effective political marketing. All aspects of political marketing require research, which determines the underlying issues, message, target audience, media channels and the overall communications strategy. In public relations, the RACE planning model emphasises that research is the first element of any planning process. It is fact-finding, it raises critical questions and unearths hidden answers; it is the road map for effective planning. With this in mind, one may ask, which campaign team handled research better?

Statistics show whites constitute about 78% of the US population.

According to Edward Luce in the Financial Times of November 11, 2016, for years a majority of Americans believed the country was on a wrong track and their children would be worse off if situation remains the same. Family values were eroding, pro-abortion and pro-gay movement was gaining ground.

There was growing pessimism about the American good life fuelled by corruption, increasing inequality and ever-widening gaps between the rich and the poor, rising suicide rates, as well as escalating unemployment, which led to racial tendencies and hatred for the elite.

These feelings were mostly preponderant among white Americans without college degrees, who live in small towns and rural areas.

Besides, the average life expectancy of white blue collar males (the angriest of the population) had been declining since the start of the century. Creeping terrorism reminded Americans about the nightmare of 11/9 (bombing of the World Trade Centre). While the Clinton team glossed over the troubling issues, the Trump’s made them campaign issues and promised to reverse them thereby capturing a major voting block. #2. Message is central and critical in the communication process. At all times, let the message be strong, simple and unambiguous. And let it resonate with reality and emotional intelligence of the target audience.

Let’s examine the campaign messages of Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump. Hilary’s was “Stronger Together” while Trump’s was “Let’s make America Great Again.”

Without any equivocation, Trump’s slogan, which was built around the magic word “change” captured the concerns, fears, feelings, desires and aspirations of majority of Americans in the face of depleting

social wellbeing, a crumbling economy and infiltration of Islamic insurgency into their country. So, while Hilary Clinton favoured the status quo – a kind of a continuity of the American situation, Trump trumpeted change, which promised making America great again!

Psychology is an integral part of public relations and marketing. #3. The Customer is king! Know your customer. The entire gamut of marketing communications including marketing, public relations, advertising, sales promotions, etc., respects the concept of the prime position of the customer. In public relations, we talk about critical publics; in advertising it is the target audience. In politics, it is the electorate, the voters – people who can vote.

In the US presidential election saga, the Hilary Clinton campaign team didn’t understand who the customers were. The team erroneously believed that the entire world was her market and always played to the gallery to appease the world market. On the other hand, Trump’s team knew its market was Americans and did everything to reach them and appeal to their emotional intelligence.

On Election Day, the world literally voted for Clinton while Americans voted for Trump. Clinton won the popular vote while Trump won the US presidency! It is clear that the Clinton team didn’t do thorough customer engagement, effective stakeholder relations and communication. #4. Always speak the mind of your Principal. Get his/her approval if in doubt. It is always embarrassing for a spokesperson to be countered or disowned by his/her principal. This was exactly what happened in the Hilary Clinton camp. Immediately results were announced that Trump had won the election, Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta went on stage at 2pm to say that the election was not over only for his principal, Candidate Clinton, to call Trump minutes later to concede and congratulate him.

The next day, Clinton was calm and gave a concession speech in which she pledged to work with the President-elect. You may ask why Mr Podesta didn’t get the consent of Clinton before rushing to make a PR faux pax? Or did he? #5. The media should be impartial, unbiased and professional to be relied upon. A partisan press is dangerous! Marketing communication professionals especially public relations and advertising practitioners depend on the media for a lot of their work. When the media is independent and unbiased, their reports are usually credible and trusted by the public.

In the case of the US election, the mainstream media were openly partisan against Donald Trump. It was like a gang-up against him.

They projected all the negatives about Trump. They feasted on the irresponsible, controversial, racial statements of Trump. The media

heightened the anti-immigration, anti-Mexicans, anti-Africans, anti-women and anti-media rhetoric of the Trump campaign.

The media played down on the positive things Trump said about fighting terrorism (the biggest fear of most Americans), reducing taxes for individuals and corporations, bringing manufacturing jobs back to America (from China), spending hugely on infrastructure, his pro-life stance and bringing the US economy back to greatness/ prosperity to make life better for the average American.

While the Clinton team depended on biased media stunts to reach out to the political and intellectual elite that hardly went out to vote and the outside world that didn’t have voting power, the Trump campaign team deployed the social media especially twitter effectively, and travelled far and wide, meeting and reaching out and connecting with the aspirations of rural Americans, middle class Americans and businessmen who were in the majority.

Even the pre-election polls that gave Clinton wide margins against Trump were all media-inspired and controlled. So the abiding lesson here is that in politics and political communication, don’t be deceived by the political media orchestration. Many people are not deceived by media stunts. #6. Key into the vision of your Principal even if he appears difficult to manage. Some bosses and clients are indeed very difficult to manage, especially those who speak loosely, who are ill-tempered, who are randy, who break protocols, who engage in frontal attacks. It is more difficult if such persons are hated by the media and therefore remain the butt of media attacks. US President-elect, Donald Trump was one. His campaign manager left him.

Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee described Trump as “extraordinarily dangerous to the heart and character of America.”

Paul Ryan, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives refused to appear on stage with his party’s nominee, Mr Trump, describing his comments on women as “sickening.” Leading lights of the George W. Bush administration who are Republicans signed a letter dismissing Trump as “recklessly irresponsible.”

Yet, in many cases, people like Trump are propelled by their strong vision, patriotism and nationalism; and they can fight with every energy and rhetoric weapon within their reach to achieve their objective. Last week, Republican elders, Bush family, Romney and Ryan were among the first to congratulate Mr Trump and offer their best wishes!

In conclusion, let basic concepts and principles noted in the six lessons above guide our professional practice in managing political marketing campaigns.

––Dr Nkwocha, is a reputation management specialist

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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 • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

LETTERS

Between Rest Room and Economic Development

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all it loo, convenience or rest room; toilet remains a basic necessity at homes. Without it, the health of the inhabitants will surely be in jeopardy. In the olden days, it was the practice of the early men to defecate or urinate wherever they deem most convenient. With civilisation, however, man adopted a more progressive and healthy means of performing this basic bodily functions. In Africa, simple pots were used to collect these wastes in order to dispose of them away from living areas. At night, some paid agents usually come to dispose of this waste.

Gradually, man began to set aside specific places to perform these functions so that privacy and a better sanitary environment could be attained. It is, however, sad to note that people are now reverting to the old habit of easing themselves indiscriminately, particularly in urban areas. In Lagos, for instance, it is common to see people on the highways disembarking from their cars to defecate openly along the road. On the streets, behind bushes, in groves of trees, in rivers or streams, inside gutters, dump sites, in motor parks, markets and what have you, people use faeces to litter the environment with impunity. Even some of the fanciest areas are not exempted This has, in no small way, contributed immensely

Adewole, Minister for Health to the desecration of the Lagos environment through careless urinating and open defecation. No space is spared! It is quite disheartening that this atrocious act is being passed down to the younger generations mostly by mothers. Women, chiefly market women or traders are fond of instructing their wards to urinate or defecate in open places or polythene bags with the contents either ending in the drains or sidewalks.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2.5 billion of the world’s seven billion people, do not have proper sanitation and 1.1 billion people still defecate in the open, a ratio of one in 10 persons. Basic sanitation, which has been a concern from the earliest

stages of human settlements, is described as having access to facilities for the safe disposal of human waste (faeces and urine) as well as having the ability to maintain hygienic conditions are critical to health, survival, and development. Therefore, it is not surprising that many countries and cities, and in particular those with high population like Lagos, are challenged in providing adequate sanitation for their entire populations because the growth rate has stretched the existing urban management system.

This puts many people at risk of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-related diseases. Serious waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhea occur when open defecation or poor sanitation

permits human waste to pollute water supplies.

According to a 2016 statistics

by WASH watch, diarrhea caused by poor sanitation and unsafe water kills 315,000 children every year.

Similarly, a 2003 International Labour Organisation (ILO) data reveals that disease transmission at work mostly caused by poor sanitation and hygiene practices causes 17% of all workplace deaths while loss of productivity due to illnesses caused by lack of sanitation and poor hygiene practices is estimated to cost many countries up to 5% of Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

Also, the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, posited that at least 1.8 billion people world-wide are estimated to drink water that is contaminated through poor sanitary habit. An even greater number drink water which is delivered through a system without adequate protection against sanitary

W

country to country, which, naturally, will impose variations in costs of operations and ultimately, prices.

And contrary to what is widely believed (this is similarly verifiable), DStv subscribers in Nigeria have always paid lower than those in other countries.

The current rates in Nigeria came into effect in April, 2015, when the value of the naira to the dollar had just begun dipping. Now, the value of the Naira has affected every industry and, of course, every Nigerian.

Currency depreciation rates across Africa are not the same.

The naira, as I said earlier, has experienced huge denudation in value. Do not forget that we buy television content, including our beloved Nollywood movies, in dollars.

Even now that rates have been adjusted in those countries, we in Nigeria still pay way lower (again, verifiable!), a fact ignored by the authors of the reports.

While we wait (and hope) that things get better, MultiChoice has continued to absorb costs on behalf of the Nigerian subscriber because we recognise that the country is experiencing an inclement economic weather and because we believe in Nigeria.

We also observed that many of the reports said our nonadoption of a “pay-as-you-view billing system is an index of unfairness to the Nigerian subscriber.

This is another invention, as there is no such model in the pay-television industry. It does not exist anywhere, let alone in countries where it has been claimed to be in operation. All this, again, is verifiable via a simple google search.

What is available is the pay-per-view model, something totally unrelated to what is being agitated for. I remember that the two terms were once used interchangeably.

Pay-per-view is a model used in the broadcast episodic, usually, high-ticket events in sports and entertainment. The model requires a subscriber to have an extant subscription in addition to which payment is made to have access to an event the subscriber desires to watch.

The cost, almost always, is high. Let us take last year’s world boxing title bout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, a fight shown exclusively on pay-per-view in the United States and United Kingdom.

In the US, for example, it cost $99.5 to watch the fight, in addition to having an active subscription.

Boxing fans who watched it in Nigeria, via DStv’s SuperSport, did so as part of their Premium bouquet. Pay-per-view does not deliver television programming a la carte. If Multichoice operated a Pay-Per-View model, DSTV subscribers who wanted to

non-governmental organisations, to promote behavioural change and the implementation of policies in order to increase access to sanitation among the poor and end the practice of open defecation.

The theme for this year’s celebration “toilets and jobs” is aimed at sending signals out that toilets save lives, increase productivity, create jobs and grow economies. And that if the sanitary situation in an office or business environment is bad it could be just as when fish are endangered in poisoned water.

Therefore, the people cannot live truly productive and fulfilled lives, because to persist in living in an unsanitary environment is to die prematurely by installment. Similarly, provision of toilets in business environment creates employment for the personnel that will man the facilities, the soap and brush manufacturers as well as the artisans that will construct and maintain them.

––Bilkis Ogunnubi, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Lagos.

CROSS RIVER SUPER HIGHWAY OF INTRIGUES

E

thics, professionalism, and the will to deliver justice, is a waste when there is no courage to do that which is right and fair.

There is really no excuse to pass a wrong judgment; not political pressure, death threats, poor existing standards, blind diplomacy, or suppose disguise to fostering unity. At the end of it all; what we do, the

UNFAIR TO NIGERIAN SUBSCRIBERS? NOT MULTICHOICE

hat can we do without our subscribers?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing. Where will we be without them? Nowhere. It is that simple.

Without them, there will be no us at MultiChoice Nigeria. I believe that is true for any other business or, more specifically, any business that desires long-term viability through quality service, like MultiChoice Nigeria does.

It is why we have found recent media reports suggesting that MultiChoice subscribers in Nigeria are being unfairly treated very baffling and I dare say, unfair.

The basis for the reports was the recent reduction in subscription rates in some other countries in which we operate and the fact that the reductions did not include Nigeria and South Africa.

To be clear, DStv subscription rates, across bouquets, were reduced in those countries. But the claim, as made by authors of the report, that rates were slashed by 20 per cent in those countries were invented and, thus, untrue.

The facts bear no resemblance to what the reports presented and are easily verifiable on the internet. There simply was no blanket 20 per cent reduction in rates. Why Nigeria’s exclusion?

Local dynamics differ from

hazards. Furthermore, studies have shown that the countries where open defecation is most widely practiced are the same countries with the highest mortality rate of children under five, high levels of under nutrition and poverty, and large wealth disparities.

Toilets play a crucial role in creating a strong economy, as well as improving health and protecting people’s safety and dignity, particularly women’s and girls’. Therefore, aside from the health risks inherent in lack of proper human waste disposal, it also has significant impacts on dignity and security, the environment, and social and economic development.

In a bid to raise awareness of sanitation issues and sewerage and make a case for sanitation for all that the World Toilet Day is celebrated on 19th November of every year. The day is intended to encourage UN Member states and relevant stakeholders, including civil society and

watch the fight would have had to pay a fee in addition to the usual subscription.

MultiChoice has no reason to treat its Nigerian subscribers unfairly. As a matter of fact, we are committed to providing improved services and be more customer-centric because we value our subscribers.

In recent months, we have made available toll-free lines on all the mobile telephone networks in the country to ensure that subscribers can reach our call centres at no cost when they have issues with our service. The operating hours of our call centres have been extended from 8am to 9pm daily, including weekends and public holidays. We are the first pay-TV service provider, perhaps the only one, to allow customers switch off their accounts for seven days twice a year when they are not at home watching.

We also recently announced the Nigerian Television International (NTAi) channel as the Freeto-Air channel for subscribers when their subscription expires.

For these, we were commended by the Consumer Protection Council (CPC).

While we hope to do more, available evidence declines to support claims that the Nigerian MultiChoice subscriber is getting a short shrift.

–Oghuma, Public Relations Manager, DStv, writes from Lagos.

judgment we pass, positions we take, excuses we give; our actions and inactions, will all be judged by posterity, and as a religious country and people,

by GOD Almighty. This is a call to conscience of President Buhari, the Minister of Environment, the Cross River State Partliament, advice to the federal government through the ministry of environment and minister of environment – Mrs Amina Mohammed.

Gone are the days when those at one end of the country pretend, deny or claim that what happens at the other side of the country do not concern them. For instance, they used to be a time when those in the Southern and Western part of Nigeria thought the threats facing the Northern part of Nigeria in the form of desertification and the Boko-Haram insurgency would not get to them (most thought it would halt at the centre); now the effects have spread to every nook and cranny of the nation, threatening even the most interior southern, eastern and western part of the country in the form of herdsmen attacks, community conflicts on who takes the bigger chunk of the shrinking land space.

It is on this basis that every one of us needs to be concerned at what happens to all the corners of Nigeria especially when it threatens existing land space and may displace people.

Its more than unfortunate that we have over the years as a people taken the norm that “the end justifies the means”, neither caring about following due processes, obeying laws, engaging and taking the opinion of the community people, ensuring openness and fairness, or even thinking of the alternatives.

This has been the trend of many Nigerian projects and programmes, which have left us robbed, infrastructurally

derailed, indebted, empty, poorer, and angrier as a people as the cohorts in power growing fatter from the loots, rapes and grabs from the poor.

This is the situation that is mirrored in the Cross River Super Highway; the 260km road stretching from Bakassi to Katsina-Ala in Benue State.

Nobody is asking; where is the money coming from?

Why the revocation and confiscation of community land and heritage without compensation plan?

Why the governor has strong-headedly insisted a buffer zone or right of way of 10 kilometres from both side of the 200 metres wide road (along the 260km corridor) against the standard 50 metres right of way? Why have the EIA reports excluded the 20km right of way or are they meant for other projects? Why the clearing of farmlands and livelihood without evaluating the worst to ascertain the true worth?

On the assumption that compensation eventually comes to the over 180 communities where this proposed super highway is supposed to pass through, where are the community people expected to move to, especially when communities in Cross River State and neighbouring states are already conflict ridden with community clashes?

What is stopping Governor Ben Ayade from fixing the existing two federal government routes leading to the same destination that did not threaten to displace the people of Cross River State?

We cannot sacrifice and displace fellow Nigerians, or put our brothers and sisters in conflicts just because of some white elephant projects. We must be brave to stand for what is right.

––Precious Ogechukwu, Abuja.

16

NOVEMBER 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL

Politicisation and Increasing Disinterest in the Membership of International Criminal Court

T

he International Criminal Court (ICC) is an institution of the United Nations, established in 2002 with the objective of prosecuting cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocides. In other words, it is required to deal with the worst crimes, especially when Member States fail to investigate them for possible prosecution. Africa was particularly favourable to the establishment of the Court, especially because of the experiences of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the Balkan wars in the 1990s.

Member States of the ICC is of various types: members for which the ICC Statute is yet to enter into force, members that have signed the Statute but have not ratified it, non-member states who accept the ICC’s ad hoc jurisdiction, members that did sign the Statute but have withdrawn, as well as members that have indicated interest to withdraw. In this last category are Burundi, South Africa, The Gambia, and most recently, Russia.

On Wednesday, 16th November, 2016 President Vladimir Putin dissociated himself from the ICC by announcing his intention to withdraw Russia’s membership of the ICC. Russia signed the ICC Statute but has not ratified it like the United States. In other words, signing an agreement is simply a preliminary endorsement. Without ratification, which is the process required in international law to make the Statute compelling, Russia is not yet obligated. However, the Russian intention to withdraw cannot but dampen the future of the Court, because the purpose for which the ICC was set up is unnecessarily derogated by politicisation by both members and the ICC. Already, China and the United States are not part of the ICC. Russia that signed but has not ratified the Rome Statute now wants to withdraw, thus leaving France and Britain as the only two Permanent Members of the UN Security Council that have adhered to the Statute. With this type of development, there is no way impunity arising from crimes against humanity or from genocide can be contained. Without doubt, the ICC is faced with the challenge of survival.

The ICC is accused of only focusing its torch light on Africa, thus raising the issue of credibility and legitimacy. Even though African leaders are essentially the proponents of this observation, other countries do have qualms with the Court.

Philippines is one of them. On Thursday, 17th November, at The Hague, Philippines indirectly protested against an ICC prosecutor who said the Court might look into the killings in the Philippines drug war in which more than 2,400 people have been killed, by announcing that Philippines might also withdraw from the ICC Statute. As explained by Leo Tito Ausan, a Philippine’s diplomat, who addressed the General Assembly of the Court, Philippines has a functioning judicial system and his delegation was awaiting directives from his government as to the definition of the future relationship of

The ICC could only act if Member States (Philippine in this case) have failed to investigate and prosecute cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, for which the ICC has mandate. In fact, Philippine’s president, Rodrigo Duterte, in an attempt to cut off his country’s much dependence on the United States, is not only pursuing alliance with China and Russia but also wants to withdraw Philippines from the ICC which he has described as ‘useless

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi, ICC President

Philippines with the Court.

As argued by Tito Ausan, the ICC could only act if Member States (Philippine in this case) have failed to investigate and prosecute cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, for which the ICC has mandate. In fact, Philippine’s president, Rodrigo Duterte, in an attempt to cut off his country’s much dependence on the United States, is not only pursuing alliance with China and Russia but also wants to withdraw Philippines from the ICC which he has described as ‘useless.’

Another country is Russia which is the first country outside of Africa that has come out to indicate interest in withdrawing from the ICC. The eventual withdrawal of Russia will not only be interesting to see but remains particularly important at the level of the BRICS. The BRICS, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is much likely to also withdraw as individual members from the ICC. Already, four of them are not part of it. China is never part of the ICC. India is never part of it and India’s foreign policy stand can be traced back to the time of World War II when the International Military Tribunal for the Far East was established. An Indian member of the tribunal, Dr. Radhabinod Pal, did not agree that the accused Japanese were guilty. Consequently, he gave a dissenting opinion. India simply refused to be bound by the changing concepts and definitions of offences that would hold incumbent government responsible for offences committed by individuals. Consequently, India never signed, and therefore never has a basis for ratification of the Rome Statute.

From the foregoing, it is only Brazil that has been an active member of the ICC. Brazil participated in the preliminary works that led to the signing of the Statute. Brazil deposited its instrument of ratification on July 20, 2002, hardly one month of take off of the Court, on January 1, 2002. Brazil strongly believes that the ICC would be ‘based on the understanding that an efficient, impartial and independent criminal court would represent a major breakthrough in the fight against impunity for the most serious international crimes.

South Africa has announced intention to withdraw. so has Russia. The problem is that the BRICS is cooperating as a body to impact on the world and to ensure that there is change in the post-World War II in the workings of the International Monetary System, especially from the perspectives of the Breton Woods institutions. In fact, the BRICS wants to be a centre of power in the making of a new world order.

Thus, the ICC has been faced by more political issues than by legal questions. Three African countries, Burundi, South Africa and The Gambia have indicated interest to withdraw their membership of the ICC and their reasons are essentially very political. The position of Africa, in the foreseeable future, also points to possible general withdrawal from the court.

However, Nigeria’s position has been supportive of the court but which is not consistent with the direction of most of other countries, meaning that there cannot but be implications for Nigeria that is seeking permanent membership of the UN Security Council. Nigeria’s position should therefore be

looked into carefully within the context of global politics of the ICC, especially from the perspective of its being used against Nigeria’s interest in the foreseeable future.

Africa and International Politics of the ICC

The politics of the ICC can be dated to the time of its founding, when a five-week diplomatic conference was held in Rome in June 1998 ‘to finalize and adopt a convention on the establishment of an international criminal court’ and when the following month, July 17, 1998, seven countries voted against the adoption of the ICC Statute, two of which are the US and China. 21 countries abstained, and 120 countries voted for adoption. Iraq, Libya, Israel, Qatar and Yemen were the other countries that voted against.

Although the US voted against the adoption of the Statute, the Bill Clinton administration eventually signed it in 2000 but did not submit it to the Senate for ratification. Bill Clinton wanted to wait and be able to assess the functioning of the Court. When the Statute entered into force with the required 60 ratifications in 2002 the Administration of President George W. Bush suspended in its May 6, 2002 letter to the UN Secretary General his country’s signature.

As noted above, China, Libya, Yemen, etc did not vote for the adoption of the ICC Rome Statute for obvious reasons: Libya and Yemen are on record for terrorist activities many of which fall under crimes against humanity and war crimes.

China places greater emphasis on the primacy of its national sovereignty to the detriment of supranational authority. While the position of non-African countries is understandable, the position of African leaders raises critical questions without answers.

Africa’s position is first defined by the factor of the Sudanese President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir on who the ICC has placed a warrant of arrest allegedly for engagement in war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. President al-Bashir denied all the allegations levied against him. The African Union as a body considers that a sitting President enjoys immunity from prosecution and should not just be ridiculed on the altar of ICC allegations. In other words, the ICC should wait until any suspect(s) leave(s) office before the issuance of any warrant of arrest. The ICC does not care about this complaint.

All the Member States of the ICC are under obligation to arrest any person wanted by the ICC. President al-Bashir came to Nigeria and was not arrested. Nigeria hid under the pretext of an African Union-organised summit only held in Nigeria but over which she did not have control in terms of invitation or who should or should not attend.

In the same vein, President al-Bashir was not arrested in South Africa when another African Union summit took place there, even though there was a court decision that he should be arrested. The South African government played well its card: the court decision was in compliance with the rule of sanctity of agreements. The ICC obligation was fulfilled. However, the court decision, for whatever reasons, could not reach those who were to enforce the court decision before President al-Bashir left South Africa. Again, in this delayed delivery, South Africa still satisfied the African Union, as well as its own promise of safety to the Sudanese leader if he accepted to participate in the summit.

It is because of the various criticisms levied against South Africa that largely prompted the decision to withdraw from the ICC, arguing that the Rome Statute ‘is in conflict and inconsistent with South Africa’s law giving sitting leaders diplomatic immunity.’ This is why ‘a difficult choice has to be made’ to borrow the words of the Justice Minister, Michael Mesutha.

Burundi was the first country on record to have first indicated intention to withdraw. On October 12, 2016, 96 of the 110 legislators voted to pull Burundi out of the ICC. One rationale which is not far-fetched is that the ICC had earlier on indicated intention to investigate killings following the violence generated by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s intention to do a third term to which the people were vehemently opposed. As noted by Madam Fatou Bensouda, ICC prosecutor since 2011 and a national of The Gambia, ‘at least 3,400 people have been arrested and over 230,000 Burundians forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries... All these acts appear to fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC.’ In an attempt to avoid possible investigation, the legislators opted to withdraw from the ICC. The Gambia is the third African country to make public its intention to withdraw from the ICC. On national television, the Information Minister, Sheriff Bojang, not only drew attention to the fact that Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister, was not indicted over his roles in the Iraqi war but also explained that the ICC was being used ‘for the persecution of Africans and especially their leaders.’ More important, Mr. Bojang had it that ‘there are many western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens.’ However, since the creation of the ICC, ‘not a single western war criminal has been indicted.’

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

17

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

BUSINESS QUICK TAKES JV Cash Calls

Whenanewfundingregimethatwould eliminatejointventurecashcallscomes on stream next year, Nigeria would attract$15billioninvestmentsfromitsoil majorpartners,thefederalgovernment thas said.

According to the Minister of State for PetroleumResources,Dr.IbeKachikwu, the new funding arrangement would save the country $1 billion annually, adding that the federal government had also successfully negotiated how its outstanding cash call debts put at $6.8billonasatDecember2015would be settled.

ThecountryisindebtedtoExxonMobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc Exxon, Chevron Corp., Total SA and Eni SpA forcostsincurredfrom2010to2015.

Sayingbysomestrategicengagement with the oil majors, the debt stock had eventuallybeenreducedto$5.1billion, excluding the $2.6 billion outstanding for 2016, Kachikwu added that the new arrangement would free critical resources for the country as the oil companies would now be at liberty to find fresh funding sources for their operations.

Bond Sale Telecoms masts

Active Internet Subscribers on Four GSM Networks Hit 93.554m in September, Says NCC Kunle Aderinokun The number of active subscribers for data or internet services across the four major GSM network operators, namely, Airtel, Etisalat, Globacom and MTN, totalled 93.554 million in September, said the National Communications Commission (NCC).

According to the latest Internet Subscriber Data obtained by THISDAY, this represented an increase of about 30,000 over 93.524 million subscribers of the previous month. While the number significantly dropped by 3.536 million customers from 97.060 million it achieved in the corresponding month in 2015, when compared with 95.794 million active subscribers for data on the networks as at January this year, it translated to a fall by 2.24 million customers.

A breakdown of the internet subscription revealed that 18.832 million subscribers were active on data on the Airtel network in September and 15.062 million customers subscribed for data on the Etisalat network while for Globacom and MTN, 26.887 million customers and 32.771 million customers subscribed to data on the respective networks.

Even though there was no addi-

TELECOMS tion to the number of customers, who were active subscribers to data on the MTN network in September, Airtel had 313,000 added to its number of active data subscribers when compared to the level in August. The remaining two telecoms operators, Etisalat and Globacom, however, experienced reduction in the active data subscribers in the review month, declining by 186,000 customers and 97,000 customers in comparison with the previous month when they recorded 15.248 million active data subscribers and 26.887 million active data subscribers, respectively.

Also, NCC disclosed that the four major networks experienced inward porting from a total of 17,776 customers in September, representing a drop of 2,223 customers from 20,119 of the previous month.

Out of the four networks, Etisalat gained inward porting of 13,365 customers in the review month, while Airtel received 1,475 customers; Globacom, 1,187 customers and MTN, 1,745 customers.

In their analysis of the NCC Internet Subscriber Data, FBN Quest, an investment banking

and research arm of First Bank Limited, noted: “The latest data released by the NCC, the industry regulator, show that internet subscriptions stood at 93.6 million in September, representing a y/y contraction of -3.6 per cent. The figure implies density of 51 per cent in a population estimated at 185 million, placing Nigeria well above the African average of around 16 per cent as estimated

by McKinsey. MTN emerged again as the leader, with 35 per cent market share while Globacom and Airtel accounted for 29 per cent Also, NCC disclosed that the four major networks experienced inward porting from a total of 17,776 customers in September, representing a drop of 2,223 customers from 20,119 of the previous month

and 20 per cent, respectively.”

According to the firm, “ A recent survey carried out by DigitXplus, a digital media consultancy firm, revealed that China has the highest number of internet users with 632 million subscribers while the US comes in second place with 269 million. Internet subscriptions in India, Japan, Brazil and Russia are 198 million, 110 million, 105 million and 87 million respectively.

Recalling that, “earlier this year, the industry’s regulator auctioned 14 slots of the 2.6 GHz spectrum,” FBN Quest said it gathered that “the commission is now gearing up to commence the licensing of broadband services on the 5.4 GHz spectrum.”

This, it believes, is expected to “assist with achieving the FGN’s broadband penetration target of 30 per cent by 2018. Broadband penetration is currently 21 per cent.”

As for the porting data, FBN Quest pointed out that, it showed “MTN accounted for the largest (44 per cent) customer losses while Etisalat gained 13,365, representing 75 per cent of total incoming porting data in September.

FBN Quest stated: “Based on the recent GDP data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in Q2 2016 the telecommunications sector contracted by -11.6 per cent y/y compared with a growth of 9.4 per cent y/y in the corresponding period in 2015.” Acknowledging that, “there is a visible slowdown on a y/y basis in internet subscriptions”, it believed, “going forward we expect to see further investments within the sector due to opportunities in the data segment.”

Nigeria sold far fewer bonds than it offered on last week, as investors demanded higher yields from a government struggling to contain its borrowing costs. Africa’s largest economy raised N39 billion($128.21 million) in bonds maturing in five, 10 and 20 years time, less than half the N95 billion it had wanted. Investors were demanding yields as high as 18 per cent for the notes, way above the mid-point at which the Debt Management Office (DMO) wanted to issue them, auction results showed.

“The thinking in the market was that the bonds are not rightly priced now consideringthelevelatwhichtreasury billsaretrading,hencethelackofinterest to buy at the present yield level,” one trader told Reuters.

The DMO sold 20 billion naira worth of 2036 debt at 15.94 percent and 14 billion naira of 2026 debt at 15.98 percent.

NIMASA

The Governing Board of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has approved the development ofnewzonaloffices and a multi-level car park at the agency’s head office using a Design, Build and Finance (DBF) model under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in its 2017 budget year.The approval, which was conveyedbytheChairmanoftheBoard, Major General Jonathan India Garba (rtd) after its meeting at the agency’s head office, is for the construction of new office complexes for the Central ZoneinWarri,theEasternZoneinPort Harcourt, Onne Port Office as well as a multi-level car park at the agency’s head office in Lagos.

In a statement, NIMASA said the construction of new office complexes for thezonesisinlinewiththerestructuring programmeoftheagencywhichplans to devolve more powers to the operational offices to enhance efficiency, productivity and revenue generation.

“Currently, the zonal offices are challenged by inadequate office accommodationwhilethereisanurgentneed toconstructamulti-levelcarparkatthe agency’s head office in Apapa to ease the parking challenges of staff. Under the DBF model, the agency will only provide the land for the development, monitor the development to ensure conformity with quality and pay off thecostofconstructioninthreetofour years with a markup of 6 – 12 per cent ascostoffundwhilethedeveloperwill

18

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

BUSINESS/MONEY

CBN Governor, Emefiele

ABCON President, Gwadabe

MAN President, Jacobs

Intensifying Regulatory Enforcement to Stabilise FX Market After adopting several measures to stabilise the Foreign Exchange market and help the naira find its footing against other major currencies, the CBN appeared to have hearkened to call on it to step up enforcement of its regulation with the recent clampdown on erring currency traders. Olaseni Durojaiye writes

T

he efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stabilise the Foreign Exchange (FX) market in the country assumed another dimension recently with the raid on offices of some Bureau de Change and arrest of operators selling currencies, especially the United States Dollar, above the stipulated exchange rate of N385 as at the time.

During the exercise, operatives of DSS stormed BDC offices at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and the Hajj Camp area of the local airport, made arrests and closed down offices of operators that were found wanting. While the action immediately drew mixed reactions from the polity, opinions amongst stakeholders have since begun to shift towards support for the action particularly with the emergence of details surrounding the raids and the immediate gains from the exercise.

THISDAY had earlier reported that on the interbank FX market, the spot rate of the naira climbed N1.45 to close at N304.75 to the dollar penultimate Friday, stronger than the N306.50 to the dollar the previous day.

Also, on the parallel market, the Naira appreciated by N5 to trade at N455 to the Dollar at penultimate weekend, compared with N460 to the Dollar the day before. But on the Bureau De Change segment, the nation’s currency depreciated to N405 to the Dollar from about N400.

It will be recalled that the CBN had at various times introduced different measure to ensure availability of forex. The highpoint was the adoption of the market-driven flexible FX regime in June even though the apex bank reserved the powers to intervene at critical moments. But the shortage continued as the Naira refused to gain strength against major currencies.

As part of efforts to ensure availability of FX to end users, especially manufacturers and other critical importers at stipulated agreed rates in both the interbank and parallel markets, the CBN decided to allow BDCs to buy USD

from Travelex at N381 per USD. But many manufacturers were still unable to do so and where the currency was available, they buy it at higher prices.

THISDAY check revealed that the raid was the culmination of stakeholders’meeting convened by the apex bank to“sensitise and sanitise”the FX market. Weeks before the raid commenced, the CBN had gathered both licensed and unlicensed currency operator to meetings in Abuja, where it engaged them on the need to comply with the stipulated exchange rate. A source at the meeting told THISDAY that security agencies including the DSS were part of the meetings.

The meetings became necessary due to the gapping disparity in FX rates among the three segments of the market.

