Sunday 7th May 2017

Oyegun: Anambra Election Will Test APC’s Acceptance in South-east

Says ‘we have Abia, Ebonyi in the kitty’ Party seeks N700m for congresses, convention Plans NEC meeting before Ramadan

Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The national chairman of All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said yesterday that the party was now the choice political platform

in the South-east that the people were willing to identify with and vote. He stressed that the November governorship election in Anambra State would prove this. Odigie-Oyegun spoke in Udi, headquarters of Udi Local Government Area, during a

ceremony to formally receive the former governor of the state, Sullivan Chime, who recently announced his defection to APC. In a related development, THISDAY learnt that APC was in desperate need of money to hold its state congresses and midterm

convention. The two critical political events are estimated to cost more than N700 million, and it has been hard for the party to raise the money. The funding difficulties are fuelling doubts as to whether all is well with the ruling party.

The reception for Chime was well attended by APC leaders from across the country, including Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, APC National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso, and Chief George Moghalu, among other members

France Decides Today ...Page 10

of the party's National Working Committee. Also at the event were APC’s national vice chairman for South-east, Chief Emma Eneukwu, Chime’s opponent at the 2011 governorship elecContinued on page 10

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DSS Arrests Ifeanyi Ubah for N11bn Petrol Theft, Economic Sabotage

Ejiofor Alike in Lagos and Paul Obi in Abuja

The Department of State Services (DSS) on Friday arrested the Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, over what the agency

described as economic sabotage, including stealing, diversion and illegal sale of petroleum products, belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The agency has also accused Ubah of undermining the

country by inciting the members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) section of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG) to stop the lifting of petroleum products with the ulterior motive of armtwisting the NNPC to abandon

the cause of recovering the stolen products.

A spokesman of DSS, Tony Opuiyo, said in a statement yesterday that the arrest, which was sequel to Ubah’s engagement in acts of economic sabotage, was in line with the

statutory mandate of the agency to investigate economic crimes of national security dimension.

Following an allegation by the NNPC that Ubah sold its 82 million litres of petrol valued at over N11 billion without appropriate authorisation by

the corporation, the DSS had in March asked Ubah to report daily to its headquarters, pending the conclusion of its investigation.

NNPC had also carried out its own internal investigation to Continued on page 10

FG Secures Release of 82 More Chibok Schoolgirls

B'Haram suspects swapped for freed girls Buhari to receive them today Security agencies, Swiss Govt, Red Cross involved Olawale Olaleye in Lagos, Omololu Ogunmade and Paul Obi in Abuja In keeping faith with its promise, the President Muhammadu Buhari government, yesterday, secured the release of additional 82 Chibok girls, bringing the number of abducted Chibok girls that the administration has been able to secure their release since coming to office in 2015 to 106.

Yesterday’s release was the outcome of the ongoing negotiations with the Boko Haram leadership on the release of the girls captured since April 2014. Although full details of the terms of release were not out as at the time of filing this report, astatement last night by the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said that the girls were released in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects who were hitherto held by authorities.

Shehu who noted that President Buhari was pleased Continued on page 10

THE BANKING SERIES III

IBUKUN AWOSIKA Changing the Fortunes of First Bank See page 19 -22

See THISDAY Style Inside…

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France Decides Today Demola Ojo with agency reports The French go to the polls today to decide who - between centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marie Le Pen - would be the next president of the Western European nation and one of the most powerful countries in the world. In the latest polls released on Friday, Macron holds a 20 point lead over Le Pen and is widely expected to emerge winner.

If successful today, Macron, at 39, would become the youngest

president in the history of France and the nation's youngest leader since Napoleon. He has led a remarkable campaign, defying the traditional mainstream parties courtesy of his En Marche! movement. For many, however, the campaign has become less about backing Macron and instead about voting against Le Pen, the National Front candidate.

French President François Hollande, Republican candidate François Fillon and the Socialist Party's Benoit Hamon have

come together to back Macron, claiming a Le Pen presidency would be disastrous for France.

However, in an incident reminiscent of last year’s presidential elections in the United States, French presidential candidate Macron has been the victim of a massive and coordinated hacking operation, according to his campaign team.

Macron slammed the attack as a last-ditch attempt to undermine him before today's election. Two polls released on Friday, before polling restrictions

went into effect, suggested he still held a 20-point lead.

The hacked files were released less than 48 hours before today’s final round of the presidential election and a few hours before the election campaign period officially closed with its restrictions on campaigning, reporting and polling. These restrictions are aimed at preventing lastminute scandals from emerging and influencing the election's outcome. .Around 14.5 gigabytes of emails, personal and business

documents were posted to the text-sharing site Pastebin through links to more than 70,000 files, a CNN look at the data shows. Officials from Macron's En Marche! party said in a statement that the perpetrators of the hack had mixed fake documents with authentic ones "to create confusion and misinformation."

"The leak happened in the last hours of the campaign. This operation is clearly meant to undermine democracy, just like what happened in the US during

the last presidential campaign," the statement read.

US intelligence officials have said Russia meddled in last November’s elections, and Congress is investigating the allegations. Russia has denied any interference.

En Marche! said that some of the files circulating were obtained several weeks ago after personal and professional email accounts were hacked.

release.

In similar breath, spokesperson for Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, Isa Gusau, said he had no information and could not reach his principal on phone and as such he could not confirm their release.

But a source in the Ministry of Information and Culture was the first to confirm the development and to also give the correct figure of 82 as against the 80 that a majority of the online news portal had earlier published.

The source described the news as another promise kept by the Buhari government, adding that while critics of the administration would naturally fail to see or acknowledge a feat as exciting as the release of more Chibok girls, the government and its functionaries are not unaware of their efforts and would continue to do more.

Boko Haram had seized 276 female students from the Government Secondary School in Chibok on the night of April 14, 2014. About 57 of the girls managed to escape in the immediate aftermath of the

abduction.

Negotiations between the federal government and Boko Haram had led to the release of 21 of the girls while another three were freed by soldiers.

Dozens of others had escaped on their own.

Despite losing most of the territory they controlled at some point, including the dreaded Sambisa forest to Nigerian troops, the insurgents kept hold of an estimated 195 girls, with some of them already feared dead.

But Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo had disclosed last month that negotiations were ongoing for the release of more Chibok schoolgirls still in the custody of the deadly terror group.

“There is a lot of negotiation going on,” he had said at an interaction with journalists and activists at the State House in Abuja in April.

Expressing optimism that the dialogue would yield the desired result in due course, Osinbajo had said government had “gone quite far” with negotiations to free more girls.

THISDAY gathered that the release process was slow because of the existence of two factions in Boko Haram, with each faction holding on to some of the girls.

One of the factions is led by Abubakar Shekau, the erstwhile leader of the group, while a breakaway faction is led by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, believed to be a son of the late founder of the group, Mohammed Yusuf.

see concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com

FG SECURES RELEASE OF 82 MORE CHIBOK SCHOOLGIRLS to announce the release of the girls said the president had expressed his gratitude to security agencies, the military, the government of Switzerland, the Red Cross, local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for their fruitful negotiations.

He also disclosed that the freed girls would be formally received by Buhari in Abuja today (Sunday).

He added that the release was a follow-up to the earlier freedom of 21 girls in October last year, after which he said the president tasked security agencies to sustain their efforts until all the girls were freed and reunited with their families.

He said the president had since then been receiving briefings from the DirectorGeneral of Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura, on progress of the negotiations.

The statement reads: "The President is pleased to announce that negotiations to release more of the Chibok Girls have born fruits with the release of 82 more Girls today. After months of

patient negotiations, our security agencies have taken back these abducted girls in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities.

"The Girls are due tomorrow in Abuja to be received by the President. The President expressed his deep gratitude to security agencies, the military, the government of Switzerland, the Red Cross, local and international NGOs for the success of this operation.

"It may be recalled that when the first batch of 21 Girls were released in October last year, the President directed the security agencies to continue in earnest until all the Chibok Girls have been released and reunited with their families. The President has been receiving full reports from the Director-General of the State Security Services at each stage of the operation.”

Apart from the statement issued last night by the state House, no other government official was willing to give additional information or agreed to be quoted. THISDAY however gathered that upon their release,

the girls were initially camped in Banki town in the North East part of the country, where they were awaiting further instructions before they were air-lifted to another location, for debriefing and compulsory medical checkup.

There were also indication that the processes leading to the release of the 82 girls were kept secret as several senior government officials contacted

by THISDAY when the news broke could not confirm the release of the girls.

For instance, the Director of Defence Information, Major General John Enenche, told THISDAY that the DHQ was yet to ascertain the true situation of things as far as the release of the girls was concerned.

When contacted also, the presidential spokesperson, Mr. Femi Adeshina, could not confirm too, as he said he was awaiting details of the negotiations before he could be armed to give information on the development. He however promised to do so immediately he was availed details of the

OYEGUN: ANAMBRA ELECTION WILL TEST APC’S ACCEPTANCE IN SOUTH-EAST tion, Okey Ezea, and Director General, Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu.

Speaking after receiving Chime into the party, OdigieOyegun said, “I have been to the East several times but this is the greatest visit. Change has finally come to Enugu State.

South-east is special because for too long you have been yearning for change."

He said APC will have a sweeping victory in future elections in the South-east, declaring, “The coming Anambra State governorship election will be a test of what I am saying. We have Anambra in our pocket.

Abia is in our kitty. Or is it Ebonyi?”

The APC national chairman extolled the leadership qualities of Chime, describing the immediate past governor of Enugu State as the best performing governor during his tenure.

Odigie-Oyegun said Chime had made the right decision by joining the progressives.

“I hope to return to the East very soon. This is more like a semi-final. We are coming back here for the finals very soon,” the APC chairman said.

In his remarks, Eneukwu said, “Chime left PDP on his own volition. He did not leave because of any threat or intimidation.

It is because of the calibre of Chime that the national officers led by the national chairman stormed Enugu to receive him into the party."

Responding, Chime said, “I believe that the APC is the only

party that will lead our people to their aspirations.” He told the cheering crowds of supporters at the event to go home and spread the APC message.

Meanwhile, THISDAY gathered from multiple sources within the APC that the party’s financial situation was desperate, as it had no money to fund its activities, very few governors willing to help, and virtually no support from the Presidency.

The sources said the party had for some time been shopping around for funds and had of late extended its search to many stakeholders, including governors, lawmakers, and even external voluntary donors willing to support it.

A source said APC planned to hold its National Executive Committee meeting before the Muslim Ramadan fast, which is expected to commence any time between May 24 and May 27.

"The cost of the midterm convention has been estimated at N700 million and this includes all the activities, like state and local government congresses, which have to be conducted before the convention,” the source said.

He explained that the budget included all expenditure to be made in organising state, local government and ward congresses in the 36 states and Abuja.

A highly reliable source in the top leadership of APC told THISDAY yesterday that that party had abandoned its earlier plan to hold the convention on April 29 because of shortage

of funds.

When contacted for his comments on the budget for the national convention, the APC national publicity secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said he could not confirm the exact amount.

Abdullahi said, "Yes, there is a budget but I cannot tell how much it is and I don't want to speculate."

On suggestions that the party may depend on the collection of membership dues to raise funds for the convention, Abdullahi doubted the possibility because of the huge expenditure involved.

Following President Muhammadu Buhari's advice to the NWC to explore means of raising funds internally to run the party’s affairs, the APC leadership had proposed an initiative to charge every card-carrying member a minimum of N100 per month. In this regard, a software was designed to facilitate the automatic deduction of the N100 from the airtime on each member’s mobile phone on a monthly basis.

The sum of N1.2 billion is projected to accrue from the membership dues every month.

However, the party leadership sees that option of monthly fees as a long term proposal, which cannot be relied on to bankroll the convention.

One of the immediate options being explored by the national leadership of APC is to raise the needed funds from governors elected on the party's platform.

THISDAY gathered that a meeting was held recently at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja between the NWC and the APC governors to specifically solicit for assistance. It was learnt that the national chairman and his NWC members had to run to the governors after efforts to secure assistance from the Presidency failed. The leadership also made attempts to generate funds from serving ministers and legislators but only got minimal response them.

The governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, while speaking on the outcome of the meeting, said the "24 APC governors have resolved to give the national leadership all the support it needs.

"We will also engage in fund raising from our donors, sympathisers of the APC, to ensure that the national headquarters and, indeed, all organs of the party have the wherewithal to continue the difficult work of rebuilding the party."

However, a top APC source that is close to the leadership of the party said Buhari had become inaccessible and barricaded himself with a cabal who did not care about the party or its needs. Although the source did not name those in the alleged cabal, he said they were mainly non-politicians holding sensitive positions in the Buhari administration.

The source, however, said Buhari’s current health challenge did not have anything to do with the delay in the convention.

DSS ARRESTS IFEANYI UBAH FOR N11BN PETROL THEFT, ECONOMIC SABOTAGE ascertain the level of complicity of its staff in the illegal sale of its product and three of its top management staff who were found culpable at the end of the investigation, were compulsorily retired.

The retired officials include: Managing Director of NNPC Retail Ltd., Mrs. Esther NnamdiOgbue; Executive Director of Operations at NNPC Retail Ltd., Mr. Alpha Mamza; and the Manager of Distribution at NNPC Retail Ltd., Mr. Oluwa Kayode Erinoso.

Capital Oil and Gas Limited had, however, accused the NNPC of consistent breach of contractual agreement, saying the allegation by the corporation that the company expropriated N11 billion worth of petrol stored in its depot was a calculated attempt by the corporation to stifle and strangulate it.

The company had also called for account reconciliation with the NNPC, stressing that the corporation was indebted to it for services rendered to it at very critical periods to salvage nationwide fuel scarcity since 2015, which amounted to millions of Dollars and billions of Naira.

The arrest of Ubah was an indication that the result of the reconciliation and the outcome of DSS’ investigation did not favour Capital Oil. DSS has also accused Ubah of further engaging in other activities inimical to national security and public order.

“In furtherance of his gimmicks to undermine the government and people of Nigeria, he has incited members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), a critical player in the downstream sub-sector of the Petroleum Industry, to refuse/ stop the lifting of products. This is part of his plans to curry their sentiments and cause them to

embark on strike and also stage protests in his favour with the ulterior motive of arm-twisting the NNPC to abandon the cause of recovering the stolen products.

The implication of this on law and order is, in fact, a common knowledge. It is consequent upon this that the Service arrested and will prosecute him forthwith,” DSS explained.

The secret police reassured that it would collaborate with appropriate agencies to ensure that the mischievous activities of any person or groups to engage in illegal activities will not affect the effective distribution of products across the country.

“It will also support such agencies to bring to book individuals or companies involved in any criminal act that undermines the nation’s economy,” Opuiyo added.

Explaining the details of how Capital Oil perpetrated the alleged infraction, NNPC’s Chief Operating Officer in charge of Downstream, Mr. Henry Ikem Obih, had said the act was uncovered when NNPC had need to access over 100 million litres of petrol belonging to NNPC Retail Limited, which was stored at the depot of Capital Oil and another 30 million litres stored in MRS Limited depot, both in Apapa, Lagos.

Ikem-Obih had noted that the corporation discovered that the product had been sold by both firms without its authorisation, thus contravening the throughput agreements the corporation had with the two firms.

However, while MRS cooperated with the NNPC and returned the 30 million litres of petrol, Capital Oil allegedly failed to return the 82 million litres, which prompted the NNPC to petition the DSS and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

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SUNDAY COMMENT

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

WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY ON ILLICIT ARMS

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Government should codify the policy into law to elicit the confidence of the public

n a bid to throw the spotlight on illicit gun ownership and control in the country, the federal government announced recently that it has started drawing up rules for a whistle-blower mechanism. Aimed at preventing and eradicating illegal ownership of small arms and light weapons, this is without a doubt, an urgent and necessary initiative given that violent strife and crimes have been exacerbated by the huge quantum of illicit arms in the country. It is an idea we endorse and which we hope would be pursued vigorously.

It is noteworthy that we have several times on this page drawn the attention of the authorities to the growing influx and menace of Small Arms and Light Weapons The emerging success (SALWs) of the whistle-blower and the urgent to address policy in the current need the proliferation administration’s fight that has posed a clear and present against corruption to the can only be a pointer danger security of the to the immense nation. Indeed, available statistics possibilities of a paint a grim positive outcome in picture of a a similar war against disaster waiting to happen. And illicit arms the pity is that, until now, the response from the authorities has been too lackadaisical to inspire hope that gun-running would be effectively brought under control anytime soon.

A recent document revealed that out of the 857 million small arms and light weapons in the world, 500 million were illegal with 100 million found in sub- Saharan Africa. About 7.5 per cent of that is in Nigeria. This damning figure was confirmed by the findings at a National Consultation on Physical Security and Stockpile Management in Abuja.

With a whopping 7.5 per cent of Africa’s il-

Letters to the Editor

T

he 2017 World Health Day, celebrated on April 7, has come and gone. But the talking point of the international day tagged: “Depression: Let’s Talk” would stay with us for a long time to come. Coming at a time when suicide is on the front burner in our nation, the theme could not be more apt and timely. The 2017 World Health Day was hence a clarion call and a rally-point for action on the mental disorder called depression.

As a mega city with over 21 million people, Lagos is not in any way exempted from the challenges associated with the rising incidences of depression and other mental health issues. Recently, the news mill has been agog with alarming incidences of successful and failed suicide attempts in the metropolis.

The situation is further worsened by an economy in the throes of a galloping inflation and a country in the midst of its worst recession in its

legal arms and 70 per cent of the West African sub-region’s SALWs, 90 per cent of which are in the hands of non-state actors, it is no surprise that there is so much strife in the country. With sundry criminal gangs creating territories for themselves, either in the guise of religion or militancy or the kidnappers that now target schools, the retention of these arms in the hands of non-state actors is one luxury the country can no longer afford. In the circumstances, the federal government has the responsibility to take concrete steps to retrieve these arms and put in place wholesome measures to block further infiltration of SALWs to the country, mostly through our porous borders.

S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR TOKUNBO ADEDOJA DEPUTY EDITORS VINCENT OBIA, OLAWALE OLALEYE 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

T

he whistle-blower policy that would enable citizens who have knowledge of the existence of illicit arms to report to the authorities without any risk to their life is, in our view, a step in the right direction.

The emerging success of this policy in the current administration’s fight against corruption can only be a pointer to the immense possibilities of a positive outcome in a similar war against illicit arms.

We must, however, caution that, for the policy to achieve its objective, it should be firmly rooted.

Policy by its nature is essentially an administrative tool of governance, which is subject to the whims and vagaries of the men of power. As it is therefore usual, especially in our clime, few citizens repose sufficient confidence in it, knowing full well that it’s largely a transient and expedient instrument for governance.

We recommend, therefore, that the policy be codified into law to make it a more secured tool of fighting the menace that threatens the peace and stability of the nation. The executive will have to seek the cooperation of the legislature on that. There must also be guarantees for the security of such whistle-blowers. This, we believe, would give the citizens the confidence to step forward and expose the harbingers of evil who live among us.

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

LAGOS, WORLD HEALTH DAY AND MENTAL HEALTH checkered history. With joblessness, homelessness and helplessness at an all-time high, mental health has understandably become a source of public health concern.

It is pertinent to note that mental health disorders impose an enormous disease burden on societies globally. Mental disorders also come with grave economic consequences.

As a condition that cuts across race, age or sex bracket, depression affects an estimated 400 million persons worldwide. (That is more than the size of Africa’s three most populous countries -Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa.)

Lack of support for people with mental disorders, coupled with a fear of stigma prevents many from accessing the treatment they need to live healthy, productive lives. Feelings of gloom and doom, loss of interest in life and living, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness, and poor concentration

are some of the symptoms that come with depression, which can be mild or severe. Globally, more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from depression. Though depression is not gender sensitive, more women are said to be affected by depression than men.

Depression, which can be longlasting or recurrent, substantially impair an individual’s ability to function at work or school or cope with daily life and can have devastating consequences for families, friends, communities and workplaces. In its most severe form, depression can lead to suicide. The good thing is that, when minor, people can be treated without medicines but when depression is serious they may need medication and professional help.

As a government that prides itself in setting high standards to live up to the social contract with the citizenry, the Lagos State Government has not taken the

matter lightly. The first course of action taken years ago was the establishment of a Mental Health Advisory/Stakeholders’ Group to conduct a situation analysis of mental health and available services in the state proffer innovative solutions and map out an implementation plan for reducing the burden of mental health problems in Lagos. This think -tank is made up of academicians mainly from Department of Behavioural Science LASUCOM, policymakers, NGOs, researchers, clinicians and service users.

Not resting on it oars, Lagos State then launched its Mental Health Policy in 2012 to provide for the care of the mentally ill and provide the avenue for evidence-based intervention that will be used to make care available to a huge portion of those in need. The Mental Health Policy has six policy streams that fill the current vacuum in mental healthcare, improve capacity of human resources and ensure collaboration and partner-

ship with local and international stakeholders.

A Mental Health Desk Office has also been established and headed by Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, a senior official of the State Ministry of Health as advocated by WHO. It is noteworthy that Lagos State is the first to do this in the entire federation.Subsequently, the state hosted the first livable city conference with the theme: “Preparing for the Mental and Social Health Needs of the Lagos Mega City” which had participants from all walks of life. From this conference, a communiqué was developed, among other things, to serve as a guide in the development of state programmes and interventions to address the mental and social health needs of residents of the Centre of Excellence.

––Adeola Salako, Director, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Alausa, Lagos

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SUNDAYNEWS Makarfi PDP Faction Mulls Option B, Forms New Party • Says APC has failed the nation • INEC to announce registration any moment Olawale Olaleye

Nigeria’s Nobel laureate, Prof.

Wole Soyinka, yesterday called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute those he described as detractors in the fight against corruption in the country.

Soyinka made the call at the opening of his Vision of the Child Art Exhibition, 2017 edition, at Freedom Park, Lagos with the theme: ‘Enhance the Heritage;AdvancetheFuture’,in celebrating Lagos at 50. He said most times, the anti-corruption agency was sent on the wrong track or wild goose chase, resulting to no prosecution.

AccordingtoSoyinka,“When we talk about corruption, is it not time we legislate against detractors, who deliberately create distraction? Say for instance, the money just found in Lagos. One governor claimed that the money belongs to his state government, claiming a proceed from the sale of some turbines and so on.

“It is a criminal act of distraction. He knew very well that he was lying, that the money was not his, but belongs to someone else. Obviously, acting in the interest of those accused of corruption, that to me is connivance and collaboration with corrupt people. ‘‘Ithinksuchpeopleshouldbe criminalised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),” he said.

Soyinka, who commended the art works of the children,

expressed the hope that with children exposing the corruption acts of the adults Nigeria would be in for better days.

Speaking, acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, said the commission’s operation was not limited to investigation and prosecution of offenders, but also to enlighten the public on the dangers of corruption.

Magu, according to a News AgencyofNigeria(NAN)report said the painting exhibition was one way to educate and enlighten people about corruption, stressing that the paintings exposed some ways in which adults were involved in corrupt practices.

“My views of the Nigerian child, from the across the plains, the hills, the forests and the swamps of Nigeria are those of innocence and boundless creativity. However, like most of the older generation, many of our youths seem also to be trapped in cocoons of corruption, which have built around them.

“However, Professor Soyinka’s ‘Vision of the Child’ project and the sheer breadth and depth of these paintings by these youngsters, demonstrate very well that our children have an acute awareness of what is going on around them and are breaking free of the shackles of corruption.

“They also show the determinationoftheyoungergeneration for their voices to be heard. The uncomfortable questions they are asking us are; how and why

did we allow this beautiful country to be turned into the cesspit of corruption?

“These paintings speak to all strata of our society and to every flank of the war against corruption and the common message I see running through all of them is: we will never give up on the ideals of a just and equitable society.

“The vision I see so eloquently expressed in these wonderful pieces of art is that of the irrepressible Nigerian spirit, refusing to be put down and reaching out for the Nigeria of our collective dreams: the Nigeria where our commonwealth is used for our common good and not looted by a few greedy, self-centred lot.

“I can confirm to you that corruption is already fighting back. But, even though massive resources have been deployed to fight back at EFCC, we draw strength and encouragement to carry on from the likes of these childrenandProf.WoleSoyinka.

We draw the courage to soldier on from millions of ordinary Nigerians whose desires are for equity and social justice,” he said.

Magu said the EFCC was not personal in the discharge of its mandate; stressing that its personnel only fear God, with the guiding principles by the Rule of Law and the overriding interest of the country.

NAN reports that 38 students selected from different schools, participated in literary and painting works at the exhibition.

Chike-Obi: Nigeria Needs Doubledigit Growth to Exit Recession James Emejo inAbuja

The former Managing Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi yesterday saidthecountryneededtotarget a double-digit growth rate to get out of the current recession.

He said the current import dependence strategy was not sustainable for the country and called for import substitution.

SpeakingonAriseTelevision,a sisterbroadcastarmofTHISDAY Newspapers,hesaidgovernment must be able to support local production of goods and items presently imported from other countries.

The former AMCON boss also said government currently appeared to be seen as enemy of businessratherthanbeingthebest friendofbusiness.Hesaidpeople arestillterrifiedtodobusinessin the country despite government promisetoeaseentryrestrictions for foreign investors.

According to him, many investors who want to come to the country for investment are discouraged by the difficulty in getting a visa. He opined that persons from the G-20 member countries shouldbeabletocome

toNigeriawithoutavisaasafirst step to incentivising investors.

Chike-Obi said government needed to encourage domestic production by lowering interest rateandprovidinginfrastructure forbusinessestothrive.Heargued thatraisinginterestratetoprotect value of the local currency could onlyserveintheshortterm,addingthatanover-valuedcurrency won’t promote growth.

Hesaidthecountrymustbegin to produce things locally and by itself. He also called for between 10 to 15-year coherent policies on foreign exchange.

He said: “The only thing the Nigerian should be concerned about is growth - and I’m talking double digit growth 20 per cent, 15 per cent GDP in a year in the foreseeable future.”

Hesaidachievingasingledigit growth rate was doable because China, Singapore and Malaysia achieved it when they faced

daunting economic challenges.

HesaidNigeriansmustdecideto producevirtuallyalltheydesired aswellaspatroniselocalgoodsto boost economic growth.

He said: “We cannot keep on importing those things; Nigeria is the largest country in the world that is import dependent and import dependency is not sustainable. So, we must start makingthings.Weallremember when the Japanese started making cars, they were terrible cars, theywerethelaughingstockbut they kept at it.

“We knew when South Koreansstartedmakingcarsbutnow; South Korean cars are competitive.Wemuststartmakingthings; and even when we start making themtheywon’tbeasgoodasthe Mercedes Benzs and all that. If we make them long enough, the government is supporter of us makingthings,thenintime,we’ll be as good as everybody else.”

APOLOGY In our edition of April 30, 2017, we published a report titled: “Details Emerge on Why Oba Akiolu ‘Snubbed’ Ooni in Public”. We hereby withdraw the report and apologise for whatever embarrassment it may have caused His Royal Highness, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, whom we hold in high esteem.

Editor

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MAY 7, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

OPINION

The Corruption in Whistle Blowing Policy

Thetimehascomefortheanti-graftagencytodefinethescopeofthewhistleblowingpolicy,writes Sufuyan Ojeifo

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wo weeks ago, as I was moving some of my personal effects - mainly books - from the office, I had to, in my own interest, resort to full disclosure of the contents of the ghana-must-go bags to my gateman, who usually helps me to convey heavy luggage into my residence.

I did that so as to clear an atmosphere of suspicions, which was created by the sight of the two fully-loaded bags sitting in the trunk of my car. Seriously, I did not want to become a victim of sudden invasion and search by any of the security agencies on account of alleged warehousing of suspected proceeds of crime.

Nobody should blame me for taking a precautionary measure. At that point, I could not trust my gateman not to play a smart one on me in order to make money. It has, indeed, become difficult these days to trust anybody in whistle blowing matters, especially now that there is a reward attached to exposing where looted public funds are hidden.

We now live in interesting times. It is quite thrilling the ease with which security and anti-graft agencies now discover humongous monies that are hidden outside the banking institution, even though they must be proved to be proceeds of crimes. This is because, traditionally, many Nigerians still prefer to retain huge cash at home, while virtually all our rich men and women, especially politicians, do this regularly to meet expensive daily obligations and exigencies.

If it is just about bursting huge cash at home and in different currencies, almost every house of rich people and business moguls in highbrow locations across the country, would be a victim of raids by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Therefore, time has come for the anti-graft agency to properly define the scope of the whistle blowing policy before a law is passed to that effect. Anambra election is around the corner. Would the EFCC act on some “witch-hunting” whistles and go after the houses of opposition party chieftains for keeping huge cash for election and allow the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to operate unhindered?

Nevertheless, this policy, to me, is also increasingly making those who have looted public funds, especially those under investigations or trials, to be afraid; which is good. Any of them could just be the next victim, and that is good in order to have a better country and conscionable citizenry.

As Williams Shakespeare puts it in “Julius Caesar”, “The evil that

men do lives after them….” Another interesting side is that those they had shortchanged in the course of doing deals could mischievously grab this opportunity to even scores with them and access five per cent of the same money that had been smartly taken away without them getting their own fair share.

Although, the federal government is trying to make a whistle blower of every Nigerian who is not culpable in the shameless looting of the nation’s treasury, the shortchanged are likely to take undue advantage of this policy. It will be nothing but a case of an accomplice exposing a smatter collaborator in a grand corruption matter.

And, guess what, the falcon would covertly get a part of the loot while the falconer would have been beaten to his “fast game” when both should have, ideally, lost all claims to the recovered funds. So in the circumstance of the operation of the whistle blowing policy, corruption could be rewarded.

The policy that entitles a whistle blower to five per cent of the hidden booty, recovered through his or her tip-off, is alluring. It is a cool means of making big money. But it should be well-guided not to entirely

The policy that entitles a whistle blower to five per cent of the hidden booty, recovered through his or her tip-off, is alluring. But it should be well-guided not to entirely become an instrument of witchhunting and, in the end, corrupt the entire anticorruption crusade

become an instrument of witch-hunting and, in the end, corrupt the entire anti-corruption crusade. It may become messy for the EFCC to handle if politics creeps in, since the commission is largely controlled by the government with political interest.

What the whistle blowing policy has done, therefore, is to encourage people to attack the culture of trust even if earned in questionable circumstances. It is thus difficult for one to trust anybody these days whether or not the circumstances are questionable. Going by the claims that whistle blowers’ tip-offs were responsible for the discoveries of hidden funds by the anti-graft agency, one is bound to interrogate the inter-personal relationships in all their ramifications; else, even the innocent will be wrongly targeted and pursued.

A situation where the identities of the owners of some discovered monies are shrouded in secrecy questions the validity of the claim that the discoveries were made on account of whistle blowers’ information. Nigerians are still asking questions on the real owners of monies discovered by the EFCC. There is also an abiding concern over suspicions that some of these mystery whistle blowers are rival security agencies or their officials, who, having been enmeshed in inter-agency rivalry, have resorted to blowing whistle just to settle scores or prove some points.

A section of the public is insinuating this in the yet-to-be-sorted single largest discoveries and recoveries by the EFCC in Lagos State.

Certainly, desperation could precipitate a rash of frantic actions. I hope that is not the case here. Could it be a fight-back within the nation’s security circle? If it is, then this could then mean the setting in of inter-agency witch-hunting, which is capable of undermining the entire whistle blowing policy. The reasoning will be if they could do that to themselves, what would they not do to outsiders?

I sincerely hope that was not what happened with the monies discovered and recovered at the Osborne Tower flat in Ikoyi. Although, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) had to courageously step out to claim ownership of the monies, purportedly meant for covert operations, its suspended Director General, Ayo Oke, had maintained, in undenied media reports, that he already briefed the National Security Adviser (NSA) about the “black money”.

Those claims had already been investigated by the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo panel. The outcome of the inquisition by the threeman panel should unravel the truth. Nigerians anxiously await the outcome of the panel’s investigations.

–– Ojeifo is an Abuja-based journalist

Letter to The Political Class in Nigeria

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Muhammed Abba-Gana urges politicians to embrace politics without bitterness

he heading or caption of this letter is chosen for the purpose of reminding ourselves that our lives, our health and wellbeing and our fortunes and future are all in the Mighty Hands of Allah our Creator and Sustainer. We can neither know nor control what happens tomorrow and the rest of the days, months and years ahead. So our own future is in the domain of Allah the Creator and Sustainer of the whole universe.

If we always take note of this reality of our limitations, inadequacies and imperfections we will act with caution and moderation.

This is particularly true to those in leadership positions, it is in their best interest to constantly remember that they will certainly be called upon to account to Allah for everything they have done in their various positions – and there is no appeal for Allah has all the evidences of our actions in this world.

Now to the unending crises and difficulties in this our country.

These are due largely to our attitude and character in matters relating to government, politics, religion, ethnicity and business. It’s like having many good cars and handing them over to bad drivers, the result is many accidents on the roads, because of the bad attitude of the drivers.

Both India and Nigeria got their independence from the British and started self-governing with parliamentary system of government. India made success of the parliamentary system. In our own case we were unable to continue with parliamentary system because of the pain, the disruption and turmoil caused to the political system and process by the really unfortunate military coup of January 15, 1966. The killings, the civil war and the long period of military rule pushed the country out of the political learning curve.

Again the military in Nigeria decided to create the next political dispensation in their own image and decided on the Presidential system along with the constitution and handed over in October 1979.

The American Presidential system is very expensive because all the processes – from primaries, to campaigns, to lobbying, to colonies of staff of all categories that run the system. Also the Presidential system depends on the strict adherence to the division of authority among the three arms of government - the executive, legislature, and judiciary. Once these checks and balances are not properly observed the result is particularly, dictatorship, either of the executive arm, or the legislative arm.

The problems, difficulties and crises we are now having in the operation of the Presidential system of government arises because of our attitude to politics and government. It’s a fact that the Nigerian economy depends to the extent of 70% - 80% on government

activities and expenditure at all levels of government. This means that unless those who are running the government reduce extreme partisanship millions of people can be denied their livelihood on account of their political affiliation.

So our attitude to politics and government of winner takes all, revenge, all sorts of vendetta, vengeance, exclusion and even sadism always leave millions of people behind with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Businesses are run down because of the political affiliation of their owners. Right now millions of people are hungry, angry, bitter, desperate and hopeless because of our attitude to politics and government, business, religion and ethnicity.

So attitude is very important.

Again the fundamental objectives and directive principles stated in our constitution are to be actualised by the three arms of government. This means that the three arms must necessarily work together. Democracy must produce progress and prosperity to the people, must ensure safety and security of lives and property, must ensure accountability, transparency and rule of law, must guarantee individual and press freedom, human and people rights.

Therefore the three arms of government must realise that time is of essence. As the saying goes time and tide wait for nobody.

Therefore technicalities, hairsplitting, vendetta and other distractions should not be allowed to take precedence over the substance of the matters at hand. Otherwise about 80% of the legislative, executive and judicial time will be taken away from substantive issues and matters.

The present trend we are witnessing between the three arms of government gives room for a lot of improvement. So there is urgent need to halt this trend and a well moderated and collaborative system with sanity and synergy created and used by all concerned.

I want to now draw the attention of all our people to the fact that no human society can survive and progress and prosper without some form of moral or ethical code of conduct. Within this moral code what is good is obvious and what is bad is also obvious – like killing somebody, stealing, cheating, telling a lie, breaking established laws, rules and regulations, oppressing people and all acts of transgression and intrusion. Most of these moral codes are observed in our daily lives as part of our common sense.

Chaos and moral corruption result when things happen contrary to common sense and established ways of doing things regularly.

Therefore it’s advisable to use our common sense whenever we are confused in our daily lives.

