Saturday 29th April 2017

Soyinka: Herdsmen Exhibiting Conqueror Mentality, Movement to Enslave Nigerians Calls for the boycott of beef to make government act Warns of possibility of herders using cows for suicide bombing

Ahamefula Ogbu Literary Icon and Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka yesterday raised the alarm that herdsmen in the country were going about with conqueror

mentality, suggesting that there is a movement to enslave the entire nation.

According to him, he returned from a trip outside the country to see that his sanctuary in Abeokuta, Ogun State had

been violated and this time, the herders not only went through his abode but took their cows to his door step.

Soyinka who spoke at Freedom Square, Lagos yesterday expressed worry that the govern-

ment had left the citizenry to protect themselves, and called for a summit of all stakeholders involving herders, cattle owners, farmers and tourists “to chart a way forward in stopping the threat to lives and rapes that

the herders spread,” pointing out that the mentality of the herdsmen had changed from the peaceful posture they used to adopt.

The Laureate said the fact that Boko Haram could use

Chibok girls as suicide bombers underscored the danger and possibility of the herders using cows for suicide bombing, insisting that the society had to Continued on page 14

Dealers Pick $85.69m Out of $100m Offered by CBN... Page 53 Saturday 29 April, 2017 Vol 22. No 8045. Price: N250

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IPOB Leader, Kanu Finally Released on Bail after Almost Two Years Alex Enumah in Abuja

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu was yesterday evening finally released from Kuje Prison, Abuja, where he had

spent most of the last two years.

Kanu, who was brought to the Federal High Court in Abuja, regained his freedom after perfecting fully his bail condition imposed on him by Justice Binta Nyako on April 25.

Accompanied by family members, lawyers and sureties, Kanu signed his own portion on the bail paper around 6.35pm to pave way for his release from Kuje Prison.

Beaming with smiles and

taking photographs with wellwishers, the IPOB leader left the court premises around 6.45pm when he was driven away in a Mercedes Benz 4matic GL500 with registration number ABC 46 MU.

Recall that Justice Nyako last Tuesday granted Kanu bail in the sum of N100 million.

According to the judge, the bail was granted to the defendant to enable him attend to his ailing health condition.

The judge in addition ordered that the defendant produces three sureties with N100 million each.

The court however noted that

much-talked about pledge to spend only one time in office.

In the same book, Jonathan disagreed, saying that he was

misquoted. He said that his pledge to stand election for

Continued on page 14

Babangida Aliyu: North Refused to Back Jonathan for Reneging on One Term Promise Abubakar challenges journalists to chronicle events

Tobi Soniyi and Segun James A former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu has said that the North opposed former president Goodluck Jonathan's re-election bid in 2015 because he reneged on his promise to govern for only one term of four years.

The former governor, who was then the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum made the revelation in the new book by the Chairman of the THISDAY Editorial Board, Mr. Segun Adeniyi titled: “Against The Run of Play.”

Also yesterday, during the formal presentation of the book in Lagos, former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar challenged Nigerian journalists to chronicle events of recent history in books for posterity, adding that he still has faith in the Nigerian Project.

In the book, Aliyu said: "If Jonathan had been clever enough to say he would not run and had stuck with the Peoples Democratic Party's

zoning formula by supporting a young northern candidate, I am almost certain Buhari would have shed his ambition

to contest in 2015 knowing there was no way he would win."

The author of the book had noted that one major issue of

contention that rocked the PDP leading up to the election was that by seeking a second term, Jonathan was reneging on his

Continued on page 14

TRACING CHANGE?...

L-R: Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; former Minister of Communications, Chief Cornelius Adebayo; the author of 'Against the Run of Play', Segun Adeniyi; Chairman of the occasion/former Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd); and wife of the former Governor of Cross River ETOP UKUTT State, Mrs. Onari Donald Duke, at Adeniyi's book launch in Lagos ...yesterday

Lai Mohammed in 'Best Jollof Rice' Controversy ...Page 14

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APRIL 29, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

RingTrue

Yemi

Adebowale Killing Nigeria with Binge Borrowing 07013940521 yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com

T

The burden on our starcrossed generation and indeed future generation is weighty.

Already, a huge part of the revenue that the federal government ought to be using for poverty alleviation and infrastructural development has been going into debt servicing, yet, we are sustaining the binge borrowing

Just recently, the International Monetary Fund estimated that Nigeria spends 66 per cent of its tax revenues on servicing debts. The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II was right when he urged the federal government to slow down on its borrowing because it is spending such a huge part of its revenues to pay interests on debts.

The Emir remarked: “The Federal Government of Nigeria is spending 66 per cent of its revenues on interests on debts, which means only 34 per cent of revenues is available for capital and recurrent expenditures. That model cannot work. If you look at the 2017 budget of the Federal Government, I sometimes wonder what Nigerian economists are doing? In the 2017 budget, the amount earmarked for debt servicing is in excess of the entire non-oil revenue of the Federal Government, but that is not the problem. The problem is that it is a budget that is even going for more debts.

“Borrowing has reached its limit and government should therefore look for ways to attract investments. Growth The burden on our star-crossed can only come from investments. It cangeneration and indeed future generation not come from consumption. It cannot is weighty. Already, a huge part of the come from government balance sheet. revenue that the federal government It cannot come from borrowing because ought to be using for poverty alleviation you cannot borrow unsustainably.” and infrastructural development has The states are also into binge borrowbeen going into debt servicing, yet, we are ing. Many of them have accumulated sustaining the binge borrowing. foreign and domestic loans far beyond their repayment capacities. This is why states like Osun, Kogi, Imo, Kwara, Oyo and Benue can no longer meet basic obligations to their citizens; civil servants inclusive. It is preposterous that Osun State is struggling with N147 him feel isolated from other parts of the Former president of the Nigerian country and causing him apprehension about billion domestic debts as at December Bar Association, Olisa Agbakoba has last year. Juxtapose this with a welldisaster on crossing the existing bridge. He taken what I consider a landmark step managed state like Anambra with just is also seeking an order directing the federal towards addressing the neglect of the N3.9 billion domestic debt during the government to forthwith, put all its machinSouth-east. This week, he filed an apsame period under review. The poverty plication before a Federal High Court in ery, including, but not limited to legal and in Osun State is frightening despite political apparatus, in motion, with a view to Enugu, challenging what he called the taking so many loans. So, what did urgently creating two additional states in the total neglect of the South-east zone. He Aregbesola’s Osun State do with the South-east geopolitical zone. This, according is also asking for N1 trillion as reparato the former NBA President, will bring to an tions to the states in the South-east. The massive N147 billion domestic loans? end the discriminatory practices against the fundamental rights class action before This is a story for another day. Back to area, in terms of parliamentary representaJustice A. R. Mohammed is on behalf the binge borrowing, Lagos State had tion, political and judicial appointments and of himself and the South-east on the a local debt stock of N311.7 billion as federal allocation. grounds of discrimination, “pursuant at December 31, 2016; Delta followed Some are cynical about Agbakoba’s case to Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution Lagos with N241.3 billion in local debts. and the chances of getting result for the (as amended)”. Agbakoba is asking for Akwa Ibom came third with N155.4 South-east in court. In fact, somebody told me compensation on the grounds of total last week that the Lagos lawyer was simply neglect of the geo-political zone by the wasting his time in court on this. I don’t think federal government, in terms of infraso. I think all forces of good should stand by structure and general federal presence. him and use the opportunity to draw greater This former NBA president argues global attention to the neglect of the Souththat the federal government has left east. The governors of the region must also the Niger Bridge to collapse and failed rise up in support of this laudable project. to build the 2nd Niger Bridge, making The fanatical Chief Security Officer (CSO) to President Buhari, Bashir Abubakar clearly needs special training on the principles of democracy, freedom and free press. A man who still thinks we are in a military era is deserving of bail. It should, therefore, It was soothing seeing the former obey courts’ decisions and release Dasuki should not be seen working this close military governor of Kaduna State, to a democratic President. I am still without any further delay. His unlawful Abubakar Umar, joining the voice detention, campaign of calumny and pre- struggling with the fact that Abubakar clamouring for the release of the former ordered the expulsion of a Punch trial publicity make it impossible for him National Security Adviser, NSA, Sambo to receive a fair trial. The only explanation reporter from the Presidential Villa Dasuki on bail as granted by the courts on Monday. It was reported that he one can find for Dasuki’s lengthy detenof our land. For this retired Colonel, the tion without trial is that he belongs to the had earlier summoned and grilled continued detention of the former NSA the reporter for about three hours wrong camp. He also has the misfortune is beyond anti-graft war, stressing that and thereafter forced him to write a Dasuki was only being punished because of having served as National Security detailed statement of his knowledge Adviser to the much-vilified Nigerian of his loyalty to Jonathan. “It is over one about the content of the published president of Ijaw extraction.” year since three law courts, including stories before his accreditation tag Umar’s intervention is a good one.

ECOWAS Court granted bail to Dasuki. was seized. Prior to the action on I have written severally for an end to The Federal Government has however Monday, I learnt that this CSO had impunity in our dear nation. The federal refused to release him citing the untenbeen constantly harassing State House government has been holding Dasuki able excuse of the grievous nature of his Correspondents. Who the hell is Bashir illegally since November 2015 despite offence. Our extant constitution is quite Abubakar? He obviously went beyond court rulings that granted him bail. This clear on this issue.

“The federal government does not have must not continue in an era of democracy. his brief. I am glad the Presidency swiftly ordered the reversal of the He must be allowed to enjoy his bail in the power to determine which offence is expulsion and distanced itself from conformity with the Rule of Law. bailable or whether an accused person the action of this clown. His Principal

he latest in the string of borrowing being celebrated by the Buhari administration is the $150 million loan approved by the World Bank for the country’s mining sector. The Minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi announced it with fanfare about two weeks ago after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari. The government is also negotiating $1.25 billion in budget support from the World Bank. This is aside the $575 million already approved by the same bank for the rehabilitation of the North-east.

The list of foreign borrowing by the federal government is growing by the day.

There is $1 billion African Development Bank loan. Of this amount, $600 million had been drawn. There is $1 billion Eurobond, with an additional $500 million expected from the Global Medium Term Note Programme. The China Exim bank is expected to provide $5.8 billion in the next few months, once all outstanding issues connected with securing the loan are addressed. It is on record that over 30% of the 2017 budget will be funded with foreign loans. With the way things are going, the federal government may end up with close to $10 billion foreign loans by the end of this year. Perhaps, this would have been higher if the National Assembly had not truncated plans to borrow another $30 billion.

Olisa Agbakoba’s Landmark Suit

billion; Rivers with N142.4 billion and Bayelsa with N140.1 billion. By the time the latest statistics of the foreign debts of these states are added and released, many will be stunned.

Statistics from the Debt Management Office show that the country’s total debt liability had risen to N16.29 trillion by June 30, 2016. As at June 2015, Nigeria’s total debt stood at N12.12 trillion. This means that within one year (July 2015 to June 2016), Nigeria’s total debt rose by N4.17 trillion, or 34.41 per cent. A breakdown shows that external debt by the federal and state governments stood at $11.26 billion or N3.19 trillion as at June 30, 2016. The domestic debt of the federal government alone stood at N10.61 trillion as at June 2016, up from N8.4 trillion in 2015. This indicates that within 12 months, federal government’s domestic debt profile rose by N2.21 trillion or 26.31 per cent. The domestic debt of the states stood at N2.5 trillion at the end of June 2016, whereas it was N1.69 trillion in July 2015. This shows that within a period of one year, the domestic debt of the states rose by N810 billion, an increase of 47.93 per cent.

So, what has the masses of this country gained from this massive borrowing in terms of infrastructure and poverty alleviation? Honestly, I don’t think we have gained that much; not with the hunger, disease, poverty, unemployment and decay ravaging the country. Just look around you and you will see the level of decay in virtually all sectors of our economy – health, education, water, roads, power, security and the rest of them.

The way our governments at all levels celebrate these loans often leave me dejected. They create the impression that it would be a quick fix for all our problems.

Unfortunately, it does not often turn out that way. Just imagine the completed $1 billion Eurobond sale being turned into an achievement. The oversubscription to the tune of $ 7.8 billion at an interest rate of 7.88% was celebrated as if we are getting free money. For those who don’t know, by the time this country exits this bond, we would have conservatively paid an additional $1 billion as interest. This bond was issued in dollars; therefore Nigeria must pay back in dollars. The interest could go higher as the Naira plummets. So, they have simply pushed Nigeria to continue wallowing in more debts.

The Overzealous Security Man Called Bashir Abubakar

Still on Sambo Dasuki’s Illegal Detention

Abubakar

has to go beyond reversing the expulsion.

Abubakar has no business staying a day longer in Aso Rock. He should be substituted immediately. We must all rise up against this new anti-democracy force.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

SUPER SATURDAY

CLARA OKORO

A Woman’s Essence is Not Falling Apart in All She Goes Through She is creative, imaginative and inquisitive. The brand specialist and CEO of Brand World Media.

Clara Okoro, is also into fashion. In this interview, Okoro tells Adedayo Adejobi that the most influential person in her life is herself

I

‘The most influential person in my life is me’ n one word, describe yourself.

Myself? Well, I would say extremely adaptable.

What were you like in high school?

I was very adventurous and inquisitive and had a very high octane, hormone-driven teenage years.

What is the most important lesson your mother taught?

To take responsibilities for my actions, and that life can be tough but you have to face it squarely.

How do you juggle brand journalism and fashion business?

Both are wired in my DNA and I have acquired training for both careers and still developing myself with new skills in both fields.

What skills are important for a successful career in fashion design?

An eye for colours, creativity, practical sewing and cutting skills, and the ability to live mainly with your imaginative faculties.

In what general area of design do you work?

I am trained in sewing and cutting of fabrics. I also design minimally and I am currently working on understanding fashion photography.

How do you stay up-to-date?

I virtually live online. I go to a lot of fashion sites, and I also read a lot of magazines. I sometimes watch fashion shows online and on TV. Describe your creative process.

I have different ways of activating my creative process, but the pattern mostly comes in this form: Illumination, incubation, preparation and implementation.

How do you get unstuck creatively?

The whole process of beach, music and watching movies.

What is the essence of a woman?

A woman is actually a very complex being. I would say her essence is her ability to hold all that she is going through together without falling apart.

What constitutes true beauty?

I would say a combination of different factors: grace, empathy, intelligence, tenacity, physical attributes and temperance.

What is your favourite body part?

My eyes.

Who do you think is the sexiest man alive today?

My man.

Okoro

Tell us about the goals of the My Beautiful Project and the thought process behind your solution.

MY BEAUTIFUL AFRICA is designed as a lifestyle brand for Africa, with a fusion of fashion, tourism, art and technology. The aim is to celebrate all the beauty reflective of the African continent.

Our strategy is to partner airlines, travel and tours companies, artists, culture enthusiasts, brands with a bias for the African cultural evolution and to use these platforms to bring us all together to celebrate all that is positive and beautiful about Africa. The singular most striking of our brands asset is the art

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

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SATURDAY ‘I’M AN EXTREMELY ADAPTABLE PERSON’…

Well the fashion industry is a huge sector and fashion shows are part of it. Women benefit from such shows by being aware of the trends in the world of fashion, updating their information about what’s in vogue and some are also in the picture as designers who exhibit on the runway in those shows

behind each piece; it is the signature of the brand, like a piece of Africa and all the beauty it encapsulates. In today’s competitive market place, an emerging brand is not only challenged by the imperatives of the daily crises caused by customers and a competitive market place.This necessitates the strategy the brand wants to adopt in entering the market place and the niche it wants to carve for itself.

Tell us about a time when a client didn’t like your work.

We are very particular about our clients’ satisfaction and therefore would go the extra mile to remedy any unsatisfactory situation. A certain time, a client placed an order from Port Harcourt and the size we sent wasn’t the correct size, we had to resend the item twice at no cost of delivery to the client.

To have been more trusting of people; it cost me quite a lot in life.

If you have a magic wand, what is the one thing you would ask for, and why?

To go back to my university years those were the best years of my life.

How do you stay organised when you are provided with multiple design assets, files, and ideas?

I maintain a very difficult but workable disciplined schedule. I compartmentalise my assignments and tackle them, then tick them off. Sometimes, this strategy is repetitive but it gets me results.

Can you talk about a time when you had to balance multiple competing priorities?

Unfortunately, that’s always been very tricky as at some point one suffers for the other. I normally delegate, even though sometimes you don’t get the results you so desire from that.

What project you’ve completed that made you proud The ICEBERG Season 3 party. It was one I was very proud to complete.

In what ways do fashion shows help women?

Well the fashion industry is a huge sector and fashion shows are part of it. Women benefit from such shows by being aware of the trends in the world of fashion, updating their information about what’s in vogue and some are

If God would grant you one wish, what would it be?

To share eternal life with my maker after this journey on earth.

What is your philosophy or value that you hold dearest in life?

Just because you haven’t experienced it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

Clara also in the picture as designers who exhibit on the runway in those shows.

Who is the most influential person in your life?

Myself.

Who is that one influential person you want to meet and what do you want to learn from him/her?

Unfortunately, he is late. It’s the Persian poet, Khalil Gibran. I would

have loved to learn from his source of inspiration for the sublime works he created.

If you have to live again, what part of life would you change?

My stubbornness. I am a Taurean, so I guess it comes with the territory.

If you were given the chance to change a thing from the past, what would it be?

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently?

It was a rainy afternoon and I had fallen asleep in my bed while reading.

When I woke up and looked out of the window it was daylight. I panicked as I thought I had slept throughout the night and wondered why my alarm didn’t ring. When I checked the time, it was 5pm. It was so funny!

What are you, really, outside work?

Just my normal introverted self.

What do you work toward in your free time?

Relaxing as much as possible and lazing around so I can always find my balance.

Brand Journalism and Fashion Business are Wired in My DNA

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THISDAY, THe SATurDAY NewSpAper • APRIL 29, 2017

COMMENTARY

SOUTHERN KADUNA ON MY MIND

“A

The authorities could do more to stem the killings, writes Sufuyan Ojeifo

ny man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and, therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” John Donne Southern Kaduna is a microcosm of Nigeria. It is, by any stretch of the imagination, emblematic of our collectivity.

The people who are marooned in their troublous ancestral Kaduna locale share a common civilisation with us who are, somewhat, liberated in the ambiance of the expansive Nigerian-nation. Therefore, the killings of southern Kaduna indigenes by Fulani herdsmen, for whatever reasons, are nothing but fatal assaults on the humanity in all of us.

The south of Kaduna has, historically, become a minefield of mindless killings that has left the people immersed in eternal fear. Scores of indigenes have been killed in instalments.

Unfortunately, many more will be victims of Fulani herdsmen’s fatal rampages as there are yet no verifiable fool-proof measures in place to avert the incessant cold-blooded massacres that have been the tragic narrative of the hapless people.

One is continuously diminished by the killing of a man or woman, youth or child in southern Kaduna, an enclave that is predominantly occupied by Christian population. “One life taken in cold blood,” according to the late inimitable journalist, Dele Giwa, “is as gruesome as millions lost in a pogrom.”

Every life wasted in southern Kaduna is humanity wasted; and, too many lives have been lost. Those alive are living on the tenterhooks; and, to live on the tenterhooks in one’s ancestral home is not the best way to live.

But that has, essentially, been the lot of the southern Kaduna people. Morbid fear has gripped the minds and defined the atmospherics of their homeland. Their sense of longing for and belonging to the homeland is violently attacked. Their foes have consistently taken advantage of their non-violent nature to inflict substantial damage on their lives, positions and livelihoods. There is understandable agony in the hearts of the people over brazen attempts by belligerent aliens to subjugate them in their land.

The governor of the state, Malam Nasir el-Rufai has been blamed for waging an unrelenting media campaign against southern Kaduna people. He is said to have failed in his responsibility to maintain the peace and order in the area as the state’s chief security officer.

Fearless Catholic Bishop of Kafanchan Diocese, Reverend Father Joseph Danlami Bagobiri was on point when, recently, he accused el-Rufai of taking sides with the armed herdsmen, thus failing in his responsibility as a true statesman; and becoming, therefore, a biased umpire who, according to the priest, “blames and criminalises southern Kaduna victims as the cause of the mayhem.”

Perhaps, if the governor had shown sincere empathy, he would have acted proactively to avert the latest attack of April 15, 2017 in Asso Village in Jema’a Local Government Area, in which no fewer than 13 people, including a parish priest, Reverend Father Alexander Yayock, were killed. He should

ALLTHEATTACKSTHATHADTAKENPLACEIN SOUTHERNKADUNAHAVEBEENEXECUTED WITH PRECISION, LEAVING DEVASTATIONS IN THEIR TRAILS

have deployed the paraphernalia of security apparatuses and his security votes to mobilise thorough surveillance based on credible intelligence report of potential flashpoints.

Close watchers of developments in southern Kaduna are inclined to conclude that the state government may have decided, for reasons best known to it, not to care about the entire population facing real threat of annihilation. This must have, perhaps, prompted the alarm raised by the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr Samson Ayokunle, over the inability of the federal government to stop the killings in southern Kaduna.

All the attacks that had taken place in southern Kaduna have been executed with precision, leaving devastations in their trails. Both domestic and international observers have been shell-shocked at the persistent ease with which these harbingers of death stealthily make their ways into the communities and villages in southern Kaduna, unleash mayhem therein and egress to celebrate the slaughter of the so-called infidels.

Paradoxically, while the Fulani herdsmen and sympathisers of their religion loathe the infidels who populate southern Kaduna, they love their heritage, their grazing land, and would gleefully take their cattle through their farmlands to graze.

They do not only graze, they also kill the owners of the land.

The Kaduna State Government has not done much to stop the killings.

To be sure, Ayokunle’s indictment of the federal government at a press conference held Friday, April 21, 2017 in Abuja ahead of the 104th annual session of the Nigerian Baptist Convention came on the heels of the launch of Harbin Kunama II (Scorpion Sting) at a forest between Kagoro and Kafanchan, southern part of Kaduna State by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai.

The operation which, according to the Army, would last for a month is aimed at addressing the issue of insecurity in southern part of Kaduna and parts of Kano, Plateau and Bauchi States. Ayokunle must have, in the meantime, been circumspect about the sincerity and success of the operation.

The extent to which the operation will go to put a stop to the massacres in southern Kaduna is yet unknown, given its ad-hoc nature, which targets a one-month period. Fulani herdsmen should be credited with some strategic intelligence.

They can suspend their surprise attacks for that long, wait for the military to pull out before launching fresh hostilities. The operation should be sustained until the chances of further attacks by the armed herdsmen are either rendered very slim or completely eliminated.

As the army plans to lockdown some forests of Kano, Plateau and Bauchi States in the operation, more attention should be invested on southern Kaduna given the peculiarity and the nature of the constant tragic attacks by armed herdsmen. The area should be the launch-pad to drive the operation to the other identified states. And, as positive results are yielded, the operation may well renew the people’s hope and confidence in government’s ability to protect them.

––Ojeifo wrote from Abuja

MONEY, MONEY EVERYWHERE BUT NONE TO SPEND Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku argues that it is ironical that the country could not care for its citizenry

S

ome years ago, I was in a European country on one of those scholarships. It was an intensive training programme which allowed you little or no time to hop around or do your shopping. So, what we used to do then was an adlib kind of thing. As we walked along the streets to the training centre, we would look around for any item that may possibly catch our fancy. If we found any, we’d make a purchase and just toss the item in our wardrobes.

Doing this everyday meant that I eventually bought just the items I needed. On one of those days, I had budgeted 50 Euros for my shopping. I loved the 50 euro best, and I think that this was especially because of its resemblance with our own N50 note. If some of us are familiar with the euro, you’d ordinarily know that what difference there is with the 50 euro and our own N50 note is in power and dignity. But I didn’t know this at that time.

So, I walked that day along the Potsdamer Platz Arcades with Marco Hamacher our coordinator, my 50 euro note at the ready. But something in the way Hamacher looked, first at me, and at the 50 euro dancing between my fingers again and again stopped me in my tracks. I looked at him. ‘What’s the matter Marco?’ I asked him.

He looked forlorn, and at me before saying, ‘Bob, that’s a lot of money you have there!’

Incredulity took me over. I found out eventually that that 50 euro which I was fiddling with could get an average German family by in two weeks. Where I come from in the goodest and badest times, a N50 note has some ambivalence. In the goodest of times, it is money

used for church offerings, tossed at beggars and you leave it as tip to that little boy who runs your errands.

All anyone can buy with it are toffee sweets, tom-tom and groundnuts. In those good old days, even those who sprayed those notes at funeral and at outlandish parties do not get as low as spraying N50 notes. The disrespect in spraying either N20 or N50 notes can be better avoided if you swallow your pride and break your one thousand naira notes into clear crisp notes.

For those who brave the odds to spray notes above N50 notes at parties and funerals, they have a way of either reducing their spray to the merest decimal or have their people hang around to ensure that what has been sprayed is collected back pronto.

But today however, things are at their badest. Most Nigerians can fight to the death to secure and extend the spending life-span of their N50. In Benin, Edo State, (and I guess in many cities in Nigeria), if a commuter has N50 and the fare from point A to point B is N40, commuters and transporters insult each other’s grandfathers and spit in one another’s face just because of the change. Yet it is at these very precarious and uncertain times that we hear of unbelievable sums of stolen money either being hidden in villages, stored in cemeteries or high-brow edifices. The first most of us heard about was in February this year. A former boss at the NNPC reportedly hid $9.7million and 74 euros in liquid cash in a village in Kaduna. It was said that that village had no roads, no hospitals, no good schools and no water. A rough estimate/calculation of that sum of money in our currency would translate in some of

the cool billions which would easily take care of those amenities lacking in that village.

While we thought that nothing worser than that could ever happen, various sums of money in cool billions began to be dug up from Bureau De Changes all over Nigeria. This month alone, more than N449millions were found ‘abandoned’ in a shop in Lagos. But it was the Ikoyi haul which dwarfed all our expectations of the kinds of monies which are still in existence at this critical epoch of recession, suffering and hunger.

In an EFCC bust-up which threw up conspiracy theories aplenty, Nigerians were left gasping at the sight of those crisp dollar, euros and pound notes.

They say the love of money is the root of all evils. In Nigeria, money has become the root of poverty. Nobody yet has been able to sum up the damage which these monies being dug up from villages and abandoned shops and high-brow buildings have wreaked on us. But while these monies being recovered, a 2016 United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, Report positioned Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, on the same low rank, while ‘smaller’ and lesser endowed countries like Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Zambia and Ghana fared better on the HDI statistics. People in countries like the Sudan, Kenya, South Africa Egypt, Morocco and Libya have a life expectancy of 64 and above. Nigeria is among Lesotho, Cote d’Ivoire, Chad, the Central African Republic and Lesotho as countries where the people will most likely die by their 45th birthday.

––Etemiku is ANEEJ Communications manager

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

INSIGHT

What went wrong?

TO OUR READERS

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ThePoliceandCriminalElementsinIkorodu

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ecently, Ikorodu area of Lagos was thrown into confusion as suspected militants struck at Woodland Estate area, Ishawo in Ikorodu. At the end of it all, two soldiers and five policemen were reportedly killed by the criminals. According to reports, the gallant security operatives were killed after effectively rescuing kidnapped victims kept in the creeks of Ikorodu by the criminal elements.

While commiserating with families of the fallen officers, the Lagos State Government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, reassured members of the public that every effort would be made to ensure their killers are nabbed and made to face the full wrath of the law.

Ayorinde further affirmed that rather than unnerve the state government, the Ishawo incident would further reinforce government’s resolve to go after criminal elements and their collaborators who are using coastal areas and illegal waterfront settlements as hideouts to perpetrate their nefarious activities.

Barely a few days after making that declaration, the Nigerian Police revealed that the mastermind of the Ikorodu killings, Endurance Ominisan, aka Mighty has been killed in a gun battle with the police. According to reports, Ominisan, a native of Arogbo in Ondo State, was arrested by men of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP IRT) during a battle with the police in Lagos. He eventually died as a result of severe wounds he sustained. Before his death, Ominisan reportedly confessed that he led the gang that killed the two soldiers and five policemen at Ishawo. He equally allegedly confessed to being the mastermind of the kidnap of Oniba of Iba, kidnap of Turkish school girls among numerous others.

Ominisan was said to have met his waterloo after he purportedly came out from his hideout in the Ikorodu creeks to hang out with his girlfriend. It was his rendezvous with the supposed girlfriend that ultimately gave

him out to men of the IGP IRT team who unknown to him had been on his trail for quite some time. He was trailed to the apartment he purportedly rented for his girlfriend at Ibeshe area of Ikorodu. To forestall any hope of Ominisan’s escape, the IRT team reportedly cordoned off the house and its entire environs.

In an attempt to escape being caught, Ominisan took refuge at the roof of the building where, using his pistol, he began to fire several shots at the IRT team.

––Tayo Ogunbiyi, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

Aisha Buhari and Our Teenage Girls

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he cases of child sexual abuse and defilement of underage/teenage girls at schools, at home and in between are many. The story of the 16-yearold JSS111 student of Day Secondary School Tunga Minna, who was allegedly impregnated by a vice-principal generated public outcry from different quarters. Wife of the president, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, took personal interest in the matter. She called on relevant authorities to ensure that justice is done.

Hajiya Aisha contacted the wife of Niger State Governor, Dr. Amina Sani Bello to take

T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS YEMI ADEBOWALE 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, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR OLUFEMI ABOROWA DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS PETER IWEGBU, FIDELIS ELEMA, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS HENRY NWACHOKOR, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI GENERAL MANAGER PATRICK EIMIUHI GROUP HEAD FEMI TOLUFASHE ART DIRECTOR OCHI OGBUAKU II DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

interest in the case before Fati Auna magistrate court. Chief press secretary to the governor’s wife, Aisha Wakaso, hinted that the Child Rights Agency was also monitoring to ensure that due diligence was done. The accused was said to have had sex with the girl three times in his office, thereby contravening sections 19 and 25 of the state Child Rights Act. Just recently, the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Suleman Adamu called on the state government to separate boys and girls in schools to ensure morality and preserve the future of children.

I must assert that this is just one in hundreds of thousand cases of rape against underage female citizens. Villages, towns and cities are not different in the records of this social menace. Many little girls die from such wicked acts unnoticed. Unwanted pregnancies and abandoned new born babies from these heinous and inhuman activities are many.

Sexual abuse, researchers say, is the misuse or wrong use of sexuality whether in action, touching of breast or buttocks, very intimate body contact or actual sexual intercourse with a child. It also alludes to use of words suggestive of intention to engage in any form of sexual activity or practice. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that at least one in five of world’s female population has been physically or sexually abused. The threat is increasing among girls who often have faced problems of gender inequality in addition to the usual problems of unguarded childhood and adolescence manifested in child labour and street hawking.

Street hawking is a common form of child labour in developing countries, Nigeria inclusive, and the female children are mostly victims.

According to research, the child on the street is exposed to malnutrition, respiratory tract infection, mental illness and violence including sexual exploitation by men. It is widely believed that the men prefer young girls as sexual partners because they assume they are sexually inexperienced hence are less likely to be infected with sexually transmitted disease (STD).

––Muhammad Ajah, Abuja

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PAGE FOURTEEN

Lai Mohammed in 'Best Jollof Rice' Controversy Obinna Chima Minister of information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed stunned CNN audience yesterday when he said the best Jollof rice is prepared in Senegal.

A claim that seriously weakened the 'Nigeria First' mantra meant to encourage patronage Nigerian goods and drive the nation's economic recovery on a special edition of Quest Means Business anchored in Lagos.

Although Mr Richard Quest was later to clarify that the Minister misunderstood his question to mean which country

jollof rice originated from. "That was why he answered Senegal."

However, the damage was already done, as social media would not let Lai Mohammed off the hook over his faux pas.

Responding to a question about which country makes the best Jollof rice, the minister said: "I want to say probably Senegal."

Jollof rice is a delicacy that is common among most countries in West Africa and in recent time there have been debate on the social media platforms about the country in the region that makes the best Jollof rice.

Quest may have been prompted to ask the question because of the raging debate.

Quest who had earlier expressed surprise at the minister's response, however clarified that the minister misunderstood his question to mean "where did Jollof rice originate from," which according to him was why he answered, Senegal.

However, the minister's gaffe was clearly apparent and drew the ire of the social media, as the video went viral, with many lambasting the minister.

On what the government was doing to diversify the economy,

Lai Mohammed had earlier said the government would tap from the potential of the creative industry, especially Nollywood, in its quest to diversify the economy.

"We must look at Nollywood as another platform where we can really, not only generate revenue, but to create jobs and also fire the imagination of the creative artistes in Nigeria. As at today, we produce more than 50 films a week, which is more than what Hollywood does.

"Nollywood is seen not just in Nigeria, but the whole of

Africa and even the diaspora.

So, we are actually producing for the entire world. We intend to leverage on the comparative advantage we have in the film industry because we believe that is one area where we are strong.

"And what we need to do is to protect the industry and promote it. We know the challenges we have today, notably, our inability to adequately protect the intellectual property of these films, lack of infrastructure and lack of access to funds. That is why even though we produce more movies than Hollywood,

we admit that the quality of these films can be better.

"This is a country of over 500 languages and its diversity of culture. If we are able to allow our people to tell our story from our own perspective, we would be able to drive tourism. This government is focused on the Ease of Doing Business," he added.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, reiterated government efforts to diversify the economy, through its recently launched Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

SOYINKA: HERDSMEN EXHIBITING CONQUEROR MENTALITY, MOVEMENT TO daughter during our days at NADECO. He was like a son to ENSLAVE NIGERIANS

BABANGIDA ALIYU: NORTH REFUSED TO BACK JONATHAN FOR RENEGING ON ONE TERM PROMISE only one time was based on the suggestion that if the constitution was amended to make for president to spend seven years in office.

However, the former president did also not see any wrong in reneging on this pledge. He was quoted in the book as saying: "In any case, you can make a political promise and change your mind so long as it is within the law."

The former Niger State governor said that with suspicion mounting that Jonathan was contemplating changing his mind on the one-term deal, PDP governors held meetings with him individually and as a group.

He said: "As chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, I recalled having to remind him of the commitment he made to us in 2010 before we supported his bid to contest.

I know that other governors were also meeting him while a few were seeing themselves as potential candidates.

"In one of my meetings with him, I suggested he could even choose any credible PDP man he wanted from the North and such a person did not have to be among the governors. One day, he would agree to the idea, on another day he would say something else."

‘Chronicle of History of Our Recent Past’ Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) during the unveiling of the book, said that he would rather a Nigerian author write the book than a foreigner, “who might not understand intricacies behind the events.”

He therefore urged Nigerian journalist to start chronicling events of our recent history.

He said it was the duty

of the Nigerian journalist to stimulate a robust discourse of contemporary Nigerian history which would be of great benefit for the future, while also urging journalists to dig deeper to unfold issues surrounding the kidnap of the Chibok girls and the Boko Haram.

He stated that the book, since it was unveiled, had generated a lot of discourse both on the internet and the general public; and also on the political stage, adding that such is necessary to put contemporary Nigerian history on the front burner.

“Segun chose an important subject in Nigerian history. The events around the 2015 election are a defining moment in the history of Nigeria; it is worth the time spent on it.”

The former Head of State enjoined journalists not to limit themselves to just writing reports, but to write books that will tell the Nigerian story.

Earlier, the author had confessed that he didn’t set out to generate controversy or anticipated that this book would generate the kind of excitement seen in recent days.

“For instance, I woke up yesterday morning to discover that people were already buying the book, having announced in my column that it would only be on sale from today. And it has been trending ever since. But let me also use the opportunity to answer a question.