THISDAY learnt that many foreign investors present at the meetings expressed their displeasure at the wide disparity between the three segments of the market and hinged their coming into the Nigerian economy on whether or not the disparity is addressed.

Enforcement of Regulations For long, many observers of the FX market had fingered compliance as a major bane of the market. Others called on the CBN to step up its enforcement of FX regulations. Those who clamoured for a stricter enforcement, among them manufacturers, argued that they were unable to procure FX at the official rate leaving them at the mercy of currency speculators, many of whom, they argued, operate unlicensed BDC. Speaking with THISDAY during an interview, President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Jacobs, had lamented that members of MAN still buy FX, especially the USD, at prices far higher than the official rates at both the interbank and parallel markets.

He had added that even with the introduction of the CBN circular directing that 60 per cent of FX in the economy should be sold to operators in the real sector; manufacturers were yet to benefit from the directive and urged the CBN to enforce compliance of the directive.

Another analyst, Rotimi Oyelere, also noted

the need for the CBN to step up its monitoring of Money Deposit Banks with the view to ensuring they comply with its directives on FX trading. He had explained that poor monitoring could scuttle the apex bank’s efforts to stabilize the FX market.

“The apex bank must intensify its regulatory obligations to ensure banks strictly adhere to guidelines and business regulations,” Oyelere had stated in an earlier interview.

Stakeholders’ Reactions Reactions from analysts, stakeholders and observers have, however, supported the raid even as some of them feared that the raid may lead to an initial hoarding on the part of the BDC, which may in turn adversely affects the Naira. But reports of hoarding was yet to be recorded as of Thursday, rather, the Naira has continued to appreciate against the USD in the aftermath of the raid.

Speaking with THISDAY, President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Mr. Aminu Gwadabe, welcomed the raid and insisted it should be seen as part of efforts to sensitise and sanitise the market. He argued that the BDCs that were raided were unlicensed as he was yet to get a complaint from registered members of the association stating that their offices were raided by the DSS. “First and foremost, it wasn’t a raid, it was enforcement of regulation. The action is in line with the spirit of Article IV of the International Monetary Fund. Before now, the CBN convened a meeting with both licensed and unlicensed BDC; the security agencies were also in attendance.

We pledged our cooperation at the meeting, even though we had earlier been given the privilege to regulate ourselves. As we speak no licensed operator has complained to me as the President of ABCON that his office was raided.

“We support any action that will ensure compliance with regulation. The sanitisation has begun to yield result as the Naira appreciated against the Dollars. A situation where some people feel they are above the law shouldn’t

be encouraged; it is not done anywhere, I have not seen where government encourage open trading in currency the way some people do.

The bottom-line is that the action should be seen as enforcement of regulation and we support it; and urge other stakeholders to see it as so including the Press,” Gwadabe stated.

However commenting on the development in the FX market, an analyst at Afrinvest West Africa Limited told THISDAY that,“In the interim, we expect recent developments to constrain supply at the BDC/parallel segments as operators withhold supplies.

“We imagine the possibility of this also leading to further fragmentation of the FX market, taking the parallel market further underground in view of the close scrutiny by security agencies. Thus, whilst parallel market rate could strengthen in the interim, the medium-term outlook points to a more volatile currency,” the unnamed analyst argued But Jacobs, who also welcomed the raid, allayed fears of the action leading to hoarding. Blaming the price disparity between the three legs of the market on greed, he maintained that if the currency operators sell FX at the CBN stipulated price band, the current FX challenge wouldn’t be as severe as the economy currently witnesses.

“Because of irregularity in the FX markets, if the raids are to keep them in check and make them sell within the CBN prescribed margin that should be a welcome development because everybody should be concerned and work towards the growth and development of the economy,” he stated.

Continuing, he explained that,“It could lead to hoarding at first, eventually they would have to sell. They can’t hoard for long; they are in business to make money and would have to pay their workers, so eventually they would have to sell. The main problem is greed. If the BDCs sell at the prescribed price, FX will be more available and at friendly price for end users to buy but people prefer to exploit the situation to make quick and huge profits,” he concluded.

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INTERVIEW

David-Borha

David-Borha: Despite Current Challenges, Great Opportunities Abound in Nigeria for Investors

In this interview with James Emejo, Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Mrs. Sola David-Borha, restates the bank’s determination to boost Nigeria’s economic development by supporting local start-up enterprises. She also discusses developments in the macroeconomic environment and other pertinent issues in the economy

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here have been talks about interventions to create jobs particularly for the young ones and it has been estimated that the 15-25 years bracket are either unemployed or underemployed.

Now the intervention of banks is very important. What is your bank doing in that direction to help the youth employment situation in the country?

We are doing a number of things, which include capacity building because up-skilling the young people is very important, training is very important.

Developing their capacity enables the younger entrepreneurs to get a better understanding of how to manage their business and ultimately if you lend to those businesses, they have a better chance of surviving and paying you back. So capacity building is a critical aspect of it.

Also we find that the big companies help the smaller companies to survive.

We need everybody in that value chain because everybody has a role to play. And we find that as lenders if you have a big company that is utilising the goods and services of smaller companies around them, it guarantees the smaller companies buyers so they have a market, they get

support and they have a working capital cycle that is more manageable. So, that whole ecosystem of both the big and small players is much easier to lend to, rather than lending to one small person that is isolated and with the slightest problem he just goes under. Those are the kind of things we encourage. We encourage small companies to try and get into an ecosystem of a larger one.

We provide them with capacity building and we give the appropriate kind of financing. You know it’s very important that when you are looking for a loan, depending on what that loan is for, you must make sure you get the right type of financing for that loan. If it’s a project

that has a very long gestation period, you shouldn’t take a short-term loan that you have to pay back in one year. So, linking investors to such opportunities is part of the work that we do as well.

The worry of most people is that the kind of conditions that banks give to the small investors is always very scary. Is there any special arrangement that your bank has to be different from other banks in terms of collaterals that you require from small investors?

We have tried a lot of things over the years because we are committed to the SME sector and we think that the

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David-Borha: Despite Current Challenges, Great Opportunities Abound in Nigeria for Investors SME sector is a segment that is going to drive growth in this country. The bulk of Nigerians are involved in that sector. We have tried several things. At a point we had unsecured loans that we gave out, but we found out that that didn’t work as well. Beneficiaries don’t pay back since it’s an unsecured loan.

It’s best to put in place a structure that provides the support and also hold them accountable. And like you know, it’s not so honourable that they can’t provide what is required. That ecosystem principle is very important for cooperatives where you have a group of people who come together, so one person can’t just decide I am not doing it again, there is pressure from the peers to behave correctly. You are also able to review the risk of the whole and typically cooperatives have a better bargaining power than even larger entities. So, those are some of the ways by which we try and address the challenges the SMEs face, but it’s also good to put them in a model that helps them as well as make them accountable and responsible.

on those terms. So once there is any change of any sort, it almost triggers an event of default which then affects whether the project can be completed in some cases or continued. So I think to help encourage more PPPs, there has to be an education about PPPs in general both in the public and private sectors as to what financiers are looking for, the risks of policy changes that affect PPP projects so that there is just more awareness around it and if the political will to ensure PPPs are protected from many of the vagaries of changes in government you will find that you will see more successful PPPs. I stand to be corrected but I believe the Lekki toll road is the first PPP that this country has had.

It’s seen its own challenges as well and in fact we are hoping that that model can be replicated on other roads in the country and even bridges as well.

We are talking about infrastructure, which is very important to the development of the economy. One aspect that is lacking right now is the level of electricity that we need to get things going. How much involvement in the development of the power sector is Stanbic IBTC?

It is on record that Stanbic IBTC gave lease of life to some major projects in the country, like Dangote Refinery, Lekki-Epe Expressway amongst others. In simple terms, what is your organisation doing in terms of support for manufacturing and the real sector?

If you look at the GDP of this country, Nigeria has over 40 economic sectors.

Manufacturing currently comprises less than 15 per cent of the total GDP. Agriculture is about 22 per cent. Then you have the Services, ICT and Energy under 10 per cent. In terms of the sectors that we focus on, it’s those sectors that we believe will help to improve the productive base of the economy. And those sectors are infrastructure, agriculture, oil and gas and power. We are also very active with the FMCGs; those are the consumer goods, given the large size of our population. We provide a whole range of services to them: financing, short, medium, and long term financing. We are also very active in raising capital, whether equity capital or debt capital.

We have strong links with investors, both domestic and foreign investors. We have a very strong advisory team that helps in terms of restructuring businesses or investors who are looking at acquiring companies locally or if companies are coming to merge together, we provide a lot of support in that area. We see ourselves to be financial solution providers. We are not just bankers that come and give you money. We want to understand what it is you are doing, strategically where are you trying to take your company to and then to make sure that we find the right solution for your company’s needs and then we help you to achieve your goals.

Looking at agriculturists and other agro-allied operators, what do they need to come around to get what they want? Most of them are peasant farmers who have some acres of land.

What exactly do you advise them to do? Do you encourage clusters?

What do they need in order to come and access loans?

Agriculture is a sector that has faced lots of challenges especially in terms of financing but a lot of progress has been made over the past five years. Essentially, with the introduction of NIRSAL (Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing Model for Agricultural Financing), which is a risk-sharing model for lending to the agricultural sector; you have found that banks are now more prepared to lend.

We are also involved in supporting the agricultural sector. A single subsistence farmer operating on his own is going to find it very difficult to get financing. That farmer has to get into a group, a cluster group of cooperatives or an out-growers scheme and then you find out that it’s then easier to support that farmer and

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David-Borha

we have done that. We have lent on out-growers schemes, we have lent to cooperatives, among others.

What’s the ratio? Can you give us the quantum of those who you have lent to, in terms of cooperatives?

It’s across the country that we work with these cooperatives. I’m not going to tell you x number, but it’s something that we continue to actively focus on.

And it’s across all the main crops whether it’s rice, millet, cassava. Also we believe that focusing on the export products as well in terms on cashew, and cocoa, is important. Exports particularly because of the positive impact it has on generating foreign currency. Agriculture, we think is a growing sector. It grew by 4.5 per cent in the last quarter; we believe that that growth is sustainable and that Stanbic IBTC is keen to be part of the growth.

PPP has been with us for quite some time but are you comfortable with the legal framework? What do

you think should be done differently by this administration to get it to work?

PPP (public private partnership) is right in the middle of what the NESG is about; the public and private sectors coming together. And given the billions of dollars that are required to fund infrastructural development, government is not capable of doing it by itself. There is a semblance of a legal framework in place. It’s clear that at the state government levels, some states are still yet to pass their PPP laws. And, what sometimes is even more important is actually the implementation of the law and what happens across the life of different governments. Because the projects typically are long term, they can span 12 years plus and the risk we see many times is when the government that initiated that project is different from a new one that comes in and the commitment of that new government to keep to the terms that were agreed with the previous one. Financiers and investors invested in the project based

If you look at the GDP of this country, Nigeria has over 40 economic sectors.

Manufacturing currently comprises less than 15 per cent of the total GDP. Agriculture is about 22 per cent. Then you have the Services, ICT and Energy under 10 per cent. In terms of the sectors that we focus on, it’s those sectors that we believe will help to improve the productive base of the economy

We have been involved in the power sector. We are involved in two of the assets in the distribution space during the past privatization exercise. It’s a very challenging sector given some of the changes in the tariffs. For instance, a party has taken the government to court on whether there should be a tariff increase and those tariffs were the basis by which investors came in. So, it’s a challenged sector. But despite these challenges, I believe that there’s still hope to the extent that it’s a sector that is very much needed, everybody requires power.

We believe that the fact that those power sectors are now owned by the private sector gives them the capacity to raise capital, should they require, bring in new investors, and borrow so that they can buy the much-needed equipment. It’s a long-term game, but the expectation will be that in 10-15 years, if the right investments are done in this sector, we will see that translate to an improved power supply.

We partnered with GE (General Electric) to run an embedded distributed power solution across the country, where Stanbic IBTC and GE in Nigeria and Standard Bank and GE across Africa, will basically help to put up embedded power plants across the country. We continue to work on that project and we believe that that will also support the efforts of our country to improve power supply.

Most banks have been struggling with the issue of bad loans, AMCON’s intervention and all that. How have you been able to survive such?

There is an economic recession and you find that companies find it more difficult to repay loans. For consumers, if you haven’t been paid salaries, you are unable to service your loans. So, it is an outcome of the recession and the non-performing loans across the industry have gone up. Having said so, I believe that banks are doing their best to manage the situation. We believe from our own perspective that the worst is over and we continue to look for new opportunities, particularly in growing sectors where we can mentor.

How do you think Stanbic IBTC has remained relevant and a step ahead of what is becoming an intensive and competitive environment?

We are very unique in a number of respects. First of all, we are not only a bank.

We are a financial services organisation that runs across asset management, wealth creation, we have a trustees business, we have a stockbroking business, we help raise capital, both debt and equity capital, we are the largest pension funds

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David-Borha: Stanbic IBTC Remains Committed to Unlocking Nigeria’s Economic Potential administrators in the country with over a trillion naira in pension assets. So, that makes us unique in that we provide a full range of financial services, including insurance. We have an insurance brokerage business.

With this diversified financial services offering, we believe we are able to provide a full range of financial services to our clients. So, they don’t only come to us to borrow money, we provide advice to them, we help them manage their assets and also manage their pensions, even all the way to retirement. We call it cradle to grave - an entire lifetime of financial services.

In addition, we are the only international bank because we are a member of the Standard Bank Group, a 153-year-old organisation with a presence in over 20 countries in Africa as well as various countries across the world; we have a presence in New York, in Sao Paulo, in London, etc. We are the only international bank with a full-service offering in Nigeria.

We are in every state in Nigeria. Most international banks are providing a narrow set of services, primarily to corporates. We are a full-service on-ground international institution.

The third thing that distinguishes us is the fact that the Standard Bank Group has a strategic partnership with ICBC, which is the largest bank in the world, it is a Chinese bank. ICBC owns 20 per cent of Standard Bank. Therefore, in terms of the partnership between Chinese businesses and Africa, we are able to help them in terms of their own growth plans in Nigeria. We work with them, and in the process help to strengthen China-Nigeria business ties. It is possible using the Renminbi, for instance, as a trade currency to encourage either Nigerian businesses doing business in China or vice versa to use alternative trade instruments. So, we believe that essentially differentiates us from the other financial institutions in Nigeria. Our diversified business model also enables us to better withstand the headwinds that are coming through because we are not just focused on banking, we have a much wider remit and that enables us to build a much more sustainable business in the long term.

What do you think the regulatory agencies should do next to encourage the financial services sector? Are you comfortable with the policies and some other things that they do?

Globally, the regulatory environment has been much more intense and regulation is important for any industry or sector.

The most important thing is that the regulator should be firm and fair because regulation is important especially when you have free markets operating. The regulator needs to step in when required, but then should not hinder the free flow of business.

Are you comfortable with what is operational in Nigeria?

For everything, it can improve. There is nothing you can’t improve upon. Given the fact that Nigeria is in a recession right now, it is important that regulators work with business to ensure that we all come out of that recession faster and sooner.

If you come down too heavy, you can actually destroy the business. I think the most important thing is to ensure that the regulators focus on ensuring that business is done properly and not in a way that hinders the business.

There was an alarm raised by the House of Representatives recently about the health of Nigerian banks.

How true?

All I can say is that we are in good health and we are adequately capitalised and our liquidity ratio is well above the regulatory threshold. Our rating was recently reaffirmed as Triple A. We want

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David-Borha

to assure everyone that Stanbic IBTC is an organisation that they can continue to do business with.

What is your impression about the recent 2016 Nigeria Economic Summit which had the theme Made in Nigeria?

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group, as you may be aware, is the leading platform for public sector and private sector engagement. The theme, Made in Nigeria, is particularly important at this time when the economy is in a recession. This is not the first time that Made in Nigeria has been promoted or discussed but you find out that during crisis people are more attentive. We now have a better understanding of why it is much better to use local goods and services because that ultimately helps to achieve an improvement in productive capacity in the economy.

Essentially, our message is to tell both domestic and foreign investors that Nigeria is still an economy with great opportunities. The current challenges, which is primarily driven by the commodity price drop and subsequent foreign exchange scarcity, is temporary, it is a business cycle and that hopefully if we do the right things in terms of our policy direction and also working together with the government such that we support their efforts to promote an enabling environment, that will then attract investors to come into the country and invest in various sectors. This ultimately will lead to a private sector-driven growth.

We believe an important aspect of achieving this is to ensure that the financial markets are transparent, are liquid and the prices at which goods and services are obtained are done at an optimal one. So, whether you are selling your foreign exchange or it’s the money market or the equity market it is at your market rate and on the back of a properly functioning financial markets you will find that capital is attracted and that capital will then drive the growth

that we so desire.

From the outcomes of the summit, are you comfortable with the coherence between the fiscal and monetary policies? Could that actually achieve the purpose for the summit ?

It is very important that there is alignment between fiscal policy and monetary policy and given where our inflation rate is now, inflation has to be tamed.

There is an economic recession and you find that companies find it more difficult to repay loans. For consumers, if you haven’t been paid salaries, you are unable to service your loans.

So, it is an outcome of the recession and the non-performing loans across the industry have gone up. Having said so, I believe that banks are doing their best to manage the situation.

We believe from our own perspective that the worst is over and we continue to look for new opportunities, particularly in growing sectors where we can mentor

That has to be the priority and in the short-term, it does mean that interest rates will still remain fairly high but strategically the longer-term direction when inflation starts coming down is for interest rates to also come down. In the meantime, there are a number of other things that can be done to support the overall objective of stimulating growth in the economy. One of the keynote speakers, Dr. Doyin Salami, pointed out that if we look at the four main drivers that impact our economy - the global trend, which we don’t control, international trade, commodity prices, which we also don’t control, and our expectations in the short to medium term is that oil prices is not going to rise significantly. The fourth aspect is our own policies that we implement. Of the four things the only thing that we can control is our policies. Therefore, it’s very important that we put in place the right policies and that we are consistent in implementing them. What investors look for is that policy consistency. They are very nervous when policies change because it means they can’t manage that risk. They can manage the risk of a drop in oil price. So our policy response, what we do, making sure that essentially we regain the confidence of investors in this market has to be the priority.

Where do you see Stanbic IBTC in the next few years under your leadership?

Stanbic IBTC as a financial services organisation is an organisation that is a leading end-end financial solutions provider in Nigeria. We want to continue to support our customers in achieving their dreams. We are committed to driving the growth of our clients. We are committed to ensuring that investors are attracted to the economy and committed to seeing that the Nigerian economy grows and develops to its full potential. We believe that we have the skill and capabilities, the experience and the passion to ensure that Stanbic IBTC supports the Nigerian economy as it continues to grow.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

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BUSINESS/ENERGY

As House of Representatives Probes OPL 245…

Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 was one of the oil blocks awarded to Nigerians by the administration of the late General Sani Abacha. After the initial revocation and restoration of the block to Malabu Oil and Gas Company (MOGC) by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, Ejiofor Alike examines successive administrations’ interest in singling out only the oil block for endless probes

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that the only entitlement of the federal government in the award of oil block is signature bonus, while the beneficiary of the award (in this case, Malabu) is entitled to the full value of the block ($1.1 billion) if it divests its stake.

uring the administration of the late General Sani Abacha, many oil blocks were awarded to Nigerian companies and individuals. One of such acreages was Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 awarded in 1998 to Malabu Oil and Gas Company (MOGC), believed to be owned by Abacha’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Mr. Dan Etete.

OPL 245 is a deepwater acreage estimated to contain over one billion barrels of oil.

After it was awarded the block, Malabu had entered into a binding Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) with Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited (SNUD) to exploit the block with SNUD as technical partner to the venture.

Revocation by Obasanjo As Malabu and Shell were working on the licence area, the block was revoked by the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2001and reallocated to SNUD in 2002 under a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangement.

The re-award of the block to Shell had raised concerns as it was alleged that Shell might have worked against Malabu’s interest to engineer the revocation, having worked as the technical partner to Malabu and discovered the huge potentials in the block.

However, some key actors in Obasanjo’s administration were also alleged to have facilitated the revocation after Malabu allegedly turned down their request to clinch a stake in the plum asset.

Be that as it may, it was curious that OPL 245 was the only block awarded by the Abacha regime, which was revoked on the ground that it did not follow due process, while the other blocks awarded by the same regime strangely followed due process.

Angered by the revocation, Malabu had petitioned the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum and after a public hearing, the House recommended that the block be restored to Malabu.

As the House intervention was ongoing, Malabu also sued the federal government and Shell at the Federal High Court in Suit No FHC/ABJ/ CS/420/2003 claiming several declaratory reliefs.

However, the court struck out the suit but on appeal, the parties were said to have entered into a settlement dated November 30, 2006, which were executed by Obasanjo’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN).

Return of Block to Malabu In accordance with the terms of settlement, former President Obasanjo in 2006, rescinded his earlier revocation and restored the block to Malabu via a letter signed by the then Minister of State for Energy and the current Amanyanabo of Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State, His Majesty, King Edmund Daukoru.

Also, in the said letter of restoration to Malabu, Chief Ojo was said to have emphasised that no further adjudication on the matter would be entertained.

While Shell was said to have been offered another block as compensation by the federal government, Malabu was also directed to pay the federal government about $200 million as signature bonus within 12 months.

Unfortunately, Shell was said to have spent over $500million to ‘de-risk’ the block and had also discovered oil in commercial quantity, having worked as the Production Sharing Contractor to the federal government.

Having spent such huge resources under the

Minister of State Petroleum, Kachikwu

arrangement it had with the federal government, it was not surprising that Shell became aggrieved over the revocation by the Obasanjo’s regime.

Consequently, the oil giant was said to have commenced Arbitration proceedings at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) claiming over $2 billion from the federal government for breach of contract, loss of investment and special damages.

Intervention of Jonathan’s Administration It was at this stage that the former President Goodluck Jonathan inherited the protracted dispute between Shell and Malabu over the ownership of the block.

By the terms of the settlement brokered by the administration of former President Jonathan, about $1,092,040 was paid by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Nigeria Limited (SNEPCO) and Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) into an escrow account to settle Malabu Oil and Gas, to enable Shell take over the block from the Nigerian firm.

Giving the account of the OPL 245 dispute in a recent letter to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice under President Jonathan’s administration, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, stated that it was in the face of the arbitration proceedings instituted by Shell that he “encouraged a definitive resolution between the parties who themselves had expressed an intention to settle but were untrusting of each other, given their antecedents.”

According to Adoke, the title on OPL 245 at the date of settlement by the Obasanjo’s regime in 2006 and the Resolution Agreement in 2011 vested exclusively in Malabu subject only to the terms and conditions in the allocation.

Adoke argued that the interest of the federal government at the time of resolution in 2011 was to ensure the payment of the signature bonus on the block and that the block was developed to enable the country earn revenue through royalty and taxes.

He also maintained that consistent with Nigerian law governing oil and gas and the allocation of oil

Speaker House of Representative, Dogara

blocks, the signature bonus due and payable to the federal government amounting to $210 million was duly paid and acknowledged.

“The taxes and royalties associated with oil produced from the block are also now being paid.

This is contrary to the lies and misinformation being peddled that Nigeria was short changed in the transaction,” he added.

Adoke also informed the vice president that any responsible Attorney General of the Federation would have done what he did to safeguard the interest of the country and avoid a liability that potentially stood against the country.

N’Assembly’s Current Probe Despite what seems like the best effort of the Jonathan’s administration to settle the protracted dispute out-of-court, the House of Representatives under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari recently set up an ad hoc committee to investigate what the lawmakers described as alleged corruption, malpractices and breach of due process in the award of OPL 245.

The seventh House of Representatives under President Jonathan had conducted similar investigation but did not present their report, apparently due to the resolution of the matter by the Jonathan’s administration.

Operators in the sector have described as strange, the current decision of the 8th House to re-open investigation into an oil block awarded in 1998, which has been resolved after several litigations in Nigerian courts, as well as international arbitration.

At the beginning of the investigative session, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), AA Oil and Gas and Malabu Oil had shunned the committee.

Also a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), had written to the committee on behalf of Shell insisting that the House had no power to investigate the matter.

According to some oil and gas operators, the lawmakers are insisting that the $1.1 billion paid

by Shell and Agip for OPL 245 was meant for the federal government, when it is a common knowledge

Condemnation Trails Fresh Investigation Apart from Akinjide’s protest letter on behalf of Shell, a former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumuni Jibrin, had also berated the House for reopening investigation into OPL 245, describing it as a ploy to extort the parties involved.

In a recent chat with journalists to mark the 100 days anniversary of his travails in the House, Jibrin, who is serving 180-day suspension, had also accused the House of embarking on a wild goose chase with legislative probes.

According to him, the probes were designed for ulterior motives, particularly to extort money from firms and stakeholders.

He alleged that the lower chamber initiated investigations into issues to intimidate government officials and businessmen to create room for bribery.

Also, the Niger Delta Nationalities Forum in Lagos recently urged President Buhari to intervene in the protracted dispute involving OPL 245, stressing that it is an act of injustice that the only oil block awarded to an indigene of Niger Delta by the late General Abacha has become a source of unending dispute.

The Chairman of the Forum, Mr. Seigha Manager, had told journalists in Lagos that the people of the region were grateful to the late General Sani Abacha for creating Bayelsa State and allocating three oil blocks to the deserving Nigerian citizens from the South-east, North-east and South-south (Niger Delta).

He identified the three oil blocks as OPLs 244, OPL 245 and OPL 246. According to him, OPL 245 was the only oil block allocated to a Niger Delta citizen.

“While the other two have enjoyed peace and tranquility in the hands of their owners, that of the Niger Delta citizen, OPL 245, is akin to a bird standing on a tiny rope. Neither the bird nor the rope has seen peace till date. It is the only oil block that every passing regime has poked into simply because the allotee is a Niger Deltan. It is the only oil block that has been allocated, cancelled, later returned to the allottee and then is under probe at any given time. All of this is happening because the allottee is from the Niger Delta, yet the owner does not fall in the bracket of rich persons in Nigeria not to talk of Africa. There are other issues like that,” Manager said.

He urged President Buhari as a man of integrity to intervene in the OPL 245 matter.

Industry stakeholders have argued that it is still strange that OPL 245 was the only block awarded during the military regime that was singled out for probes.

According to them, the unending allegations of corruption on a block awarded as far back as 1998 and probes by successive administrations have portrayed Nigeria as very corrupt nation that cannot conduct her oil and gas business transparently.

They have also insisted that the way the allegation is rehearsed by every administration as if it were a fresh case of corruption in the award of oil blocks, is a disincentive to investors willing to invest in Nigeria’s acreages.

The stakeholders alleged that the motive of investigators under successive administrations in probing this transaction has become suspect.

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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 • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

BUSINESS/MEDIA

Insight Publicis on 360 Degree Journey in Positioning Stories by Raheem Akingbolu

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ith a mantra, ‘Never Stop Thinking’, Insight Publicis has continued to instill a culture of creativity and innovation in its workforce.

No wonder, decades after it was established, the agency has been able to overcome the greatest challenge facing old agencies, which is centred on recreation to remain contemporary and modern. With its accomplishments in the last 32 years, Insight appears to be recreating from time to time in terms of operations and creativity.

The agency’s Account Management Director, Wole Ogundare, captured the Unique Selling Point of Insight in a brief chat with THISDAY recently, when he declared that the agency looked beyond communication while working on any brand.

“Anytime we get a brief, we conduct two levels of research; first, we try to research the segment where the brand is operating as well as the strength of competitions. Insight work goes beyond communication because we are not only concerned about creativity, we as well committed to impact on ROI. We work with our clients with full understanding of their businesses and the market and we are always looking for ways to grow their brands. To sum it up, we are keen about everything, including corporate identity manual, when communicating the brands within the portfolio of our clients to the public.”

Speaking on the local and global exploits of the agency in recent time, Ogundare spoke glowingly on how it set the pace for other West African creative agencies during the 2016 Cannes Festival, with the presentation of ‘Let’s My Enemy Live Long’. The agency, according to the Account Management Director, was not only acknowledged as the first agency in West Africa to achieve such feat, it was asked to come back next year for a similar exercise. He also disclosed that Insight Publicis is currently on a journey with one of its clients to win the world most celebrated award anytime soon.

As a result of his confidence in the operation of the agency, Ogundare was quick to add that it was difficult, if not impossible for any of its existing clients to drop the company for any agency. Reacting to the report that his agency recently lost three of his clients to other agencies, he pointed out that it was a mere insinuation.

“I laugh when I read that I lost some accounts.

In fact, if any agency attempts to pitch for any of the brands in our kitty, the client will call us and tell us this particular agency approaches them.

This is because of the quality of our work and the trust they have in us as an agency.

For instance, after we have done so much on Gulder, Nigerian Breweries didn’t waste time in pushing two more brands to us. As I speak, we are on a journey with Gulder to win the most celebrated award in the world. We are

Shobanjo

also stepping out of African market to other continents with the Techno brand. On Peak Milk account, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria PLC, owner of the brand, only recently decided to change its strategy and engaged more than one agency. Till date, we still work on Pecadomo, which we created from the inception.

Again, with enthusiasm, Ogundare made reference to how Insight Publicis won Silver with Pepsi Long Throat campaign at the World Advertising Research Centre. To him, this is important because the campaign has not only won awards for the brand, it has been used to push the Pepsi brand at a time many analysts thought some challengers in the market would puncture its market share. He stated that TVC alone may not drive volumes if the communication agency fails to first understand what the brand needs at a particular time on how best to deliver values.

From any angle one chooses to look at it, besides the chronological age of Insight, it appears to be leading the pack among the young and the old in today’s market. So far, it has continued to challenge old agencies, while it remains the reference point for the younger and upcoming agency.

In its 32 years of existence the agency has gotten

only three managing directors. The first MD was of course the founder, Mr. Biodun Shobanjo, who was in charge for 25 years. Then Mr. Jimi Awosika, who came in and spent 12 years, the third being Mr. Feyi Olubodun, the current MD who was recently appointed.

According to inside source, the new MD is coming in with young and vibrant executive management team. This transformation is no doubt a credit to the vision of Shobanjo, who knows when to step aside concentrate on how consolidate the strength of the agency.

Insight Publicis can be conveniently referred to as the University of Advertising as far as the marketing communications industry is concerned in the country. Established 32 years ago, it has produced many top practitioners as well as award-winning adverts, which have equally sold award-winning brands. Brands that have outshined competition and outlived challenges.

While advertising has evolved as a result of changes in traditional advertising, Insight has continued to evolve, birthing outfits like Media Perspectives, The Quadrant Company (PR firm) and Halogen Company. In today’s market, one will not be wrong to conclude that Insight has outlived challenges and survived industry evolutions.

better and increase nutritional value.

The addition of Peak Milk to everyday carbohydrate meals like Semolina, Pounded Yam, Tuwo and Rice creates a creamier and more flavoured meal. In Mrs. Folashade Obafemi‘s case, being married to a man who prefers to swallow, she learned to get creative with making Semolina by adding Peak Milk. “Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t eat draw soup, so meals were becoming boring since it is either egusi or vegetable soup. The first time I heard that Peak Milk could be added to semo, I wondered how it would taste. The texture is so creamy. Besides being high in fibre, semo made with Peak milk is also nutritious for the family.”

Compared to other milk drinking countries, consumption of milk and knowledge of what milk can be used for is very low in Nigeria. With this campaign, Milk will not only be much more fun; but Nigerians from all walks of life will come to appreciate that this highly nutritious liquid, milk is a very versatile food accompaniment. And this is a win-win situation as they get better nutrition, more value for money and newer recipes.

“I love experimenting with food so you can imagine my joy when I learnt about the Pecadomo

campaign. Whenever I am pregnant, I avoid eating mayonnaise. However, I love salads and coleslaw but have to avoid it for the nine months. Now, I substitute Peak Milk for mayonnaise. The funny thing is that my salads taste nicer and is cheaper to make because a tin of Peak milk is cheaper than the smallest jar of mayonnaise which is like N500. In a recession like now, options like these are needed. That’s where Pecadomo comes in,” said Mrs. Hannah Osasu, in Surulere.

With the rise in cost of living, pocket-friendlier options become necessary and many have learnt the various foods milk can be used to substitute.

Mary Oluwagbemiga is a student at Yabatech.

She bakes to augment her school fees since her parents live in Akure. Recently, the price of eggs went up and for cakes, eggs are required. Hear her: “In order not to hike my prices too much, I started using Peak milk to replace eggs. Peak milk is thick and creamy and excellent for baking.

Now, more people prefer to order my cakes saying they are creamier. That’s more money for me and less stress”.

A mother of four and businesswoman in Ogba, Mrs. Oby Asomba, has to deal with picky eating

Market Square Comes to P’ Harcourt

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ager to provide a quality option for manufacturers and importers to get their products to the consumer, Marketsquare, the grocery retail chain, has opened in Port Harcourt. Owned

by BBV Marketplace Limited, Marketsquare is the product of over three years of research and planning, according to the managing director, Ebele Enunwa.

For the early customers to the new outlet located at 279 Peter Odili Road, Trans-Amadi, in Port Harcourt, there was a wide range of groceries, particularly, apples, fresh fruits, plantains, and yams. This is an indication that basic food items would be a priority.

In accordance with the shopping priority, local manufacturers of dairy products and drinks, including Indomie and Mimee noodles, Peak Milk, Loya, Chivita, Grand drinks, Golden Morn, Pepsi and Infinity Breakfast, were on the front arena to entertain guests and shoppers free of charge. Everyone was thrilled by the “find more, pay less” slogan and marketing philosophy being echoed by moderators and promoters.