Now the way forward. Since 1960 we have had or tried world-class systems of government, constitutions, policies, laws and rules and regulations without achieving our lofty aspirations and objectives as a country with so many natural resources with large talented and industrious human resource.

Certainly we have world-class technocrats, experts and professional class, human and natural resources. What we seem to be missing is getting nation builders in really sufficient numbers.

Since our founding leaders like Sir Ahmadu Bello Sarduana of Sokoto, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Belawa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the great Zik of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe left the scene, nation-building has not progressed with required momentum, focus, vision and even sincerity of purpose. The process has since been retarded by individual and ethnic materialism, religious bigotry, mal-administration/bad governance, severe poverty, massive unemployment, absence of real middle class and increasing income inequality and shortage of sufficient numbers of political elite to depend and promote national interest and public good in all their ramifications.

Therefore we should all pray to Allah, our Creator and Sustainer, the Almighty and All-Knowing to give us nationbuilders through reliable and comprehensive leadership recruitment process in sufficient numbers, people with right attitude and character to nurture this our unfortunate country through the political, economic and social stages/processes we are now and have been passing through.

We urgently need in the political and management class sufficient number of people who sincerely believe in this country and are prepared to work for the progress and prosperity of its people. We have wasted so much time, energy and resources and opportunities arguing about who is right and who is wrong.

From now on let us ask and know what is right and go ahead and do it, and let us ask and know what is wrong and avoid it or prevent it.

Now I will like to offer the following advice to fellow politicians and others concerned: One, right now, for reasons unknown to the vast majority of our people, more than two years after the general elections, unending political rhetoric and partisanship, extreme bitterness, hatred and acrimony among the political class throughout our dear country are at the highest level.

–– Abba-Gana, CON, was a former FCT Minister

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

LETTERS Buhari’s Health: What Nigerians Need To Do

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari ailment is of concern to all Nigerians although one cannot rule out those who are now capitalising on it to hit back at his political party and supporters. This is not news, but we must mourn with the nation and admonish those who are discouraged and despaired about the condition of the president’s health not to worry; that it shall be well.

The campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2015 was to harmer on the age and health of the-then candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Notable among these campaigners - and who are still criticising the president on his health condition, is Ayodele Fayose, Governor of Ekiti State. Just few days ago, the PDP asked the president to resign from office.

The Presidency, through the Special Adviser (Media) to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, ruled out the president’s resignation.

In the last three weeks, the president has not been seen either in the Wednesday Federal Executive Council meetings or in the Friday Jumat services. The question

Buhari

arising from this development is: can the president continue in office? To answer this question properly, one will need to examine antecedents in developed polities so as to learn from them. And, in conclusion, we will then

examine what the Nigerian Constitution says.

Andrew Jackson was inaugurated as American President at the age of 62.

He had rotten teeth, chronic headache, failing eyesight, bleeding in his lung, internal

infections and pain from two bullets wounds on two separate occasions. He never resigned until his term was over.

President Grover Cleveland ruled America between 1894 and 1897. He suffered from obesity, gout and nephritis (inflammation of the kidney.)

He ultimately died of heart attack in office.

Woodrow Wilson was president between 1913 and 1921. Wilson had hypertension, headaches, double vision, strokes that rendered him blind, having been partially paralysed. He kept the paralysis secret until it was discovered which instigated the 25th Amendments to the American Constitution - that the vice-president will take over power upon the president’s death, resignation or disability. This is in line with the Nigerian Constitution of 1999, Section 136; Section 144 sub section (b) (2).

The Franklin D. Roosevelt administration of 1933 to 1945 is relevant. At the age of 39, FDR, as he’s fondly called, had a severe attack of polio, resulting in total paralysis of both legs. He continued to rule on wheelchair. But one good thing he did was the funding of polio research which led to

NDIGBO AND THE ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari ailment is of concern to all Nigerians although one cannot rule out those who are now capitalising on it to hit back at his political party and supporters. This is not news, but we must mourn with the nation and admonish those who are discouraged and despaired about the condition of the president’s health not to worry; that it shall be well.

The campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2015 was to harmer on the age and health of the-then candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Notable among these campaigners and who are still criticising the president on his health condition, is Ayodele Fayose, Governor of Ekiti State.

Just few days ago, the PDP asked the president to resign from office. The Presidency, through the Special Adviser (Media) to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, ruled out the president’s resignation.

In the last three weeks, the president has not been seen either in the Wednesday Federal Executive Council meetings or in the Friday Jumat services. The question arising from this development is: can the president continue in office? To answer this question properly, one will need to examine antecedents in developed polities so as to learn from them. And, in conclusion, we will then examine what the Nigerian Constitution says.

Andrew Jackson was

inaugurated as American President at the age of 62.

He had rotten teeth, chronic headache, failing eyesight, bleeding in his lung, internal infections and pain from two bullets wounds on two separate occasions. He never resigned until his term was over.

President Grover Cleveland ruled America between 1894 and 1897. He suffered from obesity, gout and nephritis (inflammation of the kidney.) He ultimately died of heart attack in office.

Woodrow Wilson was president between 1913 and 1921. Wilson had hypertension, headaches, double vision, strokes that rendered him blind, having been partially paralysed. He kept the paralysis secret until it was discovered which instigated the 25th Amendments to the American Constitution - that the vice-president will take over power upon the president’s death, resignation or disability. This is in line with the Nigerian Constitution of 1999, Section 136; Section 144 sub section (b) (2). The Franklin D. Roosevelt administration of 1933 to 1945 is relevant. At the age of 39, FDR, as he’s fondly called, had a severe attack of polio, resulting in total paralysis of both legs. He continued to rule on wheelchair. But one good thing he did was the funding of polio research which led to the creation of the vaccine.

In 1944, Roosevelt had anorexia and weight loss. In 1945, he experienced severe headache and pain in the legs. He was diagnosed of

massive cerebral hemorrhage.

He died shortly after.

One of the youngest American presidents was John F. Kennedy. He was diagnosed of a life-threatening disease called Addison’s diseases (an incurable disorder of the adrenal glands). Due to chronic back pain and anxiety, he developed an addiction to painkillers, stimulants and anti-anxiety medication. He was assassinated in Dallas, America. In 1981, Ronald Reagan became the oldest American president and was considered by some to be medically unfit for the position.

Buhari stands a good place in history to disclose his true health status. This will enable his administration to spend taxpayers’ money on this to avert future occurrence. As a matter of fact, Buhari and Reagan share the same fate in term of old age.

Though PDP and Fayose opposed Buhari’s candidature because of old age, Nigerians voted overwhelmingly for Buhari. The challenge that Reagan faced is synonymous with Buhari’s. Like Buhari, Reagan struggled constantly with poor health. He experienced urinary tract infection, underwent removal of prostate and suffered from Temporomanidebular Joint disease (TMJ) and arthritis. In 1987, he had operation for prostate and skin cancers, and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

George H. Bush (Snr) almost died as a teenager from a staph infection. As a naval aviator, Bush was

exposed to head and lung trauma. Throughout his reign as president, he battled with several bleeding, ulcers, arthritis and vanor cysts.

Before now, there was President Umaru Yar’Adua whose health records were not disclosed. The nation was kept in the dark till the man was brought home partially dead. It is necessary to let the aides of the president realise the fact that public officers are public property. And so, they owe Nigerians the truth about the president’s health status.

Nobody can remove the president from office even if he has to operate on wheels in Aso Rock. The only condition that can warrant his removal from office or resignation is in Section 144 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.

The Section 144 (1) of the constitution talked about the need for the executive members of the federation to pass a resolution that must be approved by two-thirds majority that will declare the president incapable of discharging the functions of his office. This resolution must be verified by medical personnel.

The President of the Senate shall appoint five medical personnel one of whom shall include the President personal physician.

The report of these medical officers shall determine the resolution of the Senate.

Once the Senate passes the two- thirds majority votes the president ceased to be the president.

––Yomi Obaditan, Osogbo

the creation of the vaccine.

In 1944, Roosevelt had anorexia and weight loss. In 1945, he experienced severe headache and pain in the legs.

He was diagnosed of massive cerebral hemorrhage. He died shortly after.

One of the youngest American presidents was John F. Kennedy. He was diagnosed of a life-threatening disease called Addison’s diseases (an incurable disorder of the adrenal glands). Due to chronic back pain and anxiety, he developed an addiction to painkillers, stimulants and anti-anxiety medication.

He was assassinated in Dallas, America. In 1981, Ronald Reagan became the oldest American president and was considered by some to be medically unfit for the position.

Buhari stands a good place in history to disclose his true health status. This will enable his administration to spend taxpayers’ money on this to avert future occurrence. As a matter of fact, Buhari and Reagan share the same fate in term of old age. Though PDP and Fayose opposed Buhari’s candidature because of old age, Nigerians voted overwhelmingly for Buhari. The challenge that Reagan faced is synonymous with Buhari’s.

Like Buhari, Reagan struggled constantly with poor health.

He experienced urinary tract infection, underwent removal of prostate asnd suffered from Temporomanidebular Joint disease (TMJ) and arthritis.

In 1987, he had operation for prostate and skin cancers, and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

George H. Bush (Snr)

almost died as a teenager from a staph infection. As a naval aviator, Bush was exposed to head and lung trauma. Throughout his reign as president, he battled with several bleeding, ulcers, arthritis and vanor cysts.

Before now, there was President Umaru Yar’Adua whose health records were not disclosed. The nation was kept in the dark till the man was brought home partially dead. It is necessary to let the aides of the president realise the fact that public officers are public property. And so, they owe Nigerians the truth about the president’s health status.

Nobody can remove the president from office even if he has to operate on wheels in Aso Rock. The only condition that can warrant his removal from office or resignation is in Section 144 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.

The Section 144 (1) of the constitution talked about the need for the executive members of the federation to pass a resolution that must be approved by two-thirds majority that will declare the president incapable of discharging the functions of his office. This resolution must be verified by medical personnel.

The President of the Senate shall appoint five medical personnel one of whom shall include the President personal physician. The report of these medical officers shall determine the resolution of the Senate. Once the Senate passes the two- thirds majority votes the president ceased to be the president.

––Yomi Obaditan, Osogbo.

BRUTALITY OF UNIFORMED MEN

T

he prevalence of brutality and senseless cruelty of uniformed men on civilians has become unbearable. These security agents who are supposed to ensure the safety of Nigerians have become a thorn in the flesh of the people they are supposed to protect. Every now and then, a picture or a video surfaces on social media showing these despicable and savage treatments meted out to civilians in the name of punishments.

What exactly are the responsibilities of these uniformed men - the Nigerian army, navy, the police force and so on? Does their duty include harassing, beating and maiming civilians whenever they so desire? Why do these gross violations remain unchecked all these years?

What is the government doing about this menace?

Just recently, a video surfaced online of a man who was ordered to roll several times on dirty water in the full glare of the public by some young soldiers.

What’s even more baffling is the dare-devil manner in which these soldiers carried out this evil act. I call on the Nigerian Bar Association,

Senior Advocates of Nigeria, human rights activists and well-meaning Nigerians to see that justice is done in the above mentioned case and other similar cases. The relevant authorities must be petitioned and relentlessly disturbed until these soldiers are fished out and disciplined appropriately. Lawyers who are the agents of social change must not keep mute in the light of these happenings but must continually speak out and initiate cases in court against security agencies whose agents or officials engage in these dastardly acts.

Furthermore, the NBA should be in the fore front championing this crusade. It’s high time this menace was curbed.

Uniformed men are not above the law and as such should restrict themselves to the performance of their duties as enshrined in the constitution and their enabling law.

Finally, the government of the day must stop paying lip service to this scourge and must take decisive steps to put an end to this evil as soon as possible. This nonsense must stop.

Adeola Salako, Director, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Alausa, Lagos

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T H I S D AY SUNDAY MAY 7, 2017

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

BUSINESS

Editor Vincent Obia Email vincent.obia@thisdaylive.com (08054681757)

LAST WEEK WEEK

Power System

Nigeria’s power grid collapsed again on April 26, making it the second time the system crashed last month. Figures from the Transmission Company of Nigeria showed that power generation dropped significantly last week from 3,222.5 megawatts on April 25 to 113.6MW the next day. It was gathered that the latest system collapse was due to frequency constraints on the grid. This, according to industry sources, is despite the increased gas supply to the power plants following the stability in the Niger Delta. Data from the National Control Centre for the power sector indicated that outages on two power lines and a transmission station contributed to the collapse of the grid.

Excess Crude Account

A road project... FG plans to invest heavily in infrastructure with borrowings

FG, Analysts Differ on Rising Debt Profile Kunle Aderinokun

Following recent release of the Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt 2016 Report, the status of Nigeria’s public debt has continued to generate reactions from economic analysts and other stakeholders in the economy. Naturally, the nation’s public debt profile is a subject of discourse since it affects the health of the economy and even its sovereignty.

The debt report, released last week by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), revealed that, as at December 31, 2016, the country’s foreign and domestic debts stood at $11.41 billion and N14.02trillion respectively. While the reported current foreign debt rose by $692 million from $10.718 billion in December 31, 2015, from where it increased to $11.26 billion in the third quarter of 2016, external debt in Nigeria averaged $6.92 from 2008 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of $11.41 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016 and a record low of $3.63 in the first quarter of 2009.

A breakdown of the foreign debt showed that $7.99billion of the debt was multilateral, $198.25million was bilateral (AFD) and $3.22billion from the Exim Bank of China credited to the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).

Further analysis revealed that, total FGN debt accounted for 68.72 per cent of Nigeria’s total foreign debt while all states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) accounted for the remaining 31.28 per cent. Similarly, total FGN debt accounted for 78.89 per cent of Nigeria’s total domestic debt while all states and FCT accounted for the 21.11 per cent balance.

Concerns have continued to grow on the sustainability of the nation’s debt profile, especially in recent times, when the economy is facing challenges. More worrisome is the fact that a chunk of the nation’s earnings is usually devoted to debt service. Nevertheless, the Debt Management Office (DMO) had variously risen stoutly in defence of the debt status.

For instance, recently, the Director General of DMO, Dr. Abraham

ECONOMY Nwankwo, argued that, “in spite of the drastic drop in the country’s foreign exchange earnings, following the oil-price shock since mid-2014, the external debt liability hardly constitutes a source of vulnerability.”

Nwankwo, who noted that, as at end-June 2016, external debt accounted for only 18.33 per cent of the country’s total debt stock of about N16 trillion (USD 61 billion) – compared to the optimal target of 40 per cent established in the country’s medium term Debt Management Strategy (2016-2019),” stated that,“the annual external debt service expenditure for the last 5 years was always less than 6.5 per cent of the total public debt service outlay.”

According to him, “the external debt service accounted for an insignificant proportion of the total public debt service expenditure.”

Besides, Nwankwo had also at various times argued that Nigeria had one of lowest debt to GDP ratios in the world.

He put the nation’s Debt-to-GDP ratio at 13 per cent as December 31, 2015, whereas the threshold is 18 per cent.

He believed“Nigeria’s low debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio means the country can borrow more to fund budget, infrastructure and other essential projects that will stimulate the economy and create jobs for the citizenry.”

However, the attention of analysts has been drawn to new debt report, which some of them have argued, is not sustainable. Some also raised concerns on the value the economy is getting from the series of borrowings by the federal government.

In his view, Chief Executive Officer, Global Analytics Consulting, Tope Fasua, contended that,“Nigeria’s Debt to GDP ratio may be relatively low compared with its peers but it is obvious that the Debt to Revenue ratio is totally unsustainable at almost 70 per cent.”

According to him,“It is a trite fact that no one pays debts with their GDP but with their cash flows. Nigeria’s cash flow is still volatile and defined majorly by crude oil proceeds. As much as we

seek to diversify we should keep a keen eye on the risk management aspect.”

Arguing further, Fasua stated:“Sometimes one’s projections may not come through and when the creditors come calling, we may be back in the embarrassing situation that we were throughout the 1980s and 1990s.”

The chief executive therefore urged caution, saying “I haven’t seen the beginnings of Fiscal prudence at state and federal government levels. Government appointees still max out on their entitlements even in a recession.”“And with all the frauds being revealed, it is evident that the lifeblood of the country was sucked mercilessly by a few and that we were deprived of the benefit of that lifeblood. People say this still continues.

I would urge that we intensify efforts in Nigeria’s low debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio means the country can borrow more to fund budget, infrastructure and other essential projects that will stimulate the economy and create jobs for the citizenry

getting our looted monies back. Perhaps we will not have to borrow from everyone and everywhere and jeopardise the future of our children and unborn children,” he added.

Similarly, Director, Union Capital Ltd, Egie Akpata, who pointed out that, the updated public debt figure would be higher that the December 2016 reported, feared that,“the very substantial foreign borrowing being pursued by the Federal Government will eventually be a problem as was the case from the 1980s till around 2003.”

Noting that, “on the short term, the cost of servicing foreign debts looks small, Akpata, however, contended that, “over time, guaranteed Naira devaluation ensures that both the cost of service and the size of the liability would be a lot worse than borrowing in local currency despite the much higher local interest rates.”

He suggested that,“Rather than the FG borrowing to fund a number of projects

like rail and road, well capitalised and competent foreign and local firms should be given concessions to fund these projects. Any debt incurred will be on the books of these private investors, not on the Nigerian people.”

“The total local debt quoted at around N14 trillion shows N11tr to the FGN. The DMO shows that the cost of servicing that N11 trillion was N1.22trillion last year. This was paid by an FGN whose actual revenue was under N2trillion. What is worrying about the debt is not the total magnitude, but the fact that the FGN is spending majority of its revenue on debt service suggesting that it has borrowed beyond its means.

“I would expect these debts to grow very rapidly over the next few years as the political resistance to massive borrowing seems to be non-existent.

Given the history of FGN borrowing, it still remains to be seen whether the new debts will provide good value for money and stimulate the FGN revenue that will be used to pay them off,” Akpata observed. To the CEO, Nigeria Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN), Mathias Chika Mordi, there are three causes of concern with respect to the debt.

According to him, “The first is the onerous and worsening burden it imposes on government by constricting fiscal space. Debt service ratio (debt service to government revenue not the less applicable ratios bandied around) is already high and crowding out funding for critical investment in areas that are necessary for economic growth.”

Mordi added that,“secondly, continued channelling of debt into non-productive and non-capacity building areas. If the debt is funnelled into infrastructure and public investments, then the emanating economic growth will ease the debt burden.”

“Finally, Government continues to expand spending (5 per cent increase in recurrent expenditure for 2017 budget) funded by deficit financing which is inflationary and not allocated/disbursed to targeted areas for growth stimulation,” he also said.

The federal government commenced payment into the Excess Crude Account. Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who disclosed this, added that the payment was in line with efforts to rebuild the country’s fiscal buffers. According to the finance minister, for the first time since the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was inaugurated in 2015, the government last month paid $87 million into the ECA. Adeosun said, “Even though things are difficult, we are saving.

As you know, when we came in, we gave the Sovereign Wealth Fund an extra $500 million and we are still going to do more. We cannot afford to waste because we don’t have money to waste.”

Forex

Authorised dealers were able to subscribe to $65.94 million out of the $100 million offered by the Central Bank of Nigeria at the inter-bank wholesale transactions, indicating emergence of dollar glut in the market.

The naira remained stable at N391 to the dollar at the parallel market on Wednesday even as the apex bank sold $20,000 to each bureau de change.

NB Plc

Nigerian Breweries Plc announced that its Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, will complete his assignment in the company on June 16 and leave for a new role in the HEINEKEN Group outside Nigeria. Preparatory to the assumption of his new role, Vervelde submitted a letter of resignation to the Board of Directors at the board meeting held on May 3.

The board accepted the resignation, which will take effect on June 16, and informed The Nigerian Stock Exchange of the development.

41 Banned Items

Central Bank of Nigeria said it had yet to lift the foreign exchange restriction placed on the importation of the 41 items earlier banned from accessing forex in the interbank market.

Media reports earlier suggested that the apex bank had lifted the restriction through a circular.

But the CBN in a statement issued by its acting director, Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okorafor, said the report was untrue as no such decision had been taken.

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BUSINESS/ENERGY

Optimism as Nigeria Inches Towards Meeting Daily Oil Output Benchmark Nigeria’s total daily production is currently at 2 million barrels per day, having risen from 1.2 mpd level it stood some months ago. But shortly before this current position, the output dropped slightly on account of a scheduled maintenance on the 225,000 barrels per day capacity Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) field. This could, however, be restored on account of a recent announcement by the Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) that it had completed the repair works. Chineme Okafor reports

S

hell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) recently announced a shutdown of its Bonga deepwater oilfield and commenced turnaround maintenance.

The oil major explained that the shutdown would enable it undertake mandatory upkeep activities to ensure continuous optimum operations at the field, noting that it was a routine practice.

It stated then that the turnaround maintenance would involve inspections, recertification, testing and repair of equipment, as well as engineering upgrades with Nigerian companies and subsea professional playing key roles.

As expected, the routine maintenance took off a significant volume from Nigeria’s crude oil production and exports as SNEPCo under a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) produces about 200,000 barrels of oil per day (bd) from the 225,000bd capacity Bonga field.

Notwithstanding, the firm said the major focus of the maintenance would be the Bonga Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is at the heart of operations at the Bonga field. The FPSO has a production capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. It also has a life-span of 20 years, and was previously shutdown for six weeks in February 2011 for routine maintenance.

Why Maintenance Work?

Speaking in a statement on the rationale for the shutdown, the Managing Director of SNEPCO, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, said then that the maintenance of the field was the fourth since the Bonga field began production in November 2005, and that it offered the field a new opportunity to recover its efficiency.

“The exercise will help ensure sustained production and reduce unscheduled production deferments,” he explained.

Ojulari noted that, “for the Bonga team, this is another opportunity to excel, having won the ‘Asset of the Year’ Award 2016 in the Shell Group, followed by runners-up in Norway and Malaysia. We are pleased that the award recognised the continuing collaboration towards optimum production with a focus on safety, cost and Nigerian content development, which will be invaluable in the maintenance work.”

Similarly, Shell Nigeria spokesman, Mr. Bamidele Odugbesan, said production from the field was shut down on March 4, 2017, and would be expected back at the conclusion of the exercise next month.

Potential Implications Without doubts, the development meant Nigeria had to defer producing up to 200,000 barrels of oil per day for the period the field remained closed for the repair.

This, also implied that the country’s production level which the NNPC at that time said was about 2 million barrels per day following reduced militancy and disruption of oil operations in the Niger Delta, had to drop by the shut-in volume.

The development also delayed, albeit momentarily, Nigeria’s desire to quickly get back to a healthy oil production level in line with the expectations of member countries of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), who granted her a freeze waiver along with two other countries during their December 2016 meeting to shore up oil prices through agreed production cuts.

The Bonga FPSO Field

On the revenue side, operators of the field had to for the period of the repairs defer income that could have come from its production, while gas produced from the field for both domestic and international consumptions was also not available for either electricity generation or any other use for it.

Bonga Field Profile Located in Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 212, the oil field, which is reportedly situated 60 square kilometres in water depths of over 1,000 metres is Nigeria’s first deep-water development project.

It is also located 120 kilometres offshore Nigeria and has a development cost to first oil of about $3.6 billion.

Using cutting edge technology, SNEPCo made a world-class oil and gas find at its offshore Bonga in 1995, and the Bonga FPSO was built by Samsung Heavy Industries of Korea for SNEPCo. The production facilities of Bonga consist of one of the world’s largest FPSO vessels and deep-water subsea infrastructure. Its initial 16 subsea oil producing and water injection wells were connected to the two-million barrel storage capacity FPSO by production flowlines, risers and control umbilicals.

Also, the use of Inconel clad Steel Catenary Risers in Bonga was the first time such facility was used on any FPSO anywhere in the world.

Subsequently, SNEPCo expanded the project with further drilling of wells in Bonga Phases 2 and 3 and through a subsea tie-back that unlocked the nearby Bonga North-west field in August 2014. Bonga Phase 3 achieved first oil in October 2015.

At the moment, SNEPCo operates Bonga in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production

Nigeria (Deep Water) Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited, and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited under a PSC with the NNPC. Back with Expectations After the more than a month period of repairs, SNEPCo last week announced that it has reopened the 225,000bd capacity Bonga deep-water oilfield and the repairs were largely successful.

However, reports from Reuters explained that, while the oil field had resumed production, traders would still wait until June to resume loading from it.

This thus suggests that, expectations from the field in terms of addition to Nigeria’s oil and gas production volumes as well as revenue from therein may have to wait until then. There are also expectations that by June, the daily output, which is now put at 2 million barrels per day, and is likely to increase, especially with no vandalism of oil pipelines, would gross at least the OPEC export quota and budget benchmark of 2.2 million barrels per day.

However, when THISDAY sought official request for information on this from Shell in Nigeria, it was not successful.

But even at that, industry experts, who analysed the development, stated that it was a good one for the country.

They added that, such voluntary shutdowns were not disruptive to the industry’s activities because they are usually programmed unlike shutdowns from vandalism.

Nigeria on its part would simply hope to earn more oil revenues and have more gas for domestic consumption from the field’s resumption of operation.

Though, OPEC Secretary General, Dr. Mo-

hammed Barkindo, has repeatedly stated that improvements in Nigeria’s production volumes would least affect attempts by OPEC to clear existing oil glut and stabilise prices. It is however unclear what Bonga’s return would mean for the industry, especially as prices slightly fell within the week on reported accounts of the restart of two key Libyan oilfields and concerns about lackluster gasoline demand in the United States.

Reuters reported that Libya’s Sharara and El Feel oilfields, which can produce nearly 400,000bd, returned to production after protests blocking pipelines ended, while U.S. gasoline futures also resulted in an irregular trading.

It said Brent crude traded at $51.68 per barrel while U.S. light crude traded at $49.25 per barrel.

Reuters also quoted James Williams, who is president of energy consultant WTRG Economics, to have said that gasoline was keeping crude from going up very much.

It equally maintained that global crude oil inventories had remained high, in part because of increased production from the United States, adding that at 9.27mbpd, it was at its highest since August 2015.

Based on this development, Reuters also reported that OPEC and Russia were in talks to extend the existing production freeze deal into the second half of the year. It also quoted Barkindo to have stated that although the oil oversupply was declining, stocks still needed to fall further.

It said Barkindo did not comment directly on whether the cut would be extended, but said efforts by Saudi Energy Minister, Khalid al-Falih, who is OPEC president in 2017, were underway to get a consensus on this before ministers meet in Vienna on May 25.

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BANKING SERIES III

Ibukun

AWOSIKA

Changing the fortunes of FirstBank Chairman of the Board of Directors of FirstBank Holdings of Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, who is also a renowned entrepreneur in this interview with Ayo Arowolo, Obinna Chima, Nume Ekeghe and Ugochukwu Aliogo, spoke about the strategic role the bank has been playing in Nigeria’s economic development as well as in some African countries.

The bank’s chairman also spoke about how in line with their strategic plan, the board and management of the bank intend to help the financial institution to regain its industry leadership position.

PHOTOS: ETOP UKUTT

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AY,T T AYN N EW S PA PR E R • • MAY 7, 2017 T THHI SI SDD AY, HH E ES S UU NN DD AY EW S PA PE

THISDAY BANKING SERIES III • Changing the fortunes of FirstBank • As the first female Chairman of First First Bank, how has it been so far on the seat?

It has been sixteen months since we started because we are a whole new team. One thing I would say is that it has nothing to do with gender. It has been tasking in many ways if you understand the environment that we are in right now. This team took over in what was a crisis environment in terms of policy changes and in terms of where the economy was and all the headwinds hitting all segments services industries. So it has been a lot of strategic thinking, strategic planning and re-tooling how we do the business. The other part of it is that we have been a team and we have worked as a team. That essentially means we had to reorganise, re-think and rebuild in many ways and we have also as a team decided to be transparent, open and dedicated in moving the bank forward.

Now when you think about the fact that we have got a bank that is about 123 years old, that is a lot of history.

And it is a lot of legacy handed over to you over different generations. The bank has been moved in different ways and largely it has been moved forward which is why we were handed over an institution that came with so much legacy, which is its strength. When you are outside of First Bank and when you are inside, are two different things. If you are sitting outside, people would tend to think it is an old bank and all of that.

I can tell you one thing that if you are looking for an institution, First Bank is what is called an institution.

And the institutional strength and structure of First Bank gives you the foundation to move it forward no matter where it is at a point in time. various segments, there is strength that is there and you need to use the talent, season and the time to bring all these together in order to get the best out of it.

How has it been in the past sixteen months?

It has been a challenging, tasking, but exciting period in many ways. There are moments that you would be wowed, but then you remember that there are 1.3 million shareholders. Some days ago, we did an estimate of how many people are dependent on this brand. We have a direct staff base of about 21,000 then we have got our banks in six other African countries, a bank in UK, we have got operation in Paris and we down our South Africa and Abu Dhabi operations because they were no longer relevant to our goals.

So when you think in terms of your touch points and you think of your direct employees, for every direct employee you think of how many are dependent on that employee. Also, you think of how many businesses live because of our business, then you realise that we are a strategic institution. To be honest, I don’t think it ever dawned on me the share strength and importance of this bank until my announcement as Chairman and I saw the share response and reaction of people. I was almost scared because for a lot of Nigerians the brand First Bank is personal. For many people, in their mind First Bank is still their national asset, yet it is a private

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The thought of how many people’s life investments, saving, pensions and retirement monies are invested in our bank and also how many look to what we do either as a sign of pride or pain, puts us totally on our heels.

institution owned by shareholders.

But because of its key position in the economic terrain of Nigeria, people attach a lot of importance to what happens to First Bank and that is what keeps us awake.

The thought of how many people’s life investments, saving, pensions and retirement monies are invested in our bank and also how many look to what we do either as a sign of pride or pain, puts us totally on our heels. And it is our driving force to daily reset and rebuild to ensure that governance works very well. Does that mean that we do not have challenges? Obviously when you have an institution as old as this, you would have cycles. There would be moments where some things would not work and you need to reset and you need to re-boot and re-plan which is why institutions have changes over and over.

So as a new team, our commitment is to reset for the greater good of our institution and to clean up our practices and our ways so that we can build strength and we have done that in different ways. We have a lot of new members on our team on executive management and across the cadre. From the outside you can have the general perception that First Bank is an old people’s bank, whereas 75 per cent of our workforce are under 40 years. Our Managing Director is 48 years. He is actually 47 years, but I like to make him feel older (laughs) and I am probably the youngest Chairman they have ever had. I became chairman at 52. Our Deputy Managing Director is 53 years. So essentially, our entire team is under 55 years old. And on our board, we have got what I consider a very beautiful diversity because our board consists of people from just about 40 to 70 years. So that gives you experience of thinking and options of mind-set that can only bring strength to a board with diverse skills. And part of what we have done is to strengthen our board by bringing some other people with skills in the area we felt we needed on board in order to increase our ability to deliver value.

We are in a season where if you don’t understand the fundamentals of business, you would be out of play. But when you are a bank as big as ours, you are bound to be involved in the largest spread of businesses in different areas that are crucial to national development. Sometimes, that plays for you but when there is trouble in the economy, it can also play against you. We are a great supporter in terms of our investments in energy, power sector. So when you have a situation where there is a headwind in the oil sector, it would affect us. Also, we are an institution that has strategically always been committed to nation-building in many ways and we are working through it in the best way we can with full support us through, making the necessary adjustment where necessary, re-thinking our processes and the ways we access our situation so that we can have the best in the environment that we are in.

The way to look at it is that if you look at our numbers, you would see how our business is doing. When you see all the bottom line, you would see that we have got a machine that works whether we are asleep or we are awake. All that is needed to bring out the best value out of it. That is what our team is committed to doing.

What time frame are you looking at for the

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T THHI SI SDDAY, AY,TTHHEESSUUNNDDAY AY NNEEW WSSPA PAPPEERR • •MAY 7, 2017

THISDAY BANKING SERIES III • Changing the fortunes of FirstBank • cleaning up exercise; should we expect to see the dividend of the exercise?

The way we have looked at it is that we have our strategic plan and we expect that by the time we get into 2018/2019 at the latest, you would begin to see that we have totally cleaned up as we plan to. We are not acting

We are supporting in many ways especially through training, empowering them with the type of skills that will be able to help them to move their businesses forward.

We are also thinking of many different areas of empowerment because we realised that there is a knowledge gap when it comes to entrepreneurship.

If you followed in the last three years, we made serious investment with Lagos State, in television programme known as Ignite TV. I anchored the programme and we had about 52 episodes within two seasons which is on Youtube for all young entrepreneurs to watch in order to take the learning to help them build necessary skills for business. Therefore, in terms of what we are doing across different spaces, we are investing heavily in nation building because we are a bank that is extremely conscious of national development. We are aware of our responsibility, the key role that historically we have played in Nigeria and our duty as a strategically important institution in the development of Nigeria.

plan which we are following and at the end of it, all our shareholders would be happy with us.

Are there any particular areas in the cleaning up exercise that you want to pay attention to?

When you look at the size of our operation and when you look at the history of our bank, unlike some of the smaller banks, we have so much brick and mortar.

We have so many branches which then was the pattern and the way to go. This was also regulatory based because the central bank would require you to open branches in certain areas. Every time we try to close down a branch, you actually get protest. People would actually write to central bank, some would write to the National Assembly, and you would get people coming to you and those are the type of things that happen when you want to close

Would your experience in the past discourage you from lending to SMEs and other volatile sectors such as the oil industry?

However, what that does to a bank of our size is that the costto-income ratio is not maybe as banks. But one of the things we have done well as part of this plan we are following is that we have been able to aggressively reduce our cost-to-income ratio, which is currently about 51per cent. We have the second best cost-to-income ratio in the entire market.

We would like you to explain the impact your bank is making on entrepreneurship, especially small and medium scale enterprises?

We are the biggest lender to the SMEs sector. The reason why our non-performing loans is slightly higher than everybody is that First Bank is the only bank that is embedded within the economy. Recently, the federal government decided to push the agriculture sector and the only bank that they decided to bring onboard was First Bank. The Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Audu Ogbe, selected our bank and we had a big agriculture exhibition recently. We also are working with them to see how we can make credit available. There was a survey that was carried by the Lagos Business School (LBS) on SMEs about loan support from banks. Sixty per cent of the SMEs said First Bank offers them more support than any other bank. During the end of the former President Goodluck Jonathan tenure, the international oil companies decided to divest from a number of assets and government decided to encourage local content especially Nigerian entrepreneurs to take part in oil and gas. We are also the biggest lenders to that sector. We have supported the likes of Sahara Energy, Seplat, and the key stakeholders in that sector.

economic development and empowering the incoming generation. We are tied to Nigeria’s nation building.

First Bank is personal to Nigerians and that is our driving force. It makes you understand that we have such responsibility to the nation and the citizens of the country. We cannot but be totally committed to the process that institutions work and in working we are able to create the most value for our country and shareholders. For the SMEs sector, we work with Lagos Business School (LBS) on sustainability and also work in every major region in the country. For the agricultural sector, we are working with the Ministry of Agriculture to look at how to support farmers. The on within the agriculture sector. We are working very closely with the Bank of Industry (BOI) and After School Graduate Development Centre (AGDC) as a team. We have a project currently going on known as the Ignite Enterprise. Our target is one million new young entrepreneurs and what we are doing within loan to young entrepreneurs for prove of concept. Once the business is proved and it can grow, then they can apply for additional money from different buckets of money that is within the BOI circle.

Sixty per cent of SMEs now bank with us and that in itself is an opportunity. You ensure that you learn from the lessons of what you have done in the past. We will continue to support the SMEs, we cannot leave them. We are working with our risk people to ensure that we build structures that would ensure that we continue to support SMEs. Part of what we are doing is that we are working to overhaul our entire credit process. We have gone to check the areas where we made mistakes; we also brought in KPMG who did a diagnostic of our credit process and made some series of recommendations.