“The idea for this book germinated when, in the course of my Fellow’s programme at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University (during the 2010/2011 academic session) I decided to research into why it is difficult for incumbent presidents to lose elections in Africa. In the process, I

discovered that competitive presidential elections held in sub-Saharan Africa in the preceding two decades resulted only in 4 per cent defeat and 96 percent victory for the incumbents.

“As it would happen, when I applied the same principle to the rest of the world, I found out that it is a global trend as incumbents were defeated at the polls only 7 per cent of the time, winning 93 per cent of the time.

“The conclusion I could draw from that was that there was not much difference between Africa and the rest of the world with respect to “incumbency factor”. Having eliminated that as the main factor why elections are usually skewed against the opposition whenever incumbents were on the ballot, I tried other variables.

Eventually, I was able to locate fractionalised opposition as the main factor.

Also speaking at the presentation, Chief Emeka Anyaoku said that the nation was indebted to Adeniyi for his painstaking effort to write on recent issues in the nation’s polity.

“He is thorough, one of the few Nigerians blazing the trail about events of our contemporary history.”

Chief Cornelius Adebayo, who was like a father to Segun Adeniyi, said that he was not surprised by the achievements of Adeniyi while recalling that he started as writer during the second republic when he (Adebayo) was a governor of Kwara State.

“He started his career too early and that is why he has achieved so much. He was with me during the second republic from 1979 to 1983 and was in fact arrested along with my

me; gentle with mild rascality.”

The Managing Director of THISDAY, Eniola Bello commended Adeniyi who was editor of THISDAY after him for having the time to write books given the state of the environment of the country.

Though the book was devoted majorly to activities surrounding the event leading to the last general election and former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, his presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati would not be drawn to not making comments on the book.

He however took exception to the very many indicting words of the book reviewer Okey Okechukwu whom he said was on the media team of the former president and should have taken responsibility along with others for the misstatement of the past administration instead of castigating it in his review.

The book launch was attended by who is who in Nigerian politics and the media including Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Mrs. Onari Duke who represented her husband, Donald, Senator Tunde Ogbeha, Eniola Bello, Managing Director THISDAY Newspapers; Kayode Komolafe, Deputy Managing Director, THISDAY; Ms. Ijeoma Nwogwugwu, Editor, THISDAY; Tunde Rahman, Special Adviser to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on Communication; Yinka Odumakin, spokesman, Afenifere; Dr. Chidi Amute; Ayo Arowolo; Keem Belo-Osagie; Dan Agbese; Soji Omotunde; Kunle Ajibade, Senator Tokunboh Afikunyomi; Dele Momodu and Dr. Reuben Abati among others.

IPOB LEADER, KANU FINALLY RELEASED ON BAIL AFTER ALMOST TWO YEARS IN PRISON the sureties to be provided by Kanu should include a highly respected Jewish leader, since according to her, the defendant claimed Judaism as his religion.

Another of the sureties according to the judge should be a senior and highly placed individual of Igbo extraction and in the ranking of a senator, while the last is expected to be a respected individual resident in Abuja with proof of ownership of landed property.

In addition Justice Nyako said Kanu must never be seen in a crowd of more than 10 people. "No interviews and no rallies," said Nyako.

Also Kanu was ordered to deposit his international

passport including his British passport with the court, adding that the court should on a monthly basis be furnished with a progress report on the health of the defendant.

Kanu co-accused were however unfortunate as the court denied them bail on grounds that the charges against them were grievous.

The judge also refused to grant their second motion which prayed the court to review its earlier ruling on protection of witnesses.

Kanu, Onwudiwe Chidiebere, Banjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi were arraigned by the federal government on an 11 count charge bordering

on terrorism, treasonable felony and illegal possession of firearms amongst others.

But, Justice Nyako had struck out six out of the 11 count amended charge filed against the defendants on grounds that the charges lack competence.

Role of South East Senators in Kanu’s Release In a related development, it has emerged that the South East caucus of the Senate met on Thursday and agreed to lead the quest to get Kanu out on bail.

The emergency meeting, which held at the Apo Quarters residence of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, according to reliable sources privy to

the meeting, was essentially to discuss the stringent bail conditions granted Kanu by the court on Tuesday.

“First, the caucus agreed to work as a team to secure Kanu’s release. It was agreed that the leader of the caucus and Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe or the Senator representing the IPOB leader’s Abia Central Senatorial District, Senator Theodore Orji, should take him on bail.

The source said that the South East Senate caucus also made contact with Nnamdi’s lawyers on the decision to ensure that his bail is perfected.

take actions that would force the government to act consciously in checking the menace of armed herdsmen.

“I see no other interpretation concerning these events, I have reported to the police and they have records. They are camping all over the place and they are not camping as peaceful neighbours but as conquerors, that is what is happening here and that is why I use the word enslavement.

“It seems to me that there is a movement to enslave the citizens of this nation wherever they happen to be, they show they are the masters of the land. There is an aggression, that aggression use to be in the forest. I told you before that there are certain parts of the forest that when we go hunting we no longer venture because of what we have seen unless we go enmasse and equipped more than for killing sparrows.

“But when cattle come right into your door step, I think we are in a very different territory. I think one has the right to assume that any cow that comes to one’s door step is a potential suicide bomber and to take preemptive action to ensure that our homes are not turned into Maiduguri.

The leadership of this nation is taking this menace far too lightly.

“It is a year ago since I read that speech when the President promised that cattle assault will soon be a thing of the past. Is it going to happen in the next six months? Will the police still be busy chasing kidnappers, soldiers trying to preempt the remnants of the degraded Boko Haram? Is that pledge going to be fulfilled in the next six months since that speech was read?, He queried.

Stating further, “I am not going to dramatise the situation.

What matters is that my home is being invaded as are the farms of my neighbours. Some are erecting barriers, things we have never seen in that area in the past since I began living there.

“There have been clashes by the way; there have been clashes between the farmers and the herdsmen. The police have had to intervene couples of time, chase them out, they returned, this time they beat a path to my doorstep. Let us not exaggerate but let us be sanguine about intrusions like this. These people have no respect for human beings and who use human beings including some of our Chibok girls as suicide bombers, why

shouldn’t they decide to use cattle as suicide bombers?

“It is not an exaggerated way of thinking, it is accumulation of many things which we have been undergoing in this country not just in my area, in Anambra, Edo, Benue, where herdsmen are being appeased not to kill, not to destroy and what I am looking at in our neighbourhood are tentative polls to see how far these people can go."

He said the type of dialogue he was advocating wasn’t for the creation of grazing route as it would cause more problems in the country but one where the security agencies would be about their duties while the leadership of the country would make it clear that no herdsman would commit crime and escape punishment.

“In any case, should we wait for another six months that no more Ogun State farmers are killed, Edo farmers are killed, their children raped, beheaded for going to their farms? Will the next meeting be like the one which was held in Benue over a year ago when the herdsmen actually arrived with AK 47 and were not disarmed and were allowed to leave with them?

“This is what is known as impunity, it is actually enslavement, poking a finger at the citizens of this nation. The crisis is very real; it is futile and suicidal to pretend otherwise.

“Some action is required to call leadership to order; maybe we should have a day of beef boycott, find other means of satisfying our protein and I know that vegetarians will be very happy.”

Reminded the issue was not a local one he said: “The threat is not a local one, it is not even a national one. If you remember a meeting I spoke of which followed some massacres in the north, the delegates admitted that they came from outside, all the way from Senegal or somewhere and said they had come and killed to avenge the death of one of their own people who had been killed so they mobilised across the West African region to come and avenge the death of one person.

He also condemned the hoarding of information on President Muhammadu Buhari’s health status which he likened to the way President Donald Trump of America hoarded his tax returns, insisting that as a public officer and leader, he had the obligation to let people know reality of his health to avoid speculations.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •APRIL 29, 2017

NEWS

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

EFCC: N17bn Recovered Through Whistle-blowing Policy From Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Acting Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu said the commission has recovered about N17billion for the Federal Government through the whistle-blowing policy introduced in December last year.

Magu made this revelation Thursday night while presenting the Anniversary Lecture to commemorate the 62nd Founders' of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ).

Magu, who was represented by Dr. Akeem Bello, said in the lecture titled : "Before Corruption Kills Nigeria” that the money recovered was in naira and other foreign denominations.

He reeled out the recovered loot to include: N521,815,000, $53,272,747, £122,890, and €547,730 respectively.

Magu also said the anticorruption agency had recorded 62 convictions in the first quarter of the year, including the former Governor of Adamawa, James Ngilari, who was prosecuted and jailed for corrupt practice.

He appealed to the media to support the whistle-blower policy and join hands with government in subduing corruption which has hampered the economic growth of the country and is endemic in many facets of public.

He cited the $2billion arms deal scandal that indicted the former National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki and several former and serving senior military officers as one of the efforts of EFCC to battle corruption.

"There is corruption in many ways and forms in the country and the ways by which the battle can

FOR STABLE POWER...

L-R: DGM, Consumer Affairs, NERC, Chijioke Obi, Executive Director, Commercial, Benin Electricity Distribution Plc, Mr. Abu Ejoor, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Commissioner, Dr Moses Arigu, Delta State Commissioner for Energy, Mr. Newworld Safugha, representative of the Asagba of Asaba, HRH, Prof Chike Edozien and the representative of the Commandant, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Delta State, Mr. Iyobosa Oshodi at the commissioning of the NERC Forum Office in Asaba, Delta state.. Wednesday

be won is if the media and wellmeaning Nigerians support the crusade. The EFCC is committed to pursuing its statutory mandate and to rescue the Nigerian state and its people from being killed by corruption. With the government and people of Nigeria behind

the EFCC, we shall surely be victorious", Magu said..

Former NUJ President, Sani Zoro Mohammed, who represents Gumel/Maigatari/ Sule Tankarkar/Gagarawa at National Assembly, lauded Magu for his anti-corruption crusade

saying that his searchlight on corruption in the arms scandal has also exposed the media as collaborators.

NUJ President, Abdulwaheed Odusile, said the media existed to monitor the other arms of government and to hold government

accountable.

"Federal government's fight against corruption is beginning to gain roots, but regrettably, we have not seen similar commitment on the part of the other tiers of government. The state and local governments have

shown lukewarm attitude against corruption, whereas a whole lot of corruption is going on at their levels, especially in local government administration, such that some are even calling for the scrapping of the third -tier of government," Odusile said.

Lagos Seals Collapsed NIWA Commences River N’Assembly Concludes Building at Nicon Estate Niger Maintenance Dredging Constitutional Amendment 2018 Lagos State Government on Friday sealed off the building that partially collapsed at Nicon Town Estate on Admiralty Way in Lekki on Thursday killing two persons and left one other severely injured.

The State Government further ordered integrity test to be conducted on the structure.

Speaking to reporters after carrying out on-the-spot assessment of the incident, the State’s Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Wasiu Anifowose, said the building would remain sealed till the completion of investigation by relevant government agencies, while the report of the investigation would be made public in due course.

He said officials of the Ministry immediately moved to site after being alerted of the incident, while the workers at the scene were evacuated.

He said: “Yesterday, I was in my office when I had a call that there was a partial building collapse in Lekki and I immediately mobilised my officers to site.

They have given me their report and the onus is on me to ascertain the situation of things and that is why I am here.

“Based on our preliminary investigation, we discovered that it was the roof gutter of the building under construction that fell off the main house and a vibrator was also used.

“At the moment, the State Government has taken the necessary steps; we have evacuated all the people that worked on the building and the property has been sealed off. It will remain sealed until we conclude our investigation,” Anifowose said.

He, however, faulted the owner of the building for not displaying the Project Board on the site of the construction as required, but said the ongoing investigation would reveal actual state of things.

“The Project Board usually contains information such as the name of the architect, name of the engineer, the name of builder and the approved building plan. There is nothing of such here but like I said, we will go back to the office and check the file.

There are two levels of approvals for this type of construction and that is approval from the management of the Estate and then approval of the State Government.

Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja

National Inland waterways Authority (NIWA) yesterday commenced maintenance dredging of Ajaokuta-Onitsha Channel on River Niger.

The Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi while flagging off the maintenance dredging at Julius Berger Jetty in Ajaokuta said NIWA was making progress by maintaining the channel in-house , thereby saving the country some millions of naira in the area of skill utilisation and empowering its staff.

The Minister commend the managing director of NIWA for his initiative in putting to use the dredgers acquired some years ago and now decided to make use of them through the Staff thereby updating themselves professionally.

He stressed that he hoped to see the full Concession of the Onitsha River Port before the end of the year, completion of the Lokoja River port and supply of cargo handling equipment at Baro River Port.

"These I believe will comple-

ment activities at the Lokoja River Port and crest multiple benefits with attendant multiplier effects on the economy, particularly in promoting multi-modal transport and cheaper coastal services across 28 States of the federation.

"With this, National Inland Waterways Authority is now poised to improve the navigability of the waterways, increase the value of water fronts and generate economic activities along the River banks as well as the riverine communities" he said.

He promised that the National Inland Waterways Authority would make their efforts and other Waterway users seamless as possible by further deepening the channels and ensuring that the Ajaokuta-Onitsha route was navigable all the year round.

Earlier, the Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello in his speech during the flag off said the dredging covered a distance of 162km from Ajaokuta to Onitsha adding that it was intended to keep the waterways between the two locations navigable all year round.

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yusuf Lasun has said that work on Bills seeking to amend the 1999 constitution will not be through until February or March next year.

Speaking at the opening of a one-day retreat for members of the House Committee on constitutional amendment organised in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) in Abuja, Lasun assured that that they were going to conclude action on the Bill within the third year of this administration because of its political implication.

"Because at that point, the most important thing for the two chambers will be Ad Hoc Committees on Constitutional Review. So if we are able to do that within the two, three months and that will be getting to November; by the time we passed those things to State House of Assemblies and we give them another three months, so it can be earlier than February/ March next year," he said.

The retreat is specifically meant

to consider report of the consultants hired by the National Assembly on Bills on constitutional review.

He said that so far the House Committee on amendment to the constitution had considered more than 50 bills.

Explaining further, the Deputy Speaker said: "Constitution amendment was quite different from bills formation, adding, “Like whatever we do here today, will now finally go to the floor of the House, we send them as bills, then discuss them, vote on them, and those we voted on and passed the two third requirement will now be sent to the State House of Assemblies and the State House of Assemblies will now vote on them.

"And at that point, we require at least two third number of the State Assemblies to concur on each particular bill before they can come back and we finally work on it before it becomes an amended part.

So it is still a long process and if we follow our programme very diligently, I think it cannot be earlier than February/March next year," he added.

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T H I S D AY SATURDAY APRIL 29, 2017

Plus

LOUD WHISPERS POLSCOPE TRAVEL AUTO GLOBAL SOCCER FASHION FILE

Frank Giwa-Osagie I Feel Like a 55-Year-Old Though I Am 70

pg. 20 pg. 22 pg. 24 pg. 26 pg. 29 pg. 41

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER APRIL 29, 2017

PLUS

I Have an 84-Year-Old Tortoise in My House

He pioneered In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), a medical miracle in collaboration with Professor Oladapo Ashiru and Dr. Abisogun, the first in Nigeria, the whole of East, West and Central Africa with pregnancies as from 1984 and a live-birth from their efforts in 1989. The professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, in medical school, enjoyed a lot of admiration and respect from his students. The internationally acclaimed fertility expert is widely published with over 86 publications in books, articles, monogrammes in local and international journals. If you’re looking for an old, life-wearied septuagenarian, don’t look in his direction. Agile, cerebral and humorous, he is determined to live life to the fullest. A prince from the famous Osagie family, the erudite scholar is passionate and proud of his heritage and holds a 300-year-old title, the Obarisiagbon of Benin Kingdom. Meet Professor Osato Ona Frank Giwa-Osagie, fondly called Osato, founder of OMNI Medical Clinic. In this interview with Omolola Itayemi, Prof. Giwa-Osagie talks about his childhood, his burst of energy and intellect, and his more than 40 years of romance with his Jamaican wife

H

ow does it feel to clock 70?

I am clocking 70 years but I feel more like a 55-year-old, partly because I associate more with younger people.

I used to tease my nephews that every pair of jeans they buy, I can buy it as well. Sometimes, some of them find it obviously difficult to associate with somebody who is much older than them, but majority don’t mind at all. They think it is great fun because they get to learn a lot of things because I have been through life for a longer time. I am definitely not one of those older people that you can put on an armchair to keep them out of the way. I’ll be bored to death if I didn’t have something that will keep me busy. I retired at 65, exactly six weeks before the government increased the retirement age for professors to 70. Many times, my wife say I am too restless because I can just be at home and at 8pm I’ll say I’m going out; that I am tired of watching television and so on. I ascribe my athletic and intellectual nature to devotion to sports and reading books as a younger person.

What sports did you do?

I played hockey quite well. I played first 11 hockeys for King’s College Lagos in the mid-60s. When I got to England, I played cricket and I have been the chairman of Hauzad foundation for cricket, to encourage cricket in Nigeria for the last 20 years. I was also quite successful in athletics. I was a triple jumper at King’s College and in Cambridge University. I also did sprint; 100 yards like they used to call it; now they say it is 100 meters. I did the relay too. I used to run a very good second leg for King’s College. I am the sort of person that can watch any sport and not get bored. I also watch the news or Animal Channel. I’m constantly fascinated by snakes and lions. But not those only, I have chickens, goats, guinea fowls, dogs and a big 84-yearold tortoise called Max. How did you come about speaking four languages fluently?

When I was younger, my father worked for the Nigerian Prisons Service; he became the first Nigerian

head of prisons service. We were constantly on the move, thanks to frequent transfers. I schooled in five states: Port Harcourt (Rivers); Abeokuta (Ogun); Kaduna (Kaduna); Warri (Delta); and then Christ the King Cathedral before going over to King’s College (Lagos) for seven years where I completed O’ levels and A’ levels, then I went to England. I think that life of travelling around gave me a very broad and tolerant attitude. So I had that kind of background and it has made me mentally active and inquisitive. I speak about four languages; Igbo, Yoruba, Itsekiri, and Bini, including French. I don’t speak Hausa because we were in Kaduna for only three months. My mother was Itsekiri and my father Bini –so, I understand Itsekiri more than I speak it.

Did you study medicine because it was the popular thing at that time?

When I was growing up, the ambition at that time was to study medicine, law or engineering. Accountancy was new; we didn’t understand what it meant. I got into medicine because my father had some friends who were doctors, who used to visit us. The likes of Dr. B. J. Ikpeme of Calabar and Dr. G. O. Garrick of Benin; my father’s friends and classmates from King’s College, Dr. Ofili, who was in Benin and Asaba, my father’s first cousin, Professor T. Bello-Osagie. These are the doctors that I grew up knowing as a child. I used to admire them when they came, flinging their stethoscopes; their cars always smelled of medicine.

I was always saying I wanted to be a doctor; I just followed it up from there. I excelled in science and French, so it was easy for me to go towards medicine. I passed the entrance examination into Cambridge University to study medicine. It was my first time in England in 1966. I studied medicine at Claire College, Cambridge University, and from there went to King’s College Hospital in London to do the clinical and to specialise. I was in England for 12 years, doing medicine and specialising before I came back to Nigeria.

You returned to Nigeria to pick up a job with LUTH. Why? In our time, you were deemed to be a failure if you went to England and

Giwa-Osagie

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APRIL 29, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

PLUS I Go to Club Or Friends’ Homes to Relax didn’t come back. No Nigerian parent prayed for their child to stay back in England or America, unlike now. It was a big disaster for a family if a child got qualified and decided to stay back.

That is why many of us – my age – do not have British citizenship. We were offered but we said we didn’t want.

When I came back, I was a lecturer at King’s College Hospital. It was true that the facilities at that time were better but we were still close to facilities in Britain. When I came to LUTH, it was functioning and my salary, when converted, it wasn’t much lower than my salary in England because it was N1.2k to a pound sterling. I was coming home where there was a lot of work to do. LUTH interviewed me in London. I got the appointment and they gave me a Nigerian Airways ticket for my entire family to come back.

Within three months of returning I was given a three-bedroomed flat in LUTH. That is how efficient Nigeria was even as recently as 1978. That was the atmosphere I grew up in. Of course, now you can choose whether or not to come back. Before I came back, I already had a master’s degree in endocrinology and was already working at the WHO research centre at King’s College Hospital, where we were doing trials on contraceptives and infertility.

So, I was already in the infertility field.

I came back to Nigeria, as a gynaecologist who already had a bias for fertility matters, family planning and the likes.

I was lucky.

When did the first IVF pregnancy occurred in Nigeria?

When I came back in 1978, I was lucky that the head of department of Gynaecology at LUTH was a man called, Professor Akinla, who is still alive at 94 years old. He was an examiner when I did my specialist final in England and he was very impressed by my performance and said to himself I must get this doctor to come and work with me at LUTH. I got the job and I came back, he put me in his department. But he was already working on fertility matters; he was working with population council on contraception rings and so on. I basically walked into what I was doing in London. I had that advantage over other people who had to start afresh. I just kept working and publishing papers, being invited to give lectures and I quickly became a full professor by the age of 40 which is very unusual in obstetrics and gynaecology in Nigeria. Most people become professors between 48 and 50 years. I moved from lecturer 1 to full professor in seven years which is record-breaking. It was all due to the publications I was doing in the field of contraception and infertility.

At that same time, Prof Oladapo Ashiru was rising meteorically in anatomy department; he was also interested in fertility. He became a professor at the age of 33 or 34. We had similar interests. He was working on animals and I on humans. We came together and that’s how our IVF team was formed. I went off to Australia to learn about human IVF in Melbourne, he to Nebraska, USA. We came back and continued to work and by 1984 we had our first pregnancy from IVF and that was it. By the time we had the first time delivery from IVF, it was clear to us that unless the government put in place a scheme for making sure that the money came in for buying reagents and other things, we could not continue because we could not be using our personal money for funding treatment in a personal hospital. So they said, IVF was not priority, diarrhoea and vomiting was more important. Fair enough, that time Prof Ransome-Kuti was the minister of health and primary care

Giwa-Osagie

was his area.

They did not put fertility treatment among the things the World Bank should fund, rather than go to Saudi Arabia as most doctors were doing I decided to start an IVF practice. I was able to do this with funding from friends and assistance from members of my family including my cousin, Hakeem Bello-Osagie and Ebitimi Banigo, the banker who is now a king in Bayelsa State. They don’t have fertility problems but they saw my interest and the funding to Melbourne to attend an IVF workshop was by Kings College Old boys association. The late Gbenga Oshifekun, an accountant, gave me a business class ticket to Australia. Dapo Ashiru went to America for about 10 years but I was here. I had made up my mind I wasn’t going to live in a foreign land again after spending more than 12 years in England. That’s how Ashiru and I got together.

You named your clinic OMNI. What does it mean and how long has it been in existence?

OMNI stands for the power of God; omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. It has been in existence since December 1999 and officially opened by Chief Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu.

I had previously had a medical practice at Osagie Medical Centre (OMC) at Surulere, Lagos, from 1987 to 1999.

Then I moved here and adopted the name. OMC belongs to Professor T. Bello Osagie who was my father’s first

cousin.

How do you relax?

After work, I’ll go home, eat and maybe go to the club or go visit some friends in Ikoyi and Victoria Island.

I like to travel. I got into that habit because I was secretary general of the West African College of Surgeons which consists of 18 countries. I used to go along to visit them while we train surgeons. I have also been quite busy academically, writing papers which I present all over the place: Japan, Thailand, Australia, India, America, Britain, France, and South Africa.

Let’s talk about your heritage and your traditional title.

I am very proud to be a Bini man.

I am proud without demeaning other cultures. I am proud of my culture because my culture is hundreds of years old. The Oba of Benin sent his eldest son to Portugal by boat, some 500 years ago. The crown prince lived in Portugal for about four years, now that takes some doing. I am the Obarisiagbon of Benin Kingdom; my title is about 300 years old. With a title that old and obaship that is even longer than that you still find that the system is bearing its substance – you have to be proud of it. The Obas during their tenures, tried to modify things without destroying them. The last Oba modernised a lot of shrines and appointed people to look after them. The present Oba has said that he is going

In our time, you were deemed to be a failure if you went to England and didn’t come back.

No Nigerian parent prayed for their child to stay back in England or America, unlike now. It was a big disaster for a family if a child got qualified and decided to stay back. That is why many of us – my age – do not have British citizenship. We were offered but we said we didn’t want. When I came back, I was a lecturer at King’s College Hospital.

It was true that the facilities at that time were better but we were still close to facilities in Britain. to review the administration to make sure things are done properly; to cut off too much wayo in settling cases in the palace. People are always quarrelling over titles, inheritance, land, and so on.

It is an opportunity for those who are bent on exploiting the situation to make money for themselves. He said he is going to try and correct that. When you have a kingdom that has straight rules before the British came in, they had street lights and straight roads; all of these are documented, you have to respect the system. But you have people who threatened that structure. In Benin culture, the eldest son is the head of the family. It doesn’t matter if he is 15 years old and the sister is 60 years old. This is the very anti-thesis of the Yoruba land and the Kalabari custom, where the first child is first; it doesn’t matter whether it is male or female.

Was meeting your wife love at first sight?

My wife is not Nigerian. My wife is from Jamaica. We met in England where we were both students. I was studying medicine while she was studying dentistry. She moved into my hostel in 1970. I had moved in a year earlier, and I met her there. So, I have known her for over 40 years. We did our 40th wedding anniversary last year September. This is our 41st year in marriage.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017 with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

LOUD WHISPERS

Kanu

Nnamdi Kanu : Please Don’t do a Mandela When I read of the bail and its conditions, I was kind of relieved. You see, I like this Kanu guy not because I like his politics or what he stands for but for his sartorial style. I look forward to his court appearances just to see his attire and of recent he has started putting a white shawl over his well-sewn clothes and his gray, well-trimmed beard gives him an aristocratic mien. But that is where it ends for me. His senseless agitation for the balkanisation of the country is so childish that if not for the seriousness of the matter one could laugh so much. He and his cohorts have failed to realise that over 30 years since the civil war, the social fabric of the country has undergone some very strong intermingling such that a vacuous political declaration like the one he is championing will do nothing to unravel it. As a student of political science, yes o, I read Political Science at the University of Ibadan. Small, I for get third class, but I try small and unlike our singing senator, stayed only four years in looking at the Nigerian construct. I have seen that politically and socially, this country is a natural construct and that our amalgamation in 1914 was just a physical manifestation of a societal process that was already evolving over decades. So for one well-dressed and almost good-looking young man, to now want to deconstruct that for whatever reasons will at least annoy strong patriots like myself. My brother, you see the issue is leadership and not separation. When our leaders fail at the power-sharing table, they fall on ethnicity to cry foul. Ohh, it’s because we are Igbo. It is because, we are Ibibio, it is because we are not northerners. But when power falls on their laps, what do they do for the people?

Nothing, except stealing and pillaging public funds. So my brother, look at the conditions of bail very carefully, the one you will beg for waiver especially the one that says you cannot stay in a group of more than 10 people, you beg to amend or how will you be watching premiership, if you are not with your fans. So Eyinna, Biko collect your bail and quietly go home for a comprehensive medical check-up, make sure everything is ok and quietly go into the sunset so that we can concentrate on rebuilding a stronger and virile Nigeria for our children. You have tried. You are a good man but your politics is wrong.

I really do like you. If you don’t mind can you send your tailor’s numbers?

That Osinbajo Panel: My Advice to Ayo Oke I hope this my egbon has not already faced the Osinbajo panel set up by the federal government to look critically at the issues surrounding and relating to the huge pile of dollars found in Ikoyi. If he has already faced it, then my

Osinbajo

Kukah

Isiaka Adeleke : A Sad Homily You know news of a death is devastating and this one is one of the most devastating. Although I never had the fortune of meeting this colorful personality physically, I followed his politics with a keen eye. What first caught my attention were his unique dress style and his several attempts at coming back to the number one seat in Osun. I watched closely as he did everything within his powers to achieve what he perceived was his rightful position in the state.

Sadly, until his untimely demise, he never really achieved that dream. His death has however shown that despite not regaining power in Osun, he was truly very

advice would have been belated but you know how these things are, I am sure he would be invited over again so I can still send my advice to him.

Baba, do not be afraid, Osinbajo is only a man, he can only ask questions and will not flog you. I have his firm assurances on that. Just stand in front of him and make sure you put your hands behind you at all times, so that you do not annoy him. Another thing you will have to do, is to try and stand on one foot, preferably your left foot with the right one hanging in the air. With this, he would have no choice but to believe everything you say. Do not wear any undies both boxers and singlets. This

well loved by his people. His death has thrown the state into a serious tension with his people showing different levels of love as they mourn his death. I also mourn his death and wish his family and his teeming supporters my wholesome sympathy at this time. His death is really painful especially if you consider the fact that he has left us in his prime and at the point of his reemergence. He it was who ran around with the moniker ‘serubawon’. I remember very perfectly. Kai, so sad. My brother all I can say for now is for you to sleep well. Pele.

God will keep you in his bosom.

It is over.

is to allow you to breath easily. We do not want you to faint during proceedings. Read Psalm 21, I really cannot remember what it says but that was what my mother told me to read when I was headed towards my Oga Chuka when I wanted salary increase. It did not work as the great Igbo son looked at me with one eye and said in Igbo ‘mba’. It may work for you, you never can tell or what do we lose? Do not cry, do not panic and when talking, talk towards Osinbajo’s left eye, he is kinder from that perspective. Please and please do not wear a dark suit or any dark clothing. Come in full white, that is the colour of purity, it screams I am

innocent. Let the white be complete up to the stocks and shoes. You must stand in front of the panel like the Maharaji.

Also try to lose the tummy, it shows that just maybe you have been working for yourself and not the people. Do not worry, the most important thing is that at least the money was found and not how it got there. We are all very grateful and happy as you can see the naira is gaining control at the markets and this would stand in your favour so do not worry, everything will be OK. The Vice President is a kind man, I know that personally so you really have nothing to fear. Lastly, make sure you recite the pledge before and after you answer any question, this would make you look very patriotic and if you do not remember the pledge like I suspect, quickly ask your maiguard. God will protect you . It is well my egbon.

Rev. Matthew Kukah : Leave Him Alone o My favourite Catholic priest has come under severe fire recently especially on his position regarding the anti-corruption battle. Some have even said that he is now the poster boy as corruption fights back. The Archbishop of Sokoto has in the news, spewing all sorts of fire each time the EFCC discovered loads of cash. I was in a group discussion recently where almost all of the speakers unleashed on him invectives that I began to pity him. I think we should not take him too seriously or send harsh missives to him on his positions on national issues. The kind Reverend is kind of bored in far away Sokoto or how else would you expect such a gentleman to carry out his duties in the very seat of the caliphate? The work there is not too hectic and allows for time to do other things like talking about issues you really do not know anything about. So I use this opportunity to beg the boys, Ejiro, Dapo and Etim to cool down for the Reverend Father otherwise your next confessions would be taped and sent to your wives.

Chikena.

Shout Out to the Presido and MyNew Friends It all started like a funny dream. But it was a reality and before you realised it, the comedy of errors was a real life thriller. Anyway, the whole thing afforded me an opportunity to meet and make new friends who are now my brothers. Presido Yusuf, Gozie, Uduak, The Doc, Emeka all great guys. I really love these guys, spent about 48 hours with them and their love and sincerity weakened me. Never knew that there could be so much love in this country.

You guys have shown me what only a birth mother could show. Hold on, keep hope alive and we will remain strong.

Great guys. I remain with you in spirit.

Thank you for everything and God bless you all.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

SPY GLASS

with Bayo Adeoye ....08054680651 Christian but a prophet of God.

Okoya Plans Big for Wife’s Birthday

Isiaka Adeleke’s Unfulfilled Dream

The death of Senator Isiaka Adeleke, the first civilian governor of Osun State, on April 23, was most shocking to his family, political associates and fans alike.

Until the tragic occurrence, the late Adeleke was nursing the ambition of becoming the next governor of the state.

Indeed, the flamboyant politician had launched powerful consultations in the state for his ambition before death laid its cold hands on him.

It was gathered that Adeleke, famously called Serubawon, had already predicted that nobody could stop him from returning to the Bola Ige House, as the Osun State Government House is called.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, he brought flamboyancy to the politics of Osun State when he contested for governor in the state in 1992 under the defunct Social Democratic Party, SDP. He had then beaten a more experienced politician, Oladipo Oladosu in the primary, which was described as one of the most keenly contested pall in the history of governorship election in the country that year.

It will be recalled that his administration was nearly marred by impeachment as lawmakers loyal to his opponents in the SDP reportedly waged war against him and made the state ungovernable. It was so terrible that a lawmaker from his home town, and who was also loyal to him, Adewolu, allegedly lost his life in the process.

While the impeachment was being hatched, the military led by Gen. Sani Abacha seized power, thereby ending the Third Republic in November 1993.

His father, Ayoola Adeleke, was also a senator and was a member of the late Obafemi Awolowo-led Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, in the Second Republic. His father was a detribalised Nigerian, as he married his mother, Esther Adeleke, from Enugu State, the woman was not only a

Tomorrow, the founder and Chairman of Eleganza Industries, Aare Razak Okoya, will play host to eminent personalities at his imposing Oluwanisola Estate in Lagos, as his beautiful wife, Shade, turns 40.

Spyglass reliably gathered that the selected few who have received the simple but classy invitation cards have already confirmed their attendance at the much-talked about event.

The special invite reads: ‘’ I, Aare (Dr) Rasaki Akanni Okoya, CON (Chairman, Eleganza Group of Companies/RAO Investment Property Co. Ltd) request the pleasure of your presence at the 40th birthday celebration of his jewel of inestimable Value, Chief (Dr.) Folashade Noimat Okoya at the Oluwanisola Estate. “ While men are advised to adorn black ties, ladies are to come in beautiful dinner dresses.

The 44 year-old Folashade is a dazzling beauty. She is one of the few women whose beauty would make any full-blooded man drool.

With four kids, she still has what many models will spend fortunes to possess. Her fine qualities, in addition to her commanding dress sense, usually make the stunning beauty the cynosure of all eyes at any public event.

When Sade got married to her billionaire husband, not many gave the marriage any chance of survival, given the age difference between them. But 18 years after, the couple has shamed their critics.

Between Ogunwusi and Sanusi

Both the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade and the late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, were first-class royal fathers. They were educated and cosmopolitan. But mostly important, the late royal fathers, who were loved and respected by their subjects, were best of friends. They travelled and did many things together, even in their old age.

Interestingly, it seems history is about to repeat itself. How? Both the incumbent Ooni, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi and Emir of Kano, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, are about to continue from where the late Ado Bayero and Sijuade stopped.

It is a fact that Oba Ogunwusi has been toeing the line of peace and friendship since he ascended the throne. He has visited Emir Sanusi in Kano while the later too had reciprocated the gesture, especially when the Ooni celebrated his first year on

the throne.

This development, no doubt, is a pointer to the beginning of an enduring bond between the two traditional rulers. Since then, they have become great allies, exchanging ideas and giving each other advice while also doing things in common.

Also, the two colourful monarchs were recently together in the United Kingdom for the Commonwealth Day celebrations, where they reportedly rubbed minds on how to find a lasting solution to the Ife Yoruba/ Hausa feud.

Ndoma Egba’s Love for God

Before Senator Victor Ndoma- Egba left the Red Chambers of the National Assembly in 2015, he was a formidable force of sorts.

As the Senate Leader, he developed a strong legislative brand name that made him a reference point.

Two years after, his outstanding contributions are still unforgettable.

A man of the people, the lawyer and politician demonstrated a commitment to the plight of his people.

What many do not know about him is the fact that he never jokes with God and prayers. In fact, he is fond of saying that God and prayer are actually the secret behind his success.