Speaking after showing guests round the seemingly endless rows of goods in the large hall, Enunwa said the objective was to create a modern retail environment for Nigerians in a clean, friendly, convenient and accessible environment, as opposed to unhygienic public markets. He said it was a centre for food stuff and vegetables by Nigeria and for Nigerians, stressing that Market Square needs the support of Nigerians to achieve its desired success. Enunwa said the company dealt directly with manufacturers and importers and so can get customers a wide variety of products at the lowest prices possible.

The company aims to pass on most of the huge savings it gets from bulk buying and negotiations with these manufacturers, he said.

Enunwa, who is a chartered accountant, former banker, and retail business expert, said it was time to encourage local manufactures. He appealed to government at all levels to partner with the private sector to grow the economy.

The managing director particularly commended the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, for his quest to rebuild roads in the state capital, saying it has increased the flow of businesses and eased the movement of goods in the city.

On the challenge of foreign retail chains that often threaten their local counterparts with unfair advantages and competition, Enunwa said there was opportunity for the foreign and local players. “Yes, foreign retail businesses have access to vast resources and capital but we, too, can compete. This is the time for Nigerians to look inward, buy Nigerian goods to grow the naira and create jobs. A local entrepreneur is better suited to know what Nigerians want.” He called on developers to partner private investors like himself

to fast-track the growth and consolidation of the retail chain business in Nigeria.

Enunwa referred to Aliko Dangote, a Nigerian entrepreneur who has built successful businesses in Africa in cement, despite foreign competition, saying, however, there are likely challenges as foreign exchange continues to pose difficulties.

Pecadomo Showcases Peak’s Creativity

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eak milk, a premium dairy brand on the stable of Friesland Campina Wamco has again added another feather to its beaded crown as it successfully launched a nationwide campaign in deepening milk consumption amongst Nigerians.

The brand’s new initiative tagged Pecadomo--PEak CAn DO MOre and launched in Lagos recently in September has successfully traversed the nooks and crannies of Nigeria in an exciting experiential brand activation in selected neighbourhoods, city centres and villages across Nigeria.

Not only that, the Peak Can Do More campaign team took the initiative to schools and markets in a drive to create a first-hand experience for target audiences on the various uses of milk.

Specifically, the campaign was taken round the country to create awareness on the various health benefits of milk vis-à-vis newer ways of using milk in different diet.

Through this innovative campaign, Peak milk has shown that it does not only taste great but can make practically every Nigerian dish taste

in her children, especially as they dislike eggs. “I insist they eat eggs but they always waste them.

So through Pecadomo, I learnt how to use Peak Milk to make scrambled eggs and that made all the difference. Now, I get to use less eggs and get better volume. Also, the eggs are fluffier and have more flavour. My kids now enjoy eating eggs, which is good for me since they get their daily protein requirements and don’t waste food anymore.”

Surprisingly, some people admit that milk might be more than just a food source but might also be medicinal. Mr. O. Michael, a Festac-based businessman confesses that there was a time he had low sperm count. “I read in one of these herbal treatment booklets that mixing Peak milk with stout could boost it. I really don’t know the chemical explanation but I tried it and it worked.”

It also re-invents various local drinks and quick meals into more filling meals that can in the long run save cost especially in a recession like ours.

Mixing some Peak Milk into a glass of Kunu drink, fruit smoothies, coleslaw or Abacha (African Salad) means the consumer gets all the health benefits of these already nutritious foods plus the great benefits of milk and a delicious taste too.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

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TRAVEL

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

Akwaaba: Dubai Tourism Gaining More Confidence in Nigerian Market Demola Ojo

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or a second year running, Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) participated at the Akwaaba African Travel Market held in Lagos recently. Nigeria, in particular, was among the top 20 source markets for Dubai Tourism in 2015, with more than 201,000 overnight visitors arriving in the city. It makes sense certainly to exhibit and market to more visitors at West Africa’s premier travel fair.

A testament to the success of using Akwaaba as an avenue to reach more Nigerians in the travel trade was the size of the delegation; the 10 corporate entities that came was double the size of last year’s impressive first outing. And profitable too, apparently.

“I think it has to do with what the others benefitted from when they came last year,” said Stella Obinwa, Regional Director Africa at Dubai Tourism. “Remember, last year was the first time Dubai Tourism stepped out into Africa to do something, so maybe they (the DMCs) were a little hesitant. Now they’re gaining more and more confidence.”

Alongside officials of Dubai Tourism were representatives from Dubai Immigrations, Emirates Airline and IMG Worlds of Adventure, the world’s largest indoor theme park.

There were a few of Dubai’s biggest tour companies and DMCs; Red Apple, North Tours, Alpha tours, Rena Tours and Arabian Falcon Holidays, the largest timeshare company in the Middle East.

Incidentally, over 60 per cent of Arabian Falcon’s customers are Nigerian.

“We’re back again and we’ll continue to come back as long as Nigeria and West Africa in general continue to be interested in Dubai,” Obinwa explained at Akwaaba.

“Each time we come, we bring new tour operators and Destination Marketing Companies and we have more things to tell you (the market) about new things that have opened up in Dubai since when we were last here.”

Apart from the indoor theme park, there’s the Dubai Parks and Resorts, which has done a soft opening with the major opening billed for the end of the year as well as a new discount shopping mall next to the Dubai Parks.

The Nigerian traveller is especially important to Dubai Tourism. Nigeria represents about 56 per cent of total visitation from Africa. The country ranked second is South Africa, with numbers that are not half as much as Nigeria’s.

But the focus is not just Nigeria but Africa as a whole. “We had 50 luxury event planners we hosted in Dubai earlier in October. We invited 20 from Nigeria, 15 from Kenya and 15 from South Africa.

We wanted to show them a different kind of Dubai. They were all wowed by the experience,” she revealed.

Red Apple did all the ground transportation for that particular tour. It was free-of-charge. The company sees it as an investment that will bear fruit.

A lot of the companies that partner with Dubai Tourism operate the same way because it gives them access to the customer base. In essence they say, ‘Take us to Nigeria, introduce us under the Dubai Tourism platform so we can get to meet the people one-on-one and grow our business.’

Since coming to Akwaaba, the companies have been able to meet the Nigerian and African travel agents.

They sweeten the deal with incentives.

Red Apple for example, encourages travel agents that sign up on their website register and make bookings through the platform to Dubai - by giving a free 3-night trip to another destination. It was successfully launched in East Africa and is now being brought to Nigeria.

Representative of Dubai Immigrations, Omran Alali; Regional Director Africa for Dubai Tourism, Stella Obinwa; Organiser, Akwaaba Africa Travel Market, Ikechi Uko; Manager Exhibition, Dubai Tourism, Talal Alsuwaidi; and Managing Director, Rikks Group of Companies, Ricky Kanani at Akwaaba 2016…

Effects of Recession It is no secret the Nigerian economy is going through a recession. Dubai Tourism certainly notices. “It has impacted on the visitation numbers and the revenue,” Obinwa admitted. “A lot of the luxury hotels that used to have Nigerian clientele are asking, ‘when are the Nigerians coming back?’ Nigerians are big spenders, so you lose one, you lose a hefty chunk.

“But the economy notwithstanding, our DG, His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, has made a commitment that Africa can be as big as China to any country in terms of visitation. So we will not stop investing in Africa because it’s a cycle; every country goes through recession, economic changes, ups and downs. You just have to be able to

ride it out and stay relevant in the market.

So that when things are good, you’ll remember and come back to visit.”

Game-changing Akwaaba An advantage of marketing at Akwaaba is the different strata of the market it reaches. Dubai Tourism has noticed that it is not just the very well-to-do that visit Dubai. The perception of Dubai as being all about the Burj Khalifa or the Desert Safari is changing.

“Since coming to Akwaaba, we’ve seen an upsurge in the clientele from the very wealthy, and also the youth. The youth now know that Dubai is affordable.

Because Dubai has this perception of luxury and everything being expensive but

that’s not the case,” said Obinwa.

Early Shopping One of the opportunities at getting good stuff at no-so-expensive prices is at the annual Dubai Shopping Festival. The 2017 edition will start earlier than this year’s which was a month-long event starting January 1. Rather it starts earlier, on December 26.

“We have a lot more retailers on board,” Obinwa revealed. “They realise that even the Euro and the Pound are lower (in value) than they used to be. So they are going to have to make their discounts extremely attractive for the visitors that are coming. But we hope the coming festival will be just as good as the last one.”

Jumia Travel Marks Third Year with Award Ceremony Demola Ojo

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umia Travel Nigeria last week celebrated its third year of doing business in the country with a second edition of its awards ceremony in Lagos.

Formerly known as Jovago, Jumia Travel is the hotel booking service of Jumia and is Africa’s No.1 hotel booking website, allowing customers to get competitive prices for more than 25,000 hotels in Africa and more than 200,000 hotels around the world.

A total of 28 Lagos hotels won under categories such as, Customer Choice, Best Hotel Partner, Booking Award, and Rising Star Award.

“These hotel awards celebrate achievements and relationships that not only set the awardees apart, but also strive to create better service and experience for the guests. The objective is to appreciate outstanding performers while creating a dynamic platform for players to meet and interact,” said Kushal Dutta, Managing Director Jumia Travel Nigeria.

Some of the winners include include Ibis Hotel Ikeja; Park Inn by Radisson; Fahrenheit Loft; Eko Hotel & Suites; Cumberland Hotel; Maison Fahrenheit

Jumia Travel MD, Kushal Dutta and Protea Kuramo Waters.

Some Customer Choice Award winners were, Ikoyi Fairview Apartments; Apartment Royale Hotel & Suites; Jeromes

Gardens & Suites; Bluespring Hotel; and Epe Resort.

Speaking on the performance of the company this year, Kushal stated that investment in world-class technology has helped improve customers’ experience on the company’s portal. He made reference to the Web Progressive App (WPA) technology developed by the company which makes customers spend less time searching their hotels of choice. The technology, according to him, was showcased by Google at the Web Development event recently.

“Our monthly traffic grew from 93,000 to 650,000 making Jumia Travel the largest online travel agency in the country.” Dutta said.

Since inception, Jumia Travel has provided an online platform for local hotels, ensuring that both small boutique properties as well as privately owned residences can now enjoy fair display and online presence alongside global chains and renowned brands.

Last week’s event also marked the launch of the ongoing Black Friday sale, which as Kushal explained comes early this year, to ensure travellers are able to make their holiday bookings without the last minute rush.

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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 • NOVERMBER 20, 2016

MANAGING IN CHALLENGING TIMES

To the Government: Plug the Leakages

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f the many promises President Buhari has made to Nigerians, one that appears to be prioritised is his fight against corruption.

Earlier this year, while receiving the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms Christine Lagarde, the president promised to stop financial leakages by looking inward, enforcing regulation and adopting best practices to mitigate the effect of dwindling oil price on the Nigerian economy. However, very little can be said of this promise to stop financial leakages as not much is evident in this regard.

It appears that many Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Government have carried on their businesses as usual, constrained by theTreasury Single Account but determined to find and exploit other loopholes. One therefore wonders whether this fight against corruption at the expense of a robust development agenda is not a misnomer given that financial leakages persist and might even be expanding.

Last weekend a group of us embarked on a road trip to Casa del Papa, Ouidah in Benin Republic. We were excited by the prospects of a scenic and educative experience of road travel within the continent. However, this quickly became a painful yet informative journey. What should have been a four-hour trip took us almost eight hours; half of which was spent at the border, mainly on the Nigerian side. The border was completely disorganized and the apparent confusion was intended to make the process impossible to get through on the right terms.

Payments were requested but not receipted, and the stated purposes made no sense. For instance, we were informed that because it was our first time going through the border, our well-used passports were all considered ‘virgin’ and there was a N2,000 fee per virgin passport. All attempts to get around paying this sum proved impossible.Those without international certificates of vaccination (yellow cards), had to pay N2,500 rather than the official price of N500 and one wondered whether any part of this cash would be remitted to the Government.There was a significant number of personnel representing an obsolete border patrol system – Department of State Security, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Customs, Immigration, Police, and Health Services amongst others. Not one of the officials we came in contact with wore name badges and some even used touts to carry out their extortion. Was this not an ECOWAS border with free movement of persons? Why were there so many Government officials sitting in these dusty and unconventional shacks? It is easy to surmise that the border is a lucrative avenue for Government officials to make money.

So how should managers of the country curb financial (and moral) leakages?The President already gave three areas for a start – look inward, enforce regulation and adopt best practices.

PLUGGING LEAKAGES IS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION, WHICH CAN BE ACHIEVED EASILY BUT MUST BE PRIORITISED AND DELIBERATELY IMPLEMENTED

Look Inward Despite the apparent success of theTreasury Single Account (TSA) in improving revenue collection by the Government, there remains enormous waste and lack of accountability across the various tiers and their agencies.

When the 2016 budget was developed and sent to the National Assembly, the term ‘budget padding’ came up as tens of billions of naira were supposedly added to the budget – additional areas for legislative pilfering. How could this happen? In a well-structured system, the legislative arm of Government cannot amend the budget. It can raise concern or objections but whatever amendments are to be made must be passed through the executive.

As such, the first recommendation to close the loophole is to ensure that the various arms and agencies of Government keep to their mandates.This way, where there is a breech, it is obvious, can be rejected and potentially exposed through the media. People are frustrated with the status quo and will clamour for accountability from their representatives.

For the borders with ECOWAS countries, kindly revisit and revise the ECOWAS agreement, shut the borders down and recall personnel to more useful areas. When one moves within the European Union, there is hardly any official stationed at any border as there truly is free movement of persons and goods. Whatever amount comes from the sale of yellow cards cannot justify the personnel stationed at the outposts and the principle behind the yellow

card is to certify that vaccination was indeed received not that a yellow booklet was sold. In the same vein, Government agencies which are overstaffed should consider retraining some of their employees to deliver on other parts of the MDA’s mandates or find places where such workers can be put to more productive use.

Former Governor Peter Obi during a speech in Lagos on Independence Day 2016, revealed the quantum of waste that goes on in Government Houses. From extravagant entertainment and consumption, to unnecessary purchases of armoured vehicles, to the unconstitutional office of the first lady which gulps billions of naira annually, to traveling with a plethora of aides and assistants which adds no value but significantly increases running costs, to constructing and reconstructing Presidential and VIP Guest Houses for Presidents who would hardly visit or sleep in the states over their entire four-year tenure, and more.

Considering that we run 36 State Government Houses and one Presidential villa, it is incredible to imagine the scale of waste that they generate. In addition, it is irresponsible to borrow for consumption. Where Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) does not cover salaries and operating expenses, then that is a clear sign that experts are required to restructure the workforce, plug financial leakages and unlocking IGR. Furthermore the National Assembly gulps an obscene amount of money in the form of allowances which they find hard to disclose to ordinary Nigerians. It is incumbent on our leaders to be accountable and reasonable in their largess.This brings us to the second recommendation which is to embark on strategic planning by taking stock of what is important, cutting waste, prioritising important capital projects and saving a defined proportion of revenue for the future.

Enforce Regulation The enforcement of our laws must align with the expectations of all people and create no lacuna for misinterpretation or abuse.The ECOWAS treaty says free movement so kindly let us create the environment for ‘free movement.’I thought about EBOLA when writing this but quickly concluded that the current system has no basis or method for checking diseases or stopping their spread from one country to the other. Free movement will encourage trade, education and tourism (yes, there are heritage sites to see across West Africa). Enforcement of regulation will increase trust and the sanctity of contract in Nigeria, which will effectively provide various parties with comfort to go into business partnerships with each other.This leads to the third recommendation which is to ensure that laws are legitimate, impartial are enforced strictly.

Despite the public outcry over budget padding, corruption by Government officials and the hardship experienced by a majority of citizens, there appears to be no consequence or punishment. We are quick to make excuses for the bad behaviour of leaders and pardon their sins in a wink.This absence of consequences communicates a wrong value system to all and perpetuates a cycle of poor moral behaviour

by the youth. Laws and consequences must be communicated to all so that everyone is aware. For instance, one who takes a bribe to do his/her job should lose his job, be forced to return the money and should be displayed as an example of bad behaviour and its negatives consequences; one who does not deliver on the work for which he/she was hired and cannot add value to the system, should be relived of the position; anyone who brings the country into disrepute should be charged to court and subject to serving jail term.Thus the fourth recommendation, to ensure that there are severe consequences for negative actions in order to discourage illegality.

And Adopt Best Practices Despite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the Police, Courts, Churches, Mosques etc, corruption is rife and potentially growing. It starts from our homes where parents must return to instilling good morals in children, help them to distinguish right from wrong and that there are consequences for all actions. Schools must build on this foundation to instil good values in young minds.They must teach ethics, civics and history. Places of religious worship need to stop celebrating wealth and demand accountability from members and then institutions such as the Police, EFCC, ICPC etc. must enforce the law and ensure that all those who err are brought to justice quickly.

The scales of justice must indeed be balanced so that corruption and its perception reduce significantly. Botswana is considered the least corrupt country in Africa ranking 28th on the corruption perception index. It achieved this by performing corruption audits to uncover the reasons for corruption in order to mitigate them and then integrated corruption issues in education, including introducing it to school’s curriculum.The country also has steep penalties for corruption, including jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to USD50,000.

In learning from Botswana, we take our fifth recommendation which is to strengthen institutions to promote the right behaviour.

It is important for all tiers of government to measure and report their accomplishments against expectations. Budgets are developed based on plans and resources, and in addition to tracking budget achievement, the government should measure and communicate the impact of monies spent periodically.This will highlight gaps and put some pressure on Government agencies to deliver on their mandates. In delivering on their mandates, more people will be positively impacted and further socio-economic development will be achieved.The final recommendation to plug the leakage is to be accountable and thereby promote good governance. Plugging leakages is an important element in the fight against corruption, which can be achieved easily but must be prioritised and deliberately implemented.

By Angela Attah For: Alegna Global Partnerships

www. AGPartnerships.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 • NOVERMBER 20, 2016

NIGERIA’S TOP 50 STOCKS BASED ON MARKET FUNDAMENTALS

TOTAL OIL NIGERIA PLC: Substantial growth in top-line and bottom-line earnings despite macro-economic challenges

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

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

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

Total Oil Nigeria Plc recently released its third quarters result for the period ended September 30th 2016, showing significant increase in key performance indicators despite the tough operating business climate in Nigeria.

TURNOVER IMPROVES DESPITE HIGH INFLATION AND DECREASE IN PRICE OF CRUDE OIL Total Oil Plc reported a 38.24% increase in revenue to N220.22 billion in September 2016 from N159.30 billion in the corresponding period of 2015. Despite the challenging global and domestic oil market quagmires during the period, Total Nigeria Plc was able to record a magnificent rise in revenue. Most Nigerian oil marketers struggled to grow revenue during the first quarter due to the sharp drop in petroleum product supply following the rise in importation cost and scarcity of foreign exchange which resulted into the sudden upward review and partial deregulated of prices of petroleum in domestic market.

Costs of sales, therefore, grew by 33.84% to N188.21 billion in September 2016 from N140.61 billion in September 2015. The Company recorded a massive rise of 71.32% in gross profit to N32.01 billion in September 2016 from N18.69 billion in the corresponding year of 2015, Effective cost management leads to further increase in profitability.

For the third quarter period ended, September 30th 2016, Total Nigeria

IN ADDITION, WE EXPECT THE MODEST LEVERAGE IN THE BOOK OF THE COMPANY TO ALLOW IT SIGNIFICANT ROOM FOR BALANCE SHEET OPTIMISATION AND IMPROVED EARNINGS PER SHARE TOWARDS ENSURING MAXIMIZATION OF SHAREHOLDERS RETURN IN THE DAYS AHEAD

Plc’s selling and distribution expenses increased by 15.42% to N3.96 billion in September 2016 from N3.43 billion recorded in the corresponding year in 2015. Over the last few years, the company has improved its effort to curtail increase in operational costs due to high overhead cost ranging from the cost of delivering its supplies through trucking to all its retails outlets and others. Impressively the Company was able maintain personnel costs, advertisement and promotion expenses as well as depreciation. Rise in selling and distribution expenses was recorded due to increase in: changes in inventory of lubes, greases and refined products, custom duties, transportation of supplies and maintenance expenses. Also, the Company’s management succeeded in curtailing its administrative expenses which declined by 3.14% to N11.63 billion from N12.00 billion reported in September 2015.

Furthermore, Total Oil recorded a marginal rise of 0.91% in other income to N814m in September 2016 from N807m over the corresponding year of 2015. Hence,

operating profit for the year as anticipated grew substantially to N17.24 billion in September 2016 from N4.05 billion in September 2015, indicating an enormous growth of 325.08%.

PROFITABILITY SOARS HIGHER AS FINANCE COST DEPLETES Financial income decreased notably by 87.06% to N277m from N2.14 billion while finance cost recorded similar feat as it dropped by 59.24% to N509m in September 2016 from N1.25 billion in September 2015. Therefore, net finance cost decreased massively by 126.05% to N232m from N891m over the period.

Hence, profit before tax and net income for the period grew substantially by 243.75% to N17.00 billion and by 319.91% to N11.63 billion in third quarter 2016 from corresponding figures of N4.95 billion and N2.77 billion respectively.

STRONG ASSET QUALITY Total Oil Plc reported an increase of 39.39% in total asset to N116.60 billion as at September 2016 from N83.65 billion as at December 2015 while its total liabilities grew by 39.18% to N93.82 billion in September 2016 from N67.41 billion in December 2015. The increase in total assets is attributable to: 96.07% rise in other receivables, 140.33% increase in inventories and a 63.98% in cash and bank balances; while on the flip side, rise in total liabilities is attributable to: 73.78% increase in trade and other payables and an increment of 200.10% in current tax liabilities.

Also, shareholders fund rose significantly by 40.26% to N22.78 billion from N16.24 billion over the period.

The company’s profitability and efficiency ratios rose significantly.

Return on asset (ROA) increased to 9.98% while return on equity (ROE) stood at 1.06%. Pre-tax profit margin rose to 7.72% as at third quarter 2016 from 3.11% a year ago.

BUY RECOMMENDATION Total Plc’s management succeeded in curtailing its expenses in spite of growing prices and high cost of finance.

Hence, considerably improving profitability which otherwise would be eroded. In addition, we expect the modest leverage in the book of the Company

Valuation Metrics 10-Nov-16 Recommendation

BUY

Target Price (N)

317.73

Current Price (N)

276.03

Outstanding Share(m)

339.52

Market Cap (N'm)

93,718

Rolling EPS (N)

38.02

Rolling PE Ratio

7.26x

Projected EPS

38.59

Projected PE Ratio

7.15x Source: BGL Research

Q3 September 2016 Results Turnover (N'm)

145,481

Profit Before Tax (N'm)

17,004

Profit After Tax (N'm)

11,632

Pre-tax Margin (%)

7.72 Source: BGL Research

Full Year 2015 Results Turnover (N'm)

208,027

Profit Before Tax (N'm)

6,495

Profit After Tax (N'm)

4,047

Pre-tax Margin (%)

3.12 Source: BGL Research

Shareholding Information Shareholders

% Holding

Shareholders

% Holding

Total Societe Anonyme

45.24

Elf Aquitaine S.A.

16.48

Public Float

38.28 Source: Company Data 2015 AC, BGL Research

to allow it significant room for balance sheet optimisation and improved earnings per share towards ensuring maximization of shareholders return in the days ahead.

Based on the company’s current performance, we revised our revenue projection to N290.62 billion and also revised our net income projection to N13.10 billion for the full year December 2016.

This leads to a forward EPS of N38.59 Using an Industry PE multiple of 8.02x, we arrive at a three-month target price of N317.73 and since this represents a 15.11% upside potential on the current price, we therefore place a BUY on the stock of Total Nigeria Plc.

27

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • NOVERMBER 20, 2016

NIGERIA’S TOP 50 STOCKS BASED ON MARKET FUNDAMENTALS

ZENITH BANK PLC: Growth in top-line and bottom-line earnings reflects management effectiveness

Z

enith Bank Plc (Zenith Bank) recently released its third quarter results for the period ended September 30th 2016, showing an impressive performance in profitability and gross earnings. This was despite continuing tough operating environment faced by businesses in the ongoing financial year.

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

NON-INTEREST INCOME IMPACTS POSITIVELY ON TOPLINE EARNINGS Gross earnings for third quarter 2016 grew by 12.91% to N380.35 billion from N336.86 billion in the corresponding period of 2015; driven by a 18.18% increase in non-interest income to N94.68 billion from N80.12 billion over the same period.

Interest income grew notably by 11.27% to N285.67 billion from N256.74 billion in the third quarter of 2015, spurred mainly by a substantial 70% growth in interest from government bonds while growth in loans and advances also rose by 11%, indicating a notable rise in the last two quarters in spite of a borderline 1% rise recorded in the first quarter 2016. Interest expense as expected grew by a negligible 0.55% to N95.86 billion from N95.34 billion reported a year ago; influenced by impressive declines of 32.92% and 14.47% in the first quarter and half year respectively. A breakdown of the components of interest expenses shows that the decrease was triggered by a decline of 22% in interest expense on time deposits to N56.27 billion from N72.36 billion and 33% decline in interest expense on current account.

Hence, net interest income rose impressively by 17.61% to N189.82 billion from N161.40 billion recorded at the end of third quarter 2015.

NEVERTHELESS, AXA MANSARD INSURANCE PLC DELIVERED AN IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE DESPITE HARSH AND UNSTABLE BUSINESS TERRAIN

The rise in non-interest income was driven mainly by other income which grew by an outstanding 229.68% and a 3.12% growth in trading income.

Unexpectedly, commission on turnover and credit related fees recorded declines of 15.08% in the period ended, September 30th 2016.

EFFECTIVE EXPENSE MANAGEMENT COUPLED WITH GROWING OPERATING INCOME FURTHER IMPROVES OF PROFITABILITY Zenith Bank’s pre-tax profit grew by a striking figure 16.55% to N121.28 billion in September 2016 from N104.05 billion in September 2015. This was recorded as total operating income rose by a noteworthy figure of 13.2% to N262.64 billion from 232.00 billion, exceeding the 10.5% increase recorded in total operating expenses over the ninemonth period to N141.36 billion from N127.95 billion in September 2015. This is an indication of effective performance by the management as it effectively curtails its expenses while growing income despite tough operating terrain.

Net income, therefore, increased significantly by 20.44% to N100.07 billion from N83.09 billion in the corresponding period 2015. Furthermore, the bank maintains a borderline

rise of 1.13% in income tax to N21.20 billion in third quarter ended, September 2016 from N20.97 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2015.

BANKS PERFORMANCE FAILS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY RATIOS As at third quarter ended, September 2016, Zenith Bank grew its total assets by 16.16% to N4.65 trillion from N4.01 trillion recorded as at December 2015. The growth in loans and advances reflects the Bank risk nature as it appeared to have reacted appropriately to the current operating environment through a more cautious outlook on risk involved in each financial intermediation activities as it aims at reducing its nonperforming advances which has been maintained at the 2.2% threshold from December 2015; with general commerce leading in loans and advances and also having the highest rate of nonperforming loan.

Similarly, total liabilities rose by 16.01% to N3.96 trillion as at September 2016 from N3.41 trillion as at December 2015. The increase resulted from a 5.24% growth in total customer deposits to N2.69 trillion from N2.56 trillion at the end of full year 2015.

Impressive financial ratios reflect the Bank’s performance.

Return on average equity (ROAE) currently stands at 15.52% while return on average assets (ROAA) at 2.31%.

BUY RECOMMENDATION MAINTAINED Despite the macro-economic headwind in most African countries and Nigeria CBN’s startling monetary tightening policies in a recession period, which results into high cost of funds within the financial system, the Bank will be able to record more outstanding performance in line with general expectation if it continues to operate an efficient liquidity and cost cutting strategy as it strives to maintains a low NPL ratio. Similarly, with reinforced commitment towards an increased and effectively managed investment in technology and product innovations, customers’ business activities, solution and satisfaction will be significantly enhanced; hence will result in significant growth in Zenith

Valuation Metrics 8-July-16 Valuation Metrics

8-July-16

Target Price (N)

26.03

Current Price (N)

21.61

Market Cap (N'm)

636,008

Outstanding Shares (m)

29,431

Rolling EPS (N)

4.90

Rolling PE Ratio

4.41

Forward EPS

5.77

Forward PE

3.75 Source: NSE Data, BGL Research

Unaudited Third Quarter Results Gross Earnings (N'm)

380,352

Profit Before Tax (N'm) Profit After Tax (N'm) Pre-tax Margin (%)

121,275 100,074 31.88

Source: Company Data 2016, BGL Research

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

432,535 125,616 105,663 29.04

Source: Annual Report 2015, BGL Research

Shareholding Information Shareholders

% Holding

Jim Ovia, CON

9.38%

Stanbic Nominees Nigeria Limited/C011 - MAIN

7.38%

Stanbic Nominees Nigeria Limited/C002 - TRAD

7.24%

Stanbic Nominees Nigeria Limited/C001 - TRAD

5.75%

Free Float

70.25% Source: Annual Report 2015, BGL Research

Bank’s non-interest income.

While we believe Zenith Bank will enhance its profitability in the coming months, envisage forward earnings per share (EPS) of N4.92. However, using the current PE multiple and net assets valuation, we arrive at a 3-month target price of N18.01and therefore recommend a BUY since this represent an upside of 28.19% above the current price of 14.12.

28

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • november 20, 2016

MARKET NEWS

African Alliance Insurance Explains Delay in Filing 2015 Results Goddy Egene Shareholders of African Alliance Insurance Plc are to wait a bit longer to know the performance of the company for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Although the company ought to have presented its 2015 audited financial statements since March 31, 2016, the management of the Africa Alliance Insurance Plc has said the results would be further delayed.

According to the company, the delay is due to the fact that one its offshore major subsidiaries recently obtained approval of their financial statements from their primary regulator which is required for the preparation of group financial statements.

“We have, however, submitted the group financial statements to our primary regulator and are awaiting its approval. The company is working assiduously towards submitting the

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

audited financial statements on or before December 31, 2016,” the company said in a statement obtained from the NSE’s website.

Going by the performance of African Alliance Insurance for nine months ended September 31, 2015, shareholders should expect a poor harvest at the end of the year. The company’s nine months performance saw profit after tax fall by 83 per cent to N143 million, from N824 million in 2014.

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 17-Nov-2016, unless otherwise stated.

An analysis of the results showed that it posted gross premium written of N10.849 billion, up from N8.351 billion in the corresponding period of 2014. Gross premium income stood at N10.857 billion, compared with N8.327 billion in 2014. Reinsurance expenses jumped to N47.878 million from N24.731 million, while net underwriting income grew to N10.821 billion, from N8.308 billion.

Similarly, claims expenses soared from N1.725 billion

in 2014 to N4.155 billion, pushing the total underwriting expenses to N1.016 billion, from N767 million in 2014.

Administrative expenses also increased from N536 million to N857 million, causing profit after tax to fall to N143 million compared with N824 million in 2014.

Before African Alliance Insurance announced filing delay, another insurance firm, Goldlink Insurance Plc had attributed the delay in the submission of its 2015 audited

financial statements to some issues that need to be resolved with its auditors and primary regulator, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

In a notification to the exchange, the insurance firm, said it acknowledged how critical the timely disclosure of information is, it will submit the results by the second week of January 2017. Goldlink Insurance witnessed the intervention of NAICOM in 2012 following governance and financial crises.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Afrinvest Equity Fund 120.71 Nigeria International Debt Fund 219.32 ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.67 AIICO CAPITAL LTD Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price AIICO Money Market Fund ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name ARM Aggressive Growth Fund ARM Discovery Fund ARM Ethical Fund ARM Money Market Fund AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund AXA Mansard Money Market Fund CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Nigeria Global Investment Fund Paramount Equity Fund Women's Investment Fund FBN CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fbnquest.com; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name FBN Fixed Income Fund FBN Heritage Fund FBN Money Market Fund FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Equity Fund Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Coral Growth Fund

100.00

aaml@afrinvest.com Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 121.54 10.75% 220.45 9.58% info@acapng.com Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 0.68 9.58% ammf@aiicocapital.com Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

100.00

16.54%

enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Bid Price 12.01 281.46 22.25

Offer Price 12.37 289.94 22.92

Yield / T-Rtn -1.45% 0.70% 0.91%

1.00

1.00

15.40%

investmentcare@axamansard.com Bid Price 103.07

Offer Price 103.13

Yield / T-Rtn 3.10%

1.00 1.00 14.73% investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Bid Price 2.12 9.03

Offer Price 2.18 9.26

Yield / T-Rtn 4.37% -8.37%

82.88

85.01

2.19%

invest@fbnquest.com Bid Price 1,074.36 103.61 100.00 $101.44 $101.23 108.14

Offer Price 1,075.44 104.14 100.00 $102.31 $102.11

Yield / T-Rtn 4.85% -1.53% 13.92% 5.32% 5.11%

109.59

8.87%

fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Bid Price 0.91 2.53

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 0.92 0.55% 2.53 8.73% coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com

Bid Price 2,168.02

Offer Price 2,192.68

Coral Income Fund 2,070.73 INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price

Yield / T-Rtn -0.34%

2,070.73 9.46% enquiries@investment-one.com Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund

1.00

1.00

15.20%

Vantage Balanced Fund

1.64

1.65

0.37%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 0.99 1.01 11.32% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 996.79 996.79 -0.32% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: www.meristemwealth.com ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 9.24 9.32 -5.56% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 13.95% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.04 1.05 5.21% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.35 10.42 3.86% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 107.74 108.47 5.75% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.23 1.23 8.98% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 1,796.99 1,807.07 7.00% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 151.84 151.84 3.24% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.75 0.76 0.67% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 182.96 182.96 7.82% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 132.10 133.74 -2.38% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 16.46% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,380.24 7,477.63 2.68% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.14 1.16 8.40% United Capital Bond Fund 1.25 1.25 15.97% United Capital Equity Fund 0.68 0.69 -1.31% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.00% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 9.38 9.54 -1.62% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.02 11.12 -3.75% Zenith Income Fund 16.82 16.82 4.87%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.58 122.85

3.99% 6.04%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

8.54 73.08

8.64 74.46

-10.80% -12.19%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS

Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697

Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

2.51 7.17 11.82 15.63 128.68

2.55 7.25 11.92 15.83 130.68

8.58% 12.13% -5.79% -18.54% -

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

T H I S D AY SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2016

29

30

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2016 T H I S D AY

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

TOYIN ADEBOLA RIDING FOR A CAUSE

20.11.2016

32

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2016 T H I S D AY

NOVEMBER 20, 2016 • T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

57

COVER

TOYIN ADEBOLA

RIDING FOR A CAUSE

M

Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Vanessa Obioha had an encounter with Toyin Adebola and his two friends who have converted their passion for riding motorcycles for adventure and leisure into a public cause. The first campaign which was warmly received was the #heroesandhelmets which sent out a clarion call to pose for photographs with uniformed members of the armed forces

otorcycling may not be a common sport or hobby in Nigeria, but in the last few years, it is gaining a steady rise in popularity with the adventurous upper middle class, who acquire it for the sport and leisure value. The reference here is to the heavy duty motorcycles often called power bikes. However, motorcycles which come under the generic description of twowheel vehicles acquired a notoriety with an average Nigerian who is more familiar with its more commonly used cousin that has since been deployed to commercial transportation of moving persons and goods from one place to another. The illreputation of motorcycles stems from the reckless uses by commercial riders and resulting casualty, leading to regrettable death and permanent disability. If not for the speed factor and for the fact that it ferries them to their destination faster,

Adebola

most people will have nothing to do with commercial motorcycles. Inculcating a lifestyle of riding a bike for leisure therefore is very outlandish to Nigerians.