Those recommendations are what we learnt on our own to strengthen our credit process. But that is just on the process and policy. We are investing heavily in technology because today, between banking and technology there is a very thin line. We are investing heavily in enterprise risk management systems that enable us to have a lot of analytics and can tell us when things are going wrong.

Due to the large size of our bank and the retail focus, we realised that a lot of people across the country want to access credit, therefore we are setting up a new credit appraisal system; there is online and real time.

The individual does not need to physically come to the person who needs to approve, ultimately to people limits required. This gives us speed; it helps us to keep proper record of who did what on a particular credit.

Therefore, we believe that by the time we are done with all the changes we are making we will have a much stronger credit environment.

How does your Africa expansion to these six countries fit into your strategy?

If you look at the trend of Nigerian businesses, you

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

THISDAY BANKING SERIES III CICERO/

˾ Changing the fortunes of FirstBank ˾ would realise that they have in many ways championed expansion into other Africa countries such as Dangote who is not just operating in Nigeria, but have footprints in other African countries. There are also other small businesses and SMEs Nigerian businesses who are exporting into West and East Africa. There are some young Nigerians with new generation businesses that are all moving in different directions. What we are trying to do is to follow the money and where the Nigerian companies are moving into. Also follow the emerging countries within Africa where we see that of our Africa investment because you know when you invest in those countries, there is going to be a price and before you begin to extract real value. Therefore, all what is going on right now, is that we have an executive assigned to all those businesses within the Africa region on the business side. We also have a team that is fully reporting to the team here in terms of operations.

We are setting up a lot of structures to make sure we also have oversights within those regional banks. We are still in the trimester of our investment in those Africa regions. We are in countries such as Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, SierraLeone, Gambia and Guinea. Also we have our United Kingdom

barrel. The price went as low $27 per barrel which is almost double. Production fell dramatic in fact at some months production has gone up almost somewhere between 1.7 and 2 million barrels, therefore more money into the economy which has empowered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pump more dollar liquidity into the economy. What we are seeing is a general improvement in the state of the economy. The general belief is that the National Assembly is expected to pass the 2017 budget any time from now. That will enable government to inject more money into the economy and then we will witness a general positive outlook.

I think there is a subtle advantage and with what we have been through, the fact that the experience of last year into this year in many ways is good for us as a country because a lot of people had to readjust their lifestyle. They had to come to reality with their real disposable incomes rather than a false sense of value and a sense of worth that a lot of people tend to live with.

The other thing which is good for the productive sector

in Paris. We have our Beijing, China that looks for Chinese businesses that are trying to come into Nigeria and create a connectivity to drive our business. There is a programme we are building which is helping to build the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Being an entrepreneur of note what legacy do you want to leave as the Chairman of First Bank?

A chairman cannot stand alone. He or she has to work with a board of management and achieve synergy together. Our goal is to leave an institution where all structures of governance are well entrenched in a way that you can rely on the system to work as it should, to build an institution where processes for our businesses are to all our stakeholders especially our customers. We want to build an institution that is smart, light on its feet, innovative and ultimately makes its age a value, not a liability but it is standing to compete real time with any institution of its like, size and in its environment anywhere. We will continue to be a place that is fair, just and creates the most value for its workforce and shareholders.

What is your forecast ffor the year 2017?

What we are seeing is that there is a general positive growth in the economy right from the last quarter of what pulled us as a country into recession was the dramatic fall in the price of crude oil worsened by the fact that our volume of production dropped drastically because of restiveness in the Niger-Delta. Two things have happened -prices have stabilised at $50-$52 per

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It is not a time to be rather it is a time to be innovative and adventurous.

of the economy is that the taste for a lot of foreign made goods has dropped. The devaluation of the naira created a reality check which made a lot of people to begin to look for alternative value within the Nigerian economy which then increased the production for Nigerian businesses. That also supports the made-inNigeria drive that the government is pushing and it is ultimately good for us as a country because we are creating businesses, helping local businesses to grow that trend, we can realise that we need to support the growth of local businesses, because they have better market opportunity. Honestly, all hands must be on deck to create a dynamic productive economy that will create jobs for our people because at the rate which technology is moving, jobs are being eliminated daily into the workplace.

No country can go to sleep, the reality is that we have to have a holistic productive agenda that leads to job creation for our people. You need to retrain people for new job opportunities that are coming. There are new careers that didn’t exist before which are emerging in this trend, there are new businesses.

We have dynamic youthful population that are forthright in thinking, and smart, things that were not businesses before, they are turning them into businesses. Therefore, they need the unusual kind of support which means that banks have to think differently too, we cannot remain in traditional assessment of where we must invest or who we must support. We have to be able to see trends in certain areas.

For us as a bank, we are right thinking. Last year we had the Fintech conference where we brought together many technology companies.

We are still going to have the conference again. We brought all the top players in the tech space and most of them are between 20s and 30s. At the conference, we told them we don’t understand the industry and how to support them, but that we needed to sit together and talk about how the bank can support them. We used that forum to share knowledge, so we can close the gap between us. For us, we are not just looking at technologies, but new emerging areas, within the economy that need help. We are focusing on looking at all of those areas and communicating them so that we can see what we are doing, and where we are coming from. Then we will be able to know how to close this gap so that we create a value for all of those segments for the development of our nation. It is not a time to be settled in your ways, rather it is a time to be innovative and adventurous.

It is a time to have a team that has the liberty of mind to engage and challenge us as leaders in the institution to think differently, come up with new ideas. If a team comes up with an areaa of in interest because of their encoun r, experiences and age, we have to listen to encounte them. The future is bright and we have a lot to look forward to. Everything we are doing right now is to clean up and set the right foundation for the kind of future we want our bank to have. I believe that by the time we are done we would have done that and the generation we are handling over to will have a great institution to run.

That is our commitment and goal.

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BUSINESS/ENERGY

OTC: The Changing Face of Oil Business in Nigeria Bisi Daniels

C

losing his 14-page speech at the 2017 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, United States of America, the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, said, “Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, NNPC is here and we are open for business.”

That serious tone typified Nigeria’s participation at the just-concluded conference that held in solemn atmosphere of a global oil and gas industry humbled in the last many months by dwindling prices and profitability and threats of oversupply.

In some of the past conferences, particularly during the “oil subsidy boom” in the downstream sector, Nigeria’s presence was registered with unusually large attendance, comprising mostly people who had no relevance there.

Attendance used to be a status symbol and a show of support of cheerleaders for key government officials.

For many, it was also an opportunity for shopping after a brief appearance at the venue. There were many representatives of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, as well as lawmakers with no affiliations with the petroleum industry.

Founded in 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference is the world’s foremost event for the development of offshore resources in drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection. A top-notch conference hosted to showcase technological breakthroughs in oil and gas exploration and exploitation, it is also an opportunity for the organisers to reward individuals, companies and academic researches into these breakthroughs.

Opening of Pavilion In an industry gasping for recovery with cost-cutting and aggressive shopping for investors, rather than luxury goods and services, the crowd of onlookers is thinning out to make Nigeria’s presence look more businesslike.

Indeed, declaring open the Nigerian pavilion, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, signalled the mood of the country by stating that deliberations at the conference was expected to produce workable solutions that would impact on Nigeria’s development.

That of course included the search for investors, which is not done with jamborees, as some analysts had described some of the country’s participation at the event.

He announced that from 2018, sponsorship of delegates to the conference would stop. He said 250 delegates from Nigeria attended the 2016 edition, while 50 delegates attended the 2017 edition.

He pledged to work hard to ensure that the number is reduced to 20, mostly technical experts, in 2018. Apart from those, anyone wishing to attend the conference in future should sponsor himself, he said.

Bad news for some people; but good for the business!

As it has always done since 2005, the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) organized Nigeria’s participation. PETAN is an association of Nigerian indigenous technical oilfield service companies in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil industry.

It was formed to bring together Nigerian Oil & Gas entrepreneurs to create a forum for the exchange of ideas with the major operators and policy makers.

Dr. Baru rightly commended the association for this year’s conference. Speaking at the dinner and awards night, he said, “I want to thank PETAN for their continuous leadership in organizing Nigerian representation in the Offshore Technology Conference. Over the years, the OTC has transformed from an uncoordinated representation into a more focused and involving participation.”

Even in that relaxed atmosphere he was focused. “The OTC of this year is particularly important especially in our quest to transform the industry to growth and profitability.”

From a traditional oil and gas company to an Energy Company And then the big one: “The vision is to transit from a traditional oil and gas company into an energy company.

This is why a forum like this is important for us to showcase the potentials and opportunities in the sector to support our aspirations,” he stated.

To transform into an energy company, he said, among other things, the country had concluded “the process of exiting of Joint Venture cash calls and therefore we will require a lot of investment to support our growth plan. In the area of infrastructure development, we are collaborating with investors to bridge the gap. This is why in most of our gas-related projects, we collaborate

Kachikwu

NNPC MD, Maikanti Baru

with third party investors to develop the infrastructure and recover investment from the business.

We are also focusing on frontier exploration business to grow our reserves and in renewable energy to diversify our business.”

There was ample opportunity for Dr. Baru to provide details; just as there was for Dr Kachikwu, leader of the Nigerian government delegation, to talk business to conference participants. Dr. Baru was ably represented

by Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Mr. Saidu Mohammed.

In a presentation entitled “Global Energy Dynamics: Challenges and Opportunities in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector”, Dr Baru reviewed the sector and seized the moment to present available opportunities to investors.

He stated that the opportunities in the Nigerian oil and gas sector could be divided into five distinct areas across the value chain: Upstream oil and gas development, Gas Infrastructure and Power plants, Refineries, Downstream, as well as Ventures and new business.

To show that the NNPC has not gone into sleep mode to wait for investors, Dr Baru highlighted business initiatives being undertaken to move the Corporation forward.

He said the Corporation’s support for the Federal Government’s Seven Big-Wins initiatives on Gas Revolution, Refinery and Local Production, Business Environment and Investment drive, Niger Delta and Security, Stakeholder Management, Transparency and Efficiency, is being implemented through 12 key business areas. They are security, new business models, joint venture cash calls, reserve and production growth, Nigerian Production Development Company, gas development; and oil and gas infrastructure. Others are refinery upgrade and expansion; renewable energy and frontier exploration; ventures and common services; and staff welfare.

Reiterating the focus of Nigeria’s participation at OTC, he opened his arms: “The Nigerian petroleum industry remains by far the largest and most vibrant in Sub-Saharan Africa with lots of potentials, especially in the deep water and untapped gas resources. There are unique opportunities for investors across the value chain from upstream to midstream to downstream and we invite you to partner with us.”

On various occasions at the Conference, Dr. Kachikwu spoke generally about the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, its achievements and attractiveness, and also extended an open invitation to prospective investors around the world.

Highlights include: the commitment to build modular refineries in oil producing states; plans to announce new investors for the nation’s refineries; withdrawal of idle refining licences from investors; and $400m part- payment to IOCs to settle outstanding Joint-Venture cash call debts.

He also announced that the Zabazaba deepwater project in Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 will continue in spite of the issues surrounding the oil block.

Comments of Participants Many participants at the conference commended Nigeria’s serious mood in Houston and the effectiveness of its engagement. They were particularly proud about the quality of the current leadership of the oil and gas industry in the country.

Also commended were PETAN and the public affairs division of NNPC. “The pavilion was rich and informative and the people in charge were polite,” said a participant.

“That is what you get when you put knowledgeable and tested people in charge,” said an oil industry executive, who also referred to the achievements of the oil and gas leadership outside the conference.

Some other participants joined him in applauding the peace in the Niger Delta to free shut-in production, overall increase in supply, which Baru put at 2mpd recently; and Nigeria’s key role among oil-producing countries in stabilizing oil prices.

Dr Kachikwu, a key player, hinted that Nigeria will be seeking a six-month extension of the exemption it got from the production freeze agreement reached by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC members in December 2016 to shore up oil prices.

He expressed a strong conviction that the agreement would be extended and Nigeria also exempted.

Ndu Ughamadu Summing it all up, Ndu Ughamadu, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, described Nigeria’s participation at the conference as “impressive and effective.” He was happy about the commendation of the NNPC pavilion by Dr Kachikwu and Engr Saidu Mohammed.

Explaining why it was a good outing for NNPC, he said, “Many prospective investors were at its stand on investing in refineries and energy projects of the Corporation, which is transforming into an energy conglomerate. Also thousands of investors, who were interested in federal government’s policy on modular refineries in the Niger Delta, received briefs.

“Generally, Nigeria used the forum to market its various investment opportunities, particularly in the oil sector.”

So much was said at Houston, but to some industry experts and Labour leaders, all that have to be backed with, to borrow the phrase of a CEO in the industry, “a faster walk of the talk in order not to halt the momentum.”

· Daniels, an author and journalist, worked in the oil industry

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BUSINESS/LABOUR

Nigerian workers agitating for minimum wage increment during the 2017 Worker’s Day celebration in Abuja... recently

The Renewed Call for New Minimum Wage

Workers’ unions recently walked out on the Federal Government during the May Day celebration in protest against perceived lack of action to initiate a new minimum wage.

Senator Iroegbu looked at the contending issues, actors, prospects and challenges

M

ay 1, 2017 often referred to May Day or Workers’ Day, could be said to have officially marked the end of a precarious honeymoon between the organised labour championed by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Federal Government through the Ministry of Labour and productivity.

This is evident in the display of a soured relationship during the May Day celebration at the Eagle Square, Abuja with the workers walking out on the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Sen. Chris Ngige. The angry workers had protested the tough economic conditions in the country, and went on to disrupt the rally organised to commemorate the Workers’ Day. The workers complained about what they described as the insensitivity of the federal government to their plight, describing the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the rally as ample evidence of their disregard for labour.

Consequently, their protest forced very important dignitaries, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara; Ngige; and former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, to leave the event abruptly.

While some of the protesting workers noted they could understand the absence of Buhari, who was presumed ill, they objected to Osinbajo’s preference for honouring an invitation to attend a lecture in Lagos instead of honouring them at the May Day rally.

Added to the insult was the decision of the

Labour minister to ask Ms. Biola Bawa, the acting Permanent Secretary of the ministry, to read his speech.

Frustrated, NLC stressed the fact that no concrete step had been taken by the federal government on the demand for the harmonisation and implementation of a new minimum wage in the country.

The organised labour union now anchored their grouse on the fact that they agreed on a new minimum wage and government seems to have done nothing about it. To this, they demanded immediate action or no more cooperation.

The Genesis Following the decision of the federal government to remove fuel subsidy last year and increase pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from N87 to N145, the organised labour under the NLC and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), negotiated among other palliatives, N56,000 as the new national minimum wage.

As part of its negotiation trade-offs, the federal government claimed to have budgeted about N500billion as a palliative to cushion the effect of the increase in pump price of petroleum.

In addition, President Muhammadu Buhari early this year was reported to have given a go-ahead order for a 29-man committee of the government and organised labour to negotiate a new national minimum wage for workers.

Ngige was quoted to have assured in March this year that the government and labour unions met to finalise the report of an earlier constituted technical committee.

According to him, the next stage was to constitute the minimum wage review com-

mittee which will work with the report of the technical committee.

He said: “When the national minimum wage committee finishes its work, it will go to the National Assembly because all national minimum wage issues are issues that are on the exclusive list. So it is within the ambits of the National Assembly in accordance with the 1999 constitution as amended.

“The meeting was the final conclusion meeting of the Federal Government and Labour technical committee on the issue of the review of minimum wage and the prescription of the palliatives.

“The committee is supposed to put up a framework for the composition, functions and establishment of a minimum wage tripartite committee to review the hitherto existing 2011 minimum wage as well as prescribe to government the areas of palliatives that will enable the economy cushion the effect of the increase in the pump price of petrol.

“The committee has finished its work and we held a conclusion meeting to finalise our report and this we successfully did. This committee will now take this technical report and hand over to the main committee of Labour and government.

“It may be sometimes next week if everything goes normal, and we have started consulting on the day.”

Ngige assured that once they receive the report, “the committee will adopt the technical report or make some amendments and then submit it to Mr. President, and based on the report, the President will constitute a national minimum wage tripartite committee.”

Government Inaction

The workers had in various fora expressed frustration that despite the mouthed plans by the Federal Government to ease their suffering occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal, nothing seems to be moving and no concrete action has been taken to address the dire situation.

The battle line was already drawn prior to the Labour Day, when the Deputy President of NLC and Chairman of the 2017 May Day celebration, Comrade Peters Adeyemi, said the federal government lied to Nigerians when it promised to roll out palliatives to ensure the citizenry do not feel the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.

Adeyemi said contrary to the promise by the federal government that it budgeted about N500billion as a palliative to cushion the effect of the increase in pump price of petroleum, there was no such thing.

He, however, vowed that the organised labour union was determined to ensure government review the N18, 000 minimum wage.

According to him, “Federal government told us when we protested against the increase of pump price of fuel from N87 to N145 that N500billion was budgeted as a palliative for workers, but to our greatest surprise, we discovered there was nothing as such; rather government is blaming the situation on the price of crude oil at the international market.

“We are determined to ensure government provide palliative to cushion the effect of harsh economic policies of this government and also ensure there is food on the table of Nigerians.”

Adeyemi said Nigerian workers would among other things, during the May Day, include immediate implementation of the new minimum wage.

He said: “We shall use this opportunity to

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

BUSINESS/LABOUR

The Renewed Call for New Minimum Wage Cont’d from Pg. 24 renew the call for the review of the national minimum wage that is overdue for review considering the current economic trend.

“Inflation has increased, the naira has lost its value and current minimum wage has been completely eroded. Therefore, the need and urgency for a call for the review of the current minimum wage.”

On the theme of this year’s celebration, ‘Labour relations in economic recession: an appraisal,’ the labour leader said it would provide working class the opportunity to engage the government on how to revive the economy.

He further stated: “As the theme of this year’s May Day suggests, this is a time for us as working class to look at the present economic situation that has witnessed negative downturn and the reality of the moment.

“We need to critically look at the opportunity afforded us to work toward achieving economic revival and chart a way to a national rebirth, economic recovery and advocate for the engendering of socio-economic policies that is pro-poor.”

And true to this, the NLC triggered the demand for immediate implementation of the new minimum wage that resulted in the famous May Day celebrations walkout at the Eagle Square.

In the same vein, the NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, while speaking earlier on the Workers’ Day, shortly before the protests, painted a gloomy picture of the Nigerian worker.

In his address titled: “Labour Relations in Economic Recession: An appraisal,” he accused the federal government of reneging on its promises for palliatives after the fuel subsidy removal.

He also called for the immediate implementation of the national minimum wage, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, as well as the revival of the Ajaokuta steel plant.

Wabba said: “As we all already know, Labour relations in times of economic crisis are often turbulent. We have had continuing crisis of non-payment of wages, allowances and pensions almost across board. Even with two bailouts by the federal government and Paris Club loan refunds to states, as at this May Day, about 12 state governments still owe their civil servants several months of unpaid wages, pensions and gratuity.”

He regretted that the debtor states had deliberately sought not to prioritise payment of workers’ salaries and entitlements, adding that reports at the NLC’s disposal indicated that part of the problems of states was their debt burden.

Wabba said cutting down on cost of governance and keeping security vote at not more than 5 per cent of the state’s revenue would go a long way in making resources available to address the current situations in most states.

The workers’ frustration was also re-echoed by the President of National Union Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ibrahim Khaleel.

“The truth is that workers at local government level are really not happy. We feel side-lined in so many areas. We are not happy because we are not getting our salaries as at when due. Workers at local government are the most affected when it comes to issue of non-payment of salaries,” Khaleel said.

On the issue of minimum wage, he said: “As you are aware, the present N18, 000 minimum wages came into effect since 2011”.

He stressed that between 2011 and now, so many things have changed, particularly the economic recession in which the country is wallowing .

“By that you know the inflation rate is going higher and higher every day. And the naira has lost its value. This singular fact alone is enough for government and employers of Labour to see reason as to how the minimum wage can be enhanced so that workers can live happily with their families and dependants. But as you are aware, every effort to achieve that, government has been playing delay tactics,” he concluded.

Government Response Caught off-guard by the Labour unions’ outbursts, the federal government went to re-echo measured assurances to Nigerian workers.

Buhari in his May Day speech, which could not be read to the workers, assured that his

National President, Nigerian Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, calming down riotous Workers during the May Day Rally at the Eagle Square, Abuja

administration would approve the final recommendations of the committee comprising government and labour representatives for the constitution of a new national minimum wage committee to set a new minimum wage for workers.

The committee, he said, would start work on the workers’ demand within the next three months.

He also promised to take steps towards providing palliatives to workers with a view to ameliorating their living conditions.

While enjoining the workers to cooperate with his government in its commitment towards building an egalitarian society, Buhari assured the workforce that his government would deploy every power at its disposal to improve the welfare of workers.

He said: “Government will take necessary steps to implement the final recommendations of the main government/labour committee as it relates to the setting up of New National Minimum Wage Committee and needed palliatives in order to reduce the discomfort currently being experienced by the Nigerian working class.”

In the same vein, Ngige who condemned the actions of the workers who deserted him before he could read the President’s speech, said that the “Federal government has been fair to workers and it showed it by releasing bailout funds to state governors,” adding: “Part of this government’s fairness has been demonstrated by our firm commitment in making sure that no worker is laid off. What happened today is simply that this place was infiltrated by non-workers.”

The minister urged workers to be patient with the minimum wage demand, assuring them that the minimum Wage Negotiating Committee would start functioning within the next quarter which is in the next three months.

He also assured the workers that the backlog of promotion arrears and repatriation allowances, relocation allowances and other allowances that are due to them as emolument would be paid soon.

“My message for the workers is that they should be patient, they should give us some time. Within the next quarter, the Minimum Wage Committee will start functioning within the next quarter which is in the next three months. The backlog of promotion arrears and repatriation allowances, relocation allowances and other allowances that are due them as emolument will be paid,” he assured.

On his part, former Edo State governor Oshiomhole told Arise TV that Nigerian workers were facing very difficult times due to the present economic recession in the country but noted that the situation was a response to the mismanagement of governance by past governments.

He noted that what the Buhari government was trying to do was to check the excesses

of the past and make sure that Nigeria was not made a dumping ground and to ensure prudent management of resources so that the workers and other Nigerians would enjoy better economy and improved welfare in future.”

On their part, the Senate called for an upward review of the minimum wage from N18, 000 to a living wage that would ensure some decent standard of living for Nigerian workers.

The lawmakers said the poor wages and failure to pay salaries would militate against the anti-corruption war of the president.

They, therefore, urged the government to formulate and implement welfarist policies and establish a surveillance unit that will ensure proper, timely delivery of all necessary welfare packages to Nigerian workers.

The resolution was sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Suleiman Nazif (Bauchi North), on the welfare of Nigerian workers ahead of the 2017 workers day celebration.

“One of the major agenda of this administration is to fight corruption and you know very well that without productivity, fighting corruption will be impossibility. If workers are not paid as and when due and their allowances are not taken care of, corruption will certainly continue to be a major problem in Nigeria,” Nazif said.

He noted that Nigeria workers have suffered all forms of injustices including a lack of adequate housing, access to transportation and effective health facilities, pension entitlements, among others.

“The Senate observes that the untold hardships that Nigerian workers are experiencing as a result of poor welfare packages are quite alarming,” he said.

The Will Vs. Capacity While the need for a new minimum wage is not in doubt, many stakeholders have questioned the capacity of the government to match its willingness to pay the proposed N56,000 wage base-cap.

Some have argued that if the state governments are finding it difficult to pay and honour the current N18,000 minimum wage with some state like Kogi owing up to 15 months, how could they possibly comply with the new demands.

But the Senate has singled out corruption, noting that despite bailouts made to states by the federal government, and monies received in the Paris Club refunds, several states have continued to owe workers’ salaries and pensions.

Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West), contributing to the debate, said workers were being owed in his state, despite the bailouts and Paris Club refunds, leading to industrial strike actions by the academic and non-academic staff of the state’s tertiary institutions.

“The first set of bailouts was given to governors. Again, a second set of bailouts was given to state governments. As if that

was not enough, Paris Club (loan) refund was also released to state governments,” he said.

“If these governors, including my governor, got bailout 1, bailout 2 and Paris refund 1, yet did not pay salaries; if they get the second tranche of the Paris Club refund, they will still not pay salaries. How do we then compel them to become responsible and responsive to the magnanimity shown by Mr. President?

It is to make sure that we use our oversight responsibility and constitutional powers to direct the Federal Ministry of Finance to stop the second tranche of the Paris Club refund to state governors who have not paid salaries. The essence of these bailouts was actually to pay salaries, arrears and pensions,” Melaye added.

In the same vein, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, said the upper legislative chamber would always stand with workers just as it has always done.

“This is a timely call for all states to ensure that they address all issues that we raised today, especially those concerning the welfare of our workers. We believe that in doing so, they must also take the cognisance of the fact that those who retire are entitled to their gratuities and pensions. These are being denied despite all the efforts by the National Assembly to provide the legal basis to ensure that these monies (bailouts) were paid,” he said.

Also speaking on the matter, Oshiomhole lamented that most of the states’ workers were owed, some up to 12 months. “So people are hungry and angry, but no matter whatever your grievances are, you must listen to your employer,” he said.

He said that the Nigerian workers are trying to determine their wages through the demand and supply mix, but noted that it was not the salary demanded by the workers that was paid to them but what they were able to negotiate with their employers.

Nevertheless, the former NLC President said that he had demonstrated in Edo State that payment of the new minimum wage is possible.

The former governor said that N18, 000 was not a living wage and that was why as governor, he increased the minimum wage in Edo State to N25, 000 but noted that such amount was not a living wage too.

He also remarked that no one actually earned a minimum wage because no worker was on grade level 1, adding that those who earned such low income were the vulnerable that should be protected, noting that responsible employers should pay a living wage.

This ability to abide by the proposed wage raise for the Nigerian workers was supported by the Governor of Gombe state, Ibrahim Dankwambo, who assured to pay the new minimum wage, if approved.

The conclusion from stakeholders in the workers welfare is that the new minimum wage is possible, if the government is willing, responsible and committed to its mandate.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Towards Adequate FX Supply to SMEs Dealing with a barrage of complaints by small and medium businesses, the Central Bank of Nigeria axed majority of the nation’s commercial banks, but the development has brought to the fore compliance issues in the administration of forex. Kunle Aderinokun and Olaseni Durojaiye write

T

he decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to wield the big stick on 14 deposit money banks, last Tuesday, for denying many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) access to the apex bank’s special forex window, has generated interest amongst operators and stakeholders.

As a response to the SMEs’ plight, the banking regulator suspended 14 banks from participating in the weekly SME wholesale spot and forwards interventions, leaving only eight that complied with its directive since inception. The eight banks that escaped the wrath of CBN were Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Heritage Bank, Jaiz Bank, Sterling Bank Plc, Unity Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, But a day after punishing the erring banks, three of them, namely, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc; FirstBank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc were readmitted into the spot and wholesale forwards segment of the foreign exchange market.

Subsequent upon resumption of the three banks at the market, Keystone Bank joined them. The four lenders were called back by the CBN after they furnished it with evidence of their FX sale to SMEs. The CBN didn’t just wake up one day to sanction the affected banks. Before it took its action against them, it had been inundated with complaints by many of the SMEs and had threatened to sanction any bank that run afoul of its directive.

The banking watchdog had said it received complaints from SME operators over their inability to access FX, who lamented that they were being frustrated by the banks.

As a result, the acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, had while addressing a media briefing on the sidelines of the on-going IMF-World Bank spring meetings, urged SME operators that had been denied access to FX to come up with evidence.

Okorafor had stressed that the central bank would not fail to sanction any bank or even the chief executive officer of the organisation that violates its rule on FX for SMEs. Many analysts and stakeholders had hailed the introduction of the special FX window upon its introduction last April.

Some of them hinged their reactions at the time on the argument that the manufacturing sector was the hardest hit by the FX shortage in the system at the time even with its potential for employment generation and wealth creation adding that about 70 per cent of operators in the sector fall under the SMEs classification.

“It will actually help a lot of our members, a significant number of our members actually fall within the SMEs category and this new policy will impact their business positively. I expect that they will no longer complain about their inability to access FX.” MAN President, Mr. Frank Jacobs told THISDAY after the introduction of the sector targeted intervention.

A few stakeholders, among them Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Muda Yusuf, in an earlier interview

A textile production line

had expressed optimism that the new intervention would solve the crowding out effect, which he insisted was not limited to SMEs. Interestingly, the crowding out effect appears to be continuing raising the question of compliance with regulations among operators in the nation’s financial services sector. It is against the backdrop that some analysts and stakeholders welcomed the action of the CBN to sanction some DMBs and the regulations guiding the special FX window for the SMEs in the country.

The Sanction In barring the 14 banks, CBN had disclosed that it took the decision to bar the erring banks based on field reports, which revealed that only eight banks had sold FX to the SME segment.

Confirming the sanction, Okorafor said the CBN management decided to bar banks that were yet to utilise any portion of the funds allocated by the CBN under the SME window, since its inception last month.

Okorafor warned that the CBN would not sit back and allow any form of instability in the interbank FX market through the actions of institutions or individuals.

He, however, disclosed that the action will be lifted immediately any of the affected banks show evidence of significant utilisation of the funds allocated to them under the SME. window.

As an incentive, Okorafor said banks that had utilised their SME funds were allocated all of the $100 million sold at Tuesday’s wholesale auction.

Operators Speak Issues bordering on compliance

with regulations are not new to the FX segment of the nation’s financial services sector even as it has continued to generate divergent opinions among operators, economic policy analysts, stakeholders, in the sector.

The recent sanction, however, appeared to have returned the issue to the front burner.

The complaints assumed claims-andcounter-claims dimension in August 2016 when the CBN mandated all DMBs to reserve 60 per cent FX in the system for exclusive sale to the manufacturing sector.

The initiative was part of efforts by the apex bank to continually tinker with how to manage the situation, but analysts raised query that bordered on compliance.

Some analysts and observers opined at the time that it was morally wrong for the CBN to dictate to the banks how and who to disburse the FX to and at what rate since the DMBs did not source the FX from the CBN, adding that it did not make business sense to sell it at cheaper rate, which was what some of the favoured sector were rooting for.

However, that argument may have ceased to hold water since the CBN commenced its latest wholesale supply of FX to the various tiers of FX market thus the need for the banks to comply with the CBN directive particularly regarding sector or needs specific FX interventions.

In his view, Jacobs lamented that some banks had not been cooperating with members of MAN adding that some banks even attached stringent conditions to ability to access the window.

“Not many of our members have been benefitting from the FX window

for SMEs. There have been complaints that some of the banks have been diverting the FX into other uses. There are complaints too that the banks have been selling the FX to them at N370 to a dollar as against the CBN approved rate. We also get complaints that some banks have been attaching very stringent conditions to the sale, like telling them to make 20 per cent deposits of the value of the invoice before they could access the FX,” Dr. Jacobs stated.

Continuing, Jacobs, who argued that, “The CBN has an excellent policy but the apex bank is being sabotaged by some of the banks” added that, “We are happy with the action of the CBN to sanction some of the banks. As a matter of fact, we are calling on the CBN to withdraw the licenses of some of the banks that have failed to comply with the directive of the special FX window for SMEs to serve as deterrent to others.”

Also reacting, Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Muda Yusuf noted that sanctions are required to guide against misbehaviour and reiterated that though the supply side of the FX market had been witnessing improvements in recent times.

“If there are no consequences for misbehaviour in any system people will misbehave and this could lead to system collapse. It is important that people behave in accordance to rules and regulations and if they fail to do so, it is right to sanction them so if the CBN has proven facts that some of the banks have not been supporting the SMEs even after they collected FX meant for the purpose they deserve to be sanctioned,” he concluded.

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BUSINESS/AVIATION

As Investors Eye AMCON-managed Airlines…

Last week, there were reports that investors were interested in investing in the airlines which the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) took over, particularly Nigeria’s biggest carrier, Arik Air. Chinedu Eze examines the issues leading to the takeover of the airline by AMCON and the implications of its possible sale

M

inister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, disclosed during a recent interview with journalists in Washington D.C. that some private equity investors were seriously considering investing in Arik Air and Aero Contractors, two distressed local airlines that had been taken over by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria. Adeosun said this at the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Spring Meetings.

According to her, “It was a preliminary discussion.

They just expressed interest in buying the airlines and we told them that we would look into it. Most of them are interested in investing in Nigeria and they just want to be sure that the timing is right.

Some are looking at buying one of the airlines with AMCON and just waiting to be sure that our policies are right.”

Earlier investigations by THISDAY had revealed that the federal government intended to sell Arik Air through AMCON. And at various press conferences, AMCON has justified the takeover of the airline by government and its possible sale, explaining that Arik’s debt exposure is higher than its assets.

But this argument has been faulted by facts from Deloitte UK’s evaluation of the assets of Arik Air. AMCON’s Claim In justifying the takeover of Arik Air, AMCON says the airline has negative capital that runs into billions of naira. New claims on the airline’s precarious financial state have continued to emerge.

In an affidavit filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos, by Vice President and Team Leader, Transport and Aviation Unit of Arik Air, Mr. Gbolahan Odutayo, on behalf of AMCON, and the receiver/manager, Mr. Oluseye Opasanya (SAN), the plaintiff, averred that the magnitude of Arik’s financial problem was much worse than anticipated. Also spokesman of AMCON, Jude Nwauzor, when contacted by THISDAY said the commission had been spending money on the running cost of the two airlines, Aero and Arik, noting that the debt exposure of the airlines over strip the worth of their assets.

“We are spending money on running cost. If anybody offers us good money we will sell them.

If Arik sells all its assets they cannot get our money.

AMCON just did an intervention. It is not staying there in perpetuity, so we want to move but I want to assure you that this government will not do anything illegal,” Nwauzor said.

AMCON has been changing the figures of the debts owed by Arik Air. At the last count, the corporation said the total debts owed by the airline was about N300 billion. But the airline insisted that it owed AMCON N90 billion and banks, N39 billion.

Issues in Arik Air’s Sale Judging by the minister’s interview, it is obvious that the federal government is contemplating selling Arik Air. But many sources have told THISDAY that this would be legally difficult to do without the consent of the shareholders. They note that without the shareholders’ consent, the government can only achieve the sale by fiat, a situation that could mean more disincentive for foreign direct investment. Many believe that if government is to follow the law and due process, it must seek the approval of the shareholders of Arik Air, who must endorse the plan before the airline is sold.

A source told THISDAY, “Government cannot sell the airline because it does not own the shares.

Government and its agencies can strip the company of its assets but it cannot sell the company. This is because selling a company means selling that company’s shares. So the only option for government is to expropriate; that is, to forcefully take over the airline, an act, which is now unconstitutional and illegal. The second option is that government

Arik Bombardier Q400

can negotiate with the shareholders. While the first option is illegal, the second option is reaching amicable agreement with the shareholders.”

The source said the former management of Arik Air was not averse to selling its shares to the public, explaining that it was in the process of going public before the airline was taken over

by AMCON. Debts While AMCON said Arik Air owed debts amounting to over N300 billion, a source close to the former management of the airline said the debts were mischievously overstated, “for the purpose of selling the airline off as a scrap or liquidating it.”

According to the source, “If government were to set up a mechanism and determine the actual debt of the company, the shareholders would not have any issues with any third party shareholders because we all agreed that there was need for more investment in the company because aviation business is capital intensive but profitable.

“Although AMCON is touting various figures, the airline’s debt to the corporation is not more than N90 billion. They should concentrate on the debts of Arik and not the companies its chairman has interest in. Arik owes banks N39 billion and these loans were performing before the company was taken over by AMCON. You can verify this with the banks, Arik was servicing these loans with N400 million every week before its takeover.”