Ndoma-Egba, last week, returned from Rome, where he went on a holy pilgrimage to offer prayers for his state, his families and the entire nation.

According to a source, Ndoma-Egba, who is said to live a disciplined lifestyle, doesn’t make any move or take any step without seeking divine guidance. He is said to have absolute trust in God and in the efficacy of prayers.

The Chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is described as a pacesetter. This is no mean feat, if you consider his wealth of experience and responsive representation.

Tunde Afolabi’s Success Secrets

If you are seeking authentic information in the oil exploration business in Nigeria, you will be doing yourself a lot of good by consulting Tunde Afolabi, who many regard as an encyclopaedia of sorts in the sector.

It is no exaggeration that the CEO of Amni Petroleum Company, one of the most successful indigenous oil production companies in Nigeria, knows his onions, having been in business since 2006.

In spite of the vagaries of the business, his company has remained afloat with a lot of success stories.

His company was awarded the Okoro Field and Setu Field located in OML 112 in shallow waters, offshore Nigeria, as part of the Nigerian government’s indigenous licensing

programme. The total gross production at the Okoro field in 2013 was 6.5 million barrels of oil, representing a gross average daily rate of 18,041 barrels per day.

Interestingly, in a society where many successful men have reportedly allowed fame, success and sometimes stardom to turn their heads, Afolabi recognises that only God is the unseen hand behind his success story; and he submits absolutely to His will. Of course, he also recognises that hard work pays, so he loathes laziness. In spite of his very engaging daily schedule, he worships God as would be expected of a grateful soul.

A devout Christian, he spends his spare time in total worship of God. According to sources, His armour against failure is ceaseless prayers.

Afolabi, who has been in the oil sector for 40 years never stops sharing the testimony of how the Almighty God pulled his firm through what would have been a financial crisis in his business, particularly when Afren Plc., his foreign partners in the Okoro field, experienced a major crisis in their operations. Desperate not to go under, Afolabi ran to God in prayers; and by divine intervention, his own firm was protected from the fallout and things ended on an upbeat note for him and Amni.

Prior to that incident, God’s almightiness had manifested in his business when he was awarded all the three oil and gas assets he bidded for during the last round of bids for oil blocks.

Many are amazed at his humility and total dependence on God in taking the most critical decisions of his life.

Afolabi, a silent billionaire, has lifted a number of less privileged members of the society; his philanthropy beggars description. He is also known as an ardent supporter of churches within the Anglican denomination.

The professional geologist with over 40 years of oil and gas exploration and production started his career with Texaco Inc, New Orleans Louisiana in 1974 after he received his a B.A Geology in 1973 from Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster Pennsylvania USA, and an M.Sc. in Geology in 1975 from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, US. He later joined Mobil Inc in Dallas, Texas in 1979.

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T H I S D AY SATURDAY APRIL 29, 2017

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

POLSCOPE

with Eddy Odivwri eddy.odivwri@thisdaylive.com 08053069356

What is the Prayer Emir Sanusi Vs Northern Political Elite Point on Buhari?

D

uring the week, what looked like a fight back from the northern political elite against the Emir of Kano, HRM Mohammadu Sanusi II, was registered when the news was released by the Kano Emirate Council that it had spent N3.4 Billion in the last three years. The state government had claimed that the Emirate council had spent N6 billion within the same period. The same state government had claimed that Emir Sanusi inherited N4 billion from his predecessor, and not the N2.9 billion the Emirate Council said it inherited.

It is surely a cruel response to the punches thrown at the political elite by Emir Sanusi during the recently-held Kaduna Investment summit.

As he often does, his speech ruffled many feathers.

And this unsettled the northern political elite. The brickbats had started with the vitriolic letter the Zamfara State governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari wrote to Sanusi calling him a hypocrite and one who was a threat to Islam, admonishing him to literally respect himself. Sanusi’s offence was debunking as “unIslamic” the theory of Gov Yari which says fornication breeds meningitis. Yari had blamed the outbreak of meningitis on the tons of sins of his people. The death toll on the meningitis as at last Thursday had hit 813.

The governor just didn’t have vaccines and rather than admit so, he blamed it on the fornication of the people.

It was as unIslamic as it was unscientific. We have long found out that in Zamfara State, for instance, there are 21 medical doctors in the 24 state-owned hospitals. That means that at least three state hospitals do not have medical doctors. Is this the result of the people’s sin too? Need we say more on how decrepit Yari’s theory is?

Emir Sanusi dared to speak truth to the people, saying what everybody has always known but hardly expressed openly. The feudal system which still operates in the north mixed with the high level of illiteracy helps to promote mass ignorance and blind adherence to religious dogma.

Many of the big men in the north are just pedophiles, in the name of the religious permit to marry many wives. We see men of over 60 years of age squaring up in marriage with teenagers and even minors. That explains why the Emir’s comment on the girl child education rankles the political elite in the north, most of whom are the worst perpetrators of the act especially as they can easily intimidate the poor rural folks with their money.

But if they discriminate against the education of the girl child, how well do they do with the boy child? Is it not the same boy child that constitutes the despicable practice of Almajiri? How can they be encouraging poor people to keep marrying more wives and procreating without caution or adequate financial backing, all in the name of religion and culture?

Is it not true that the northern political elite nurture and protect the almajiri system because it helps them to feather their political nest during elections?

It had to take the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan to build special schools for the almajiris. Jonathan it was, who also established nine universities in the country, six of which were located in the north.

Are these not the same people that academic standards are often lowered during admissions into federal institutions—be it secondary or universities?

How well do the northern elites care about education? In this time and age, we still have schools where teaching and learning take place under the trees in the north. And any day it rains, such a school is on holiday. How many of the children of the northern elite attend such schools?

How many scholarships do they award per year?

Is it untrue that the highest numbers of uneducated folks in the country are in the north? What is the average budget on education in the north and what is the annual budget on pilgrimage and religious activities/projects like building of mega mosques?

Is it not true that the more uneducated the people are, the less critical they will be and the more vulnerable they will be for political manipulation?

But these same governors who refuse to build and equip classrooms make heavy annual budgets to sponsor people on pilgrimage as a matter of priority.

These same governors who would not build schools, build big mosques.

How does that impact on development?

Why should that be the concern of a responsible

I

have been looking for General Yakubu Gowon.

What for? Is he your mate?

Is it only my mate I should look for? Don’t you know he is premium elder statesman?

So?

Look, we need to rework that his NGO NGO? Gen Gowon has an NGO? Don’t you know Nigeria Prays is his NGO? So why do you want it reworked?

Need you ask? Can’t you see the nation’s shepherd is weak and the flock might be floundering and scattering?

You have come again with your archaic parables. What exactly are you saying?

Sanusi government? Why should government money be used to pursue and sponsor such religious programmes while we claim we operate a policy of secularity in government?

This is simply because those sponsored to such pilgrimages—be it Christians or Muslims, will often pay back with their support to the governor during elections.

The north has held on to political power longer than any other part of the country. What has that translated to in terms of the socio-metrics of development? Is it not clear that without education, there can be no development? Does that not explain why despite everything the north, the core north, that is, is yet wearing a rustic and pristine look? Indeed, Emir Sanusi was right when he said if Yobe and Borno States were to be countries, they would be poorer than Niger and Chad. How true!

Why are the northern elites angry with Emir Sanusi for daring to tell them what the rest of the nation have always known and talked about?

Even on health care, the north is still tottering behind. There are several diseases in the north which are largely caused by poverty and malnutrition. I once visited a hospital in Sokoto township where all the patients—young and old, have terrible ugly infections that eat up their upper or lower lips thus exposing their dentition. I cannot remember the technical name of the disease. Doctors say it is mainly caused by malnutrition.

Just last Sunday, a doctor was speaking on 92.3 FM radio in Lagos and was relating an experience of medical practice in the north. He recalled a particular case where an illiterate mother who had just lost her set of twins to poor medical attention was almost losing another child within one week all because the husband (who has three other wives and dozens of children) did not give the permission for the sick child to be taken to hospital, all because there was no money even for the most basic medical procedure.

The doctor said they had to task themselves to donate some money to enable the woman’s child to be treated and saved. Is that not why infant and maternal mortality is still very high in the north? But the governors of such states would have the presence of mind to sponsor people on pilgrimage. Imagine the plight of the 21 medical doctors in the 23 hospitals in Zamfara State, where the governor literally governs the state from his cosy Abuja castle. There are times the doctors in such hospitals will helplessly watch patients die because of no drugs and equipment.

Truth hurts the heart of the wicked, hence the northern political elite are ganging up against Emir Sanusi. Reports have even said there are plots by the same northern elite to dethrone him, as if that is what will change the ill-narrative of the north.

To kick-start the plot, the Kano State government has set up a plan to probe the finances and operations of the Kano Emirate Council, as if it is a government parastatal. What has the government got to do with the running of a traditional institution?

How many times does the Osun State Government probe the budget and finances of the Ooni of Ife? Or the Edo State government probing the Oba of Benin’s financial books?

How come this financial efficiency of the Kano State government is coming just after the Emir’s keynote address at the Kaduna summit?

Look, Mr President, our dear Muhammadu Buhari is still ill. He is weak.

He has not been coming to office. He has been absent from the all-important Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on two consecutive occasions now.

He has not been seen in public for a long time, except the weekly Jumat prayers in the Villa mosque, on Fridays. They even say he can no longer come to office.

That he is now almost like a resident monarch. That he has opted to work from home. Files and official documents have to be carried home everyday for the president to treat. Do you now see why we need the prayers?

So why do you think Gen Gowon should be the anchor of this? Is he a prayer warrior?

Don’t you know he founded Nigeria Prays?

How successful was that ministry as to want him preside over the all-important prayer for the full and perfect recovery of President Buhari?

And in any case, why the resort to prayers?

Was he not supposed to go back to London for a medical check-up? Why has he not gone? Is he scared he might lose his office?

This is not a subject of debate! Somebody is sick. And I am saying we should all gather and take a prayer point and intercede for him. And it is callous for you to suggest he is scared he might lose his office if he goes back to London. Look, if it is the will of Allah, Buhari will serve out his full term(s) unhindered.

So what is the prayer point? I ask because Buhari there are some people who will not participate in the prayer if they don’t like the prayer point.

What else can the prayer point be but for God to effect total healing and the renewal of his health so he can bounce back in shape and form and really take this country to the Promised Land. (in hushed voice) But do you know that some people are praying that the president will not recover enough so he does not get back to office? That way, he will not stand in their way in 2019? Some are even saying he should just…. (cuts in, with raised spread palm) Chai! Enough of that sacrilege! Anybody, man or woman, young or old, who does not want the president to fully recover and regain his office in full blast, should, fall down and… (cuts in) Don’t curse anybody. I am only telling you the wish of some people. But I know that the good Lord who has been guarding Nigeria will terminate their wish.

But do you know that those who don’t wish the president well believe he is the cause of the hardship in the land and that if we are to regain our economic gait as a country, Buhari should be out of the way?

That is gratuitous nonsense! What kind of dump talk is that? Do those people know the rudiments of fiscal and monetary policies? Do they know the ever contending forces of micro and macro-economic indicatives? Do they know what is called the Balance of Trade? If Nigeria is not exporting anything but oil, how does she intend to earn foreign exchange? If Nigerians have a bottomless appetite for imported goods, how can she earn or conserve foreign exchange? Is it Buhari that said the price of crude should fall in the international oil market? Let me tell you, many of those people wishing the president dead are those sweating uncomfortably from the anti-corruption war.

They don’t want their stolen billions to be recovered. Look, tell those people arguing upside down to think aright and pray for Buhari because he means well for the nation.

Whatever it is, I am not sure those who don’t wish Mr President full recovery are any number to worry about. And I don’t think the concern should be about 2019. It should be for a total recovery. However, when he recovers, he has to double-pace his speed to catch up in pursuing people-oriented programmes.

You have spoken well. So where is Gowon, so we can call a national prayer conference with a singular prayer point: Pray full and unfailing strength into Mr President. Nothing else matters for now.

If you don’t see him in the Plateau, check the Abuja Hills, you will see the ebullient statesman.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S AT U R D AY N E W S PA P E R • APRIL 29, 2017

EVENTS

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ll roads led to The Everlasting Arms Parish (TEAP) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Garki, Abuja, last Saturday as Pastor Evaristus Azodoh and his wife, Ngozi, both medical doctors, gave out their daughter, Ijeoma, also a medical doctor, in holy matrimony to Ifeanyichukwu Ezeliorah, a medical doctor too. Below are a few of the personalities in attendance.

Photos: Godwin Omoigui

L-R: The new couple, Ifeanyichukwu and Ijeoma Ezeliorah

R-L: Wedding reception chairman and Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and the Bride’s Parents, Pastor and Mrs Azodoh

L-R: The groom’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Emmanuel Ezeliorah and former Health Minister, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu

L-R: Mrs. Cecilia Umeh-Ujubuonu and son-in-law, Pastor Chinedu Ezekwesili

R-L: Former Minister of state, Foreign Affairs, Dr. Idi Hong and Mrs. Elizabeth Emoren

L-R: Former Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Fatima Bamidele (R) and Hajia Idayat Raji

Dr. Emmanuel Nwokorie and wife, Rosemary

L-R: Olusegun Adeniyi and wife, Oluwatosin

L-R: Mr. Sunday Momoh and wife, Raliat

MD/CEO of Top Oil & Gas Dev. Co. Ltd, Mr. Sunny Effiong and wife, Aniema

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

EXPRESSION

MEDIAGAFFES BY

Diamond Bank Bungles Copy

“A

ll other exchange control (exchange-control) documents within 60 days of remittance” (Full-page advertisement by Diamond Bank, THISDAY,April 22) “Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State John Mayaki said the first 100 days of theAll Progressives Congress (APC)-led government in the state has (had) been very rewarding.” (DAILY SUN,April 7, 2917.

“2019: Election stakeholders pass vote of confidence on (in) INEC” (THISDAY Headline, April 22) “…the need to raise a high powered (highpowered) delegation comprising of former leaders….” Delete ‘of’.

“Court ofAppeal upholds FRSC powers on new plate number” Not news: number-plate “Ondo oil producing (oil-producing) firms tasked on CSR in host communities” “In these reports, our correspondents have pieced together compelling analysis (analyses) of the politics, issues and events that….” “…revealing a scary statistics (statistic) that experts say may be worse than all the major killer diseases put together.” “…creating awareness in the scourge amongst (among) others” “The show has, overtime, gathered massive and ardent listenership/followership.” Why not followers?

“Any actor who passes through the rudiment (rudiments) of theatre will know that….”

“As the nation prepares for the next election come (in) 2019….”

“Assemblies of God ex-communicates ex-leader, sets (set) for legal battles” “In what appears an image laundry (image-

laundry) exercise….” “…to allay the concerns (concern) of the general public.” Comment: the fear of the public “Ekiti: Fayose,Arise clash over delegates (delegates’) list” “…series (a series) of strategic meetings have been held by….”

“Ekiti workers read riot act to Fayose, warn against debts” The most widely (most-widely) read newspaper: the riot act. I know that the article ‘the’ is avoided in headline casting as much as possible, but there are exceptional (fixed/stock expressions) cases where it is inevitable.

“Submit nominations for the 2017 Integrity Award (no punctuation?) you may be introducing someone to a destiny changing (destinychanging) experience” “Vacancy for area manager for all state (states)” (Full-page advertorial by Viju Industries Nigeria Ltd) “Redeeming pledges to victims (victims’) support fund” “Brazil: Rousseff (Rousseff’s) victory rattles markets” “My grouse against (about) Buhari” “Fresh terrorists (terrorist or terrorists’) attacks in Borno,Adamawa” “My clientele includes (include) celebrities, governors” “Does regular masturbation leads (lead) to weak erection?” (THISDAY,April 16) “Residents of Greenfield Estate appeal to Lagos govt to compliment (complement) their self-help efforts” “Murder ofAlamieyeseigha’s son: Keyamo accuses FG of double standards (standard)” (Source: as above) “Anambra House pass (passes) vote of confidence on (in) Governor Obiano” “Oni condoles (condoles with) OgunAPC Chairman over wife’s death”

“According to him, within the past four years each of the three labour unions within the system, NASU, SSA,ASUU, have engaged in strikes….”

‘Each’ takes ‘has’ (not have).

“But on the contrary, propaganda are always employed in peace times.…” ‘Propaganda’ is uncountable.

“Algerian President visits troubled spots” Simply trouble spots!

“There is no doubt that he who pays the piper must dictate the tune.” He who pays the piper calls (not dictates) the tune.

“These agencies have been working in the nooks and corners.” Nooks and crannies (not corners)….

“Then came this fateful 72-hour period between Wednesday, February 8 (a comma, please) to Friday, February 10, during which….” ‘Between… and’ or ‘From…to’.

“Bauchi NUT threaten (threatens) to down tools” “As a journalist, how did he manage to round up (off) the discussions for the business?” Did he arrest the discussions?

“Delay in announcement of Hajj fares worry Bayero” ‘Delay…worries’.

“It has reduced families into nothingness.”

‘Reduce’ goes with ‘to’; not into.

“Because such cars are not, manufactured in the country, servicing them or fixing mechanical problems have forced them…” Servicing them or fixing… has (not have).

“Their prowess were tested in the ability to play…” Their prowess was (not were).

“School fees, shoes, books, uniform and stationeries of course.” Plural of ‘stationery’ remains the same.

“Students leaving with their luggages after the bomb attack.” Time; 9 p. m. ‘Luggage’ is non-count.

“Can the CBN defend the naira” Economic

EBERE WABARA

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

renaissance: this headline needs a question mark.

“15 passengers drown as vehicle plunges into river” The victims could not have drowned inside the bush! Therefore, delete ‘into river’.

“Rivers: Developing economic potentials (potential or potentialities” “Your eminence, as you mark your eight (eighth) anniversary on the throne….”

“Lagosians raise alarm (the alarm)” “We also seize (take/use) this opportunity to congratulate you and your entire (all your) family for (on/upon) your humanitarian contributions….” Please note that ‘seize an opportunity’ is a piece ofAmericanism.

“Vandalisation, major threat to regular power supply” Vandalism of the English language must stop!

FEEDBACK

‘CHAIRMEN’and ‘chairwomen’are used for both men and women. Also, board and company chairman and chairman of the board or company. Alady chairman or woman may be addressed as madam chairman. Also chairman of the joint chiefs of staffs is correct. The joint chief or the chief is acceptable. But do not use ‘chairlady’, ‘chairwoman or chairperson unless it is an organization formal title for an official. (BAYO OGUNTUASE, 08056180046) MOST times n your column, you blame editors and others for the atrocious grammar and mistakes you help to put right. Now, what do you say when even the eggheads who by virtue of their learning ought to do better proceed to write atrocities like ‘rest in perfect peace’.

I ask, like you, is there ‘imperfect peace’? (ONUORA NWABUFO, Abuja, 08036487027) I know of money or image laundering but image laundry (laundering) exercise sounds strange to me.

(KOLADANISA, 07068074257) BLESSED WEEK AHEAD

INSIGHT

Upholding Chinua Achebe’s Legacy Ferdinand Ekechukwu

“Y

ou are welcome to the Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka,” Professor Emeka Nwabueze said, as he prepares to brief persons who had converged in his office. The effusiveness with which the director of the institute received the gathering, made up of journalists from leading media houses, was very impressive. “Why we are very, very happy to see you is that you are the first positive response, apart from people sending abstracts and we have received over a hundred in different categories of thinking on different areas of Chinua Achebe’s scholarship.”

The briefing unveiled plans by the school, in partnership with Publikonnekt, a public relations firm, to hold a four day international conference on the life and creativity of the eminent literary genius. The essence of the event, however, is to commemorate the anniversary of the death of the writer and critic. This will formerly commence with the first night of eerie sounds of the spirits and masquerades, coinciding with four years of his interment.

The major reason for the event is that, apart from academics that locates Chinua Achebe as a world class writer with largely unforgettable antecedents in literary scholarship, Achebe, from the institute’s perspective, was not accorded a befitting burial. He was not given one that is deserving of the place he worked for as a world-class author who used his literary works to promote African tradition and culture.

Professor Achebe, he noted, was one of the most important African writers.

More so, he was also considered by many to be one of the most original literary artists writing in English during his lifetime. Achebe was the

Nwabueze head of English Department, UNN which he ran very effectively and later as Senior Research Fellow in the Institute of African Studies.

According to Nwabueze, “By May 22, 2017, it will be four years since the interment of Prof. Chinua Achebe.

As part of the commemoration of the life and creativity of this colossus, the Institute of African studies, UNN is organising an International Conference to celebrate Chinua Achebe in all ramifications. This world-class author was a Senior Research Fellow in the Institute of African Studies.”

With the theme, “Chinua Achebe and the Convolution of Immortality: Reassessing the Writer in Relation to new Reality,” the event appears to have a two-prong approach including the traditional and the intellectual celebration. The highlight of the event will witness the reopening of his office which has remained locked since he celebrated his sixtieth birthday in 1990, following which he left for the

Achebe United States of America.

“His office is still there unopened,” located on the second floor of Hansbery Building which houses the institute. “It was in this office that the great writer hibernated, ruminated, poured his ideas on paper, took snacks, received visitors, and generated his personal and official correspondence,” professor Nwabueze said. “There was a Vice Chancellor that had wanted to reassign it and we said no. The opening would be done with some funfair. And that is why it has not been opened.” The office would however be renamed the Chinua Achebe Centre for Creative Writing and Critical Thinking.

He promised to invite journalists to witness the reopening, saying, considering his contribution to the growth and development of the institute, and the ideals he propagated, “we felt that the right thing to do was to give the natural ‘Igbo’ phenomenon four years, which in Achebe’s novel

represents four market days, ‘Eke, Afor, Nkwo and Orie’. We count each year on behalf of one market day,” he explained.

“And we have seen four market days. And then we said it is time. That is the magic of the four years. So we are in the ‘Eke’ of Chinua Achebe’s death and we are determined to correct the ills during his burial four years ago. We are determined, for instance, on the night of the ‘Ogbazuluobodo’, we are going to tell his spirit that we know his contributions whether it works or not.

“This time, we have decided to re-enact that very important incident that Achebe’s death symbolises because of its ability to crystalise our culture.

“We are mindful that in Arrow of God, he used the death of Ezeulu’s son in the process of helping a family friend as a rallying or turning point in the novel and his concentration for our unity and togetherness also shows him as a grassroots man. We have plans to film the Arrow of God, entitled When The Arrow Rebounds, which Publikonnekt agency is also handling”, he said.

On the academic/intellectual aspect of the conference, there will be presentations that will feature the matter and manner of Achebe’s work in diverse and comprehensive dimensions, including the use of language and clarity of expression.

According to the director, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and Maj. General Ike Nwachukwu Rtd, have been considered to co-chair the event. Other Nigerians expected to attend the event include; former Minister of Health, Prof. Ikechukwu Madubuike, former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse of English Dept, University of Lagos.

Others include; Governors Willie Obiano of Anambra State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •April 29, 2017

Auto ESSENTIAL SKILLS with STEPHEN DIESERUVWE (Director General, Delta State Traffic Management Authority (DESTMA)

Essential Skills of Driving: Hand Controls

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Group General Manager, Projects, Dangote Sinotruk West Africa Limited, Mr. Hikmat Thapa (m) showing journalists around the plant in Lagos... recently

Sinotruk Gets Dangote Nameplate, Plant Targets Assembly of 10k Trucks Annually Stories by Bennett Oghifo

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The Dangote Group is not known to do things in small measure. This is the reason the group floated a joint venture company, Dangote Sinotruk WestAfrica Limited with Sinotruk China with its 65% stake against the 35% of the Chinese company, to assemble its nameplate, Dangote Sinotruk in Nigeria.

The sprawling assembly plant on Oba Akran Road, Ikeja, Lagos, when it goes into full operation, will have capacity to produce 10,000 Dangote Sinotruks annually both for local consumption and for export to other West African countries.

The whole plant, according to the Group General Manager, Projects, Mr. Hikmat Thapa, is valued at $100 million.

Briefing journalists at a tour of the plant, recently, Mr. Thapa said the plant would have capacity to satisfy the truck needs of the country.

He said, “We have started manufacturing and our capacity is 10,000 trucks per annum, we can produce 10 trucks per month. Next month we plan for full shift.”

The total project is in three phases, he said “We have completed the first phase, the second phase has started and the third phase will be the production of trailers, tankers and dumpsters.”

Dangote Sinotruk West Africa LTD will produce full range of commercial vehicles covering heavy duty truck, medium truck, light truck and other semi-trailers and etc. “It aims to meet an expected increased demand for logistics, construction and other industries in the country as the government focuses on boosting the economic development across the vast country.

The company will assemble and produce 10,000 trucks annually. The truck assembly plant will create 3000 job vacancies for Nigeria. The company had the capacity to assemble and produce 16 trucks a day and would export to West Africa.

On the company’s objective, he said they intend

to “play our respective advantages to develop heavy-duty truck industry in Nigeria; Provide new employment opportunities, improve local automobile technology, equipment and technology level, promote the economic development in Nigeria; form a production base for heavy-duty trucks and commercial vehicles in WestAfrica. With the formation of the production base, not only the market demands in Nigeria can be met, but also the requirements of covering the neighboring countries will be gradually met. Make contributions to build friendly relationships between China and Nigeria.

“Through years of efforts, Dangote Sinotruk West Africa Ltd. will develop prominent advantages in market network, product, technology and quality, and established a distinctive cultural concept.

Shareholders are; Dangote Industries Limited, the Largest Manufacturing Conglomerate in WestAfrica established in May, 1981 with the products covering cement, fertilizer, sugar, flour, salt, pasta and drinks, while it also provides services in petroleum, natural gas, communications and steel and iron.

Arthouse Contemporary S’art Art Exhibition Takes Center Stage at Kia Showroom in Lagos

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ia partnersArthouse Contemporary to bring yet again one of the best creative exhibitions of the works of art of the celebrated painter and mixed media artist, Diseye Tantua in the on-going S’Art solo exhibition. The solo exhibition brings together the works of both Tantua and master artist and architect Demas Nwoko as it sets to attract the teeming enthusiasts of creativity and ingenuity from all works of life to the Kia Showroom in Victoria Island Lagos.

The exhibition titled S’Art was coined from the past tense of the word ‘sit’ chronicling the influence of Nwoko’s chairs on the Tantua, as well as celebrating the life and works of Demas Nwoko at 81. Best known for his iconic style of “Afro Pop Art,” Tantua’s combination of

graphic symbols, bold colours and expressive text is adjudged one of the most creative works of art in this part of the world. His drawings are based on traditional proverbs that are made popular by headboards and bumper stickers on buses, taxis, tricycles and street signs. Tantua focuses on social groups in urban spaces around the city, often depicting forms of transit and movement.

It will be recalled that Kia has over the years partnered Arthouse to present a meld of beautifully designed cars and astonishingly curated works of art that make its showroom a destination for collectors and enthusiasts of not just cars, but also modern art and design.

In this exhibition, Tantua is showcasing his recent three-dimensional objects, forming the subject matter of his paintings in the

round. Using vintage cars, among them his father’s classic cars, Tantua has created chairs, couches, and tables that have been welded and painted to breathe new life into the salvaged car parts. ‘’This exhibition charts a new chapter in the artist’s practice as he extends his work in painting and experiments with furniture and functional sculpture’’ stated by Kavita Hathiramani, the CEO of Arthouse Contemporary.

Commenting on the synergy between Tantua and Nwoko, Kavita said “the powerful collaboration brings together two generations of artists in dialogue with each other, reflecting how contemporary art is shaped by its modern predecessors and its continuing relevance today.”

CFAO Group in Nigeria Walks against Malaria Today

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s part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, the CFAO group in Nigeria is organising a walkathon to associate with the World Malaria campaign themed: End Malaria for good. Employees and family members will embark on a 10 kilometre walk in and around Victoria Island, Lagos to commemorate the World Malaria Day which was marked on April 25, 2017.

The walk scheduled for today Saturday, April

29. 2017, will kick off from the Massilia Motors (Mitsubishi) showroom on Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island, cutting across Ahmadu Bello Way, Adetokunbo Ademola, Sanusi Fafunwa and Akin Adesola roads.

CFAO group is set to raise awareness on Malaria and educate its employees and members of the public on ways to prevent the disease.

The CFAO group will use the event to offer free malaria tests to all participants and that mosquito nets will be given to the first 120

participants to complete the walk.

In Nigeria the CFAO group is made up of subsidiaries such as NIPEN (manufacturing plastic crates, BIC pens and shavers); GID (distributing fast moving consumer goods); Assene Laborex (pharmaceuticals); Eurocare (multispecialist hospital); CFAO Yamaha (motorcycles, marine outboard engines, power products); Massilia Motors (Mitsubishi Motors vehicles) and CFAO Motors (FUSO trucks, JCB construction equipment, OTIS elevators).

Hand Controls hehandcontrolsofavehiclearesplitbetween thosethatareessentialforthebasicoperation andmovementofthevehicle(handbrake, gear lever, and steering wheel) and those which help the driver to communicate with others, see clearly and maintain a comfortable environment (signals, lights, demisters, heaters,entertainment,etc.).

Steering Wheel Thesteeringwheelcontrolsthedirectioninwhichyou want the vehicle to travel – to turn the car to the left or right,andtokeepitinastraightline.Thesteeringwheel shouldnormallybecontrolledwithbothhands.

One of the best ways to remember where to position your hands on the steering wheel is to imagine a clock face. For best steering control, hold the steering wheel withalight,positivegripplacingyourhandinthe‘tento-two’or‘quarter-to-three’position.Yourhandsshould be horizontally opposite, with your left hand at 9 or 10 andyourrighthandat2or3.Holdingthesteeringwheel like this will usually give you maximum control over thevehicle,especiallyinanemergencysituation.When steering, apply pressure with your palm and thumbs, ratherthangrippingwithyourfingers.Mostcontrolis gainedwhenthe‘pullandpush’methodisusedtoturn thesteeringwheel.

Gear Lever Most modern vehicles have five or six forward gears and one reverse gear. The gear lever is used with the clutchtoenableyoutochangefromonegeartoanother.

Betweenthegearsthereisacentralpositioncalled‘neutral’.

Whentheleverisinthisposition,nogearisselected. In most vehicles the first 4 gears form an ‘H’ appearance on the gear lever. Neutral is the middle position in the ‘H’formationonthegearlever.Toengagereversegear yousometimeshavetoeitherpushthegearleverdown orliftituptowardsyou.Differentvehicleshavedifferent setups.Soalwayscheckwherereverseisinyourvehicle.

Byusingthepalmingmethodofgearchanging,selecting thecorrectgeariseasywithoutlookingatthegearlever.

Whenchanginggears,avoidgrippingthegearlevertightly.

The gears are used to drive at different speeds and can beselectedbypressingtheclutchpedaldownandthen movingthegearlevertotheappropriateposition.The gearsallowyoutomakesufficientuseoftheenginepower.

Handbrake or Parking Brake Theparkingbrake,sometimesreferredtoasthehandbrakeshouldbeusedtosecureyourvehicleafterithas stopped or when waiting for a while for a safe gap in traffic,forexampleatjunctions,trafficlights,pedestrian crossings etc. The parking brake lever is usually floor mounted,betweenthefrontseats,justbehindthegear lever. Because the handbrake is only connected to the two rear wheels it should not be used when the car is moving.Toapplythehandbrake,presstheratchetbutton ontopoftheparkingbrakewithyourthumbandpull the lever upwards as far as it will go and then release the button. The parking brake will engage in the ‘on’ position.Bypressingtheratchetbuttonwhenapplying thehandbrakeyouwillpreventunnecessarywearand tear to the mechanism and minimise stretching of the brakecables.Toreleasethehandbrakeorparkingbrake, pulltheleverupslightly,andpressthebuttonintorelease theratchet,whilekeepingthebuttonin,movethelever tothe‘off’position.

Indicator Switch Theindicatorstalkorswitchisusuallymountedbehind the steering wheel and designed for ‘fingertip control’ and it activates the flashing indicators to the front, rear andsidesofthecar.Tosignalsimplymovethestalkinthe samedirectionasthesteeringwheelasthesteeringwheel movesforyourintendeddirectionoftravel.Byusingthe indicators before you change direction, you can show other road users which way you intend to go. In next week’sarticleweshallbediscussingthedrivingmirrors andblindspots.Forfurtherexplanationsorclarification onthearticlesintheEssentialSkillsofDrivingcolumn, consulttheauthor.

Stephen K. Dieseruvwe

Director General, Delta State Traffic Management Authority(DESTMA) **DriverTrainerandRoadSafetyConsultant **Email:sdieseruvwe@gmail.com **Tel:+2348167814928

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •April 29, 2017

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Auto Winners Emerge at 11th Toyota Dream Car Art Contest

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2008 Ford Mustang

Ford Mustang Most Popular Sports Car in 2016 – Report Stories by Bennett Oghifo

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iscontent with being the top-selling sports car in the U.S. for the last halfcentury, the Ford Mustang became the most bought sports car across the globe in 2016.

For years the Mustang was an exclusively North American affair, with international enthusiasts forced to shell out significantly to get their hands-on Ford’s affordable coupe. With the

car’s ground-up redesign during 2014, Ford decided the Mustang would go global, expanding its reach to include 140 countries.

Dearborn’s decision was vindicated after registration data from IHS Automotive indicated 110,000 Mustang Coupes had found new homes during 2015 — plus a further 30,000 convertible sales — making it the globe’s best-selling sports coupe by a significant margin.

The success continued into 2016 as the Mustang upped the ante and took over the crown as world’s best-selling sports car thanks to a 6-percent increase

in global sales, for a worldwide tally of 150,431 cars.

Mustang sales in the United States actually trailed off by 13 percent last year, but big gains in both China and Germany fuelled the car’s 101-percent international growth and accounting for almost 45,000 cars sold beyond North America.

“The legacy of Mustang continues to grow, and in places it never reached before,” said Mark Schaller, Ford Mustang marketing manager. “We continue to make it available in new markets, and drivers in those markets continue to respond with resounding approval.”

he winner’s parents, teachers and well-wishers were entertained and winners went home with Laptops, other corporate gifts and most importantly, winner’s certificate.

In attendance on the high table were the Managing Director of Toyota (Nigeria) Limited, Head of Marketing Department, Mr. Andrew Ajuyah, Marketing Manager, Mr. Bayo Olawoyin and the Public Relations Manager, Mrs. Bukunola Ogunnusi.

Mrs. Ogunnusi briefly introduced the winners before the audience. The Managing Director gave a welcoming speech, thanking everyone for attending the event and congratulated the winners.

He added that one of the winners in the 2018 contest would be sponsored by Toyota (Nigeria) Limited to visit Japan.

The winners gave presentation of their drawings, which explains the concept of their drawings respectively, they also urged Toyota to manufacture their dream car in the future.

One of the winners Ifunanya Nwankwo gave vote of thanks on behalf of the others and expressed appreciation for the occasion and thanked the Managing Director and Toyota (Nigeria) Limited for the opportunity given to them to demonstrate their talents.

This was later followed by three other parents of the winners who also expressed their gratitude towards the event and Toyota Management.

Chinese Automaker to Change Name Because of Trump

G

ACMotorisworriedthe“Trumpchi” name won’t sit well withAmericans.

Trumpchi is the name of GAC Motor’s flagship brand, which the Chinese automaker hopes to introduce to the U.S. market in the future. Speaking to Reuters, GAC Motor design director Zhang Fan confirmed the automaker is considering a name change now that Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States.

“We saw people were laughing at this and took pictures looking only at this detail, and also put on Facebook or other websites,” said Zhang.