It is definitely a task meant for brave hearts.

For Toyin Adebola, however, motorcycling is a way of life. It is a fascinating means of transport with promises for thrills, to say the least.

Describing himself as an adventuresome person, Adebola got his love for bikes from his father. He relished the memory of sneaking to ride his father’s bike when the old man was resting at home. He was just 14 years old when he tried his hands on a bike. His father, a civil servant had just bought a motorcycle for his bookshop business.

Since he could neither hire anyone nor had the luxury of time to juggle the business with his white-collar job, the motorcycle laid idle most of the time.

This provided a perfect opportunity for Adebola to practice all he has watched his

father do with the vehicle. His old man according to Adebola was very fascinated with engines. He could be found frequently opening the bonnet of his car to check the engine.

“He loved and rode motorcycles.

Maybe I got it from him because I noticed that anytime my father was around cars, he was opening up the hood, checking out what the engines are like. He was fascinated by cars so it’s possible I inherited it from him because I can’t find any other explanation.”

Watching his father ride his Vesper bike as a young boy, Adebola also dreamt of mounting the power machine and riding through the streets of Lagos. He didn’t have to wait for long.

The journey to his adventure on motorcycles started four years ago.

By then, he was a graduate of Metal Works Technology from Ahmadu Bello University. Although, he admitted that he actually went to school out of necessity than passion. At the time, the Nigerian

government focused on skill acquisition so there were lots of opportunities for acquiring basic vocational skills. He would later discover another talent of his that propelled him to his current employment status: Sales. Adebola found it easy to sell stuff. Before he knew it, he was introduced to the petroleum industry.

Today, he consults for a petroleum company in Lagos. All the while, Adebola never stopped nurturing his dream of flying through the streets of Lagos on power bike. He loved to travel and very much wanted to explore the world and nature on motorcycle.

That dream finally became real in 2012.

“One day, I saw a red cruiser on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island. I kept noticing it for one year on that road and I liked it. I think it was a Honda 750.

For one year, I didn’t buy the bike but I

WHEN WE RODE INTO KAINJI LAKE NATIONAL PARK, I THOUGHT WE WERE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY BECAUSE IT IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU SEE IN PLACES LIKE KENYA AND SOUTH AFRICA WHERE THE LIONS DWELL. LET’S NOT GO THAT FAR. MY FRIEND DELE AND I DO A LOT OF OFFROAD RIDING IN LAGOS. YOU WILL BE SHOCKED THAT IN ELEKO AREA, JUST RIDING IN THE SAND ALONE IS VERY EXHILARATING, UNBELIEVABLE. RECENTLY, DELE, RON AND I RODE ALONG THE SEASHORE FROM TAKWA BAY TO BADAGRY AND I COULD NOT BELIEVE SUCH BEAUTIFUL PRISTINE COASTLINE EXISTED IN NIGERIA

58

T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R • November 20, 2016

COVER MYSELF AND OPEYEMI FODAKE WHO IS AN ARCHITECT, RODE FROM NIGERIA THROUGH WEST AFRICA TO NORTH AFRICA AND WE DID ABOUT SIX COUNTRIES IN EUROPE ON OUR MOTORCYCLES... THE MOST INTERESTING PART IS THAT WE GOT EVERYTHING DOCUMENTED PROPERLY ON FILM. WE DID THAT LAST YEAR. WE HIRED A BRITISH FILM COMPANY CALLED TANGLEWOOD TO FILM THE ADVENTURE. ONE OF THE GENTLEMEN FROM TANGLEWOOD FLEW INTO NIGERIA AND RODE WITH US ALL THE WAY TO EUROPE AND BACK TO LAGOS. THE DOCUMENTARY IS ABOUT 1 HOUR AND 45 MINUTES AND HAS WON ABOUT THREE DIFFERENT AWARDS

(From Rear) Dele ‘Bami’ Bamidele, Ron Grace and Toyin Adebola

kept saying I would like to have it. On a particular day, I said what the heck and bought it. That was four years ago. I think I have a funny personality, if I start something, I take it to the extreme. I finish it. I always want to do it to a level that in my mind I am convinced that I have done it like every other person in the world.

I bought the bike and started riding all over Lagos. Before long, I changed the motorcycle to something bigger in order to travel in more comfort. Initially, I told my family I was only going to ride in Lagos for leisure. Then I went to Abeokuta, Epe and before you know it, I was going to Ilorin.”

And that was not all.

Along the line, Adebola met likeminded personalities who have unbridled passion for motorcycles. One of them is Dele Bamidele, a young man of mixed race. He runs the Eleko Motor Race in Lagos. The other is Ron, an American whom he connected with on Facebook.

The trio struck a likeness for each other.

Not a few have described them as the three musketeers.

With Dele in Nigeria, Adebola explored the country with him. They travelled to different parts of the country and unraveled exotic locations. This, in a way, enhanced Adebola’s knowledge of Nigeria. For instance, he discovered the various National Parks in the country.

“Most people don’t know we have national parks in Nigeria. We have seven national parks and we have only been to two: Kainji Lake National park which is about 4,000 square kilometres, bigger than Lagos state. We have been to Cross River National Park which is also bigger than 4,000 square kilometres. We are talking about the tropical rain forest. Kainji Lake is pure savannah. When we rode into Kainji Lake National Park, I thought we were in another country because it is exactly what you see in places like Kenya and South Africa where the lions dwell. Let’s not go that far. My friend Dele and I do a lot of off-road riding in Lagos. You will be shocked that in Eleko area, just riding in the sand alone is very exhilarating, unbelievable. Recently, Dele, Ron and I rode along the seashore from Takwa Bay to Badagry and I could not

Ron Grace

believe such beautiful pristine coastline existed in Nigeria. There are many beautiful things to see and that’s just in Lagos. A few days ago, we rode to IjebuOde- my hometown, so beautiful. You know experiencing nature, the red clay, the sound of birds, there’s definitely a lot to say about Nigeria.”

Out of this sea of great discoveries, Adebola decided to create, ‘Out of Nigeria’. This is an initiative promoted by Adebola under his motorcycle club ‘The Eagle Riders’. The original plan was to travel to West Africa, North Africa and six countries in Europe.

“We planned it for two years and myself and Opeyemi Fodake who is an architect, rode from Nigeria through West Africa to North Africa and we did about six countries in Europe on our motorcycles. Everybody was telling us that it was cheaper to ride here and when we get to Europe, we can hire bikes to ride. But we wanted those bikes to come from Nigeria because a lot of Europeans who ride down this way bring their bikes, so we wanted to ride to Europe with bikes carrying our plate numbers. The most

interesting part is that we got everything documented properly on film.

“We did that last year. We hired a British film company called Tanglewood to film the adventure. One of the gentlemen from Tanglewood flew into Nigeria and rode with us all the way to Europe and back to Lagos.

The documentary is about 1 hour and 45 minutes and has won about three different awards.”

From that concept, another initiative was born.

As Nigeria’s Independence Day Celebration beckoned, Adebola was inspired to do something patriotic. This time, he named it ‘Heroes and Helmets’.

The idea was to create a campaign that will pay homage to the armed offices.

Adebola figured it would be nice to have an unorthodox way of celebrating members of the Nigerian Armed Forces on the country’s 56th independence anniversary.

From being a figment of his imagination, he went about bringing the vision to reality. The campaign was rolled out. Members of the public were asked to

take selfies with members of the armed forces and post it on different social media platforms with the #heroesandhelmets. It didn’t end there.

Fun and adventure seekers were also invited to watch the motorcyclists explore the coastline from the Lagos Lagoon to Badagry. They plied off-roads and the experience was very exhilarating for Ron who was visiting Africa for the first time.

He recalled his experience.

“This is completely different from the events I have been in Ireland and Mexico.

It’s like going to the moon. The culture, and there are great places to ride. That’s the first focus. Then you come here and start meeting the people, the real people, that’s really fun. I love it here. Toyin has been a fantastic host. It’s amazing.

It’s been great to ride along with these guys. The scenery is beautiful. I have so many experiences and I’m trying to give you one so forgive me, I’m trying to trip over myself. At a point, you have to concentrate on the path at the front because there’s sand. There’s a picture where we were all in a line and I’m like this is beautiful. This is a dream. And I’m also on my wheel, trying to keep control of the sand. So I have to focus on the pathway. Sometimes, I look at the pictures afterwards and I’m like wow, this is really happening. It’s a dream. I’ve dreamt of this since I was little, me coming here, doing this, I see it in documentaries, now I’m here to see this. It is real. It’s been fantastic.”

The feedback was absolutely mind blowing for Adebola.

“It was unbelievable. We started by saying let’s break a record with selfies taken with members of the armed forces but that wasn’t the drive. The drive was to get Nigerians out of their comfort

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COVER

Offroad Ride on Independence Day

zone. You know how civilians react to members of the armed forces. Both the negative and positive, for us, were all positive responses because it stimulated conversations and then we were surprised by the thousands of people who actually responded positively.

They took pictures and posted with the #heroesandhelmets. It was beautiful because we did something that no one has ever done before. It was only a day and we got about 3,000 people to participate.”

Heroes and Helmets is among other charities Adebola spearheads. He donates and supports orphanages, motherless babies homes and correctional facilities in Illorin. For Adebola, charity goes beyond donations, it must be done with patriotism. This explains why his club is not driven by numbers but by compassion to promote Nigeria.

Apart from his love for motorcycles, Adebola has been able to tap into other skills like photography and documentaries which were previously dormant. He ensured that each adventure is well documented for record-keeping because at the end of the day, the works will always speak for you long after you are gone.

Despite the fun and thrills of the motorcycle, there are many obstacles.

However, he did not list the dangerous ones as one is wont to envisage. Dele believes that should a rider be confronted with hostility, it has a lot to do with the personality on the power bike.

“I think it’s pretty much how you react and how you behave generally in life. With the right spirit, it’s hard to encounter such. I have never encountered such bad situations. Generally, Nigerians are kind. You really need to be nasty to bring out that kind of nasty experience.”

Ron on the other hand tackled it from a philosophical angle. “On a motorcycle, you are not riding like in a car where you are covered and the windows are rolled up. You are exposed to elements like when it rains, you get wet, you put your helmet on so people can see you. There’s

a lot of eye contact so you connect with people in traffic and those walking by. I think that you are putting yourself out there. I think you are opening up yourself and saying that you are not a threat to anyone.”

Toyin, however, felt that bikers attract attention and curiosity but that in any way has not helped to get a softer landing for them in many African countries where they spend long hours crossing borders, from one country into another “We never really experienced hostility because I think once you have your proper documentation, there is no problem. We do a lot of research before we hit the road, especially when we are riding outside Nigeria. We find out what documentations we need. You can’t get all the information but you try to get the most information. All the time, we ride with the right documentation so we never had any problem as long as the documentation is right.

“There are some papers that we get along the way, particularly when you are riding through ECOWAS and you have all your lesse passe, you really don’t have any problem. You have your insurance, hotel reservation, and all that, we’ve never really had any problem. In Europe, because of the common Shenghen visa, all the countries we crossed, nobody stopped us at the border. We did seven countries in Europe and it was just easy. From France to Italy, we crossed four countries, not one single person stopped us even when we went through a significant immigration in Switzerland, nobody stopped us or said anything to us. But to cross from Nigeria to Benin Republic, you can spend three hours at the border; from Benin Republic to Togo, you can spend an hour and a half; Togo to Ghana, four hours; Ghana to Ivory Coast, averagely between three and four hours. Between Nigeria and Ivory Coast, you can spend 12 hours doing border crossing. It’s more difficult crossing borders in Africa because of all the documentation. I think that consumes time. Other than that, we don’t really have challenges.”

RonGrace_Toyin Adebola_Dele ‘Bami’ Bamidele

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ENTERTAINMENT

with NseoboNg okoN-ekoNg 08114495324, nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com

The Wedding Party Premiere Reaches Fever Pitch

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arely a week after announcing its headline sponsor, Dubai Tourism and other incentives for the Nigerian premiere of Mo Abudu’s new movie, ‘The Wedding Party’, the organizers have announced a major feat, congratulating itself for a sold out event!

The highly anticipated movie is set to thrill the Nigeria audience following the positive reviews it received from major screenings in film festivals like Toronto International Film Festival and Jo’burg Film Festival.

The groundbreaking sales could only signify one thing for the producers ELFIKE (a body consisting of EbonyLife Films, FilmOne Distribution, Inkblot Productions and Koga Studios) : that they have done a good promotional job. The film is set for the cinemas on 16.

The Wedding Party is a contemporary romantic comedy that succinctly captures the typical drama at weddings.

Set in the urban city of Lagos, the film revolves round a 24 year-old art gallery owner and only daughter of her parents, Dunni Coker (Adesua Etomi) who is about to marry the love of her life, IT entrepreneur Dozie (Banky W) but a lot of things go awry at the much-prepared ceremony.

Embedded in the tapestry of the movie are topics that are common in families. From unemployment to self-fulfilment, envy to admiration, uncertainty to trust, denial to acceptance, all of these are perfectly mixed to give audience a comical relief while addressing these core issues. It also highlight the usual stress in setting up a wedding ceremony. From the asoebis to the guests list, with an elaborate display of Efik culture and Nigerian foods.

Veteran actor Sola Sobowale gives life to the Kemi Adetiba film. She lights up the screen with her comical expressions and gestures, reminding viewers that she has not lost her Toyin Tomato touch which was first glimpsed in the Wale Adenuga’s

KALAKUTA ON ASHA’S MIND Afropop/ Dancehall sensation, Asha Gangali has released KalakutaStateofMind EP, which includes the wave making single ‘Badman’. The single has garnered significant number of downloads within its short period of release, and is currently on the MTN Top 10 Countdown.

The energetic and multitalented act revealed that the song was inspired by Fela and Femi Kuti, “Fela in the sense that Fela is the ‘Original Badman’ and Femi Kuti’s ‘Dem Bobo’ baseline inspired the Afro beat elements on this record, this is my new sound , a blend of Afro Beat and Dancehall” says Asha Gangali. is Currently the song enjoying massive airplay on radio stations worldwide and night clubs.

The KalakutaStateofMind EP is available on iTunes, amazon, mtn plus, techno boombox and all other online stores.

HOW STAR MUSIC TREK ROCKED OWERRI The city of Owerri had so much fun as Star Music The Trek came to town at the Dan Anyiam Stadium.

The host of the night LaffUp cracked the audience up with hilarious jokes that had everyone reeling with laughter. The concert kicked off with a video clip of “My City Rocks”, theme song of Star Music The Trek 2016.

Mr. Raw performed his verse of “My City Rocks” to the delight of the packed crowd at Dan Anyiam Stadium. Their reaction was an indication the night was off to a good start. He ended his performance with the track titled “Blessing”.

Pop act, Runtown did not hesitate to

Banky W with Adesua Etomi

TV series ‘Super Story’. Playing the role of Dunni’s mother, she is the loving wife every husband craves for and a doting mother, well, which most daughters may be overwhelmed by her love and care. For instance, she made sure she belonged to her husband’s kitchen by preparing ‘Agoyin’ beans for her guests.

Inspired by a wedding party she attended, Executive Producer, Mo’Abudu couldn’t resist the urge to tell the story.

Despite her charming aura, Sobowale displayed a competitive side in showing her inlaw, Dozie’s mother, that she is also influential.

Her competitive nature is spurred by Iretiola Doyle’s uppity. Expectedly, she dons her character with acute professionalism despite being surrounded by hilarious characters.

The only pitiable person in the film is Richard Mofe Damijo who is married to Doyle. He was forced to endure her coldness and harsh statements.

The Wedding Party has a lot of memorable comical characters like Zainab Balogun, the

give his best to fans in Owerri. He started with his “Lagos to Kampala” song before delivering other hits such as ‘Domot’, ‘Bend Down, Pause’, ‘Gallardo’ and ‘The Banger’.

Humblesmith was grateful to the cheering crowd for turning up to enjoy the premium concert as he sang “Osinachi remix”. He kept his performance indigenous as he also performed the iconic ‘African Style’ song by Bright Chimeze with a team of back-up dancers jiving to the Zigima dance routine and ended with his popular “Boogatti” song.

When MI took the stage, he thrilled his fans with amazing songs from his catalogue. He performed his popular songs, Bullion van, ‘My Belle’, ‘Anoti’, ‘Number One’, “Bad Belle” The opportunity to present a surprise that stunned revelers came during the Star dance party.

Kelly Handsome made an Asha appearance in the crowd, singing his popular hit song, “Maga Don Pay”.

KCee had a marvelous performance at Star Music The Trek in Owerri.

When he got on stage, the crowd cheered in excited frenzy. KCee sang “Pull Over” and “Limpopo” to the admiration of his Owerri fans.

Olamide continued the party on stage as he performed many hits back-to-back from “Durosoke” to “Story for the gods”, “Shakiti Bobo” and “Lagos Boys”.

Flavour capped the night as he came on stage to perform his set. The well-built singer had the ladies screaming uncontrollably as the fun peaked. With his live band, Flavour delivered a commanding performance as he blended most of his popular songs in seamless beat waves.

ambitious wedding planner clearly burdened by the rivalry between the two families who learnt the bitter way that her ‘oyinbo’ accent made her less admirable. There was also popular Saka, the typical wedding guest who consumes food and takes away most souvenirs.

Alibaba’s character as Dunni’s father was somehow weak as acting proved not be his strongest gift. Somkele Idhalama didn’t really bring her best in the movie. She was supposed to be the strong, supportive and sassy girlfriend, Dunni but ended up giving feeble attempts at her character.

The lead actors however had great chemistry on set. Adesua who had to wear her wedding dress for the two weeks the movie was shot relished her character. It is the first time she is playing the role of a bride and she enjoyed it, mostly her wedding attire designed by iconic fashion designer Mai Atafo. She had to swim through the murky waters of doubts on her future husband’s

Opa Williams Hands Over Nite of a Thousand Laughs to Mallam Yankee Notable showbiz entrepreneur, Opa Williams has relinquished production of the comedy brand, Nite of a Thousand Luaghs, which he created and nurtured for 20 years.

The show will be produced for an initial 24-monthperiod by Kehinde Adegbite of Yankee Entertainment.

Williams who has delved fully into film production, the latest being the much publicized The Three Wise Men, starring Richard Mofe-Damijo, Zack Orji and Victor Olaotan.

At the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Adegbite in Lagos, Opa expressed optimism that the latter would carry on the legacy of the show with the requisite passion.

He noted that Adegbite, despite having hosted and managed other successful entertainment events across the country, had through his Yankee Entertainment, produced Nite of a Thousand Laughs in the last five years in Abuja, Benin City and Owerri.

DBANJ IN EMERGENCY LEAD ON NMVA 2016 NOMINATION LIST Organisers of the Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA) have released the list of nominees for the 2016 edition. It will be recalled that event for last year did not hold, but the list of winners was later released this year, with an explanation that all adjudication processes had been concluded before the 2015 event was postponed.

This year’s edition marks 10 years since the inception of the award.

Some of the leading artistes with most awards include Falz, Olamide, Burna Boy and Dbanj. The award has 23 categories with Dbanj’s ‘Emergency’ showing how one song can make all the difference.

‘Emergency’ is listed in six categories ‘Best Afrobeat Video’, ‘Best Use of Dance in a Video’, ‘Best Use of Costume’ and ‘Video of the Year’, while it recommends the

fidelity and her seemingly mother-in-law’s dislike for her.

Banky W, on the other hand tried as much as he could to meet up with the professionals on set. Playing the role of a bad-guy-turned-good, he got great help from rapper Ikechukwu, his friend and best man; and the elegant Enyinna Nwigwe.

The director is enthusiastic about the film because it is her first feature film. She is honoured that Mo’Abudu found her worthy to direct the film.

Set to hold its grand premiere on November 26, 2016, at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, the choice of sponsorship was in line with the Dubai Tourism’s Vision 2020 initiative. The Vision was approved in May 2013 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al, Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, as a strategic roadmap to attracting 20 million visitors per year by 2020, doubling the number welcomed in 2012.

Speaking on the partnership, Mo’ Abudu said “Nigerians have a warm affection for Dubai. It is a favourite for destination weddings, family holidays and business trips. We are proud of this partnership and we look forward to treating some lucky cinema goers to an unexpected discovery of a city that we all love.”

The sponsorship also comes with amazing prizes including luxury accommodation, theme park passes and helicopter rides courtesy Arabian Falcon, IMG Worlds of Adventure and Alpha Tours Helicopter Rides respectively.

Real-life couples-to-be can participate in the unique ‘Win with the Wedding Party’ promo and win free bridal make-up from Zaron Cosmetics, wedding cakes from Cakes by Tosan, KOTS Catering, complementary venue hire courtesy Dorchester Events Centre, Styling by Mai Atafo and invitation card design by The Wedding Store.

creative skill of Unlimited LA who is listed in the categories of ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Cinematographer’ for his work on ‘Emergency’.

Falz is nominated for ‘Bad, Baddo, Baddest’ in which he collaborates with Olamide and Davido in the ‘Best Pop Extra’ category. For another collaboration with Poe and Chyn, Falz is on the NMVA list in the ‘Best Afro Hip Hop’ category. He is listed in the ‘Best Mainstream Hip Hop’ category as well.

Olamide’s ‘Abulesowo’ fetched him a nomination in the ‘Best Indigenous Concept in a Video’ category. He is also listed in the ‘Best Afrobeat Video’ category. Another artiste who made a good showing on the list of nominees is Burna Boy. NIHOTOUR TRAINS JOURNALISTS Director General of the National institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Mrs. Chika Balogun has charged travel journalists and security agents to adopt a positive disposition to promoting Nigeria.

She said this at a workshop in Lagos. The theme of the training was ‘Global Tourism Ethics and Ethics on Brand Nigeria.’ The session was attended by personnel from the Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) and Nigerian Civil Defense and Security Corps and tourism journalists.

According to her, if the task of making Nigeria one of the top 20 destinations in the world is to be achieved then Nigeria has been promoted in positive light and branded accurately in line with global tourism ethics. Travel journalists and security agents, she said has a great role to play in this regard.

Therefore, she said that there is the need to equip journalists and security agents on the appropriate ethics that would help in the branding of the country, adding that NIHOTOUR has decided to bring together both the journalists and security agents based on what she said is “our collective

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ENTERTAINMENT resolve to promote Nigeria for a better day ahead.”

Mrs. Balogun then appealed to the travel journalists to make the necessary effort to promote Nigeria tourism in positive light while she called on the security agents to cooperate with tourism operators in protecting the country and ensuring that the right controls and measures are put in place to secure the country.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who was the special guest of honour, was represented by the Director of Domestic Tourism and Control in the ministry, Mrs. Ada Okoli.

The event had two technical sessions with one session devoted to the training of the security agents and the other to the travel journalists with experts on security, brand and destination building, tourism ethics and other related topics taking them through the rudiments of the topics.

SAHARA GROUP’S 20 FILM EXTRAPRENEURS EMERGE Sahara Group’s ‘Grooming Film Extrapreneurs’ competition has produced 20 finalists following rigorous screening of over 150 docu-film entries by celebrated Nigerian movie producer and director, Kunle Afolayan.

Describing the screening process as “nostalgic and indicative of a bright future for the film industry,” Afolayan said he swelled with pride all through exercise, reassured that Nigerian youths will always rise to the occasion – when given the right platforms.

“We saw everything we were looking out for in good measure; overall film-making capability, style of storytelling, subject matter interpretation, audio and visual quality, aesthetics as well as understanding of the perspective of a story. This has been a hugely successful project for Sahara Group and my team and we are confident that many success stories will emerge from these film makers.”

Powered by the Sahara Foundation, ‘Grooming Film Extrapreneuers’ is a novel initiative designed to provide a hub for budding film makers to hone their skills through collaboration and access to shared expertise.

Unveiled in June 2016, the competition required young film makers to create 15-minute documentaries that capture and celebrate entrepreneurs at work across the nation, using the theme: My Nigeria, My Platform…Nigeria through an entrepreneur’s eyes.

The shortlisted 20 finalists include: Albert Adeshoga, Iniabasi Udosen, Babtunde Oyewunmi, Heaven Kalu, Azeez Hussein, Onome Egba, Dorothy Njemanze, Ashkay Makar, David Medugu and Alabi Kayode.

Others are: Jude Dare, Efe Edosio, Joseph Duke, Oluwatobi Yeye, Hamed Adedeji, Georg Nakanda, Chineye Balogun, Ezekiah Balogun, Daniel Ecwalu and Victor Enam.

COURT UPHOLDS PRETTY OKAFOR’S ELECTION The motion filed by one Chris Mba on behalf of himself and members of an illegal body purportedly called PMAN Caretaker Committee in Suit no. NICN/ LA/632/2016 has been dismissed by Hon. Justice B.B. Kanyip of National Industrial Court Lagos Division. While hearing the application seeking to set aside the recent election which produced Mr. Pretty Okafor as President, Sunny Neji 1st Vice President, Zakky Azzay 2nd Vice President and Tolu Obey Fabiyi as National Treasurer respectively among others, the presiding Judge Hon. Justice B.B. Kanyip held that in the absence of any law empowering the Hon Minister of Labor and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige and the Registrar of Trade Union Mrs. Mborgu to appoint a Caretaker Committee to run and manage the affairs of a registered Trade Union like PMAN, that the application lacks merit and was therefore dismissed accordingly.

REAL FACE OF AN AFRICAN CHILD EMERGES Thirteen year-old, Ezewuzie Collins recently beat 16 other contestants to emerge overall winner at the grand finale of The Real Face Of An Africa Child competition which took place recently at The Golden Tulip Hotel, Festac, Lagos.

Ezewuzie Collins won a brand new Hyundai i0 car and education scholarship from primary to university level, while five year-old Gwendolyn Mesembe Okon who came second won 1million naira and scholarship from primary level to

Cast and crew of 76 at the Nigerian premiere

What is 76 Bringing to the Cinemas?

Finally, the much-talked about movie, military action and love thriller, 76 begins nationwide screening at the cinemas this week, starting on November 25. In the ground-breaking fashion that is has carried out every engagement concerning this movie, the producers have promised cinema goers, an experience like no other.

According to Executive Producer, Tonye Princewill, “this will be a total experience. In every single cinema across the country, we are going to have a members of the cast and crew, signing autographs and engaging the cinema viewing public in many creative ways that have never been seen before in this part of the world. We are not willing to disclose some of these strategies. We can assure everyone who comes to see the movie of a very rewarding experience.”

The nationwide screening of 76 has been themed, ‘HisStory, HerStory, OurStory’ to reflect gripping story line which conveys the narrative through the live of the lead actors,

Ramsey Nouah and Rita Dominic and how its ties into the collective history of every Nigerian.

Some of the scenario that movie goers will be confronted with include cast and crew going round the country signing autographs, selling tickets behind the box office, taking pictures with ticket holders, doing raffle draws for prizes and giving tickets to winners.

There will be something to win every day in every cinema across the country from free tickets to weekend breaks and even free international flights and dinner with the stars.

Rita Dominic, Ramsey Nouah, Chidi Mokeme, Daniel K Daniel, Ibinabo Fiberesinma, Memry Savanhu, Ada Ofoegbu, Debo Oguns and Adams Shuaibu will all be involved along with the genius - Izu Ojukwu who is the director of the film. Adonijah Owiriwa who starred, produced and coexecutive produced the film with Prince Tonye T.J.T Princewill will also be on the tour..

Ezewuzie Collins winner of Real Face of an African Child contest with his mother

university level. The third winner, Divine Akponyoma, 10, also won N500,000 with a scholarship from primary school to university level.

Nollywood veteran, Emeka Ike, Singer, Sunny Nneji and film maker Triumph Abigail Dominion were the judges.

The competition saw the kids display their various talents which include Modeling, rapping, ballet dancing, magic, poetry and more. Also in one of segments of the competition, the kids were also dressed in their native attire as they danced to their local dance and also spoke in their native language.

MATT WESTSIDE RECORDS SIGNS NEW ACT Fast rising record label Matt Westside Records recently announced its latest addition, a young male vocalist/songwriter, Deshinor.

Born Adeshina Joshua Aromolaran, the 20-year-old final year student of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos joins Henry Knight, who was previously announced in August 2016 at a boat cruise.

“All we intend to do is invest hugely

on mainly talented artistes, we have a long way to go and we are just starting. I want to believe we have done a great job scouting for these acts and we are more than confident with Deshinor,” said Matthew Fab Ebhodaghe, the CEO of Matt Westside.

The announcement of Deshinor saw the release of the talented vocalist’s first single.

Titled ‘New Wave’, the mid tempo song is produced by Kriz Beatz and is expected to become an anthem on radio, clubs and on the street because of the street appeal and the song’s theme.

“I am an ardent listener of music, and I have experimented with a lot of sounds before getting signed to Matt Westside, but as cliché as this sounds, I am in music to tell a story with my music, and make an impact,” says Deshinor.

Influenced by Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Ade and Asa, the musician’s sound can be described as a fresh and unique fusion of Afro Pop, Highlife and Afro Soul.

LUZOL, MAI ATAFO, AYO VAN ELMER SET FOR FASHION ART FUSION 3 The stage is set for the third edition of

thee Fashion Art Fusion. In partnership with the Federal Government, this year’s theme ‘Wear Nigeria’ is geared to a call to action: buy more Nigeria-made fabrics.

For the first time, the fashion and art show will hold an exhibition where madein-Nigeria fabrics and other artworks will be on display.

Notable designers that will walk the runway include iconic designer Mai Atafo, Ayo Van Elmer, Ejiro Amos Tafiri, alongside the brain behind the fashion show, Luzol.

Set to hold on November 27 this year’s show will be a celebration of fashion, culture and style.

The man behind the idea Austin Aimankhu is upbeat about the show and invite both fashion and art lovers to come and have a lovely experience at the Oriental Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos where the event will hold.

DREAM RECORDS SIGNS HYPA Record label Dream Records recently signed its first acts, Hypa. Made up of two brothers who can be mistaken for twins and share similar style with the popular duo P-Square, the musicians started their musical journey from their neighbourhood in Bariga.

They were born Ekemode Rasheed Enitan and Ekemode Ganiu Omobolaji and to civilised parents who urged them to get educated before plunging into a musical career.

Growing up, the duo were nicknamed Hypa because of their energetic exuberance which is clearly seen in their new video ‘Alert’. The danceable hit tells the story of hardship that turned to blessings through a miraculous call for a job appointment. The twins related that a similar event happened in their life which inspired them to write the song. They described their style as a contemporary Afro Highlife which is heavily influenced by veteran artistes like Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey.

Dream Records signed a four-year contract with the brothers and express optimism that the relationship would be a lasting one and free of scandals.

“We feel this is the right time to announce our first acts Hypa because we have listened to what they have to offer and we are convinced that they have what it takes to compete in the Nigerian music scene. We are passionate about what is in the pipeline and we are looking forward to discovering others, “ said the CEO of the label Kehinde Oni. KENNY SAINT BROWN RETURNS For the first time in her very successful 18-year career, renowned musician, label executive and politician Kenny Saint Best has announced plans to hold her first ever concert in a church.

Tagged ‘KSB live in worship’, the music concert will hold on Sunday, November 20, 2016 at RCCG The Kings Court, 3 Keystone Bank Crescent, Off Adeyemo Alakija Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The concert will also feature an all women line up of musicians and entertainers including, Yinka Davies, Monique, Essence, Bola Udom, Efe Nathan, Lepacious Bose, Vibe Dancers and many more.