An industry source said that the drastic fall in the exchange rate of the naira in 2016 critically affected many companies in Nigeria and not just Arik Air or the aviation industry, “and government is expected, as it is done in other countries under such economic situation, to help these companies to survive and not to further kill them by taking them over in order to meet some vested interests.”

CBN Rule THISDAY learnt that AMCON came to Arik because the Central Bank of Nigeria, as part of the response to the global economic crisis then, made a rule that no company should have debts in a bank that was up to 10 per cent of the bank’s total debt.

A consultant who preferred anonymity said, “This affected the economic sectors that are highly capital intensive, like aviation, oil and gas and power

sectors. For example, to buy three new aircraft you need about $200 million, but to buy 10 big luxurious buses for road transport you may need N500 million. It was unfortunate that the policy did not segregate the sectors.

“So the implication is that when a company is exposed to up to 10 per cent of a bank’s total debts, no credit facility could be extended to that company. These companies, including Arik, became blacklisted from financial institutions and this impacted on the cash flow and funding of the daily running cost, including purchase of fuel for operations.”

A source close to the former management of Arik Air told THISDAY that there were many allegations instigated by AMCON to damage the image of the management of the airline before Nigerians.

He said there was no room for diversion of funds because all the monies secured by the company went through Nigerian banks, as all the aircraft acquired were financed through these banks.

“For example,” the source explained, “Zenith Bank is owed by Arik but it is not complaining; the same thing with the other banks because every money you pay for ticket goes through these banks.

As you pay for your ticket, the personnel beside the person giving the ticket is a bank staff who collects the money. So everyday each bank collects Arik Air’s revenues and shares them between the bank and the airline and in this way the banks’ debts were being serviced by the airline.”

He added, “Arik was funded by international finance institutions, including US-Exim Bank, Export Development Company (EDC) of Canada, and Afrexim bank (African Export–Import Bank).

These are international institutions that cannot compromise standards. Arik has completed the loan ($750 million) repayment to US-EXIM Bank and owes Afrexim $24 million, EDC, $48 million, bringing it to a total of $72 million. The final date for the repayment of these debts is 2020.”

Arik’s Worth The sourced said, “Arik was valued by Deloitte UK to be worth $3.2 billion, which is about N776 billion. When you look at the debt to asset ratio, the money owed AMCON is less than 10 per cent of the assets and the total debts owed by the airline is not up to 20 per cent of the airline.

But even if the debts are up to 30 per cent of its assets, the airline is still in a very healthy state. The

airline remains one of the most profitable companies in the world. This is a fact, which Nigerians do not know because so many things have been distorted, and the airline could have continued to service its credit facilities if it was not taken over

by AMCON. It would have secured operating funds and continued in business. If you look at the international financiers backing Arik, you will realise that it is a formidable blue chip company.

This is what Nigerians do not understand.”

Motive THISDAY investigations also revealed that when President Mohammadu Buhari took over he was enthusiastically disposed to the national carrier project, and there was a policy direction towards a national carrier. The government later set up a committee to look at the cost implication of establishing a national carrier vis-à-vis the dwindling government revenues. It was in response to what the committee came up with that the president indicated that the national carrier project should be kept in abeyance. But those in the committee seemed to have other ideas.

The federal government still insists that it has three programmes to revitalise the aviation industry. They include establishing a national carrier; establishing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility; and the concession of the nation’s airports.

An informed source told THISDAY, “The actors in the committee wanted to achieve the national carrier project through the back door by exploiting the weakness of Arik Air, including its debt exposure to AMCON, to legitimise its sinister plan to expropriate the airline. Part of actualising this plan was to damage the image of the airline before Nigerians by instigating the unions and the aviation agencies to disrupt its operation and this came to a head during the period of aviation fuel scarcity and also during the Yuletide when demand for flights was very high.”

But whatever happens, it has to be noted that Arik as a business concern in Nigeria is at the mercy of government. So either by impunity or through legal and standard process, the government can take over or sell the airline. But if the federal government forcefully sells the airline it will be a bad signal to both Nigerian and foreign investors.

It would put a question mark over the ability of the government to guarantee the security of any business in Nigeria it has developed interest in.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

28

TRAVEL Positive Portents as Tourism Bigwigs Grace NATOP Summit

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

A conference convened by the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators served as an opportunity for leading figures in the tourism industry to meet and devise strategies for the future, reports Demola Ojo…

L

ast week in Lagos, the Nigerian Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) held a summit that drew key players within Nigeria’s tourism industry. Minister for Information and Culture, Ahlaji Lai Mohammed, the Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mr Folorunsho Folarin-Coker and former Governor of Cross River State, Sen. Liyel Imoke – who was also the keynote speaker – were among the personalities that made contributions at the event held under the theme,“Positioning Tourism Within the Nigerian Economic Space”.

Also present were NATOP President, Nkereuwem Onung, President of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agents (NANTA), Bankole Bernard, chairman of the Calabar Carnival Commission, Gabe Onah and organizer of Akwaaba Travel Market, Ikechi Uko. If the dream of making tourism an alternative means of generating revenue for the country is to be achieved, the above names will have a big say.

In addition, there was representation from other countries, with Regional Manager (West Africa) for South Africa Tourism, Hloni Pitso, MD of Jumia Travel Kushal Duttal, country managers of several African airlines, and more from beyond the shores of Nigeria.

NATOP’s focus on youth was evident as a panel consisting of emerging players in the tourism space discussed challenges facing the youth in promoting Nigeria as a leisure destination.

Some of the participants were Pelu Awofeso of Travel Next Door, Chiamaka Obuekwe of Social Prefect Tours, Sam Adeleke of Afro Tourism, Allen Effeh of Ibom Tourism, Wale Olapade, an award winning journalist with the Nigerian Tribune, among others.

According to NATOP President Onung, the event was held last year in Calabar as a way of appreciating the contribution and impact of the Cross River government on tourism in Nigeria.

This year however, it was moved to Lagos as confirmation that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is the tourism governor of the moment.“Lagos State has invested and is still investing in tourism infrastructure that will make domestic tourism a delight if well articulated,”he said in his welcome address.

Setting the tone for the day, Sen. Imoke shed light on the way forward, drawing from his experience as chief executive of Nigeria’s leading tourism state (Cross River) where he spent eight years overseeing the growth of the Carnival Calabar, which is renowned as Africa’s largest street party.

Sharing insights from his address titled ”The

Some of the faces at last week’s NATOP tourism summit in Lagos. Seated in front from left to right are former Cross River Governor, Sen. Liyel Imoke; Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed; and DG NTDC, Mr Folorunsho Folarin-Coker. Standing from left to right are Regional Manager (West Africa) South African Tourism, Hloni Pitso; former NATOP President, Fatima Garbati; NATOP President, Nkeweurem Onung; Chairman Calabar Carnival Commission, Gabe Onah; and organiser, Akwaaba Africa Travel Market, Ikechi Uko… Building Blocks of Tourism Products”, Imoke described the progression as moving from a vision to a policy, then legislation and regulation, then institutions.

He posited that the private sector should lead the way in developing domestic tourism while government provides the needed support in building infrastructure and providing security.

“I pray that we will eventually get there especially with the leadership we have now both at the ministerial level and now at the NTDC,” Imoke said.

Also speaking at the event, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, reiterated that government has the political will to promote and grow tourism.“To this end,” he said,“a number of policy changes are being implemented to achieve positive results.”

The Minister for Information and Culture referenced last year’s summit.“At your last AGM, you issued a 10-point agenda. As a listening government, we have started working on the good ideas proffered by experts.”

He listed positive developments as the appointment of substantive heads for tourism and culture

parastatals, the setting up of a committee to review the tourism masterplan and the resuscitation of the Presidential Council on Tourism.

Other developments include a simplified visa on arrival process with a 48-hour timeline, and the rehabilitation of the runway and other major repairs at the international airport in Abuja, which he said would soon be extended to other major airports in the country in order to boost the confidence of prospective investors and tourists coming to Nigeria.

He also promised to support young tour operators encouraging domestic tourism in Nigeria.“I want to commend NATOP for bringing them together and promise that government will work with NATOP to empower them. I will be inviting the leadership of NATOP to Abuja for further consultations on how we can move this youth initiative forward.”

Incidentally, the NATOP summit was the first time Mr Folarin-Coker would – in his own words – hold a mic and stand on a podium since his appointment as NTDC DG. His first few words also point to better days ahead as he charmed

his audience by enunciating the diverse ways to sell Nigeria through the sectors the country already has a comparative advantage in: movies, music and fashion among others.

For him, Nigeria is the most valuable holiday one can get, considering the present exchange rates in the country.

“We need to package tourism in a simple manner that the average Nigerian can understand. If we don’t package it, individuals cannot take advantage of it. We understand the product better, we are the most critical audience and will demand better value for our money.

“At around N400 to $1, we are better off spending our naira here. It will also help in boosting our economy and strengthening our currency by reducing the pressure on it.”

Coker also emphasised the need for robust communication between participants in the tourism value chain.

According to him,“one of such is what happened here today, the synergy between NTDC, NATOP and NANTA. It is the beginning of better things to come in the industry.”

Accenture: 71% of Consumers Not Loyal to Loyalty Schemes

A

report from global professional services company Accenture has revealed insight into the relationship between consumers and loyalty programmes, both in travel and the more general

retail arena.

Accenture’s“Seeing Beyond the Loyalty Illusion” report, which surveyed 25,000 people across 33 rooms, has revealed that 71 per cent of people claim loyalty schemes do not engender loyalty, and 61 per cent have switched some or all of their business from one brand to another in the last year.

Millennials, according to the study, are more demanding than any other demographic, with one in four saying that what makes them loyal is different to three years ago.

Umar Riaz, a managing director in Accenture’s

Travel practice, said: “As part of the ‘alwaysconnected’ generation, Millennials have different channel preferences and are significantly more likely to use mobile channels to book their hotel stay.

“In addition, Millennials are more likely to have switched hotel providers in the last six months.

The hotel industry must place a strong importance on their mobile presence and look to curb this switching behavior” Overall, 77 per cent of consumers say they now retract their loyalty more quickly than they did three years ago, and almost a quarter (especially younger people) have a negative or non-existent reaction to companies’ loyalty efforts. However, 57 per cent of people spend more on the brands to which they are loyal.

Accenture says: “Leaders who recognise their loyalty programmes aren’t delivering the results they desire have the opportunity, if not the obligation,

to rethink how, why and how much they are investing in loyalty.”

Laura Gurski, a senior managing director in Accenture’s customer and channels consulting practice, said: “Today’s Millennials expect closer, more-personalised relationships with brands.

Organisations have the opportunity to benefit long-term from Millennial loyalty, but the challenge will be earning that loyalty in the first place.

“To do so, brands and organisations need to create a deep, authentic and appropriately personal experience that make their products seem tailor-made — or at least more relevant to — individual consumers.

“The more that consumers experience this sort of intimacy with brands, the more they will grow to expect it across other brand interactions. The expectation is already there to some extent and is spreading fast.”

Stephen Ferneyhough, managing director of global travel and hospitality, told Business Traveller: “The challenge with loyalty within travel is that it was set up a long time ago, before the digital era.

So now with all the innovation that is available and real-time connectivity to customers, loyalty within travel needs to change.

“The other thing that happens of course is that many customers don’t travel that frequently with an airline or stay that frequently with a hotel, so you have to consider how can I continue to generate brand loyalty for the occasional user, or even the unknown user, as well as the frequent flyer or business traveller.

“Traditionally you used to just earn and spend hotel points at hotels, no you can earn and spend in many different ways, you can be part of a wine club or buy things on Amazon. Loyalty’s purpose is changing in the digital age.”

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • may 7, 2017

29

MARKET NEWS

Champion Breweries Explains Improved Financial Results Goddy Egene

tax grew faster, rising by 203 per cent to N637 million as The Chairman of Champion compared to N210 million Breweries Plc, Dr. Elijah in 2015.

Speaking at the company’s Akpan has attributed the company’s improved 2016 41st annual general meeting results to the performance (AGM) in Lagos, Akpan said of its brand portfolio among the trading results of the year other factors. Champion under review shows substantial Breweries Plc’s revenue improvement compared to increased to N3.9billion previous year’s.

He attributed the relative from N3.5 billion in 2015.

Its operating profit grew success to the performance of from N207 million to N618 the company’s portfolio, saying million, showing a growth of “It is imperative to state that 198 per cent. Profit before the good result is not only A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

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

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

attributed to the production and sale of our brand portfolio but was also driven by a ‘relaxed’ tax exposure.”

Although the company is not paying dividend to shareholders, Akpan assured that the years ahead look bright as the company remained profitable, stronger and on the path to long term growth.

“Our concerns on the inability to pay out dividend till date has put more pressure on the board and Management to implement strategies to boost

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 4-May-2017, unless otherwise stated.

our revenue and profits in order to reduce the Company’s accumulated losses. We remain relentless in achieving the growth, development and success of our Company in the coming financial year,” he assured.

While lamenting economic recession which beclouded 2016 with its negative multiplier effects on business, he, however, expressed hope that 2017 would experience an increased crude oil production and sale due to security improvement compared

to the year under review.

“This would also lead to a more stable foreign exchange position thereby attracting capital importation for investments and development,” he said.

The chairman had last year told shareholders that 2016 would be better considering efforts being made to reduce its debts and increase production and sales volume.

“The company’s successful conclusion of debt re-financing, increase in production and sales

volume of Champion Lager Beer as well as re-introduction of Champ Malta has resulted in positive turnaround of the business performances during the year,” he said.

Akpan had said there were large and varied opportunities in different sectors of the economy, stating that “We shall explore the available possibilities the Nigerian business environment is offering to increase our market share within our business region.”

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 135.86 135.86 135.86 Nigeria International Debt Fund 220.02 220.02 220.02 ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.71 0.72 1.98% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.16% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 12.78 13.17 3.54% ARM Discovery Fund 298.98 308.00 4.11% ARM Ethical Fund 0.00 0.00 -100.00% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 15.84% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 112.74 113.54 7.19% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.06% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 0.00% Paramount Equity Fund 10.01 10.27 6.96% Women's Investment Fund 88.88 91.15 5.06% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.14% FBN CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,064.99 1,066.10 5.45% FBN Heritage Fund 116.35 117.13 4.27% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.24% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $107.77 $108.58 4.75% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $107.43 $108.25 5.14% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 117.66 119.14 4.40% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.02 1.04 9.57% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.70 2.70 5.23% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 2,287.27 2,315.15 3.56% Coral Income Fund 2,231.91 2,231.91 6.07% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.44% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.51% Vantage Balanced Fund 1.77 1.79 5.27% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 17.64%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.02 1.04 3.61% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,019.83 1,019.83 3.67% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 10.19 10.26 5.37% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 16.30% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.10 1.12 11.47% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.56 10.62 1.58% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 16.87% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 114.46 115.44 12.44% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.29 1.29 3.62% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 1,891.34 1,901.09 3.26% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 156.86 156.86 1.88% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.79 0.80 3.25% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 196.41 196.41 5.09% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 132.36 134.18 1.99% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.07% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,571.88 7,657.11 -0.17% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.16 1.18 8.88% United Capital Bond Fund 1.28 1.28 15.74% United Capital Equity Fund 0.66 0.67 0.80% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.11 1.11 11.71% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 10.59 10.78 9.69% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.59 11.70 6.10% Zenith Income Fund 17.69 17.69 7.02%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 126.01

1.01% 1.65%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

8.10 75.69

8.20 77.10

-7.70% -0.12%

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

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

2.91 6.20 12.24 16.98 130.18

2.95 6.28 12.34 17.18 132.18

5.71% -11.74% 1.97% 6.42% 0.23%

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

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

30 36

SUNDAY, MAY 7, 2016 • T H I S D AY TR

UT H

& RE A SO

N

LIFE LESSONS ayo.arowolo@thisdaylive.com

WITH AYO AROWOLO

09067059433 (SMS only)

“TREAT YOUR MIND AS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT ASSET”

–SamAdeyemi When he tells his rag-to-riches story Sam Adeyemi sometimes laces it with a tinge of humour. "When I moved to Lagos from Kwara in 1991, I remember I had on a white shirt, a pair of brown trousers, and a pair of white shoes. Weird colour combinations!

I had a travelling bag hung on my shoulder, and nobody looked a second time at the guy who had just arrived the city" The story has since changed. Today, only a few brands in the country have been able to command such an across-the-board influence laced with integrity that appeals to secular and non-secular audiences as he has been able to do. Adeyemi has created and nurtured a network of mega organisations all built to last including Daystar Christian Center, Daystar Leadership Academy, Success Power Media, a one- ofits- kind primary school and a few others. He has created influential platforms in and outside Nigeria that allow him dispense wisdom to those who are far ahead of him in ministry. In a few months' time Adeyemi would be picking a doctoral degree on Leadership at the Regent University, Virginia, USA. I once asked him what was the secret behind the seemingly effortless ways in which he gets things done. His answer: "systems!". I create systems and stand behind them to make them work. He is the first we are featuring in the life lessons series. Enjoy the insights.

LESSON

1

Your Mind is the most important asset

Candidly, the most difficult problem I have encountered is changing my thinking. I teach people that they need to change their thinking. If their thinking can change, their lives would change. But I always add that the reason many peoples’ lives don’t change is that it is hard to change one’s thinking.

In fact, it is warfare. Thoughts have a way of strengthening themselves in the mind overtime to the extent that the Bible describes a mindset as a stronghold. When thoughts come into our minds, they are in a fluid state. If they stay there long enough, they solidify. I found out that with persistence, mindsets do change and with that success beyond imaginations follows.

LESSON

2

Worry Won’t Solve Any Problem

Many things did not work out as I had planned when I graduated. I was not getting satisfaction in the engineering company I was working with. My dad's construction business I was banking on had crashed before I graduated. I was a director in the company with plans that I could take over.

With the future appearing bleak, I would always retire to a lonely place brooding over my lot. This was almost a daily affair until one day the Holy Spirit asked me to put what was not working in my life and the things that were working on a scale and decide which one weighed on my side. I discovered there were so many things working in my favour that made worrying a foolish pastime. I repented

immediately and things started to move in my favour from then on.

When you worry, you are paying interest on an overdraft you never took! Does it make any sense?

LESSON

3

Success Is Not A Day’s Job

I remember during those twenty months when I was trying to get a job after graduation. I had begun to learn lessons on faith as a spiritual force for creating whatever you want and I decided to try it out. I had wanted to use my faith to get ticket to travel out of the country out of frustration. None worked out. That got me frustrated a little bit to the point of doubting the workability of faith.

I later realised that there is no quick fix route to success. Give yourself time. Today, travelling is no longer an issue for me.

LESSON

4

More Money Won’t Make You Rich Without Discipline

Several years ago, when I was a student, something happened. A friend requested to use my bank account to keep his money because he did not have a bank account and that became one of the greatest temptations that I had experienced until that time. Without giving thought to my action, I began to borrow my friend’s money without asking him. It was with the intention that I would return the money somewhere along the line. But I was borrowing money that I had no capacity to pay back. Eventually it became a big issue, a big source of embarrassment to me. Of course it has long been resolved. Here is the truth: if you

don’t have character, you don’t have anything.

LESSON

5

Success Always Comes With A Balance

Some people who have been deprived like I was when I was young want to get money by all means. The important thing to them is breaking through financially. However, I have discovered it is one of the tricks life plays on us.

If you make all the money in the world but in the process you break your health, how will you enjoy the money? Success must, therefore, come with a balance. When I was still young in the ministry I used to honour all manner of invitations just to earn money and this was to the utter neglect of my family.

I discovered, if you don’t have values, you won’t have value. True success comes with a balance. Now I set goals for my spiritual life, for my family, for my career, for my finances and for my health.

LESSON

6

Location won't change who you are

Archbishop Benson Idahosa once said that a lizard in Nigeria will not become a crocodile in America. He was trying to address a mindset that many of us in the third world have. We say that if only we could go to the western nations, if only we could go to the countries that look so beautiful in the movies and in the magazines, then our lives would change.

Now the lesson; if you really, really want to change your life, change your thinking. Right where you are, you are sitting on acres of diamonds. There was a time I wanted to run away from my country but when my mindset changed and I began to look for opportunities to add value to people’s lives, to identify their needs, I became an asset, no longer a liability to the community. And the more I have committed myself to adding value to people’s lives, all the dreams that I had, cars that I wanted to drive, the places I wanted to go, they have come to pass.

LESSON

7

Reinvent yourself.

I remember an experience I had with reinventing myself with respect to marriage. I went on a weekend retreat and I took along with me, Men Are from Mars, Women are From Venus by John Gray. By the time I came back I was a different man. I was on a new level as a married man. Why? John

BONUS You Need Your Body to Achieve Your Goals This is one of the greatest lessons that life has taught me.

You need your body to achieve your goals. However lofty your dreams may be, if you breakdown your health, you’ll have nothing else to do. The health will become your vision.

The health will become your preoccupation; you won’t be able to achieve anything. Just a slight change of attitude, trying to eat a balanced diet and checking your health regularly, can go a long way in keeping you alive and long enough to see the fulfilment of all your dreams. I give the required attention to my body now.

OUTSTANDING Books that have shaped my life 1 The Bible.

2 The Fourth Dimension - David Yonggi Cho

3 Towards Excellence in Life and Ministry- David O. Oyedepo

4 The Purpose Driven Church - Rick Warren

3

BEST PIECE OF ADVICE

1

Pray for your greatest success to happen in the evening of your life and not in the morning. It can be frustrating to expire too soon (Rev. B. Johnson, 1997))

2

Instead of you inviting guest speakers so they can attract a crowd, why don’t you become the person people want to listen to? (Dr David Oyedepo, 1996)

3

Don’t think you have seen your best yet. Life is a journey, life is not a station.

Those who try to make it a station end up in frustration (Dr David Oyedepo, 1997)

Gray explained that the way men communicate is different from the way women communicate.

Men use words to express facts while women use words to express emotions. Most times when men listen to women they take what a woman is saying as fact when all that a woman is trying to communicate is her emotion. As I was reading the book, I saw myself in the book.

I had made so many mistakes. I was smiling to myself. When I came back I was a different man.

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

07.05.2017

AHMED SOULTAN POSTER BOY OF MOROCCAN MUSIC

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COVER

AHMED SOULTAN

POSTER BOY OF MOROCCAN MUSIC

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Many will give anything to be in a profession that allows the privilege of regional and continental fame, even if it is an accident of fate as Moroccan music superstar, Ahmed Soultan, describes hiscareer. With his current album selling 23,000 copies in seven weeks, Nseobong Okon-Ekong describes him as the Poster Boy of cosmopolitan Moroccan culture

ou cannot miss Ahmed Soultan in a crowd. If you are not hooked by his attractive personal appearance, which represents a fine blend of Arab, African and European physical features, then his boisterous nature is certain to nail it.

Often, he is high-spirited and does not need an invitation to come over for a chat. A social butterfly, he is socially dynamic and has the capacity to put his charismatic personality into good use. He is a networking powerhouse in any crowd.

There appears to be a fire burning inside of him that he needs to let out. We had observed him in Lagos, Nigeria at an All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) event.

We were at another AFRIMA meeting in Banjul, Gambia and Ahmed was still his usual self, eager to get across to people.

Soultan

Ahmed is the Poster Boy of cosmopolitan Moroccan culture, using a peculiar type of music which is increasingly becoming popular with the youths to fly his country’s flag all over the world. Coming from a country that is deeply steeped in the cultures of its various indigenous peoples, particularly the Berbers, playing a leadership role in helping to integrate modern global cultural influences into mainstream music of Morocco has not been an easy task.

Ahmed never thought it would be otherwise. So he came prepared. His career is just entering its second decade but already he has been adjudged in some quarters as having pushed the envelope beyond many ambassadors of Moroccan culture. With four MTV Awards, Ahmed is not just popular in his home country, but around the entire North Africa and the

Mediterranean.

To be sure, Ahmed simply capitalised on existing platforms and primed himself to stand on the shoulder of giants. The music world looks to Morocco for some of its biggest festivals. The Guardian of London reports that there is the “Fes festival, a leading world music festival, and the snappily named Jazzablanca in Casablanca. But the biggest ones are the funkier Gnaoua festival in Essaouira on the coast, the massive pop Festival Mawazine in Rabat – which has starred the likes of Rihanna and Stevie Wonder – and Timitar in Agadir. Each attracts crowds of up to 500,000 people (that’s three times the size of Glastonbury). All of them, too, are not just music festivals – they have specific social and political agendas as well.”

Ahmed does not necessarily depart from this known revolutionary trait of

Moroccan culture. Rather, he has found a way to harness his radical instincts into reconciliatory elements. This has led him to employ global perspective to issues; always looking at the larger picture beyond his country and region. He wrote the original soundtrack of ‘Rhimou, a successful sitcom broadcast in Morocco and more; he collaborated with the famous American singer Ne-Yo, on a song called “Amazing You” ; in 2011, his song “Jokko” was nominated as best North African song and best African Reggae Song of the Year.

From Day One, Ahmed indicated that he desired to be heard beyond Morocco.

He artistically evolved the name ‘Soultan’, which actually signposts his influence by American Soul music. But that is not all, his musical definition is more complex.

He describes it as ‘Afro-rabian’. One thing is sure though, Ahmed is considered one of the leaders of the ‘Nayda’.(new urban

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COVER Moroccan scene). Often called the OSNI (Objet Sonore Non Identifié), which could be translated “USO”, for “Unknown Sounding Object”, for his very particular style. Wikipedia describes Ahmed’s recorded works. “Afro-Arabian soul music of which head titles are to represent this universality the artist stands for: ‘Achkide’ blends Berber and French; and ‘Ya Salam’ is sung in Arabic and English. His first album ‘Tolerance’ (2005), which contains his first single ‘Ya Salam’.

And then his second album ‘Code’ (2009) which contains the first extract ‘Achkide’.”

“With the success of his first single “Ya Salam”, Ahmed Soultan reveals himself as the precursor of a new style he likes to name : the Afrobian Soul, for AfroArabian. After a second album, released in 2009, in which he asserts himself, his popularity in and over the Maghreb was confirmed. Singing in four languages (Amazigh, Arabic, English and French), he took part in many international musical events, including the Kora Awards in South Africa, the opening of a Tiken Jah Fakoli concert in Dakar, his contribution to the ‘People Power’ song (beside Talib Kweli, Angelique Kidjo or Zap Mama ), Fez’s Sacred Musics Festival, Marrakech’s Moonfest, Casablanca Music Festival and many other European scenes (Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris).”

For all his popularity, Ahmed told this reporter that he considers himself an artiste by accident. “I never wanted to be an artiste. I never dreamt to be an artiste.

That’s why I said to myself that now I’m an artiste, I’m going to do it my way. I don’t know if you are able to understand me. I want to be able to control my copyright, to stamp my feet on my own market, to have direct access to my fans, friends, in my market. I’m tired of listening to overseas expertise that we are using. They tell us we don’t have market in Africa or Morocco, for instance. If there is no market why do we have fast foods, cars, retail stores selling stuff. It’s just a matter of right price, right message. For example, if you want to sell albums, it’s like inviting someone to your house.

You have to have a message, something positive that we will not be afraid children can hear. You hear some of these subjects on distribution and marketing of music at conferences. I was working for that for a couple of years, for almost a decade now.

I have a mature product, I’m now ready to have access to retail stores equivalent of Shoprite in Morocco. My album sold 23,000 copies in seven weeks in 64 stores in 17 cities. It’s not easy but when you have money, everybody is happy. I wanted to disguise but they said it’s ok if I can get into the houses then they will be partners.

I want you guys to understand what sells in Morocco, North Africa, the Afrorabian music. We play African Cup of

Nations, European cup of Nations; some of our people have French mind set. They look at Paris instead of Lagos, Dakar, Abidjan, Rwanda or Nairobi. I know I was heavily inspired by Lagos. The way you guys work, I think it’s insane.”

The rationality behind this assumed ‘insane’ attitude to work is the reason Ahmed travels frequently to Nigeria and anywhere else in the world where, in his judgement, people have an ‘insane’ work ethic. Going on his third album, he has collaboration with Femi Kuti and a video shoot with movie producer and director, Kunle Afolayan. He also has a song with Ghanaian songstress, Wiyaala.

“I’m not even promoting the track with Femi. It’s only playing on Beat FM, Naija FM and other radio channels in Nigeria and Ghana for the moment. I’m waiting to shoot the video soon with Kunle Afolayan. After that, I’m ready to explore on a continental level. In Morocco, I’m just promoting the track for the moment and some of them I get the chorus in English only. It’s really important for me to have these collaborations because it gives me credibility overseas because when they are going to look at my product, they are going to say you lived here one month or two, you will stay because you are working with the heavyweights in the industry. I don’t want to be the flavour of the month. It brings visibility in the UK, even in Nigeria. I know Femi for more than 10 years. We have friends in common.

But I never asked for anything. I know his producer. When I did a recording of a track with George Clinton in Paris he was touring then. He came to the studio and we did some recording and I talked to his producer who was a fan of George Clinton that this is a track I did with Femi. He said it was ok to have Femi on the album, ‘we now know what you are trying to do’.”

Legendary American Funk artiste, George Clinton, Femi Kuti, Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and RZA collaborated on MHNB (Music Has No Boundaries), his third album that was originally scheduled for release in 2014. The album was eventually released in January, 2016 in Virgin Megastore and Carrefour Markets throughout Morocco, as well as international digital platforms Itunes and Amazon.

Ahmed’s ‘This Is Who I Am’ which features Ghanaian songstress, Wiyaala celebrates 20 years of Western Union in Africa.

At the 2016 edition of the All Africa Music Award, Ahmed was one of the hosts, who were drawn from the three majorly spoken languages in Africa namely English, French and Arabic. His co-hosts were South Africa’s Bonang Matheba and Congo’s Ika Jang. Soultan is a multilingual artiste and celebrity; he speaks English, French, Portuguese and Arabic fluently.

TRACK OF DISTINGUSIHED PERFORMANCES AND AWARDS In 2005, Soultan was invited to take part in the Dakar International Festival of Film and was a supporting artist in a concert by Tiken Jah Fakoly. Also in 2005, Ahmed Soultan was invited to perform at the Kora Awards in South Africa, to represent North Africa.

The same year, he opened one of Tiken Jah Fakoly’s concerts in Dakar. In 2007, Ahmed Soultan produced the soundtrack of a successful series broadcast in Morocco and the Arab world.

In 2010, Ahmed Soultan appeared on “Amazing You” from Ne-Yo’s album The Apprenticeship of Mr. Smith (The Birth of Ne-Yo).

In 2011, his song “Jokko” (“The Link” in Wolof) was nominee for Best North African Song and Best African Reggae song of the year.

In 2011, for the “Radiowaves Project” he was featured on “People Power” a song produced by Anthony Tidd (The Roots, Talib Kweli) alongside Talib Kweli,

Angélique Kidjo, Zap Mama, and Freshlyground to fight Climate Change in Africa and the world in general.

He has performed at the “Casablanca Music Festival”, the “Sacred Musics Festival” of Fes, the “Moonfest” of Marrakech, and at European venues in Barcelona and Amsterdam.[2] In 2012 he was nominee on the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards in Frankfurt, on the category “Best Middle East Act” [Won], “Best Middle East, Africa, India” [Won], then “Best WorldWide Act”.[3] In 2013 he won “Best Pop Act” at the “Meditel Morocco Music Awards” At the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards, he was MTV Best North Africa & Middle East (Won), MTV Best Africa/Middle East/India (Won) and MTV Worldwide Act (Nomine) Soultan is a two-time AFRIMA award winner. He has performed at the GLO CAF Awards.

Soultan

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entertainMent

with nseobong okon-ekong 08114495324, nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com

Dancing at the Smirnoff event

DJ Spinall, Smirnoffx1female DJ Tgarbs Shutdown The Lab Nseobong Okon-Ekong

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mirnoff ambassador, DJ Spinall performed at New York City’s largest after work party The Lab NYC alongside the first-ever #SMIRNOFFX1FEMALEDJ, DJ TGarbs. The high-energy nightout, was a collaboration between Mixmag and Smirnoff Sound Collective.

Hipsters from all over New York City converged at the trendy warehouse in Brooklyn to experience a unique twohour set by the two international DJs. The set was made up of a playlist voted for by the Nigerian public via social media. The performance was the first official international debut for DJ TGarbs since her emergence as winner of the #SMIRNOFFX1FEMALEDJ competition. #SMIRNOFFX1FEMALEDJ was heralded by Smirnoff to mark the 2017 International Women’s Day. It was the brand’s ambition to encourage female DJs

HOW OREZI BROUGHT UYO TO ITS FEET Popular Nigerian singer, Orezi, ruled the stage at Legend’s Real Deal Experience in the Discovery Park in Uyo recently. The show, which saw people win prizes, like refrigerators, flat screen TVs and generators, in various competitions, gathered a large number of Uyo residents, as the venue was full to its brim. It was the latest in the Legend Real Deal Experience tour that has made stops in Nnewi and Enugu with Timaya headlining. It featured a simulation room, incredible onstage stunts and musical performances from Tipsy Kelvano and Orezi.

After his energy-filled performance in Uyo, Orezi said, “Uyo surprised me! Everyone was very excited and we all had a good time.

I’m grateful for all the love and support and I can’t wait to come back again to party with them. The Real Deal Experience was a fun show and I’d like to thank Legend Extra Stout for the opportunity.”

Speaking on the success of the event, Portfolio Manager- Mainstream Lager and Stout, Nigerian Breweries, Emmanuel Agu stated that, “The Real Deal Experience each year focuses on rewarding Legend Extra Stout consumers with a great time, gifts and cold bottles of Stout.

The results have always proven successful as attendees enjoy the Real Deal Experience with lucky fans going home with exciting gifts and memories to never forget. Tonight did not fall short of any of our expectations. We’d like to say a big congratulations to all of our winners. Having been to Nnewi and Enugu already, we can’t wait to show residents of other cities what the Real Deal Experience is all about.”

The Real Deal Experience is Legend Extra Stout’s signature nationwide tour that takes Nigeria’s biggest music stars to their core fans in various cities across the country. The initia-

At the Smirnoff event

in the male dominated industry by helping to increase the number of female headliners by 2020. DJ TGarbs has since become a fanfavorite in Nigeria, garnering social media following day after day.

X1 is the newest innovation from the world’s number one premium vodka Smirnoff. The extra smooth, high quality vodka is pushing its core brand message of openness by bringing people together to

experience music which is borderless and devoid of judgment.

Smirnoff’s Brand ambassador DJ Spinall called out to female DJs across Nigeria to take part in the #SMIRNOFFX1FEMALEDJ contest by sending videos of themselves showcasing their turntable skills. Out of hundreds of entries received for the social media contest, Smirnoff selected the top 5 entries which were then narrowed down to the Top 3 finalists based on the videos with the most hits. The top three finalists; DJ Moonlait, DJ Frizzle and DJ Garber; performed alongside brand Ambassador DJ Spinall and Celebrity DJ Lambo at the Smirnoff house party; International Women’s day edition; held in Jos. All of the top three finalists brought down the house with their turn table skills as they wowed the Jos crowd.As the final selection stage of the initiative, the Top 2 female DJs, DJ Moonlait and DJ Garber took part in another social media contest where DJ Garber emerged the winner.

board and did the best that they could on set.”

Prior to the premiere, ‘Slow Country’ was screened at the 2016 editions of Real Time Film Festival and African International Film Festival where it won the Audience Choice Award for the latter. Following a heavily applauded premiere, ‘Slow Country’ will hit cinemas from Friday, May 19.

Orezi tive is a reward scheme to give consumers of the unique full brewed stout a great experience whilst enjoying cold bottles of Legend.