“When we read all that feedback, we realized

it might not be very positive promotion for the brand.”

The name Trumpchi is meant to sound like its Chinese name, Chuanqi. The Chinese name comes from a play on the word “legendary” and means passing good fortune. Zhang added that any similarity between the brand name and the U.S. president was unintentional.

With plans to enter the U.S. market in 2019, there’s a strong possibility now the name will be changed before it’s introduced. “At first I’d never thought of it, why change the name? It’s the president Americans selected, it’s similar to the president’s name, this has to be good right?” he added.

Gac-motors-trumpchi

What is The Condition of Your Tyres

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ast week, I pleaded with my editor to run one of my old piece on tyre titled, buying tyres. Since the debut of this column, tyre care has remained my strongest area of focus .Other areas include distracted driving, seat belt usage with emphasis on child restraint which is yet to catch the fancy of most parents not because they cannot afford it but simply because of attitude.

After last week’s piece, I was to do a follow up piece with another in the series but was compelled to do this week piece which is influenced by a recent survey by my senior colleague, Assistant Corps Marshal Kayode Olagunju on the conditions of tyres on Nigerian road. My senior colleague for all those who know him very well, heads the research department at our national headquarters inAbuja.

His assignment therefore includes dishing out materials and data that I always find intriguing.

He was the same one who provided the material on FLYING VEHICLCES which was used on this column some time ago. I must thank him and his team for providing yet another rich material which is the basis for this piece.

Like I said earlier, this piece is fallout from the national survey on the conditions of tyres on Nigerian roads conducted in all the 36 states of the country including the Federal Capital. According to my oga, the aim of the survey was to assess the conditions of tyres on Nigerian roads for informed decision on road safety. Truth is that most road

SAFE DRIVING with

JONAS AGWU

amnipr, mcipr,mprsa,arpa (Corps Commander) Corps Public Education Officer Federal Road Safety Corps. + 2348033026491

users raraly make correct assessment in relation to the tyre condition in order to achieve a high level of safety. Within this context, the tyre condition is considered in relation to technical elements (tyre inflation pressure, tyre tread depth, tyre damage, tyre age, weather and other influences which was central to the survey whose objectives were to ascertain the level of awareness on tyre usage, identify the condition of tyres being used , evaluate the level of correct tyre usage and assess the use of new and expired tyres. If you know my senior well, he is a mr data and as such I will not bug you with all the turrenchi in his study except you insist because as a the head of his department, his work covered brief history of tyre , the two tyre types : solid and pneumatic.and others which we will consider later.

The focus of this piece is on the condition of your tyres. I am sure most of us don’t really care or know much about the conditions of our tyres.Even though

we are licenced to drive,we brag about the kind of cars that we drive yet we know next to nothing about tyres; We just jump into the car and zoom off until the day we notice a flat. This reminds me of a friend of mine who was recently stopped by FRSC Marshals on patrol and after series of enlightenment on the need to use standard tyres and other information on tyre care, he called me to express his disappointment at the conduct of my operatives. He said he could not understand why my operatives would stop a brand new vehicle (tear rubber in our parlance) that has everything as new. He even went ahead to mock me saying,’’ old boy,I no dey use tokunbo like your men’’. Of course I sharply corrected him by saying that he will be shocked at the classes of vehicles we drive boasting that these cars may not be as clean as his cha cha,but like my Warri brothers would say, we no dey carry last Let me take you back to the work by my senior.

Although some people call him figgy, I am careful not to call him Figaro because he is my senior. To avoid beingpunishedbyhim,Idon’tcallhimFigaro,instead I call him Olufiggy with his permission. During his survey, a total of 30,124 vehicles drivers were stopped and tyres checked; 124,510 tyres were checked from randomlystoppedvehicles:55percentofthesurveyed tyres were from private vehicles, 42percent from commercial vehicles, while3 percent were from Government vehicles. One of our major challenges is the use of sub-standard tyres by road users and the ignorance on how to identify standard/expired tyres

which has been the focus of this column severally and which has become a priority to the Federal Road Safety Corps. In his analysis of expired and non expired tyres, he notes that -a total of 124,235 tyres were surveyed from various categories of vehicles: 55% percent of the surveyed tyres were from private vehicles, 42percent from commercial vehicles, while 3percent were from Government vehicles-,Afurtherbreakdownshowsthat60percent of the total tyres surveyed from vehicles had not expired while 40percent of the tyres had expired.

The analysis also revealed high percentage of good tyres among government vehicles as only 23percent of their tyres were recorded expired.

Idonotknowifyourtyreisnew,goodandstandard?

I however know the reaction of a handful of road users shortly after we commenced the nationwide campaignontyres.Whilesomethoughtthecampaign was a welcome one, others rubbished us as being unserious. A particular road user who had my official contact even called to advice me to tell my superiors to repair the roads, which according to him, was in a bad shape instead of wasting precious time in the name of tyre campaign. There was one road user who complained about the activities of people who retread tyres by presenting them as new when indeed they are expired. So what really is the state of your tyre? How do you inflate your tyres?

This question is crucial because his study shows that inflation irregularities account for 78percent of tyre maintenance problems, only 2percent of tyres get worn to the grooves, 7percent due to other abnormal wear, 6percent due to injury by obstacles and 7percent are due to other reasons.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

FAMILY HEALTH

Causes of Urinary Tract Infection

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t is not unusual for you to experience a burning pain and uneasiness in you lower abdomen and urinary tract. This could at times be frequent and with drops of urine at a time. This occurrence is commonly called urinary tract infection. UTI. This presentation is not limited to these symptoms and could vary depending on the cause.

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection in any part of your urinary system — your kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. Most infections involve the lower urinary tract — the bladder and the urethra.

Women are at greater risk of developing a UTI than men are. Infection limited to your bladder can be painful and annoying. However, serious consequences can occur if a UTI spreads to your kidneys.

Doctors typically treat urinary tract infections with antibiotics. But you can take steps to reduce your chances of getting a UTI in the first place.

Lower UTIs are common and aren’t usually a cause for major concern. Upper UTIs can be serious if left untreated, as they could damage the kidneys or spread to the bloodstream.

Common symptoms include Urinary tract infections don’t always cause signs and symptoms, but when they do they may include: • A strong, persistent urge to urinate • A burning sensation when urinating • Passing frequent, small amounts of urine • Urine that appears cloudy • Urine that appears red, bright pink or cola-colored — a sign of blood in the urine • Strong-smelling urine • Pelvic pain, in women — especially in the center of the pelvis and around the area of the pubic bone UTIs may be overlooked or mistaken for other conditions in older adults.

Types of UTI There are various types of UTI, depending on the site of the infection . These include: Each type of UTI may result in more-specific signs and symptoms, depending on which part of your urinary tract is infected.

Part of urinary tract affected / Signs and symptoms • Kidneys (acute pyelonephritis) : Upper back and side (flank) pain . High fever .Shaking and chills Nausea .Vomiting • Bladder (cystitis) : Pelvic pressure ,Lower abdomen discomfort ,Frequent, painful urination ,Blood in urine .

• Urethra (urethritis) : Burning with urination ,Discharge.

Possible causes Urinary tract infections typically occur when bacteria enter the urinary tract through the urethra and begin to multiply in the bladder. Although the urinary system is designed to keep out such microscopic invaders, these defenses sometimes fail. When that happens, bacteria may take hold and grow into a full-blown infection in the urinary tract.

The most common UTIs occur mainly in women and affect the bladder and urethra.

• Infection of the bladder (cystitis). This type of UTI is usually caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli), a type of bacteria commonly found in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. However, sometimes other bacteria are responsible.

Sexual intercourse may lead to cystitis, but you don’t have to be sexually active to develop it. All women are at risk of cystitis because of their anatomy — specifically, the short distance from the urethra to the anus and the urethral opening to the bladder.

Infection of the urethra (urethritis). This type • of UTI can occur when GI bacteria spread from the anus to the urethra. Also, because the female urethra is close to the vagina, sexually transmitted infections, such as herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia and mycoplasma, can cause urethritis.

Risk factors Urinary tract infections are common in women, and many women experience more than one infection during their lifetimes. Risk factors specific to women for UTIs include: • Female anatomy. A woman has a shorter urethra than a man does, which shortens the distance that bacteria must travel to reach the bladder.

• Sexual activity. Sexually active women tend to have more UTIs than do women who aren’t sexually active.

Having a new sexual partner also increases your risk.

• Certain types of birth control. Women who use diaphragms for birth control may be at higher risk, as well as women who use spermicidal agents.

• Menopause. After menopause, a decline in circulating estrogen causes changes in the urinary tract that make you more vulnerable to infection.

• Urinary tract abnormalities. Babies born with urinary tract abnormalities that don’t allow urine to leave the body normally or cause urine to back up in the urethra have an increased risk of UTIs.

with

BOBO BODE -KAYODE

lifeissuesfromwithin@yahoo.com, .Cel, 08053372356

inserted in your urethra and passed through to your bladder.

What are the drugs and treatment used?

Antibiotics usually are the first line treatment for urinary tract infections. Which drugs are prescribed and for how long depend on your health condition and the type of bacteria found in your urine.

• Blockages in the urinary tract. Kidney stones or an enlarged prostate can trap urine in the bladder and increase the risk of UTIs. • A suppressed immune system. Diabetes and other diseases that impair the immune system — the body’s defense against germs — can increase the risk of UTIs. • Catheter use. People who can’t urinate on their own and use a tube (catheter) to urinate have an increased risk of UTIs. This may include people who are hospitalized, people with neurological problems that make it difficult to control their ability to urinate and people who are paralyzed.

• A recent urinary procedure. Urinary surgery or an exam of your urinary tract that involves medical instruments can both increase your risk of developing a urinary tract infection.

There could be complications When treated promptly and properly, lower urinary tract infections rarely lead to complications. But left untreated, a urinary tract infection can have serious consequences.

• Recurrent infections, especially in women who experience three or more UTIs. • Permanent kidney damage from an acute or chronic kidney infection (pyelonephritis) due to an untreated UTI. • Increased risk in pregnant women of delivering low birth weight or premature infants.

• Urethral narrowing (stricture) in men from recurrent urethritis, previously seen with gonococcal urethritis.

• Sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection, especially if the infection works its way up your urinary tract to your kidneys.

Common tests employed Tests and procedures used to diagnose urinary tract infections include: • Analyzing a urine sample. Your doctor may ask for a urine sample for lab analysis to look for white blood cells, red blood cells or bacteria. To avoid potential contamination of the sample, you may be instructed to first wipe your genital area with an antiseptic pad and to collect the urine midstream.

• Growing urinary tract bacteria in a lab. Lab analysis of the urine is sometimes followed by a urine culture.

This test tells your doctor what bacteria are causing your infection and which medications will be most effective.

• Creating images of your urinary tract. If you are having frequent infections that your doctor thinks may be caused by an abnormality in your urinary tract, you may have an ultrasound, a computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Your doctor may also use a contrast dye to highlight structures in your urinary tract.

• Using a scope to see inside your bladder. If you have recurrent UTIs, your doctor may perform a cystoscopy, using a long, thin tube with a lens (cystoscope) to see inside your urethra and bladder. The cystoscope is

Analyzing a urine sample. Your doctor may ask for a urine sample for lab analysis to look for white blood cells, red blood cells or bacteria. To avoid potential contamination of the sample, you may be instructed to first wipe your genital area with an antiseptic pad and to collect the urine midstream

Simple infection UTIs are normally treated with a short course of antibiotics.

Most women are given a three-day course of antibiotic capsules or tablets. Men, pregnant women and people with more serious symptoms may need a slightly longer course.

Your symptoms will normally pass within three to five days of starting treatment. But make sure you complete the whole course of antibiotics that you’ve been prescribed, even if you’re feeling better.

Over-the-counter painkillers such as paracetamol can help with any pain. Drinking plenty of fluids may also help you feel better.

Often, symptoms clear up within a few days of treatment. But you may need to continue antibiotics for a week or more. Take the entire course of antibiotics as prescribed.

For an uncomplicated UTI that occurs when you’re otherwise healthy, your doctor may recommend a shorter course of treatment, such as taking an antibiotic for one to three days. But whether this short course of treatment is enough to treat your infection depends on your particular symptoms and medical history. Your doctor may also prescribe a pain medication (analgesic) that numbs your bladder and urethra to relieve burning while urinating, but pain usually is relieved soon after starting an antibiotic. One common side effect of urinary tract analgesics is discolored urine — orange or red.

Frequent infections If you have frequent UTIs, your doctor may make certain treatment recommendations, such as: Low dose antibiotics, initially for six months but sometimes longer Self-diagnosis and treatment, if you stay in touch with your doctor A single dose of antibiotic after sexual intercourse if your infections are related to sexual activity Vaginal estrogen therapy if you’re postmenopausal Severe infection For a severe UTI, you may need treatment with intravenous antibiotics in a hospital.

Lifestyle and home remedies Urinary tract infections can be painful, but you can take steps to ease your discomfort until antibiotics treat the infection. Follow these tips: • Drink plenty of water. Water helps to dilute your urine and flush out bacteria.

• Avoid drinks that may irritate your bladder. Avoid coffee, alcohol, and soft drinks containing citrus juices or caffeine until your infection has cleared. They can irritate your bladder and tend to aggravate your frequent or urgent need to urinate.

• Use a heating pad. Apply a warm, but not hot, heating pad to your abdomen to minimize bladder pressure or discomfort.

Also, you can use alternative methods . Many people drink cranberry juice to prevent UTIs, but there’s no proven evidence that cranberry juice works to treat or prevent infection. Researchers continue to study the ability of cranberry juice or tablets to prevent UTIs, but results aren’t conclusive.

If you enjoy drinking cranberry juice and feel it helps you, there’s little harm in it. Just watch the calories. For most people, drinking cranberry juice is safe, but some people report an upset stomach or diarrhea.

However, don’t drink cranberry juice if you’re taking blood-thinning medication, such as warfarin medications that affect the liver; or aspirin.

How to prevent UT You can take these steps to reduce your risk of urinary tract infections: • avoiding perfumed bubble bath, soap or talcum powder around your genitals – use plain, unperfumed varieties, and have a shower rather than a bath • going to the toilet as soon as you need to pee and always emptying your bladder fully • staying well hydrated • wiping your bottom from front to back when you go to the toilet • emptying your bladder as soon as possible after having sex • not using a contraceptive diaphragm or condoms with spermicidal lubricant on them – you may wish to use another method of contraception instead • wearing underwear made from cotton, rather than synthetic material such as nylon, and avoiding tight jeans and trousers.

GLOBAL SOCCER

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • JUNE 16, 2011

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

29.04.2017

NORTH LONDON DERBY PAGE. 29

Dele Alli

Eyeing a Move to Madrid?

30

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

GLOBAL SOCCER

Alli

DELE ALLI

SET FOR BIG MOVE TO REAL MADRID?

Two seasons ago, Dele Alli was struggling with lowly division club - MK Dons, but his talent was not lost on the scouts of Premier League top club, Tottenham Hotspurs, and the British-born Nigerian did not disappoint. With 10 goals and nine assists in his debut season, 16 goals so far in his second season, it came as no surprise that Alli was last week crowned the PFA Young Player of the Year for the second time running. Already, European super power, Real Madrid are said to be on his trail. Is Alli ripe enough to be a Galatico? Kunle Adewale reports

"I

Alli

sincerely believe in years to come, he will be a top prospect.” These were the words of John Fashanu concerning Dele Alli, but the 21-year-old did not have to wait long before taking the Premier League by storm since signing from League One, MK Dons in 2015, scoring 17 goals and providing nine assists in 32 league appearances for Spurs in his first season and 20 goals in all competitions in his second season. Alli is only the fourth player to win the award consecutively, and joins Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Robbie Fowler in that exclusive club.

Little wonder England legend, David Beckham said: "We’re lucky as a nation to have young talented players coming through, and he is without doubt one of the shining lights of these young players. He plays the game with certain arrogance, and it's good to have that arrogance, because a lot of top players have that. He's a joy to watch.

"He's a player that hopefully, if he works hard like he has been doing, and continues to play for the manager - Mauricio Pochettino, that he's played for because I think he's a special manager, and he's looking after him in the right way. He's a special player.

I hope he continues to get better week after week, because as an England fan, we want to see these players perform the way he's performing.”

Alli’s remarkable ascent had invited comparisons with some of the greats of the modern English game. With 30 goals in 90 appearances for Tottenham, he even has a superior record at his age than players like Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. But he isn’t a similar player to any of those names. In fact, he really defies categorisation.

Beckham said: “He plays as a No. 10 but he doesn’t really get that many assists. He has five so far this season in the Premier League and it’s not really his game. He is all about popping up in the final third; he’s not a player who is going to be looking to drop deep, or play onetwos on the edge of the box.

“He’s almost a nine-and-a-half, between a No. 10 and a traditional centreforward. He isn’t like other players who take up positions between the lines: he isn’t a goal creator or an intricate player like Mesut Ozil or David Silva. He wants to gallop onto the ball and score.

“He has arrogance about him

31

APRIL 29, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

GLOBAL SOCCER

Succour to Nigeria National Teams as Aiteo Comes to the Rescue For years, the Nigeria Football Federation’s inability to pay its coaches’ salaries, players’ bonuses and allowances had been the lot of Nigeria national teams.

As recent as last year, the country’s team to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio was stranded at their training camp in the United States due to lack of funds. With Aiteo Group partnering the NFF to the tune of N2.5bn, Kunle Adewale asks if this would bring to an end the salary brouhaha that has been hunting the country’s national teams for years.

T

and he is genuinely unique. You can’t compare him with anyone in the modern game. We haven’t seen this before. What allows Alli to play in this new way is the structure Tottenham have built around him. Pochettino is also key to everything, of course. He has trusted in a young player plucked from the third tier and has thrown him into the first team, refusing to farm him out on loan. It has given him the exposure he needed to shine.”

Alli signed for Tottenham in January 2015 and was loaned back to MK Dons for the second half of the previous campaign, but he immediately caught the eye in pre-season when he outplayed Luka Modric in a preseason friendly against Real Madrid.

The youngster was not expected to immediately break into Spurs first-team but he has been a regular since his first start in Tottenham's fourth Premier League game of the season - an away win at Sunderland.

It took Alli just two games to score his first Premier League goal, coming in Spurs' 1-1 draw away to Leicester City in August.

He then became one of the youngest men to be called-up to the England squad.

Against France at Wembley, Alli scored his first senior international goal on his first start - a sweet right-foot strike into the far corner from outside the box.

With Real Madrid said to be interested, what would be the future of Alli at Tottenham? “You can always trust Real Madrid to go for any player that has a big future. Alli has a lot of potentials to be a big star in future. If he could achieve all these with just a season in the Premier League, that means he has a big future. But I think he should not be in a hurry to move to a big club like Madrid so as not to be consumed, considering the number of big boys in the fold of the Santiago Bernabeu side.

“In spite of what Alli has achieved in his two seasons at Spurs, there are still a number of areas he still needs to improve upon. He is a raw talent and young. My candid opinion is that he should just play for two or more seasons for Tottenham and be properly molded before considering a big move,” former Nigerian international, Waidi Akani told THISDAY. Some football analysts have also argued that Alli’s joining Madrid is not logical as the team is overbooked in the number 10 position and are finding it difficult to fit James Rodriguez, Isco and Marco Asensio into the team as it is. That’s not to mention the fact when everyone is fit, a no.10 position simply doesn’t exist in Madrid’s 4-3-3 system. Would they sell James and/or Isco and replace them with a mega money player

who’d equally demand regular first team football?

Last year, Alli was offered a new contract that would keep him at the North London club until 2021 due to his splendid performance.

"When I signed, I knew wanted to play for Spurs. I've played a few games and showed people what I can do. I'm 19, have a lot to learn and can't think of a better place to do that," he told the club website.

It however remain to be seen if Alli would remain at White Hart Lane or would want to tow the line of notable Tottenham player earlier before him, Luca Modric and Gareth Bale, who could not resist the move to Santiago Bernabeu when the Galaticos came knocking.

Born on April 11, 1996, to a Nigeria father, in Milton Keynes, Bamidele Jermaine Alli joined the youth system at Milton Keyness Don at aged 11 and broke into the first team five years later. Over the next two-and-a-half years, he made 74 league appearances for MK Dons, scoring 22 goals.

On February 2, 2015, he signed for Tottenham Hotspur in the last hours of the mid-season transfer window on a fiveand-a-half-year deal for an initial fee of £5 million, staying on loan at MK Dons for the remainder of the season.

He however made his Tottenham debut against on August 8, 2015 against Manchester United in the Premier League as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat away at Old Trafford, playing the last 13 minutesTwo weeks later, he scored his first goal for the club after coming on in the 1–1 draw against Leicester City.

Alli has made several appearances at U17 and U18 levels for England. On August 27, 2014, He was called up to the England U19 squad following an impressive start to the campaign. He made his debut for England U19 in the 1–1 draw against Germany U19.

In the game and assisted the opening goal for England.

On October of last year, which ironically was Nigeria’s independence, he was included in Roy Hodgson's squad for the final UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Estonia and Lithuania. His debut against the former on October 9, he came in as a late substitute in a 2–0 win.

OnNovember 17, Alli made his first start for the England senior team, scoring a terrific opening goal from a long range shot to beat Spurs team-mate, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in a 2–0 win against France at Wembly Stadium.

Alli was a Liverpool fan growing up, and Steven Gerrard was his childhood hero.

he issue of coaches’ salaries and players’ bonuses is almost certain to take the centre stage anytime Nigeria is participating in a competition. Many a time, players had threatened not to take to the field unless their match bonuses and allowances owed them were paid. A situation had arisen whereby coaches had gone cap in hand sourcing for funds and even pleading with players to play.

It came to a head that a Japanese billionaire had to come to the rescue of the team to the Rio Olympics.

However, succour came the way of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, on Wednesday as Nigeria’s foremost energy solutions company, Aiteo Group sealed a five-year partnership deal worth N2.5bn with the country’s football governing body.

According to the details of the contract signed at Eko Hotels and Suites, it confers on Aiteo Group, the title of the Official Optimum Partner of the NFF. The yearly value is put at N500 million in support of the national team coaches and activation of the partnership agreement and the marketing agency, Mediterranean.

The partnership, which is the first in the country’s sports sponsorship for the energy giant, will start on May 1, 2017, with an initial option of a one-year extension.

Deputy Managing Director of Aiteo, Mr. Francis Peters, who signed on behalf of the CEO of the Group, said that the partnership represents a new dawn in Nigerian football.

“When Amaju (Pinnick) was contesting to head the federation in 2014, I said then that because of what he has done with Delta State football, he was capable of taking Nigeria to the finals of the World Cup. Even if we don’t win the Mundial during his tenure at the Glass House, the world will appreciate he indeed made an impact. This partnership will take away the distraction of looking for money to pay coaches and help the federation on its training programmes,” the deputy managing director said.

Throwing more light on the deal, Aiteo’s Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, Ndiana-Abasi Matthew said: “Aiteo Group’s overarching social responsibility objectives are to encourage a positive impact, through our activities on the society-at-large and has successfully done so for several years.

“Football brings joy to the lives of Nigerians and each moment celebrated by families in their living rooms over a goal scored or friends catching up on highlights of a well-taken free kick by their local heroes leaves an indelible

impression on memories for a life time.”

As at last month, the NFF was still in dire financial straits as it was battling to secure a regular source of income for Rohr’s $4,700- a-month salary from the beginning of this year as the German manager’s employers had yet to pay him his January and February salaries.

And to avoid the embarrassment of failing to pay Rohr, the federation entered into discussions with three companies to take over the payment of the former Burkina Faso coach’s salary and the bonuses and allowances of the players during the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers.

It was therefore a relief when Aiteo came to the rescue.

A relieved Pinnick said: “This is a heart-warming landmark in the history of football sponsorship in Nigeria. I am very happy that a critical area of our expenditure is being taken care of by this agreement.”

“Aiteo has a clear vision for the future, with the experience and assets necessary to provide oil and gas products on a regional and global scale,” noted the NFF chief.

For former Super Eagles goalkeeper and captain, Peter Rufai, “Football is not about players and coaches alone. It is a collective thing to make the country succeed. With this partnership, we are beginning to see the right people in charge of the country’s football. We are beginning to see genuine attempts to right the wrongs done to the country’s football,” concludes the former goalkeeper.

NFF Vice-President Shehu Dikko, has indeed stated that the accounts of the association are open to Aiteo and their auditors for scrutiny. This is in a bid to encourage transparency, and in a way, assuage any lingering suspicion.

There have been issues in the past with sponsors pulling out, citing breaches of contracts or being dissatisfied with what they are getting as return on their investments. It would do no good if, having received this massive boost, the agreement is then terminated after a year or two.

Whatever terms of engagement are present in the deal signed, it behoves the NFF to ensure it stays on the straight and narrow path, and protect the interest of its sponsor.

It would be recalled that even in death, former national team coaches, Stephen Keshi and Shuaibu Amodu were both owed salaries.

It remains to be seen therefore if the coming of Aiteo Group would bring succour to Nigerian coaches as far as salaries are concerned.

Aiteo Group is one of Africa’s fastest–growing energy leaders. It operates through her subsidiaries of which Aiteo Eastern E&P Co. Ltd is one.

32

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

GLOBAL SOCCER

North London Derby

More than a Champions League Ticket is at Stake Matches involving Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspurs are always very explosive due to the bitter rivalry between the two teams.

Sunday’s North London Derby will probably be most significant because of the Gunners desperate attempt at booking UEFA Champions League ticket. More significantly is the fact that it is expected to be the last time White Hart Lane would be hosting games involving the two north London rivals

T

ottenham host Arsenal on Sunday as White Hart Lane hosts what is expected to be the final north London derby at the famous ground.

Spurs' temporary move to Wembley is expected to be confirmed in the days leading up the kick-off in what is the biggest meeting between the two sides in recent memory, perhaps longer.

Spurs look to finish above their fierce rivals for the first time since Arsene Wenger's appointment 21 years ago, boasting a team arguably superior in most positions for the first time in decades.

A n FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City last weekend has made slight amends for Arsenal's dire league form this season; they go into the game in fifth place and 14 points behind Spurs. It's therefore more than pride at stake on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry is of the opinion that

striker Alexis Sanchez is the only player in the Gunners' team that would get into Tottenham's starting 11.

Sanchez currently sits third in the topflight's goalscoring charts with 19 Premier League goals and nine assists to his name.

Despite his fine return in front of goal the Gunners still languish in sixth place in the standings - four points off fourth-placed Manchester City and 14 off their fierce north London rivals, Tottenham.

In contrast to Arsenal's battle to secure a top-four spot this season, Spurs look set to play in the Champions League next term and will also hope to take the bragging rights when they host Arsenal at White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon.

Ahead of the north London derby, Henry has given an assessment about his former side but believes only Sanchez was playing well enough to warrant a place in Spurs' XI. "It’s difficult for me as an Arsenal man at the minute but you have to be honest. I can only see right now Alexis Sanchez getting into that team without anyone saying ‘how come he’s in the team?’ All the others, I think people will argue with that… but that doesn't mean Tottenham are going to win

easily," he told Sky Sports.

"If I was going to the Lane the way it is at the minute and people were thinking 'we cannot win any big games away from home' and we can stop them winning the title, I would wake up that day thinking 'this is my day today'."

Henry's views echo those of Harry Redknapp who wrote in his column for Standard Sport earlier this month that Sanchez is the only player who could justify being included in Mauricio Pochettino's side based on his current form.

"Alexis Sanchez is the only Arsenal player who would get into Tottenham’s starting line-up," he said. "Spurs look like they are in a different league and that’s how far the balance of power has swung after more than 20 years of the Gunners dominating north London.

"The main reason is Arsenal have wasted millions on average players over the past few years. It was easy to see how good Sanchez was during his time at Barcelona and Wenger deserves credit for pulling that deal off but the rest of the players he has brought in over the past

two or three years haven’t been good enough."

However, Wenger has said his side know exactly what they must do in the Champions League qualification race after watching them gain a 1-0 win over Leicester City.

"We have to win our games, so that's why we cannot be happy with a 0-0. We absolutely have to take a gamble to try and win the game at any cost. " Interestingly, Tottenham's eighth successive league win midweek against Crystal Palace was the perfect response after Chelsea had opened up a seven-point lead with a victory against Southampton 24 hours earlier. Keen to keep his players from getting ahead of themselves, Pochettino has told them to forget what Chelsea do and focus on their own performances.

"When we are playing we are not thinking about what happened with Chelsea or what will happen in the future. We closed the gap again. It's not important to send a message to Chelsea.

The most important is the victory builds confidence, that's the only way to catch

33

APRIL 29, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

GLOBAL SOCCER Premier League Chelsea Tottenham Liverpool Man City Man Utd Arsenal Everton West Brom Southampton Watford Stoke Crystal Palace Bournemouth West Ham Leicester Burnley Hull Swansea Middlesbrough Sunderland

Seria A Juventus Roma Napoli Lazio Atalanta Milan Inter Fiorentina Torino Sampdoria Udinese Cagliari Chievo Sassuolo Bologna Genoa Empoli Crotone Palermo Pescara

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Premier League

them," he said.

Tottenham will be guaranteed to finish above Arsenal for the first time in 22 years if they beat their bitter rivals on Sunday.

That will be a sweet moment for Tottenham fans after so long in Arsenal's shadow.

Pochettino isn't concerned with the squabble for local bragging rights because he has his sights set on the far more significant target of bringing the title to White Hart Lane.

The Argentine knows emotions run high when it comes to the derby,

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

especially in what may well be the last north London clash at White Hart Lane before the stadium is rebuilt.

Asked if the chance to ensure supremacy over Arsenal might fire up his players too much, Pochettino called for calm.

"It's Arsenal, we know what that game means, but we are not thinking of being above them, we want to think of bigger things than that," he said.

"It maybe the last derby at White Hart Lane, but now is important to be calm.

We have to get ready for what should be a very tough match We want to close the gap on Chelsea again. We want to win big trophies achieve big things, the mentality must be thinking bigger. We can speak about finishing above Arsenal at the end of the season."

Meanwhile, Arsenal could be without defensive kingpin, Laurent Koscielny for Sunday's trip to North London rivals after the centre-back injured his knee in Wednesday's 1-0 win over defending champions Leicester City.

Koscielny, who has already been sidelined with thigh and Achilles injuries this season, jarred his knee in the closing stages of the game but played on till the end after receiving treatment.

"Koscielny has a knee problem but I don't know how bad yet. I have to check," manager Arsene Wenger told reporters after the match.

With defender Shkodran Mustafi also doubtful due to a thigh injury, an extended absence for Koscielny would hurt Arsenal's chances of finishing in the Champions League places for the 20th successive season.

TODAY Southampton Stoke City Sunderland West Bromwich Crystal Palace

v v v v v

Hull City West Ham United Bournemouth Leicester City Burnley

15:00 15:00 15:00 15:00 17:30

SUNDAY Man Utd Everton Middlesbrough Tottenham

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Swansea Chelsea Man City Arsenal

12:00 14:05 14:05 16:30

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Liverpool

20:00

SUNDAY Watford

Head to Head

17-04-30 16-03-05 15-11-08 15-09-23 15-02-07 14-09-27 14-03-16 14-01-04 13-09-01 13-03-03 12-11-17 12-02-25

Tottenham Tottenham Arsenal Tottenham Tottenham Arsenal Tottenham Arsenal Arsenal Tottenham Arsenal Arsenal

Hot Shots

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Arsenal Arsenal Tottenham Arsenal Arsenal Tottenham Arsenal Tottenham Tottenham Arsenal Tottenham Tottenham

Romelu Lukaku Harry Kane Alexis Sánchez Diego Costa Zlatan Ibrahimovic Sergio Agüero Dele Alli Eden Hazard Jermain Defoe Joshua King Christian Benteke

Everton Tottenham Arsenal Chelsea Man Utd Man City Tottenham Chelsea Sunderland Bournemouth Palace

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Mane

Liverpool

13

La Liga Barcelona Madrid Atletico Sevilla Villarreal Bilbao Sociedad Eibar Espanyol Alavés Celta Vigo Valencia Las Palmas Malaga Real Betis Deportivo Leganés Sporting Granada Osasuna

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Spanish La Liga Fixtures TODAY Sociedad Madrid Las Palmas Espanyol

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Granada Valencia Atlético Barcelona

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SUNDAY Osasuna Betis Eibar Celta Vigo

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Deportivo Alavés Leganés Bilbao

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Serie A Fixtures TODAY Torino

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11:30

Bologna

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14:00

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Crotone

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SUNDAY

Bundesliga Fixtures TODAY Mainz Dortmund Leipzig Darmstadt Bremen Wolfsburg

v v v v v v

M’gladbach Köln Ingolstadt Freiburg Hertha Munich

14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 17:30

SUNDAY Augsburg Hoffenheim

v v

Hamburger Frankfurt

4:30 16:30

34

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

GLOBAL SOCCERR\\OTHER SPORTS

Fcbescola Lagos Students with Edmilson (former Fcbarcelona Player), Franc Carbo (Director, Fcbescola International), Gerald Pique (Fcbarcelola Star), Oscar Grau (Chief Executive Officer, Fcbarcelona) & Jordi Mestre (Vice President, Fcbarcelona)

Calabar Tragedy: Kanu, Others to Stage All-Stars Match for Victims

I

Bassey Inyang in Calabar t has been disclosed that former Nigerian international, Nwankwo Kanu, would stage an All-Stars football match to raise funds for electrocuted victims of last Thursday’s tragedy at a viewing centre in Nyaghassang Community, Calabar Municipality, Cross River State.

A high-tension cable, the UNICAL 11KV Feeder, collapsed on the viewing centre constructed with zinc, when some football enthusiasts were watching Manchester United FC versus Anderlecht FC in the UEFA Europa League quarter final match.

This is coming as Senator Florence Ita-Giwa led hundreds of mourners and sympathizers on a candlelight procession through the community to the scene o the incident where it became apparent that eight people had died following the incident.

The deceased from the incident are Mr. Emmaneul Edet Okon, David John, Ejiofor Chukwuebuka, Elder James Edem Akpan, Miss Blessing Okon Udo, Samuel Edet Sam, Marshall Pius Akpan, and Mr Ekemini Samuel Monday.

Participants in the procession from all walks of life

wore black Tee-shirts with the inscription: “Rest in Peace Dear Football Enthusiasts.”

Prayer session was the candle-light procession was conducted by a former Special Adviser to the state Governor on Religious Affairs, Pastor Eyo Okpo-Ene. Ita-Giwa, who made the disclosure to journalists after leading a candle light procession and prayer session, to commemorate one week of the incident, said Kanu who is one of the legends of Arsenal of England, would be working with other former football stars to ensure that the proposed All-stars match succeeds.

Ita-Giwa who said the procession was organized under the auspices of Concerned Mothers of the Efik Kingdom also promised that a standard football-viewing centre and a modern playing field will be constructed for the community.

“I had reached out to someone like Kanu Nwankwo, who is so sympathetic. In fact he is talking about an All-Stars Football Match to raise money to come and develop this community, and he is serious about it. Kanu has promised.

I have spoken to Joseph Yobo, and he is ready to also collaborate with Kanu so that

they bring their colleagues.

“Such a profound incident to happen to a community like this it is not something we should be quiet and let is just pass. In civilized communities, when people die for such a cause, you come out to remember that day.

You come out to commiserate with the people. You come out to create activities that would commemorate that day that this thing happened.

We thought that for innocent people to come and die like that for something they were passionate about, which is football, we should come out and remember that day that it happened and we are overwhelmed by the turnout today. We have to start showing love as Nigerians to each other. We have to show compassion to each other.