Speaking on the concert and its concept, KSB says, ‘I’ve had two different concerts in the past at Muson Center, but this one is very special to me because it’s the first concert I’ll be doing in a church auditorium and it’s an all worship concert’.

Kenny Saint Brown

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EVENT

Rotary Club Ikoyi Supports Basic Education and Literacy Campaign Abimbola Akosile

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otary Club (RC) of Ikoyi Metropolitan has supported its drive at rendering service to youths in its locality, by sponsoring a debate competition for schools aimed at pushing the campaign for basic education and literacy for children.

President of the club, Rotarian Florence Egbeyemi speaking at the event said the sponsorship of the 6th edition of the Annual Senior Secondary School Debate Competition was part of the key projects of Rotary Club Ikoyi Metro aimed at grooming future leaders, who not only have built the right mental capacity but will also be able to communicate their thought processes easily to the society.

This year ’s edition was won

by Balogun Aminat and Sode Omowunmi who represented their school, Girls Senior Secondary Grammar School Obalende, Lagos and took away a cash prize and plaque for their school. Both pupils thanked the Rotary Club for organising the competition and said schools around the Obalende/Ikoyi axis of Lagos always looked forward to the keenly contested event.

Egbeyemi said in her tenure as President of Rotary Club Ikoyi Metro, her aim has been to continue to foster avenues of service for the club namely Club Service with focus on strengthen-

L-R: President Rotary Club of Ikoyi Metro, Florence Egbeyemi presenting a plaque to Balogun Aminat and Sode Omowunmi of Girls Senior Secondary Grammar School, Obalende, winners of the 2016 Annual Rotary Club Ikoyi Metro Secondary Schools Debate Competition in Lagos…recently

ing fellowship and ensuring the effective functioning of the club; and Vocational Service aimed at encouraging Rotarians to serve others through their vocations

and to practice high ethical standards.

There is also Community Service aimed at improving life in the local community; Youth

Service for youths, and International Service in order to expand the club’s humanitarian reach and promote world understanding and peace.

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he remains of late community leader and educationist Chief (Dr.) Alexander Omotoso Obateru were laid to rest recently at Eruku, Kwara State. Here are some faces at the burial ceremony.

L-R: Mrs Adenike Aruwajoye (daughter), His widow, Chief (Mrs) Omoyeni Obateru and his nephew, Pastor Moses Obateru, at the funeral mass

R-L: Kennie and Taye Obateru, their mum, Mrs Omoyeni Obateru and Mrs Adenrele Adejumo (daughter) at the gravesite

L-R: Dr Kennie Obateru , Dr John Obateru and Engr. Francis Obateru (sons) at the funeral service

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EVENT

Testimony of Determination and Commitment Vanessa Obioha

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ecently, Emzor Pharmaceutical Limited marked its 30th anniversary. Floated in 1985 with pilot production until 1988 when it became an established pharmaceutical manufacturing company, the company has grown in leaps and bounds, particularly with the introduction of Emzor Paracetamol, about 30 years ago. The brand is one of the company’s leading brands of analgesic across the continent.

At the event, founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Emzor Pharmaceutical limited, Mrs. Stella Okoli explained that the roaring success the company recorded over the year is due to the determination of the company to provide a channel where a wide range of high quality pharmaceutical products that meet international standards at affordable and competitive prices will

L-R: Regulatory Affairs Manager, Emzor Pharmaceutical, Mrs. Chineno Umeh; EDG, Dr. Uzoma Ezeke, and GMD, Dr. Stella Okoli OON at the 30 years anniversary of Emzor Paracetamol and unveiling of special anniversary pack in Lagos…recently

be made readily available to all and sundry.

She further reiterated the commit-

ment of the company to produce and deliver flawless products on time and every time. This, she said, is the act of

giving unlimited wellness to millions of Nigerians, which the company has been consistently doing over the years.

“What we are celebrating today is the testimony of our unwavering commitment to provide our customers with healthcare products and services of consistently high quality, made readily available at prices which create value for all stakeholders. This is what we have been doing and we shall continue to ensure that quality and affordable pharmaceutical products are readily available to an average Nigerian at all times,” she stated.

While consistently maintaining its vision of being “the leading healthcare company in Africa through the provision of world-class products and services”, Emzor Pharmaceutical has over the years, from the modest beginning of four products transformed to a company that has in its stable over 100 different world-class products.

Educator Holds Network Marketing Party

L-R: Ayoola Sadare, Mrs Oni and an attendee

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oremost educator and proprietress of Standard Bearers Nursery and Primary School, Lekki, Mrs. Modupe Adeyinka Oni, recently held the maiden edition of her Network Marketing party ‘Health To Wealth Sessions’

Q

organised by the GP Team and powered by Inspiro Productions at Freedom Park, Lagos.

Oni said the aim of the party is to provide an alternative to income earners, especially in the face of the country officially going into recession. According to her, against the

perception of majority of Nigerians, network marketing, is more about personal development, so people have to understand that it actually is a real business, and it’s one of the biggest industries in the world today.

“It is a $2.8 trillion industry. But we laugh at it here in Nigeria. We think it can’t work, we think it’s a scam and we make fun of people who are doing it but really and truly, we should be laughing at ourselves because in this economy that we have now, things are so hard and one way that any individual can actually come out of the whole economic thing is through network marketing,” she said.

One of the things she set out to do with the event, according to her, is to let people know that it doesn’t matter what the product is.

“All you need to understand is that it’s a $2.8 trillion industry and that a little fraction of that money can come to you if only you have tried. So instead of being scared or keep on being worried about that initial investment that they are asking you to make, think of it this way, there is no business that you would

do that you won’t invest in,” she added.

According to Oni, who boasts of 33 years’ experience in the education sector, with a minimal initial investment, investors are up and running, especially as they already have the structure that will help them to succeed.

“I am driven by the fact that young people need to understand that they have options. Keep your day job. That’s what you went to school for; but a part time job that allows you to work 10 hours a week and will pay you twice as much as you earn in your fulltime job is worth investing in.

So that initial investment, it doesn’t matter how it amounts to, is investment worth putting down and that is my message. For me, network marketing is beautiful opportunity that I think young people should run with,” she added.

With the cocktail and food served, the Organic Jazz and Movement bands were on hand to provide quality entertainment for the three-session well attended event.

Okereke-Onyiuke Returns to Familiar Turf

uietly returning to her very well known philanthropic gestures, the former capital market chieftain has made a donation of 100 banking books to the National Universities Commission (NUC) for distribution to Nigerian universities, in an effort to advance the learning of finance and banking related issues that have linkages with the trends in the country’s economy. To the

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

former Director-General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) who grew the capitalization of the exchange to N14 trillion prior to her retirement in 2010, is known to have been a popular donor of books to various academic institutions, believes that Nigerians should cultivate the habit of consistent reading of books so as to keep the brain and mind healthy.

She noted that when humans reduce the rate of feeding the brain with books and new knowledge, the brain easily dies and some very severe medical conditions set in.

At the presentation of Inside Nigerian Banks, a classic banking book written by Nik Ogbulie, a Lagos based financial journalist, the renowned capital market professor and former president of African Stock Exchanges Association(ASEA) urged Nigerians to develop the habit of buying books to distribute to the academia and other friends .The 100 books which were received by Alhaji Abdullahi Hanza, Director, Lagos office of the NUC, will be shared to the major universities that are offering Banking and finance because the book is largely equipped to encourage further research on Nigerian banks.

Looking as radiant and smart as ever, she noted that she has been involved in series of cross-border consultancy services to institutions that wanted her to replicate the skills she

Okereke-Onyiuke presenting Nik Ogbulie’s book to Alhaji Hanza

brought into the Nigerian market and this has made her virtually out of the country. Looking healthier and refreshed, she remains highly optimistic that Nigeria will come out of the ravaging recession if all hands are on deck to drive home the essence of unity in diversity.

She says that she now has time and peace of mind to do more research work and deep meditations that could enrich investment ideas in an economy like ours.

The pretty capital market mogul feels alright that some works of literature have started

documenting the roles prominent Nigerians played in reshaping the economy and urges Nigerians to remain highly professional in the delivery of their duties so that posterity will reckon with them. In one of the books, the professor was praised for her role as the major reason why the banking sector consolidation was a huge success, using the support of the innovative NSE under her. She noted that God has been on her side as there has not been any major health issue with her since the last six years she left the exchange.

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ALL SET FOR THE WEDDING PARTY… PAGE 68

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FOR THE LOVE OF ART IN THESE TIMES “Halo” (fibreglass, bicycle wheel and paint) by Richardson Ovbiebo 2016

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

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ARTS & REVIEW\\AUCTION

FOR THE LOVE OF A IN THESE TIMES S

Sales at last Monday’s Arthouse Contemporary Limited auction in Lagos belied the prognoses of these dismal times, say ombre economic realities are possibly overrated.

Or, aren’t they? It was rather astonishing, if not comforting, that the last Monday’s Arthouse’s Modern and Contemporary 17th auction did not corroborate the gloomy narrative of these times.

First, think of the turnout of aficionados at The Wheatbaker Hotel venue in the upmarket Ikoyi neighbourhood. The almost capacity-filled Taraba Hall of the hotel may not exactly have been filled with bidders – it never had been, in any case – but it certainly proved that the enthusiasm for the biannual event is far from waning.

Then, of course, there were the hammer prices at the auction itself.

Their skyward movement remained as assured as they had always been in the past editions. Where else would they go?

Wasn’t the point of the auction to drive them upwards? Even the charity sale segment, whose proceeds are destined for the Arthouse Foundation’s coffers, chalked up respectable hammer prices.

A scenario that saw six out of the initial 10 lots in the main sale segment sell for over a million-naira mark is a positive one. This speaks volumes about the auction’s overall successful run in financial terms. Indeed, the tide-like ebb-and-flow of the prices above and below the million-naira mark continued throughout the event that flagged off much later than the advertised 6 pm. Of course, the prices reached their crescendo moments with five forays above the 10 million-naira mark.

This brings us to the top five bestsellers. The highest selling work went rather too predictably to El-Anatsui’s 2016 wood panels’ contraption titled “Ahe”, which was displayed just behind the English-born auctioneer John Dabney.

This would not be the first time an El-Anatsui would be so displayed and sell afterwards for the highest hammer price at N16 million. In one of the past Arthouse Contemporary auctions, it elbowed past competing works from its position behind to auctioneer to clinch the Number One spot.

Then, the only Yusuf Grillo among the lots – a stained-glass painting titled “My Taiye” – came so close to it at N15 million as the second bestselling work.

Two Ben Enwonwu paintings, “Crowd Scene” (pencil and water colour on paper, 1951) and “Landscape” (oil on board, 1997), followed closely on its heels at N13 million as the next highestselling works. Yet another Ben Enwonwu – a well-known fibre-glass sculpture titled “Drummer” – brought up the rear of the elite five at N12 million.

Call it a feast of the masters, if you wish. But it is obvious that the bidders seem to know exactly what they wanted, as Dabney affirmed shortly after the event. Not even the auction’s first edition, held in 2007 at the Civic Centre in Victoria Island, generated this many climaxes. But, of course, the times were different. Then, the naira exchanged for more dollars it did now.

“Ahe” (wood panels) by El Anatsui 2016 Still on the masters, it is still laudable that Kolade Oshinowo’s 2013 mixed media on canvas work titled “Party Mood” and his 2009 oil on canvas painting “The Bride” sold for the hammer price of N3 million and N2.6 million, respectively.

Ditto the Ghanaian-born Ablade Glover’s 2007 oil on canvas painting “Facing the Storm”, which sold for N2.8 million. There were also his 1990 oil on canvas painting “Prayer Scene” and 1993 painting of the same medium “The Flood” which chalked up the respectable prices of N2.4 million and N1.7 million, respectively.

But David H. Dale’s “Children at Play” (glass beads on board, 2013) sold higher than these works at N3.7 million.

In this above-a-million category, it was in the good company of the works of masters like Ben Enwonwu, Ben Osawe as well as Uche Okeke and delightful artists like Peju Alatishe, Nnenna Okore, Toyin Loye, Rom Isichei, Duke Asidere, Jacob Jari, Kainebi Osahenye, Clary Nelson Cole, Olu Ajayi, Abiodun Olaku, Bunmi Babatunde, Senegalese-born Solly

Cissé, Uche Joel Chima, George Osodi, Ghanaian-born Ato Delaquis, Eva Obodo, Sokari Douglas-Camp, Olumide Onadipe, Olumide Oresegun, Lemi Ghariokwu and Oliver Enwonwu, among others.

Apparently, the master-non master dichotomy seems to have long worn thin among the bidders at the Arthouse auctions. This is even when the work of a non-master is yet to make it as the highest selling work. Still, works by less-renowned artists have consistently groped beyond the one-million naira mark to be ignored. In all fairness, the Kavita Chellaram-run auction house has never overtly encouraged such dichotomy. That explains its miscellany of lots drawn from across the generations of contemporary Nigerian artists as well as from the diaspora and crème de la crème of the artists from other African countries like Benin, Ghana, Senegal and Zambia in this 17th edition.

Critics would readily acknowledge the consistent growth of such younger generation of artists as Olumide Oresegun

(whose photorealistic 2015 oil on canvas painting “Glancing” was sold for N 700, 000 hammer price), Richardson Ovbiebo (whose 2016 fibreglass, bicycle wheel and paint work “Halo” was priced at N850, 000), Obinna Makata (whose 2016 mixed-media on canvas “Sacred Mantra” was bought for N750, 000) and Olumide Onadipe (whose 2016 conceptual work sold for N1 million).

As for the diaspora Nigerian artists like Chidi Kwubiri, Nnenna Okore and Sokari Douglas-Camp and the locally-based frontline artists like Rom Isichei, Peju Alatishe, Duke Asidere and Kainebi Osahenye, their performance at the auctions have always been impressive.

Of course, the performance owes more than a little to the whims of the bidders, whose choices do not always acknowledge the generally-accepted notions of masterhood. Sometimes, their philistinic aloofness is mind-boggling. But then, they literally call the shots.

Meanwhile, less-known collectors seem to have filled in the gaps like behind by

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ART

ys Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

older ones. Among the older habitués of the auction, two have recently passed on. The first was the amiable Sammy Olagbaju, who departed this earth-life sometime in late September and Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, who breathed his last on Wednesday (two days after the auction).

All in all, it has been a difficult year for the Lagos art scene even when it retains much of its lustre and vitality. Events like the biannual Arthouse Contemporary Auction of Modern and Contemporary Art have given so many a glimmer of hope to look forward to.

Meanwhile, the auction house has announced the call for entries for its second annual affordable art auction holding at the Kia Showroom in Victoria Island, Lagos on February 11, 2017 from 6 pm.

Works billed for the auction, which “aims to engage emerging markets and the rise of new collector base, with all works estimated at below N1000, 000,” should have been received by the auction house on December 1.

ARTS & REVIEW\\AUCTION The Inverted Pyramid; Adapted from a novel by Emeka Dike

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ARTS & REVIEW\\MOVIES Group Partner Govt to Promote Art among Secondary Schools in Imo Amby Uneze in Owerri

Dunni in a Movie Titled: The Wedding Party

ALL SET FOR THE WEDDING PARTY Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

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eally, it should come as no surprise that the Dubai Tourism Grand Premiere of The Wedding Party is already sold out. No one who attended FIFTY’s grand premiere at Eko Hotel and Suites late last year should have expected anything less.

This ELFIKE Film Collective movie, directed by Kemi Adetiba, still relishes the rapturous response it received at its sold-out screening on the opening night of Toronto International Film Festival in September. The prestigious Elgin Theatre, according to reports, was brimming over with an audience of over 1,400 viewers, including some of Africa’s biggest names Meanwhile, the star-studded premiere, which holds this week-

end, will feature the cast of the movie, including Banky W, Adesua Etomi, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ireti Doyle, Alibaba Akpobome and Sola Sobowale.

“The much-talked-about premiere is undoubtedly the most sought-after invitation of 2016,” crows a statement from the premiere’s organisers.

“It promises to be an unforgettable evening, with a line-up of exciting activities at the Bridal Court, Love Zone and Gourmet Board, before guests watch the film in a custombuilt theatre. There will be a gifting lounge, hosted by Santa Claus, after which guests can move to the Honeymoon Bay for the after-party. During the evening, there will be a raffle draw with lots of fabulous prizes to be won.”

The ELFIKE Film Collective, by the way, is a collaboration of Africa’s leading film powerhouses: EbonyLife Films, FilmOne Distribu-

tion, Inkblot Productions and Koga Studios. “They bring together years of experience and a wealth of creative resources, to make Nigerian movies with high production values and global appeal,” the statement added.

Recall that EbonyLife Film’s debut, FIFTY, was named last year as the only Nigerian film and one of only five African films from a global selection of 238 films and selected to screen at the 59th BFI London Film Festival in 2015. While its Grand Premiere, which flaunted the crème de la crème of Nigeria’s upper crust, was hosted by Mo Abudu, one of the Executive Producers of The Wedding Party and CEO of EbonyLife Films, Dubai Tourism leads a collection of premium sponsors, including Airtel, Diageo, Bank of Industry, Access Bank, Bollinger and Amstel Malta, amongst others for The Wedding Party’s Grand Premiere.

AgroupknownasSylvesterChukwueguArts Foundation(SCAF)ispartneringwiththeImoState governmenttopromoteartsinthestateinordernotto allowtheskilltogointoextinction,evenasgovernment isurgedtocontributetothegrowthofartinthesociety.

SpeakingduringtheinaugurallaunchofSCAFatthe GovernmentCollege,Owerri,ImoState,theChairman ofSCAF,Mr.IfeanyiSylvesterChukwuegudecriedthe attitudeofgovernmentandlackofinterestonthepart ofthesocietytoembracetheworkofcreativitywhich artpresentsasamajorfulcrumtorecallhistoricalfacts andsituateittothepresentcircumstance.

Accordingtohim,Iwantthegovernmentto embracethisfoundationwhichisanon-profit organisationwiththesoleaimtoencourageartthat couldbringhonourtothesociety.Itmightbring honourtothecountryasartistscancapturethewhole emotionsofthecountryinapainting,inmusicandin otherformssothattheproblemofthecountrycanbe addressedfromthere.

“Wewantsupportalsofromcorporatebodiesso thatwecanfeatureartsexhibitionforprofessionals insteadofsecondaryschoolstudentswhichwe aredoingthisyear.Thisisourdreamtocontinueto promoteartexhibitioninlinewithwhatourfathertold usnottoallowarts todieinthiscountry,”hesaid.

X-rayinghislatefather’sworkwhichaccording tohim,isscatteredallovertheworld,suchasSanta Barbara,California,USA.UK,EthiopiaandNigeria, Chukwuegusaidthathislatefatherwasnotonlyan artistbutaprolificarcher,whotookthefirstpositionin acompetitioninAbiaatatime.

ThelateSylvesterChukwuegu,anativeofNguru nwekeinAbohMbaiseofImostatewastheChairman ofArtsandCultureinAbaLocalGovernment,worked atAbaTextileMills,GovernmentTechnicalCollege Aba,etcandamonghisworksweretheBustofthe Unknownwomanin Aba,waterFountainatCKCCathedralAba,Lord LugardStatueatNationalMuseumAba,water fountainatNTA,Aba. Amonghisworksthatwonlaurelsatboth nationalandinternationaleventsincluded;thecarved goddessofNnewi“EDO”,thiswonthefirstposition inEastCentralStateandatthenationalfestivalof artsinLagosin1971,thegoldengongwhichwas presentedtoEmperorHaileSelassieofEthiopiaby GeneralYakubuGowononhisvisittoNigeriathen, the“Amadioha”masterpiecewhichwonaprizeatthe FESTAC77inLagos.

Inhislecturetitled“CreativeArtandtheyoung mindsofoursociety”byDr.AkachiOdoemeneofthe DepartmentofHistoryandInternationalStudies, FederalUniversity,Otuoke,BayelsaState,hestated thatarthasbeenprovenasanexpressivecultural activitieslikemusic,danceanddramathatpromotes activityinthebrain.Accordingtohim,artshelpyoung mindsunderstandbetterothersubjectsmuchmore clearlyfrommathsandscience,tolanguage,the artsandgeography.Italsonurturesinventiveness asitengagesyoungmindsinaprocessthataidsin thedevelopmentofself-esteem,self-discipline, cooperation,andself-motivation.

Thehighlightofthelaunchingwasanartexhibition andcompetitionwherefourmajorsecondaryschools inthestate;MbaiseSecondarySchool,Government SecondarySchool,Owerri,AkwuakumaGirlsSecondarySchool,andOrjiComprehensiveSecondary School,participated.

Coal City Book Convention Flags Off on Tuesday This Tuesday, Peekay Gardens in Enugu will host to this year’s Coal City Book Convention. And this will be the eighth in the annual series of the literary fiesta. Conceived in 2009 precisely to immortalise the rich story-telling tradition among the Igbo people of Nigeria, the opening ceremony will this year highlight the conferment of The Olaudah Equiano Life-Award on two

Igbo heroes – legendary mathematician and educationist Dame Maria David-Osuagwu, 83, and the immediate pastVice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka Professor Bartho Okolo, 58.

This award was inspired by the career of 18th-century slave-turned-author Olaudah Equiano, who published his book of memoirs in 1789 in London.Titled The Interesting

Dame Maria David-Osuagwu

Professor Bartho Okolo

Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, the book elevated the legend to the additional pedestal of being the first-ever published black author in the history of literature.

Besides alluding to Equiano’s Igbo roots, The Coal City Book Convention’s organisers also cite a statement in the book –“we are almost a nation of dancers, musicians and poets”– as an indication of the very definite existence of aesthetic literary expression among the Igbo since before the dawn of time.This fact served to add impetus to the enviable record of literary outputs by writers of Igbo extraction on a scale of 70% of Nigerian literature in the English language.

This evident flair for literary expression is believed to have peaked in 1947, which kicked off the“boom”years of a phenomenon that became celebrated as the“Onitsha Market Pamphlet Literature”, from which such literary legends as Cyprian Ekwensi and Ogali A. Ogali bloomed long before such later literary luminaries as Achebe and Soyinka.

These considerations inspired the creation of The Coal City Book Convention

by The Delta Book Club, a subsidiary of the

Enugu-based Delta Publications (Nigeria) Limited. CEO and Convener, author Dillibe Onyeama, schemed to capitalise on the principle of a book in every man, predicated on the idea that every man has a story to tell.

The remarkable career of each Equiano life-awardee, selected by a committee of five stakeholders in the book industry, was calculated to give the right inspiration to Igbo youths in particular and the people of Nigeria in general, with the mind to stem drift and delinquency through such examples of sacrifice, hard work and selfless service.

Notable achievers who have been crowned with the Equiano award at colourful well-attended ceremonies include (but not limited to) Professor Chinedu Nebo, late researcher and author Professor Catherine Acholonu, saintly paediatrician Dame Winnie Kaine, octogenarian novelist Professor Anezi Okoro, administrator Dame Bernice Agbo, Professor Sam Ukpabi,Traditional Ruler Igwe Chris Ogakwu, late Catholic cleric and thinker Fr. Stan Anih, Chief Nduka Eya and widows’ rights crusader Dame Gozie Udemezue.

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ARTS & REVIEW\\ARTX

A QUIET REVOLUTION Dipo Salimonu

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n Sunday evening the lights went out on Art X, West Africa’s first international contemporary art fair, which lasted the weekend.

The extraordinary event was held in Nigeria’s Lagos, usually referred to as the country’s “commercial” capital.

The lights went out literally, and deliberately, as almost an hour past when the exhibition was to end, enthusiasts and the curious still swarmed through the corridors taking in and taking pictures of the displayed pieces of art.

On this weekend, as is increasingly the case, Lagos was a beehive of artistic and cultural rather than commercial activity.

Art X was a remarkable affair, the scope and audacity of its conception duly served by the deftness and care with which it was executed. As bewitching as the artwork on display, were the sparkling panel discussions, which illumined and informed, as well as entertained. Serving as bookends to these, were interviews, on separate days, of the masters Bruce Onobrakpeya, and El Anatsui. The former held court on Saturday afternoon in a magisterial manner at once self-assured and self-effacing, and the latter on Sunday with a winning charm for being at turns professorial and whimsical.

The distinction of the pieces of art was very high, with quite a few of astonishing virtuosity. Presented by artists and galleries from across the world, including from Mali, Ghana, South Africa they were painstakingly displayed in a way that achieved harmony despite representing diverse mediums. And from the United Kingdom came representatives of Sotheby’s and the Tate Modern, while critically acclaimed artists such as Victor Ehikamenor and Uthman Wahaab, and Ade Adekola were present throughout, mingling and explaining their work to all who inquired.

With this inaugural episode, Art X completes a triumvirate of pioneering platforms, which are inexorably re-defining the identity and ethos of Lagos, and that of Nigeria: The Lagos Fashion and Design Week had its sixth edition a week previous, while the Ake Arts and Book Festival will stage its fourth in a week, from 15-19 November, 2016.

These events have served to induct Lagos (Ake takes place in not far away Abeokuta) into a select club of international cities, such as London, New York, Johannesburg and Nairobi, modern day versions of Timbuktu and Venice, where thought leadership is driven, and where new ways of looking at old mores thrive. Further, the three platforms bring poise and coherence to the considerable but inarticulate soft power accruing to Nigeria from Nollywood, the local film industry and its ubiquitous movies.

Another inspiring aspect of these platforms is that they extend their ambit beyond their specific themes and have become leading crucibles for critical conversations addressing the most pressing societal issues of our time, more so than anything emanating from Abuja or the Lagos Marina, Nigeria’s political and business centres respectively.

Thirty years ago, government leaders, whether military or civilian, were the dominant actors on Nigeria’s socioeconomic land-scape- they were the winners. The advent of democracy in 1999 eroded the power of government

Silver and Peterside

leaders only slightly- they now picked the winners rather than being them.

Business leaders were able to compete in influence and power with government leaders but continued to depend on them for patronage or protection.

It is in the past ten years or so that a class of businessmen and women have emerged who do not depend at all on government, and prominent amongst these are the creative and cultural entrepreneurs, including in sectors such as Technology, Music, Publishing, and Arts and Culture. And for certain the future belongs to them, not to the old men of business and politics whose stock-in-trade is to seek consistently to control, curtail and categorise.

However, none of all of these subtle but seismic and inexorable changes constitute the revolution described in the title. Art X was the brainchild of Tokini Peterside, and Bisi Silva, its artistic director (Ms Silva is herself founder and director of the pivotal Centre for Contemporary Art). Omoyemi Akerele is the force behind the Lagos Fashion and Design Week while Lola Shoneyin founded and bestrides the Ake Festival like a colossus. Ergo the revolution: all are women.

Still, it is important to contrast this with another event I had the pleasure of attending recently- the launch of a report entitled “Women Matter Africa”, prepared by McKinsey & Company, the global consultancy, at an event in collaboration with Wimbiz, a Nigerian NGO “promoting entrepreneurship and development of women”. The report made for disturbing reading. It found that in Africa, women make up 22% of cabinet members; 29% of senior managers in business and that only 36% of promotions go to women. Worse yet, only 5% of CEOs are women. If humanity consisted of three or four different sexes between which roles were apportioned, these numbers would be disheartening.

Because there are only two sexes, with women being the majority, what these numbers reflect is morally reprehensible and must be deemed intolerable.

It is necessary to juxtapose the drive and success of these entrepreneurs (along with their peers such as Bolanle Austen Peters, producer of Wakaa, the first Nigerian musical to show at London’s West End, and co-producer of 93

Days, a film about Nigeria’s scare with the Ebola epidemic) with how women fare in the corporate world, one supposedly more meritocratic than politics for instance. The verdict is clear: there cannot exist a true meritocracy in activity dominated by men. Even at business they will in the main find ways to perpetuate their interests and prejudices within the greater objective for profits.

Innumerable women thrive as leaders and entrepreneurs in banking, engineering, manufacturing and other sectors, and organizations such as She Leads Africa, and its founders Afua Osei and Yasmin Belo-Osagie, will ensure many more do the same. But even if women are better served starting their own businesses than submitting themselves to the biased structures and strictures of the corporate world and of Government, much has to be addressed in the latter two to achieve a balance, rather than the abhorrent status quo. This cannot be looked at as a diversity issue, or the sole province of feminists- it is a human rights issue and a human issue.

Nigeria is in the lull of a recession and many commentators have urged that the economy be “diversified”, a view so obvious as to render it asinine to repeat. It is time the conversation evolved past the “to” and shift to the “how” and the “by whom”. And as a society we would do well to realise that it is better to diversify the producers, rather than focusing on some amorphous “economy” and restricting the consideration of “diversity” to a matter of sectors. In a sense, just as Margaret Thatcher famously saying that there is no such thing as “society”, there is no “economy”- just men and women (and sometimes children) managing the resources of a country to produce products or services. The “Invisible Hand” as Adam Smith, the seminal economist, referred to it.

Consequently, it is futile to focus on outputs such as how many senators are women or not, while giving short shrift to the feeder systems and processes by which senators and CEOs emerge.

Equality is best assured in the access to institutions and thus the opportunities, and not in the outcomes. Regulate the inputs and the outputs will be more

uniform. For instance, Obinna Ukwani, a social entrepreneur, is working on a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) high school in Nigeria, which would be first of its kind, and has resolved to take in an equal number of male and female high- achieving students yearly. At this point in the history of our species, women have more than proven that their mettle extends light years beyond merely tipping kettles, and that their abilities and ambitions should not be restricted or subordinated in any way shape or form relative to that of men.

Back to Art X, Sunday’s penultimate panel discussion was about cultural entrepreneurship and featured a fascinating discussion moderated by Tokini Peterside. The afore- mentioned Bolanle Austen-Peters, was joined by Mo Abudu, a talk show and movie producer, and Reni Folwaiyo, the patron of Lagos’s Alara, a sumptuous space for Afrophiles and African aesthetes. As a man listening to learn, I found Tokini’s Peterside’s line of questioning insightful and thought provoking. Her questions sought to excavate the experiences of the panellists as women who are entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs who happen to be women, as well as their experiences as cultural entrepreneurs. Of particular resonance was an intriguing and compelling duality expressed: wanting to succeed “despite” that they were women (given societal attitudes on what women should aspire to) and at the same time, ‘because’ they were women (drawing a particular strength from the authority and potency of their gender).

It was clear that these women seek neither support from men, nor their imprimatur, and less still, their tokenism nor validation. And that this is exactly at it ought to be. What they ask is for people (be they men or women) to get out of their way, and stay there, without cause to apologize or be repudiated for this ask. And to let their efforts, energy and aspirations determine how they fare and where they end up. As said Reni Folawiyo, at a crucial point, “I don’t want to sell shoes, I want to rule the world.”

And why should anyone, other than herself, be able to stop her?

- Salimonu is the CEO, Moteriba Terminals & Logistics

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CICERO

Editor Vincent Obia Email vincent.obia@thisdaylive.com, SMS: 08054681757

IN THE ARENA

Nigeria and the Danger of Porous Borders There is need for a concerted approach by the Nigerian government, the communities, and the people to end the pain caused by the infiltration of terrorists, bandits, and other illegal aliens from across the borders, writes Vincent Obia

T

here is little doubt that most Nigerians will be hurting when they realise INSURGENTS, KILLER that the terrorist atrocities they suffer HERDSMEN and other ILLEGAL are mainly the handiwork of foreignIMMIGRANTS in�ltrating the ers. The pain is not only that these country. foreigners, most of whom come into the country illegally through the porous borders, are killing and maiming Nigerians, and destroying both private livelihoods and the national economy. It is also that they have successfully infiltrated into institutions and communities that are supposed to deal with such illegal and violent activities. Stories about nationals of other African countries, especially Nigeria’s West African neighbours, who illegitimately assume Nigerian citizenship and enrol in critical national programmes abound. Nigeria is, without doubt, a country under attack from illegal aliens.

Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, said last week that 60 per cent of the Boko Haram members terrorising the North-east are foreigners. Buratai’s conclusions were based on intelligence reports and the confessions of captured and repentant insurgents, which were found to be mostly foreigners.

These terrorist activities, which have resulted in the killing of thousands of Nigerians since the outbreak of the insurgency in 2009, have occurred mainly in areas within the North-east states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe that share borders with Nigeria’s West African neighbours, such as ezeibe.aguwa@thisdaylive.com 08093842953 Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. They have taken place The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural particularly on the fringes of Sambisa forest and the Development has also said that the killer herdsmen Lake Chad Basin, which are the epicentre of the Boko are not Nigerians.

Haram insurgency. This highlights the fact that most Though many, including the Christian Association of the terror attacks Nigeria has witnessed are crossof Nigeria, have doubted the claim that the killer border raids by guerrillas who hit targets and escape herders are not Fulani herdsmen based especially on to bases outside the country. the utterances and body language of officials of the Besides Boko Haram insurgency, Nigeria is also in Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, the throes of bloody upheavals orchestrated by herdsthe umbrella union of cattle herders. Leaders of the men, which the authorities equally say are mainly cattle herders are accused of giving cautious support foreigners. President Muhammdu Buhari has stated to the marauders who cause havoc in farming comthat the killer herdsmen, who have wreaked havoc on munities. The truth of the matter seems to be that the many communities across the country, are not Nigeria foreigners who terrorise Nigeria either as Boko Haram but foreigners who came from Libya. Buhari said in insurgents or killer herdsmen act on their own or as London in May that the late Libyan leader, Colonel mercenaries procured to cause mayhem in targeted Muammar Gaddafi, had during his 43-year-regime given military training to many people from the Sahel, communities.

The porous borders are to blame for the infiltration who were scattered abroad at the fall of his rule in of the extremists.