Other major cities in Nigeria will be given similar experience in subsequent weeks.

SLOW COUNTRY PREMIERES TO LOUD OVATION New action-romantic film, ‘Slow Country’ had its premiere recently at the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas, Victoria Island, Lagos in a grand style. The Eric Aghimien produced film sheds light on the travails of a single mother faced with a dilemma; an unforgiving druglord and a father who bumps into his lost love and is determined to win back her love. ‘Slow Country’ parades in its line-up Ivie Okujaye-Egboh, Sambasa Nzeribe, Tope

Tedela and Majid Michel.

The movie premiere enjoyed support from Nollywood actors, screenwriters and producers like Lancelot Imasuen,Emem Isong, Wole Ojo, Linda Ejiofor, and Ademola Adenosine.

Also on the red carpet was Big Brother Naija show contestant Bassey Ekpeyong. The red carpet was a visual thrill with each personality posing gaily for the paparazzi. Relaying on his role in the movie, lead actor Sambasa Nzeribe said: “The character you see on screen is a contrast of what I am in real life, I am that calm, not too loud type. When I read the script, I said to myself, ‘this is a good script’ and fell in love with the character ‘Tuvi.’ Tuvi as a character made me imagine how to bring the character to life. With the guidance of the director, cast and crew, everybody came on

MALLFORAFRICA LAUNCHES ON GROCERY DIRECT AND FASHION DIRECT MallForAfrica.com, has announced the launch of free international shipping on its Grocery Direct and Fashion Direct products. In an interview with Tolu Oladipo the Country Manager, Mall Boxes Limited (Mall for Africa’s local representative in Nigeria), he highlighted the challenges many Nigerians are facing in making ends meet, while being cost and quality conscious at the same time. “To address some of our local challenges I am proud that we are launching Grocery Direct and Fashion Direct on MallforAfrica.com. Grocery Direct offers users free international shipping on over three million grocery products from US/ UK stores and the Fashion Direct site offers amazing discounts on global fashion brands all shipped for free at unbeatable prices.“ Oladipo further explained that MallForAfrica.com has made things convenient by pricing Grocery Direct and Fashion Direct products in naira and with free shipping many of the products become cheaper online than in the local market.

Mr Tope Folayan the CEO of Mall for Africa, explained “We recognise the challenges peculiar to the Nigerian e-shopper and the additional burden of shopping online in foreign currencies.

As a brand, we are driven to consistently deliver easier, cheaper and better products for our customers. So, working with our business partners and merchants across the globe, we

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ENTERTAINMENT created a number of solutions which address the Nigerian e-shoppers specific needs. Free international shipping on all products on Grocery Direct and Fashion Direct is one of such innovations on the MallforAfrica.com platform” “We’ve decided that customers should not have to pay shipping fees on simple everyday needs when they decide to buy through Grocery Direct. This is our way of giving something back to the Nigerian worker reassuring them of our commitment to stop at nothing in finding ways to make life a little easier and more enjoyable for our Shoppers.”

SUBMISSION OF ENTRIES OPENS FOR AFRIMA 2017 The African Union Commission, AUC, has formally unveiled the 2017 All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA calendar at The Maslow Hotel, Sandton, South Africa. The ceremony was attended by AU officials, members of the International Committee of AFRIMA, past AFRIMA winners and nominees from Southern African, media executives in Southern Africa and other stakeholders in the creative/ entertainment industry in Africa. During the unveiling, President/Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mr. Mike Dada, made known that the first activity on the continental awards event calendar is submission of entries which open globally on Monday, May 8 and closes on Monday, July 17.

Mr. Dada advised artistes, managers, producers, record label owners, video directors, publicists and entertainment/music journalist to submit their works or those of their artistes within the stipulated timeline in order to stand a chance at the awards. ‘’Irrespective of how popular an artiste or their works are in Africa, failure to submit for the awards means their chances of being nominated for AFRIMA 2017 is practically non-existent.”

Other activities on the AFRIMA 2017 calendar are; the jury adjudication process and nominees selection from July 29 – August 7 at Harare, Zimbabwe; world media announcement of AFRIMA 2017 Nominees’ list, August 8 at Harare, Zimbabwe; turn up Africa concept between August and October; the AFRIMA Music Village, November 10, at the host city; finally the main awards ceremony on November 12.

While delivering the African Union opening address at the event, Head of Culture Division, African Union Commission, Ms. Angela Martins, thanked the government of the Republic of South Africa and the people for receiving the AUC and AFRIMA team for the calendar unveiling.

She added: “We would like to hail the All Africa Music Awards initiative for the laudable impact it has for its three editions.

AFRIMA has been able to mobilize millions of people and renowned artistes from the five regions of Africa’’.

Some of the attendees during the unveiling were African music stars such as: Wax Dey; Sjava; Buffalo; Mi Casa; Busiswa; The Soil; Heavy K; Ugly Priddy; Cindy Munyavi and Fungisia amongst others. Other music industry stakeholders present included: MD, Africori Digital Music Solutions, Mr. Yoel Kenyan; MD, Content Connect International, Mr. Munya Chanesta; Group Manager, Africa Sales and Marketing, Sun International, Ms. Jennifer Beattie and Director, Vth Season Management, Ms. Ninel Musson to name a few.

The All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, is a music property developed to celebrate, reward and showcase the rich musical culture of Africa, stimulate conversations among Africans and between Africa and the rest of the globe about the great potential and values of the African culture and artistic heritage for the purpose of creating jobs, reducing poverty, calling attention of world leaders to Africa and promoting the positive image of Africa to the world.

AFRIMA is centred on the promotion and marketing of African music and is by far the largest gathering of such magnitude of stakeholders in Africa and hosting is earnestly sought by different African countries due to the great leveraging opportunities that the platform provides.

ASABA EXPERIENCES PHYNO, OLAMIDE AT MEGA MUSIC NATIONWIDE TOUR Asaba, the Delta State capital experienced six show stoppers at the city’s edition of the on-going Glo Mega Music Nationwide Tour held at the expansive Dome on Okpanam Road. Artistes who serenaded the audience at the packed dome and the overflow included the Itshekiri-born female music sensation, Omawumi, Afro-pop diva Yemi Alade, exceptional highlife crooner Flavour, the dynamic twin entertainers, Peter and Paul Okoye of PSquare, the King of the streets, Olamide aka Badoo and the hottest Igbo ethno rapper, Phyno.

Mercy Johnson Okogie paired up with the Ghanaian Juliet Ibrahim to anchor the show

Dayo Israel (l) with Majek Fashek at the One Mainland Concert

Dayo Israel’s One Mainland Concert Treat

By Yinka Olatunbosun

The roads leading to the Okobaba Field, venue of One Mainland Concert, seemed free.

It was Easter weekend in Lagos and the breeze from the Lagoon across the Third Mainland Bridge was cool. This unruffled and level-headed disposition was not extended to the concert venue and centre stage. The disparity was pronounced with loud music and cheering from some members of the Oyingbo and Ebute Metta communities, mostly youths, who gathered at the field to enjoy the special music concert initiated by Dayo Isreal, Chairmanship Candidate for the Lagos Mainland Local Government.

One Mainland Concert was a peace concert which doubled as a talent development platform by Isreal who had actively built his career around helping children and the vulnerable in the society. Having worked in various capacities with the United Nations, Isreal is sensitive to the needs of the poor and often thinks of sustainable solutions. His local government, no doubt has abundance of raw talents and poverty, almost in equal proportion.

In eradicating poverty and violent tendencies in the communities under Lagos Mainland local government, Isreal organised a 16-week football tournament which was declared open by the Olympian, Chioma Ajunwa.

The barricades at the venue separated the audience from the performing artistes. Glancing over shoulders that obstructed direct view of the stage, this reporter found her way into the venue, sitting amidst wanna-be artistes. Some had copies of their singles in hand as they patiently waited their turn to perform. These youths could have been elsewhere perhaps on the streets begging for alms as some did while the reporter was trying to locate the entrance to the field, engage in petty thefts or vandalism.

Instead, they took advantage of the concert, which had as comperes Femi Branch and Doris Simon, to showcase their artistry. while Nollywood was represented by its veterans including ageless Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD), Patience Ozokwor, popularly known as Mama G and Victor Osuagwu. The show was a blistering bubble of sublime fun and entertainment.

Before the show started, Mercy Johnson, Juliet Ibrahim, Victor Osuagwu and RMD had taken time to interact with the crowd at the

After the dancing competitions, two winners emerged and were rewarded with full scholarship till university level. The chairmanship aspirant promised that more unique opportunities will come to the people of Lagos Mainland local government once he becomes the chairman. He told the reporter why he had selected sports and music as key programmes to engage the youths.

“There’s so much violence in this community because of the rate of unemployment. That is why the youths are killing one another. The youths in Apapa Road cannot come to Oyingbo.

They can’t cross the railway. The youths in Otto cannot go to Apapa Road,” he revealed.

Meanwhile, Isreal is no newcomer to youths’ affairs. Since he was 11, he had run a nongovernmental organisation that is concerned with children. He has represented all the young delegates to the United Nations General Assembly on Children and has been featured on special interview programmes on CNN. For him, the youths who aspire to pursue a career in music are taking the right step towards fighting poverty-a condition he had a taste of when he lost his father at the age of 10. Raised by a single mother, his dream of becoming a lawyer and touching lives positively didn’t waver even when he had to peddle some petty trading to support his mother. To ensure the dreams of the youths in his community are kept alive, he invited the reggae legendary, Majek Fashek, who is still fighting his way to stardom after his long battle with addiction. Majek gave a good account of himself with the performance of his classic, “Send Down the Rain”.

“The youngsters who performed here today can say that they shared the same stage with Majek and Sound Sultan,” he said amidst the calls for him to go on stage. Isreal, broom in hand as any APC candidate would, confidently addressed the cheering crowd-some of whom were beneficiaries of the 7000-man training in vocational skills initiated last year by Israel. entrance by signing autographs for the guests and taking selfies with their fans.

The segment was as entertaining as the show proper as the security personnel deployed to maintain law and order had a tough time bottling the excitement of the mammoth crowd who were eager to engage their entertainment idols.

The show began with performances by

Standing L-R: Munya Chanesta, Yoel Kenyan, Wax Dey, Matlou Tsotetsi, Didier Bayeye and Chris Syren. Seated L-R: Sjava, Angela Martins, Mike Dada, Cindy Munyavi, Jennifer Beattie during the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) 2017 Calendar Unveiling Event The Maslow, Sandton, South Africa

budding artistes within Asaba and its environs. Up and coming artistes such as Perezi, Young Swags, H-Culture, Brown Ray, Notorious Set Zon and the guitarist, Chika Madu were appreciated by their local fans for their dexterity.

The dancing competition that followed was a good appetizer for the main course of the evening as Okafor Chinedu, Obeh Dorothy, Mafiana Lusanda, Idemudia Emmanuel and Onyinye Udogu were exciting on stage as they gyrated to the hot vibes by DJ Xgee.

They were followed by the foursome of Jayfegs, Claire Babie, Eloques and Sammy West, who had earlier been pre-selected as winners of the #Glosings60seconds online competition.

The floodgate of entertainment was opened by Omawumi and she was followed in quick succession by the energetic Yemi Alade, who dazzled the crowd with her meticulous choreography, stage craft and soulful songs. Flavour was on fire at the show as he gave the crowd a full dose of entertainment worth their time at the show.

The arrival of Africa’s finest entertaining twins, PSquare sent the crowd into a frenzy and the musical squad was a sight to behold as they blended music, chorography and dance drama seamlessly, proving that their permanent seat at the summit of Nigeria’s highly competitive and tempestuous music industry for almost two decades on the stage is not by happenstance. Olamide Badoo, the pepper them crooner was simply awesome.

He raised the stake further to attract the self-proclaimed Nollywood clown, Victor Osuagwu on stage to demonstrate well choreographed dance steps.

And while the crowd was still sharing and savouring the Shakiti Bobo prodigy, Phyno, who in history, has done more collabo with Olamide, entered the stage. Just then, the crowd went simply ‘gaga’. The hall was on literary fire at this stage and attention shifted to the VIP section, where RMD, who has not hidden the fact that he is the biggest celebrity fan of the Fada Fada crooner, danced away to the delight of the crowd.

CLUB OXYGEN ROCKS THE CITY Valley Front View Hotel, a bouquet hotel which caters to both leisure and business clients recently launched Club Oxygen and that is no longer news. The club’s meet and greet session always parades the best in the entertainment scene. From hot music collections to magical mixes, the club adds an extra value to nightlife. Located in the heart of Ikeja, the hotel where the club is omiciled runs a 24-hour restaurant with rich ethnic and international cuisine served a la carte. It is furnished with a lobby area on each floor to receive visitors. One unusual yet fascinating feature of the club which opened last December is that it is built underground.

During a tour of the hotel, Jonathan Odia, General Manager, Valley Front View Hotel, revealed how the management had taken health, safety and fitness measures to ensure the comfort of guests.

“Off the front lobby is the bar. Our gym is not very big but it is well-equipped and open to both in-house guests and the public. There is a pool which is 6ft deep; with sit outs by the side. Club Oxygen is underground with a cigar lounge above,” he announced. Every floor in the hotel is named after International Clubs, such as Chelsea, InterMilan,Manchester United and Arsenal. Reflecting the owner’s love of football, the lobby on each floor has the sofa and TV set, in case a guest wants to receive a visitor away from his room.

“The Hotel has 11 suites. We have Jacuzzi in about 95 percent of the rooms and 25 regular rooms. There is coffee maker, tea, electronic safe in all the wardrobes for your valuables and a mini bar with complimentary drinks and breakfast for two in the suite and for one in the regular room. In the regular rooms, most have steam baths, while others have just regular bath tubs and overhead shower,” he revealed. In addition, there is a 85-sitting capacity conference room equipped with large projector screens.

The hotel is expected to be listed on travel guides to reach its target audience, namely the business people. Meanwhile, Ikeja has a long list of luxury hotels which puts this hotel in competition with other hospitality centres.

“I think our price is very competitive.

Carefully we have looked at our prices and our competitors’. If you go to their rooms, you will really understand what I am saying. Their rooms are more like a university hostel accommodation, not like hotel. Their service or room categories are not the type you find in a standard hotel, so for that I am not seeing them as a threat,” he argued. Club Oxygen had as host on its launch the actor and model, Ill Rymz and has fast become one of the most mentioned nightclubs on Twitter.

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Great Comet Leads Tony Awards Vanessa Obioha

With 12 nods, the offbeat pop opera based on a Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’, ‘Natasha, Pierre &the Great Comet of 1812’ was just four steps away of shattering ‘Hamilton’s record at last year’s Tony Awards. The criticallyacclaimed Broadway show won 11 awards at the end of the night.

Will the ‘Great Comet’ beat the record?

That can only be found out on June 11 at Radio City Music Hall, New York City where the 71st Tony Awards will hold. Josh Groban, a first-timer on Broadway clearly disappointed critics who feared for his acting skills. He was nominated

in the Best Leading Actor in a Musical category.

The musical will vie for the most coveted award ‘Best Musical’ alongside ‘Come From Away’, ‘Dear Evan Hansen’, and ‘Grounding Day’.

Following suit with 10 nominations is the highly applauded revival of ‘Holly Dolly’ play which starred Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce.

Bette Midler is also nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.

However, not all musicals and plays were accepted. Of the 37 Tonyeligible shows, 12 were snubbed.

Major snubs include ‘Amelie’, which starred ‘Hamilton’ alumna Phillipa Soo; ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘A Bronx Tale’.

Josh Groban in the musical Great Comet

BEATLES TO GET FULL-TIME RADIO CHANNEL If all things go as planned, the first ever full-time Beatles radio channel will be launched on May 18 by SiriusXM satellite radio.

The channel will feature the group’s official releases and solo albums as well as live recordings, rarities and music by acts that inspired the group.

It will be the first time the Beatles made up of late John Lennon, Paul McCartney, late George Harrison and Ringo star will have an authorised full-time radio show. The service will be available for free to inactive SiriusXM radio receivers from May 18 to 30, and in June will have special programming linked to the 50th anniversary of the release of the ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ album.

Some of the channel’s programmes include ‘My Fab Four’, a segment hosted by a daily guest DJ picking four favourite Beatles songs; and ‘Beatle Bites’, a quiz show that invite listeners to identify songs based on snippets.

ALANIS MORISSETTE’S EX-MANAGER SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS IN PRISON Jonathan Todd Schwartz is his name. He was a business manager who stole more than $7 million from the singer, Alanis Morissette.

His fate was determined by Judge Dolly Gee who sentenced him to six years in federal prison as well as ordered him to pay $8.6 million in restitution.

Schwartz swindled Morissette through wire fraud and tax crimes. Ordinarily, the crime would have fetched him 20 years. The accused pleaded guilty to the crimes, admitting that he stole nearly $5 million from the singer between May 2010 and January 2014. He stole more than $2 million from five unnamed clients while working with a firm that touted relationships with entertainers like Katy Perry and 50 Cent.

In shock over everything, the singer said her manager committed the crime in such a way that would have left her bankrupt in three years.

The Beatles

SAM CLAFLIN TO STAR IN NEW CRIME-THRILLER The ‘Me Before You’ star is set to star in an upcoming crime thriller ‘Semper Fi’.

He will play the lead character as a cop who resolves to help his brother who was found guilty of killing a man in a bar fight by breaking him out of prison.

He will be assisted by his long-time friends and fellow Marine Corps reservists.

Produced by Oscar-nominated David Lancaster, the film will be directed by another Oscar nominee, Henry-Alex Rubin while Cornerstone will commence sales in Cannes Film Festival.

Production will kick off in summer in Vancouver.

Claflin whose recent flick include ‘Their Finest’ and ‘My Cousin Rachel’ will also take a role in the upcoming film, ‘The Nightingale’.

FAKE KUNG FU PANDA CARTOONIST GETS JAILED Jayme Gordon, a cartoonist who falsely alleged that he was the original creator of Dreamworks’ 2008 animated comedy ‘Kung Fu Panda’ has been sentenced to two years in prison.

In 2011, The 51 year-old man from Massachusetts filed a copyright lawsuit claiming that the studio had stolen characters and story from him. He proposed a settlement for $12 million.

Series of investigations revealed that Gordon had backdated and sketched drawings of similar characters to those seen in the film after obviously watching the trailer. He would later rename his story ‘Kung Fu Panda Power’.

This discovery by Dreamworks led to the conviction of Gordon for fraud and perjury by a federal jury. He is ordered to pay $3 million in damages.

MICHAEL JACKSON’S DAUGHTER LANDS DEAL WITH CALVIN KLEIN Paris Jackson recently landed her first major deal with the fashion brand, Calvin Klein, and it is a seven-figure deal. Paris, daughter of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson will be the new face of CK. The deal marks her meteoric rise to Hollywood fame as she recently shot a cover of Vogue Australia and was also cast in Charlize Theron film for Amazon Studios.

She made her first debut for the brand at the recently held Met Gala, donning a simple black cutout dress that was elegantly designed by the brand.

Paris Jackson

Sam Claflin

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ON THE COUCH

MRS. MOSUN BELO-OLUSOGA (ACCOUNTANT)

I Thought I Would be a Medical Doctor Interviewed by Funke Olaode How would you describe your growing up?

My growing up was wonderful and excellent. My parents were disciplinarians and wouldn’t spare the rod. My mother was a very strict disciplinarian and wanted things done properly. And my father was very religious. It was a combination of religion, discipline and hard work, which provided a good balanced upbringing.

What inspired you into accounting/ banking?

Accounting wasn’t part of my childhood dream. I wanted to be a medical doctor. I had an accident that confined me to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for about a term. That actually killed that dream because I knew I couldn’t stand the sight of blood. I was very good in Mathematics and my father was an accountant. I must have inherited it from him.

Education of the girl-child wasn’t encouraged in those days. How did you cross the hurdle?

I didn’t experience that in family. I come from an elite family. My parents were very well educated and both studied abroad.

Education, for me, was not an issue.

We are mostly girls in my family. It wasn’t a question of whether you are a boy or a girl. You had to be educated. It was that natural to us.

When did you kick off your career as an accountant?

I graduated from the University of Ibadan with a second class upper in Economics in 1979. I veered into accounting and became a chartered accountant in 1983 finishing as the best qualifying accountant in my set and also winning the Society of Women Accountant in Nigeria award. I became a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1993 and honourary fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

And I have attended courses in all renowned business schools across the globe. God has been kind to me to have enjoyed a very rich fulfilling career in the banking industry spanning over 30 years. I actually began my career with then Messrs Coopers and Lybrand a firm of Chartered Accountants in 1980 from where I moved to Continental Merchant Bank Limited in 1986.

In 1990, I joined the pioneer team to set up Guaranty Trust Bank and worked there for many years where I headed many departments. I retired from the bank as executive director, South-west division in 2006. I currently serve as the chairman of Access Bank Nigeria Plc. How was it like climbing the ladder of your career?

I believe in counting more of your blessings than challenges. I have also been very lucky in the kind of organisations that I worked for. Messrs Coopers and Lybrand was gender blind and we were all treated equally irrespective of

gender. GT Bank was a merit driven organization, it didn’t really matter whether you were a boy or girl.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that there were not many instances where men were chosen over women. I don’t take such things personal because it doesn’t take away my competence. Sometimes women too would be promoted over men.

ensure that your impact is felt.

You talked glowingly about you husband. His death must have been traumatic… My husband died 12 years ago. No woman prays to become a widow early in life. It is very painful. People die young, people die old. So I don’t dwell on things that I don’t have control over. And with time the pains will reduce.

How did you juggle motherhood with career?

There was no magic about balancing. I was lucky. My late husband was very supportive. I advise young people to be careful about the choice of their spouse because that singular move can either elevate or drag you down.

I have younger people whose husband insist that they can’t work.

I have had to tell someone that she has to resign if she wants to keep her home. My late husband wasn’t like that, he encouraged and supported me all the way because he was a self-assured and confident individual. When you have a spouse that motivates you it helps a lot.

Raising my children it wasn’t a big deal because I had the right support system. When I travel my sister supported me. She was a business woman and she was readily available. You need to pray as well because even if you are there always anything can still happen. When you are around

You dabbled into education at a stage…

Yes. It was all about giving back.

Allah has blessed me abundantly and the only thing to do is to give back to the society. For me, the secondary school that I set up in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State when I was retiring as an executive director in Guaranty Trust Bank was to help my community. I said God has blessed me and I ruminated on what to do to give back to the community where I was born.

My husband and I are from IjebuOde. I decided to set up a school and employed staff from the same environment. We wanted an excellent school that would put Ijebu-Ode on the map. I am happy that the school is playing its npositive role in impacting humanity.

Looking back were there things you would have done differently?

Whatever is gone is gone. And I don’t dwell on the past. Almighty Allah has blessed me abundantly

so I don’t have regrets. At every stage of my life I believed it was what God wanted me to do at that particular time. So, if I rate my satisfaction with life so far, I will score myself 12 over 10 because Allah’s mercy is sufficient. When I wake up in the morning, I sing His praises. I can see, my limbs are working. It is by His grace.

What lesson has life taught you?

Don’t sweat the small stuff because what would be would be.

Try your best and leave the rest.

Above all, don’t run another man’s game run your own game because God has a plan for each and every one of us. Be grateful, put in your best and be content with who you are.

assistant editor nseobong okon-ekong senior correspondent funke olaode correspondent vanessa obioha designer ibirogba ibidapo CONTRIBUTORS onoshe nwabuikwu, temilolu okeowo, kelechi nduka THISDAY ON SUNDAY editor adetokunbo adedoja deputy editor vincent obia STUDIO art director ochi ogbuaku jnr THISDAY NEWSPAPERS editor-in-chief & chairman nduka obaigbena managing director eniola bello deputy managing director kayode komolafe

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PUBLICATION

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BEAUTY IS THE EYES OF A METAL BEAST Olu Amoda

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

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ARTS & REVIEW\\EXHIBITION

BEAUTY IS THE EY OF A METAL BEAS O

Engaging and a feast for the senses, Olu Amoda’s latest body of work featured at an exhibition in Lagos fascinate

lu Amoda is optimistic.

In the sculptor’s engaging exhibition, Index Season ii, at Art 21 Gallery, this much is apparent.

As one walks into Art 21’s vault-like space, one first encounters the works that represent the central theme of the exhibition: six disc-shaped, large metal sculptures in army green, lime green, golden orange, and grey-brown.

They are colours of foliage during the four weather seasons of Europe and North America. Amoda employs them here – both season and changing colours – as a metaphor for the different seasons in Nigeria’s electoral cycle, which happens every four years. Unofficially, this may be divided into parties selecting nominees, campaign season, elections, and then post-election tribunals and endless court cases contesting the accuracy of the elections. The last two seasons, in Nigeria’s history, are usually accompanied with violence.

Amoda wants us to pay attention to these turbulent seasons. Also to elsewhere in the world where there is a season of increasing extremity in political ideology and beliefs – the left and right; and how the centre can no longer hold. Trump ascended to presidency on the back of divisive rhetoric against immigrants, nonwhites, women, the disabled. Marine Le Pen is vying for the office of the president of France with similar tactics. Citizens are being bombed in Syria, Iraq and the rest of world just looks on, not acting, irresponsible. Those who manage to escape are turned away at the border of countries, complicit (by inaction) in the murder of their fathers, mothers, children.

Yes, we are at a very messy, complicated period in history.

Yet, Amoda asks us in his artist statement not to look upon this time with despair but with hope that we can turn the tide This is also, in a sense reflected in the six disc-shaped metal sculptures made out of repurposed, discarded rusty nails, metal plates, bolts, pipes. These materials do not lend themselves to easy manipulation. They are by design (and especially when used together) complex, like today’s political goings-on. Yet, Amoda, a master at the peak of his artistic proficiency, fashions them into impeccable, faultless forms.

While the sculptures are inspired by complicated, elliptical events, the products of this inspiration – Amoda’s work – are finished, uncluttered, aspire to perfection and very nearly attain it.

While discussing the exhibition with a curator (not of the exhibition) who has followed Amoda’s work for years, there was a shared feeling of suspended satisfaction. Almost

‘Marion Jones’, Mixed Media, Dimensions Variable, 2009 - 2017 by Olu Amoda

‘Rumination II’, Stainless Steel, Dimensions Variable by Olu Amoda there but not quite. The majesty of the works were undeniable, yes.

But for what they represented, and what the curator had come to know of his work, there was an absence of believability. The works were too perfect, not literally rough around the edges, incomplete, even, as is usually

Autumn, Mixed Media, by Olu Amoda

Amoda’s style.

“They look machine-cut, almost,” the curator said.

For the exhibition as a whole, though this is where the feeling of inconclusiveness ceases. The rest of the exhibition embodies the tension and urgency that the focal season pieces

lacked. There are free-standing and hung sculptures depicting women in various forms of contemplation.

The walled sculptures, at once consuming eyefuls, invites the viewer to mimic what (s)he is looking at: to be drawn, to consider. Amoda, here uses an interesting and unusual material:

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YES ST

es Ayodeji Rotinwa

lucobond, a rigid yet flexible façade material employed typically for architectural purposes. Across the face of the material, angry marks form tumbling hair, areolas, eyebrows, love handles, thighs. On boards, Amoda bends metal bars to construct similar anatomy. On plasma cuts, he burns and bends metal into feminine shapes. He explores other characters of nature too. One particular piece depicts a pollinating insect on a flower.

With these, the meld of bolts, pipes, rods, metal plates have not been fashioned into perfect forms. They are exquisitely intricate still but are still do not have a cute finish, still somewhat clumsy-looking from an angle, and intensely more compelling as so.

Further in now, Amoda has one’s full attention and command of senses. The works are feeding themselves into my nose, eyes and the temptation to touch heightens.

I give in eventually. Without the usual guilt of thinking my touch would somehow compromise the work.

Having moved through the perpendicular arrangement of the works in the gallery space, I finally arrive at the piece de resistance, a mixed media piece titled “Marion Jones”. It is a 12-foot sculpture of Amoda’s favoured materials in their raw, most obvious form: discarded car parts, pistons are immediately obviously in Jones’ towering frame.

The sculpture took eight years for the artist to complete. It is immediately clear why. It is also immediately clear that Amoda is a master artist of immeasurable patience, discipline and commitment. I spend almost half an hour circling the work, peering, in awe.

As I exhale and exit Art 21, I feel a curious sadness. I remember that these works are on loan to the public eye and consumption, that eventually they will make their way back into Amoda’s studio or the private collections of individuals or corporate citizens, when the exhibition closes in June. We may not see them again. A kind of injustice. Yes, we want the artist to flourish and secure patrons. However, the larger public most definitely needs and would benefit from the sculptural language and legacy Amoda is building: as a reference to artistic excellence, a testament to steely patience, an institution of memory that immortalises this time in history, or simply as objects of irresistible, unconventional, evocative beauty.

His works should be in permanent public view.

In the likely case this does not happen, there’s consolation in the fact that the exhibition is showing still for the next six to seven weeks.

Just like today’s changing seasons and Amoda’s works, forever is a complicated ask.

ARTS & REVIEW\\EXHIBITION The Inverted Pyramid; Adapted from a novel by Emeka Dike

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ARTS & REVIEW\\VISUAL ARTS

VISUAL EXPLORATORS ARRIVE AT QUINTESSENCE Yinka Olatunbosun

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new movement is emerging in Lagos for the visual arts.

Call the proponents, Visual Explorators, their latest body of works have arrived at Quintessence Gallery, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi where the exhibition opens

on May 13.

Formed as a highly interactive group whose main purpose is to support knowledge, the members work within an integrated research culture. Led by Dr. Kunle Adeyemi, the visual explorators was established in 2014 as a movement wherein artists explore unusual media to create masterpieces.

Far from being a quick-money venture, the movement helps to create a sense of professionalism in the individual artist. Before this exhibition, an open-studio session was organised two years ago in Mushin where a handful of journalists were invited to have a first-hand experience of artists at work. It was like scrubbing-in at a theatre, littered with scissors, oxygen stands, multiple tubes and monitor. Instead of these details, Adeyemi’s studio in Mushin had an overwhelming splatter of paints, an array of wet brushes and fresh canvases.

Recently, Quintessence Gallery hosted the artists and a few journalists at a preview of the works for the show titled, Soulfulness.

Here, the completed works of the studio-led research are on display. The list of participating artists include Dr Kunle Adeyemi, Olojo-Kosoko K., Tunde Oguntuyo, Biodun Okemakinde Aladegboungbe, Adetola Adenuga, Dayo Adeyemi, Isaac Joseph, Jimoh Luqman, Bashir Kalejaiye, Olusegun Oduyele and Hodonu Nathaniel. For art-centrics, the next three weeks will be satisfying as this rare collection of miniature and large paintings as well as sculptures offer images in deep etchings, watercolour, and mixed media.

For the young artists, preparing for the show was a training of sorts. They learnt to be patient and applied earnest efforts to make the best version of each piece. In the end, each artist submits three works for the show.

“Most artists place money above the professional ethics,” Dr. Adeyemi explained.

Press conference was held yesterday 2nd of may 2017 @quintessence gallery, park view estate “For them, the rejection always come. Basically, we are in the group as artists with the same philosophy of exploration of materials to synthesise our ideas. All of us are close to one studio. This group has been meeting for close to six years when we didn’t even have a clear ides of what we wanted to do. The time has come for such collaboration to encourage young artists. When we were growing up, it was easy to approach a gallery or the museum to showcase our works. But some of these young artist, despite their fantastic work and craft, do not have the same opportunities.”

The group survived some teething problems over the years particularly about meeting and it was imperative to impose

some rules of engagement by mandating meeting attendance and preparing a code of conduct like a constitution. This Quintessence show is the third from the group.

“We have also had ‘Dialogue of Forms’ in Ebute Metta,” said Dr Adeyemi. “This is our third show. We were supposed to have done this since last year but Quintessence will examine the quality of works and set the date. Here you will see stylistic tendencies, different temperaments and thoughts.

One thing that is common to all of us is the material exploration. Some of us have moved from print to mixed media and from printograph to printocast.”

Likewise, Aladegboungbe, who just

arrived from Sweden where he was studying for a PhD, revealed that his works are a shift from his usual technique. He explored charcoal during his research work and his discovery led to the piece titled, “The Sweden Experience”.

Adetola, a self-taught artist never learnt his techniques from the formal education setting but drew inspiration from his father who is a screen painter. His work, “Rhythm and Ecstasy” is a self-portrait painting where he has earphones plugged into her ears just as he usually does in reality. Adetola Adenuga’s large piece,”I am Beautiful” is a visual articulation of wood, foil, newspaper, shave of wood as well as cultural motifs.

MUSIC

Daniella’s Got it...

Yinka Olatunbosun

Orji

Daniella Oji came into limelight as a wild card contestant at Project Fame, a music reality show on its fifth week and got admitted into the music academy.

It was tough for her to develop a fan base initially because viewers seemed to have their favourites already. But she has a compelling voice that can stop you in your track. The love for Daniella grew when she started to impress the judges every week and finally she made it to the finals.

A graduate of accounting from Crawford University, Daniella’s interest was in music numbers that should could use for vocal training. Her career in music didn’t begin at the academy as she disclosed to this reporter in an electronic chat.

“Before Project Fame, I had joined the Anglican church choir,” she recalled. “I had also taken and passed with a distinction, the Grade 4 exam at the Music School of Nigeria(MUSON). I also auditioned for the Peak Talent Show and got a certificate stating ‘SHE’S GOT IT’ to mention a few. I have always been a lover of music all my life.”

Daniella has parents who place a lot of value on secular education. Hence, when she got involved in music, their worry was that she might abandoned her education for music. She kept her head steady in her studies until the opportunity to be part of the music

show knocked at her door.

“I had always known I would do music. My parents knew too. It was the same year after the university and during my national youth service that I went for the MTN project fame competition. You could say that launched my career; gave me the platform and the push. My family and friends have been so supportive from day one up to this moment. My new project will blow your mind.”

Her latest single titled,”I do” has been on the playlists at several radio stations but the journey to stardom remains daunting. One reason is that the airwaves have been saturated with lots of music by talented Nigerians and another is that the cost of music production is on the rise.

Though she didn’t give details of the expenses incurred in the making of this latest single and its video, she revealed the message in it.

“It’s the familiar and sweet ‘lovey-dovey’ of being proposed to; when you say ‘I do’. It is perfect for all lovers of good music and couples who intend to stay together forever,” she said.

Her career in music has been influenced by Asa and Nneka, Nigeria’s top music exports; her voice coach Miss Ige; Adele, Alicia Keys Aloe Blacc while she looks forward to working with Bez, Jidenna, Mr Incredible and more.

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CICERO

Editor Olawale Olaleye Email wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com, SMS: 08116759819

IN THE ARENA

The DSS Recruitment Rebalancing The obvious lopsidedness in the recent recruitment into the Department of State Services has again highlighted the fault lines that have been the bane of Nigeria. Olawale Olaleye writes

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recent recruitment exercise into the Department of State Service (DSS)has stirred controversy and rage, although avoidable. The quota assigned each state of the federation showed clearly that this particular exercise might have been designed to sort of ‘compensate’ the north, which had over time alleged marginalisation in the previous exercises.

The rage that attended this exercise is not only seen as a continuation of the alleged resolve of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to put the north in vantage positions across the federal bureaucracy, the fact that the exercise was heavily skewed, not just in favour of the north but Katsina, the homestead of the president and the Director-General of the DSS, Lawal Daura, further justified the worry by other ethnic nationalities of planned northern domination.

Katsina, reports said, was allotted 51 DSS slots as a corrective exercise. But in general, the allotment heavily favours the north compared to the South.