“If I have a voice to cry to the world to cry to the world to hear what has happened to this innocent people, then I would use that voice to cry out. Like I said, I am expecting Nigerians to come to our aid.

I also have spoken to John Shittu, Pinnick. Also spoke with Multichoice and they are coming on board to assist us in building the viewing centre and provide television and provide indefinite subscription.

Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship

9,000 Schools Battle for Honours

Over 9,000 secondary schools from across the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja will be battling for honours in the 19th Milo Secondary School Basketball championship.

Disclosing this on Tuesday at the company’s corporate headquarters, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Maurice Alarcon, said that the Milo Secondary Schools Basketball Championship has continued to grow bigger.

Alarcon noted that the number this year marked an increase from 8,349 schools that competed last year. He underlined the essence of the tournament as providing opportunities for the development of young Nigerians, and imbibing in them qualities

that include perseverance through hardship, courage to overcome fear, ability to work as a team, self-belief, respect and leadership.

“At Nestle, we are committed to positively impacting on millions of children in Nigeria through sports, especially basketball.”

In his address, the category Manager, beverages Nestle Nigeria Plc, Olufemi Akintola said with over 100,000 school children participating annually in the championship, it has grown to become an important component of our national youth development; positively engaging our youth and equipping them with important values and skills to succeed in life.

Akintola said that competition in the Central Conference

holds at the Indoor Sports Hall Abuja National Stadium from April 27 to May 4.

Participating states include Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi and FCT. Lokoja will host the Confluence Conference which has Kogi, Plateau, Jigawa, Kano, Niger, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Katisna and Benue start from May 5 – 11.

Enugu hosts the Equatorial confluence from 12 – 18 May, with Enugu, Imo, Anambra, Abia, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Ebonyi while Akure will host the Western Confluence 19 -25 May, 2017 with states from Lagos, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Edo, Delta, Ekiti, Ogun and Kwara.

Joshua and Molina

Anthony Joshua

Joshua, Klitschko Set to Unify Boxing Heavyweight Division Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko will contest the biggest fight in British boxing history when the pair collide for the IBF and vacant WBA world heavyweight titles in front of a record crowd at Wembley Stadium tonight.

Anthony Joshua will attempt to unify the IBF and WBA world heavyweight titles when he faces Wladimir Klitschko in the biggest fight in British boxing history at Wembley Stadium tonight.

The Londoner can become just the third Briton to hold multiple crowns in boxing's blue ribbon division, after Lennox Lewis and Tyson Fury, should he beat the Ukrainian legend who is looking to become a world champion for a third time.

Only six fighters have previously won world titles on three separate occasions – a list which includes Muhammed Ali, Evander Holyfield and Wladimir's older brother Vitali – and the 41-year-old Klitschko faces arguably the toughest test of his career if he is to rise to the summit of the sport once again.

'Dr Steelhammer' is 519 days removed from his last competitive bout, a fight he plodded through and lost to Fury in Dusseldorf. The result arguably hinges on how quickly Klitschko can shrug off any ring-rust and recapture the sharpness which saw him dominate boxing for over a decade.

The manner of Klitschko's defeat to Fury in November 2015 was particularly ignominious given how he was out-boxed by the Briton. Yet aside from his reputation, he possessed a body of work which surely give him the edge should the fight enter the so-called championship rounds.

The clash at the home of the England football teams will be the 69th of Klitschko's career, during which he knocked-out 53 opponents – a number greater than the amount of rounds Joshua has faced in his short career.

Despite the obvious chasm in experience, what Joshua might concede in know-how he more than makes up for in superstar quality and punching power. All 18 of his contests have failed to go the distance and though the caliber of opponent ratchets up several notches this weekend he has sent a daunting message to Klitschko and the rest of the division.

In the wake of the war of words between David Haye and Tony Bellew and the unedifying build-up to Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora's clash last year, a refreshing characteristic of the public exchanges between the fighters has been the respect Joshua and Klitschko have for one another. Though their boxing styles might appear to be different, there are few differences between the pair. Both, for example, are former Olympic gold medallists.

Much has been made of the brief sparring sessions the pair engaged in prior to Klischko facing Kubrat Pulev in November 2014 and while it gave the veteran an insight into what to expect from Joshua he must be wary that the IBF champion is an altogether different animal just under three years on. Wins in 2016, while Klitschko was let down by Fury, came against Charles Martin, Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina; challenges which were dismissed without alarm.

Though Breazeale held out until round seven last summer, only Whyte has taken Joshua into deep waters and though a predictable knock-out followed the Watford-born fighter was noticeably shaken. Joshua may have the physique that suggests he has trained for 12 hard rounds at elite level, but conducting them in a competitive environment not least against someone knows how to slug at the top level – is an altogether different proposition.

On a day when history will be made records will also be smashed, Joshua vs Klitschko is expected to break box office sales and help generate a total revenue of £50m - the most of any fight in Britain. In excess of 140 countries will take in one of the few fights to be held in the United Kingdom with genuine global appeal. Meanwhile, Wembley will play host to the biggest post-war British boxing crowd ever, and equalling the 90,000 who watched Len Harvey and Jock McAvoy at White City Stadium in 1939.

What they say: Anthony Joshua: "Even though this is such a great event, I always try to strip it down to what it really is and just focus that it's just me and this man coming to blows and the best man will win. I'm not only prepared physically but mentally as well for any battle. April 29 is just another stepping stone towards greatness.

"Any fight is the right fight. I've never shied away from any fight, any opponent. I started boxing in 2008; in 2009, '10, '11 I was in the World Championships, and in 2012 I was representing Great Britain competing to be the best in the world in the Olympics. It doesn't matter who I fight.

I just enjoy what I do and I just embrace every opportunity. I don't underestimate any opponent.

Through my mistakes I have learned and made myself right."

Wladimir Klitschko: "I'm the challenger again. I feel young, hungry, humble and totally obsessed with my goal to raise my hands again. I'm so obsessed with winning. I realized that life is a circle, and I see myself in AJ. I do believe I know how he thinks, how he goes, and how the actual fight is going to be.

"The belts are very important. I've been attached to these belts for a very long. I had those belts in my past fight, and I'm fighting for these belts in this fight. The only difference is in my last fight they went to the opposite corner. So my goal and obsession is for those belts to land in my corner, in my hands.

"Obsession is love in extreme shape. I'm in love with my goal. Defeat? I've been there, I've done that. I got up, shook it off and came back stronger. Just a little help (for Joshua) – there's nothing scary about it."

Records Joshua: 18 fights, 18 wins (18 knockouts) Klitschko: 68 fights, 64 wins (53 knockouts)

35

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

WRITERS’ WORLD

How a Self-Published Author Sold 10,000 Books

BISI DANIELS bisi.daniels@thisdaylive.com Blog: www.bisidaniels.com, 08050220700

Most books are written to be bought and read for the author to make some income. With the doors of traditional publishing getting narrow, many writers have found relief in self-publishing. However, publishing on this platform is perhaps easier than generating readership for the book. There is a lot to learn from Rob Dircks’s story told by himself in Firstwriter. Rob is the bestselling author of Where the Hell is Tesla?, and a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.

L

ast year, I self-published my first science fiction novel, Where the Hell is Tesla?, and sold 10,000 copies in the first twelve months. How the heck did that happen? Was it luck? Because if it wasn’t, how on earth did that many people find out about it and buy it? Did I know something — or someone — special that could influence the outcome?

Nope. It wasn’t luck. And it wasn’t influence. I mean, a few unexpected things turned in my favor for sure, but I strongly believe that if you’ve got a good book inside you, and you do your homework, and you put that learning to work, that you can successfully self-publish your own book and sell thousands of copies.

Here are five things I learned how to do on the road to my first 10,000 copies:

Write your best book

It sounds obvious, I know. But there’s an entire world of badly-written, poorlyedited self-published work out there.

Because the tools have become so easy to use, there’s a temptation to get anything out there, without going through the rigors of research and editing, in hopes of quick discovery and viral success. Don’t give in to that temptation. I spent over a year writing my first novel, and almost a year writing my second. If you don’t know someone who can competently edit your writing, hire someone. End readers will know the difference. Here’s a small example: I released the first two parts of my novel, Where the Hell is Tesla? as serial stories, like Hugh Howey originally did with the Wool series. And though the feedback I got was largely positive, I got ripped for little editing errors. So I learned a huge lesson before selling even one copy of the full novel – the product has to be bulletproof. Editing, spell-checking, formatting, consistency, characters’ motivations, plot holes, everything. I don’t think all the marketing in the world will help a product that’s not ready to launch.

Build your “platform”

Book marketing consultant Tim Grahl defines your platform as whatever plan and methods you use to connect with readers and sell books. In my case, considering the nature of my full-time job, I couldn’t consider touring, and frankly didn’t have the patience to find a publicist that would actually respond to me as a first-time author, so I chose the online-only path: website, social media, Amazon author pages, and an email list.

• Website: Yes, it’s common sense, but

if you’re going to self-publish a book, you need a website to spread the word and keep the conversation going. It’s a place for fans to contact you and a way to build your email list. You’ll start with zero traffic, as I did, but after a while (be patient!), if you’ve got some engaging content and good keywords, you’ll see the clicks and the email signups start to come in.

• Social media: I’ve heard many

people advise this and I’ll tell you the same thing: don’t overdo it. With a full-time job and

writing and publishing on the side, this book promotion thing at times tests my productivity limits. So, I stick with just Facebook and Twitter, and I’d say go with the one or two that feel right for you. For example, if you’re creating a graphic novel — very visual — maybe Facebook and Pinterest would be your thing. Journalist writing non-fiction? Twitter.

Try them all out and see what feels right for you.

One stand-out example for me is John Scalzi (@scalzi). He’s a very successful sci-fi writer with a huge Twitter following. He uses Twitter as a sort-of ever-present sounding board, every single day, many times a day, showcasing his wry sense of humor and insistence on being himself. It’s awesome.

• Amazon author and book pages: I could get very detailed, but here’s

the quick rundown: If you self-publish on Amazon, use every space they give you. Don’t leave things blank. Put plenty of key phrases in your book description and keywords list on your book sales page on Amazon. Hook up your author page to show your latest blog posts and tweets. I’ve talked to many people who can’t seem to sell copies of their books, and after looking, I find that they’re simply not taking advantage of simple features that can help them get discovered.

• Email list: Okay, this one is an uphill battle, but worth the effort. As a new author, getting people interested enough to take the ride with you through emails is tough. But since I’ve started blogging, posting, tweeting and emailing, and my list is slowly growing.

I use MailChimp to manage the email list and campaigns. It’s an excellent tool at an excellent price: free.

Relentlessly pursue book reviews and exposure

I think the single biggest thing that helped sell all those books, beyond the quality of the work itself, was reviews. And here’s what I did to get them: • Prior to launch, I contacted 75 people who agreed to be advanced reviewers, keeping in touch with them over the next several weeks, ultimately launching with 25

reviews on my Amazon sales page on day one. Enough reviews will trigger Amazon to begin recommending it to others. Your book also gains quite a bit of credibility in readers’ minds when they see more than a handful of thoughtful reviews.

• At the end of the ebook, paperback, and audiobook, I have a prominent, clear call to action asking specifically for a review on Amazon or Audible, noting that it’s the best way for independent authors and authors with small publishers to gain exposure and help sales. More people than you’d think have told me that my simply asking them to leave a review led them to write their very first review ever. Ask clearly. Readers like to help!

• I looked up reviewers on Amazon, Goodreads and Audible on an ongoing basis, and actively reached out to these individuals to provide a review in exchange for a complimentary copy of the book. Many people took me up on this offer. This is tough, tedious work, but well worth the effort.

• I’ve also run free giveaways of book copies, and engaged members of Goodreads for free copies in exchange for honest reviews.

Regarding exposure: I could write a full article just on this topic, but in brief, spend time networking with whoever you can, and investigate genre websites, and reach out as much as possible to offer guest postings, interviews, book reviews, or whatever you think that site might find interesting, or live readings at physical locations like libraries.

To date, for my first novel, I’ve probably landed ten of these opportunities, which aren’t a lot, but have certainly helped me sell books.

called Countdown Deals. I chose this route for my novel, and here’s how I made it work: • KDP Select: Every three months, your agreement renews, allowing you one Countdown Deal during that term. So within this first year of my first novel, I was able to run four of them. Each time, I took my normal price, $3.99, and discounted it to $0.99.

(Amazon puts a timer on your book page, thus the “countdown.”)

• Email promotions: Coinciding with these Countdown Deals, I ran paid ebook promotions through book promotion sites that list discount deals, and send out daily emails to their subscribers. (Some post to social media as well.)

• Online advertising: All the major online services offer paid advertising. At one point or another during these countdown promotions, I’ve tried all of them. Overall? I’d say if you’ve got the stomach to spend money that isn’t returning as high a value as the email blast promotions listed above, but want to boost your exposure temporarily, then go for it. For each of these, you can set a daily budget not to exceed, a start and end date, and live monitoring of response. I set my daily budgets at between $5 and $20 per day for a week.

I’ve run Facebook/Instagram ads, Google ads, Amazon ads, Twitter ads, and more. (I’m constantly experimenting, with varying degrees of success).

• Social Media: As a matter of course, during each of these promotions, I got the word out as much as possible through Facebook and Twitter.

The result? The four promotion periods, unsurprisingly, showed the largest spikes in sales.

Promote your book

Okay, this one’s a little tougher. I happen to have lots of audio recording experience, so the process was straightforward for me. The reason I include this as one of the main five things to explore when self-publishing? Because audiobooks continue to be on the rise, in a big way, with148 per cent sales growth from 2010 to 2015, and audiobooks read by their authors are also on the rise. And personally, I can attest: audiobooks account for a significant percentage of my sales.

Here’s where a little bit of investment can go a long way. There are all kinds of ways to use paid promotion to spread the word about your book, but here’s one example that worked for me: if you’re publishing on Amazon, you’re offered KDP Select, an incentive to sell the digital version of your book exclusively through Amazon. In exchange for this exclusivity, you’re allowed to run something

Record an audiobook

36

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •April 29, 2017

FAIRGROUND

2017 GTBank Food and Drink Fair Holds on Workers’ Day

F

ood lovers from across the world can once again look forward to an unparalleled culinary experience as the second edition of the GTBank Food and Drink Fair holds on Sunday and Monday. The two-day event will treat attendees to enthralling gastronomic tours across a wide variety of exciting cuisines and delicacies while offering small businesses in the Nigerian food industry a free and vibrant platform to connect with a wider segment of their target markets as well as experts in their business fields.

The fair was created by foremost African financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, as part of its efforts to empower small businesses.

The 2016 debut of the consumerfocused event received very positive reviews nationally and internationally, had over 90 exhibitors from the food sector and attracted over 25,000 guests over the 2-day period. It was followed by the first edition of The GTBank Fashion Weekend, held in November 2016, which achieved a

similar impact in the SME segment of the Nigerian fashion industry and featured over 100 exhibitors and about 30,000 guests.

The fair, which is free to attend, will expand on the favourite features of the previous event, such as cooking master classes and sales exhibitions by small businesses, whilst providing new and exciting features such as a farmers’ market, where SMEs involved in agriculture will showcase and sell fresh and organic farm products, and a baking masterclass for children kids. There will also be a diverse range of restaurants offering mouth-watering dishes, outdoor grills and thrilling entertainment as well as savoury Wine tastings to enable attendees experience an exciting and eclectic mix of undiscovered brands and household names alike.

Commenting on the fair, Segun Agbaje, the Managing Director of the bank, said; “We are delighted to return with the second edition of the GTBank Food and Drink Fair.

This year, we are raising the bar on the scope and features of the event to deliver an exquisite experience of Nigeria’s diverse culinary mosaic

with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

to our customers, the general public and food enthusiasts from around the world. He further stated that, “With the successes of the first editions of the Food and Drink Fair and Fashion Weekend events, we are encouraged to do more; connecting businesses to consumers, creating new markets and business opportunities for our customers.

GTBank has consistently played a leading role in Africa’s banking industry. The GTBank brand is regarded by industry watchers as one of the best run financial institutions across its subsidiary countries and serves as a role model within the financial service industry due to its bias for world class corporate governance standards, excellent service quality and innovation.

The Bank is also going beyond the traditional understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility as corporate philanthropy by intervening in key economic sectors to strengthen small businesses through non-profit consumer focused fairs and capacity building initiatives that serve to boost their expertise, exposure and business growth.

Segun Agbaje

Risqué and Kinabuti’s Pop UP Luxury Holds in May at RSVP

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isqué, the high street Indian fashion and Kinabuti, Italo-Nigerian ethical fashion label have joint forces for POPUP LUXURY, the exclusive popup shop done in collaboration with a range of luxury female brands for a one-day shopping experience of a life time.

The event is taking place

at RSVP restaurant in Victoria Island Lagos on Saturday 13th May 2017 from 11am to 6pm, followed by a Drink Reception. Malvika Kapoor, designer of Rique’ and founder of The Pop Up Store Lagos, stated: “POPUP LUXURY project is devoted to women’s prêt-à-porter, menswear ready-to-wear and accessories, with a focus on product innovation, and new outlooks

bringing together established firms and emerging brands.” The Pop up store started in 2015 with hundreds of visitors and was held also in London and New York. The Pop Up Store is based in Lagos, Nigeria but moves around the world. After POPUP LUXURY, risque and Kinabuti will hold with other international designers a POPUP Shop in London at the end of May. Kinabuti

Denrele and other guests displaying their bags

Cherie Noodles Unveils Ali Nuhu and Aishat Aliyu Tsamiya as Brand Ambassadors

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EKO TAG is quickly turning into an observable spot in the city of Lagos, as we see OSA make this historical transition before our eyes

Visual Artist, Osa Seven Depicts Lagos through Eko Tag

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SA Seven is a talented visual artist telling our stories as Nigerians to a global audience through fine art.

One of the many ways OSA is telling our stories is throughtheongoingEKOTAGproject.

Where he uses street art/graffiti as a tool to beautify Lagos and tell stories of our history and how Lagos has made its people resourceful.

The EKOTAG site was commis-

sioned by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to commemorate Lagos turning 50 with the support of our partners FCMB, KUMA Nation and Art For A Cause.

EKOTAG is the first mural to be created and commissioned in Nigeria.

It is situated in Lagos and can be found on the Law School wall on Ozumba Mbadiwe road, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Eko Tag is the platform through which the history of Lagos is being revived and the current happenings are being documented.

herie Noodles, from the stable of Olam Sanyo Foods Ltd has signed Kannywoodsuperstars, Ali Nuhu and Aishat Aliyu Tsamiya as its Brand Ambassadors.

Both of them will be the face of Cherie Noodles in all brand communication.

Ali Nuhu is a Nigerian actor, producer, director, dancer and script writer. Referred to in the media as the “King of Kannywood”, “SarkiAli” or “KingAli”, he has appeared in hundreds of Hausa Language and English Language films, and earned numerous accolades than any other actor in Kannywood.

Aishat Aliyu Tsamiya is a household nameinKannywood. Shehasfeaturedin many superhit films and earned number of awards.

Speaking about the signing, Marketing Manager of Cherie Noodles, BolaAdeniji stated that “ Both Nuhu & Tsamiya are exceptional actors, who are very popular and aspirational in Northern Nigeria.

Cherie noodles with its Chicken Pepper Soup & Classic Chicken variants is the favourite Noodles in northern part of Nigeria. This partnership will take brand Cherie to new heights ” Commenting further on the ap-

L-R Sidharth Samal, Aisha Aliyu Tsamiya, Ali Nuhu, Chris Moweta and Bola Adeniyi at the event in Kano

pointment of the Brand Ambassadors, Adeniji said, “We will be engaging these celebrities on different platforms for our brand in the Northern markets. We urge all Cherie consumers and fans of both stars to get ready for an amazing time ahead” Speaking on her association with Cherie Noodles, Aishat Aliyu Tsamiya said: “Cherie Noodles has been my family’s favourite Noodles and I feel great to be associated with a brand which I

eat regularly.”

“This is a special day for me”, said Ali Nuhu. “My entire family is a fan of Cherie Chicken Pepper Soup Noodles, that’s why I feel so excited to represent Cherie Noodles. I urge my fans to eat Cherie Noodles and enjoy its exceptional taste” Cherie noodles entered the market in 2008. It has 3 variants - Chicken Pepper Soup, Spicy Chicken and Classic Chicken.

They are available in 70g, 100g and 120g packs.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

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VINTAGE

Sobering Easter Experience in Governor Ugwuanyi’s Company Laurence Ani

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n a day global news networks and social media were dominated by reports of the devastating effects of chemical weapons in Syria, gloating remarks arising from the United States’ dropping of what it termed “mother of all bombs” in Afghanistan and bizarre tales about the discovery of billions in a Lagos apartment, nothing can be more sobering than spending Easter Sunday among the infirm and those dedicated to their care.

Such was the experience last Sunday at the Little Sisters of the Poor’s Home for the Elderly, Awkunanaw, in Enugu, where Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi had elected - typically, as a matter of fact, to worship. The greed, hate and conceit that underlie the events recalled above were in stark contrast to the selfless love shown by the reverend sisters to their elderly wards.

Indeed, the way the reverend sisters easily care for people who were complete strangers to them stands as a beacon in a world where empathy has gone so terribly cold.

How often do we come across people in destitute conditions and look the other way, pretending it’s someone else’s responsibility? Pretty often, no doubt. Yet, love is an emotion nearly everyone is capable of demonstrating, although that capacity is usually put to test in the face of increasing demand of our time and attention by others.

Even when we become irritated by such demands it’s still difficult to concede our shortcomings because, despite humanity’s rising indifference, no one likes to be perceived as being cold towards the needs of others. At the Little Sister’s Home for the Elderly, love is not a one-off gesture simply meant for the cameras; it is given tirelessly as a matter of conviction and commitment to the service of the vulnerable.

It was evident in the actions of the sisters as they wheeled their elderly wards into the chapel all spruced up for the Easter morning mass held at the home’s chapel; you could glimpse it on the face of a sister as she wiped spittle off the chin of a drooling elderly woman slouched in her wheelchair, oblivious to her surrounding; and also in the patience of a sister as she shepherds an elderly male congregant whose gait has been severely slowed by age probably to the restroom - and back to his seat in the chapel. She would in a little while repeat the action in the same painstaking manner with a smile.

Ugwuanyi and his wife, Monica, in a group photograph with some reverend sisters and inmates of The Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Elderly, in Enugu.

But notwithstanding the inspiring atmosphere of the chapel, the true import of the vanity of life and the futility of the struggles thereof were still reflected in bold relief. Hobbled by old age and its associated ailments, some of the inmates’ can barely communicate intelligibly. A few are apparently no longer in touch with the state of affairs in the larger society as could be discerned when an elderly man donning a white attire for his first holy communion was informed by a reverend sister that the visitor with whom he just shook hands was the governor of Enugu State. He nodded slowly with a vacant smile, an indication it doesn’t seem like he actually knew what that meant.

This existential reality strikes a particularly ironic chord given that most of the visitors must have come that morning consumed by thoughts of personal needs and dreams, both natural inclinations that may well have been nursed by the inmates in their younger years. Now, their needs are mostly spartan and all their worries are borne by others who ensure they are well fed, kept in the best of health and sleep in quarters that do not lower their dignity. Barring the

understandable age-related illnesses the inmates are cheerful and are bonding well.

Yet, it’s quite probable that beneath their happiness lies personal tales of heartaches and even abandonment by relatives. But in the Home for the Elderly they have all found new families willing to shower them with unconditional love.

Love is a notion essentially consistent with the message of Easter and even more so at a time that the headlines are replete with the most despicable deeds of cruelty.

The visiting priest of the home, Rev. Fr. Benignus Ugwu, clearly understood this as an imperative and made a telling exhortation in his homily. “May the renewing spirit of the Easter celebration rekindle our love for one another,” said the reverend father who is also the parish priest of St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Awkunanaw.

The visit may be a one-off for a number of the congregants that morning. Not so for the governor who sat unobtrusively among the pew alongside his wife, Monica. For him, it has become a tradition to celebrate religious feasts or personal milestones with vulnerable groups as he did when he commemorated his 53rd birthday at the Enugu Prisons,

in March. “As the Bible said, where your treasure is, there your heart is,” the priest noted, adding in reference to Ugwuanyi’s charitable inclination: “We can see where his heart is; it is with the poor and vulnerable and we can only pray for him.”

Ugwuanyi’s visit to the Home for the Elderly and other such places that are not the usual haunts of society’s influential class is no populist posturing. It is consistent with his worldview encapsulated in the remarks he made during his birthday celebration at the courtyard of the Enugu Prison said to be the first such by an incumbent governor: “It is indeed the cardinal responsibility of the government to cater for the wellbeing of everybody and every segment, group or class in the society.”

As the congregants dispersed after the priest gave his final blessings, his prayers for humanity’s waning love to be rekindled by the renewing spirit of Easter kept resonating. There’s no doubt that the exemplary works of the Little Sisters of the Poor and Ugwuanyi’s heart for charity will both serve as huge inspiration for the visitors.

– The writer is based in Enugu and could be followed on Twitter @AniLaurence

Ekweremadu: Igbo Marginalisation, a Reality Bordering on Exclusion Olaoluwakitan Babatunde

T

he Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has described the Igbo marginalization within the Nigerian federation was a reality that could only be effectively addressed through restructuring to enthrone true federalism.

Ekweremadu spoke in Abuja at the public presentation of the book “The Audacity of Power and the Nigeria Project: Exclusion of the South East in Nigeria’s Power Politics and the Spectre of Biafra” authored by Godwin Udibe and Law Mefor.

The lawmaker, who was represented by Hon. Dennis Amadi, representing Ezeagu/ Udi at the House of Representatives, said: “The cross of Ndigbo in the Nigerian state is heavy; Igbo marginalisation is real; and, as the authors argue, now borders on deliberate exclusion.

“But the worst disadvantages suffered

by Ndigbo are not just those imposed by structural imbalances such as fewer number of States and local governments or the lesser revenue accruals, political

representation, federal employments and political appointments arising from the imbalances and willful injustice.

“The greatest marginalization and disadvantage suffered by Ndigbo is the willful dissembling and discarding of true federalism, which the founding fathers of Nigeria adopted in order to live together as one nation in which no one is oppressed and every component part is able to thrive.

“This awkward form of federalism has boxed Ndigbo to a tight corner and caged their potentials and ingenuity”.

He said that in a normal federal arrangement, the hue and cry over marginalisation

by Ndigbo and other parts of Nigeria would not have arisen.

“It would be recalled that in the First Republic, the defunct Eastern Region was rated the fastest growing economy in Africa. At that time, oil had not started flowing in commercial quantity in the Region. Nevertheless, the Eastern Region as well as the other regions recorded unprecedented and yet to be unequaled development.

“The State of California alone, in the USA, is one of the largest economies in the

world. It reminds us that in a true federal state, Ndigbo would have been the most unlikely people to cry about marginalisation because they have what it takes to compete with the developed economies.

“Sadly, in the context of Nigeria’s federalism, Ndigbo are like a shackled lion.

They have abundant mineral resources, but cannot exploit them because minerals are vested in the Federal Government in an arrangement that robs Peter to pay Paul.

Ndigbo cannot independently secure their territories to make them safer for citizens and more attractive to investors because policing was centralised since 1966.

“Whereas Igbo communities and public spirited individuals build schools, roads, hospitals, and other socio-economic infrastructure, the South East states cannot build certain infrastructure because only the Federal Government has the constitutional powers to build them.

“In other words, Ndigbo are a people who have what it takes to fly, but are condemned to crawl because others are crawling. This is the tragedy of the Nigerian project”, he added.

Ekweremadu, who said, “restructuring

is not an emotional issue, but a political imperative for Nigeria to make the desired progress”, disagreed with those who see the calls for restructuring as tantamount to call for disintegration.

According to him, “It is actually the perpetuation of marginalization, exclusion, imbalances, injustice and induced poverty that comes with a dysfunctional federal arrangement like ours that is capable of bending a nation towards restiveness and implosion”.

“On the other hand, inclusion, justice, liberty, and allowing every component state considerable autonomy to utilise its resources and potentials to develop at its own pace promotes unity as well as speedy and competitive development” he stressed.

Ekweremadu warned that until Nigeria gets a president “who sees every part of the country as his or her constituency, and is committed to reuniting a highly polarised nation and reawakening the giant in all part thereof; and so long as people are mistreated on grounds of their electoral choices or where they come from, the quest for president of the various ethnic extractions will continue”.

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April 29, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

MARITIME BITS

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JOHN IWORI 08057763164

L-R: Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano and the President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Alhaji Ahmed I Yakasai when the latter paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Akwa …recently

R-L: Commander, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Seme Command, Mr. Udotong N. Essien, outgoing Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Customs Area Controller (CAC), Western Marine Command (WMC), Comptroller Yusuf Umar, incoming CAC, WMC, Comptroller Sarkin Kebbi shortly after the contrabands seized by officers and men of the WMC were handed over to NDLEA at WMC headquarters, Ibafon, Apapa, Lagos… recently

NCS Destroys Imported Poultry Products Worth N1.27 bn Poultry products with duty paid value (DPV) of N1.27 billion have been destroyed by officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit Zone C Owerri, Imo State.

Poultry products are some of the items contained in the Import Prohibition List (IPL) compiled by the Federal Government based on its fiscal policies and it is being enforced by the NCS to ensure compliance across the country. The service enforces the IPL in addition to the Export Prohibition List (EPL).

The items which were neatly arranged and packaged to avert the prying eyes of security operatives were in cartons of various shapes and sizes.

The Customs Area Controller, FOU, Zone ‘C’, Owerri, Imo State, Comptroller Mohammed Uba Garba who disclosed this while briefing the media said the destruction of the poultry products was in accordance government policy.

According to him, the seizures made by

FOU Zone ‘C’ Owerri since he assumed duty in October 2016 would continue to be treated in line with the policies of the government.

He emphasized that poultry is still under IPL and any of such found will be seized and destroyed in compliance with the relevant laws and government policies.

He revealed that operatives of the FOU, Zone ‘C’, Owerri on April 19, 2017 intercepted 24,032 cartons of imported frozen poultry products with DPV of N259, 545, 600, conveyed in a Mack Truck with registration number AJL 861 XA along Benin Ekiadolor axis by Lagos Expressway, Edo State. The poultry items include turkey parts, chicken parts, poultry gizzard amongst others.

During the destruction of the seized poultry in the Edo State capital, Benin City, the Customs Chief stated that the seizures were achieved through the diligence of his officers and men, who have been encouraged to put in their best with the recent promotion of officers

Bayelsa State Govt Re-starts Kolo Creek Gas Turbine After a prolonged outage of electricity in the catchment area of the Kolo Creek Power plant, the communities can now heave a sigh of relief as one of the power plant which was under comprehensive rehabilitation came on stream.

The Kolo Creek Gas Turbine Station is situated at Imiringi, Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State. It was hitherto the only source of electricity in the oil and gas rich state. Prior to the privatisation of the power sector of the economy, the Bayelsa State Electricity Board oversees the management of the station.

Managing Director, Bayelsa Electricity Company Limited (BECL), Engr Olice Kemenanabo who disclosed this an exclusive chat with THISDAY stated that the power plant from all indications has come to stay as all the major operating parameters were found to be within the set limits in the books when measured.

Giving an insight into how the feat was achieved, Kemenanabo lauded those who did everything possible for the strides made by the station.

“This historic feat was achieved through the patience, consistency, ingenuity and resilience of the combined team of a few dedicated local technical staff who defied every odd that I proudly called my heroes and the highly proficient Heinzmann United Kingdom crew who has been a very reliable technical support service provider since 2004”, he said.

The electrical engineer however, said this feat could not have been achieved without the unwavering support of the state governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson and deputy who believed in him and provided the necessary finances and offered technical advice and explanations to both government and the public.

Kemenanabo stressed the fact that it was not yet Uhuru as sustenance and not successful start-up is the key issue.

He called on all stakeholders, especially the end users to join hands with the state government in ensuring sustainability is achieved.

He decried incessant vandalisation of transformers and other electrical accessories in some cases right in the centre of the communities during the downtime.

and men of the service by the Comptroller General of Customs, Colonel Ibrahim Hameed Ali (retired).

A statement issued by the service and signed by the Public Relations Officer (PRO), FOU, Zone C, Chioma Onuoha quoted the CAC reiterating the commitment of his officers to ensure that smuggling in any form is brought to a minimal level.

His words: “As trained officers, in the course of our duty when we intercept any suspected goods and confirm it to be brought in contrary to the laws, it will be seized and disposed of. We will continue to make sure that the public is adequately informed so that importation will be done in conformity with the laws. This is one of the ways to curb the menace of smuggling.”

He enjoined Nigerians not to patronize or import frozen poultry products as they adversely affect the nation’s poultry industry and have been adjudged by health authorities

Indigenous Ship Owners Back Peterside Leadership of AAMA Indigenous ship owners in the country have expressed their readiness to back the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside on his leadership of the Chairman, of the Association of Heads of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA).

The backing of the indigenous ship owners is coming on the heels of the election of Peterside as the Chairman of AAMA in the just concluded conference of the continental body which took place in Abuja.

The indigenous ship owners under the auspices of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) in a congratulatory message obtained by THISDAY said they were in support of Peterside’s emergence as the Chairman of AAMA. Signed by SOAN President, Mr. Greg Ogbeifun, the Nigerian ship owners expressed belief in Peterside’s ability to lead African maritime sector revival, for the economic benefit of the continent.

SOAN which remains the leading voice of ship owners in the country said the election of the NIMASA helmsman as the Chairman of AAMA did not come as a surprise. Since he assumed office, he has shown dexterity in ensuring a virile Nigerian maritime sector that can compete favourably in the comity of maritime nations.

“Your election did not come to us as a surprise, but a proof of your worth in the business of rejuvenating the maritime sector for optimum growth and prosperity of the Nigerian economy, anchored on efficient and profitable management of men and other resources”, the letter read in part.

While also urging Dakuku to bring his wealth of experience to bear in leading AAMA, SOAN pledged itsr continuous support to the developmental initiative of NIMASA towards repositioning the maritime sector for greater efficiency and performance.

SOAN support is in the wake of

President Mohammadu Buhari’s congratulatory message to Peterside on the strides made by the apex maritime regulatory agency since he was appointed a year ago.

Buhari in his letter acknowledged NIMASA’s encouraging performance under the watch of the former member of the National Assembly.

The President noted the success of the agency fight against sea piracy through inter agency cooperation.

Describing the election of Peterside as the chairman of the continental body to be a confirmation that the country has the human capital required to make Nigeria a leading maritime nation, Buhari said Peterside’s election also places Nigeria in a pivotal position to rally other maritime administrations in collaboration with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) towards safer global maritime activities.

AAMA was formed following the signing of the African Transport and Maritime Charter in 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to bring together all players in the African maritime sector. The continental body is an umbrella body of five African maritime stakeholders’ groups. These include Association of Maritime Administrations of Africa, Africa’s Ship Registry Forum, African Ship Owners Association as well as Africa Shippers’ Council and Seafarers’ Forum.

It has the aim of promoting the development of Africa’s maritime regulatory and maritime environment for the benefit of Africans.

THISDAY had reported that Peterside was unanimously elected to lead the continental body as the Chairman during the just concluded 3rd conference of the Association of African Maritime Heads in Abuja.

He takes over from Mr. Sobantu Tilayi, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of South African Maritime and Safety Agency (SAMSA). Tilayi was in office since 2013.

to be injurious to health.

“We have to encourage farmers and those in the agriculture sector to be productive, self-reliant, provide employment and boost the economy instead of sending out our foreign exchange and encouraging capital flight”, he said.

Garba disclosed that three suspects are in custody in connection with the recent seizures made in Benin City and they will be charged to court shortly.