October 2011 and now found themselves in various Nigeria has international land borders of about terrorist organisations in the continent, including 4,470 kilometres (2,513 miles) with Chad, Cameroon, killer bands parading as herdsmen, Al Qaeda, and Benin, and Niger, and a coastline of 774 kilometres Boko Haram.

(480 miles), which are largely unmanned. Comptroller The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, echoed a similar view in September in his Eid-el-Kabir General of the Service, Mr. Martin Kure Abeshi, said at the 2016 Comptroller General Annual Conference and message, when he said armed herdsmen perpetrating Stakeholders Interactive Forum on April 7 in Lafia that violence in the country were foreign terrorists. He of about the 1, 500 identified land border crossings said,“All those so-called Fulani herdsmen, moving into Nigeria, only 114, covering about 4,000 square with guns, causing violence, fighting with farmers kilometres, had approved control posts manned by imare not Nigerians. These are foreigners coming into migration officials and other security agencies.“There Nigeria to cause a breach of the peace of the nation.

They are, therefore, terrorists and should be treated as are over 1,400 illegal routes, which are not manned,” Abeshi said, stressing,“This has grave security implisuch by the Nigerian security agencies. cations for the country.”

“The Nigerian herdsmen are very peace-loving and He said NIS’s approximately 23, 000 staff strength law abiding.” was grossly inadequate for the task of policing NigeThe Sultan said, however, that “bad eggs”had infilria’s vast borders. trated the Nigerian Fulani herdsmen, and challenged Nigeria needs to put more effort and energy into the security agencies to fish them out for prosecution.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

Owoseni

NIGERIA

the policing of its borders to stop the dangerous cross border infiltrations that are blighting both national security and the economy. Besides the placement of more security personnel at the borders, there is an urgent need for aggressive investment in modern technology to secure the borders. There had been reports about a plan to install electronic surveillance systems round the country’s borders with assistance from the United States and China. Former Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, said in May 2013 that Nigeria needed $244 million to execute the project. But it remains unclear how far the federal government has gone with the electronic surveillance plan.

The country needs a comprehensive mapping of its borders with a view to identifying the levels of migration risks posed by the various sections. This would help in deciding the types of policing measures to adopt at the different areas. And where possible, portions of the borders can be walled.

The border communities also have a critical role to play in the effort to properly police the national boundaries. The communities and their traditional rulers always know those that belong to them and those that are infiltrators.

There is no doubt about it. So they are in a position to provide vital information to the authorities that would help to control the infiltration of dangerous elements.

Nigeria is located in a largely unstable region, with volatile socio-political situations in countries like Ivory Coast, Chad, Mali, etc., easy infiltration of terrorists from Libya and other North African countries, and poverty ravaging large sections of the countries’ populations, which makes them susceptible to terrorist pressures. This makes the need for proper border security in Nigeria very urgent.

The Poor State of Police Funding

T

he revelation on Thursday by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, that a police station in Nigeria gets N45, 000 in three months as running cost is yet another confirmation of the pathetic state of the country’s chief internal security organ. Owoseni made the disclosure in Ikeja while addressing a civil society group that had marched to his

office to protest the alleged embezzlement of funds meant for the fuelling of patrol vehicles, stationaries, uniforms, and allowances of the Nigeria Police.

The federal government must take deliberate steps to deal with the menace of corruption and poor funding in the Nigeria Police, which have severely damaged the effectiveness of the force.

– Vincent Obia

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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 • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

CICERO/TRIBUTE

In Loving Memory of Baba Sarki

Maryam Uwais

A

lhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, the 18th Sultan of Sokoto, Baba, departed this earthly realm on the 14th of November 2016. He was 95 years of age and had been ill for a while. But for the most part, his mind had remained alert and so conversations with him towards the end belied his frailty.

My mother married the late Sultan in 1969, almost three years after the death of our father, Mallam Isa Wali, who was at that period Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ghana. The late Sultan Dasuki had also at the time lost his first wife and because our two families were known to one another before the individual bereavements, the children from both families already enjoyed a close relationship.

Of course, there were some apprehensions from both sides, especially due to the fear that we might lose the love of our surviving parents to the ‘other children’.

But to the credit of both Sultan Dasuki (now of blessed memory) and my mother, the relationships were managed and strong fraternal bonds were created, that survive to this date.

Not long after we moved into our new home, I recall falling ill with a fever during the night. I was shivering.

Without hesitating, I went over to Baba’s bedroom to tell him that I was feeling sick. He touched my forehead and asked me to step into his room. I remember him taking out a small white tablet and a bottle of treetop, then a glass of water. He gently led me back to my room, where all the children then slept, and gave me the medication to take. He must have sat with me until I fell asleep, as I do not recall him leaving my bedside. For a little girl in a new home, that was something! He was kind and could be ‘my father’, after all!

Baba Sarki was also a firm disciplinarian. I had an age mate amongst his children, who was understandably tenaciously protective of her father’s love, as I was of our mother’s. She was then the apple of her father’s eye, but I was never one to keep quiet, when outraged. I recall how we would fall out, as young children often do. In one of such scuffles, we zealously reminded each other of where each stood: ‘Your father is gone’, was met with an instant retort: ‘And your mom is gone too!’

Even when adults intervened, we persisted, each striving to ‘best’ each other with hurtful words. Baba then came onto the scene and promptly led the two of us to an empty room (except for some boxes and some carpets, I can never forget) adjoining his bedroom and closed the door behind us. Then he told the two of us rather calmly that we could continue our tirades in private without upsetting other people in the household with our insensitivity. Left alone, we hurled nasty words at each other, hissed, glared at one another until we got tired and fell asleep.

What would appear like hours later (but probably much shorter, now that I think of it), Baba opened the door and asked if we were through. Looking repentant, both of us apologised to him, but that was never enough.

He asked that we go round the entire household; to all the men and women living in the house without exception, kneel down and apologise for our bad behavior.

That, he said, was the only condition under which we could be forgiven!

Since we had such a huge household, as most traditional households can be, that was some task. The lesson he imbibed in us was that all and sundry just had to be respected, from direct relatives, fostered and adopted children of close friends, to those that helped around the home, drivers and guards. Their families were ours, and their challenges were shared. He succeeded in bringing all of us together.

Baba was a man of many parts and his doors remained open to everyone. We still have so many ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’, ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’, ‘relatives’ from those days whose kinship to him and the Sokoto lineage I could never fathom or hope to understand.

Holidays were frequent and fun, with road travels in convoys of two or three vehicles through Zaria, Gusau, Sokoto and even to Dogon Daji; stopping every once in a while to pray, buy fruits, eat suya, drinks, all the while chatting and changing vehicles, as we felt fit. Everywhere we went, we were feted and fed with fura, roasted meat, souvenirs and regaled with stories, late into the night.

Memories of a lifetime!

Baba Sarki would always find time for his family.

I recall him gently admonishing my sister, when he attempted to correct her in those early days. She petulantly reminded him he was merely our ‘step father’, insinuating that his authority over her was limited. He sat her down and asked quietly what word in hausa could translate as ‘step father’, knowing that such a translation did not exist. We took the cue and from then on referred to him as our father. From then, our relationship grew stronger, knowing he would do nothing to upset us or deliberately hurt our mother. He would tease her mercilessly about Sokoto and Kano (she being from Kano) and

Dasuki

she would always reiterate to us, just in case we were inclined towards believing his glowing rhetoric about Sokoto and the caliphate, that there was no place like home (which for us was Kano)! Interestingly, even while my mother was worried about how I seemed to prefer, at a point in my young life, the Sokoto visits, Baba Sarki could nonetheless do no wrong, even until now.

His sense of humour was legendary, his wit always casting a fresh appreciation of the circumstances at hand.

He would reduce the most complex of issues into a simple anecdote, clarifying how to appreciate, learn from and accept even the hardest of challenges. He also loved a good conversation with his impeccable command of the English language. So we learnt at his feet and leant on him, even until recent times, for his experience, wise counsel and guidance.

His sense of right and wrong was strong, clear and resolute. His trials were many, but his faith in the Almighty was unwavering. In 1988, after the demise of Sultan Abubakar the 3rd, interested parties intervened in the traditional sphere and a ‘successor’ to the Sultanate throne was announced by Daily Times even before the Kingmakers had taken a decision. In quick succession, thereafter, the Sokoto State Government announced his selection by the traditional kingmakers, and then politically motivated riots broke out in select places, obviously provoked by those who were aggrieved.

Not surprisingly, his ‘children’ from around the country hurried to Sokoto to be with him. I recall him speaking out to the massive crowds in his home, strictly forbidding anyone from lifting a hand in retaliation against those who were rioting against his appointment. I still recall vividly his stern mien when he told everyone that could listen that we were all family. ‘How could we fight each other?’ he asked while recounting how his predecessor in office had been appointed within Military barracks and how it took him 40 days to move into the palace due to protests against the selection in those days. He appealed for patience and warned that engaging in violence would only aggravate and cause hardship to the public. His repeated reprimands went far in quelling the riots. Baba served the public with such passion, wisdom and humility.

When he was deposed as Sultan in 1996 by the then Military Administrator of Sokoto (believed to be acting under the orders of the late General Sani Abacha), Baba Sarki was taken away to solitary confinement in Zing, Taraba State for almost two years. His wives were able to see him on one occasion, even then only after filing a case for the enforcement of his human rights. Eventually released upon the demise of General Abacha, we rushed to welcome him home, only for him to be rebuking those

who expressed relief at the death of Abacha. He then requested that we join him in prayer for the peaceful repose of General Abacha.

In sharing his experience, he told us the incarceration had taught him many lessons and that he was thankful for that long period of solitude as it afforded him the time for deep reflection and prayer. If anything, he was a better man for it. He had been Sultan and no one could erase that; now he could have time for family and to nurse his health. He could pace himself and apply himself to serving his Creator.

Baba Sarki subsequently remained in Kaduna, never traveling back to Sokoto, knowing he could cause division just by his mere presence in that jurisdiction.

On select days of the week, he would have lunch with his grandchildren and as he grew weaker, he would sit outside on his wheelchair on Fridays, giving the little children brand new 10 notes, as they surrounded him with their innocent chatter. The children obviously loved the ‘sadaka’ they received and looked forward to each Friday, and he just savoured the moments he shared with them. He remained accessible to traditional titleholders and government officials from around the country, offering advice and sharing his experiences.

Watching the massive crowds as he was taken home for his final journey, I felt so proud. The sheer numbers of people who turned out for his funeral rites was testimony of the love and respect his people had for him. He had lived a fulfilled life and had broken the jinx that the Buhari line of Usmanu Ibn Fodio’s descendants could never be Sultan. Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki was buried alongside his forebears and the descendants of Usmanu Ibn Fodio, which was his ultimate wish.

He had served his people and his country in many capacities. He was the ultimate peacemaker, the bridge builder across so many divides. To his close and extended family, he was a loving husband, a doting father and grandfather - the unifier. He remained true to his Creator and it was now time for him to take a rest, In sha Allah. For each and every one of us - his children, grandchildren, wives, and relatives, we had all felt special and loved; we all had our personal stories and memories, deriving from how this unique personality made a huge impact in our lives. He would forever remain alive in our thoughts and in our prayers.

From your ‘Maryamu’, it is the small things that I will always cherish, that will keep you alive in my memory.

Alhamdulillah for a life well spent. Adieu, Baba Sarki!

We pray that AljannatFirdaus be your final abode in sha Allah.

––Mrs Maryam Uwais is Special Adviser on Social Investments in the Presidency

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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 • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

CICERO/TRIBUTE

Rasheed Gbadamosi: A Life In Living Colours Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

O

bviously dazed, a dark-goggled and baseball cap-sporting mourner seemed lost in thoughts. He stood on the grounds of Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi’s country home in Ikorodu, Lagos. Other mourners and sympathisers, meanwhile, milled about the meticulously-manicured grounds of the impressive place also called Kunbi Haven.

Rasheed Abiodun Oladosu Gbadamosi may have breathed his last between 5 and 5:30 pm on Wednesday in his Parkview, Ikoyi residence. But his body was carted away to Kunbi Haven, where it was interred the next day (Thursday) after Islamic religious rites.

Back to the dark-goggled mourner: he may have witnessed what could have been the last moments of the departed on earth through his inner eye. He was shown the renowned economist reclining on a wheelchair and being wheeled away in haste.

“Where was he being taken to?” he would have wondered.

But the man, whose mortal remains lay in state in one of the outer rooms of the main building, had lived quite an eventful life.

See this eventful life as a sequence of changing scenes. A quick flashback to one of those private moments Chief Gbadamosi shared with me.

This could have been at the largest of the three living rooms of his Parkview residence. It was one of those rare evenings he sported a suit.

For him, it had been a long day and his dinner time lurked around the corner.

Because there was so much about his life to share, I chose to pick the thread from his literary life. He had already published six plays and a collection of short stories among other literary efforts. This was quite remarkable for a man, who never thought he’d make a name through writing.

He was groped into the inner recesses of his memories for an anecdote he could share with me.

Soon, we were teleported back to one Sunday afternoon in 1970. The then Federal Military Government led by Lt. General Yakubu Gowon raised its hackles at an apparently harmless radio play he had written. This play, titled Trees Grow in the Desert, was one of Gbadamosi’s six plays and what he called his “first full-length play”. It was aired on the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and revolved around a political change of guards at the helm of affairs and the great expectations of the masses.

Military spooks growled and bared their fangs menacingly. They only needed the orders from their paymasters at the Dodan Barracks to go yelping and snapping at Gbadamosi’s

Gbadamosi heels. Obviously, a part of the play, which alluded to a coup d’état, had sent ripples of disquiet through the ranks and files of the paranoid military regime.

A quick cut to his activism days as a member of Nigeria Association of Patriotic Writers and Artistes.

The association, better known by its acronym NAPWA also had the late Afro-beat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Naiwu Osahon and Wole Bucknor among its members.

Gbadamosi recalled that the group used to hold its meetings at the Yaba College of Technology’s football field.

Fela would hold a free concert after these meetings.

Talking about Fela, Gbadamosi curiously used to be one of his closest friends thanks to the NAPWA years. In March 1997, Gbadamosi had managed to convince the MUSON (Musical Society of Nigeria) Centre board to allow Fela and the Egypt 80 perform on the MUSON Centre stage.

He really “managed” to achieve that feat because that was a hard sell.

The MUSON’s board finally agreed to have Fela. But this was on the condition that the latter would neither smoke marijuana nor spout profanities on stage. So, the concert, tagged “Fela at MUSON” held, the tickets sold for as much as N3000 then worth $1000 and Fela flouted all the agreed conditions. Fast-forward to months later. A dying Fela had woken up from a deep slumber on

Above all, he was one of the most illustrious sons of Lagos State. Little wonder he was co-opted to co-chair the Lagos@50 project with the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka.

Indeed one of his early plays, Echoes from the Lagoon, had already been scheduled for the commemorating event. Soyinka in his tribute alluded to the creative side of Gbadamosi

a hospital bed and had asked for jollof rice. His daughter, Yeni, called Gbadamosi who arranged for his wife to prepare it.

A quick cut to more recent years.

His passion for art collection led to his constructing a redbrick edifice close to the gatehouse of his Ikorodu country home to house his prized art works. The building named The Yusuf Grillo Pavilion gave him a reason to hold well-attended annual art fiesta in honour of the greying Zaria “Rebels” like Bruce Onobrakpeya, Demas Nwoko and Uche Okeke as well as a soirée in honour of David H. Dale.

Gbadamosi’s passion for the visual arts earned him a close friendship with artists, critics and journalists.

Thus, a few, like me, became members of his extended non-biological family. Gbadamosi, himself a scion of a successful industrialist, was also an industrialist, an economist, a former commissioner (at 27 in the early 1970s), a former minister and a former chairman of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency.

Above all, he was one of the most illustrious sons of Lagos State. Little wonder he was co-opted to co-chair the Lagos@50 project with the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. Indeed one of his early plays, Echoes from the Lagoon, had already been scheduled for the commemorating event.

Soyinka in his tribute alluded to the creative side of Gbadamosi.

“In the process of re-acquainting myself with his works, I was reminded of Gbadamosi’s early creative promise,” Soyinka wrote. “I wrote him, lamenting that the Artistic world had lost him to business. It is impossible to quantify the personal consolation I derive from having sent him that note just a fortnight or so before he took his leave of us.

“In strict terms of course, the artistic world never lost Rasheed.

That was where his soul was, and he manifested it in the commitment that made him turn his estate into a vast exhibition gallery of Nigerian painters, to which many flock till today. Rasheed – let this be stressed as a public challenge – Rasheed put

his money where his heart beat! Both young and old generation artists will testify to this in abundance.”

But the Gbadamosi had wanted to be a doctor. But because he made a weak result in biology, he was not so confident when he shared these thoughts with his father. The latter virtually ordered him to study economics since that was what “the children of industrialists” like him would do. Mystified, the younger Gbadamosi wondered what economics was all about. “When you get there (to the university), you would understand,” the old man told him.

“And right away, I’m going to send you to England for it.”

Excited about the prospect of travelling abroad, Gbadamosi the son jettisoned the ambition of becoming a doctor. So by the time his studies ended in 1969, his academic laurels would include a BA in economics, 1966 and a diploma in advanced studies (economic development) in 1967 from University of Manchester, England as well as an MA in economics from the University of New Hampshire, USA. Upon his graduation, it was an open sesame into a rich career. He first became a Lagos State commissioner before lunging into the corporate world. He was recently the managing director of R.A.G. & Company Limited and the chairman of Ragolis Waters Limited, Thai Farm International Limited, Sparnoon Nigerian Limited, BHN Plc, Syndicated Metal Industries Limited, Lucky Fibres Nigeria Plc and AIICO Pension Managers Limited.

He was also the chairman of Vono Products Plc, having also been the chairman at Secure Electronic Technology Plc since August 16, 2012 where he had served as director.

He served as chairman of Nigerian Industrial Development Bank from 1986 to 1994 and chairman of the Governing Council of Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research from 2001 to 2004.

He became the director of Fountain Trust Bank Plc and National Sports Lottery Plc as well as of Cappa & D’Alberto Plc. He was in addition a director of Vono Products Plc, a director at National Electric Power Authority from 1976 to 1979 and a member of Nigerian Debt Rescheduling Team since 1986.

He also served as director of AIICO Insurance Plc since July 17, 1999, as director of Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON), Nigeria Industrial Development Bank, Commercial & Scientific Computing Nigeria Ltd., Tolaram Clay Bricks (Nig) Ltd. and Blackwood Hodge Nig. Plc. Gbadamosi recalled his mother telling him how his grandmother had looked into his eyes and had predicted how great he was going to be.

His mother had named him Oladosu (meaning wealth turns to moon).

But he didn’t really believe in such things and would rather ascribe his greatness to his privilege of attending good schools.

If he called himself an “Isale-Eko boy”, it was because he was born in Lagos Island. His father had crossed the Lagoon from Ikorodu to Isale-Eko, where he met his mother. They got married there.

For him, life as a child was great fun. Among his peers, he got into the “egungun” (masquerade) cult. Many years later as an adult, he would be appointed the chairman of one of the Eyo groups.

Gbadamosi had in his lifetime bagged several awards, among which was THISDAY Lifetime Achievement Award.

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CICERO/INTERVIEW

Oladimeji: How Nigeria Can End Religious Crises The President of Church Administrators Society of Nigeria (CASON), Pastor Seyi Oladimeji, believes religious crises can only end in Nigeria if the adherents of the various religions practice what they preach. Speaking to journalists during the 3rd annual conference of CASON at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos recently, Pastor Oladimeji advised Nigerians to embrace peace as he stated that the current economic recession in the country would soon be a thing of the past. Oladipupo Awojobi was at the interview session.

C

an you tell us about the theme of this year’s conference, “Increasing Ministry Impact Through Media Technology”?

This year’s theme was informed by the fact that the mission field of today is no longer about a location somewhere, with the advent of the internet because the whole world has become a global village. The mission field of today cannot be reached physically only, you can stay where you are and reach the whole world through the power of the media such as the print, radio and electronic. So, we felt we should address the issue this year.

What had been the impact of the organisation since you started?

We didn’t start as an association, it was started as a training platform, we started out to train church administrators because we found out that most of the people that set out as church administrators were not trained for it. There is no school that trains people for church administration. Most people that are performing the role, providence only thrusts it on them and again there are no materials that address the issue in our environment. When we noticed the gap, we developed a curriculum to train church administrators and we started doing it in 2008 specifically, and every year, we have batches of people that are coming and we train them.

After sometime, some of the graduates started coming back and ask if they could have a refresher course. We now felt that instead of doing that, we could organise a conference, where we discuss and address the current problems that affect the church as a body. So that was what metamorphosed into this association. This is the third conference we would be organising, the first conference was also held in this venue. We addressed succession planning, this is what people don’t want to talk about, but it happens. You find

suffer. If banks and other organisations can get people because they pay them big money, then the church should get better because Jesus has paid us upfront. All of us are debtors of grace and all of us must see that it is a calling to serve in a church and to serve with your gifts and talents.

How long is your training programme?

We have Basic and we have Advanced, it runs for one week intensive from 9pm to 4pm every day. We do Basic twice in a year and Advanced once in a year so that if you have two diets of basic, you can come for the advanced.

Is CASON an inter-denominational association?

Of course, it is an inter-denominational organisation, we have people from orthodox, pentecostal churches and others.

Oladimeji out that the founder of the church would die and crisis would ensue because they don’t plan that they would die. Nobody would live forever, one day, you would go. Our prayer is that everybody would live long according to the word of the covenant. It is good to plan, while we are alive.

We should plan how we want our ministry to be run, when we are alive before death comes.

Last year, we addressed the issue of attracting and retaining quality hands in the ministry because as a church administrator of many years, I discovered that one of the challenges we have in the church is getting capable hands.

Most times, because some of the people are not properly discipled, they are motivated by money and if you are not able to pay them, they would go to another place. The Bible says, ‘where there is no vision the people perish.’ I want to say that where there are no people, the vision would

Have you measured the effects of your previous programmes?

You would not be able to measure the impact now because we are just starting. The only feedback that we have are the people that we have trained in the past, who let us know that the trainings have helped them. But, we believe that in another five years, we would have more feedback.

Which church do you attend?

I attend DayStar Christian Centre of Pastor Sam Adeyemi.

What do you think are the challenges facing our churches today?

That is why we come up with issues here, we choose the topics we discuss every year to address the problems in the church.

How do you think we can end religious crisis in Nigeria?

I don’t think any religion preaches violence.

Though I am a Christian, I know that the other religion preaches peace. If the adherents of the religions practice what they preach, there would not be crisis. As a Christian, the Bible says ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’ The bible did not say love only a Christian, it says, ‘your neighbour.’

Whether the person is a Christian or a Muslim or even a Bhuddist, you must love him or her. I believe that there is a part of God in every human being. If you know that this creature is representing the image of God, then you would want to do the right thing.

What is the role of CASON in addressing the religious problems in Nigeria?

That is what I was trying to address. If every adherent of every religion practices what he or she preaches, there would be no problem. Whoever is around you is your neighbour, and I believe every religion preaches this. If you do what you profess, there would be no violence. That is my own conviction. I want to encourage adherents of every religion to practice what they preach.

Problem arises, when we don’t practise what we preach and we want to take laws into our hands to satisfy our own whims and caprices.

What is your message to Christians during this period of economic recession?

I believe the word of God that says, when men say there is casting down, you would say there is a lifting up. I studied a little bit of economics and I know that there would always be period of recession and there would always be period of abundance. It would go up and come down.

People should just believe in God and have faith in Him that He would always take care of His children in the time of famine. We saw that there was famine in some places in the Bible, but it later ended. So, the period of recession would soon be over.

Buhari ‘s Mantra of Change Must Support Gender Balance Lady Charity Nwakolam Ohadiugha is the Nigerian anchor of the global outreach, Women International Network (WIN), hosting its first African conference in the country tomorrow in Abuja. Ohadiugha, a human resource development consultant who also runs the non-governmental organization the Human Resource Working Partners (HUWORPS), has been at the vanguard of inspiring women and Nigerian youths to new and higher values. She tells Kazeem Sumaina how theWIN global platform is helping to change the lives of women in Nigeria

H

ow would you define WIN and its objectives with emphasis on Nigeria?

WIN is an international women’s leadership organization inspiring women worldwide.

Women International Network (WIN) is a global vision birthed in 1997 by Kristin Engvig. It develops, empowers and connects with a feminine authentic global vision.

The WIN woman has an international and open mind-set and is community oriented. She is receptive to new technology and spirituality, embraces change and listens to her intuition.

She takes a holistic approach to work, family, community and self. All these we intend to showcase with a Nigerian content during this global conference coming to Africa for the first time.

The WIN mission seeks to raise feminine and global awareness, evokes change towards authentic leadership, encourages conscious business in sustainable ways through mentorship and seeks to inspire success based on individuality rather than stereotypes.

Is WIN an offshoot of the Beijing Conference?

WIN CONFERENCE is not a political organization and as matter of fact tries to be as apolitical as possible. It however models a global, authentic and feminine way of running

Will you say the Muhammadu Buhari administration has enough slots for women in his administration?

The Buhari administration is that of change.

We have no doubt that in this era of change - where round pegs are put in appropriate round holes, the present government will be conscious of the need for a paradigm shift that among other things calls for gender balance.

This position is so because Nigeria can boast of professional women in every strata of its life-economic, social, environmental and political.

business and the world. It thus proposes a paradigm shift where everyone contributes his or her quota to the running of organizations, without gender biases – to such an extent that organizations and societies flourish and all people thrive. Like the Beijing philosophy articulated by then US First Lady Hillary Clinton, of 5 September 1995, at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.

Women’s Rights are Human Rights.

Can you detail all you intend to discuss and how this will benefit the Nigerian woman whether as CEO or entrepreneur?

There will be what we call a World Class Plenary Sessions built around the theme, “Leading the Way.” The idea is to look at the global picture of leadership-socially, economically, politically, environmentally, et al; The Future Company will focus on the role of women in shaping the future in an organizational set up; Women with Vision and the Future Career; Realizing You: Integrating it all; Leading the Way: Networking and Mentoring with a global mindset are some of the intriguing conference discussions with workshops on leadership, self-vision and networking with pleasure and purpose Can you say the Nigerian woman is getting what she deserves in the polity?

Nigeria is a great country where women

Ohadiugha

have worked hand in hand with men for sustainable development. But we believe a lot still needs to be done to encourage women to bring out the best in them. The WIN Conference believes that women have a lot to offer in shaping the future of the Nigerian woman and women all over the globe.

How do you connect the conference theme to Nigeria’s economic problems while proposing the way out?

The WIN Conference which opens tomorrow has as its theme: “Leading the Way.” This theme comes at a time of economic recession and could not have come at a better time. One of the reasons why Nigeria found itself on this part is due to greed of some past leaders who ignored leadership toward growth and development but engaged in mindless amassing of the nation’s wealth. Today it is very important to engage in massive re-orientation of our people in a very conscious way, on the dangers of destroying the economy through corruption.

It is equally important to empower people to engage in purposeful business and governance

Continued on Pg.75

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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 • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

CICERO/REPORT/INTERVIEW

When LEAP Africa Honoured Social Innovators…

Kehinde Ayeni

O

n November 10th, 2016, the much anticipated LEAP Africa 2016 Social Innovators Programme and Awards (SIPA) 2016 held at Emerald Events Centre in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. This marked the 12th edition of the programme themed “Building Communities”.

Leadership, Effectiveness, Accountability and Professionalism (LEAP) Africa is a nonprofit organization that is committed to developing dynamic innovative and principled African Leaders. Among many programs that LEAP Africa organizes, the SIPA is an annual ceremony organized to recognise and reward the creative and innovative ideas of individuals that have concluded the one year Fellowship, thus providing solutions and tackling pressing community social needs and promoting social inclusion.

The occasion was graced by various dignified guests including the governor of Akwa Ibom State who was ably represented by his deputy, Mr. Moses Ekpo (MFR), Mr. Sam Edoho, Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Marketing and Brand Management, Mrs. Meflyn Anwana, and Special Assistant to the governor on New Media, Ms. Olaleje Olubade.

LEAP’s Board Director and MD, SO& U, Mr. Udeme Ufot, opened the awards with a welcome speech acknowledging the organization’s impact through SIPA and extensive reach through its youth programmes. He mentioned that thus far a hundred and twenty-five (125) change makers had been recognized who were already building communities to inspire other young people to break boundaries and effect change in their communities.

Being a native of Akwa Ibom state, Mr. Ufot also spoke of the Dakaada dream of the state government and declared his hope that the programme would be an inspiration to the Akwa Ibom youth to arise to the faith of greatness as demonstrated by the creed.

In Union Bank’s opening remarks, taken by Ms. Ololade Awogbade, Lead Special Projects and Sustainability, she re-affirmed the bank’s continued partnership with LEAP Africa and harped on the social impact of the fellow’s initiative across Nigeria.

She also acknowledged the great feat LEAP has accomplished towards solving some of the

major problems in Nigeria and Africa at large, with the hope that more young people would join in expanding and attaining this course.

Akwa Ibom State Government lent support to the awards with the deputy governor, challenging the innovative ingenuity of youth in the state through the LEAP Africa 2016 Social Innovators Programme and Awards to think of and provide solutions to the pertinent problems facing the citizens. He buttressed the state’s philosophy aligning with LEAP’s through other programmes such as Leadership, Ethics and Civics offered to 420 students in seven government schools in the state.

Speaking on the theme, Building Communities, Mr. Abasiama Idaresit, MD, Wild Fusion, advised entrepreneurs to look beyond making profits and focus on how to solve the social problems in communities in a way that is commercially valuable to the problem solver. He outlined steps to building communities viz-a-viz: identifying the social problem, identifying the solution and connecting both.

He equally said two important elements for small enterprises to metamorphose into big companies were passion and good use of technology. He ended his remarks by saying that not everything can be left for the government hence the youth should strive towards creating value and businesses at the same time impacting and building our communities.

19 Fellows graduated at the awards after successfully completing the 2015/2016 Fellowship programme. These young men and women were noted to have recorded visible growths and achievement in their various organisations.

One of the most exciting part of the awards was prize awards to three Fellows, Buba Imrana – founder, My TV My School Initiative; Adeloye Olarenwaju –founder, SaferMom; and Okocha Nkem – founder, Mamamoni, were all awarded the sum of N1,000,000.00 each by Union Bank - for having the most impactful social driven initiative in the last year.

Imrana Buba provides education for out of school children affected by insecurity and insurgence in Borno and Yobe States. Nkem Okocha provides funding with minimal interest below contemporary lending institutions to disadvantaged women and empowers women with free vocational skills training to start a business with the funds. Olanrewaju Adeloye provides expectant and new mothers with access to fast, quality and affordable healthcare through Safer Mom - a mobile app.

Tobore Edema, the founder of The Gladies,

The social inovators receiving the LEAP Africa award was the valedictorian for the graduating class.

She stated that being one of the awardees was the realisation of a dream she had birthed 5 to 6 years ago after watching an award ceremony

by LEAP Africa. In the spirit of the fellowship, Tobore highlighted that in spite of the various challenges their initiatives were faced with, passion, enthusiasm, vision, their role as custodians of change in Nigeria and being equipped by LEAP to inspire change in Africa has kept them going strong. She admitted that LEAP Africa had given them global feasibility and credibility which led to more global recognition such as the Queen Young Leadership Awards, US IVLP, Mandela Fellowship amongst others.

Just when the mind elevating occasion seemed over, Mrs. Iquo Ukoh delivered a good piece on “The Power of Story Telling in Market Enterprise”. She added to the words of the first speaker, Mr. Idaresit, to which she said that “we have to rethink, re-imagine, renovate, reload and re-lunch our ideas and initiatives, learn to tell our story better and stronger as it is all about using creative marketing to get attention and subsequent buy ins”. “If you can’t tell anything, you can’t sell anything” she added.

Sharing her personal story, her passion for health and nutrition led her to start 1QFoodPlatter an online food blog. She discovered the power of photography in storytelling and learnt how to use social media in visibility for

FoodPlatter. In two years, FP is one of the top five food blog sites in Africa and one of content providers for CNN Africa, BBC Outside Source and Buzzfeed.

LEAP and Union Bank announced 20 finalist joining the programme for 2016/2017 class.

Furthermore, awards of recognition were presented to the speakers and 5 distinguished young entrepreneurs of Akwa Ibom State: Eddie Brendan of Ed Creative Studios, Utoye Imoiyo the CEO Latunya Signatures, Donald Bassey, CEO Shade Cover Limited, Handson Johnson, the founder and CEO of Starters Innovative Hub and Tony & Francis Ono, co-founders of the RootHub. There was a beautiful display of talent by the Famous Dance Group and a motivational piece of spoken word poetry by Esther Okwote. Imran, Nkem and Adeloye were not the only winners - five guests won N5, 000 worth of suregifts.com vouchers each.

In the end, Asuquo Asuquo the Program Coordinator of LEAP Africa gave his closing remarks showing great anticipation for the new SIP set, thanking all individuals and organizations that had helped to make the occasion a success and called forth the LEAP Africa team for recognition for the successful work they had done to make the programme happen. In all the LEAP Africa 2016 Social Innovators Programme and Awards was a huge success with raves for SIPA 2017 ringing out loud.

• ‘Buhari ‘s Mantra of Change Must support gender BalanCe’• Continued from Pg. 74 in sustainable ways. This is one of the objectives of the WIN CONFERENCE. Is WIN an all-women’s platform?

Yes it is but the conference which has held globally at different times is coming to Nigeria for the first time and I happen to be the local anchor.