Here is the list: Abia 7, Adamawa 19, Anambra 10, Bauchi 23, Bayelsa 7, Benue 9, Borno 16, Cross River 9, Delta 8, Ebonyi 7, Edo 6, Ekiti 12, Enugu 9, FCT 7, Gombe 14, Imo 11, Jigawa 14, Kaduna 24, Kano 25, Katsina 51, Kebbi 16, Kogi 11, Kwara 13, Lagos 7, Nassarawa 11, Niger 11, Ogun 8, Ondo 9, Osun 10, Oyo 11, Plateau 9, Rivers 7, Sokoto 15, Taraba 16, Yobe 12 and Zamfara 20.

A presidency source, which justified the recruitment quota, said there was no lopsidedness in the exercise. But Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President, said the reality on the ground for the South-east was that of exclusion from the Buhari administration.

A few prominent northern personalities also shared the sentiment of alleged nepotism of the Buhari government. Dr. Junaid Mohammed described the present administration as nepotistic, while the chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP),….. in Katsina State said even in picking people from Katsina the appointments have been skewed to favour people from Buhari’s Daura region.

The fears about this latest exercise stemmed from the fact that the DSS might have abandoned the Federal Character Principle, which states in Section 14, subsection 3 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, that: “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such manner to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or sectional groups in that government or any of its agencies”.

But the presidency source, who spoke to a national daily (not THISDAY), maintained the narrative that it was an effort to correct the imbalance that had existed over the years, adding that same is obtainable in the Army, Navy and Air Force. It insisted that there was no ulterior motive to fill the DSS with people from Katsina or from the north at the expense of the south.

Thus, the explanations that it was a corrective initiative have not sufficiently allayed the fears of a majority of the people, who reckoned that the move was in line with the plan of the Buhari government to play the ethnic card.

The import of this is that it may have further exposed the nation’s fault lines, despite the pretence about one indivisible Nigeria. Besides, this kind of thinking also exposes the primitive state of mind of the Nigerian leadership and questions their capacity to be just and fair, regardless of their ethnic leanings.

That a majority of the Nigerian leaders have refused to be first and always Nigerian is a major undoing in the management of the affairs of the country.

For any Nigerian leader to assume that such disproportionate recruitment exercise as the latest

DSS’ could go unnoticed is to say the least naïve and clearly insensitive. No such exercise must fail to acknowledge the nation’s diversity in all its ramifications and goes ahead to cause avoidable rage, especially that the most of the nation’s instability can be traced to such imbalances across the federal bureaucracy.

It is therefore incumbent on government to review some of these exercises as well as a general review of promotion exercises and retirement cases in the last five or more years as being canvassed now, while encouraging both serving and retired officers, who still hold the grudge that they were unjustly denied promotion or retired, to submit memoranda to that effect.

Although the exercise has been largely defended as a rebalancing initiative, the Buhari regime has a huge responsibility to change the pervasive assumption that it was out to decimate other ethnic nationalities in favour of the north. This perception took off with the government from day one of its appointment and has stuck to it like a leech. The onus is therefore on the president to strive to change this perception, especially as it approaches half of its four-year mandate.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

From Govt House to State Facility: All Public Housing

T

Lamido

hree governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – Alhaji Sule Lamido, Hon. Gabriel Suswam and Alhaji Muazu Babangida Aliyu – were recently put in different detention facilities for different charges. This is yet another low point for the major opposition party. The three former governors left office in 2015.

While Aliyu was held on cor-

ruption charges, although he was granted bail on Wednesday, Suswam is being detained over alleged discovery of firearms in one of his vehicles searched in a premises linked to him. Lamido, who has been tried too at different times for corruption-related charges, was arrested last Sunday on account of allegedly inciting his people against the state. He was released on bail on Thursday.

Developments such as this still generate news because of

the personalities involved, their political leanings, more so that they all left office not long ago. It is however good for democracy if they are being held in strict observance of the rule of law and for violation of extent rules.

But if it is for the purpose of decimating and consequently silencing opposition, then it holds grave danger for the nation’s democracy and gradually harms key institutions of state because of their vulnerability to abuse.

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• MAY 7, 2017

BRIEFINGNOTES Danger of Inter-agency Rivalry The DSS and the EFCC are clearly working at cross-purposes and this needless inter-agency rivalry is inimical to nation’s interest. Olawale Olaleye reports

I

t is hard to tell for how long this had gone on. But one thing is clear to all today: both the Department of State Service (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) see each other more as rivals than complementary agencies, while the intelligence they are meant to provide for the security of the nation has automatically become some form of competition.

The first indication that the two sister agencies may not be into each other came to the fore during the confirmation screening of the EFCC chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, who was rejected twice by the Senate because of a very damaging report by the DSS, which disproved his credibility to lead a corruption war.

It was a bad time for the EFCC as Magu’s only defence to the report was that the DSS had played double standards. He said the service submitted two reports – one indicting him and the other recommending him.

But that one report has since put the fate of Magu in a position of discomfort as his credibility has been badly impaired.

But if anyone ever doubted the possibility of their rivalry or thought the instance that stalled his confirmation was circumstantial, then, the latest controversy between them is a point to the truth of the rivalry between them.

Media reports had credited the DSS as alleging that a federal government agency was protecting a former special adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Amnesty Programme, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, from prosecution. It alleged that while the said agency claimed to be probing Kuku, it is in fact doing the direct opposite.

The EFCC, for the record, has been on the trail of Kuku for some time now, but Kuku has been in the United States since the loss of the 2015 elections by the PDP, a government he served in a major capacity.

“It is sad to note that, in the course of our investigation, we discovered that an agency, which is also saddled with an investigative authority, is rather creating a platform for criminal fugitives. We discovered, in particular, a fugitive, who is widely known to have looted our commonwealth, still has the audacity to use the machinery of that particular agency to harass and haunt adversaries, who are aware of his loot and heinous crimes.

“From our findings, we discovered that the agency in reference is now in criminal connivance with fugitive Kingsley Kuku, a former Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on the Federal Government Amnesty Programme on the Niger Delta. Sadly enough, the agency in question, which claims to be investigating the fraud, is ironically directly and brazenly facilitating the concealment of the looted several billions of naira belonging to the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.”

That was a huge slam, and pronto, the EFCC admitted to being the one referred to in the DSS statement. Here, it reacted: “The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to a rather salacious news report published in Vanguard and The Punch newspapers of May 2, 2017.

“The report published under two different headlines: “DSS accuses anti-graft agency of protecting Jonathan’s former aide”, and “Jonathan’s wanted aide being protected by govt. agency – DSS”, contained allegations that an anti-graft agency, which is purportedly investigating Mr. Kingsley Kuku, a former Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, on the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme, is in reality shielding him from the law. The phantom claim is made more ludicrous by the fact that it is attributed to some unnamed sources in the Department of State Services, DSS.”

From our findings, we discovered that the agency in reference is now in criminal connivance with fugitive Kingsley Kuku, a former Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on the Federal Government Amnesty Programme on the Niger Delta –– DSS Source

Daura Ordinarily, the EFCC said it ought not to dignify the reports with a response given that it was not directly named by the ghost sources, the stories are however dripping with innuendos that left little to the imagination regarding the agency under reference.

“While Vanguard stayed within the script of the game of ostrich handed to it by the purveyors of the unsubstantiated report, The Punch took a further step to identify the EFCC as the agency that is known to be investigating Kuku. Punch’s allusion is a fact known to everybody but the authors of the malicious story were either scared of the Commission or too embarrassed by their infantile gambit to name the EFCC. “For the avoidance of doubt, EFCC is investigating the Amnesty Office managed by Kuku. The Commission was compelled to declare him wanted in July 2015, after he failed to honour an invitation sent to him for interrogation on July 28, 2015. Rather than appear before the team investigating the allegations of fraud against him, he sent a letter, through his counsel, Karina Tunyan, claiming that he ‘is currently in the United States of America to keep an appointment with his doctors’, with a promise to appear on September 30, 2015.

“He never did, and his last known place of abode has remained the US, a different territorial jurisdiction.

In February 2016, in a bid to forestall his arrest by the EFCC, Kuku approached a Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking to stop the agency from arresting him on his possible return to Nigeria. The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, dismissed his application as lacking in merit, and upheld the statutory powers of the EFCC to

It must be stated unequivocally that the EFCC has no personal interest, or business with Kuku, other than the fact that he is a fugitive, who is wanted by the Commission to stand trial in Nigeria. The allegation in the reports that ‘the agency is in criminal connivance with fugitive Kingsley Kuku’ is a blatant lie.

–– EFCC

Magu investigate him. It must be stated unequivocally that the EFCC has no personal interest, or business with Kuku, other than the fact that he is a fugitive, who is wanted by the Commission to stand trial in Nigeria. The allegation in the reports that ‘the agency is in criminal connivance with fugitive Kingsley Kuku’ is a blatant lie.”

But soon after the DSS raised the alarm, Kuku denied the accusation and described his purported probe by the security agency as a ruse. He said in a statement that the unsigned statement purported to emanate from “a confidential source in the security agency,” was suspicious and apparently intended to blackmail him over nothing.

He denied sponsoring pipeline destruction and using any anti-corruption agency in the country to fight his alleged enemies or concealing looted funds belonging to the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

But except this rivalry is immediately cultured, it might soon take a more worrisome dimension that could harm the security architecture of the country.

Otherwise, how could anyone explain away the fact that two sister security agencies meant to work together and share information in national interest are flexing muscles over which is superior or trying to undo each other?

Even though they have distinct roles assigned by law, neither of them must frustrate their respective investigation efforts.

It is therefore instructive, for emphasis, that communication lapses between the FBI and CIA caused the United States Government the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2003. Reports stated that the Egyptian Intelligence had warned the CIA in particular but a mismanagement of the information between both agencies, whether or not there was rivalry, has left an ugly memory in the US history.

Back home in Nigeria, the current situation between the EFCC and DSS is of course an indication of the absence of an effective leadership, otherwise the two should have been long called to order with each sternly reminded of its place. This unhealthy rivalry must stop, because the intelligence community is a critical section in the nation’s security architecture, just as winning the battle against corruption is a goal that must be achieved. The two agencies must therefore compliment each other and the presidency has a critical role in making this happen.

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• MAY 7, 2017

CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

Before the New Whistleblower Template Sets Off The proposal to extend the frontiers of the whistleblower policy to arms, initially suggested by the Senate, is good because it could help to curb arms proliferation and indiscriminate possession of it. Importantly, however, the policy needs to be standardised before it becomes a tool for mischief. Damilola Oyedele writes

A

s the whistleblower policy gains more popularity across the country in the fight against corruption, the federal government, on April 23, 2017 announced that the policy would be extended to arms, to encourage citizens to squeal on any persons they know to be in possession of small arms and light weapons. The intendment of the policy, an initiative of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), is to disarm communities, particularly those with propensity for violence, and enhance the general security of the country.

The presidency in a statement, said it was in the process of formulation of the mechanism to guide the policy, whose success in the anti-graft war is fast generating controversy. Where the whistleblower for anti-graft gets five per cent of the recovered money, the incentive for squealing on illegal arms possession, would be a yet to be announced reward.

“The ONSA initiative may be an independent line of inquiry or in active collaboration with what the government is doing in finance. This will be a sort of searchlight on weapons ownership in the country. Whatever form or shape it takes, the administration wants to take a tough line to curtail the large number of illegal weapons in circulation used in intra and inter-communal conflicts,” the statement issued by presidential spokesperson, Mr. Garba Shehu, read.

It is however important to note that the whistleblower policy is not a new thing to this clime, or any other clime for that matter, it simply means providing information to relevant security agencies about all forms of illegal activities, except that the reward part is making it more popular.

Enter the Arms Template

Not many however recall that the proposal to extend the policy to arms was first mentioned, at least publicly, in the Senate by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, during a contribution on the Southern Kaduna crises. On April 11, 2017, Ekweremadu, who was reacting to some deficiencies of a Senate Committee report on the crises, said unless steps are taken to mop up or reduce the amount of illegal arms in circulation, Nigeria would never be able to deal with incessant communal clashes, armed robbery and other crimes involving the use of weapons.

In a separate statement after the announcement that the policy is being considered, Ekweremadu called for the formulation of a general framework for whistleblowing, covering all areas FG wants to apply the policy on, such as corruption, illicit arms, kidnapping, and terrorism.

“It should predetermine the compensation, not necessarily on the basis of percentage, and apply it across board from a pool of fund set aside from percentage deducted from recovered loot. That is to say that whatever compensations or motivations should be paid from recovered loot, irrespective of the crime a whistle is blown on,” he said.

The Motivating Successes

Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, said recently that the whistleblower policy has led to the discovery of about N17 billion in the last four months. He spoke at the 2017 Association of National Accountants of Nigeria Week/Award held in Abuja on April 24, 2017, where he detailed some of the recoveries to include N521,815,000, $53,272,747, £122,890.00 and €547,730.00.

“There have been major recoveries in recent times: $9.8 million owned by former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu, on February 3, 2017, in a house in Kaduna; alleged interception of N49 million cash at the Kaduna airport; discovery of N4billion in a bank account allegedly linked to a former deputy governorship candidate in Niger State; discovery of N250.5 million from a Bureau de Change office in Balogun Market, Lagos, and the biggest haul of $43million in an Ikoyi apartment.

But aside the Yakubu haul, the commission has been unable to reveal the identities of the owners of the other monies, leading to speculation that the

Monguno

discoveries may have been a stunt after all.

Whistleblower and Abuse of Policy

There are fears that the policy may cause more problems than successes in the long run, particularly if security agencies do not carry out some due diligence before acting on information given to them. For instance, the police last week, acting on ‘credible information’ by a whistleblower that huge sums of monies, allegedly proceeds of crime, were in the home of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje, raided his home, and carted away a personal laptop, some files, and N18 million.

Goje alleged that some of the files included documents on the 2017 budget, adding that the committee could no longer deliver on its promise to lay and ensure the passage of the budget, immediately after the Easter recess due to the raid.

The police have since returned all files, and monies seized in the raid, but as Senate President Bukola Saraki rightly noted, an alleged whistleblower misled the police, but has now publicly embarrassed a Senator. He added that the police have the responsibility to publicly accept responsibility for the blunder.

“If truly it was a whistleblower and he gave them wrong information, which is what the IG is telling them, what are they doing about that wrong information? Have they come out to make a public apology for this wrong raid?” Saraki added.

And the Growing Fears of Misuse

One of the biggest fears against the proposal is, of course, its susceptibility to abuse. It would be easier to plant small arms in someone’s home and squeal, than it would be to plant huge sums of money, and prove that it was proceeds of crimes.

Instructively, Ekweremadu has noted that in extending the whistleblower policy to arms, there must be consequences for blowing false whistle else the policy would be deployed for witch-hunt and mischief.

“We must ensure that information are thoroughly investigated before the law enforcement agencies strike and that those who give false information get at least three month imprisonment without an option of

fine. We have had many instances, where traders blew the whistle on their colleagues in the big markets, because they are doing better than them; there have also been instances, where people’s homes are broken into and various parts of their homes destroyed in search of non-existent loot due to willful misinformation, and we must take steps to discourage this and any form of political witch-hunt,” he said.

Ekweremadu also noted that the policy should not be a permanent one, but a temporary one to summarily arrest the trends of corruption and violent crimes in the country, in addition to reorienting Nigerians on their role in national security.

“Ordinarily, every Nigerian owes the state the obligation to see something and say something. But that culture is lacking, hence the need to reorient and motivate citizens over a given period of time. It should not be a permanent feature because blowing the whistle on crimes such as corruption, illicit arms, kidnapping, and other forms of crime is actually a matter of obligation on the side of the citizens and in public interest”, he added.

Hon. Kingsley Chinda, whose state, Rivers, has experienced armed violence in recent years, lauded the proposed extension of the policy to arms proliferation, but also noted that the guidelines must be comprehensive and explicit. Like others, he agreed that where false accusations are made, the whistleblower must be punished, with the victim entitled to some compensation.

Chinda cautioned that it should not be an excuse for the violation of fundamental human rights, but searches must adhere strictly to the rule of law.

“The fact that information has been given does not validate the fundamental human rights of the victim.

My quarrel with the present government is its irresponsive and uncivil posture towards the populace.

The Act must specifically require adherence to the rule of law. Once information is given, the agency should discreetly conduct a preliminary investigation to reasonably ascertain the veracity of the information and clear identities of the parties involved.

“After a prima facie case is made, you swing into action by procuring the relevant documents to empower a search before moving into private premises and the intention must be specific and the owner of the premises must be present and notified of the reason for the search and what you are looking for,” he said.

Chinda also expressed fears that it could be a tool for harassment of perceived opponents, but noted that strict adherence to the rule of law will help check abuse, which is prevalent in the system.

Similary, Hon. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, whose state, Cross River, recently experience a herdsmen attack that left 10 dead with 3500 rendered homeless, said the proposed policy is a good one, but should be implemented with caution.

“The issue with it is the fact that politicians have the propensity for mischief. Some politicians could start planting arms on perceived rivals, just to frame them. It is susceptible to abuse. The Security Agencies should be better motivated to deliver,” he argued.

The Unanswered Questions

The government has to realize that the proliferation of small and light weapons in recent times is responsible for the rising insecurity in the land, particularly communal, farmers/herdsmen clashes. As Senator Isiaka Wakili noted in an interview, the proliferation is being driven by a need for self-defence, so it would be rare for a member of any community that is accumulating arms to protect itself to reveal this to the authority.

“Most of the communities are trying to do these (self-determination and self-defence), so they accumulate these arms that they themselves would not want to go and expose themselves. They have taken that as a means of self-defence because of the inter-communal clashes and crises and attacks, so they would not want to expose their defence mechanisms. So, it would be very difficult for it to have much success, no matter the amount of money you are offering,” he said.

It is therefore imperative that government takes necessary steps to enhance security and the welfare of its citizenry, some of whom are driven to illicit acts through desperation. This may likely be the most effective way to curbing arms proliferation and related crimes.

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• MAY 7, 2017

CICERO/ISSUE

President Muhammadu Buhari with INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, during the latter’s swearing-in at the State House, Abuja

A Nation’s Dying Politics of Ideology With the gale of defections across the political parties, the days of politics of ideology may be long gone, writes Onyebuchi Ezigbo

T

he history of political associations in Nigeria dates back to the pre-colonial days, when socio-cultural groups and their affiliate bodies tried to promote cultural heritage and ensure peaceful cohabitation.

But with the advent of colonial administration, political groups with a more focused agenda emerged to challenge the power and authority of the intruding colonial rulers in the governing of the affairs of their country.

At that time, the most common objective of these political groups was to mobilise fellow country men and women into action to resist the presumed oppressive tendencies of the foreign colonial masters and to demand for freedom and independence of their land. Thus, the agitation for self-governance triggered off the formation of many political associations, which later metamorphosed into political parties.

A simple definition of political party could therefore be the coming together of like-minded people with the common vision to win and control government in order to implement policies that reflect its ideology.

Among the first generation political parties to be formed in Nigeria was in 1959, shortly before Nigeria gained her independence from Britain. They were the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). This party was led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.

The second political party was the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) led by the Saudana, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, which was majorly populated by the Hausa-Fulani of the northern extraction.

The other one was the Action Group, also led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and which dominated mainly by the Yoruba-speaking people of the southwestern part of Nigeria. But one of the significant features of these early political parties was their clear and distinct vision, which could be translated to mean their ideology at that time.

While the NCNC could be said to be more nationalistic and liberal, based on its membership and approach to issues then, the other two parties, tried to identify and pursue issues relating to the core interest of their people.

Yet, whatever the differences that existed among them, their commitment to securing freedom and better life for the Nigerian people was total. With such strength of vision and commitment, it was not surprising that they were able take up the challenge of administering the country after the colonialists left the Nigerian shores.

But for the military intervention, which swept then civilian government away from office in 1966, the major political parties in existence then would have matured into a very strong and virile institution for leadership training and development. Curiously, political parties that evolved during the Second Republic between 1979 and 1983 tried to follow the example set by the First Republic politicians by forming

political parties with ideological distinction.

For instance, the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), which later won the national election and formed government at the centre was known for its conservative ideology. The Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) led by the late Azikiwe shared mixed ideological leaning that was neither rightist nor leftist but known as “a little to the Right and a little to the left”. It had strong affiliation to capitalism and gave less emphasis to welfarism.

Unlike the NPN, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) led by the late sage, Awolowo will be remembered for its emphasis on social welfare for the populace. In the same manner, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), which along with the UPN was the only ones that had a second life under the dispensation had a core leftist ideological stance popularly known as the “Talakawa Idealogy”. This endeared it to the poor and lowly placed from the northern Nigeria.

The same thing applied to other political parties that existed then during the Second Republic; they all had something that stood them apart from each other and a membership that also held tenaciously to the party’s vision and objectives. This factor, however, accounted for why carpet-crossing in the legislature was nearly non-existent during the Second Republic, when compared to what obtains now.

Instead, what was seen then was more of political realignment in which parties with common agenda or those that shared similar ideology negotiated a working agreement to secure majority votes.

Interestingly, the return to civil rule in 1998 has brought in its wake, political parties that have no ideological foundation. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Peoples Party (APP), Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) all came into being because of their desire to contest elections and of course, ‘grab power’.

They did not give adequate attention to the issues of ideology and what can differentiate each party from the other. Apart from a few stated objectives and aims, these parties have no clear-cut ideology or policy framework, which they can flaunt to the Nigerian electorate.

In the case of the former ruling party, PDP, which was in government at the centre for 16 years, there is little or nothing that the supporters could identify as its main vision, which it had consistently stood for. But the party stated in its Constitution that it’s cardinal goal shall be to promote sustainable development, to promote federalism and equitable revenue sharing formula.

Apart from providing security of life and property, the party also pledged to promote national integration and the peaceful existence of the diverse people of country. In addition, PDP pledged to ensure an egalitarian society founded on freedom, equality and justice. For APC, a merger of political parties, which rose to power by galvanizing opposition forces based on the slogan of “change” to win power, there is nothing to point to as its ideological underpinning.

The party, which consistently referred to itself as a movement only said it would run a people-oriented government and that it would fight insurgency, corruption and injustice in the land as well as improve the economy, which it said had almost been run aground.

Others like the Labour Party and the APGA do not also have distinctive ideologies aside from their stated objectives under its aims and objectives. They pledge to implement social democratic programmes. The LP, for instance, prides itself as a social democratic party, whose main aim is to create a new Nigeria, where patriotism, altruistic, transparent and commitment to process and rule of law in governance will be guaranteed. It also said it would seek to pursue a populist policy of narrowing the gap between the poor and the rich in the society.

However, it failed to identify with any of the socialist and welfarist ideological standpoints through which it hopes to deliver its promises to the people. There is every indication that this absence of ideological framework by present day political parties has been responsible for the several incidences of defection and carpet-crossing by politicians.

More worrisome is the frequency of such defections and the fact that most of the politicians have formed the habit of moving from the losing party to the ruling one, either to secure victory at an election or secure security in their personal lives. This unhealthy situation is fast defining the new age politics and definitely not good for the development and the institutionalisation of virile political parties in the country.

Consequently, developments before, during and after the general election of 2015 provided an apt depiction of the unreliability and mercurial nature of the Nigerian politicians. Whilst the merger that gave rise to the APC is understandable since it was a child of circumstance, to think that the same category of people, who left the PDP, believed to have destroyed the country to the point it is now, are the same set of people that have come together to define what APC and the future of the country should be means distinctive result might be a tall order after all.

There is, therefore, no debating this: the concept of ideological politics is completely decimated and non-existent and what is prevalent today is the politics of stomach infrastructure, both for the ruler and the ruled. Survival is now the underpropping factor, supported by the need for security to live a life devoid of harassment or intimidation by the government in power.

Unfortunately, the kind of society that the average Nigerian seeks is not realisable through such a mindset, not only because it is selfish and Darwinian in concept, but more because it is not an abiding disposition that would see the parties outlive themselves. This is why the future of Nigeria’s ideological politics is deemed bleak and only a revolution genuinely instigated by the desire to live this dream can make it happen.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

• MAY 7, 2017

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SUNDAYINTERVIEW Okezie Ikpeazu

Ikpeazu....we are changing the Abia narrative

Photos: Sunday Adigun

It’s Unfair to Politicise Buhari’s Health A quintessential scholar by all standards, Governor Okezie Victor Ikpeazu is just another fine administrator with privileged experience in policy and execution. His approach to governance reflects his background as a sound academic of note. Like a certified mechanic with the record for delivering good job, he goes to the root of a problem, diagnoses it and starts to fix it methodically with clinical thoroughness. His science background is quick to come to bear on each of his interactions as he is wont to relate things to the exactitude of science and its proficiency. With an interesting and insightful pre-interview session, which had examined Abia under his watch – his goals and objectives – Governor Ikpeazu took the duo of Olawale Olaleye and Shola Oyeyipo through his trajectory since assuming office some two years ago and addressed what could pass as the good, the bad and the ugly of his leadership so far. Excerpts:

A

t the peak of the economic recession, the federal government intervened at different points, first with the bailout funds and then, the Paris Club fund, then the allegations of diversion, mismanagement and all that. Can you shed more light on this matter drawing example from Abia?

When the bailout came, I summoned major stakeholders, especially, the leadership of the labour: Trade Union Congress, Nigerian Labour Congress, Union of Pensioners and all that and we said this is the bailout and I left it for them. I said to

them, I do not want to be part of it. So, they were the people that took the decision about how the bailout was spent. It was so open and transparent to the extent that the account of the bailout is as a separate inflow, had nothing to do with the state government and the ICPC commended Abia State for the way the bailout was spent.

Of course, when the Paris Club fund came specific guidelines were given, 50 per cent for salary, 50 per cent for development. I also constituted a committee of labour and said to them, determine what is 50 per cent of the money and let me know so that I can plan what infrastructure I want to spend the money but they later said they needed additional N600 million, so rather than 50 per

cent, what we got was 50 percent less N600 million.

My confidence is that by the time next tranche comes I will have little or no problem in terms of salary because I am a man, who plays according to the rule. So, Abia is not among states that they are looking at in terms of mismanagement or diversion. The books are there for anybody to see. Abia is not owing workers – our civil servants; some revenue generating parastatals could be owing the staff. What we pay them is subvention and once we pay our subvention, we expect the institution to pay salaries.

Continued on Pg.72

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• MAY 7, 2017

CICERO/INTERVIEW • It’s UnfaIr to PolItIcIse BUharI’s health •

Continued on Pg.71

Let’s talk about your party, the PDP. It’s been very tough since the party lost the 2015 election and it is bothersome that the party is not giving the kind of opposition expected of it. Will PDP continue to wobble till 2019?

The party has a date with the hangman. History will be determined by what happens after that day. My kind of opposition is: there are rules. Don’t tell a lie against anybody. Study your audience. What kinds of propaganda are you going to be telling them? Challenge your opponent based on scientific and verifiable data because what you are playing around with is confidence, people lost confidence in the PDP that led to the outcome of that election of 2015 at the center. So, it is a confidence issue and you don’t repair confidence by propaganda and another lie. It could have worked for the APC against the PDP, because they used to load the subconscious of Nigerians with all kinds of things until it became as if it was true. On whether we are going to wobble or not, it depends on the outcome of our date with the hangman.

But do you fear a descent into one party state?

Political system is like organism. It evolves. It moves from egg to lava, from lava to maggot or pupa and adult. It evolves and when certain conditions are in place, that evolution will go in certain directions. What will happen is that we will still climb but from my perspective, I always leave some options for the omniscience.

You remember during the time of Sanni Abacha; you also remember the recent political history in Nigeria – when things begin to go in certain way, something begins to happen.

There is something APC as a party needs to work on; they need to protect the stem that erected that party. They need to discover it and hold on to it. Then, all other political interests – two scenarios actually. They may become too weak, in which case we would have one strong party and some mushroom contractions.

You could find potentially strong political associations but none is capable of wrestling the power at the center until some realignment. I am happy that you didn’t ask me what I will do or what I plan to do.

Without asking you to assess the federal government, will you say the government has fulfilled the promises upon which it came into office?

Well, I have not read the manifesto but I think that their account of stewardship for the past 18 months has somehow separated the sense of ideology of Nigerians into elite and ordinary people.

The common people still believe that the APC is capable of some magic. It is the elite that don’t understand what is happening. How disenchantment and disillusionment within the ranks of the elite in Nigeria would influence the common people is a matter for another day. But I assure you that the average Nigerian has become numb and insensitive or touchy to pressure from politicians.

If you push them too hard with your idea, it doesn’t matter how beautiful, they react. They have suffered too many shocks. And if you ignore them, they will just remain quiet. And the people on the saddle also have issues because you don’t know whether they are enjoying you so much that they are dosing or whether what they doing is to react. I think that the elites are worried and the common people are hoping that a magic will happen.

Would you say the fight against corruption is selective or discriminatory?

I would rather say that the fight against corruption should focus on strengthening the institution. It is more important to prevent it.

There are moral lessons our parents taught us that you dare not take another person’s things. The people are ready to learn. The thing shouldn’t be a Tom and Jerry kind of thing. They should be driving Nigeria towards a perfect society. I think we could evolve a situation, where even people can report themselves.

As a political leader are you not worried about the president’s state of health?

Are my not worried? I am not worried. At his age, he is not a young person. My father didn’t live up to that age before he died. I have a lot of respect for our elders; we have culture and also, every person can fall sick. What I am worried is the management of the news. Mr. President, as he is, anybody presenting him to us that he can be part of a team of 11 boys playing soccer isn’t sincere. No! So, we appreciate his desire to serve despite the limitations that health can bring. Some of us respect his patriotism to present himself, but

He needs to be a little bit open about how he feels. A lot of people are praying and hoping that he should get better. I do not subscribe to it that we should politicise it or mystify it. I think it isn’t proper because of those who love his immediate family.

I don’t think it is proper for him also

we are saying that there is a limit. He needs to be a little bit open about how he feels. A lot of people are praying and hoping that he should get better. I do not subscribe to it that we should politicise it or mystify it. I think it isn’t proper because of those who love his immediate family. I don’t think it is proper for him also.

It will be two years soon that you assumed office as governor, how much grounds have you covered in terms your social contract with the people of Abia State?

About 20 or 22 months ago, when we mounted the saddle of service here in Abia State, we had a clear vision of what we wanted and our decision and strategy were based on a very deep study of our circumstances, juxtaposed on the socio-economic environment of our nation. Recall that about 22 months ago, Nigeria was deep in recession. The oil price had plummeted, production quota was low and there was Niger Delta Crisis, the Boko Haram violence and all that. People had almost lost faith in governance.

So, we started with the basic things. What is it that separates us from other states? Are there things that we can do better than other states? Are there some natural endowments? We looked at everything from industry to all kinds of natural endowments to the people: what kind of people are we? And then, we arrived at a vision and this solution was encapsulated in one sentence: give our people a better life. How do we do that? We needed to create a vehicle, which we called the five pillars of development. Like I said earlier, our vision was based on the things we can do and the capacity of the Abia person.

Those five pillars include trade and commerce, because it is documented everywhere that Abia or people from this part of Nigeria are people that are very strong in commerce. Fredrick Forsyth in his book alluded to it, when he tried to compare our people from the South to the Lebanese. And I will tell you a story.

It is only in Aba and Umuhahia here that even in the early 60s and early 70s, you wouldn’t see departmental stores. You wouldn’t see Kingsway in Aba. You wouldn’t see Kewalrams. You wouldn’t see all those.

If you put a tag on any item, Aba people will find a way to bring it into the market – the same quality but cheaper, or probably comparable to your own and it would be more flexible getting it.

So, trade and commerce is one pillar. The other pillar is small and medium scale manufacturing – production of all kinds of things.

Our emphasis around here is leather things: shoes, belts, bags and all that and then, the garments.

The other pillar was agriculture because of the job opportunity, and because we believe we have the most fertile soil on earth and that can be proved. This is the only place, where you spend less than N150.00 to get drinking water. Talking about water, water is one of the products for beverage industries. That is why beverage industries have remained here. We have Pepsi. We have Coca Cola.

Beyond agriculture, of course, we have oil and gas. Oil and gas

is our number four but of course, we don’t want to continue to talk about oil and gas. We want to look at post-oil and gas era for Abia State. In fact, at a point, we started praying for the oil to dry up so that we could really see how far we could go without it.

Finally is education. Education in the sense that we think education can be both a pillar and an enabler. We wanted to weave some of our developments in terms of the other four pillars that I have mentioned around education – to structure it into technical education to drive small scale manufacturing. In fact, we are conceptualising an Aba or Abia Business School, so that the business paradigm of the Aba people can become what people can comprehend.

These five pillars needed some enablers. Of course, you cannot move personnel and goods from one place to another unless the roads are good. So, we needed some infrastructure. We needed roads. We needed security. So, we set our eyes on road infrastructure and we are on 64 roads today. We have commissioned about half of that and we are prepared to celebrate our anniversary.

Abia is probably one of the few states apart from Lagos and may be Rivers – where within our economic bracket that has three ‘Grade A’ contractors working simultaneously: Arab Contractors in Umuahia, Cetraco is in Aba and we have a very good Chinese firm that is doing our flyover at Osisioma exchange. For the purpose of emphasis, that will be the first flyover in the entire Abia State.

We also pioneered the use of cement pavements. That is our response to the fact that we recognised the peculiar terrain in Aba. It is not true that the previous administration did not do enough in Aba and the rest of the state, the worry was that they did not deal with the problem from a foundational basis. You must do the drainages for the roads you are doing. You must finish the roads with street lights so that you can extend business hours.

In terms of roads infrastructure, if you ask me whether I have been able to cover grounds, I will leave it for the people to judge but I think we have not done badly. Going back to that, I will like to be remembered for the quality of jobs we do rather than the number. I am looking for roads that will outlive this administration and I am happy we have been able to establish that contract with the people.

I will tell you something that happened a few days ago. There is a bad road called Port Harcourt road. It is federal road. I was touched because of the pains of the people in that area. I decided to go there. When I got there, I saw that it is really very bad. So, as we were moving, I overheard one poor old woman saying “if the governor has come to see us, then this road is as good as done.”

What it tells you, is that there seems to be an understanding by the common people that once I give attention to something; once I proclaim, somehow something will be done. As at that day, I couldn’t find the money. I don’t know where the money will come from but we had said we would do groundbreaking on that road to the glory of God soon. So, for the people to say “now that the

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CICERO/INTERVIEW • It’s UnfaIr to PolItIcIse BUharI’s health • governor has come that this road will be done”, I mean it puts it beyond me the consideration of whether it will be done or not.

Then come to health. We thought about how to improve our health sector. The thing to do and the way to go anywhere in the world is to emphasis preventive medicine. What do we do to stop people from coming to the hospital every now and then? The way to do preventive medicine is to emphasis primary healthcare but I am happy that it is also part of the national policy to provide primary healthcare and we have over 274 primary healthcare centres.

So, I decided that we are going to strengthen primary healthcare but for us to strengthen primary healthcare, the strategy was to drive primary healthcare from the secondary healthcare centres because it has to be a pool. When you are developing strategy for the development of infrastructure, you have to make up your mind on whether it would be a push from the bottom or a pull from the top and in this case, we said we can have primary, secondary, tertiary and super tertiary, and there are other levels which I would allude to.

We said if we strengthen primary healthcare centers, they could serve as referral points for a cluster of primary healthcare centers.

What I mean is that there is a General Hospital in Umuahia, it could serve as a referral center for the local governments that are around Umuahia, Isiala Ngwa North, Isiala Ngwa South, may be some parts of Bendel and all that. But referral healthcare centers will be the secondary healthcare centers.

The big consultants will be there; modern day healthcare facilities will be there, but primary healthcare centers can now refer; they can have ambulances; they can even do e-medicine – telemedicine using skype, which by the grace of God we have launched for the first time in Abia State, when the Nigerian Medical Council came.