He called on smugglers to shun such negative vices and engage in legitimate trade so as boost the nation’s economy.

On hand to witness the destruction of the poultry products were representatives of other security agencies including the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Department of State Security (DSS), National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC) and the media.

More Vessels Laden with Petroleum Products, Food Berth More vessels laden with petroleum products, food items and other commodities have arrived in Nigerian ports.

The ports include Africa’s largest container terminal and Nigeria’s busiest port, Apapa Container Terminal (ACT), Apapa, Lagos and Tin Can Island Port Complex (TCIP), Apapa, Lagos.

While some of the vessels have berthed and their content being discharged, others are awaiting to get berthing clearance.

According to Shipping Position, a daily publication of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), no fewer than 37 ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected to arrive Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports in Lagos from this weekend to May 15.

The authority which has its corporate headquarters at NPA House, Marina, Lagos, the ships contained buck wheat, ethanol, sofa ash, base oil, frozen fish, steel products, ethanol, bulk corn, and containers laden with goods.

Similarly, four ships are expected to arrive with premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol. Another ship laden with aviation fuel is also expected in the nation’s seaports situated in the Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, Lagos.

According to the NPA publication, 11 ships had arrived the ports, waiting to berth with bulk fertiliser, container, aviation fuel and petrol.19 other ships are at the ports discharging empty containers, bulk wheat, frozen fish, bulk gypsum, aviation fuel, yellow maize, soya beans, bulk gas, bulk fertiliser, containers and PMS. Meanwhile, the NPA has unveiled what it called a “Safety, Information and Operations Centre (SIOC)” at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC), Apapa.

The authority said the unveiling of the SIOC was part of efforts aimed at boosting port efficiency and creating the enabling environment for business at the port.

Speaking at the unveiling of the centre in Apapa, the Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman, said the initiative is to provide visitors and customers an avenue where they can engage with the authority.

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APRIL 29, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

FASHION FILE

JPKOUTURE by

Hadassah

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FASHION FILE

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

By Azuka Ogujiuba azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

JPKOUTURE

by Hadassah JPKOUTURE by Hadassah is an award winning luxury enterprise creating inspirational architectural couture pieces with blend of ankara, sequin, lace, etc. Each piece is carefully designed and handmade to enhance the curves and create elegant silhouette for full figured ladies, making her feel beautiful and flawless not only in JPKOUTURE but in her own skin.”

JPKOUTURE has now extended its brand to cater to ladies of all sizes, because they believe every body type is beautiful and every woman deserves to feel both elegant and flawless whether regardless of her size.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

WITH

MARKET PLACE

OMOLABAKE FASHOGBON 08033621009

L-R: Vice President Marketing, Etisalat Nigeria, Adebisi Idowu; Chairman, Grandtowers Limited, Chidi Duru and Vice President Channel Sales, Etisalat Nigeria, Ken Ogujiofor at the 2017 Etisalat Channel Partner Conference in Lagos

L-R: Head of Corporate Marketing, LG Electronics West Africa Operations, Rajesh Agnihotri; Manager, Fouani Nigeria Ltd, Ahmad Farhat; Assistant Corporate Marketing Manager, LG Electronics West Africa Operations, Esther Fagbola and Corporate Marketing Manager, LG Electronics West Africa Operations, Paul Mba, at the launch of LG Neo Chef in Lagos recently

Winners Emerge in NFPAWA Risk Management Essay Competition Two winners have emerged in the risk management writing contest put together by the National Fire Prevention Awareness and Advocacy (NFPAWA), a life, fire safety and security risk management organisation, for safety experts.

The novel competition in Nigeria and West Africa is according to NFPAWA, an initiative geared towards developing capacity in security, fire and safety risk management as well as part of programmes line up for the forthcoming risk management conference by the organisation.

The winners, Martin Agbili and Jonathan Mariga wrote on scientific guide and accepted methodology for fire and explosion investigation as well as accepted

standards, benchmarks and mitigative measures for information communications technology, telecoms and other critical facilities and infrastructure.

Their win came after thorough and careful screening from industry experts who singled out their works amidst other entries.

As part of the prizes for the competition, the two winners will beattending the certification program for free from May 9-12 at the Oriental Hotels, Lagos.

The programme is worth N250,000.

In addition, winners will be privileged to meet with global experts in the field as they are availed new depths, orientation and insights which will guide them.

Low Activities in Lottery Market 2017 appears not to be the best of times for operators and customers of Premier Lotto popularly known as Baba Ijebu, as the business seems to be losing appeal in recent times.

A visit to some of the local centres in Lagos showed that some of the players of the betting game are gradually losing interest while they sought for alternatives pending when the business rebounds.

Some of the agents who spoke to market place disclosed that movement in lottery activities had been fluctuating for some periods, although the sector was not as rosy as it used to be. An agent at Iyana Ipaja who simply identified himself as Lukman said he could not really trace the problem in the sector to any factor but recognised that the game’s fortune was seasonal.

Lukman who also lamented low patronage pleaded with manager of the business to look into the complaints of customers who now see the business as a profitless investment “Perhaps, Baba Ijebu is not releasing money for wins because of recession, but we learnt that Nigeria is no longer in recession. Help us beg Baba Ijebu to release money so that our customers can come back,” Lukman said humourously.

According to a staunch player of the game simply called “No story” in Oshodi, “it is very unfortunate that the ill-luck is coming at a time when Nigerians are not smiling with money” and urged government to find lasting solution to poverty in the country.

“It has not been encouraging lately but I can’t stop playing it because there is no amount of money I earned from road transport work that will sustain me, I have a lot if dependents, if I don’t win today, tomorrow is still there,” he said.

One of the winners, Martin Agbili, an electrical/safety engineer and senior service officer in Anambra State Fire Service, commended the organisation on the initiative as well as the rare opportunity given him to partake in the conference.

“This is a rare privilege given practising and aspiring emergency services professionals, security consultants and risk managers and I am happy to be part of this being the first of its kind in Nigeria and West Africa at large. Thank you NFPAWA for counting me worthy to attend the forthcoming conference,” he said. The conference themed ‘Sustainable Macro Economic Development: The

Nigerian Technologists Shine at Facebook Conference Nigerian developers have been commended for their innovations and additions to the technology market at the just concluded annual F8 developer conference held at San Jose in California.

The event which also provided them with a platform for partnership deal with facebook saw applications developers across the African continent and globally network and share experience, showcased innovative products and services they have created for their local communities and the global market.

F8 hosted more than 4000 people in person and hundreds of thousands of people who watched via Facebook Live for two days. New products, tools, interactive demos and speakers to help developers build, grow and monetise their apps.

According to Facebook’s Head of Platform Partnerships for the Middle East and Africa, Emeka Afigbo, Facebook was “partnering with many African devel-

opers to launch products that not only meet the needs of local markets, but which were also ready for the world stage.

Some of the Nigerian applications that shone at the event included: Pass.

NG, an education start-up that helps students practice for university entrance exams; Truppr, social fitness start-up; Afrinolly, an app that allows users to catch up with Nollywood content via mobile phones. It is one of the first Nigerian companies to build the Facebook Surround 360 camera.

Others are Quiz.ng, an online quiz platform; Kudi.ai, a seamless payment solutions through messaging and Kangpe, a health enquiry platform.

At the event, Facebook also launched the developer circles, a program for developers all over the world to connect, learn, and collaborate with other local developers. Developer Circles is a communitydriven program that’s free to join and open to any developer.

Safety Perspectives’ will draw attention to operational risks management with focus on health, life and environmental safety while also addressing issues of professionalism across all business sectors and government institutions.

The four -day event will draw eight leading risks consultants from the USA and South Africa who will network with and share knowledge while educating risk professionals, including architects, construction engineers, emergency response personnel accident investigators and others, the modern trends, standards and bench marks to assess, control and mitigate risks both at the home and workplace.

Again, Olx Emerges Best Online Classified Advert Website For the second time in a row, leading online classifieds site, OLX.com has edged out its contenders to win the best online classified advert website for the year 2017.

The firm was declared the best in its category of business at the 8th edition of the Beacon of Information and Communications Technology Awards (BoICT), just as it was also specially recognised in the 7th edition of the award programme in the previous year.

Receiving the award, Business Development Manager of OLX, Mayokun Fadeyibi, expressed gratitude to fans of the company and the entire staff who made the feat achievable.

“It’s really exciting for us to receive this award two years in a row and we are truly honoured to have emerged winners in this category.

“I want to especially thank all OLX users for their patronage, loyalty and dedicate this award to them. I would also like to thank the OLX team, as this recognition is a result of their hard work and commitment to the business,” she said.

She added that the organisation was “constantly re-inventing the wheel to better serve its users.

“Last year, we revised the online classifieds model by launching a premium service named Do-It-For-Me (D.I.F.M), D.I.F.M helps busy executives sell their items quickly, safely and conveniently when they book an OLX Champ. “The Champ is a sales expert who posts the ads, takes calls from buyers, negotiates for the right price and closes the deal.”

The Beacon of ICT Awards is an annual Information Communication Technology (ICT) event recognising organisations’ or individuals’ contributions to ICT development in Nigeria. The theme for this year’s award was “Empowering Youth Through Digital Citizenship.”

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •April 29, 2017

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SHOWBiZFlAir

Tosin Clegg

07062816737 e-mail: tosinclegg@hotmail.com

AYO JAY

No One Makes My Type of Music Ayoola Ogundeji, better known as Ayo Jay, is a singer and songwriter currently signed on to Sony Music RCA - as the first Nigerian artiste to do so. He ‘s also first home-grown Nigerian act to have a Gold certification on his single, “Your Number,” by RIAA. In this interview with Tosin Clegg, Ayo Jay talks about his exploits I’m currently working on my first EP, Coming To America

then I write the song idea from the melodies.

t has been an incredible journey so far, especially in the last 18 months. The success of my single, ‘Your Number’ in the United States especially has really opened a lot of doors for me, including signing to a world renowned record label Sony RCA. This is particularly exciting for me, as I feel my sound requires global exposure rather than being just local.

I graduated in 2013 with a degree in Economics and Finance I had a couple of internships a year before I graduated, so if I hadn’t gone into music I probably would have gone into Investment Banking.

I’m also a huge soccer fan and at some point I wanted to try and play professionally.

I

I would love to work with Drake I’ll also like to work with Popcaan, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, and Tori Kelly, to name a few. I think they are all really good on their lanes.

For Nigerian acts, Wande Coal, and Tuface, definitely.

Being the first Nigerian signed to Sony RCA I was filled with a lot of joy and pride when it happened. It may have surprised many but it didn’t entirely surprise me or my team, as we had major goals to break into the industry in the United States and establish my sound and the Afrobeat genre. I also felt and still feel a sense of responsibility to make our kind of music and sound popular in the United States and around the world.

Growing up for me I was fortunate to be raised in a stable home of six. In the fast-paced hustle and bustle of Lagos, it was very important to have stability. I can honestly say without the support of my family and friends, I wouldn’t be the same person I am today. My family showed me the importance of education to my future and I was surrounded by good friends who taught me. Well, my friends helped me stay out of trouble. No matter where I go or where I live, Lagos will always be my home, my foundation, the start of Boy Wonder Ayo Jay!

A good amount of money was spent to promote my hit single ‘Your Number’ This turned out to be a big success.

The label was able to get me to perform at some of the biggest stadiums and at of some of the biggest music festivals in the world. This definitely helped my brand in terms of being very visible; and there is a lot more to come from this partnership.

I got signed due to the amount of attention the song, ‘Your Number” was getting at the beginning of 2016.

The number of views on YouTube were increasing at a very fast pace and it was getting very popular on the streets of New York, which is where RCA is based. They noticed it as well and contacted One Nation Records to see if we could do business. So, it’s a partnership with all three parties. There was stiff competition to sign me due to interest from other labels like 300, Interscope, and Columbia; but RCA had the most ideal plan for me and showed more belief and desire in wanting to promote this new sound, so I went with them.

Feels really great to make history with the song ‘Your Number’ I’m glad to be the very first to do it, being that when I initially left Ebute Metta for New York, it was to get good education, obtain a degree, and earn a living with it. I was able to get that degree and create a bit of history too; so it is an amazing feeling.

I hope other artistes can achieve the same and even more.

Vibes of my music In terms of releasing songs and doing the usual promotional leg work, nothing has changed. Even though I am based in New York, I still come to Lagos each time I am releasing new material. I still go on all the radio stations to do interviews, and I still go on TV shows as well.

As a matter of fact, a week after I dropped my latest two releases, “The Vibe” and “Want You” I flew

The sound I came into the game with Songs like Your Number, Available, The Vibe and Want You. These songs are the best examples of what I think are global sounds. In terms of the melodies, lyrics, and subject matter, they are very catchy, simple, and entirely relatable.

I try to adapt my sound to fit with what was popular when I moved back to Nigeria, but it didn’t necessarily work out, but due to the success of ‘Your Number’ and ‘Available’, I was convinced my original sound was the right sound so I stuck to it. RCA are excited about this sound so they are fully behind me.

Ayo Jay

to Lagos for a month to create awareness about the songs and also to keep everyone informed of my progress in America.

No pressure at all with my sound and my style of song writing I’ve always believed I’m on my own lane. I am the only one that makes my type of music, so the only kind of pressure I feel is from within.

From me knowing the potential I have and from me fulfilling that potential. I am delighted at the other Nigerian acts doing business with major labels in America. Doors have been opened and I truly hope more and more acts get opportunities like I did .

A few things set me apart from

others My melodies, my voice, and the whole sound, as a whole set me apart. I can pretty much come up with any melody you can and can’t think of. I recently teamed up with one or two world class song writers to help improve my writing skills and my song writing thought process in general.

I write every single one of my songs, so I feel like another writer’s input could lead to even better music being written. I also try to study a lot about the laws of music business and other ways to monetise my music.

Good instrumentals inspire good melodies from me I usually freestyle and lay down melodies for about 10 minutes and

My main advice is quality over quantity always With one song ‘Your Number’ I went from just getting on the queue for petrol to skipping the line straight to the front. The usual pattern for artistes in Nigeria or Africa is to start locally and then expand to the whole world. ‘Your Number’ made me bypass the local part and head straight for the world. It is a unique situation that deserves a lot more attention and I feel like everyone who worked with me on this particular project deserve the utmost credit due to the history that was made.

I have collaborated with a few female artists I love working with female artistes.

They always have a unique perspective. On my EP, I plan to feature a female artiste very well known to everyone. I won’t say who. Surprise surprise.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •April 29, 2017

SHOWBiZFlAir

MY STORY PAPERTRAIL RECORD’S SETH DROPS NEW SONG

ANTHONIA OKONKWO

I’m Obsessed with Prints

After dropping a chart-topping single ‘Kilofe’ Papertrail Records act, Seth has released his second single titled “Decale”. The fast rising act aided by producer Tdour creates an attention-demanding fusion of afro-pop resulting in a high-octane banger titled “Decale”. The track is sure to ignite a fire on dance-floors and playlists across Africa, as Seth urges listeners to dance up a storm. The massive number arrives with a crisp addictive video shot by the award-winning Unlimited L.A. It is important to disclose that Seth, whose real is name Ugboagu Oghenvienze is a proof that success is a combination of humility, passion and selfconfidence. The new artiste who started out music as a chorister in his church is purpose-driven, and has passion for music.

Undoubtedly, Seth is one of the most versatile artiste in year 2017, with his unrivalled adeptness in music. Seth has plans of making music with Davido, Wizkid, Akon, Kanye west, Casper Nyovest to mention but few.

Anthonia is a renowned fashion stylist, consultant and blogger. She has features of her works on local and international news platforms. In this chat with Tosin Clegg, she talks about fashion and style

OPEN HOUSE LAGOS TO HOLD THIS MONTH Open House Lagos is a two-day showcase of outstanding architecture in Lagos for free. The project invites everyone to explore 50 years of architecture in Lagos while creating a simplified and exciting platform for individuals to understand the value of a well-designed environment.

The event will offer residents, local and international visitors an enriched cultural experience by providing an opportunity to access buildings not normally open to the public.

The press conference held in respect to the event aimed to enlighten discussions between invited media houses and organizers of the project about architecture in Lagos’ and its development in recent times for purpose of tourism, social life and more.

EXOUZIA MODA RELEASES NEW COLLECTION One of Nigeria’s leading fashion brands, Exouzia Moda is set to release its new collection this summer.

The collection is of a distinctive style, excellent sowing, quality fabrics, detailing and a wear for every gentleman. The campaign started with top models, Muyiwa Agoro and David Eniolade taking up pieces of the clothes and posing to the camera lens of Lagos renowed Photographer, Loba of TLC Photography.

The Chief Designer of the brand is excited about the new collection and believes it’s one that will distinctively make every man stand out at any occasion, party or event.

T

ell us why you went into fashion.

Growing up, I was quite the opposite of a fashion enthusiast. I loved to ride bicycles and climb trees while wearing typical male clothing. Somewhere along the line, I discovered my passion for fashion and this has led me on a journey in fashion styling and consulting, as well as fashion blogging.

Who are your role models?

My role model in the fashion industry is Sandra Itu of LeyiUsh Styling and Consulting. Her drive and sheer brilliance is nothing short of admirable.

What defines your style?

Honestly, quite a number of things inspire my style but I draw the most inspiration from African culture. I’m entirely obsessed with prints.

Where do you see yourself in a few years?

In four years, I’d like to think that I’d have made a name for myself in the Nigerian Fashion Industry.

I intend to grow my blog to a level where everyone knows that’s where to find credible style tips and information.

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APRIL 29, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

EVENTS

T

he 70th birthday Holy Communion Thanksgiving Service / Reception for the Executive Chairman, Tanus Communications Limited, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, held at his residence in Ipara-Remo, Ogun State PHOTOS: Dan Ukana recently

L-R: Afenifere Chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; Former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; Mr. Tokunbo Ogunbiyi (Son); his wife, Damilola; Olori Ladun Sijuwade; Mrs. Wunmi Ogunbiyi; Celebrator, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi; his wife, Iyalode Folasade; grand-daughter, Feranmi; children, Anuoluwapo and Oreoluwapo Ogunbiyi; at the 70th birthday Holy Communion and Thanksgiving Service for Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, held at his residence in Ipara-Remo, Ogun State...recently

L-R: Ogunbiyi’s grand-daughter, Feranmi; Son, Anuoluwapo; daughter, Oreoluwa; Daughter-inlaw, Damilola and her husband, Mr. Tokunbo Ogunbiyi

L-R: Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Chief Ayo Adebanjo

L-R: Sam Amuka; Kayode Komolafe and Kunle Ajibade

L-R: Alaperu of Iperuland, Oba Idowu Adeleke-Basibo and Elepe of Epeland, Oba Adewale Osiberu

L-R: Princess Teni Aofiyebi; Iyalode Folasade Ogunbiyi and Dr. Doyin Abiola

L-R: Ebenezer Ebun; Gabriel Olowo and Tunde Onakoya

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

EVENTS

L-R: Rotimi Ameachi and Tonye Cole

L-R: Sunmi Smart-Cole and Professor Wole Soyinka

L-R: Olufemi Odubiyi (left) and Ibikunle Amosun

L-R: Eniola Bello, and Gbenga Adefaye

L-R: Funke Aboyade, (SAN) and Bisi Olatilo

Chief John and Mrs. Odeyemi

Mrs. Wunmi Ogunbiyi and IfyAsia Chiemeziem

L-R: Jibola Awoseyi and Segun Babatope

L-R: Hon. Muyiwa Oladipo; and Olori Ladun Sijuwade

L-R: Tokumbo Ogunbiyi, and her sister, Oreoluwa

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TRIBUTE/POLITY

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

DAWN and the South-west Renaissance: Requiem for Dipo Famakinwa Tunji Olaopa

T

he death of Dipo Famakinwa is a very sad one. I have known the Director General of Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) for a few years now and I have come to respect not only his maturity, quiet personality, relational skills, solid professionalism, but also his sound credentials as a development expert with commendable entrepreneurial intelligence. Famakinwa did not become the DG of DAWN by some kind of lucky coincidence. On the contrary, he came to that multidisciplinary organisation in 2013 with a solid educational background, business acumen and an enviable professional experience at both the public and private sectors, as well as at home and abroad. He was a consummate administrator, able to motivate and inspire.

We became very good friends because after my retirement in 2015 when it became clear to us that we share some commonalities that border on ideas about federalism, development in general, regionalism, but most especially the significance of the South-West as a development signpost for Nigeria’s federal framework. Recently, Famakinwa’s DAWN and the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP) have been looking for a unique joint project around which these shared ideas could translate to active proposals that would further the objectives of the two organisations. No one can doubt Famakinwa’s concern for the development of Nigeria through a constant reassessment of the mechanics for structurally recreating Nigeria’s federalism. A critical opponent of platitudinous rhetoric about reform, he was concerned with a deep and operationalized rehabilitation of the Nigerian project that goes beyond mere constitutional exercise. For instance, he was very critical of recent confabulation experiment like the National Conference of 2014 and all its internal inconsistencies, contradictions and lack of solid understanding of what ails Nigeria. For him, the renegotiation of Nigerian federal experiment must commence from an unbiased diagnosis of where we are presently.

For instance, we will all be playing the ostrich and hiding our heads from our geopolitical reality if we think that, say, the creation of more states has the capacity to rejuvenate federalism.

This explains Famakinwa’s fascination with the cultural and social cohesiveness of the South-West as significant ingredient for regional development. His framework is what he had called “regionalisation for development.” And the DAWN initiative provides just the right organisational platform for the actualisation of his development strategy for Nigeria. It does not take significant reflection to see why Famakinwa became a part of my reform inner caucus. We could easily have been referred to as reform twins because of our shared logic of regionalism as a sound development basis for reinventing the Nigerian project, and the strategic location of

Famakinwa the Southwest as having the human capital, material resources, historical cohesion and development precedents to jumpstart development, and hence the search for an appropriate rehabilitation of our wobbly federalism.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo already proved that the idea of regional development as the foundation of sound federalism is possible.

The old Western region is still unbeatable in terms of its infrastructural and educational advances. I have written a lot about the role that the likes of Simeon Adebo played in coordinating the policy implementation dynamics made possible by Awolowo. The AwolowoAdebo synergy has become a template for the politics/policy-administration relationship in Nigeria. It was only natural that my advocacy for the governors of the Southwest to become the exemplars of regional development by uniting their political capital to transform the Southwest would be followed up by an attempt at drawing DAWN, the operational template for a solid integration, governance and socioeconomic development of the six Southwestern states, into a strategic relationship.

As a testament to his development credential, brilliant foresight and diagnostic efficiency, Famakinwa and DAWN’s discussion with ISGPP was carried out with regard to several significant initiatives. First, there is the urgency of the cost of governance issue which remains a momentous issue that has crippled the governance dynamics of most states in Nigeria. The strategic discussion revolved around how the Southwest governors could be enabled to unbundle their expenditure structure for efficient savings that could be translated into implementing institutional restructuring while also striking a win-win deal with labour unions. Second, DAWN and ISGPP were also considering designing

a framework for Joint Budgeting that would become critical for infrastructural designs and projects, backstopped by a dynamic PPP financing structure. There had also been a discussion around the articulation of a public service charter for the Southwest civil services, benchmarked in the African Public Service Charter which I, alongside other African public service experts, have been instrumental in developing for the African Union Commission (AUC) as a template for governance and public sector institution reform, suitably reinforced with adequate peer review mechanisms for learning, sharing and benchmarking. On the matter of practical development especially in the rural areas of the Southwest, several strategic discussions with Prof. Akin Mabogunje had signalled the possibility of adopting the famous OPTICOM rural development framework. DAWN was supposed also to have prepared a technical report on the state of learning for development purposes in schools, with an especial emphasis on mathematics as a significant discipline. The technical report was to have critical input from the recently organised ISGPP seminar on mathematics education as a pivot for national development in Nigeria.

DAWN has also been penned for a critical facilitation of a regional agenda deriving from ISGPP’s comprehensive training package for the public service designed to shift training orientation and content in line with globally recognised professional competency framework and skill sets for the efficient running of government business. This training package is to commence with the State of Osun, and DAWN is to coordinate its regional component to create a context for larger conversation on national agenda through regional achievements.

Now, Dipo Famakinwa has been snatched by death at the prime of his life. This ought to be the time when DAWN blueprint for strategic integration of the Southwest into a large context of good governance and infrastructural development should be going into implementation. He ought to have been present to add his administrative and coordinating skills to the complex implementation exercise simply because the blueprint was articulated by his team. It derives from a vision which he himself had carried for five years since he became the director general at DAWN. Death has been said to bring finality to all things, to aspirations and to dreams and to hope. For Malene Dietrich, “When you are dead, you are dead.

That’s it.” Final. Finality.The end.

But not this time. This is because even death does not have any power over any combustible idea. Death itself can be the route to immortality. “Between our birth and death,” says Christopher Fry, “we may touch understanding.”

This is not an automatic achievement. Many came into the world and died without achieving significant understanding, especially of the roles they are expected to play and the duties they owe mankind. Dipo Famakinwa was not that kind of man. For fifty years of his life, he was a leader. But leading was not just enough for him; legacy was. With DAWN, he was read to take his credentials and reputation that regionalization for development is the path for Nigeria’s progress. How then can we make his

death the platform for the establishment of his legacy, DAWN? DAWN has strategic reform significance.

This is the understanding that Famakinwa committed his professionalism, intelligence and development expertise to. DAWN possesses the operational capability to conceptualise, negotiate and implement the renaissance of socioeconomic well-being for Southwestern citizens of Nigeria. In fact, at a deeper level, through DAWN, we can achieve the ignition of a national revolution in development.

The DAWN vision and mission is grand and beautiful. But far more significant are the five development pillars around which the vision and mission are woven—economic development (around agriculture, tourism, solid minerals and applied science and innovation), social and human development (health, wellness, education and workforce development), infrastructural development (transportation, power, energy, science and technology), building inclusive institutions (civil society, civil service), and homeland affairs (security, cultural preservation, promotion of excellence).

This, for me, constitutes a complete reform agenda for the Southwest. It is to the commendation of Famakinwa that there is in place already a strategic roadmapfor bringing to birth the blueprint for the regional development of the Southwest. But this does not abate my professional fear. I have, in my short years as a reformer, seen the death of so many beautiful strategic plans and roadmaps.

Ideas and ideals die easily on the platform of good intentions. And yet, even the readiness to implement is also fraught with terrible foreboding. However, Dipo Famakinwa was never afraid of implementing the roadmap.

The challenges he faced went beyond just the roadmap itself. Would his death signal the end of his vision and his staunch belief in their implementability? Very soon, encomiums will start pouring in. Many people will reflect on his life time and achievements. Others will make many promises to his left behind family.

Some portion of DAWN building may even be named after him. And a picture will remain at the DAWN headquarters as a memorial. Famakinwa will then be buried, and silence will threaten to obliterate his development efforts.

The strategic roadmap will still be dogged by political and administrative impediments.

The best memory we can inscribe to his legacy of courageous development thinking and administrative perspicacity is to commence the implementation of the roadmap he staked his professional credentials on. Specific issues are at stake in implementing the DAWN strategic roadmap. The most important, I think, is contained in the DAWN’s ten operating principles. Underlying all these principles is a solid orientation towards policy implications of DAWN’s development pillars. Converting these pillars into significant policies in the Southwest is the most important challenge DAWN has to face after the demise of Famakinwa. But the immediate policy options should be more recuperative than projective.

In other words, the Southwest governors, in approaching the DAWN roadmap, must first be concerned with putting their socioeconomic house in order.

UNODC Hosts Parley Between Nigeria, Neighbouring Countries to CombatTerrorism Bennett Oghifo

S

ecurity operatives from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Benin are currently holding talks in Lagos at the first-ever workshop on border control and enhanced cooperation to prevent and combat terrorism between Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

The three-day parley, which began yesterday in Ikeja, is facilitated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The Country Representative, UNODC Nigeria, Cristina Albertin said, “This is one of the very first times that we bring together Nigeria law enforcement agencies and neighbouring countries’ also because we look at combating crime and terrorism, of course, you can have national effort

but since crime crosses borders we have to involve the neighbouring countries. One key issue is border control and border management.”

It is very difficult to control borders, Albertin said, explaining that they are porous and very long borders Nigeria shares with neighbouring countries and that there are a lot of loopholes securing borders, basically.

She said this was the reason the UNODC decided to bring together the law enforcement agencies, especially the border officials from the different countries “to discuss how we can improve coordination and cooperation among border officials, because, for example, you imagine terror attack happens and criminals just try to cross the border, you need immediately to have system that allows you to immediately with the counterpart on the other side and they can also follow up with the possible arrest of this case.

“That doesn’t often happen because everybody has different tactics to work, there is language barrier between the countries and so on.”

She said terrorism and organised crime are complex crimes and not just about somebody stealing something, which makes it imperative for everybody to be constantly trained on how to best address these crimes.

“It is very important for us to bring people together so that really those who work on the ground together, not only at the high level, goodwill declaration but really bring together the people to identify what are the practical problems that impede effective border control,” she said.

The ongoing meeting, the Country Representative said would not be the last one but that they would ensure they achieved most of the objectives set out, “also focusing more on terrorism, not only on crimes in generally

but we will be focusing on Boko Haram.”

She said they would probably have bilateral activities with countries.”

The Head of Counter Terrorism Centre at the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Colonel Yaminu Musa said it was impossible to secure the nation’s borders without collaborating with “our neighbouring friendly countries of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Republic of Benin because the issue of border security has to be a collaborative effort of nations, not just one nation because if you drive the criminals out of your territory, definitely the criminal will find a safe haven in the neighbouring countries and when those other countries are not making good effort, definitely such criminalities will find their way into our own country. We are discussing today to see areas of challenges and to see how these challenges can be abated.”

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

TRIBUTE/POLITY

Mrs Ekeoma: Hard Work Pays James Ume

B

arrister Mrs Ngozi Ekeoma, discovered early in life that diligence would take her farther than luck would. As such, she has been going about her business life with all seriousness and sense of purpose. It, therefore, did not come as a surprise to many that she is successful today.

As Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Oil and Gas Limited and using her company as pedestal, she has become a major force in the battle against unemployment and youth restiveness in Nigeria by taking many of the jobless youths off the streets. The oil and gas company she manages was established in 2004 when she was barely 32years.

Ekeoma holds a Bachelor degree in Law obtained from the University of Lagos in 2004 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2005. A young and dynamic entrepreneur with an outstanding flair for business and management, she oversees the company’s day to day activities and has since led the repositioning of the company which has become a reference point for operators in Nigeria’s downstream Oil & Gas sector.

Her business ingenuity has given birth to a good number of other businesses and companies. Today, she owns Quest Shipping with an impressive fleet and First Fenders Ltd. Barr Ekeoma is a wife, and mother endowed with a vision that comes with an unusual foresightedness.

She is a mentor and a teacher and takes delight in imparting business knowledge and ideas to younger ones who have the privilege and opportunity of coming in close contact with her. She is widely travelled and has served as a resource person in many workshops, seminars, lectures and symposia.

Ngozi, the daughter of a successful business man in Aba and born into a polygamous family, provides one of the models that make her a notable player in the Oil and Gas sector. She grew up a happy child, well taken care of. Recounting her experience with her father who was a businessman in Aba, she said, “One important thing that I knew about him was that he was a very hard working person. He used to tell his children especially the girls that we had to be up and doing to support our husbands and our families. He married two wives and would always use my mother and my step-mother as examples, saying that he was doing well because of the support he was getting from them.”

“That admonition often comes when he finds you sleeping after 6.00 in the morning. My father will say that anybody that

Ekeoma: sleeps after 6.00 am is inviting poverty.

He will now go further to lecture us that hard work pays. So, I grew up knowing that hard work pays. I grew up as a church person. We were brought up the church way. My step mother will come back from the market to tell us about heaven and hell, right and wrong and we will all be scared thinking that Jesus was coming down and some people will go to hell.

I grew up knowing those things I have mentioned which are rare now because parents are too busy to bring their children up in that way because they are concerned about pursuing money while the children are left to watch cartoon and play on the social media. Ours was a well-knit family.

When people see the children of my step mother and my siblings playing they think we are of the same mother. My childhood was normal. I did not lack anything even though we didn’t have everything.”

Ngozi married her heartthrob at a relatively young age of 16 against the counsel of her revered uncle. “I was able to cope because of the upbringing I received.

Marrying that early did not dampen my desire to be a successful business person.

“I was going to school and was also raising children. And it was not a problem because of the way I was raised. I was raised to know that if I want something, I have to work for it”. The versatile entrepreneur recollects that, in her early years in school, she was not doing well and that necessitated her been sent to live with her uncle who works with Shell. He is a disciplinarian. He was shocked to learn that I was getting married at that age.

She pointed out that her greatest achievement was seeing her children grow. “A friend of mine once told me that God blessed me with things money can buy and things money can’t buy. Indeed, I am blessed with things money can’t buy because it gives me joy that I have children, who could not be said to be on drugs or engaged in other misdemeanours. I have been able to raise children that are well behaved and hardworking in their different endeavours.”

According to her, the second thing that gives her joy is the fact that I am able to create employment even though I have not met my target which is to have over 2000 workforce. At the moment, we have over 200 which include those in the ships, depots, head office and filling stations.

That alone has ripple effects in the employment market. “These are the two things I had prayed to do well in even though the latter target has not been fully met. But being able to contribute to somebody’s life gives me joy and I am very happy about it”, Ngozi enthused.

As a child, she just wanted to be a lawyer because of her perception of lawyers as affluent, respected, and charismatic.

“I used to think there was something like charge and bail lawyer until I attended the Law School. If you passed through Law School, you will know that there is nothing like a charge and bail lawyer. Even the person that came out of the Law School with a Pass, must have been drilled because in Law School, there is nothing like bribe or cutting corners. Who are you even going to bribe there to get good grades? Coming to Lagos, having children to take care of and coming from my background where my father taught us to be hard working, I knew I had no choice than to be hard working.

I was already doing business while going to school. By the time, I finished at law school, my business had already stabilised.

In fact, if I had not read Law, I wonder how I will be coping with the oil and gas business that I do. Actually, every aspect of the business I do is Law. I know some people did not read Law and are doing well but if you don’t understand the legalities around the business, you will find it difficult, the oil magnate noted.

Though she is doing her utmost to mentor people around her, she didn’t know much about role models. As far as she was concerned, her interest is people and events that shaped her life some of which are my upbringing and my uncle.

“I don’t think those are role models because when you talk about a role model, you have to adopt everything about that person. But I don’t think there was anybody I wanted to be like. I just wanted to be myself, I just wanted to succeed and

assist my family. I started off by wanting to be relevant to my immediate family and to be relevant to the society. When people talk about role model, it sounds like someone wants to be like Dangote, Femi Otedola and others. Becoming successful for me, I just wanted to be me. And I want to succeed in what I am doing and I want people to be blessed through what I am doing.

So, role models in that sense are not what I admire. However, there are people, who I admire their stories especially those, who come from nowhere to become successful without godfathers. I appreciate such stories because that’s actually my story. But I have never looked up to anybody just to be like that person. One of my cherished work ethic is to treat people the way I like to be treated,” she added on a philosophical note.

With a tinge of regret, Mrs Ekeoma said that in Nigeria, people work but they don’t get paid, “you provide services to people and you will not be paid and they think it is okay. It is not okay. What informed that was that before my business grew, especially when I was doing petty trading, people used to owe me a lot. And I used to write the names of those owing me in a sales book and I was not happy about it because it was affecting the business. That is why you see some people doing business and their business will not be growing. So, when my business stabilised, one of the things I said I will not do is to treat people the way I was treated. “ That is why I don’t owe service providers. I want to be as honest with people that I do business with, they don’t have to know me. With that, we have been able to build a good business model. Customers know that once their money is in Nepal account, it is either they get their product or they get their money. I see people’s money as other people’s money. I am always on the side of the truth 99 percent of any time.