The WIN Conference welcomes men of awareness, men who see in women a partner for growth in our discussions. The WIN man wants to understand how women are changing work and life. He desires to participate in the creation of a truly human future, setting new norms in society, economic life, cultural milieus and organizations from an integral and holistic perspective. He desires to groom awareness for future growth and is not afraid of sharing leadership with women.

How do women combine their busy schedules with the demands of organizations like WIN? Women naturally are gifted with multitasking capacity. We intend to x-ray all of that talent and further empower ourselves to leverage on it and create a balance for work and home. Above all we encourage women to create a vision and stay focused.

What led you to this passion for women empowerment in the country?

My passion for women empowerment in Nigeria was borne out of the desire to discourage negative behaviors in women, minimize abuses of all kinds; including rape, forced

marriage, injustice against widows, child labor et al.

Over the years I observed that deprivation and poverty have been the factors that motivate and reinforce negative behavior in women.

Poverty makes women vulnerable and desperate. Most women depend on their husbands for food, shelter and all the good things of life. When such husband dies or walks away, the woman is left stranded without money and most times without job or any form of skill to enable her secure a job or set up some business.

This often makes such a woman vulnerable to abuse and exposes her to the antics of traffickers, who often promise to assist her migrate to Europe or America, where they will get employment. Eventually she ends up in prostitution against her wish in those countries.

Moved by the plight of such women and the urge to curtail the fruitless economic migration of youths to more developed countries through the Mediterranean I set up the NonGovernmental Organization-Human Resource working Partners (HURWORPS) to serve as a platform to discourage these vices.

How are you helping to curtail the mass movement of Nigerian youths overseas?

In view of the horrendous experiences of Nigerian youths emigrating abroad, it became imperative that continuous enlightenment and sensitization of our youths on the real implication of this kind of fruitless emigration to other countries is what we need to save them and our nation. There are cases of Nigerian youths

arrested while in transit for not having relevant immigration documents and subsequently jailed in so many countries, including African countries like Libya and Morocco. Sometimes their families back home would not have knowledge of their where about until they finish serving their prison terms.

There are stories of how Nigerian youths exhaust their finances while trekking through the Sahara desert and eventually resort to drinking their own urine and other such things to survive. Those who are not able to survive the rigour die on the way and buried in the sand while others continue their journey.

HUWORPS has helped these youths re-focus their vision while exposing them to the danger of such reckless adventures.

In the past nine years, HURWORPS has inspired and empowered over 400 women and youths through a skills acquisition program and outright employment. The organization has also sponsored five women to a WIN Conference in Rome and India in recent times, thereby tremendously enhancing these women’s self-worth and productivity.

In your numerous travels what major differences and similarities define Nigerian women and those from other countries?

I think the most striking difference I find is that elsewhere young people are independent of their parents. They plan their lives with the guide and support of their parents though, but they take full ownership of such plans and its implementation. In contrast, the Nigerian youth is fully dependent on his parents. There

are cases where full grown men still live off their parents, and will never take any decision without them. They rely on their parents to plan their lives and implement the plan for them.

However, the Nigerian woman is strong and loyal to her husband. She supports her husband in caring for the children and the home. Despite her seeming lack of vocational skill, the Nigerian woman is a born trader and farmer, and by these businesses she supports her husband.

If with minimal or no resources, she is able to create something it follows therefore that with some level of skills training the Nigerian woman would do marvelously well. Elsewhere, the women are not as loyal. They often claim equality with their husbands and often threaten to throw the man out of the house if he misbehaves.

What are the peculiar challenges you face as a coach and mentor?

The peculiar challenges I face as a coach and mentor include the impatience of young people to learn. They are so ambitious that they can hardly be coached. They are not humble enough to learn.

What major activities of HUWORPS have helped to redefine the Nigerian Woman?

HURWORPS has amongst other training programs, sponsored about six women and young ladies to international conferences in the U.S, Rome, India and other countries to learn and to have first-hand experience of global best practices.

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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 • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

PERSPECTIVE

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (ML/CFT) in Nigeria – A Call for Rescue Abdullahi Y. Shehu

T

he aim of any AML/CFT regime is to prevent, detect, interdict and control money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The global framework for this is adumbrated and elaborated in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40 Recommendations on Money Laundering, and the Financing Terrorism and Proliferation (2012). In brief, the Recommendations set out measures, including AML/CFT policies and coordination; criminalization; prevention; transparency; as well as powers of competent authorities and international cooperation, for the prevention and control of these phenomena. The forty recommendations the acceptable international standards against money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing and are enforced globally. The enforcement of these measures is monitored through the FATF network process of peer review known as ‘mutual evaluation’. Countries that are not members of the FATF or its Regional Style Body are targeted based on perceived deficiencies and risks from their jurisdictions and engaged by the FTF for the purpose of enforcing compliance with the standards.

The FATF Standards, even though referred as recommendations have become powerful tools for combating transnational organized crime and their enforcement has become a major policy issue in all jurisdictions. Indeed, the spirit and letter of the standards have proven over the years to promote sanity and best practices and protect the international financial system. Thus, any country enforcing the standards does so in its own interests and not necessarily satisfying foreign obligations.

The Nigerian AML/CFT Regime

Although Nigeria is not a member of the FATF, it is a founding and active member of the ECOWAS InterGovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering (GIABA), which is a FATF Style Regional Body responsible for the promotion and enforcement of the FATF standards in West Africa. Accordingly, Nigeria has committed to the full implementation of the international standards against money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing. Nigeria’s AML/CFT was the first to evolve in West Africa, and indeed the whole Africa, because the Nigerian Money Laundering Decree No. 3 of 1995, even though it criminalized only drug money laundering, was the first piece of legislation against money laundering in Africa. Nigeria was the first country in West Africa to establish a specialized agency (the EFCC) for money laundering enforcement; the first to establish a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU); and most importantly, it was Nigeria’s leadership, in collaboration with the UNODC and the ECOWAS that led to the establishment of the regional body (GIABA). Unfortunately, however, and despite being the first to put in place the initial structures for AML, Nigeria missed the opportunity to become the first African country to attain a FATF membership, mainly because Nigeria’s efforts were not properly coordinated and sustained.

By the FATF fundamental and technical criteria, Nigeria is no doubt a strategic country obviously because of the prevalence of corruption and money laundering, but mainly because of its GDP, the size of its banking and financial system, its integration with the international financial system, as well as its geographical and political influence in Africa.

As a result of none response (in fact nonchalant attitude) of Nigeria to engage, the FATF was left with no alternative than to blacklist Nigeria among countries considered to be non-cooperative countries and territories (NCCTs) in 2001.

Subjecting Nigeria to this process meant that Nigeria was perceived as a risky jurisdiction for business and all financial transactions with Nigerian banks were subjected to extra ordinary scrutiny - and embarrassment. But this did not stop the laundering of proceeds of corrupt enrichment from Nigeria in other jurisdictions anyway. I am not going into the details of the responsibilities of other jurisdictions here as it is not the aim of this article.

It took Nigeria six years of engagement to be removed from the NCCTs process in June 2006. One of the conditions for Nigeria’s removal from the black list was for Nigeria’s AML/ CFT system to be evaluated by GIABA to ascertain its level of compliance with acceptable international standards. The first comprehensive mutual evaluation of the AML/CFT regime was carried out in 2008 and the report showed significant deficiencies, particularly in strategic areas like insufficient criminalization of the offences of money laundering and terrorist financing, lack of effective regulation and supervision of the financial system, inadequate records keeping of financial transactions, insufficient measures for the enforcement of United Nations Resolutions 1267 and 1373 with respect to financing of terrorism, and lack of mutual legal assistance law to facilitate effective international cooperation, among others.

These deficiencies again, made Nigeria to be subjected to the FATF review under its International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) process in 2010. By subjecting Nigeria to the

on AML/CFT. How can that change the system back home other than draining resources? It is disappointing, to say the least, that many countries, most of which are less endowed started the process after Nigeria, but due to their commitment and prioritization of actions, they have surpassed Nigeria in many aspects. This is why my own contribution is not a critique per se, but a call for rescue to address the weaknesses in the Nigerian system.

Nigeria’s Membership of the FATF

Malami two FATF processes of global enforcement is not suggestive of Nigeria’s strategic importance; but rather notoriety for non compliance, which is not good for the image and integrity of the country. Nigeria suffered the consequences and also had to invest both in human and material resources to get out of this process in 2013. As an active participant in all these processes, I feel very bad for my country and all this is blamed on lack of synergy and coordination of Nigeria’s efforts. There are too many stakeholders in the AML/CFT arena, and yet leadership remains a huge challenge.

Within the framework of the GIABA processes, the ministers of Finance, Justice and interior in each country are responsible for AML/CFT, but the obvious responsibility going by the FATF standards lies with the minister of finance.

I was told the Minister of Justice has this responsibility in Nigeria, and yet sixty percent of AML/CFT obligations lay within the financial sector. Furthermore, the key strategic technical deficiencies, notably, the lack of a mutual legal assistance, asset recovery and management laws, as well as harmonization of the money laundering and terrorism prevention laws are the responsibilities of the minister of Justice.

Vulnerabilities and Risks in the AML/CFT Regime

The main thrust of AML/CFT is the identification and mitigation of risks. That is why the international standards place emphasis on risk assessment, which Nigeria has recently done but the report is yet to be released. Without pre-empting the outcome of the risk assessment, I know for certain that since 2013 after Nigeria was removed from the FATF ICRG Process, the following fundamental weaknesses remain in its AML/CFT regime: • Absence of compressive mutual legal assistance legislation.

• Lack of Proceeds of Crime Law. • Lack of harmonization of the various amendments made to the Money Laundering (Prohibition) and the Prevention of Terrorism Acts 2013 to make them consistent with acceptable international standards.

• Ineffective coordination of the overall AML/CFT regime.

• Controversy surrounding the status and location of the Nigeria Financial intelligence Unit (NFIU).

• Lack of credible records of statistics on the achievements in AML/CFT. • Obvious or visible patterns of money laundering through various methods, including massive outflow of cash, real estate and the prevalence of corruption.

• Poor records of dealing with ‘high profile’ corruption cases, most of which remain inclusive.

• Weak beneficial ownership and legal arrangements, among others.

It should be noted that these weaknesses are within the technical compliance requirements; meaning that there is more to be done to achieve effectiveness as a pre-requisite for the next round of evaluation under the revised FATF Standards.

Rather than for Nigeria to focus on addressing the strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT, which would automatically give it credit and recognition to become a member of the FATF if that is Nigeria’s ultimate objective; there is a misplaced priority on Nigerian officials’ participation in FATF Plenary meetings to “observe and learn” nothing that is not already known

Becoming a member of the FATF is desirable for Nigeria, but it is not a priority. What is a priority and important for Nigeria is to review its AML/CFT architecture and address the specific technical deficiencies that would provide the building blocks for a solid regime. Without those building blocks being in place, little can be achieved in terms of effectiveness, talk more of aspiring to become a member of the FATF. In any case, Nigeria can play a leading role within the regional AML/CFT framework that can earn it the respect of the international community and by so doing, becoming a member of the FATF will be much easier. In fact, the FATF will be the one courting Nigeria rather than Nigeria struggling to become a part of it.

At any rate the criteria for attaining FATF membership are clear and these include the technical requirements that a country must achieve nothing below the rating of largely compliant on the core recommendation 3, which has do with criminalization of money laundering; recommendation 5, which has do with criminalization of terrorist financing; recommendation 10, which deals with customer due diligence; recommendation 11, on records keeping; and recommendation 20, on reporting of suspicious transactions.

Can the current status of the NFIU achieve this requirement?

The Status and Location of the NFIU

Practitioners in the AML/CFT cycle have always asked and would be eager to know my view with respect to the seemingly controversial status and location of the NFIU. I have come to realize that the problem with the NFIU is not with its operational independence as most people would claim, but with a misplaced notion of who is in charge of what and a misperception of public office as a personal and life time vocation. Perhaps the most credible arguments in the controversy for a review of status and location of the NFIU are that: (1) the EFCC being a law enforcement agency cannot at the same time be the FIU of Nigeria as contained in section 1 (2) of the EFCC Establishment Act; and (2) the NFIU has not been administered professionally to make it truly a centralized authority for all law enforcement agencies to derive financial intelligence from it, rather, it is perceived as the property of the EFCC. Indeed, we must acknowledge the foresight and good leadership of the EFCC in establishing and strengthening the NFIU, but since we must conform to acceptable standards, what is required is either to enact a standalone law establishing the FIU according to the Egmont standard, or amend the EFCC Act to say the FIU is located within the EFCC as it has to be located somewhere anyway.

There is no proof that the FIU can be better in any other location other than where it is at the moment. After, all what is in a location? It is instructive to note that what is required is the operational autonomy and financial independence of the FIU and its ability to serve all law enforcement agencies.

That can be achieved through either of the two alternatives contemplated here. This seems to be a hard nut to crack, but it must be done somehow if the system must work very well.

Conclusion and the Way Forward

Anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism is an important element of the fight against corruption, which is one of the main thrusts of the government of Nigeria.

Yet, since 2013, no significant input has been added to the AML/CFT framework. As Nigeria seeks to strengthen democracy by reinforcing rule of law, there is no alternative to strengthening the mechanisms for accountability, including a robust ML/CFT regime. These issues are neither academic, nor are they political, in spite of the legislative processes; they are purely technical issues, which require technical expertise to address. With South Africa as a member of the FATF and with Egypt nearer to attaining membership, the regional balance that FATF sought for may have been achieved to some extent. However, it would still be a fact that sub-saharan African is not represented and it would be a disappointment if any other country will overtake Nigeria and become a member of the FATF. The second round of the evaluations have already commenced and if the Nigerian system remains as it is with the strategic deficiencies mentioned earlier on, Nigeria’s leadership and influence in AML/CFT will diminish regrettably. Time is of the essence and a word is enough for the wise.

––Abdullahi Shehu is a Professor of Criminology and former Director General of the ECOWAS InterGovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering (GIABA).

77

NOVEMBER 20, 2016 • THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

PERSPECTIVE

The Senate and Buhari’s Borrowing Plan

N Olu Isaac

igerian legislators love to call the National Assembly the “People’s Parliament.”

But since 1999 when the country returned to civil rule, many would agree that the National Assembly has not been in the highest estimation of ordinary Nigerians.

While there is little doubt that some of the brightest and patriotic Nigerians have been elected into top lawmaking body, the group act of both chambers have not reflected such.

Yes, leaders of the parliament have mouthed populists’ rhetoric, and even intervened on a few occasion on the side of the people, but what has defined the character of the parliament in the minds of Nigerians are those issues that have stirred the greatest passion in the legislators.

The issues of “urgent national attention” for the legislators are more often than not those bothering on slander of leaders of the legislature, perceived lopsidedness in appointments and issues affecting their emoluments and welfare. Those issues directly affecting the masses get secondary attention or no attention at all. And when they do get attention, it is because the legislators want to spar with the executive.

That, to my mind, is the case with the Senate’s rejection of the borrowing plan of President Muhammadu Buhari. The president had forwarded a request to the National Assembly to approve external borrowing plan of $29.960 billion to execute key infrastructural projects across the country between 2016 and 2018.

He made the requests in two separate letters to the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara. But when the request came up for consideration, senators rejected the proposal entirely.

It was, to say the least, a shocking outcome to the executive and to most Nigerians, especially since the president spelt out in details of what the loan would do.

In a letter explaining the purpose of the loan, the president said the fund target projects cutting across all sectors. It states: “Considering the huge infrastructural deficit currently being experienced in the country and the enormous financial resources required to fill the gap in the face of dwindling resources and the

inability of our annual budget to bridge the infrastructure deficit, it has become necessary to resort to prudent external borrowing to bridge the financial gap which will largely be applied to key infrastructure projects namely power, railway and road project amongst others.”

Other sectors, it said, included poverty reduction through social safety net programmes and governance and financial management reforms, among others. The cost of the projects and programmes under the borrowing (rolling) plan is $29.960 billion. This is made up of proposed projects and programmes loan of $11.274 billion, special national infrastructure projects $10.686 billion, Euro bonds of $4.5 billion and Federal Government budget support of $3.5 billion.

It is doubtful whether the senate consulted economic or development experts before arriving at its decision to throw out the president’s external loan request. Explanations coming from the national assembly do not suggest the legislators’ bothered to seek professional advice. And if they sought expert advice, then their rejection of the loan request was done against good advice, and perhaps, as many think, for political gains.

It does not require a PhD in economics to know that spending on essential capital projects is one of the surest and fastest ways of reflating an economy in depression. Not only would businesses that have closed shop open for business again, but Nigerians who had lost their jobs due to recession would get them back. This would have immediate multiplier effect on all sectors of the economy.

Now the argument that borrowing such huge amount would mortgage the future of the country is not only pedestrian but laughable.

One way of putting debts in perspective is to compare it to the gross domestic product (GDP) of a country. The debt-to-GDP is one primary indicator of a country’s economic health as lower ratio is generally perceived as more favourable.

The statistics certainly favour the president’s borrowing plan, and economists have said so too. Nigeria recorded a dent-to-GDP ratio of 11.50 percent in 2015. The highest ratio was in 2001 when it was 88 per cent. Compare this figure with that of the United States, the country with the highest debt burden in the world, whose debt profile is approaching $13 trillion. Though the US is the most indebted country on earth, it debt-to-GDP is still favourable, at 92 percent.

That is why it is still the strongest economy in the world.

And it is the reason why the US is not on

Ekweremadu the list of countries with the worst debt-to-GDP ratio such as Japan, Greece and Iceland, whose debt-to-GDP exceeds 120 percent.

The cerebral DG of the Debt Management Office, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, also found it unbelievable that Nigerian legislators would throw out a plan as favourable to the country as the one being proposed by the president.

Nwankwo has been speaking on the matter since the Senate’s unpopular decision. He revealed that the concessionary interest rate of the loan, at 1.5 percent, was a far cry from previous loan arrangements with the Paris Club of creditors, which came with floating interest rates as high as 18 percent.

The DMO DG said during one of his interviews that for Nigeria to pull the economy out of recession, government must embrace what he called a “conventional public borrowing” to fund critical infrastructures as President Buhari planned. This is not a loan to be disbursed at the whims and caprices of the presidency; it is projects –specific loan that can be tracked by the public and the legislature.

Nwankwo also made more interesting revelations. He said long before the drop in global crude oil prices in mid-2014, it was clear Nigeria needed to invest about $25 billion per annum for 7 to 10 years to cover its huge infrastructure deficit. But with the drastic drop in oil revenues,

he said the country faced additional challenge in financing gap in public revenues estimated at about $20 billion per annum.

“This means Nigeria’s total investment deficit is not $25 billion per annum, but $45 billion per annum,” Nwankwo said, stressing that with the huge structural financing gap, the country needed to tap capital from all available sources, including short- term and long-term borrowing with tenors of 15 years and above, to survive.

Another interesting observation about the loan is that the projects to be funded cut across all sector-infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply and employment generation. Other sectors include poverty reduction through social safety net programmes, governance and management reforms, among others.

Many development experts have suggested that more investments in agriculture alone could turn around the economy as the sector employs more than 70 per cent of Nigerians.

If you add that to infrastructure projects such as road and railway construction, and power, you are talking about a recipe for one of the fastest economic recoveries in modern times.

It is truly confounding that our legislators are blind to these potentials, and have chosen instead to dissipate energy on technicalities and protocols, making mountains out of mole hills always. If the executive fails to include certain statements or details in a proposal, is that enough to warrant the loud noise we hear from the legislators’ chambers? Why is the legislature regarded as the third arm of government? Or has the Nigerian legislature become a government of its own, competing with the president popularly elected to lead the government of the country?

When there are gaps in executive proposals, is it not the job of the leaders of the national assembly to quietly sort out contending issues before they are laid on the floors during plenaries? Why are we daily treated to unpleasant melodrama in a National Assembly controlled by the ruling party? If the legislators feel compelled to draw out the executive, it should wait for such opportunities to present itself. It is bad politics when projects that are beneficial to the people are blocked just to spite the executive, which in truth, may deserve some doses of legislative jabs.

Olu is a public affairs analyst.

Afemikhe: Rekindling Hope for a Better Nigeria Yinka Olatunbosun

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lmost everyone has an idea about how Nigeria can become a greater nation. That explains why there are divergent views on this issue.

But one man knows how to keep everyone on the same page, literarily. He is SamuelAfemikhe and he has done so by constructively putting his well-articulated thoughts in a book that will soon hit the book stands. Titled, “Hope Rekindled”, the book is necessarily voluminous as the overall content draws upon dogged research and analysis. With over 800 pages organized into four broad sections of independent modular chapters, the author’s quest is to proffer solutions to the challenges that incapacitate Nigeria and her citizenry.

Afemikhe is an experienced chartered accountant; transparency, business and value for money consultant and strategist. His new literary effort leans strongly against the backdrop of hands-on experience, wide consultation powered by much positive energy.

This reporter got a wind of this in a brief encounter with the author in his Lagos office recently as he prepares for a launch of the book in Abuja on November 24 at the Musa Yar’Adua Centre.

Most likely, his choice of venue for the book launch is deliberate; bringing the valuable information closer to the government at the centre. A reader may wonder why he needs to read yet another book on rebuilding Nigeria. For one, the author possesses a very infectious optimism about Nigeria, injected through the book and that’s exactly what Nigerians need at this time in our collective history. Afemikhe explained how the theme of the book was developed through a team of thinkers.

Afemikhe “Hope Rekindled is a book that benchmarks Nigeria against nine other countries that gained their independence about the same time as Nigeria,’’ he began. “They share similarities in ethnic and religious structures. I try to see to why Nigeria has continued to regress since 1960 when we gained independence and why the other countries have progressed tremendously. Some of these countries have gone from “third world’’ to “first world’’. I looked at the areas where we have significant weaknesses and as a result I suggested what needs to be done to ensure that things get better.’’

What accounts for the volume of the book is that it includes the extensive research used in benchmarking Nigeria against her peers in terms of politics, rule of law, while proffering solutions to her myriads of challenges. The writer examined the nation’s competitive edge in the comity of nations, her resources and her people.

“The simple principle is to do the right thing and do it well. If you don’t do the right thing, you won’t get the right result. One drawback to avoid is not leveraging on the strength. Nigeria’s strength is in her diversity and history. Nigeria is a potentially great country. We didn’t want a situation where only one percent are significantly wealthy. Our poverty rate is about 60 percent. It is how you spend what you earn that determines your welfare,’’ he pointed out.

In many fora, it has been argued that Nigeria was wrongfully assembled at amalgamation; with many tribes still at war over the years. The author thinks that this is an erroneous notion.

“Absolutely not; in this book, we have looked at Nigeria’s strengths and weaknesses. Nigeria is rich; every ethnic group brings something to the table. When we had just four regions we were doing very well, even better than our peers. But we grew from that to 36 states. Meanwhile 82 percent of our expenditure goes to government. What about the governed?

It is no surprise that our infrastructure is in decay, hospitals, electricity schools and we require these for progress. The human development capital is essential for economic growth. Nigeria is not going anywhere.

It can wobble, fumble, stumble but it cannot break. It won’t break. We just need to make a success of it. We may have skirmishes in most of the regions and that tells you that something is wrong,’’ he remarked.

It took about eight months to complete the book.

The team, led by the author created the detailed piece about the contradictions in Nigeria that set her back. With his recommendations, certain reforms had been recorded in public procurement structure. He advocates such transparency in his book and hopes that the knowledge is converted to positive societal change. ‘’There is no need chasing people all round.

When the cost of being honest is more than being dishonest, then corruption will always be here. We need to apply modern tools. Create the competitiveness that will bring employment opportunities and economic freedom,’’ he suggested.

Perhaps the concern of many Nigerian writers is that Nigerians don’t read. That’s not what bothers Afemikhe as he observed.

“I don’t think the problem of Nigeria is reading.

The problem of Nigeria is we don’t learn lessons.

When you finish a project, you must evaluate what happened to the project so that you carry lessons learnt to the next project, so that you don’t repeat the same mistakes. We don’t pass laws to solve problems. I will give you an example. In the petroleum industry where I work, and I know very well, Nigeria is losing billions annually because there are no laws. And the elites are our problem. They go overseas; they watch CNN and they still fail to do the right thing. Nigerians need to be enlightened about our challenges. The book has made it easy to read. If you don’t want to read line by line, you can just read the box where you have the highlights,’’ he said.

Sam Afemikhe is an extensively experienced Senior Consultant and Project Leader with over 28 years professional experience in auditing, value added services and management studies and reviews. He trained with C. A. Pitts & Co. and R. A. Dilsworth in the United Kingdom and has managed statutory audits of multinationals companies.

His previous books include The pursuit of Value for Money, published by Spectrum Books Limited (2003) and Budget Implementation and value for money – The Due Process Experience (2005) and Public Procurement Policies and Practices, published

by Gold Press Limited (2011).

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

PERSPECTIVE

Reflections on Ogun Summer Camp Soyombo Opeyemi

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gun State governor, Senator IbikunleAmosun (Centre), flanked by his wife, Mrs Olufunso Amosun (Right), Deputy Governor, MrsYetunde Onanuga (Left) and Commissioner for Education, Mrs Modupe Mujota, during the visit of the Ogun State Summer Camp school children to the Government House, Oke-Igbein,Abeokuta.

Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, did not set out to prove the critics wrong. His mission was to rebuild Ogun State and then leave the stage for others, confident that he had played his allotted part in the development of the state.

Criticisms, after all, constitute some lubrication to the mill of development. When constructive, the society is the ultimate beneficiary. But when destructive, they have the capacity to distract even the most focused government and constitute some drag on the wheel of progress, the degree depending on the knowledge, experience, exposure and courage of the man behind the steering.

On that last point I amplify. In 1952, the decision of the Action Groupled Government to introduce Free Universal Primary Education and free health care for children up to the age of 18 was greeted with severe criticisms. The Opposition excoriated the scheme. But Chief Obafemi Awolowo, then Leader of Government Business, stuck to his gun. In his address at the Western House of Assembly in January 23rd, 1953, he declared, “... we of the Action Group will press forward in the execution of the laudable projects which this House has unanimously approved and accepted... believing as we do that God Almighty, who sees our hearts and knows we are doing all these things to better the lot of our people, is on our side, and confident also that our beloved and trusting masses, when they begin to enjoy the delectable fruits of the education and health levy which they are now being called upon to pay, will now and in future years remember us with gratitude and adoration as their faithful and devoted servants, and their only true friends and benefactors.”

It is needless repeating here that those words of Awo turned out to be prophetic. One of the readers of the article after the launch of free education with free textbooks by the Amosun administration, “Free Education in Ogun: An Evaluation”, where I made reference to the Silver Jubilee of the introduction of Free Universal Primary Education in the old Western Region, reacted as follows: “I read the piece on the above subject and I must confess, it really touched me and I was almost moved to tears as I happened to be one of the beneficiaries of the Free Education System in Ogun State, and particularly the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the programme. I was then in my primary school but will never forget the celebration in a hurry as the entire schools in my local government were joyous, with each school slaughtering a cow and all the pupils singing ‘Eko Ofe Pe Odun Medogbon....’ Kudos to the amiable Governor of Ogun State for restoring the glory of education in the state.” - Adeleye Yahaya, lateefyahaya74@ gmail.com.

In that same article in 2012, I observed: “When, in the course of the recent assessment tour of the 20 local councils in Ogun State by the

Amosun governor, school children from some far-flung communities displayed their textbooks while welcoming the governor, I knew the depth of indebtedness felt by their teachers, parents and, of course, the pupils themselves. It was a touching moment for many of us... Amosun has opened a new chapter in the lives of these children and they will grow up to remember this, just like the beneficiaries of the scheme in the old Western Region.”

Just like Awo’s free education scheme, the model school initiative of the Amosun government also faced criticisms at inception. And like Awo, Amosun forged ahead with the project, believing that he was “doing all these things to better the lot of our people.” He did not build the 21st century-compliant model schools for the Amosun family but for citizens of the state. The average politician believes in giving just anything to the public. But Amosun has come to change the paradigm. The public deserves the very best too. History beckons today as the children of the poor now sit side by side - in the same classroom - with the children of the rich at the Summer Camp organised by the Ogun State Government at the Model School, Ewekoro, the first of such initiative in the history of this country. This programme has confounded critics. The well-to-do parents paid for their wards while government sponsored many students based on their performance at the Unified Examinations for all public schools conducted by the Ogun State Ministry of Education. Majority of the 250 children that attended the camp were from public schools.

By way of parenthesis, one should mention that it is quite ironical that the very people that criticised the model school initiative and their supporters have been mounting pressures on government functionaries to get their children to be part of the ongoing pilot phase of the scheme...

What exactly should be the future of these state-of-the-art model schools? As at 1980, if one may recall, the Nigeria Airways (NA) had at

least 30 aircraft in its fleet. By the year 2000, the parastatal had only one carrier with over 2,000 (two thousand) workers... before it was liquidated.

Before General Obasanjo left office in 1979, Nigeria could boast of at least 20 ships but twenty years after, no one could say with certainty the state of the remaining one in the company of the Nigeria Shipping Authority.

During his visit to Ogun State in February this year to unveil forty legacy projects to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the state, President Muhammadu Buhari reflected on the state of the nation with nostalgia: “During that period (1976-1979), we built Warri and Kaduna refineries. We laid so many pipelines and then we were exporting petroleum products. But what do we have today?”

To underscore the attitude of government business being nobody’s business in Nigeria, a mere euphemism for corruption or mismanagement, Sogerma, a French maintenance company, in 1988, seized one of the Nigeria Airways planes in order to recover a debt of $13 million. The same fate befell another NA jet via a French court order over unpaid debts. Sometime in 1986, four of Nigerian ships were seized in the United Kingdom and Portugal because of unpaid debts of $9 million. As a matter of fact, the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) had to suspend business in European waters for the fear that more of its vessels might be impounded on account of debts!

It would have been a different thing if the current administration will continue to be in power for decades. After all, virtually all the moribund agencies of government that had previously been mismanaged or run aground have been bludgeoned to life by the present government.

Even though the Buhari administration is doing its best to lay a solid foundation that will restore the glory of the country, given the peculiar political atmosphere in Nigeria, nothing is totally predictable. Our political environment is fluid, very fluid indeed! Nevertheless, we all can ensure a complete shift in paradigm or change of attitude (where government business will be everybody’s business) by giving our unalloyed support to the Buhari administration in its mission to salvage this country from the ruins of the past.

The Ogun State Summer Camp, where the best students from public schools in the three senatorial districts were sponsored by the government and other children paid for by their rich parents, already presents a template that is a win-win situation for the citizens of Ogun and the state-of-the-art facilities in these model schools. We all wish to look back in fifty or a hundred years’ time and be proud of these monuments, as we do of such structures in the United Kingdom and United States, which have stood like the Rock of Gibraltar, unmoved by time and age.

Maintenance is the word!

Indeed, the dream of Governor Amosun for an egalitarian society, where the children of the rich and those from poor homes will have the same access to world class educational facilities is now on the threshold of fulfilment through the Summer Camp at the Model College, Ewekoro.

It simply turned out that the critics have been proved wrong. Senator Ibikunle Amosun has set a standard in the education firmament of the state below which no future government is permitted to fall... Congratulations to the governor for another milestone in his Mission to Rebuild Ogun State.

––Soyombo sent in this piece via densityshow@yahoo.com

A Giant Step Towards Helping Niger Delta Farmers Amaechi Christopher

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n Wednesday, November 16, 2016, Market Development in the Niger Delta (MADE), a UK government DFID-funded development programme, which seeks to increase the incomes of at least 150,000 poor men and women in the Niger Delta, launched a Technology Adoption Grant (TAG) fund in Owerri, the capital of Imo State. The TAG Fund, which is an N80,000,000.00 (Eighty Million Naira) private sector matching grant fund is aimed at stimulating improved performance in select agriculture value chains in palm oil and fisheries, to increase incomes for individuals and enterprises in the sector and to drive economic growth in the Niger Delta.

The programme which is billed to last for four and a half years, has been in existence for three years and in that period MADE has succeeded in initiating and supporting growth in the Niger Delta non-oil economy by stimulating sustainable, pro-poor growth in selected agricultural and agricultural input markets, and improving the position of economically active poor men and women in these markets by making them more inclusive. This they did by adopting a market development approach.

Using this approach, MADE has facilitated partnerships with the private sector in five market systems across seven of the nine Delta States namely in Edo, Delta, Cross River, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Imo States.

Speaking at the launch in Owerri, the Team Lead of MADE, Mr. Tunde Oderinde, told participants that MADE was not only interested in palm oil and fisheries, given the focus of the

TAG fund, but that MADE was also doing so much more in other value chains in various market systems including in agricultural inputs, household poultry, and cassava. He also spoke of the particular attention MADE has paid to the Leather Industry in Aba. MADE intervention implementation continues with focus on consolidating and scaling-up series of initiatives with market actors in the five value chains across all nine Niger Delta states.

While the launching of the fund was held in Owerri, the fund is for the nine Niger Delta states and open to all interested parties who meet the eligibility criteria outlined for applicants and published on MADE’s website, social media platforms and handbills shared at the venue. According to Oderinde, ‘TAG is not going to be a one-off programme as there are other areas of interest where technology adoption would result in increase in the earning capacity of the market actors and players, but for palm oil and fisheries, the launch is only the beginning’. The launch was held in Imo State because of an earlier promise made to the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, by the MADE team during the 2016 NDDF, which held in the State in October, that MADE would be back to Owerri to kick off some of its intervention programmes.