The honorable minister launched that programme. Some medical doctors – consultants – can actually attend to patients in the rural areas using skype. So, we intend to build four of the many secondary healthcare centers to capacity. For these four, we said what do we need to do to make it function? The first was to provide adequate lodging facilities for the medical practitioners.

That is the only way the doctors can remain there and be on call 24/7. So, we are going to continue for the next two to three months.

We will bring up some other supporting healthcare facilities, so that in each senatorial district, we will have enough secondary healthcare facilities – properly equipped with the facilities that I have mentioned. Beyond the secondary healthcare, we are also collaborating because you find out that we have a huge number of Abians with huge capacity when you talk of medicine outside the shores of Nigeria. Some of them in the United States are ready to come for an organ transplant center and heart surgery center and that will be our tertiary facility, which will complement the ones that we have.

Beyond that, there is also a research center and this is the model of Cuba. I asked myself in Cuba, in Cuba, the life expectancy for men is 79 years; the life expectancy for female is 80 – higher than that of US and the doctor-patient ratio is higher than that of US. So, what is it that Cubans are doing properly that we are not doing?

Then, I discovered that their emphasis is on preventive medicine but whatever happens down the line, theirs is five tiers.

These are research and development, the teaching hospital, secondary healthcare, primary healthcare and then they have a family doctor level and what it means is that you can have ten doctors on a street knocking on your doors and coming to attend to you to administer anti-malaria, anti-diarrhea and all that. So, that stops a lot of people from coming to the hospital every now and then. So, for us in Abia, that is where we are going, because we are beginning to revive the environmental health officers that will be led by doctors.

We will provide vehicles and the doctors will now leave the primary healthcare center and move into the communities, because in Cuba, if you give a Cuban an egg, as the Cuban is removing the egg shell, his interest is not only in eating the egg, his interest is also in how do I dispose of the egg shell because he doesn’t want to drop it where it will percolate water for mosquitoes to breed. But we would prefer to buy insecticides than to prevent mosquitoes. So, it is about orientation and this is part of what we are doing.

Then, in education, we want to have what we call E for E, Education for Employment and under ours, we will have data of about 35, 000 youths, which we have collated already – segregated by age, local governments, date of births, skills, precincts – so that if I want young people for all kinds of things, I go to that data bank.

They have identity cards. They have bank accounts with UBA and all that. So, the whole idea is to produce middle standard, young technically-minded secondary school graduates.

We started inaugurating our technical schools – one per senatorial district. But we have other small skills acquisition companies in chair making, brick molding and all that. The idea is to make sure that our youths of today have theory in the classroom and also, some practical experience. The idea as the name implies is education for employment. We are also preparing them as fresh students for our polytechnic, so that they are already minded towards one form of engineering course or the other.

That is one of what we have done in terms of education and we think that we can do more because we have called on some Australians to teach our primary school teachers rudiments and skills of ICT, because in my time, I would like to see every primary school pupil typing his name into the computer; every primary school pupil in Abia should be able to type his name, type the name of his teacher, type the subject he or she was taught, type the name of his teacher, type the time and then log out.

So, we’ve got some Australians primary school teachers. They have come three times and they are due in two weeks to come again and then rub minds with our teachers. The idea is to make them train our teachers on what it is to be a primary school teacher,

Continued on Pg.72

Ikpeazu

to improve their confidence and sharpen their skills and build capacity and then, we will now come with tablets, which we will then give our primary school students to try their hands on. It’s a gradual thing. I think we are laying the foundation. If you ask me where are we I will say we have done 40 to 50 per cent in terms of issues that are foundational, and going forward, people will begin to see the surface structure of what we are doing!

And then as we speak, in the next two weeks, the first batch of our UBEC since we came into office and that will see three hundred schools renovated and by His grace, two of my model schools – what I call model schools will see the light of the day.

My model school is a school that will provide good academic environment. I don’t believe in day school because I cannot trust what parents will do – how much time they can spend with the children, because it is easy for a child to forget everything that he or she did in school before coming back to school.

So, you don’t have to break the circle of learning. Students will be boarding. The teachers will live there – nursery, primary and secondary. The primary school teachers, some of them will leave but the students will be boarding. That will be my ideal model school.

It is at that time that I will be able to speak to private schools. But as I speak, I have never asked any private school to shut down on account of anything, because I don’t even have the kind of school that we want them to copy. I must lead with example and say to them if your school is not as good as this, shut down. I hope that in the next 12 months, two of those model schools will take shape.

Even with what we have, Abia State has continued to maintain the first position in national exams – NECO, WAEC and all that.

So, I can now take your question frontally and my answer will be, in terms of remaining focused on the agenda we have set for ourselves, I will say yes. Even in terms of our drive to enhance trade and commerce, the garments, leather and shoes industries in Aba. We have attracted by direct sales, not less than N1.5bn to the people who are doing these shoes and garments in Aba by our advocacy for made-in-Nigeria and Aba people are becoming more confident, they are putting boldly on their items now ‘Proudly in Abia’, ‘Proudly Aba’.

And in agriculture, we set out to be the best in oil palm, cashew and cassava. We used to be number six in cocoa; we still want to go back to that number six. Our emphasis is on four crops. We don’t want to do everything. We go to where we have comparative advantage. In terms of oil palm, like my strategy has always been, we said, what are the foundational things that we need to do? In fact, the natural thing to do is to produce the seedling – the right quality, the right species of the seedlings, which gives so much in terms of oil yield.

Because it was scarce, some of them were selling for 250 a pan, so we set out to proliferate it and we made up our minds to produce seven million. As I speak with you, in two years we have done close to four million oil palms. We are also very strong in mushroom farming. We are partnering a private company in terms of cashew and the agenda again is to proliferate cashew estates in all the local governments of Abia State and we are bringing the seedlings from Brazil. So, even in terms of agriculture, I think we have done a lot. We have laid the foundation for the kinds of advancement we want in all sectors of the economy and I think we are set to begin to set building blocks on this foundations.

One of the major directions of this administration has been the marketing of made-in-Aba and this has kind of evolved into serious concerns, such that it is one of the positive image-making for the country itself. What is the drive behind this ideology?

Yes, it goes back to what I said earlier. What is it that our people can do very well – better than other people and the greatest asset of the Abia is human capital. If we can invest deeply in our people and their capacity to do the kinds of things they do, I think we’ll

self-propel ourselves. Therefore, it would be a abnormal for any serious-minded leader to abandon that huge sector actually – creating all sorts of designs and wares: shoes, leather works, bags, belt and shirts and dresses and Aba and Abia have been the window for the exportation of almost a million pair of shoes to the entire West Africa sub-region every week.

It has been going on for almost 30 years and having done so much with little or no government support, we thought that this is a country that is in recession and if that is so, what advantages can we get from this challenge? Are we going to continue to do the same things the same way or are we going to look inwards now and make certain bold statements about the kind of people we are and we chose the second option. We want the world to use our shoes, use our belts and our bags. If consistently for the past 30 years, people from Cameroon, Togo, Cote de Voire, Benin Republic have had to rely on our people for the things they need, why can’t we in this country use it?

And we said this is a country of over 170 million people, even if only 40 million are wearing our shoes and they wear an average of two pairs of shoes and if one shoe costs N2,500 or N3,000, you can see what that contributes to the national GDP and the GDP of the state. By the way, the GDP of Aba and Abia has been consistently higher than the national average for so many years. So, we decided to run on it and I made a vow in my inaugural speech.

On that day, I was clad all through in made-in-Aba, and I promised that I will always adorn the fashion made-in-Aba, not because I want to pay lip service to the sophistry of made-in-Aba, but because I love the quality of made-in-Abia products. I know they are good enough and then I have not been disappointed wearing them. I have had to address a summit in the World Bank, I wore them. I attended some other meetings, I wore them. I was in China, I wore them.

And luckily, somehow, the present administration at the center, seeing through, has bought into it in terms of how the military came with their orders. We just received an order from the Army; we just received an order from the Navy, the Customs, the NYSC and all that. And these young people have been busy and their confidence level is high. They are good to go.

This marketing of made-in-Aba products has seen you travel to a few countries. And recently, you just came back from China. What can you say are the gains of these trips?

We started with Turkey. On our trip to Turkey, we went to see shoe makers there and we designed our focus and reason for being in Turkey clearly to ourselves and we said we are not here to look at the already made shoes. Not the shoes but how the shoes are made. We were there to look at how the shoes are made but for some reasons, we couldn’t take all the action we wanted. We needed to see the equipment, we needed to see the shoe factories, we needed to see how the shoes are made in automated way, we also needed to see those who produce the machines, but we couldn’t get all that we needed and my mind continued to agitate and thirst for the idea.

And of course, the first Governors’ Forum-Chinese business interface came and this time, I did not go with the leather people, because I went with predominantly the garment people. When we were in China, surprisingly, the Chinese are very open. Not only did we see the shoe manufacturing industry at work, we also saw how the machines were being used because we were taken to every room in this factory.

Beyond that, we were taken to the place where the machines for the various purposes of shoe-making are being produced and we had the privilege of working hand-in-hand with the man, who was producing the machines. He took us on a tour of the factory, where he had the machines and got us into a factory, where the workers were on break and actually we had a filled day.

(See the concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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CICERO/ISSUE

A Lingering Legal Tussle on the Verge of Denouement With the twists and turns so far thrown up in the trial of the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, the case is gradually drawing to a close with the prosecution closing its case and the expectation of a no-casesubmission by the defence team. Olawale Olaleye, who has been following the proceedings, writes

W

ith the ongoing case of false declaration of assets against the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Olubukola Saraki, gradually winding to a dramatic close, it stands out as one trial that would go down in history as a good case study for analysis in political science classes. With the charges against Saraki amended a few times by the federal government to sit well with what many had come to tag as predetermined notions, the twists and turns have also become some form of comic relief, even when the gladiators might have begun to count their losses.

Mr. Samuel Madojemu, a former Head of Investigation Division at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) was recently cross-examined by the defence. Madojemu, who has spent 20 years in the CCB, was part of the CCB-EFCC joint investigation into the assets of Saraki. It was expected, therefore, that Madojemu would have a good time in the witness box as both sides needed to get as much as possible from him to help their case.

Although his examiner-in-chief was not quite dramatic as he merely put out the already known facts earlier presented by the first prosecution witness, Michael Wetkas, an EFCC operative, this very cross-examination was indeed eventful. Conducted by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN) and his colleague, Paul Erokoro (SAN), over four days, the totality of Madojemu’s evidence during cross-examination might have changed the course of the case as he made startling revelations.

An analysis of the charges showed that eight of them were about properties owned by companies in which the defendant holds substantial shares as declared in his seven asset declaration forms. There are also charges concerning source of money for the purchase of property, cash lodgment and possession of credit cards allegedly not declared on the forms. The other charges are on failure to declare property, failure to declare a loan, whether interest in one of the companies is substantial or not and allegation of collecting double salary as a public officer.

The defence team took the witness through each of the counts in order to get evidence that will strengthen their case. For example, the defence asked Madojemu whether any law prevents a public officer from owning shares in companies. He answered in the negative and added a proviso that the public officer must however declare the shares in his asset form.

At a different time, they made him read through the defendant’s asset declaration forms and asked if the defendant mentioned his shares in the companies said to own some of the properties he was being prosecuted for owning. He agreed that Saraki declared his “substantial shares” in the companies. Erokoro also asked Madojemu whether there was any column in the asset declaration form provided for declaring properties owned by companies in which the declarant had interest.

The witness said there was none.

Suffice it to say that the issues of properties owned by companies, where Saraki has substantial shares form the basis of Counts 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 on the charge list. But with those answers, the defence had successfully knocked out the eight charges against their client to the extent that he did not violate any law by not declaring properties owned by companies in which he has interest. All that was required of him was to declare his interest in those companies. And the witness agreed he did so.

In his evidence during the cross-examination, Madojemu after reading out the contents of the asset declaration forms filled by Saraki, was asked if the defendant through one of his companies, Carlisle Properties Limited actually owned the property on No. 15A McDonald, Ikoyi since 2000. He agreed that the federal government sold the property to G & C in 1997 and that Saraki’s company bought the property in 2002 from G & C. The property was therefore not purchased by Saraki in 2006, when he was governor as earlier claimed by EFCC. The contention of the prosecution that since the federal government sold the property in 1997 to G &C Properties Limited, Saraki could not have owned it before he became governor in 2003 and was therefore not tenable. This admission effectively nullified the charge of anticipatory declaration, which the prosecution had initially leveled against the defendant.

The Prosecution had at the beginning of the trial dramatised the charge of anticipatory declaration and whipped up public sentiment against Saraki. The impression created by this was that Saraki was a criminal to have declared assets he did not own before assuming office with a view to acquiring them later.

Madojemu was again asked whether he had seen the contents of the various declaration forms filled by the defendant. He answered in the affirmative. He was then asked to read aloud the asset declaration forms filled by the defendant, where he stated that the source of funds for the purchase of the said properties were “proceeds of sale of sugar/ rice/loans”.

On reading out these sections of the forms, it became clear again that in formulating counts 4 and 5 on the charge sheet, the prosecution did not properly scrutinise the contents of the forms. Here, the case of rushing to prosecute without proper examination of the facts also became glaring and clearly established.

The defence thus followed up on that angle when it asked the witness whether there was anything that prevented a company in which a public officer had interest from engaging in the sale of rice and sugar.

He said no. A follow up question was whether there was anything

Saraki...shall this phase pass soon that prevented the proceeds from such business engaged in by the defendant’s company from being used to defray loans on properties that he acquired. Madojemu answered in the negative but added that the defendant must not fail to declare the property purchased with such loan.

These questions and answers served as effective defence to counts 4 and 5, which had accused the defendant of making false declaration in the asset form for public officers at the end of his tenure as governor and beginning of his first tenure as Senator that he acquired No. 17 A and 17 B McDonald, Ikoyi, Lagos with proceeds from sale of rice and sugar commodities whereas the said properties were acquired with bank loan On count 6, the defence, again, in the process of asking Madojemu to read loudly the contents of Saraki’s Asset declaration forms to the hearing of the Tribunal, called his attention to the fact that Saraki filled a portion in which he mentioned that he had outstanding balance on loans. He agreed. Also, a question as to whether there was a column provided in the asset declaration form for giving details of cash lodgments by the declarant was answered in the negative by the witness, thereby effectively exonerating the defendant of counts 7 and 8 on the charge sheet.

The defence lawyer, Erokoro, went on to query how the prosecutor arrived at the fact that the repayment of a loan of N497, 200, 000 was “not fairly attributable to the income, gifts and loan approved by the Code of Conduct for a public officer”. The witness said they calculated the salary of the defendant as a governor and the entries in the bank statement. The defence lawyer then asked whether the investigators believed that the companies owned by the defendant do not have the capacity to generate as much money.

He reminded the witness that the first prosecution witness, Wetkas, admitted that as at 2003, Saraki’s assets were worth $23 million and that if the companies are generating ten per cent of that total assets as profit, whether that would not pay for the loan. Madojemu agreed with him that the companies could generate income to pay back the loan.

The narratives were aimed at addressing count 7 of the charges where Saraki’s ability to repay a loan of N497, 200, 000 was being questioned.

On count 14 where the defendant was accused of not declaring a property in London purchased with a loan from GT Bank, the defence referred the witness to a section of the form requiring information on the landed properties owned by the defendant, where he specifically mentioned his house in London. The witness confirmed the entry.

His answer could be interpreted to mean that the London house so declared was the one purchased with the said loan.

The defence also asked Madojemu to show the column in the asset declaration form, where it was required of a declarant to mention that he has credit or debit card. The witness agreed that no such column exists. This means a public official is not expected to declare his ownership or possession of credit or debit cards. The answer was aimed at addressing counts 15 and 16, where Saraki was accused of transferring money from his domiciliary accounts in GT Bank to American Express Services Europe for the purpose of buying a property and operating a credit card.

In count 17 where Saraki was accused of receiving salary from Kwara State Government at the same time he was being paid as a Senator, the defence asked Madojemu if he and his team came to that conclusion after interrogating officials of the Kwara State government.

He said they only relied on Saraki’s bank details in an Access Bank account. He was also asked if he knew about Kwara State Pension law for former public officials. The witness said he did not know about the

law.

In the follow up question, the witness was made to admit that bank error could occur in the course of making entries on bank’s transactions.

In essence, the major ingredient of proving that charge is to confirm from the Kwara State Ministry of Finance whether the payment was a salary or pension. Saraki, it was therefore submitted, is lawfully entitled to pension and the entry being relied upon was for pension not salary.

On the last charge, count 18 which states that Saraki falsely declared that he owned substantial share in Carlisle Property Limited and Tiny Tee Limited, the defence allowed the witness to do the calculation in the shareholding to prove that his client’s shares are indeed “substantial and controlling” as he claimed.

Facts from the investigation by Madojemu which came out from the cross-examination were actually revealing. He admitted, for example, that Saraki’s assets across the country have never been verified until last month, when he and his colleagues visited some of the properties in Lagos. He also noted that Saraki’s was the first case where the CCB prosecutor would be given oral directive to commence investigation and where the reports were also made orally, without any record.

Consequently, the evidence therefrom further raises some pertinent questions. For instance, how could the investigators still be seeking facts to prosecute a case which commenced two years ago? Were they not ready with all the necessary evidence and exhibits before taking the matter to trial? This revelation not only undermines the integrity of the entire trial, it shows how the EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies always predetermine a case and then work to achieve the existing answer. The anti-graft agencies really need to overhaul their investigative machinery and improve the capacities of their officers.

It is also obvious from the evidence of the 3rd prosecution witness that even the CCB needs to review the Asset Declaration form, update it and make it reflect international best practices. It is difficult, for example, to believe the asset declaration forms do not have space for public officials to declare their credit and debit cards as well as the funds available on it. In this cashless era of e-transactions, the CCB should find a way to include credit and debit card declaration in its forms so that public officials do not find it easy to circumvent the law.

Given the manner the defence pointed out facts, which were available on the declaration forms but eluded the prosecution and made some of the charges needless was an eye opener on the fact that the EFCC, which did the investigation was not thorough in its findings. The agency and the CCB did not check their facts well before rushing to prosecute.

It also lent credence to the allegation that the entire trial was politically motivated. It is compelling that the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies learn from the Saraki case to be more diligent and discerning in their investigations so that they can make the jobs of their prosecutors easier.

Even more instructive is that the collapse of the issue of anticipatory declaration as another sad commentary about the competence and diligence of the prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN. At the beginning of the trial, Jacob dramatised the issue of anticipatory declaration and was believed to have used it to influence public opinion against the defendant. If the prosecutor had carefully studied the asset declaration forms submitted by Saraki and efficiently reviewed the reports of the investigation, he would have noticed all the gaping holes that are now proving fatal to the case.

Perhaps, as its joker, the EFCC is said to be relying again on a statement made by the Defendants between 2011 and 2012, which unfortunately has nothing to do with asset declaration, it would not be surprising that the next hearing would be defined by more twists and turns even as the trial inches to its theatrical denouement.

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CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

The Dilemma of APC National Convention Expectedly,therulingAllProgressivesCongressisinabigdilemmaoveritsnationalconvention,writesOnyebuchi Ezigbo

T

he All Progressives Congress (APC) may have successfully played down the impact of internal rancor and intriguing power tussle within its fold in the past two years, but time seems to be running out for it to organise a national convention as stipulated in its constitution.

The party has managed to smolder internal agitations and clash of interests between the various tendencies and political gladiators. The national leadership of the party too has been able to survive the heat from these contending forces, and endured the abandonment that came in the wake of the presidency’s distrust.

But what is proving somewhat difficult for it to handle is the issue of its national convention. Already, the party has proposed dates for the processes leading to the convention and twice, it has cancelled these dates. The party had listed membership of its Board of Trustees (BoT) but till date, the body has not been officially inaugurated. The party also first mulled the idea of holding a major stakeholders’ event to celebrate its one year anniversary of being in power last year but later cancelled it due to the bad mood of the country occasioned by recession.

But as criticism from concerned party members mounted over the need to summon a meeting of the party, the National Working Committee (NWC) promised it would hold a national convention not later than the first quarter of this year. It scheduled what it termed Mid-Term, non-elective convention for April 29 and fixed the national caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings for April 24 and 25 respectively. It said the NEC was to take place after a national caucus meeting meant to have held on April 24.

The party also said it would hold state congresses before the convention to nominate delegates and fill vacancies that occurred principally from political appointments, deaths and resignations. But as stakeholders heaved a sigh of relief that they would be having a convention soon, the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun announced that the April 29 tentative date for the convention has been put on hold subject to confirmation by the NEC meeting.

“Well, the party would hold a caucus meeting on 24, NEC on 25 and it is NEC that would decide the date for the Convention.” But just as stakeholders were about to settle for the national caucus meeting and a meeting of NEC, Oyegun came out to announce another postponement of the two events, this time indefinitely.

One of the first to criticise the leadership was the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Timi Frank, who described the indefinite postponement of the mini-national convention as a shameful act. In a statement signed on Tuesday in Abuja, Frank said if the National convention does not hold as planned, it means that the National Working Committee of the party has breached the constitution.

Also there were indications that power brokers in APC, including the President’s inner team, party leaders like former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, former Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki along with other National Assembly henchmen had all begun to plot how to position their interests during the convention.

In line with its constitution, APC is supposed to hold a mid-term convention at least once every two years. Going by that constitutional provision, the national leadership of the party is in a tight corner trying to avoid crisis, which may arise as a result of a breach of its constitution. One of the reasons the party has been experiencing difficulty in planning its convention is the paucity of funds.

The party’s leadership recently took a step to implement an initiative on how to raise funds internally from levies and voluntary contributions by party men, but that move has not yielded much. The party is also aware that it currently runs a divided house even though the crisis has not yet blown open and so, it was the desire of the National Executive to try first to reconcile the existing disputes among its members before going into a convention. In the vein, most of the party stakeholders across the country have complained that they were sidelined in federal appointments so far made

by President Muhammadu Buhari and some of them have threatened to take it out on the present national leadership of APC for failing to protect their interest.

These aggrieved stakeholders are waiting for an opportunity of a major national meeting of the party for them to lead a protest. Some are also not happy with the way the affairs of the party were being handled, especially as it affects their interest. So, all these bottled-up anger and frustration are like a time bomb waiting to explode at the national convention.

So, there were genuine fears that should the party ignore the warning signs of disenchantment and goes ahead to hold a convention, things might go bad. Oyegun used opportunity of a meeting with members of the Senate caucus early last month to canvass for their support in funding the operations of the party, especially the convention activities.

The meeting with the senators, which is the first of its kinds since the emergence of the APC-led administration, afforded the party the chance to explain its plans for holding its

Oyegun...APC Chairman convention as well as the challenges facing it. With the return of President Buhari to the country from a medical trip in the United Kingdom, the party stepped up its preparations for the national convention.

Although the party has mulled plans to hold NEC and state congresses preparatory to the convention in April, actual implementation of this plan was kept in abeyance pending the return of the president, whose presence at the event was considered crucial. As part of the strategies to get the president’s backing for the convention, members of the APC NWC planned to seek separate meetings with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa.

An earlier attempt by the Oyegun-led NWC to have audience with the convalescing president while still in London was not granted. The health of the president was also said to have affected the fixing of dates for the NEC meeting and the party’s mid-term convention. It was reliably learnt that part of the reasons for the abrupt postponement of the national caucus meeting and NEC meeting earlier scheduled for April 24 and 25, was the last minute decision by President Buhari to cancel the dates.

According to a party chieftain, the president sent in his words through his aides that the dates of the national caucus meeting and NEC meeting were not convenient for him. An obviously concerned party chieftain, who spoke to THISDAY on the issue expressed disgust at the manner in which the national leadership has been trying to appease the presidency by shifting the NEC meeting and the convention in order to make sure that President Buhari attends.

“The president said it was not convenient for him; the governors also said that it was not convenient for them”.

But as things stand now, the party’s national leadership has realised that it has less time to maneuver and so, it has taken steps to galvanize resources in order to hold the convention. At its last meeting with governors elected on its platform held at the national secretariat in Abuja, it formed a committee made up of nine of governors to work on the modalities for the holding of a NEC and subsequently the mid-term convention.

The governors’ committee would try to see, who will be part of the convention planning committee. It is at the NEC that decision will be reached on the new date for the mid-term convention. From this development, it is safe to assume that there is a sign of renewed interest by the governors in the affairs of the party, following the manner they responded to the

meeting with the NWC. One of the reasons the governor’s renewed interests in the affairs of the party might be because of their alleged side-lining in most of the appointments so far made by President Buhari’s administration. According to one of APC bigwigs, the governors feel that they too were shortchanged by the cabal around the president in the shortlisting for federal appointments hence the need to start working with the party to plot strategies for the 2019 general election.

“There is a renewed level of interest in the party from the governors because they have also realised that everybody has lost out whether the party or the governors. You remember that the state party chairmen have come to complain that they were schemed out of the federal appointments but the governors are also very bitter that appointments are being made over their heads with people being selected from their states without their being consulted. So, everybody is suffering the same fate of irrelevance. The only thing that is left now is to hold on to the party and rebuild the party and use the platform to plan for the future”.

This position was re-enforced by Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, who assured the people after meeting with the NWC that the APC governors had agreed to meet every month with the NWC to try and foster better relations between the national and state leadership of the party and to work towards strengthening the party.

He said the joint meeting between the NWC and the governors, also resolved that at their next meeting, “we are going to look at arrangements for our mid-term convention and put in place the resources necessary to ensure that we have a convention as required by the constitution “The 24 APC governors have committed to work assiduously at strengthening and rebuilding the party and enduring reconciliation and unification of the party at all levels. We also resolved to give the national leadership all the support it needs. We will also engage in fund raising from our donors, sympathizers of the APC to ensure that the national headquarters and indeed all organs of the party have the wherewithal to continue the difficult work of rebuilding the party”.

If this works out well and the governors accept to back the convention as well as bankroll it, then the ruling party would have been saved from the embarrassment of flouting its own constitution and perhaps, igniting more crisis within its fold.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

PERSPECTIVE Maximizing Ogun’s Potential as Industrial Hub Soyombo Opeyemi

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ne is almost tempted to suggest to school heads to take secondary school students on a “formal” excursion to the various sites of construction across Ogun State for practical learning. These rising columns, which later shoulder some concrete slabs, altering the landscape of an area permanently within a short space of time, how do they come to be? How in operational terms do the heavy machines such as skid steers, mixer trucks, tracked asphalt pavers, waste handlers, drill rigs, blasthole drills, motor graders, asphalt mixing plants, road roller machines, crawler excavators, forklift trucks, wheel loaders and truck cranes contribute to the making of these picturesque structures that confirm a community or people on the path of modernisation and development?

Enough of being welders, carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, auto mechanics or budding engineers on the pages of textbooks, I once took a group of students on an excursion to the workshops of these technicians, some firms and construction sites for practical experience. You don’t have to pluck tubers of yam on tree tops or dig colanut from the ground! “Go-to-hell” does not imply going to hell after death but a farm tool to harvest cocoa, colanut, etc!

One often rails against a Nigerian system whereby pupils learn Agriculture Science only on the pages of textbooks. From JSS1 to SSS3, they see cocoa plants, colanut trees, cotton, rice, millet and cassava plants only in their textbooks. No, they ought to be taken round farmlands to see these crops. They should see how they are grown, harvested and processed into semi-finished or finished products. They should have beds in their various schools where they plant vegetables, beans, maize, etc. They should learn to “soil their fingers productively”. Such excursions, in relation to Agriculture, could take them to Model Farm Estates built by the current government so they can appreciate the possibility of being gainfully self-employed as graduates of Agriculture.

The Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, is only short of compelling the members of the State Executive Council to go into farming. Just as he has made processing of land so easy for genuine investors interested in agriculture, the process

Amosun has equally been streamlined for any government employees interested in farming. Public servants and the generality of residents are being encouraged to go into farming. In addition to any government job, the Nigerian constitution makes one exception - it permits one to go into farming.

As the state government is investing massively in agriculture, complemented by rural roads to ensure mobility of men and farm produce, it is hoped that school heads across the

state will increase the tempo of the implementation of the agriculture policy of government.

What we have currently in Ogun is an integrated approach to development. Apart from the state government assisting the local councils to meet their monthly recurrent expenditure and providing some access roads, the government has also partnered multilateral institutions to open up rural areas through a network of road construction that meets international specifications. With the encouragement given to the hundreds of multi-billion naira industries flocking to Ogun to engage in backward integration, the international standard roads being constructed across the cities by the current government are planned to link the agrarian communities and commercial farms.

The thousands of youths being employed by the multibillion naira establishments and construction firms across the length and breadth of the state will purchase food and other items from the markets, who will in turn buy from farmers, thereby further stimulating economic activities.

The decision of the Amosun administration to establish the very first University of Science and Technology is, of course, in sync with the development template of the state. Ogun has in recent years become the hub of industrialisation in Nigeria.

The British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Laure Beaufils, said recently in Abeokuta when she led a delegation from the Department for International Development to the Governor’s Office that Ogun State alone cornered 75 per cent of the Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) into Nigeria.

Beaufils merely lent an international voice to the report of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). More and more top-level science and technology-based manpower (graduates) will, therefore, be needed by these industries, whose number grows on a daily basis.

Things can only get better in Ogun State. We congratulate the people’s governor for these giant strides. Indeed, we cannot but agree with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) for honouring Senator Ibikunle Amosun as the “NUJ Governor Of The Year for his Responsiveness in Human Capacity Building, Infrastructure and Good Governance.” The future belongs to only those who prepare for it today.

––Soyombo, public affairs commentator, sent this piece via densityshow@yahoo.com

Saraki’s Humane Persona Chuks Okocha

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enate President Bukola Saraki means many things to many people. To some, Saraki is a consummate medical doctor, a banker extraordinaire, an astute sports lover, and a skilful politician. Many others see Saraki as a humanist with rare inclination to cater to the welfare of the people.

No matter the lens with which you view the personality of the Kwara Central senator, Saraki is not in any way diminished. The former Kwara State governor’s ascendancy in all spheres of human endeavour continues to baffle even his closest allies. His ever increasing political profile in the country has expectedly made him an issue in the Nigerian political landmark. But nobody can, no matter what the case may be, deny the fact that Saraki is a leader per excellence. Little wonder President Muhammadu Buhari last year described him as the most influential politician of our time.

By dint of hard work, Saraki distinguished and proved himself a politician with unassailable knack for raising the bar to deliver exceptional results. It is true that Saraki does not believe in working from the answer, he confronts issues as they arise to achieve an answer.

Saraki’s cherry score card is loaded with accomplishments that could make even his archenemies scorch with envy.

On many occasions he has confronted issues that seemed impossible, and this has been a huge plus for him. By all standards, Saraki is one of the few privileged Nigerians born with a silver spoon. It may be appropriate to conclude that the circumstances of his birth are never lost on him in every step he takes.

Saraki did not disappoint as a medical doctor. After his graduation from the prestigious London Hospital Medical Collage of the University of London in 1987, where he obtained M.B.B.S (London), Saraki worked as a medical officer at Rush Green Hospital, Essex, from 1988 to 1989. On his return to Nigeria, Saraki’s versatility projected him to emerge as the executive director of Societe Generale Bank (Nig) Ltd from 1990 to 2000.

Following his abiding desire for the improvement of sports, Saraki has not only provided a lifeline for many sports organisations, but has also established the popular Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) football club.

Saraki, who was unanimously elected senate president on June 9, 2015, was governor of Kwara State from 2003 to 2011.

After his meritorious service as chief executive of Kwara State, Kwarans honoured him with election to the senate in April 2011, to represent Kwara Central senatorial district. He was re-elected in March 2015.

Saraki’s tenure as Kwara State governor saw massive transformation and reforms in agriculture, health, education, finance and the environment. One of his most outstanding achievements was the invitation of displaced white farmers from Zimbabwe to Kwara State to offer them opportunity and expanses of land to farm. The invitation of the white farmer led to the establishment of the Shonga Farms programme, which is now being replicated across Nigeria with improved farm yields. Saraki’s charisma among his brother governors had led to his election as chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum It is on record that under Saraki, Kwara State became the first state to complete the Nigeria Independent Power Project. In collaboration with the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, the Saraki administration did not only revive the Ganmo Power Station in Ilorin, but also connected over 375 rural communities to the national grid through the development and installation of 725 transformers and seven substations.

The state further completed four electrification projects, which meant power became stable between 18 and 22 hours daily in the state. Ninety per cent of people living in Kwara State have access to electricity, compared to a national average in Nigeria of 30 per cent.

When Saraki became chairman of NGF in 2007, he ensured the establishment of a reformed and fully resourced secretariat for the forum, with technical and administrative divisions that were focused on delivery. It was under Saraki’s chairmanship that new processes, such as the State Peer Review Mechanism, were developed to ensure closer collaboration among the governors and the sharing of best practices between states.

The mechanism allowed case studies to be shared between states in a number of policy fields, including power projects, primary healthcare centres for villages and other rural locations, road works, water, solar schemes and the construction of specialist hospitals and state universities.

Perhaps, one of the most widely celebrated achievements of the NGF under Saraki was its patriotic intervention in the assumption of power by then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan following the illness of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. The NGF worked with the National Assembly to implement the celebrated Doctrine of Necessity, which was

then passed as a resolution by the National Assembly.

The Doctrine of Necessity allowed Jonathan to take over as acting president until Yar’Adua’s return. It was a novelty packaged by the NGF to save a dicey situation that had the capacity to derail the democratic process in the country.

The humanity in the Kwara Central senator has continued to rise. Saraki is at the forefront of the campaign for health, food security, education and environmental regeneration. He promoted vigorously the campaign for strengthened laws on the clean-up of oil spills. With his National Oil Spill and Detection and Response Agency Amendment Bill, Saraki seeks to ensure that oil companies pay appropriate compensation to communities affected by oil spills.

He did not shy away from intervening in the lead poisoning crisis in Zamfara State in 2010 and he supported the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, which sought to ensure safe and healthy methods of cooking for millions of Nigerians while conserving the environment through reduced deforestation. Saraki remains a lead campaigner in the areas of desertification and climate change in the senate and across Nigeria.

Perhaps, one of the most outstanding motions in the seventh senate was Saraki’s motion to end the Nigeria’s fuel subsidy regime. Other motions and private member bills he sponsored include the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency Amendment Bill 2012, which was aimed at ending oil spills in the Niger Delta, the Gas Flaring Prohibition Bill 2012, and the Climate Change Commission Bill 2013.

It is difficult to forget how he blew the whistle on irregularities in the oil sector at the seventh senate. Though that tended to cause some friction between him and the Jonathan administration, it is not in doubt that he did that in the overall interest of the country. Some have referred to that incident as a class suicide very few privileged Nigerians would be ready to commit.

Saraki’s profile has continued rise as a champion of popular opinion. He ensures at all times that the position of the downtrodden remains his main prerogative. He led the senate to tackle the National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) plan to increase electricity tariff and the plan by the National Communications Commission (NCC) to increase data tariff.

At all times, the milk of human kindness in him comes out when issues concerning the masses are on the front burner.

––Okocha is Special Assistant to the Senate President on Print Media

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • MAY 7, 2017

TRIBUTE

Letter to My Brother,Yemi Ogunbiyi Lai Ogunbiyi

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My Dear Yemi,

et me start by again wishing you a very happy 70th birthday.

A lot has been written and said about you over the past few weeks. How kind, considerate, fair and generous you are and I must say that reading those articles made me immensely proud to be your brother. It felt especially good reading those words from personal friends and professional colleagues who have observed you up-close and have been chroniclers of you over the years. I know the writers captured the essence of you and I also know that you will not change because that’s just the person you grew up to become. Kudos and many happy returns again.