I remember when one of our ships went to make a delivery in Port Harcourt and NIMASA penalised the ship. I asked for the name of the NIMASA official and I called the man and told him that he could have asked the crew members to pay the money and go instead of the fine. I asked him to give us a technical person who will inspect the ship to know those things he said were wrong with the ship and he did that.

“For me to support somebody in Nigeria who was not interested in collecting bribe, shows that I don’t cut corners. Even though the business environment is very frustrating, I try to ensure that I am on the right side of issues every time.”

–Ume is the managing consultant, Channelkoos Media Consult Ltd ; james@channelkoos. com

Embattled Managers of 1004 Promise to Restore Services Bennett Oghifo

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ost homeowners in 1004 Estate, Lagos are wondering how the facilities in the estate deteriorated so fast after some residents forcefully took over the management of facilities there from 1004 Estates Limited.

1004 Estate was sold by the Federal Government to a private concern during the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The Estate took a whole new look after it was rehabilitated by the private enterprise.

In contrast to its sweet atmosphere fresh from rehabilitation, the Estate is a hot bed of management crises and failing infrastructure.

Some residents and owners plotted the takeover, complaining that the company did not render an account to them, that they were slammed with huge bills for services and were not given an opportunity to discuss the items on it or negotiate a best price for them.

Regrettably, some homeowners and residents are complaining that a worse scenario was playing out in the estate, which led to the dissolution of their executive committee and the appointment of a

caretaker committee. The committee is now being accused of all sorts of misdemeanor, including inability to provide treated water, steady electricity, and security. The residents also complained that the committee does not give them reports, neither do they discuss with them before increasing charges.

Among the many features of the Estate’s deterioration are alleged increase in electricity theft of which an unemployed foreign resident, who was said to have recently evaded arrest, is being accused; establishment of a parallel Association by a cell of radicals and protesters; a law suit by the power company whose contract was said to have been terminated in an opaque and questionable manner.

Some are proposing that they renegotiate with 1004 Estates Limited so that their lives and facilities can be restored to normal.

The storm in 1004 Estate has become a source of worry to many residents that their once endearing residential area would become too disreputable to attract the services of credible service-providers.

Meanwhile, the management of 1004 Estates Limited has promised to restore facilities in the estate to their original state, as soon as the residents and owners come

to some form of agreement with them.

They reminded the residents of a 40-page service charge report and budgets emailed to them annually over the past four years and which are also available on the company’s website.

A statement by the management of 1004 Estates Ltd said in a statement yesterday that it “wishes to convey to its residents and stakeholders that the present situation of no water and poor unstable electrical supply on the estate due to the present mismanagement by 1004 HORA is nearing its end.

“This group of persons who forcibly invaded the estate on 5th December 2015 has exposed residents to severe distress of persistent service failures whilst collecting service payments and having no interest in delivering any services.

“Only two of the 12 indicted leaders that procured the illegal policemen for the forcible invasion of this group after investigations by the police have now been arraigned before a Lagos court for the criminal offence of forcible entry.”

The statement said ten other persons (names withheld) “have not deemed it fit to appear in court to answer to these charges whilst still in illegal continued occupation of the facilities and equipment of 1004

Estates Ltd. “These indicted persons and their agents and appointees are presently evading arrest and efforts by the police to effect their arrest yesterday were disrupted by those who are thus preventing our required access to repair these destroyed assets in our water and power plants in the estate.

“The selfish actions of a few fellow residents now keep the majority of our residents in a state of perpetual distress without water and electricity or security and have led to several complaints that 1004 Estates Ltd honours our contractual obligations to provide services in the estate.

“We expect to immediately replace once we are able to gain access to the damaged water treatment plant (which functioned under our management) and the damaged two of our five 200kva generators to immediately ameliorate the sufferings. We assure our residents that the asset replacement funds dedicated to effect this restoration are intact.

“The personal motives and obvious financial compromises responsible for the sufferings being meted out to our residents despite the service payments made will be reasonably reconciled when our normally efficient services are resumed soon.”

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL29, 2017

PERSPECTIVE

PenCom: Presidency and the Rain of Impunity Nwobodo Chidiebere “What I fear most is power with impunity. I fear abuse of power, and the power to abuse.” -Isabel Allende, Chilean Writer ne of the greatest temptations and cravings of men of power is impunity, which is defined by arrogance of authority, epitomised in the tendency to subvert the law. Nothing influences future behavior of power-drunk tyrants as much as past impunity left unchallenged by discerning minds and voices of reason, thereby setting precedent for more violations of the law via display of executive thoughtlessness.

The dangers of this despotic ideology being propagated through abuse of power, is not only that it turns a country into a banana republic; where the whims of the few ruling elite becomes sacrosanct, but waters down the letters and spirit of the constitution.

The recent removal of the Director-General (DG) of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, and the entire management team by the Muhammadu Buhari-led Presidency brought to fore the extremism of political power. Some cabals in Aso Rock Villa threw caution to the wind and trampled upon established laws of the country just to get rid of a set of individuals they are supposedly uncomfortable with.

For the benefit and enlightenment of the readers, I will highlight some provisions of the Pension Reform Act (2014), outlining procedural means of appointing and firing DG and Board of PenCom. Section 20 (1) of PRA 2014 states that the “Chairman and the Director-General shall hold office for a term of five years in the first instance and may be re-appointed for another term of five years and no more”.

Section 20 (2) provides that “A member of the Board other than the Chairman and the Director-General shall hold office for a term of four years in the first instance and may be reappointed for another term of four years and no more; subject to the provisions of section 2(1) (g) of this Act.” The core essence of this, including the requirement of Senate confirmation of DG and Commissioners, is to give such officers some security of office. Since the occupants of the office cannot be arbitrarily removed, administration of the industry is not left to the vagaries of politics that comes with regime change. In other words, no matter who is the president, the industry should continue to thrive and both foreign and local investors will have nothing to worry about.

Nevertheless, Section 21 (1)(a)-(j) provides the conditions based on which a member

O

Chinelo Amazu

of the Board shall cease to hold office.

They are resignation, expiration of term of office, death, unsound mind, bankruptcy, and conviction on charges of felony or any offence involving dishonesty or corruption.

Other grounds are if the person becomes incapable of carrying out the functions of his office either arising from an infirmity of mind or body, and is found to have contravened the provisions of the section 19(5) or (6) of the Act. Section 21(1)(J), however, provides that “The President is satisfied that it is not in the interest of the Commission or public for the person to continue in office and notifies the member in writing to that effect.” Sadly, this only window, in which the presidency could have exploited in this circumstance by simply notifying the DG in writing, was ignored.

And when the Presidency eventually wrote to remove management team, one week after announcing its removal, it relied on Section 171 of the 1999 Constitution rather than the PRA 2014. And it deployed men of the Department of State Services to remove and intimidate staff of the agency, ostensibly because the DG refused to hand over a week after ‘removal’ from office by media announcement, whereas it was the Presidency that failed to disengage her in writing. Yet, Okon Obla had the guts to repeat severally that there was nothing wrong in her handing over once she heard the media announcement. Then you wonder what type of lawyer he is and the kind of advice they give the president.

Then, Maope Ogun, a Channels TV

presenter asked if the nomination of the DG’s successor, Aliyu Dikko without recourse to the provisions of Section 21(2) of the PRA, which provides that “In the event of a vacancy, the President shall appoint a replacement from the geo-political zone of the immediate past member that vacated office to complete the remaining tenure,” was not an affront to rule of law, he unashamedly retorted that Section 130 and 171 of the Constitution empowered the president to do and undo. Dikko hails from Kaduna, North-West, while the removed DG, AnohuAmazu, hails from the South-East.

His attention was also called to Section 19(5) (a) of PRA 2014, which provides that “The Chairman and members of the Board shall not own controlling shares in any Pension Fund Administrator or Pension Fund Custodian prior to and during their tenure of office as Chairman or members of the Board,” whereas Dikko is the founder and Chairman of Premium Pension, a PFA and holds major shares there.

Surprisingly, Okon, in an awful display of buffoonery, kept saying that Section 171 of the 1999 Constitution empowers the President to hire and fire anybody he likes and that since the constitution is superior to the PRA 2014, nobody should question the president’s action. I am not a lawyer.

This is not only an injustice done to the Ex-DG on whose leadership pension assets were raised from N2.9 trillion to N6.5 trillion, but the South-East where she hails from.

We may recall that South-East has been at the receiving end of this administration via lopsided appointments and award of

capital projects. It is on record that not even a single corruption case has been attributed to PenCom management under her watch.

It is actually not Nigerian to sit on nearly N7 trillion and no stories.

So, allowing this gross display of executive recklessness in not only removing the PenCom management without following the Pension Act and intimidating the agency with DSS to cover their incompetence in not sending the disengagement letter more than a week after the media announcement, but also in trying to impose Aliyu Dikko from the North-West, amount to rain of impunity.

Yes, the impunity in the land no longer drizzles, but rains heavily and capable of a tsunami.

Section 21(2) of the PRA 2014 is unambiguous to the effect that if you remove a member of the management board before the end of his/her tenure, you must replace him/her with somebody from his/her geopolitical zone to serve out his/her term.

Also, by appointing a big player who has entrenched interest in pension sector via Premium Pension—a Pension Fund Administrator, as new Director-General, will not only erode investors and pensioners’ confidence in the industry, but place hard-earned wealth of pensioners and potential retirees, worth trillions of naira in the hands of selfish hawks in corridors power, who are shoring up their “war” chest ahead of 2019 general elections.

If you violate the law to install stooges, who says you cannot trample the law to siphon the nearly N7 trillion?

It is most worrisome that the persons at the head of the campaign of calumny against the outgone DG and for the incoming DG, such as the former Vice Chairman of the First Guarantee Pension Limited, Hon. Chidi Duru, were people who have been indicted and charged to court for fraudulent practices in the industry, both by Anohu-Amazu’s predecessor, M.K Ahmad (who spent two terms). So, are we safe?

Those who want to cover up this abuse of power by referring to Section 171 of 1999 Constitution (as amended), are obviously digging a bottomless pit, where our nascent democracy will collapse into- should other organs of government—Legislature and Judiciary, decide to join the bandwagon of impunity of the presidency.

And if laws made by the National Assembly no longer matter; if the clowns in the Presidency can no longer differentiate between extra-ministerial departments and statutory agencies, then let us disband the National Assembly and the judiciary and allow the Presidency to run Nigeria wholly like a banana republic on the strength of so-called ‘almighty’ Section 171 of the Constitution.

–Nwobodo Chidiebere writes from Abuja

Nigeria’s Democracy Begins to Mature Eddie Mbadiwe

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f recent, the Nigeria political space has been heating up.

A lot of this has ricocheted around the goings-on in the National Assembly but more especially the Senate vis-a-vis appointments and confirmations of Presidential nominees.

This is after due screening as required by constitution. Confirmation is a very important function of the Senate. Questions have been raised and there have been torrents of crossfire between the Senate and the Presidency.

For a long time, the Nigerian public looked on the National Assembly through skewed lenses as an extension of the Presidency. It will not be wrong to say that legislators had a low public acceptance quotient. A lot of disdain, odium and sometimes opprobrium was flung at legislators in what sometimes is misplaced aggression. It is essential to put in place proper mechanism to enable the public understand the workings of parliament. Robust public discourse and engagement are desiderata.

It is against this background that the recent vibrations which unfortunately have

descended to vituperations are healthy for our democracy. People with contrary views see them as destabilizing but that is the beauty of democracy. Democracy must be resilient enough to encourage and withstand any amount of jaw-jawing. These teething problems which will eventually stabilize are necessary components of growth and NIGERIA will be better for it. You must overcome the rough and tumble of youth to make a mark in the adult world.

Accusations about fake certificates, purchase of armoured vehicles, hearings and suspensions of Senators are all part of this turbulent mix. Serious newspapers are making a bomb financially with their juicy reporting and interviews.

Nigerians have for a long time been lethargic, docile and passive but it looks as if some have now woken up to this fact that freedom of information Act also operates here. The National Assembly enacted it so let’s use it.

It is not guesswork that a number of people in positions of authority got there with fake or as former President Obasanjo would put it certificates with K-leg. Will it be too expensive for INEC to set up a small certificate verification unit? Verification is just a phone call

away and all the wahala will end. People who claim phantom unearned degrees are bad masquerades and must not be allowed in the public square. Either they do not have or cannot show their classmates. Integrity has to be the cornerstone on which we build this nation or genuine development will continue to elude us.

There is suffering in the land- no doubt about that but it is not all doom and gloom.

There are a number of positive developments as well. For the first time since independence, a Minister has put his job on the line against re-opening of Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja. This is exemplary, refreshing and an elixir. It is a breath of fresh air and Minister, Sirika must be commended.

In a system where the two main political parties are suffering from various degrees of paralysis, Governors, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and Emir Sanusi of Kano are necessary growth ingredients of our democracy. It is sad that some of our friends and former colleagues in academia with bright ideas are too chickenhearted to put them forth in public discourse for national growth. As long as these ideas are neatly tucked away in University closets

so long will they not contribute to salvaging Nigeria.

Nyesom Wike is on record to have invited EFCC to probe his counterpart of Benue state for embezzling billions of Paris bail-out funds.

Hey what has become of Governors forum which Nigerians see as a platform to sandpaper and cover-up bad governance and malfeasance. The Governors forum for selfish reasons killed local government autonomy which the 6th and 7th National Assemblies passed. Until the local governments get direct allocation from the Federal budget, all talk of rural development will continue to be bunkum.

The fact that Governor of Adamawa was jailed (and a Prisoner’s bail needs explanation) should be an ‘’ aide memoire’’ to our emperor governors and also remind them that when immunity and impunity end, public accountability will step in.

These are indeed interesting times and they are also times that try men’s souls. Finally, the chickens are coming home to roost all in Nigeria’s national interest.

– RT. Hon. Dr. Eddie Mbadiwe writes from Abuja

51

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

PERSPECTIVE Consolidating Nation-Building, Democracy in the New Gambia Paul Ejime

B

y African standards, many had expected the worst the moment the Gambia’s authoritarian ruler for 22 years, Prof. Dr. Alhaji Yahya Jammeh, reversed himself after conceding defeat to then opposition leader, Adama Barrow when the results of the 1st December 2016 Presidential election in the country was declared.

To begin with, it was out of character for the mercurial leader, who loathes opposition and had vowed to rule the Gambia for years, to give up power without a fight. So it was no surprise that Jammeh changed his mind, never mind that in neighbouring Senegal, veteran politician President Abdoulaye Wade had conceded victory to his former associate and Parliamentary Speaker now President Macky Sall in the aftermath of the March 2012 presidential poll. Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan had followed suit in February 2015 by ceding power to Muhammadu Buhari, another opposition leader.

In fact, in the same week of December 2016, President John Dramani Mahama had lost his tenancy of Ghana’s Presidential Flagstaff House through the ballot verdict to another opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo.

But to live up to his infamous track record as a man of surprises and unpredictability, trust Jammeh to raise the political temperature in West Africa, which had seen and continues to endure more than its fair share of insecurity, political conflicts, and instability.

Gambia’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) did not help matters by adjusting the presidential results and thereby reducing the margin of Barrow’s victory from 7 per cent to about 4 per cent of the total ballots cast during the polls. Also opposition officials instead of waiting to assume power and then decide Jammeh’s fate chose to jump the gun, threatening to march Jammeh straight to The Hague for his alleged crimes against humanity. Jammeh seized the opportunity to harden his position and the rest, as they say, is now history.

Naturally, many had expected an intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). And the regional economic bloc, which had tried unsuccessfully in the past to curb Jammeh’s excesses, such as by refusing to endorse his election in 2011, did not disappoint. The relation between Jammeh and ECOWAS was frosty, to say the least, and it was no surprise that the organisation did not send any observers to the 1 December 2016

Gambia President, Yahya Jammeh election. Even so, ECOWAS had its office in Banjul, monitoring events and its previous fact-finding missions did not glorify the intolerance of criticism or the alleged human rights violations in the Gambia under Jammeh’s watch.

But there were a couple of false starts to the carrot-and-stick intervention that eventually removed Jammeh from power after his rejection at the ballot box by his long-suffering compatriots. The mobilisation of a military force by ECOWAS was a good idea, but given its cost, and unpredictability, military intervention is always considered a last resort.

While preventive diplomacy eventually won the day, ECOWAS’ decision to send Heads of State for initial negotiations with Jammeh, on hindsight, was not particularly apposite.

Given that there was no love lost between Jammeh and the organisation, rather than move as a “crowd” for a delicate negotiation, the provision in the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF) for the use of members of the Council of the Wise, should have preceded the direct involvement of regional leaders. To clear any doubts on this, President Alpha Conde of Guinea and newly elected Chair of the African Union played this role very effectively and efficiently.

At the end, with a combination of preventive diplomacy, regional boots on the ground

and fighter jets in the air, Jammeh was escorted into exile in Equatorial Guinea, where he is now exhibiting his farming prowess.

Given the security situation in the Gambia, President Barrow was sworn in temporarily in Dakar 19 January, before his formal inauguration on 18 February in Banjul. At his behest ECOWAS now has a military Mission, ECOMIG in the Gambia, supporting peace and stability efforts in that country. The Mission comprises troops from Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana.

To the uninitiated, the ECOWAS-led international intervention to prevent a potential calamity in the Gambia, which also involved the AU and the UN, through its Office in West Africa Office and the Sahel, UNOWA, might look ordinary. But it is a major achievement that adds to ECOWAS’ flagship ranking as a leading light in peacebuilding, conflict prevention and management and integration among the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa.

In addition to man-made socio-economic and political upheavals and natural calamities, Africa has experienced some 200 successful and failed military coups from the 1960s to the reported January 2016 plot in the Niger Republic, with the attendant economic and humanitarian devastations. West Africa has been hit the hardest, with the result that ECOWAS, which was set up in 1975 to foster economic integration has instead, been bogged down by peace and security challenges.

But thanks to the unwavering commitment and determination of its leaders, the 15-nation regional economic bloc with a combined population of more than 300 million has acquitted itself creditably. In accordance with the relevant regional protocols and instruments, ECOWAS, in conjunction with partners including the AU, EU and the UN has pledged continued support to accompany the new Gambia on its path of reconstruction and democracy.

This was very eloquent in the country’s recent Parliamentary elections of 6 April.

Under normal circumstances, ECOWAS only sends observers to monitor presidential elections in member States. But because of Gambia’s peculiar situation, the President of the ECOWAS Commission H.E. Marcel de Souza had to dispatch a 14-member Election Observation Mission led by a former Chair of Ghana’s Electoral Commission Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan to the Gambia for the National Assembly poll. The Mission was supported by the Commission’s technical team led by the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace

and Security, Mrs. Halima Ahmed, who had accompanied the Commission’s President on diplomatic shuttles that led up to the resolution of the 1 December presidential dispute in the Gambia.

In addition, ECOWAS has upgraded its office in Banjul to Ambassadorial status with Mrs. Vabah Gayfor now Head of ECOMIG and ECOWAS’ envoy to the Gambia.

So palpable were Gambians’ desire to express their civic right and the infectious belief in their unique electoral system during the April parliamentary elections. The electoral system provides for the use of glass marbles as ballot papers and metal drums as ballot boxes. To guard against fraud or multiple voting, each drum has sand at the base and voting takes place when a voter in the secret boot drops the marble which makes a bell sound against the drum. At the end of voting, the drum is emptied into a filter to separate the sand from the marbles, which are then tallied.

Each candidate has a drum distinguishable by the paint colour. One obvious challenge could be the choice of colour where the candidates are many. Otherwise, the electoral system has worked for the Gambia from the 1960s.

Still, it is not yet ‘Uhuru’ in the Gambia.

As rightly noted by Dr. Afari-Gyan during exchanges in Banjul with the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for UNOWA, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas after the parliamentary elections, the political situation in the Gambia is still “fragile.” Indeed, on the eve of the parliamentary poll, political pundits had reasoned that the ruling seven-political party Coalition that brought President Barrow to power against Jammeh’s now opposition Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), was beginning to fall apart. This and the inadequate civic and voter education probably accounted for the low voter turnout during the parliamentary elections.

Somehow, the Coalition managed to gain more than 40 seats in the 58-seat National Assembly, leaving the opposition APRC with just five seats. Despite the massive participation of women, only three women candidates were elected into the new parliament. And how the Barrow presidency and the ruling Coalition will manage the parliamentary majority to cement national unity and cohesion through reconciliation for the progress of the country of some 1.9 million people dependent almost entirely on tourism for revenue, remains to be seen.

–Paul Ejime is an international communications and media specialist. Paul.ejime@gmail. com Twitter: @paulejime5

ENCOUNTER

Africa Must Redefine its Risk Management Omolabake Fasogbon

J

oel Chimhanda, a South African and founder of JC Capital Limited and Chairman of Engineered Systems Solutions Zimbabwe (pvt) Limited, will be present as a guest speaker at the National Fire Protection Association West Africa, NFPAWA 2017 capacity building training and conference which will be holding between May 9th and12th.

The theme is Sustainable Macro Economic Development: The Safety Perspectives’.

The South African is a renowned economics expert and one of the African idealists who strongly believe in the future despite present headwinds. Speaking to THISDAY at the Gbagada, Lagos office of the NFPAWA, Chimhanda has this to say: “Africa can be the toast of the world if she devoted conscious effort towards protecting her resources and investment jealously through effective operational risk management.”

He reckoned that African economy has a positive outlook but has been betrayed by unforeseen situations such as droughts, fire outbreak, persistent conflicts causing massive displacement among many others which are responsible for its under performance.

According to him, the non performance

of her economy is further fueled by the little efforts devoted to proactive practices and actions to protect investment that should have scaled up development.

“Continuous development can only come through sustainability. Sustainability ensures continuous and incremental capacity building in all enterprises and institutions thus the road map to adequacy, self sufficiency, wealth generation and value creation .This is applicable to both the private and public sectors.

He says he has a dream to identify with visionaries that are ready to make life changing difference to those among 800 million Africans who live below the bread line and also to give millions of Africans a meaning to life.

“My dream is to wake up one morning; in a world that the entire human race sincerely looks up to and desires to be African. That’s a morning when Africans have earned selfrespect and respect of all other peoples, races and nationalities of this world.”

He was unhappy about the fact that Africans keep reinvesting in disasters which he blamed for her plight. According to him, most of these disasters are preventable.

“We have heard of explosions in power plants that are not even adequate; uncontained markets fires that bring token investments and lively hoods to zero because of inadequate response frameworks; massive and excessive

building collapse resulting into huge capital losses; road structures with no inbuilt utility service; excessive risk transfer to insurance; law enforcement that does not know they are first responders nor even how they integrate in any security framework as well as unmitigated cyber risk. These wastages can actually be prevented if standardisation and professionalism were to be in order.”

Chimhanda said operational risk management is complex with a vast multi-disciplinary interface and context diagnosis required. He said that was why Africans must do it themselves. “The chain starts from the government policy, project owner and financier through strategy, design, implementation, facilities, and insurance. The ability to bring all to a table; each having a clear understanding of their risk management role is why we are aiming at building a community of risk management professionals, risk engineering, control and governance all inclusive. It is important that leaders begin to actively build capacity in these areas.”

He said the up-coming NFPAWA conference, which carries a three pronged agenda including standardisation, awareness and capacity building, will focus on health, life, environmental and fire safety while also addressing issues of professionalism and standardisation across all business sectors and government institutions.

Chimhanda advised African countries to stick to a business model that is considered relevant in their respective environment.

“The core requirement for operational excellence greatly pivoted to proactive risk mitigation for continuity and profitability. To do so, we must have our own bench marks and standards development and used by Africans who work, live and truly understand our context. Educating our people on the principles as applicable guides is thus strategic.”

Among other issues, the May conference and training carries a three pronged agenda including standardisation, awareness and capacity building. It will focus on health, life environmental and fire safety while also addressing issues of professionalism and standardisation across all business sectors and government institutions.

Specifically, Chimhanda will be looking at the critical need for operational risk management in life, safety and security as a driver for institutional, corporate and national development in Africa, the African Union rationalization and why Nigeria should play an important role.

The South African noted that it was imperative for all profit oriented individuals in the public and private sectors across the continent to partake in it especially through training of all employees in their risk management chain.

52

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 29, 2017

POLITY

UACN Boss Extols Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce at 40

A

s the Nigerian-British Chamber Of Commerce (NBCC) marks its 40th anniversary, the Group Managing Director/CEO of UACN Plc, Mr. Larry Ettah has extolled the Chamber, saying the NBCC had been there, all through the challenges in the Nigerian economy, advocating sensible policy reforms, promoting trade and investment with the United Kingdom and helping to advance commerce in Nigeria.

The UACN boss who spoke in Lagos at the 40th anniversary lecture and celebrations of the NBCC, said the chamber offered platforms for advocacy, policy articulation, dialogue with government and regulatory agencies, and had helped to sustain the flow of investment into Nigeria economy in spite of significant obstacles.

Ettah said: “The fact that NBCC has survived and indeed thrived through the changing administrations and evolving socio-political and economic transitions in the Nigerian nation is a testament to the vision of its founding fathers, and the commitment of its leadership through the years, and today it remains one of the foremost Business Membership Organisations and bilateral Chambers of Commerce in Nigeria and indeed Africa.

“For us at UAC of Nigeria Plc, our resilience perhaps is rooted in our provenance and a

common patrimony with NBCC, a melding of edifying values between Nigeria and United Kingdom business interest. Through the years, we have been guided in our corporate conduct by values of integrity, innovation, customer focus, respect for individual, teamwork, openness and communication. Values that are part of our British Nigerian DNA. Values that have similarly defined NBCC in its 40 years. I commend the past and present leaders of NBCC and its entire membership and I am sure that forty years from today in 2057, the organisation would still be around and thriving.”

While paying homage to the NBCC, the UACN boss said it was heartwarming that a conversation between two illustrious gentlemen in the name of Sir Adam Thompson, Chairman of the then British Caledonian Airways and Chief Henry Fajemirokun, CON (both of blessed memory), some 42 years ago, sparked a chain of events leading to the formation of the chamber in 1977 and culminating in the landmark 40th year Anniversary milestone of the NBCC. Ettah used to occasion to charge the managers of the Nigeria’s economy to ignore falling oil price and implement a policy agenda to restructure and diversify the nation’s economy.

The UACN boss said Nigeria must not wait for oil price to rise before taking steps to restructure the economy.

The grand-daughter of the late Olorogun Michael Ibru, Miss Omieme Ibru, right and his heartrob, Mr. Adetola Odunlami, during their traditional marriage in Agbara-Otor, Delta State...recently

He said: “Nigeria’s party based on oil rents ended in 1980 with the global oil glut as oil prices collapsed from over $40 per barrel to less than $10. The country passed through austerity, import licensing, Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), counter-trade, NEEDS, and now we have an Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

“Today again, as we deal with another oil price decline, with similar economic consequences as the 1980s downturn, Nigeria cannot simply wait again until oil prices rise again. We must implement a policy agenda to restructure and diversify our economy; build an export base, stop government’s reliance on oil to finance its activities and build a productive, competitive domestic economy.”

Using the experience of UACN’s success story to illustrate his stance, Ettah said: “In 1977, our economy was totally different from today – The US Dollar exchanged for less than N1; interest rates were fixed by the CBN, which acted under instructions from the Ministry of Finance; Credit allocation was based on sectoral allocations decided by the Central Bank and banks all closed at 1:00pm on all days except Monday, when they closed at 3:30pm.

Most banks were owned 60% by Government which appointed their boards, and many big hotels were also owned by government!

“The trending business of the time was

breweries... and everyone soon started setting up their own. At UACN, we were a totally different business in 1977. Merchandising was a big part of our business – we imported and sold tractors, office equipment, air conditioners, chemicals, even consumables. We had Tractor and Equipment, G.B Ollivant, A.J Seward, Bordpak Premier Packaging, Perabeam, AT&P and Kingsway!!!

“Since 1977, in line with the demands of the economy, UACN Plc restructured and adapted, became a new type of conglomerate investing in foods, cereals and feeds, paint, real estate and logistics. It is worthy of note that our erstwhile contemporaries like CFAO, SCOA, John Holt, UTC are no longer our peers.

The problem is that unlike UACN, Nigeria simply waited ... almost two decades ... until 1998/1999 when oil prices recovered. Then we resumed our party!”

“Since 1977, in line with the demands of the economy, UACN Plc restructured itself and adapted, became a new type of conglomerate investing in foods, cereals and feeds, paint, real estate and logistics. It is worthy of note that our erstwhile contemporaries like CFAO, SCOA, John Holt, UTC are no longer our peers.

The problem is that unlike UACN, Nigeria simply waited ... almost two decades ... until 1998/1999 when oil prices recovered. Then we resumed our party!”

L- R: Partner PWC, Andrew Nevin; GMD/CEO, UAC of Nigeria Plc, Larry Ettah; former President, Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce, Prince Adeyemi Adefulu; Executive Director Corporate Services, UAC of Nigeria Plc and Vice President, Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce, Joe Dada at the 40th anniversary lecture of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos ...recently

PHOTO NEWS

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mrs. Boladele DapoThomas; Founder, Women in Successful Careers, (WISCAR), Mrs. Amina Oyagbola and Mentor, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, at the women in successful careers (WISCAR) interactive forum, in Lagos...recently PHOTO: KOLA OLASUPO

L-R: Former Chairman, Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria, Engr. Nimot Mulli; Marketing Director Lafarge Africa Plc; Vipul Agrawal; Chairman, Nigeria Institute of Building (NIOB) Lagos State Chapter, Mr. Adenike Said; and Chairman, Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Ikeja Branch, Akintayo Akintola at the Lafarge Africa Plc. Building Community Dialogue Series in Lagos...recently

R-L Executive Director, Technical, Sigma Pensions Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Balarabe; Head of Compliance, Hajiya Nafisah Buba; and Business Development Manager, Private Sector, Grace Tuta, at the company’s forum for human resources customers in Abuja...recently

L-R: Mr. Jude Abaga aka M.I. (a Nigerian Rapper and Hip Hop Artiste), Miss Samara Williams (winner of the show and year 6 pupil of Meadow Hall Education), Evy Jean-Pierre Eze (Architect/ex international model), Mrs. Sarah Ariyoh (Dance instructor/entrepreneur) and Mr. Segun Lawal (President Spirit of David dance club) at the Meadow Hall’s Got Talent Show Lagos... recently

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •APRIL 29, 2017

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NEWSXTRA

In Brief

Customs Seize Contraband Rice

TheKano/JigawaAreaCommandofNigeriaCustomshasinterceptedatrailerloadof377bagsofcontrabandforeignricewithdutyvalueofN4,167,825.45.

SpeakingtoReportersattheKanoheadquartersofCommandonFriday,the Comptroller, Mr. Mathias Abutu said his men also seized bags of fake sugar re-packagedwithBUAtrademarktodeceivethepublic. AbutusaidCustoms officerswhowereonpatrolsightedthetrailer-loadofcontrabandricewhich wasconcealedwithusedtyresandgenerators,“andtheoccupantsimmediately abandonedthetrailerandfledintothebush.” Hesaidassoonastheyfled,the Customs officers cordoned off the area and impounded the trailer and its content,“itwasdrivenstraighttotheCommand’sheadquartershereinKano andyoucanseethetrailerandthecontrabandgoods.” TheComptrollersaid no arrest has been made, but added that his men are making frantic efforts totrackdowntheownersoftheseizeditemsforprosecution. Healsoalerted thatthecustomswarehouseinKanowherecontrabandgoodsarestoredis alreadyfilledup. "WehavewrittentotheheadquartersandIbelievethatvery soon something will be done about it. Just last year, we donated 4,200 bags ofricetoIDPs.AsIspeaktoyou,westillhaveabout6,143bagspackedinside thewarehouse.”

NDE DG Assumes Duty

TOGETHER AS ONE...

L-R: Commissioner of Police, Anambra State, Sam Okaula; Anambra State NDLEA Commander, Sule Momodu and former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku at an event in Awka, Anambra State

Dealers Pick $85.69m Out of $100m Offered by CBN Chika Amanze-Nwachuku The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Friday that authorised dealers were only able to pick $85.69 million out of the $100 million it offered at Thursday’s FOREX wholesale auction in the inter-bank market.

Confirming the development last night, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, said the inability of authorised dealers to pick up the whole amount offered by the apex bank was a pointer that there was enough foreign exchange to meet legitimate forex demands within the system.

While stressing that the CBN had the capacity to sustain the current

levels of liquidity in the forex market, Okorafor said the Bank was “committed and was indeed working to achieve convergence in the forex rates between the Interbank and the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment.”

Meanwhile, reports gathered in Abuja and Lagos in the course of the week indicate that the Naira sustained its momentum against major currencies, especially the United States dollar, exchanging at an average of N380 to $1.

The CBN on Thursday offered $100 million to authorised dealers to meet the requests of wholesale customers at the forex auction in the interbank wholesale window.

The CBN spokesman had stated

that no intervention was made in the retail window in Thursday’s auction, but stated that the Bank continued its weekly sale of forex to the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment to meet the needs of low-end users.

He said the CBN had observed that quite a good number of dealers were adhering to the forex guidelines.

Nevertheless, he said the CBN will continue to monitor the activities of authorised dealers to ensure that no outfit or individual circumvents the laid down forex rules.

He urged all concerned to put the Nigerian economy first, reiterating that the CBN was determined to guarantee the international value of the naira.

In line with assurances by CBN

Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele that the CBN would continue to intervene in the foreign exchange market, the Bank on Wednesday auctioned the sum of $185.86 million through retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS).

The Bank also on Wednesday settled the 10th Over-the-Counter (OTC) foreign exchange (FX) Futures Contract valued at $965.29 million which matured on the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange. The FMDQ revealed this on its website.

Okorafor while confirming the Wednesday auction sale, disclosed that out of the auctioned amount, only $3.14million was sold as spots, while the sum of $182.72million was sold as forwards.

Police Arrest Two Delta Princes for Alleged Teenager’s Rape Cover Chiemelie Ezeobi

For allegedly colluding to cover the rape of a teenager in the palace, the duo of Prince Richard and Ejimofor Nwoko, were yesterday arrested by the Delta State Police Command at the premises of the Asaba Magistrates Court, after several unsuccessful attempts to pin them down.

The victim, a 15-year-old secondary school student was said to have been raped at the palace of the Obi of IdumujeUgboko, Aniocha North Local Government Area, Delta State.

It was gathered that concerted efforts are still on to further arrest

the principal suspect and others, including the crown prince Nonso, so as to unravel the true position concerning the case.

According to the police, the arrested suspects have made statements to the police but will still be detained while investigation continues.

THISDAY gathered that police investigation into the case was due to a petition written by Walter Eziashi, a former President-general of Idumuje-Ugboko Development Union, alleging that after the rape, some royal princes and others allegedly covered up the case after sanctioning the suspect and imposing a fine of goats and the

sum of N400,000 on him.

The alarm raised by Eziashi also attracted female lawyers in Nigeria, under the aegis of FIDA, who pushed for thorough investigation to give justice to the teenager.

The Public Relations Officer of FIDA, Delta State, Mrs. Stellamaris Mejulu, expressed delight with the arrest of the suspects and urged the police to prosecute all those linked to the case.

Also confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Anthony Aniemeka, said police were still investigating the case.

However, the Delta State Police

Commissioner, Zanna Ibrahim who also confirmed the arrest said the suspects were picked for compounding a rape case.