These interventions include in areas of improving fish farmers’ knowledge and access to new markets and is focused on increasing the income of pond fish farmers, by increasing their technical capacity in fish pond management and their entrepreneurial skills. The initiative supports wild capture fishermen to reduce post-harvest losses through the introduction of smoking kiln in select processing centres. This intervention forms one of the three windows of the TAG fund with a distinct

focus through which eligible applicants can apply for funding. This window focuses on improving access to affordable improved fish smoking Kiln because access to new kilns will increase smoking efficiency i.e. the time it takes to smoke fish, smoking capacity i.e. the amount of fish that can be smoked in a given time, and reduce fuel costs. This will also reduce wastage of unprocessed fish and increase incomes for the smokers. Improved fish smoking capacity is also expected to increase incomes and profitability for fish smokers as it will reduce on-shore post-harvest losses. Those who have benefited from prior MADE’s fish farming intervention have learnt to increase their incomes by reducing their production costs, increasing their effective yield, producing bigger and higher value fish as well as engaging in strategies for discovering and accessing alternative markets.

That MADE is deeply involved with the people of the Niger Delta and is in tune with their challenges to access various available technologies to improve their economic outputs is not in doubt. According to Oderinde, MADE came up with TAG fund because of the feedback they got from their interventions especially in oil palm where processors were losing as much as 35% of their yield due to inefficient methods of processing and the man hours wasted due to inefficient harvesting methods and technologies used. The inefficiency in oil palm processing gave rise to the second funding window which is to improve access to improved Palm Oil processing technologies. By initiating the funding window, MADE is encouraging equipment manufacturers to fabricate and sell small sized components of improved palm oil processing technologies in order to address the low oil out-

put and earnings experienced by smallholder farmers and millers through the use of engine powered digester and a manual press.

One of such small sized component is the NIFOR designed Small Scale Processing Equipment (SSPE) which has been proven to increase oil extraction rates by 30%, reduce time spent on processing and labour usage.

Grants received from the TAG Fund will enable farmers, SME agro-processors and commercial millers who are interested in acquiring the small set of SSPE for their use and organizing demonstrations on its benefits and use targeted at other millers, mill-users and farmers, acquire them. This is expected to increase awareness on the benefits of SSPE and in turn, increase demand for the technologies by millers and mill users, thus leading to increased oil yields.

Another funding window open to beneficiaries focuses on improving access to improved harvesting technologies. This third funding window was initiated because of the highly inefficient manual operation of harvesting of oil palm Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) by small and medium scale oil palm plantation farmers in the Niger Delta region. Added to this, is the scarcity of climbers due to growing risks associated with manual climbing, changing demographics and rural-urban migration.

MADE is engaging with the marketers to promote the benefits and use of improved harvesting technologies such as the Mechanical Adjustable Harvester and Malaysian knife proven to increase the quantity of harvestable Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) by 50% compared to manual method and reduce time spent on ––Christopher wrote from Media Insight, Abuja

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

T H I S D AY SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2016

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• THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INFOGRAPHIC

#OndoDecides 2016

ADVERTISEMENT

PDP’s Governorship Candidacy Tussle

Justice Ibrahim Buba (Federal High Court, Lagos) made an order restraining PDP from conducting any election into offices of its National Chairman, Secretary and Auditor. Ali Modu Sheriff was the Acting National Chairman.

- May 12, 2016 The faction opposed to Sheriff held a national convention in Port Harcourt and constituted a Caretaker Committee led by Ahmed Makarfi.

- May 21, 2016

Justice A. M Liman (Federal High Court, Port Harcourt) ordered Sheriff's faction to stop parading themselves as leaders of the party and gave judicial approval to the May 21, Port Harcourt convention.

- May 24, 2016

Justice Baba Yusuf (FCT High Court, Maitama) dismissed a suit filed by the Sheriff-led faction seeking to disband the Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee.

- May 30, 2016

Justice Buba affirmed the interim chairmanship of Sheriff and declared the Caretaker Committee illegal.

- May 24, 2016

Justice Ibrahim Watila (Federal High Court, Port Harcourt) gave a goahead for the PDP National Convention and ordered INEC to monitor the convention to hold on August 17, 2016.

- August 15, 2016 Justice Abang issued an order suspending the PDP National Convention scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt, on August 17.

- August 15, 2016

Justice K.N. Ogbonnaya (FCT High Court, Kubwa) specifically stopped Sheriff from further acting as the Chairman of the party. Justice Ogbonnaya declared that the judgment of Justice Valentine Ashi delivered on June 29, 2016 is binding, valid and subsisting.

- August 17, 2016

A member of the Makarfi-led faction, Chief Joseph Jero, got a protective court order in a judgment delivered by Justice Valentine Ashi (FCT High Court, Apo Division). Justice Ashi held that the amendment of the party's constitution which allowed Sheriff and members of his executive to hold office was illegal. In the judgment, the judge consequently nullified the amendment.

- June 29, 2016

Justice Abang held that every action the Ahmed Makarfi led Caretaker Committee has taken since May 21 amounted to nullity.

- July 28, 2016

Justice A.M Liman restrained INEC from continuing to accord recognition to Sheriff and all the national officers that were removed from office on May 21.

- July 4, 2016

Eyitayo Jegede won the Makarfiled faction’s primaries conducted at International Event Centre, Akure. The election was monitored by INEC. - August 22, 2016

Justice Okon Abang (Federal High Court, Abuja) affirmed Biyi Poroye & Ademola Genty who emerged from the May 10, 2016 congresses of the party in the Southwest, as the authentic leaders of the party in Ondo. The court ordered INEC to accept only the name of the candidate sent by the Poroye and Genty Executive Committee for the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State.

- June 29, 2016

Dr Jimoh Ibrahim emerged the winner of Sheriff-led faction primaries conducted at the Banquet Hall, Premier Hotel, Ibadan. The election was not monitored by INEC. - August 29, 2016

Justice Omolara Adejumo (State High Court, Akure) restrained the Sheriff-led faction from conducting a parallel primary. She noted that the only legally recognized primary was the one conducted on August 22nd by the Makarfi-led faction in Ondo State.

- August 29, 2016

Justice Abang directed that INEC should recognize Jimoh Ibrahim as the candidate of the PDP in the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State.

- October 14, 2016

Makarfi-led faction filed a motion at the Court of Appeal, Abuja seeking to be allowed to appeal the June 29 judgement.

- October 28, 2016 All three members of the panel of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal (Justice Jumai Sankey, Justice Emmanuel Agim and Justice Oluwayemisi William-Dawodu) hearing the appeals relating to the dispute over PDP's governorship candidate in Ondo State disqualified themselves from further presiding over the cases.

- November 1, 2016 The President, Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa constituted a new panel to hear the appeals relating to disputes of PDP’s candidate for the November 26 governorship election. The new panel is led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa (Appeal Court, Calabar). The two other members are Justices Ignatius Agube and Ita Mbaba (Appeal Court, Owerri).

- November 2, 2016

07087784788

Justice William Olamide (State High Court, Akure) restrained INEC from substituting the name of Eyitayo Jegede as PDP’s candidate for the governorship election.

- October 27, 2016

Justice Abang said Mr. Jegede lacked the locus standi to appeal the decision of the court. The court dismissed an application by the Makarfi-led faction seeking a stay of execution of the October 14th judgement.

- October 24, 2016 The Court of Appeal in Abuja led by Justice Saulawa reserved judgement in the appeal filed by Mr Jegede.

-November 16, 2016

The three-man panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa granted Eyitayo Jegede's request to appeal against the Federal High Court's order recognizing Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP's candidate.

-November 10, 2016

www.eienigeria.org

info@eienigeria.org

?

We wait.....

EIENIGERIA

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SUNDAYSPORTS

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

Djokovic, Murray Fight for World Number One in London Final

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ndy Murray and Novak Djokovic will fight to finish as year-end world number one in today’s final of the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

The Briton, 29, beat Milos Raonic in a gripping semi-final 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (11-9) in three hours and 38 minutes to reach his first season-ending final. Djokovic swept past Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-1 in his last four encounter.

The winner will end the year top of the world rankings, the first time the battle for the top spot has been fought in the final match of the season.

Murray’s earlier victory over Canadian fourth seed Raonic extended the Scot’s winning streak to a career-best 23 matches, stretching back to September. It was Murray’s second lengthy encounter in four days.

“I didn’t expect to play a long one with someone with a serve like Milos,” said Murray. “I’m tired. I’ve played so much tennis over the last few months. I’ll give it my best effort - the best of what I have.”

Murray was yelling at himself and 17,000 spectators were screaming with every twist and turn before he finally prevailed in an extraordinary contest. He twice failed to serve out the match as the clock ticked past three hours in the final set, and three match points then slipped by in the tie-break.

“It was an amazing atmosphere,” added Murray. “The longer the match went on,

the louder the crowd got. This is what we play for. Matches like this and arenas like this. This is one of hardest matches I’ve played indoors.”

Murray and Djokovic’s unprecedented clash for pole position will end with one of the old rivals finishing the year on top of the world after the Scot shattered his rival’s 122-week reign at number one earlier this month.

Fittingly, they will bring the curtain down on the ATP season with both the prestigious Tour Finals title and the top spot up for grabs in today’s final at London’s O2 Arena.

Murray is just one win away from capping a dream year in perfect fashion. But Djokovic can say exactly the same after the defending champion thrashed Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1 in the other semi.

Djokovic, who has a 24-10 lead in his head to head with Murray, said: “This is one of the biggest matches we will ever play against each other. The match everybody anticipated. This has never happened in the history of tennis. I’m privileged to be part of history.

“My level had been going in the right direction. Now it’s coming up to the last match of the year. I hope we get a great final.”

Crucially, Murray might be on his last legs after having to survive a three-hour 39-minute epic against Raonic that ranked

Djokovic (left) and Murray during a previous encounte

as the longest match in Tour Finals history -- eclipsing the record mark set when Murray beat Nishikori in three hours and 20 minutes on Wednesday.

While Murray’s body has been pushed to

its limits this week, Djokovic has enjoyed smooth progress to the final and, unlike his opponent, the world number two will be well rested following his 67-minute demolition of Nishikori.

Top Spot Beckons for Chelsea at Middleborough

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Ronaldo has scored more direct free-kick goals than any other current La Liga player

Ronaldo Scores Hattrick against Atletico

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ristiano Ronaldo’s 39th career hattrick gave Real Madrid a derby win over city rivals Atletico to increase their lead at the top of La Liga. The Portugal forward opened the scoring with a deflected free-kick that wrong-footed Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Ronaldo added a second from the penalty spot before he completed his treble when he tapped in Gareth Bale’s cross. Real now have a four-point lead over second-placed Barcelona, who were held to a goalless draw by Malaga earlier.

Ronaldo has scored eight La Liga goals for the European champions this season, to draw level with Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. The 31-year-old’s treble also saw him go one goal clear of legendary Real forward Alfredo

PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS & FIXTURE Man United Crystal Palace Everton Southampton Stoke City Sunderland Totenham Middleborough

1–1 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–1 3–0 3–2 v

Arsenal Man City Swansea Liverpool AFC Bournemouth Hull City West Ham Chelsea 5pm

Di Stefano’s individual total of 17 goals in the Madrid derby.

His total could have been more had Oblak not produced a stunning diving save to keep out Ronaldo’s powerful header when the scoreline was goalless.

The result - in what was the last Madrid derby at the Vicente Calderon in La Liga - was also a blow toAtletico’s title hopes with Diego Simeone’s side now nine points adrift of Real.

Ronaldo recently signed a new contract with Real Madrid until June 2021 and claimed he can play on until he is 40. In what his best performance of the season thus far he certainly shows no sign of slowing up - much to the chagrin of Atletico’s fans.

ntonio Conte will wait to make a final decision on whether to start Diego Costa in Chelsea’s Super Sunday clash at Middlesbrough today. The Spain striker withdrew from international duty with a groin injury and returned to training with Chelsea on Wednesday. But Conte will take his time before deciding whether to include the in-form striker, who has nine The Blues will be full of confidence heading to the Riverside after a run of five straight league wins which has helped them rise to second in the table. A win will see them leapfrogLiverpool and Manchester City to go top.

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough have just one win from their last nine league matches but draws away at Arsenal and Manchester City and a home victory against Bournemouth have seen Aitor Karanka’s climb up to 15th in the table. However, they have lost their last six games against Chelsea, failing to score in each match.

Chelsea have no injury concerns with midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Kurt Zouma fit again, although

Torgah, Haruna Share Nigeria Masters Lead Olawale Ajimotokan

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incent Torgah moved up the leaderboard after the day’s round of 5-under par 67 at the Nigeria Masters yesterday at IBB International Golf and

Customs Basketball Team may Miss African Playoffs

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ustomsmenbasketballteamarepraying and hoping that they are able to make the trip to Egypt next month for the final playoffs of the African men’s club championship. The competition is billed to hold in Egypt from December 7 to 15.

Amember of the Customs squad who spoke with our reporter on the condition of anonymity said the players are still not certain if they will be in the North African country with barely two weeks for the teams to arrive in Cairo.

the latter will not be rushed back to the first team following his lengthy lay-off with a knee injury.

Chelsea have been beaten just twice in their last 17 Premier League games against Boro, with both losses in 2006 (W12 D3).

Eden Hazard is set to make 150th Premier League appearance in this game - he has 48 goals and 31 assists in his 149 league games for Chelsea. He would be the sixth Chelsea player to score 50 Premier League goals if he scores twice more. However, six of Hazard’s seven goals this season have been scored at Stamford Bridge.

If Chelsea win this game without conceding, it will be the 10th time a Premier League club has won 6+ consecutive games without shipping a goal - Chelsea will have been responsible for half of those.

Chelsea are 14 points better off this season after 11 games (25) than they were last season at this point (11). Diego Costa has been involved in more Premier League goals than any other player this season (12, nine goals and three assists). Costa has scored in nine of his last 12 Premier League appearances for Chelsea.

He said, “We are training as a group but I am not sure that everyone in the team now believes that we will make theAfrican final. We are encouraging the players to have faith and believe that everything is possible given the way we made the trip to Lome, Togo for the Zone Three qualifiers. Then it looked like we were never going to travel but we still made it at the last moment and we returned to the country with a ticket to the continental final.”

He explained that communication hitches inAbuja created the situation for the team based in Lagos.

Country Club, Abuja. The Ghanaian romped from the 17th position to share lead with half- way leader Kabiru M. Mohammed.

Both players dictated the tempo with a total of 220 after 54 holes and will play the final group of the final round of the West Africa Golf Tour schedule today.

Giving them a hot chase are Andrew Odoh and Gboyega Oyebanji, who are one just stroke out of the lead at 221. Odoh, a twotime winner of West Africa Golf Tour events and Oyebanji, who missed most last year’s regular season because of thump injury are tied for third.

Forty four players made the cut to the third round following Friday’s second round. One of the standout performers at the Masters is debutant Donatus Obadofin, who made the cut in his first professional event.

The young player started playing the Tour event as an amateur but earned his professional status at the Masters.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

High Life

85 with LANRE ALFRED 08076885752

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

Life After Retirement...Inside Bisi Onasanya’s Mansion in Banana Island

F

omer MD of First Bank, Bisi Onasanya’s manor in Banana Island, Ikoyi, is a dream of bliss; a real life pictogram of the fabled Neverland.

Amid its captivating plot, you could be forgiven for getting lost, metaphorically, if you are a first time visitor.

Recurrent callers at the mansion have been known to keel over, in enthrallment with the lavish treat. Onasanya’s mansion is a testament of class. The former bank MD understood quite early in life, that there are no little ways to imbue his life with grandeur. He understood that money matters in the mix, in his pursuit of ease and luxury. More importantly, Onasanya regarded money as the only sunbeams that lights his path to grandeur. Nothing is black where it shines. That is why his life is radiant with light. While he served as MD of First Bank, Onasanya worked very hard and saved very hard, his hard-earned money.

Today, he is reaping the fruit of his labour. Indeed, Onasanya is one very AMID RECESSION…OLU OKEOWO COMPLETES VANITY MANSION Conceit is the ugliest armour a miser can wear.

While the world sees him as a tiresome magpie, he looks down on the world,

Olu Okeowo

sharp dude who planned his retirement very well.

Findings revealed that he is most likely one of the richest retired bank chief in the country, considering his extensive fortune and business interests.

Besides being intimidatingly solvent, Onasanya lives a charmed life. No sooner did he retire from First Bank than he relocated from his Ikoyi residence to a sprawling mansion on Banana Island, in Lagos.

At his new mansion, Onasanya has on display, the choicest and most expensive automobiles.

And just recently, he added 2017 models of the most expensive auto brands to his fleet of cars.

Forget his cars, Onasanya owns a massive farm in Epe/Lekki axis of Lagos State. He also owns impressive stakes in the coastal city’s real estate sector. This includes posh apartments in the most exclusive and highbrow areas of Lekki. Hence even though he is retired, Onasanya is making a hell of money from his farm and posh apartments.

thinking how ugly and despicable are his fellow men. Vanity afflicts Olu Okeowo’s soul, like a taint of vice whose strong corruption inhabits his blood and frail spirit. Not a few people wonder how he manages to sleep at night and live at peace with himself, even as he ignores the wants and miseries of his impoverished kith and kin. Olu’s vanity is unprecedented, according to very close sources to him. He simply chooses to live for himself and he spares no expense in giving himself a treat. Recently, he completed his mansion in Parkview, Ikoyi, Lagos. The not too generous money bag who has limousines, Range Rovers and some other expensive cars in his garage, has completed what he called his dream home.

A three-floor Victorian type house fitted with an elevator, a helipad, jetty and chapel. Olu, who owns Gibraltar, plans to open his mansion in December.

Bisi Onasanya

THE SLENDER BODY OF HER LIE...

IBB DENIES WEDDING PLANS WITH HAUSA ACTRESS •FORMER MILITARY PRESIDENT DEBUNKS RELATIONSHIP WITH UMMI IBRAHIM ZEEZEE

Delusion injures others, brings hardship to oneself,

Ibrahim Babangida

soils the mind, and may well lead to hell. But Hausa Actress, Ummi Ibrahim Zeezee does not know that. Perhaps she does, she simply loves to pervert the truth. Like a votary of deceit, eternally dedicated to whitewashing

Ummi Ibrahim

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

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HIGHLIFE

Grow a Pair Mr. President! Iyabo Obasanjo Berates President Muhammadu Buhari from Abroad

•Former lawmaker blames incumbent president for state of the nation

F

inally, Iyabo Obasanjo has regained her voice and fabled bluster. Like a rat squeaking in outrage to bait a cat from the comfort of sewer pipe, Iyabo recently called out President Muhammadu Buhari, chiding him for failing to turn the fortunes of the country around. The first daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, condemned President Buhari, claiming that almost everything in the country is upside down, under his watch. In an interview, the former lawmaker said the incumbent president’s focus on oil and gas at a time when the world has moved on to other growth and commerce areas, is an indication that change has obviously not come. Iyabo, who now lectures at a university in the US, said she no longer follows developments in Nigeria on a

regular basis. Since her embarrassing loss of the Senate seat during the 2011 general election, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo has been absent on the political and social scenes. Well, even before her loss, the veterinary doctorturned-politician and eldest daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo had not been a fixture on the social scene. By virtue of her father’s position, however, she became a sought-after acquaintance by many, especially after her appointment as Commissioner for Health by former Ogun State Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel. Perhaps because of the shame of being trounced so badly in her father’s native land, Iyabo, whose marriage to Jimi Bello, crashed many years ago, relocated abroad on the pretext that she was going to Harvard for further studies.

warts and hanging halos, Ummi persists in her lie, claiming that retired General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), is at the verge of marrying her.

According to Ummi, IBB is head over heels in love with her.

But in a swift rebuttal, the former military president debunked Ummi’s claims, calling it a figment of her imagination.

Babangida has denied having any relationship with the Hausa actress and he categorically debunked the actress’ claims that he is hell bent on marrying her. It would be recalled that Ummi generated a buzz on the internet by her posts concerning her relationship with IBB on Instagram. The actress claimed that she has been in a relationship with him since 2013, when she granted an interview stating that IBB loved her and that she loved him too.

She had earlier hinted on Facebook that the 75-yearold former military ruler was planning to marry her but that there were things to be sorted out first.

Ummi posted a photo mix of herself and the Minna, Niger State born

ex-ruler. She however, took the message down less than an hour after posting it. As at press time, IBB insisted that he has nothing to do with the Hausa actress thus insinuating that the actress was simply looking for cheap publicity by her claims.

FORTY IS THE CHARM...OBA SAHEED ELEGUSHI’S WIFE, OLORI ARAMIDE, PLANS EPIC

Aramide Elegushi

Iyabo Obasanjo

40TH BASH

•CELEBRITY MONARCH TO HOST NIGERIA’S HIGH SOCIETY TO QUEEN’S ANNIVERSARY

The palace pulsed and gaiety sauntered in a dainty swagger through its hallowed confines as Olori Aramide Sekinat Elegushi celebrated her 40th birthday. The wife and queen of celebrity monarch, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi (Kusenla III), was ushered into her new age with a prayer session, followed by a small party for invited dignitaries later in the day. Oba Elegushi will however, treat his stylish queen and mother of three to a proper birthday bash in few weeks. The event is highly anticipated and guests are already booking their black and white attires in accordance with the dress code for the occasion. Interestingly, Olori Aramide’s heartthrob, Oba Saheed Elegushi, is also 40, having reached the landmark age in April this year. The couple got married 14 years ago having met as undergraduates at the University of Lagos. Ever since, their love has been waxing stronger every year.

SHADY PROPHECY! FIVE DEPUTY GOVERNORS CARPET PRIMATE AYODELE OVER ‘FALLACIOUS’ PREDICTION •WHY THEY DON’T BELIEVE HIS REVELATIONS

Deep in the shady sadness of his forecast and far from the healthy breath of blissful words, tragedy looms in a hideous cape, promising grief and taunting the peace of five southeastern

Elijah Ayodele

T H I S D AY, T H e S u n D AY n e w S pA p e r • NOVEMBER 20, 2016

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HIGHLIFE

Samad Rabiu...To Whom Honour is Due •BUA Group boss wins South Africa’s award

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ndustry is a taxing field, in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the merchant’s honour. In full acknowledgment of this fact, the founder and Executive Chairman, BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu, emerged the 2016 All Africa Industrialist of the Year at the 2016 All Africa Business Leaders Awards grand finale. A statement by the company on Tuesday said that the award was conferred on Rabiu weeks after he won the 2016 West African Industrialist of the Year at the AABLA West African Regional Awards. It explained that nine African best business leaders in various categories were celebrated at the 2016 AABLA organised in partnership with CNBC Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa. Being successful in business is the most fascinating kind of art. It is what separates the men from the boys; the pretender from the seasoned entrepreneur.

And you can see in Abdulsamad Rabiu’s

administrators. Soon after the Spiritual Head of the INRI Evangelistic Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, revealed a terrible prediction about the imminent fate of five deputy governors in Nigeria, the latter have dismissed his prediction as mere fabrication.

The deputy governors of Abia, Ebonyi, Kano, Sokoto and Taraba states have rejected a prophecy

by Primate Ayodele, that they will run into trouble with their principals (State governors) before the end of their tenure. Reacting to the prophecy on Tuesday, the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Kelechi Igwe, described it as fallacious and one intended to create rancour and disaffection in the polity.

“Primate Ayodele could not have heard from God because he has been in the business of releasing false prophecies at every turn in the politics of Nigeria and the world.

“It was he who predicted that President Goodluck Jonathan would win the 2015 presidential election; it was he who predicted that Governor Ahmed elRufai would not win the

dynamic enterprise both the lush and tensile strength of a business giant and leader of men.

His matchless finesse, acumen and resolve as BUA Chairman landed him the privileged role of the Bank of Industry (BOI)’s substantive Chairman until his retirement, recently. Until his retirement, Rabiu led the development bank with incomparable brilliance, fortitude and tact. At the end of his tenure, he left the BOI richer and stronger than he met it thus making him the best thing to happen to the bank in recent years.

Over the past few years, Rabiu began working outside the box to make his peers understand that only their unstoppable people’s power could effect real change. He projects a manic selfconfidence in public.

He still has his edge: prosperity hasn’t robbed him of his disrespect for conventional wisdom, his spooky ability to see around corners, and his feral determination to make perfect products at all costs. All in all, success becomes him. governorship election in Kaduna State last year and it was the same man who recently predicted victory for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party candidate in the just-concluded elections in the United States,” he said.

ON THE TRAIL OF TAYO AYENI •Skymit boSS planS big for yuletide •Why he iS having it So good

He who doesn’t take risks, would never drink champagne. The honeyed tang of success sweetens the bubbles and froth of the choicest liquor. But only the champions among me enjoy this perk. Men like Tayo Ayeni. Ayeni no doubt fulfills the poster icon stereotype. Having paid his due, the proud owner of a thriving car dealership, Skymitt Motors, is having the time of his life. Things are looking up for him at work and the home front.

And just recently, he acquired a multi-million naira mansion on Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos. News making the rounds is that the Chief Executive Officer of Skymitt Motors is getting set to host a massive celebration during the Yuletide. Unlike the

Samad Rabiu

frequent gatherings where he shows the goodness of his heart by catering to the poor and the needy, the upcoming event is meant to celebrate his 55th birthday. To this end, he has been pulling all the stops to ensure the event proceeds with the maximum of pomp and fanfare. Although the event is still a month away, it is no surprise

that the Ilesha-born dude is planning for it many days ahead. His record for meticulousness and longterm planning is what has brought him the huge success he now enjoys.

Ayeni understands that in the end, you are measured not by how much you undertake but by what you finally accomplish. This is why he never leaves anything to chance.

Tayo Ayeni

Sunday November 20, 2016

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Price: N400

MISSILE

CDS to Defence Agencies

“Recent political events in the global scene have ushered in a new era of uncertainty.

We must therefore prepare for this new reality with the determination to ensure that the safety and security of Nigeria. The input of the Defence section would be especially relevant as we embrace the future” – The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin charging Defence agencies to brace up following the emergence of Donald Trump as the President-elect of the United States of America (USA)

GUEST COLUMNIST Prof Ademola Ajayi

Abdul-Razaq: Lessons in Selflessness, Courage and Integrity

H

e is one of the finest that have trodden the Nigerian landscape. He did with a swaggering mien; dotting Nigeria’s historical pathways with unmistakable imprints of excellence and profound accomplishments. He is Alhaji AbdulGaniyu Folorunsho AbdulRasaq (SAN, OFR). He was the first lawyer to emerge from the old Northern region of Nigeria. His close relations and circles call him Baaba. As if to underscore his iconic personae. Baaba is pronounced with some kind of fondness, that which is reserved for outstanding men. Men, so amiable and rare, and yet so unique. AGF AbdulRasaq clocked 89 years on Sunday 13 November 2016. It is not yet the fullness of his times; he is still relishing in his world, in good health.

His exemplary journey through the years started in Onitsha, his place of birth. Born on Sunday, November 13, 1927, his incredibly rich life story is full of lessons in hard work, patriotism, dogged pursuit of excellence, and faithful interface with man and God. Here is a man with parentage root deep in the North Central City of Ilorin; delivered to the world in Onitsha in the South-eastern part of the country; and started his early western education in the South East, traversing the South South for his secondary education in Buguma, and the South West for his university education in Ibadan.

His early life journey truly grilled him in the mould of a classical nationalist, possessing some of the finest attributes that separate men who make history from men who were part of history. He lived and worked in Lagos, in the South West; and was to later have his base as a lawyer of repute in the Kaduna-Zaria axis in the North West; while his legal practices and political excursion took him to Maiduguri in the North East.

It was in the North East city of Maiduguri that he was appointed national legal adviser of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC). AGF Abdul-Razaq took the challenge of being the first National Legal adviser of NPC, in company with the Northern leaders like Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, laid the foundation for the development of the formidable Northern political machine. NPC did not only emerge so daunting in the North, it was a behemoth of a political movement that trod the Nigerian political scene from the pre-independence period, leading to the First republic.

As one of the founding fathers of the Nigerian nation-state, Baaba has consistently remained a central figure in Nigeria’s political life and in the country’s legal firmament. Besides, he has served the larger society in various capacities, of which he holds many firsts. Part of his uniqueness lies in his being the very first lawyer in the whole Northern Nigeria; the first and only national legal adviser of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) on the eve of Nigeria’s independence and all through the country’s First Republic; the First Mutawali of Ilorin; proprietor of the first

AbdulRazaq (right) with other First Republic ministers, Inuwa Wada (middle) and Tanko Galadima private secondary school, called Ilorin College, Ilorin, (now Government High School, Ilorin) in Kwara State; first Commissioner for Finance in Kwara State; first Northerner to be offered and gazetted for a substantive appointment as High Court Judge in 1969, which he politely turned down.

AGF Abdul-Razaq is a study in community service. Community in his worldview being whatever environment you find yourself. With this underlining principle, he has, at every step of the way, succeeded in defining for himself a public career that is characterised by a determination to serve his micro community – Ilorin; his home state – Kwara; his nation – Nigeria; and indeed all humanity. In all these junctures of his life and in the multi-faceted roles he has been privileged to play, he has acquired a reputation as a man of courage, conviction and style. One particular thing that has stood him out throughout his over sixty years of active career and public service is his consistent demonstration of the public spirit, a trait that is lamentably scarce to find today.

His is a world devoid of the modern day more commonly found undisciplined appetite for lucre of public service and self-aggrandizement.

He often wonders why many in high and low places are getting increasingly locked in a theatre of self, primitive accumulation of wealth and extreme individualism.

AGF AbdulRasaq’s selflessness stands him head and shoulders above many of his contemporaries in community service. He is an outstanding contributor to national development. A very active life of service spanning over six decades created a labyrinth of achievements in the legal profession, politics and business. He was Nigeria’s Ambassador to Cote D’Ivoire; Member of Parliament, Northern Regional House of Assembly; Minister in Nigeria’s

First Republic in charge of railways, where he laid an enduring foundation that kept the rail system alive even after decades of neglect.

He was a Commissioner in his home state of Kwara; Chairman of the Body of Benchers; School proprietor and administrator; Member, Constitution Drafting Committee; President, Nigeria Stock Exchange; director and chairman of many private companies, among others. It is note worthy that AGF AbdulRasaq rode on these diverse plains unblemished, leaving behind testimonies of excellent performance and selfless service. At each post, he displayed ability, integrity, determination, endurance, organization and foresight not only to play each of these parts creditably and worthily, but also to succeed, legitimately, within the Nigerian environment. That Abdul-Razaq has made success in such a myriad of human endeavours therefore must be evidence that he possesses these qualities in due measure.

No wonder he was a recurring decimal at each time Nigeria needed men of valour and foresight to chart a new course. He played a pivotal role in the drafting of the Nigerian Constitution, sequel to Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1979. A veteran journalist, Eric Teniola, captured AGF AbdulRasaq’s huge impact in the process of drafting a befitting constitution preparatory to Nigeria’s return to democracy in the Second Republic. In his words: Of all the sub-committees of the constitution drafting committee of 1975, none was more important than the subcommittee of the executive and the legislature.

The subcommittee was saddled with the working out the modalities for the operation of the Presidential system of Government, which was a new novelty at that time considering the fact that we have never operated the Presidential system of Government before. The subcommittee was headed by Alhaji Abdul Ganiyu Folorunsho Razaq….

The significance of AGF Abdul-Razaq’s rise to fame from a nondescript beginning lies in the lessons imbued in hard work, integrity, selflessness, doggedness, positive ambition and belief in the efficacy of prayers. Being a pioneer in many areas, with not much examples around him to learn from, AGF Abdul-Rasaq faced daunting challenges waggling his way courageously up the ladder of social status with the keenness of a brave and passionate man.

He is indeed a shining beacon to what can be achieved if one applies oneself to determined intellectual and honest pursuit for the benefit of society. To the Ilorin people, in particular, who had favoured Islamic education ahead of the western education, a situation that shortchanged them in a country fashioned after the British language and learning, AGF AbdulRasaq was a pathfinder. He showed how one could excel in both the Western and Islamic education.

Perhaps, this hitherto uncommon accomplishment signaled the reversal of a situation where Ilorin people were being maligned and treated with derision by their more educated neighbours on the eve of Nigeria’s independence and in the immediate post-colonial years. AGF Abdul-Razaq’s examples and achievements stood unparalleled during those formative years of national development, helping to promote the confidence and pride of his people. Ilorin has since continued to hold its own politically and socially; and more significantly, in the legal profession, it has aptly earned the appellation “City of Lawyers”.

With his style of politics and human relations that are transparently devoid of savagery, avarice and betrayal, contemporary and future political actors and professionals have much to imbibe and emulate in AGF Abdul-Razaq. It is in people like him the country could find the right tools to navigate from decadence to locate the right moral compass. It is, therefore, hoped that with the reintroduction of history into the curriculum of our schools and colleges, the younger generation of Nigerians, through a study of our national history, will find not a few things in the lives of our heroes and legends, past and present, to fire their imagination in the challenging but exciting struggle to build a new Nigeria of our dream.

Finally, on this event of his 89th birthday anniversary, no gift would be more befitting for this iconic personality, the Tafidan of Zazzau (Zaria), than for the young and the old in this country to rise through the present challenges with determination, integrity, selflessness, unity of purpose, and doggedness, qualities that stood AGF Abdul-Rasaq out, in pursuit of excellence and for the good of Nigeria.

Moving from the departure lounge of one’s octogenarian years, towards the arrival lounge of nonagenarian years, is certainly an occasion that calls for celebration and immense appreciation to God. I therefore join many well meaning Nigerians in wishing him longer life in good health in this evening times of his.

•S. Ademola Ajayi is a Professor of History, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

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