According to him, "The main suspects are at large but we arrested these two because they compounded the issue by settling a crime using the native customs.

"The law does not recognise such native fines, we have charged them to court. They would face the full wrath of the law. We are not going to trivialise the rape case because women lawyers and journalists are interested in the matter and we would get the fleeing suspects."

DSS Arrests 7 Suspected Kidnappers in Sokoto Mohammed Aminu in Sokoto

The Department of State Security Service (DSS) Sokoto Command, Friday paraded seven suspected kidnappers in connection with the abduction of one Nasiru Aliyu Maigoro of Tolaka village of Goronyo local government area of Sokoto State.

Parading the 7-man syndicate before newsmen in Sokoto yesterday, the state Director of the DSS, Alhaji Tijjani Kafa, said the suspected kidnappers reportedly

abducted Maigoro at his family's residence and took him to Zangon Arab village in Sabon Birni local government council on February 24.

He disclosed that Maigoro was later released by his abductors after the family paid a ransom of N1 million.

"The kidnappers took the child to Zangon Arab, a very remote village close to Niger Republic. It is a very difficult terrain and most of the inhabitants of the area are criminals including their traditional ruler.

"Infact, they demanded N10 million from the family of the victim but later collected N1 million and shared it among themselves," he said.

The Director said the suspects including their leader one Abdullahi Mohammed alias Hanazuwa, were arrested at Zangon Arab village in Sabon birni council, following a tip off on April 19, 2017.

Kafa explained that the suspects had been terrorising people in Goronyo and Isa local government areas of the state, pointing out that

they had already confessed that they committed the offence.

He further said its officers nabbed three cable thieves, who had been vandalising power cables in the state.

Kafa revealed that they stole cables valued at N8 million and sold it at N2,400 to one Nasiru Yahya.

He stated that the suspects would be taken to court for prosecution after completing the investigation.

The DSS boss to this end, called on parents to monitor their children to avoid them engaging in criminal activities.

Dr. Nasiru Mohammed, onTuesday officially assumed duty as the Director General,NationalDirectorateofEmployment(NDE),evenasheassuredthat noNigerianwouldriskhisorhertravelingacrossthedesertandMediterranean seatoseekforemploymentinEuropeandotherpartsoftheworld.Mohammed disclosedthiswhilespeakingafterofficiallytakingovertheleadershipofthe agency. According to him, "I was posted to this place by the President with a clearmandatetomakeNDEwork.Hesaid:"ThenewNDEwearethinkingofis notjustanissueofcreatingjobs,providingemployment,creationofwealth,we arethinkingfaraheadofthat.Whatweareplanningtodointhefutureare;we aregoingtoexportlabour.Wearelookingatthesituationwhereby,noNigerian willriskhislifetravelingacrossthedesertandMediterraneanseajustbecause theyaretryingtogettoEurope.TheywilldefinitelytraveltoEuropebutthey willdoitinamoredignifiedmanner.Ourwebsitewillbeactivatedforemployers andapplicants,wewillbeinvolved,getacrosstotheirvariousembassiesand getaninsuranceforthosebeingemployed.It’slikegovernmenttogovernment interaction.

Compliance Institute Workshop

Initsbidtoimprovethecultureofcomplianceanddisciplineinthebankingsector aspartofmeasurestoincreaseproductivityandstrengthengrowthinNigeria’s financial industry, while also focusing on strengthening compliance in other sectors,theComplianceInstitute,Nigeria(CIN)istakingitsflagshiptraining programmeandworkshoptoAbujaforthe29thApriland6thMay,2017.The objective of the institute is focused at sustaining the culture of compliance in Nigeria.The workshop, training and Induction; the sessions would set the frameworkforcomplianceprograms,ethicsandprovidevaluableinsightsfor complianceprofessionalsinthefinancialinstitutions.AccordingtothePresident, ComplianceInstitute,Nigeria,PattisonBoleigha,theComplianceprofession is one of the “hottest” professions today and the objective of the institute is focusedatsustainingthecultureofcomplianceinNigeria.Now,compliance andethicsprofessionalsarearegularpartofthebusinessseniormanagement structure,withgovernmentregulatorsandenforcementleadersrecognising thevalueofcomplianceandethicswithinorganizationsandinstitutions.

Gospel Artiste Celebrates with Widows

As part of his effort to give succour to the widows, a gospel artiste based in Abuja,Mr.KennySamyesterdaycelebratedhisbirthdaywithsomeselected widows,whilealsodonatingsomecashtothem.Addressingthewidows,he said the money being given to them was not gotten from rituals, or stealing or from doing the wrong things, but it was out of what God had blessed him with that he was extending to them. He added that having been raised by a widow himself, he understands the pains and agony of widowhood, hence, his decision to celebrate his birthday with them and also empower them.

According to Sam, "basically, with the hardship in town today, you will agree withmethattherearesomepeoplefromJanuarytillnowthathavenotbeen able to save N2,000. Out of the little God had given to me, instead of calling friendsandbuyingdrinks,whydon'tIjustshareitwiththem,andyounevercan tellwhatGodcandooutofit."Samexplained:"forme,thisisthebestbirthday have celebrated, celebrating it with the widows for me it's perfect. My mum becamea widow32yearsago.Wearenineandwelivedinoneroom.I'mcoming here today to say God that lifted my mum up will lift you, all you have to do is to believe, "That we have empowered these widows for me it's not just the widows wehaveempowered,thetruthisthattheirchildrenwillbenefitfromit.

UNIBEN 1990 Law Class Reunion

TheUniversityofBeninLaw1990ClasswillholdhermaidenReunionMeeting from Friday, May 12, 2017 to Saturday, May 13, 2017.Theme: "27Years Post Graduation: The Journey So Far" Programme of activities, according to its coordinator, Austin Erhabor include: A brief talk on the theme by Brother O. EmmanuelAighalua,ClassCoordinator,UnibenLaw1990Class,Avisittoour almamaterforInteractiveSteeringSessionwiththeStudentsandPresentations ofourClass'sdonationtotheFacultyofLaw,Uniben,Exchangeofideasand plansforempowermentandrepositioningofcolleaguesforgreaterservice toGodandhumanityamongstothers.Theactivitieswillberoundedoffwith a Dinner/Award night at Protea Hotel, By NNPC Mega Station, Off Warri/ SapeleRoad,BeninCity,EdoState.

Memorial Service for Deaconess Adesegun

AmemorialserviceinhonouroflateDeaconessOlabisiIyabosolaAdesegunis toholdonMay1,2017atUnitedApostolicChurchinIkoroduareaofLagosState.

ThedeceaseddiedonMay1,2015attheageof67.Astatementissuedbythe familyonFridaysaidthememorialservicewouldholdby10amatthechurch’s auditoriumlocatedat14,SuberuOgunsanyaStreet,Ikorodu.Thestatement added that reception would follow immediately at Caritas Events Centre

by Voice of Nigeria, Ibeshe Road, Ebute in Ikorodu. The late Adesegun (Nee Idris)issurvivedbymanychildrenandgrandchildrenincludingthepresenter of popular television show highlighting the giant strides of the Lagos State Governmentonlocalandforeigninvestmentdrive,LagosGlobalOnTV,Mrs. TemitopeOluseyi-Oshin.

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Calabar Tragedy: Kanu, Others to 'ALSCON Revitalisation Crucial Stage All-Stars Match for Victims to FG's Diversification Plan' BasseyInyangin Calabar Former Nigerian international, Nwankwo Kanu, would be part of players lined up for an All-Stars football match to raise funds for electrocuted victims of last Thursday’s tragedy at a viewing centre in Nyaghassang Community, Calabar Municipality, Cross River State.

A high-tension cable, the UNICAL 11KV Feeder, collapsed on the viewing centre constructed with zinc, when some football enthusiasts were watching Manchester United FC versus Anderlecht FC in the UEFA Europa League quarter final match.

This is coming as Senator Florence Ita-Giwa led hundreds of mourners and sympathisers on a candle-light procession through the community to the scene of the incident where it became clear that eight people had died following the incident.

The list of deceased from the incident are Mr. Emmaneul Edet Okon, David John, Ejiofor Chukwuebuka, Elder James Edem Akpan, Miss Blessing Okon Udo, Samuel Edet Sam, Marshall Pius Akpan, and Mr Ekemini Samuel Monday.

Participants in the procession from all walks of life wore black Tee-shirts with the inscription: “Rest in Peace Dear Football Enthusiasts.”

Prayer session was also held during the candle-light procession conducted by a former Special Adviser to the state Governor on Religious Affairs, Pastor Eyo Okpo-Ene. Ita-Giwa, who told journalists after leading a candle light procession and prayer session, to commemorate one week of the incident, said Kanu who is one of the legends of Arsenal of England, would be working with other former football stars to ensure that the proposed All-stars match succeeds.

Ita-Giwa who said the procession was organised under the auspices of Concerned Mothers of the Efik Kingdom also promised that a standard football-viewing centre and a modern playing field would be constructed for the community.

“I had reached out to someone like Kanu Nwankwo, who is so sympathetic. In fact he is talking about an All-Stars Football Match to raise money to come and develop this community, and he is serious about it. Kanu has promised. I have spoken to Joseph Yobo, and he is ready to also collaborate with Kanu so that they bring their colleagues.

“Such a profound incident to happen to a community like this is not something we should be quiet and let is just pass. In civilized communities, when people die for such a cause, you come out to remember that day. You come out to commiserate with the

people. You come out to create activities that would commemorate that day that this thing happened. We thought that for innocent people to come and die like that for something they were passionate about, which is football, we should come out and remember that day that it happened and we are overwhelmed by the turnout today.

We have to start showing love as Nigerians to each other. We have to show compassion to each other.

“If I have a voice to cry to the world to hear what has happened to this innocent people, then I would use that voice to cry out. Like I said, I am expecting Nigerians to come to our aid. I also have spoken to John Shittu, Pinnick. Also spoke with Multichoice and they are coming on board to assist us in building the viewing centre and provide television and provide indefinite subscription.

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi has said that the revitalisation of the Aluminium Smelting Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) in Ikot-Abasi, Akwa Ibom State was crucial to the diversification plan of the Federal Government.

Fayemi disclosed this to journalists shortly after taking a tour of facilities in the plant reputed to be the biggest in Africa, said revitalising the plant would help the government’s import substitution strategy.

Fayemi who undertook the tour of the various plants and the harbour in the complex in company of the Minister of State, Hon Abubakar Bawa Bwari, lamented that the huge national asset was left to rot, in spite of its potential to help boost the economy and create employment opportunities.

The Minister who was conducted round the complex by the Managing Director of RUSAL-ALSCON, Mr Dmitriy Zaviyalov, lauded the Russian company managing the complex for ensuring that the machines were kept in good shape

despite the absence of production activities, occasioned by a legal tussle over ownership.

He said government could not do anything about the legal tussle other than to encourage the Supreme Court to expedite action on the ruling which would free the complex of any encumbrances.

He however said that government was fully prepared to tackle other administrative issues that might have crippled production processes at the plant once the legal aspect had been resolved.

Specifically, he said the ministry was ready to assist the company in resolving all administrative issues it might have with some organisations including the Nigeria Export processing Authority (NEPZA), the Nigerian Gas Company and the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) , in the bid to ensure that the plant comes alive again.

The Minister said that contrary to reports that RUSAL was involved in asset stripping, the fact on ground showed that the Russian group had maintained the plants as well as a small work force, since it has stopped work.

Onyeabor, Ex-PDP National Secretary Defects to APC Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu

DELIVERING INFRASTRUCTURE...

L-R: Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Callistus Onaga; Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and the Principal of College of the Immaculate Conception (CIC), Enugu, Rev. Fr. Nnamdi Nwankwo, at the ground breaking of the ultra-modern dormitory complex, and commissioning of the multi purpose building, built by the school's Alumni, yesterday

No Resurgence of Boko Haram Ife Crisis: Royal Father, Pastor, in North-East, DHQ Insists Others Remanded in Prison Paul Obi in Abuja The Nigerian Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday insisted that there was no resurgence of Boko Haram and terrorism in the North East even as the region faces some level of attacks by remnant of the sects.

Director of Defence Information, Major General John Enenche reassured Nigerians that there was no ``resurgence of insurgency’’ in the North East, particularly in Borno, in spite of pockets of attacks and suicide bombings the area has witnessed in recent times Enenche stated this Friday during the monthly update on security situation across the country.

"The general public has a feeling which I have been made to understand that there seems to be like there is resurgence of the Boko haram activities in the North East, particularly in Borno state.

"I stand here this morning to let you categorically that it is not true.

"Let me also remind you that the Boko Haram groups, I

called them groups because it is not one. They vary in their characteristics and behaviour.

They are not professional, they do not know what we – armed forces of Nigeria, know,’’ Enenche added.

He observed that the new tactics being adopted by the troops was geared towards enabling the troops to clear the remnants of the insurgents.

"It is not that we have become docile or dormant, no. The apprehension from the public is becoming much from the dossier I get, but I am assuring them that the new tactics adopted by the military in eliminating the terrorists is working,’’ he said.

The Director explained that the military was willing to embrace repentant terrorists, stating that, "from those, who are surrendering, we are having a good level of cooperation from them.

"A good number of them are surrendering; they are interested in the `Operation Safe Corridor’, the measure put in place by the Defence Headquarters for those who are ready to repent,’’ he added.

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo A traditional ruler in Ile-Ife, the Alapoje of Apoje, Oba Ademola Ademiluyi and a Pastor, Mr Taiwo Fakowajo have been remanded in prison custody by an Osogbo High Court in connection with the March 8, 2017 communal crisis in Ile-Ife. Others arraigned and remanded

by Justice Kudirat Akano are: Eluwole Akeem, Jimoh Sakiru, Daniel Olarenwaju and Bamidele Elurisanmi.

The suspects were arraigned on a 14-count-charge of murder, armed robbery, arson, stealing, conspiracy, illegal possession of firearms, disturbance of public peace, assault, among others.

Prosecuting Counsel, Mr Simon Lough told the court that the accused persons conspired to murder 46 people on March 6, 7 and 8 2017 at Sabo area in Ile-Ife, Osun state.

According to Lough, the accused persons conspired to inflict injuries on 96 people with the use of knives, cutlasses and broken bottles.

The accused persons were also

accused of committing arson by setting shops and police vans on fire. The shops belonged to 21 people, according to the prosecutor.

Lough alleged that the suspects robbed 27 people and stole properties worth millions of naira during the three days.

However, the accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the 14 charges leveled against them.

Defence counsel for all the accused persons, Mr. Muritala Agboola applied for the bail of the suspects, praying the court to be liberal on the bail conditions.

Agboola told the court that the accused persons were ready to stand trial, maintaining that they were still presumed innocent until they are proved guilty by a court of law.

Justice Kudirat Akano who presided over the matter rejected the oral bail application, directing the defence counsel to provide formal bail application for all the accused persons.

She, however, ordered the accused persons to be remanded in prison custody, just as she adjourned the case till June 14, 15 and 16, 2017 for hearing.

Former National Secretary and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Rex Onyeabor has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Onyeabor, who was also the former coordinator of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign organisation in Enugu state during the 2015 general elections formally joined the APC on Sunday at his country home, Ugboka, in Nkanu East LGA of Enugu state.

Onyeabor's defection came as the people of Udi North in Udi local government area of the state, home council of former governor of the state, Sullivan Chime expressed their opposition to any attempt by the former governor to contest the Enugu West senatorial seat against the Deputy Senate President.

They vowed to work against the former governor who has reportedly perfected plans to join the APC having dumped the PDP

two weeks ago.

Rising from Udi North Leaders' forum at Awhum on Sunday, the people of Udi north lamented Chime's neglect of the area to the extent that he never visited the area for the eight years of his administration.

They cited the construction of the long stretch of Opi-9th mile-Oji River old road which Chime only commenced at 9th mile to Oji, abandoning the Udi north section of the colonial road.

Part of the communique reads: "Against these backdrops of innate and calculated slavery status that characterised the plight of Udi North since 1999, we view Sullivan's decision to come to Udi north and declare his joining the APC as an insult to the sensibility of Udi north and a deliberate attempt to put the people of Udi north on collision course with the people friendly government of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and worthy representations of both Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Hon. Dennis Amadi.

I’m not Fighting Dino, Says Governor Bello Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello yesterday distanced himself from reports emanating from the Senate that he was having a "running battle" with Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West.

The governor insisted that his responsibility was to reposition the state and not to engage people in "unnecessary rift".

Speaking through his Director General on Media and Strategy, Kingsley Fanwo, Governor Bello said he had been working closely with people who were not "averse to the progress of the state", insisting that his administration would be undaunted by the "recklessness in certain quarters to create a fiction of war".

"While it is in order to condemn assassination attempt on anyone; it amounts to official recklessness to make wanton allegations and move

before the conclusion of police investigations to point accusing fingers at targeted personalities.

"The sponsored orchestrated attempt at maligning the person of the Governor is unfortunate and an institution as respected as the Senate should never have knelt before the alters of frivolities and character assassination".

Governor Bello said he was unperturbed by the script play which tended to paint Dino innocent and every other person guilty.

"As much as we can't buy into the exculpatory theory of anyone; it is hasty and an unpardonable prejudice to accuse innocent people based on bias.

"The Police has been highly professional under the present leadership and will surely unravel the real culprits. Police cannot be intimidated by desperate folks who are majoring in the minor and minoring in the majoring.

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Ufot Makes African Cristal Awards Jury Bennett Oghifo

TRADING IDEAS...

L-R: Dr Alim Abubakre, CEO, TEXEM & Advisory Board of London Business School Africa and Dr Oba Otudeko, Chair of First Bank Holdings at the London Business School Africa Summit recently at Hilton Park Lane, London, UK

Etisalat Nigeria Meets Banks for $1.2bn Debt Restructuring Talks Obinna Chima with agency report The Nigerian arm of Abu Dhabi telecom group Etisalat met lenders in London yesterday for talks on restructuring a $1.2 billion debt, Access Bank CEO Herbert Wigwe has revealed.

Etisalat Nigeria signed the $1.2 billion medium-term facility with 13 local banks in 2013 to refinance a $650 million loan and fund the modernisation of its network, but is now struggling to repay the debt.

Access, one of the lenders in

that consortium, is owed N40 billion ($131 million) by Etisalat Nigeria and more by its contractors, although Wigwe declined to specify how much.

"They are in London having a meeting as we speak. In the course of next week we would get clearer visibility on how to go about (the debt restructuring)," Reuters quoted Wigwe to have told analysts during a conference call to discuss the loan as part of its first-quarter results.

A number of firms invested aggressively in the West African nation in the era of high oil prices

but are struggling to repay loans or keep operating as the oil producer suffers from a slump in global crude prices that has hammered its revenues, its currency and dollars reserves.

Wigwe said the banks needed to verify all the debts on Etisalat's books, especially those to trade creditors such as IHS, which has said Etisalat owe it a payment of $8.5 million for more than 120 days since Dec. 31.

Another lender, First Bank, confirmed that there was a meeting in London and said it was positive

that the loan would be restructured as guided by the regulator and repaid.

First Bank said that its exposure to Etisalat was about 1.25 per cent of its N2.1 trillion ($7 billion) loan book and that it could write it off if necessary.

A source said Etisalat had asked lenders to convert the dollar portions of its loans into naira to help it overcome the shortage of hard currency on the interbank market but that lenders were opposed to this idea. Wigwe said several options were being considered.

Mine Scare: NAF Airlifts INEC Ex Osun Deputy Governor, Haastrup Mourns Adeleke Staff, Materials to Borno Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Nigerian Air Force has accepted to assist the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in airlifting its personnel and materials to Bama, Chibok, Danbua, Gwoza and Kala Balge local government areas in Borno State, as the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise gets underway.

The commission said the move was informed by the intelligence report in the commission’s possession which revealed that the roads leading to the five local government areas had been mined by the retreating insurgents.

Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who led a team of senior officials of the commission to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, told the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar that the request was to ensure that no Nigerian was left out of the registration exercise.

In a statement issued on Friday by the INEC's Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, the commission assured that henceforth, citizens would be afforded the opportunity to register as voters all year round in all the 774 local government area offices nationwide. : “We are embarking on a very significant exercise in the history

of this ,country. For the first time in our democracy, citizens will be afforded the opportunity to register as voters all year round in all our 774 local government area offices nationwide.

“We have mobilised in all the states of the federation, including the northeast region, where our military is very active for obvious reasons. But since the return of peace to Bornu State, a lot of Nigerian citizens who are in the Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs) before and during the last general elections have returned to their towns and villages.

"Our intention is that no Nigerian should be left out of this registration exercise. Every Nigerian counts and every Nigerian should be given the opportunity to register.

“But we are equally interested in the security of our personnel and materials, especially in the northeast. We have a challenge in a set of five local government areas - Danbua, Chibok, Gwoza, Bama and Kala Balge.

And the challenge is not in the local government offices, but in the roads leading to these local government offices.

"We have been reliably informed that the insurgents have, in some instances, mined these roads. We are all aware of the incident that happened last week involving some of our very senior officers.

Eromosele Abiodun

The former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Prince Adesuyi Haastrup has commiserated with the family of Senator Isiaka Adeleke over the death of the former Governor and lawmaker.

Adeleke died in a hospital in Osogbo, Osun on Sunday at the age of 62 years.

Haastrup, who served as the Deputy Governor of Osun State when Adeleke served as Governor from January 1992 to November 1993; also commiserated with the people of Ede and Osun State over the demise of the late Senator.

Haastrup in a statement said, “I received with shock the news of the demise of Senator lsiaka Adeleke. I recall with nostalgia the commitment and enviable achievements of the first civilian administration of Osun State under Governor Isiaka Adeleke, whom I had the privilege of working with as first elected Deputy Governor.

“We had the unique opportunity of piloting the affairs of our young state for almost two years before the military interregnum which cut the life of that administration short.

Senator Isiaka Adeleke was a selfless and committed leader who exhibited unparalleled passion and love for the good people of Osun State. My prayers

and thoughts are with his family and loved ones and with the people of Ede, his hometown at this difficult period in time.

I pray that God Almighty will rest his soul in peace.”

The late Isiaka Adeleke was a three-time Senator who represented Osun West Senatorial District. He had, at various times, served as the Chairman of the Governing Council, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council, University of Calabar.

In 1992, he was elected the first civilian Governor of Osun State on the platform of the now defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), while Haastrup was elected Deputy Governor. Some of the notable achievements of the Adeleke-Haastrup administration include the establishment of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree; the establishment of a college of technology at Esa-Oke and the completion of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC).

In 2008, Adeleke instituted a scholarship award for about 100 indigent students in tertiary institutions across the country.

As Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from 2007 to 2011, Adeleke supported the rights of Nigerians living abroad to vote in Nigerian elections.

Group Managing Director of SO&U, Udeme Ufot has been named among the jury for 2017 African Cristal Awards holding in Marrakesh, Morocco from May 11 to 12.

Udeme will join five other jury members of Jon Williams, Chief Creative Officer, Grey Europe, UK as the Creative Jury President. Jon began his career in traditional advertising and spent 10 years going digitally native before taking the post of Chief Creative Officer at Grey – a career path that makes him unique in the UK. Other members include: Thiago Fonseca, Chief Creative Director, Agência GOLO, Mozambique; Marc Taback, CEO, Initiative Media, South Africa; Martine Coffi-Studer, CEO, Océan Ogilvy, Ivory Coast and Reda Lahmouid, Creative Director, Groupe

Saga Communication, Morocco.

Ufot who co-founded SO&U Limited in 1990, (one of the most sought after marketing communications Group in Nigeria) has with his experience, impacted positively on the growth of Advertising especially through various positions of authority held in the industry.

He is the immediate past Chairman of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Past President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Past President of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA), Board Director of Special Olympics Nigeria, Member of the Board of Directors, Nigerian Economic Summit Group and was conferred prestigious national honour of MFR by the Federal Government for his outstanding impact on the Nigerian Advertising Industry and Corporate Nigeria.

Anambra Central: No Legal Impediment Stopping Polls David-Chyddy Eleke inAwka

The candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in Anambra Central Senatorial election, Chief Victor Umeh, has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was free to hold the rescheduled Anambra Central Senatorial Zone rerun election as an earlier judgment of the Supreme Court had settled the matter.

Umeh who spoke to journalists in Awka in a news briefing, said it became necessary to set the record straight following boastful statements by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige that the election would never hold until all pending cases were exhausted.

Umeh said Ngige in making the statement was being crafty as he knew the position of the law on the matter, and that his boastful speeches showed that he was leading his party into coercing INEC to dump the conduct of the election as he (Umeh) had already gathered from reliable sources.

Recall that despite the order of the court for the immediate conduct of the Anambra Central election, the poll has remained unconducted as a result of what has been described as vested interests by some politicians.

Umeh said, “I’m surprised to read these audacious statements

by Dr. Chris Ngige, where he said the Anambra Central rerun poll cannot hold until all pending cases are cleared. My surprise stems from the fact that I could not fathom under what capacity Ngige was saying categorically that the poll can never take place.

He is the Minister of Labour and Employment; he does not work for INEC that is empowered by the constitution to conduct elections.

“I’m aware that the INEC has a legal department that is staffed by qualified lawyers, and if there is any matter that will prevent the commission from conducting election, the commission will say so at any point in time. This is not the first time that Ngige has made this claim, but saying the same thing at an APC meeting corroborates all what we have been hearing that APC will do everything to ensure that INEC does not conduct that election.”

Umeh said there was no legal impediment anymore against the conduct of Anambra Central senatorial election. He said the cases Ngige cited as outstanding could not stop INEC from conducting that election.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known and addressed as MARIAN YETUNDE ABATAN, now wish to be known and addressed as MMRS MARIAN YETUNDE JIDE-ENIOLA. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MRS OBIAMAKA MAUREEN NNAMDIAMADI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OBIAMAKA MAUREEN AMADI. All former documents remain valid. fidelity bank and the general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS OLUWATAYO OLORUNNISOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OLUWATAYO OLAYINKA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as SALAUDEEN ADELEYE, now wish to be known and addressed as KAREEM SALAUDEEN TUNDE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS ONUOBIA FAITH DIOMA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS BENJAMIN FAITH DIOMA. All former documents remain valid. NYSC, MICHAEL OKPARA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, UMUDIKE, ABIA STATE and the general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as ISEGE ISEGE, now wish to be known and addressed as ISEGE ABDULAI. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MR ISANI BENJI, now wish to be known and addressed as MR ISANI BENJAMI. All former documents remain valid. Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Civil Service Commission and the general public should take note.

TR

Saturday, April 29, 2017

UT H

& RE A S O

N

Price: N250

MISSILE Umar to FG

“The only explanation one can find for Dasuki’s lengthy detention without trial is that he had the misfortune of having served as National Security Adviser to the much vilified Nigerian president of Ijaw extraction. Dasuki’s fate is tied to that of his former principal, Goodluck Jonathan, an honourable and patriotic Nigerian who conceded defeat and congratulated the winner of the 2015 Presidential election.”

– Ex-military governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Umar expressing sadness over the refusal of the federal government to release former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.

PENDULUM Dele Momodu

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Richard Quest and Nigeria’s Search for Good Image

F

ellow Nigerians, anyone familiar with CNN International would readily know the name and face of an unusually dramatic presenter, Richard Quest, widely known and acclaimed for his popular programme “Quest Means Business”. This journalist with a tinge of eccentricity has been in Nigeria all this week. If he is still in town and able to read this, let me say a big Nigerian welcome to him, before I move on to the meat of my epistle this week.

I believe CNN is more popular in Nigeria than it is in its original base in the United States of America. Our love and propensity for anything and anyone foreign is legendary.

That is why we go to great extents to scour the length and breadth of the globe to get foreigners to do the jobs that Nigerians can do better and cheaper, whilst those other nations gleefully snap up our precocious and prodigious talents to develop their arts, sciences and economy. Indeed, our predilection for all things foreign is not limited to services but extends to almost every conceivable commodity or good produced. Things have even become so bad that our staple products like Garri are now being made abroad and imported into this country with willing acceptance by our import crazy population.

If toothpicks can be on the import list, why not a very powerful and influential television channel like CNN? CNN should be eternally grateful to Nigerian brands. Such brands as the grandmasters of data, GLOBALCOM, owned by the Spirit of Africa, Dr Mike Adenuga Jnr, with extraordinary stakes in telecoms, oil and gas, banking and real estates; Zenith Bank; the Dangote Group, with vast interests in cement, commodities, petrochemicals and agriculture; the global bank UBA, whose Chairman, Dr Tony Elumelu is known as the father of emerging African entrepreneurs through a stupendous investment of 100 million US Dollars in charity; First Bank of Nigeria PLC; Access Bank PLC; Diamond Bank PLC; and others have been a handsome financier of CNN Programmes. There is no doubt that Nigerian companies patronise CNN more than others on the continent.

I won’t be surprised if other great News Channels are jealous of the good fortunes and the domination of the Nigerian market

by CNN. Richard Quest is therefore a big name and a massive fish in Nigeria’s net. This is obvious in the way and manner members of the Nigerian privilegentsia have been falling over themselves to meet and speak to Richard since he arrived on these shores.

And trust Richard to make the best of this unique opportunity. While Richard has attracted a huge attention and publicity to Nigeria, he has also tried to stylishly diss our foibles and egocentricities. The commonest is the lack of regular power supply. I watched him from the rooftops of the Intercontinental hotel and he said the place is powered by five generators. He took us through the popular Marina road on Lagos island where he juxtaposed the paradox of wealth and poverty existing side by side. That is the reality of Nigeria. We are a very special and uncommon people.

Mohammed

Nigeria parades some of the world’s smartest human beings. I’m certain even Richard Quest is amazed at the array and parade of greatness in the personalities that he has met in Nigeria. He must be wondering secretly, in case I missed his confession on the matter, why Nigeria is often led and controlled by the dregs of society and the wretched of the earth. He is likely to marvel at why a country with such a population of incredibly educated, talented and enlightened citizens have remained so pitifully docile and unable to liberate itself from its perpetual servitude. The problem with Nigeria is almost one of a supernatural nature and not easy to analyse and comprehend. Its complexity is such that Nigerians themselves spend ample time and energy debating and bemoaning

the excruciating conditions we are forced to live with on daily basis.

Thanks to CNN and Richard Quest, even if some of our big guns paid for it, Nigeria has enjoyed a nice week of celebrating a few of our best and it is not a bad idea at all.

But I hope our government would allow us savour this rare moment of giddiness after Richard has come and gone. I will tell you why. Every Nigerian government, since 1999, has made it a pre-occupation to rubbish Nigeria and Nigerians, under the pretext of fighting a phantom war against a nebulous corruption pandemic. Yet nothing major has come out of this grandstanding in nearly twenty years. I believe that corruption is a societal ill that must be tackled not only urgently but seriously. Indeed, it is akin to a cancer which requires surgical excision but that can only occur when the necessary palliative conditions have been put in place.

The way we are fighting this battle is simply not it! I would not be surprised if we wake up next week and the trending news is the over-dramatisation of catching big rats and hauling them into detention with all the cameras, flash bulbs, klieg lights and even flashlights in tow and then the rats just as suddenly disappear to whatever hole they were hibernating in when their sleep was disturbed by the barking dogs. Sadly, we have seen this over and over again. While it is good and desirable to fight this war, it should be done with common sense and practical strategy. How we need to fight the war is to develop structures and systems and not a personalisation of the war on corruption as is being done now. Our obsession with kill-and-go methods has not helped matters.

The use of brute force has not been able to change the attitude and body language of our people to corruption. Once upon a time, armed robbers were tied to the stakes and killed by firing squad, it never wiped out the terrible menace. A lot would depend on an overhaul of the system that encourages the acidic corruption.

I shall dwell more on this one of these days

A Season of Sudden Deaths I have been extremely saddened by the sudden deaths of a few friends and brothers.

I was yet to fully accept the death of Oladipo Famakinwa when I was totally blown apart by the death of the former Governor of Osun State, Senator Isiaka Adeleke. As if that was not bad enough, I received the news that Professor Abraham Babalola Borishade, a distinguished scholar and former Minister had passed on. The deadly blows were just too much to absorb by me but what can I do? God is good and in all things we must give thanks.

I had met and bonded with Dipo when I visited and consulted the famous Pastor Tunde Bakare over my Presidential aspiration in 2011.

Dipo had asked very pertinent questions about my plans for Nigeria and we interacted as much as time permitted thereafter. I was quite impressed about his passion for matters affecting the Yoruba race. He soon became a recognised authority on the subject and gave his all to the mission to elevate his people out of socio-political doldrums. Like his friend,

Yinka Odumakin, his voice was loud and respected. You can imagine how I felt when this voice was silenced by death. May his soul rest in peace.

Now to my big brother, one of the friendliest human beings I ever met, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, the first civilian Governor of Osun State. I landed in Nigeria last Sunday and as soon as I switched on my phone, I received a call from my friend, Mayor Akinpelu and the news he gave me was just too sad! SERUBAWON, as we fondly called Senator Adeleke, had just died. I told him to stop the joke but alas, it was true.

I will always remember Senator Adeleke as someone who gave me an opportunity to work as a consultant on his media coverage around 1992. We worked very closely and he was very accessible. I was very close to members of his family, including Dr Adedeji Adeleke, and in particular, his youngest brother, Dr Ademola Adeleke, who had only a couple of weeks before, in Atlanta, Georgia, enlisted my support for Serubawon’s bid for another

because I already worked on a blueprint when I ran the Presidential race in 2011.

It is not as tough as it seems. Every act of corruption begins from NEED before it graduates to GREED. If we are able to eliminate the chronic deprivation in our land, we might be able to reduce the proclivity for primitive accumulation. A petty pilferer is most likely to transfigure to a pen robber when the opportunity presents itself.

Our government should therefore fight the wars more carefully. The collateral damage to our country and human psyche has become more expensive and debilitating than the gains.

We cannot be inviting public relations experts to our country when we are our own worst PR damagers. We cannot expect the world to fall for our PR stunts when we go to the rooftops to advertise ourselves as a country of rogues and artful dodgers. No nation sells its citizens so cheaply in order to appear as a nation of saints in power. We have said this for years and no one seems to care.

Russia should serve as a veritable example to us. Each time its citizens are demonised as fraudsters and murderers, the country stands up stoutly to defend its territorial integrity.

No self-respecting nation writes to another nation to ask that its citizens be mercilessly scrutinised because they are all potential fraudsters. It is the height of fool-hardiness and it rubbishes all the efforts of many men and women of integrity and goodwill who have laboured assiduously to portray Nigeria in good light. Indeed our leaders should realise that the generality of our people are honest, upright and well-intentioned. That is why we have the great outrage that we get from the populace when our security agencies unearth yet another pot of gold!

We should not allow the excesses of less than 5,000 people determine and destroy the future of nearly 200 million people.

Richard Quest will act his part and earn his pay but nothing would change unless we change how we trample upon ourselves in the mud.

Is anyone listening please?

term as Governor of Osun State. An astute politician, Senator Adeleke was a very happy and joyous man who welcomed everyone with open arms. May Allah accept his soul.

I met Professor Borisade at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife where he was a respected lecturer in the Faculty of Technology.

Prof. was a good friend and colleague of my elder brother, Professor Oladele Ajayi, a distinguished material scientist in the Department of Physics and we thus had cause to meet occasionally. However, I came to know him more because he was part of a troika that consisted of himself, Professor Sola Ehindero, of the Faculty of Education and Professor Femi Fajewonyomi of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

I was a political protégé of Professor Ehindero and so Professor Borisade and I interacted regularly as a result. He was intelligent and very passionate about Nigeria. I was happy for him when he became a Minister and I believed he tried to serve to the best of his ability. I pray for the sweet repose of his soul.

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