However, in reading these articles I noticed that aspects of your life that in retrospect gave both us so much fodder for laughter in later years were missing. Not a surprise because they never knew you in our early years. I thought you might enjoy walking through that memory lane with me.

Now, you know quite well that except for our parents, I am the only person around who intimately knows certain things about you that very few people on earth know. Our first decade of life growing up in Kano and wading through our budding sibling relationship was quite packed full of innocent acts of mischief and petty truancy one would of course expect to see in a family home of four with two boys and no moderating influence of a female sibling. When I look back, I truly wonder how our parents (particularly Mama) managed to cope.

One of the virtues that were repeatedly mentioned across the board by the various writers over the past three weeks was that of how fair and considerate you are.

Well, your younger brother in those first ten years of his life didn’t quite recall it that way.

Being your younger sibling, I became by birth and tradition a ward of yours subject to “disciplinary” actions that ordinarily would be left to our parents. People who are younger siblings particularly “last borns” would know what I am talking about. I had “three parents” while growing up and that meant that “disciplinary actions” when I did something wrong including minor infractions were potentially multiplied by three but more often than not, it was implemented by a knock on the head by you. By this definition, “last borns” who had two older siblings, had four parents and also four times the “discipline”. I grew up those years wondering how last borns who had more than one or two older siblings survived.

They will in all probability be left wondering why on earth they were born into their family…. so I thought.

When we were growing up in Kano you knocked me about so many times for minor infractions and whenever I protested the retort was a sharp “I old pass you” and that was the end of the matter. If I complained to our parents they blew it off as a minor issue and if you were present, the look on your face after their dismissive response to my complaints, and that accompanying chuckle told the whole story.…mischief!! This happened so many times and mostly out of sight of our parents that I began to accept it as normal. On one particular occasion when you were laying it on me, our Mom suddenly walked into room. She screamed at you with the exclamation “i cho ni ki gbue e?” (Do you want to kill him?). I felt vindicated for once but nothing happened to you and then I looked up and saw that look and chuckle on your face, it drove me crazy! I kept on wondering how you repeatedly got away with it but as I said before, I became resigned to the fate. I always wondered how I got through those years without a permanent brain injury!!

Now, there were occasions when you were on the receiving end of the “discipline” usually from Mama or when you were punished for some misdemeanors. Those occasions were like “mana” from heaven and of course the look and chuckle was on my face. But the chuckle on my face was short-lived because you never forgot it at my next “knock “ session, which came up within a few hours when we were alone!! I could never have guessed that today’s Yemi was hidden somewhere in the Yemi that I knew in those years.

If you remember, we used to eat our meals together. If it was eba, amala, fufu or whatever. Mama dished out the food in one or two bowls - one for the soup and the other for the eba or amala.

Once it was dished out, we sat down together, dug in and ate.

However, something mysterious always happened to the meat in the soup. It took me quite sometime to figure out what was happening. We would start the meal with about 4 pieces of meat in the soup bowl and you remember Mama always told us to save the meet for last during meals to make sure that we had consumed the supporting cast…eba or amala sufficiently. So we would start off with four pieces in the soup and towards the end of the meal, just when I looked forward to the joy of consuming my share of the meat, there will be only one piece of meat left in the soup! I would protest and you will say that Mama gave us only 2 pieces of meat and that the one left in the bowl of soup was mine. I was always left baffled wondering what was going on. If I complained, nobody appeared to take notice or really thought anything of it or thought it was a big deal since I got some meat. Then one afternoon, something quite revealing happened. Mama was in Onitsha on a trip. We sat down to start eating and unbeknownst to us Papa was hiding in the corner and watching us. Just as you pulled the disappearing meat act, Papa appeared out of no where and said “en, en, en, he just took one piece meat.” I was not even watching so I did

Ogunbiyi

not know what actually happened. It turned out that whenever we ate any meal with anything that had the consistency of eba, (swallow) you had a very fleet-fingered way of taking adequate amount eba, build a gorge right into the portion of eba with your thumb and at the next contact of that construct with the soup, the appropriately targeted piece of meat vanished into the eba as if into thin air. The planning and warped speed with which you went through the steps I just described could only be described simply as pure magic!! People ask me how come I am thin and you full bodied? I tell them that I was suffering from the after effects of “fraternally induced malnourishment” brought about by deficiency due to intentional and sustained protein deprivation in my first decade in Kano!!!!

I also read about how impeccably dressed you always were and that regardless of the occasion, you were always a standout.

That is not even in dispute. You were always impeccably dressed for the occasion. The one thing they all did not know was that you were always that way. You always worried about how you looked even in those days growing upon Kano.

Yemi and Lai as toddlers

I remember a particular incident that occurred in one of those years in Kano. You were about 10 years old. Mama had decided to take us along with her on one of her trips to Onitsha. On the eve of our departure, Mama said we should go and get our hair cut and trimmed at the barbershop two houses down the road from ours. You kept on insisting that I should get mine cut first.

I could not figure out what the point of going first was all about.

So I decided to go first. I sat on the barber’s chair and he took the clippers to my hair and within a few seconds everything was gone. I went home and left you at the barber’s for your haircut.

When I got home Mama loved my haircut. I could not figure out why because there was nothing left except my clean-shaven head. So I went about my business playing about the yard. After about twenty minutes Mama asked of you and I said you were still at the barber’s. So she said I should go and find out what was going on. When I got there I saw you fuming, angry and standing outside the barber’s shop with your shirt pulled over your head.

When I asked what was going on you said you had told the barber that you wanted a particular hair style that was in vogue then called the “draw back” and that he had agreed. However, after the hair cut, when you looked in the mirror your head was just like mine - clean-shaven. So I stood with you for a little while and then said something to the effect of “let’s go home” but you refused and kept on walking around with your shirt pulled over your head. I could not understand the point of not coming home so, I went home. It took Mama coming over to the barber’s to beg you and convince you that your “hair style” was beautiful before you reluctantly took your shirt down and came home. When we got home and I looked at your head, I had that chuckling look on my face but it was not pronounced enough to elicit a smack from you! Talk about being particular about how one looked. I don’t think many kids our age could have known the difference between a “draw back” and a “draw front” but you always had this thing about how you looked!

Then there was the “man no good” incident. One thing that you were always petrified about was the sight of a syringe and needle as a prelude to getting injected with some medication. The sight of a needle and syringe was so overpowering that one could see the palpable fear all over your face.

Growing up in Sabongari Kano, we always joined Ibo-themed masquerade dancing troupes with the goal of strutting our stuff at Christmas and getting some appreciation tips form on lookers who were usually parents, friends and extended family members of the kids in the dancing troupe. We would go from house to house until we could go no more and at that point we would dance back to our club base, which is usually the house of the club leader.

Our troupe leader was a bit older and wiser than us. We really didn’t know his name but his street name was “Man no good” Practice sessions were held at his “yard”. To become a member of the dance troupe, it took a lot of commitment to attend practice sessions, learn the dance steps and songs and pay some dues/ membership fee for, uniforms anklets made of cowrie and raffia skirts. As we got closer and closer to Christmas the practices got more intense and we got sharper with our dance steps. However, something unfortunate happened at one of the practice sessions.

We practiced bare feet and as we were perfecting our steps, you suddenly stopped and yelled out in pain while grabbing your bloodied foot. A rusted nail had punched a hole into one of your feet and the bleeding was profuse.

That was the end of practice and “Man no good” walked us home while you were wailing in pain. When we got home, Mama calmly cleaned the bloodied foot and we went straight back to the local clinic/pharmacy. The pharmacist looked at the injury and pulled out the syringe and needle. Once you saw this, all hell broke loose. The pain and screams were by far louder than when you were actually injured! Then you kept on wailing and suddenly went into a never-ending, monotonous and repetitious chorus of “man no good ooo, man no good ooo…” This went on for quite some time and it got louder as the pharmacist and his technician were trying to hold you down. At that point Mama got tired of the chorus and just smacked you while hissing and muttering “man on good ko, man no good ni”. You immediately stopped yelling and got the injection. The wound was dressed up and we went home. A few days later while you were recovering in bed, I came back from school and saw you in bed. I looked at you with that chuckle on my face and I muttered, “Man on good ko, man no good ni”. You were so angry but you could not stand up and chase after me. One small victory for the for all last-borns!!

You had this fatalistic sense of curiosity that always got us into trouble. Take the case of the cigarette butt. Our Dad was a chain cigarette smoker during this phase of our life. One of your jobs was to keep his dinning room clean. Inevitably, there would be an occasional cigarette butt left in the ashtray. One Saturday morning, while cleaning, you decided to grab the cigarette butt and stick it in your mouth. As fate would have it, just as you were putting the butt in your mouth and simulating smoking, Mama worked right into the room. I was outside in the yard cleaning and the next thing I heard was Mama’s loud shriek with her yelling in Ibo, “this boy, you are going to kill me, you are going to kill me” that was immediately followed by a couple of left and right wacks and you ran out of the room and into the yard.

––––Dr. Lai Ogunbiyi sent in this Tribute from the U.S. to mark the 70th Birthday of his elder brother, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, the Chairman of the Governing Council of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. (See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

PERSPECTIVE

Buhari, May Day and the Question of Workers’ Welfare Simeon O’diwe

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o eloquently assert from this very beginning that President Muhammadu Buhari runs a labour friendly administration is a better way to lead this piece. Why not anyway for an administration whose easy ride to power emanated from an overwhelming trust of the people in its promise to better their lots? Notwithstanding therefore the teething challenges occasioned by vastly depleted national purse, and further hobbled by furious economic recession, the upliftment and welfare of the people have remained on the top burner. Close watchers of the internal workings of the administration often reveal how dear the welfare of the people is to the President. In fact, insider sources did recount how difficult it was to convince the President after over a year of persuasion, to agree to the increment in the pump price of petroleum products. “The people will suffer,” he would say each time he was approached.

However, if there was any guess in the public sphere as to the commitment of his administration to lessening the sufferings of Nigerians, an unprecedented act of compassion on July 6, 2015, barely a month in office, cleared it all. That day, the President approved a whopping sum of 1.2 trillion Naira to bail out bankrupt states and enable them pay a long list of embarrassing arrears of workers’ salaries. The President again went on further rescue when on December 2, 2016, he approved another round of N522 billion to states. The Paris Refund of March 16, 2017 was also to enable the states discharge their primary obligations and fight poverty by putting money in the hands of the people.

Worthy of mention at this juncture is the sum of 16 billion Naira earmarked in the 2016 budget for partial offset of an accumulated promotion arrears, retirement benefits, death benefits and re-location allowances totaling about 63 billion naira, owed since 2008. Though the virement expired with the budget, it has been recaptured in 2017 budget and will be disbursed to deserving workers once the budget is passed.

But in all these, the arm of the federal executive directly charged with the welfare of the Nigerian workers has left no one in doubt of its clarity of vision, firm-footed direction and iron-cast resolve to push their wellbeing beyond what the administration met. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, a former Governor of Anambra State, former Senator and former federal civil servant has in the last seventeen months in office, abundantly

represented the mantra of the administration as the best labour –friendly government in the country’s recent history. Though in-charge of labour and employment in a historic moment of ever crushing national poverty, his ingenuity in labour administration has in no small measure arrested what would have been conflagrating industrial unrests, resulting from rioting industrial disputes too many to recount here. The effect of such distraction on the stability of the nation can easily be imagined.

With “if we can’t create new jobs, let’s retain what we have” as a charter, the Labour Minister relentlessly pursued this goal by making sure that no worker was sacked in the civil service of the federation and went further to impress same on the states governments. Having done that, he urgently waded into simmering volcano of massive retrenchment in the Petroleum, Banking and Financial Institutions as well as in the construction sectors, securing a firm agreement to dial back on unilateral declaration of redundancy. “We shall not keep silent while workers are being mistreated in their own country. Our strategy is to save jobs by convincing the operators in these sectors to thinker with the heavy allowances at the top so as to save medium and low level jobs down the line,” Ngige was quoted in July 2016. And he largely succeeded.

The issue of the minimum wage which has received a lot of prominence, and is in fact the crux of the May Day agitation needs elaboration here. Unknowing to the generality of workers but very well known to their leaders, the Federal Government has committed enormous effort towards the review of the law which the constitution made mandatory every five years. Nigerians will easily recall that when in May last year the Federal Government effected the appropriate pricing of petroleum products, it subsequently set up a Technical Committee on Minimum Wage and Palliatives. It comprised government officials and labour leaders; and chaired by the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engr. B.D Lawal. The committee rounded off its assignment, recommending a broad based, knowledgeable twenty–nine member minimum wage committee, which will soon be inaugurated by the President.

However, it should be borne in mind that the Minimum Wage is a national law, properly scheduled in the Constitution and binding not just on the Federal Government and the states but also on the private sector, hence the reason for tripartite negotiation. Therefore when the committee on Minimum Wage is inaugurated by the President, it will table a broad based

Ngige negotiation involving the federal and state governments as one leg of the tripartite; the employers represented by the National Employers Consultative Assembly (NECA) the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria( MAN) National Association of Chambers of Commerce as well as associations in the Small and Medium Enterprises. On the other hand, the recognized Federation of labour unions represented by the Nigeria Labour congress (NLC) the Trade Union Congress (TUC) will represent the organized labour. However, other unions not affiliated to either NLC or TUC are not necessarily shut out from the negotiation. Therefore, it is going to be a large body of negotiators in compliance with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention before an acceptable minimum wage is arrived at. Verily, the passage of time in between deliberations from this committee, the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly may be a little long but it is sure a new minimum wage is real and in the offing.

––O’diwe writes from Abuja

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER •MAY 7, 2017

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • MAY 7, 2017

INTERNATIONAL Global Peace and Security Will be Far-fetched in the Near Future: Non-nuclearisation Politics as a Pointer

T

he achievement of global peace and security is the main objective for establishing the United Nations in 1945. When global peace and security is attained, it is also to be maintained and further sustained. This objective necessarily serves as one of the dynamics of inter-governmental and security cooperation arrangements.

To a great extent, it can be rightly argued that the post-World-War II era has witnessed global peace and security in the sense that there has been no new World War. However, in the same vein, it can also be rightly posited that global peace and security has been far-fetched in the past seven decades because it is only the nature of crisis and conflict that has changed. In other words, inter-state misunderstanding has simply been replaced with national misunderstanding.

There is no World War but there are civil wars. With the emergence of the post-Cold War era in 1990, global peace and security has increasingly been threatened by renewed interest in nationalism and protectionism. One major rationale for this is dishonesty-driven international politics, made complex by quests for new centres of power and acquisition of nuclear capacity status.

Without doubt, the Cold War rivalry between the US-led Western World and the former Soviet Union-led Eastern Europe explains in part the development of atomic bombs following World War II. One .particular point of interest here is that Japan did not know that the US had already perfected and acquired atomic bombs before deciding to attack United States Pearl Harbour in an attempt to prevent the US in possibly entering into the Second World War on the side of theAllied Powers.

The lessons from the devastating effects of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki prompted the hardened positions of some other major powers during the negotiations and signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1963. China and France refused to sign the Treaty because they did not want to be legally prevented from developing their own nuclear capacity. It was after they had succeeded in perfecting their atomic capacity, and have also really acquired a nuclear status that they accepted to accede to the Treaty. Other countries like Pakistan, Israel, etc. have also developed nuclear capability but without due regard to the 1963 NPT framework.

What is noteworthy is the international politics of non-nuclearisation. Countries that have acquired a nuclear status do not want others to have access to it. They argued that the handling of nuclear arms, nuclear power, nuclear processes, etc. requires a very sophisticated mind, seriousness of purpose and, therefore, should not be allowed to be handled carelessly. It is not only argued that only the détenteurs or successful nuclear powers that can manage the problems of nuclearisation. Third World countries are believed not to have the required where-withal to qualify for the acquisition of a nuclear status. And perhaps more interestingly, it is argued that there is the need to prevent terrorists from having access to nuclear power. Inability to contain terrorism is considered a reason for incapacity to manage the problems of nuclearisation.

As a result, the standard policy position has always been that access to nuclear power, if it is to be considered for approval, can only be for peaceful use. The bitter truth, however, is that the process of making a nuclear bomb for war and that of nuclear power for purposes of peace is the same. The possession of a nuclear status is one thing, what to use the capacity and capability for remains another. It is in this context that the politics of non-nuclearisation is not only very interesting, but that it also has become a major dynamic of an impending global disorder.

In this regard, Vie Internationale is contending that global peace and security will be far-fetched in the foreseeable future, especially in light of the US-North Korea mésentente over the latter’s nuclear tests and the failure of the trilateral cooperation involving South Korea, Japan and

Without jot of doubt, if some countries will continue to have the luxury of access to nuclear privileges and immunity and other sovereign nations will be denied the same rights and privileges, global peace and security cannot but be farfetched and be the first victim.

This is why there is need for a greater caution in handling the North Korean saga.This is also why Nigeria needs to develop a nuclear power capability both for peace and war for purposes of eventual deterrence

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Kim Jung Un of North Korea

the United States.

Since the trilateral cooperation is prompted by fears arising from the nuclear tests of North Korea, it will be useful to first have an overview of North Korean nuclear tests, especially in terms of causal factors, dynamics and outcome, before the analysis of the pointers to the world of belligerency.

North Korean Nuclear Tests

North Korea began its nuclear tests in 2006 and has carried out not less than six tests since then.All the tests, in terms of type, are underground, while the device type is fission. The main site for the test is Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site. The first test was carried out on October 9, 2006 in a tunnel dug in Punggye-ri in the North East. It was described as ‘a weapon for peace’ with an energy discharge of about one kiloton, which is less than a tenth of the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in Japan during World War II. It was believed that the device used plutonium that was sourced from the North’s nuclear facility in Yongbyon.

The second test was carried out on May 25, 2009. The energy yield of the bomb was 2.8 kilotons, and therefore was quite bigger than the first, which was only one kiloton. The third test, enriched with uranium, was carried out on February 2nd, 2013. Like the previous ones, the capacity of North Korea to deliver what it always claimed to have done was again raised.As pointed out by the BBC News onApril 22nd, 2016, ‘the North’s plutonium stocks are finite, but if it could enrich uranium, it could build up a nuclear stockpile. Plutonium enrichment also has to happen in large, easy-to-spot facilities, whereas uranium enrichment can more easily be carried out in secrecy.’

On January 6, 2016 the North Korean government announced the success of its first hydrogen bomb (H-Bomb) test. The H-Bomb is also referred to as thermonuclear warhead. It is more powerful than an atomic bomb, and therefore, has a more devastating effect. In light of this, many experts who considered the energy output argued that there was no way North Korea could have denoted a H-Bomb, but North Korea insisted that it had carried out a H-Bomb test which was successful.

Again, On March 9, 2016 announcement of another success story was made. It was the making of a nuclear warhead, which was described as ‘small enough to fit on a warhead. On September 9, 2016 another H-Bomb was detonated. This second H-Bomb test led to the confirmation that North Korea’s warheads could be mounted to a missile and that the power of the warhead could also be verified.Additionally, on February 17, 2017, four ballistic missiles were launched from Tongchang-ri region towards the Sea of Japan. OnApril 16, ballistic missiles were also launched from a site near Port of Sinpo while unidentified ballistic missiles were again launched onApril 28, 2017 over the Punchang airfield.

The feats of North Korea are commendable but they are not consistent with International law, particularly with the obligations of

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. How do we explain North Korea’s policy intransigency vis-a-vis the UN Security Council’s Resolution 825 and even United State’s entreaties?

Several reasons can be adduced to explain the North Korean nuclear tests: effect of division of a former united Korea, the nationalist personality of the Korean leader, international politics-induced injustice and unfairness, and most importantly, the fear of United States. The fear of the United States is also traceable not only to a divided Korea but also particularly to the support of the United States for South Korea.

As such, we submit here that US policy towards North Korea largely accounts for North Korea’s foreign policy hostility towards any effort undertaken to prevent it from carrying out nuclear tests, and therefore developing nuclear capability.

For instance, on March 27, 2013 North Korea cut off the key military hotline with South Korea, which was the last official direct link between the two countries. Three days after, on the 30th, the government of North Korea made it clear that the country was entering into a ‘state of war with South Korea. In fact, onApril 2nd, 2013 the government took the decision to restart its main Yongbyon nuclear complex. The background to this cannot be far-fetched.

In 1994, North Korea and the United States did an agreement called ‘Agreed Framework’ by which the Government of North Korea consented to forsake the country’s nuclear ambitions in return for the construction of two safer light water nuclear power reactors, oil shipments from the United States to North Korea, and mutual non-aggression. The extent to which theAgreed Framework is taken seriously is a matter of perception. Indeed, it meant nothing, at least, from the way the two countries accused one another.

When the USAssistant Secretary of State, James Kelly, visited North Korea on October 3-5, 1994, he noted that he had evidence of a secret uranium-enriching programme that had been executed contrary to the obligations provided in theAgreed Framework of 1994. On the 20th of October, 1994, North Korea responded, arguing that the United States also had not kept to the spirit and obligation of the sameAgreed Framework. North Korea underscored the point that the construction of the light water reactors, which was due for completion in 2003, was many years behind schedule, and therefore, far from completion.

Apparently considering that the United States was trying to intimidate North Korea, the Government threatened on December 12, 2002 to reactivate its nuclear facilities for energy generation because the decision of the United States to stop oil shipment had left it with no other choice. In the eyes of North Korea, it was the United States that should be held responsible for disregard for theAgreed Framework and the whole saga.

And true enough, on December 12-13, 2002, North Korea requested the United Nation’s InternationalAtomic EnergyAgency (IAEA) to remove the seals and surveillance equipment, which are considered to be the eyes and ears of the agency, from its Yongbyon power plant.

On December 22, 2002, North Korea not only began to remove the monitoring devices from the Yongbyon plant, but also announced the expulsion of two IAEAnuclear inspectors from the country.

In reaction, the IAEApassed a resolution on January 1, 2003 by which it demanded that North Korea should readmit the UN inspectors, as well as abandon its secret nuclear weapons programme ‘within weeks or face possible action of the UN Security Council. Probably as a result of the willingness of the United States on January 7, 2003 ‘to talk to North Korea about how it meets its obligations to the international community,’ but also its non-readiness to ‘provide quid pro quos to North Korea to live up to its existing obligations,’ North Korea announced on January 10, 2003 its withdrawal from the NPT. In the eyes of North Korea, the United States willingness, etc, was an ‘undisguised declaration of aggression to topple the DPRK System.’

North Korea described the US President Bush as a ‘shameless charlatan.’ For President Bush, on the contrary, he said on January 28, 2003 that the North Korean government was ‘an oppressive regime whose people live in fear and starvation.’And expectedly, on February 5, 2003, the DPRK told the world about the reactivation of its nuclear facilities and well-functioning of its operations. This prompted the IAEAto refer the matter to the UN Security Council on 12th February, 2003.

The foregoing is the background to the current North Korean nuclear tests to which many countries have been hostile. In light of the same foregoing, how do we deal with North Korea? Is the development of nuclear capability by North Korea preventable? If it is, at what costs? Every time North Korea carried out a nuclear test, whether or not it is successful, lessons are learnt from the exercise. With the various tests carried out so far, there can be no disputing the fact that North Korea has learnt many lessons to the extent that North Korea has also become a new source of threats for the neighbouring countries. This fear largely explains the raison d’être for the trilateral cooperation among South Korea, Japan, and the United States.

Trilateral Cooperation and Future of Peace

Following North Korea’s attack on Yeonpyeong Island earlier on November 23, the Japanese Foreign Minister, Mr. Seiji Maehara, South Korea’s counterpart, Mr. Sung-hwan Kim, and the United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton not only met in Washington on December 6, 2010 but also agreed on a ‘Trilateral Statement’ which was to serve as basis of future trilateral cooperation among the three of them.

The trilateral cooperation, at the level of the first meeting which took place in 2010, was successful for various reasons.As noted by Yuichi Hosoya, ‘first, the financial crisis of 2008 necessitated deeper economic cooperation between the governments of Japan and South Korea.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

NEWSXTRA FG Releases Additional N30bn for Amnesty Programme Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

The federal government has announced the release of additional N30 billion for the smooth running of the ongoing Amnesty Programme in the Niger Delta, in pursuit of sustained peace in the region.

The release brought the total amount made available by the government for the programme in 2016 fiscal year to N50 billion.

The federal government had approved N20 billion allocation for the Amnesty Programme in 2016 budget. But the National Assembly increased the figure to N55 billion.

Consequently, the government released N20 billion earlier. The second tranche of N30 billion newly released for the programme brought the total release to N50 billion, leaving the balance of N5 billion which the government promised to release soon, as the National Assembly is expected to pass the 2017 budget this week.

Edo to Commence BTC Contract Bids Monday Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has revealed that his administration would start receiving bids for the award of contract to rebuild and retool Benin Technical College (BTC) on Monday.

He disclosed this as he visited the school yesterday in company of the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Hon. Laure Boldrini.

The governor revealed that his administration was focused on how to tackle the challenge of revivifying and upgrading the technical college to excellent standards.

He said: “We are clear on what to do; we are ready to take up the challenges to tackle the problems head on. My first assignment as the Governor of Edo State was to visit the Benin Technical College to inspect the school. I am happy to inform you that by Monday we will open the bid to award the contracttobuildtheschool”.

He continued that by 2019, the school would have 5,000 students, most of which would be female because the government was prioritising female empowerment.

He therefore urged Boldrini to encourage Nigerians in Italy to return back home and collaborate with the government in the task of developing Edo State, adding that his administration would utilise the school’s premises to build facilities.

On power supply to the school, he disclosed that an agreement had been reached with Benin Electricity Distribution Company limited (BEDC) to supply uninterrupted power to the college.

Meanwhile, Boldrini expressed support for the governor’s policy to prioritise education, affirming that education was the key of progress and prosperity and everything in life because it helped to build capacity to move ahead in life.

A statement last night by the media aide to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the Amnesty Office had paid all ex-militants the backlog of their arrears up to the end of 2016.

The statement further said the release of the additional fund came on the heels of presidential level interactive engagements in the Niger Delta during which it said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had come up with a new vision for oil-producing areas.

The statement added that the move was spurred by the presentation made by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) to the President during the visit of leaders and stakeholders

from the region to him last November.

“Subsequently, the President asked his deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) to embark on a tour of the region that saw him visiting several oilproducing states in the country.

“Besides the monthly payment of about N65,000 to N66,000 to the ex-militants, the funds would also go to the provision of reintegration activities under the Amnesty Programme including payment of tuition fees for beneficiaries from the Niger Delta who are in post-secondary institutions at home and abroad, payment of in-training and hazard allowances and vocational training costs.”

Police Confirm 26 Dead, 11 Injured in Lagos-Ibadan Auto Crash Ademola Babalola in Ibadan

The Oyo State police command yesterday confirmed the death of 26 people who were victims of a ghastly auto crash which occurred in the early hours of the day along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

Thefatalmotoraccident,which involved two commercial buses hadclaimedthelivesof26people while 11 others were injured on theexpresswayclosetoaquarry sitearoundKilometre96.Theaccident, which occurred around 7.00am, involved two 18-seater commercial buses.

Itwasgatheredthatthevehicles hadhead-oncollisionwhiletrying to overtake from their lanes at a pointwheretheroadconstruction

companyhandlingtherehabilitationprojectmadearoaddiversion.

THISDAYrecallssimilarincident happened on Tuesday morning where many were feared dead in similar circumstance on the newly rehabilitated road.

Yesterday’s incident made it the second fatal accident within a week. Eye-witness account informedthatthetwobuses,one coming from Lagos end and the other from Ibadan end collided in an attempt to overtake vehicle ahead of them on their lane.

The fatal collision immediately sparked off an inferno immediatelyandthepassengers were trapped and burnt beyond recognition.Thetwocommercial buses, it was gathered, had a full load each of passengers.

The victims were evacuated byacombinedteamofofficersof theNigeriaPoliceandtheFederal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

As participants in the rescue operation were busy bringing out the charred bodies from the carcassesofthebuses,sympathisers were wailing on sighting the victims’remainsbeingdumped into rescue vehicles available on ground.

Though, there is no confirmation of the identities of those injured yet, the remains of the deadvictimshadbeendeposited atthemorgueatAdeoyoHospital, Yemetu,Ibadanforautopsywhile the 11 persons who were injured weretakentoUniversityCollege Hospital and Ibadan central hospital for treatment.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

SPECIAL REPORT

BoI Acting Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Waheed Olagunju (second from right), receiving the ICAN merit award from the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Deacon Titus A. Soetan, FCA, in recognition of BoI’s outstanding contributions to national development. First right is BoI’s Executive Director (Micro Enterprises), Mrs Toyin Adeniji. First left is BoI’s Executive Director (Corporate Services & Commercial), Mr. Jonathan Tobin... recently

Exercising Mandate, BoI Records Impressive Outing

In a manner never attained in its history, Bank of Industry showed tremendous strength in its 2016 financials as it nearly doubled the numbers of the previous year, a feat linked to robust management, writes Kunle Aderinokun

A

s Nigeria’s premier development financial institution, Bank of Industry (BoI) is satisfying its mandate of promoting entrepreneurial endeavours. This is evident in its deeper involvement with small, medium and large enterprises, whose growth it preoccupies itself in nurturing.

Statistics lend credence to this as revealed in the bank’s 2016 annual report and financial statements, where it recorded impressive results in all performance indicators.

For instance, BoI disbursed a total of N8 billion to SMEs in 2016, representing a significant increase of 42 per cent over N5.64billion in 2015. Likewise, the bank’s loans and advances rose by 10 per cent to N171billion in 2016 from N156billion in 2015.

Analysis showed that the quality of its risk assets reflected tremendous improvement as it recorded a reduction in the ratio of non-performing loans (NPL) to 3.72 per cent in 2016 from 5.87 per cent in 2015. This feat was achieved during the year, when the economy was plagued myriad challenges

and the average ratio of non-performing loans in the banking industry rose sharply to 14 per cent which is beyond the Central Bank of Nigeria’s threshold of 5 per cent, further analysis revealed.

The foregoing led the bank to achieve an operating profit before tax of N17billion in the review year, which represented 44 per cent increase over the N11.9billion posted in 2015.

In his remarks on the performance, which is described as unprecedented in BoI’s history, acting Managing Director/CEO, Mr Waheed Olagunju, attributed the feat to strong commitment to professionalism and strict adherence to global best practices by the bank’s competent, dedicated as well as passionate management team and staff.

Olagunju enthused that the achievements also culminated in BoI’s consistently high ratings by international and domestic rating agencies being upgraded and affirmed. According to him, while Moody’s assigned BoI Aa1 in 2016 up from Ba3 of 2015, Agusto’s rating of AA- in 2016 was higher than A+ of 2015. AA+ assigned by Fitch in 2015 was affirmed in 2016.

Apart from being highly rated by world’s renowned rating agencies, BoI has over the

years received awards and laurels from both within and outside Nigeria. The latest of the awards was the one conferred on the bank by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) recently, at its yearly dinner and awards, for its outstanding contributions to national development.

Besides BoI’s continuous efforts at developing products and services that best meet business needs, the bank has spearheaded several special interventions in many sectors of the economy. Such interventions include: Federal Government (FGN) Special Intervention Fund for MSMEs; N235 billion CBN Intervention Fund for Manufacturing Sector; and N300 billion Power and Airline Intervention Fund (PAIF).

In its kitty are matching and managed funds tailored towards addressing specific needs of various projects. The matching funds are BOI/State Matching Funds and BOI/ Dangote Foundation Matching Fund while managed funds are BOI/CBN Intervention Fund, Cassava Bread Fund, Cottage Fund, FGN Special Intervention Fund For MSME (NEDEP), National Programme on Food Security (NPFS), Rice and Cassava Intervention Fund, Sugar Development

Council Fund, NAC Fund and Cement Fund.

Added to its series of interventions, BoI recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) to promote the art industry in Nigeria. The value of the partnership is N300 million. The MoU signed by Olagunju and Director-General, NCAC, Otunba Runsewe, would allow the bank to lend to arts entrepreneurs and stakeholders in the creative industry at a single digit rate over a medium and long term.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who was presented with a copy of the MoU lauded the agreement, saying it would create 200,000 jobs in the sector and similarly serve as a catalyst for the development of the country’s craft industries.

Mohammed commended Runsewe for putting together ”this momentous event” just a few days after assuming office as the NCAC DG, and also thanked Olagunju for his support for the Creative Industry.

Olagunju noted the partnership would add value to Nigeria’s natural endowment, diversify the economy and achieve inclusive

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

SPECIAL REPORT In Exercising Mandate, BoI Records Impressive Outing economic growth by using local contents and labour. He stressed that officials of the bank would be on ground to ensure that the disbursed loans are well utilised, adding that the bank would partner with traditional rulers to support the arts industry by replicating the role played by the late King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, whose support allowed arts to thrive in the South-east Asian country. ‘’Some countries earn billions of dollars from the production of handcraft. For instance, Thailand earns between $4-5billlion annually from the export of handcraft. Through this agreement, we will link our entrepreneurs with foreign market and propel the handicraft industry in Nigeria to the level that has been attained internationally,’’ Olagunju said.

Runsewe described the partnership as a new dawn for the country in its bid to promote culture as the new oil and create jobs for a mass of unemployed people.

Similarly, BoI instituted a programme for the teeming unemployed youths across the country to help lessen burden of the high rate of unemployment . Called The Youth Enterprise Support Programme (YES-Programme), it was designed to address the worrisome phenomenon of youth unemployment in Nigeria by developing the capacity of the youths and funding their business ideas. The YES programme is aimed at equipping young people with the skills and knowledge to be self-employed by starting and managing their own businesses.

Participants are drawn from young aspiring entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 years, with innovative ideas who must have a minimum educational qualification of an Ordinary National Diploma (OND).

The objectives of the YES-Programme are: “To create an interactive learning platform to train young aspiring entrepreneurs in Entrepreneurship, Business Management and Technical Skills that will ultimately translate into improved efficiency and productivity; To kindle the entrepreneurial spirit of the youths; To act as an incubation centre, where business ideas are nurtured to their full potential as well as entrenching global best practices by inculcating a culture of innovation-driven entrepreneurship and ethics in the programme participants.

Others are: “Promotion of self-employment among graduates of institutions of higher learning, thereby changing their job-seeking mind-set; and to deepen financial inclusion by de-risking the young aspiring entrepreneurs and making them eligible for small business loans to be provided

by BOI.” Meanwhile, the leadership style and policy implementation acumen of the acting managing director attracted the attention of two state governors recently.

The two governors, namely Nasir el-Rufai and Aminu Bello Masari, spoke words of commendations about Olagunju for his purposeful leadership and policy strides he had led BoI in taking in the areas of entrepreneurship and job creation.

El-Rufai had said : “Waheed Olagunju as acting managing director of Bank of Industry has done so much in the few months he has acted as MD to help set the state governments in Nigeria, not just Kaduna but virtually all the 36 state governments with supports necessary to create jobs.”

According to him, “One of the most important programmes he launched is the Youth Employment Scheme, which all the state governments are enjoying . So I felt it was necessary for one governor to be here to express our support and appreciation for his leadership.”

Besides, El-Rufai had also noted: “In addition, Bank of Industry and the Kaduna State Government have partnered on several projects: The Kaduna State Entrepreneurship Scheme (KAD-STEP) as well as our collaboration to acquire majority shares of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria. So Waheed is not just a brother, member of our family, but also someone that has supported Kaduna State and indeed all the 36 states to address one of the most pressing challenges facing Nigeria: job creation and advancement of economic opportunities.”

Cont’d from Pg. 82

BOI Head Office building, Abuja

NIRSAL partners BOI to boost agricultural processing and value addition

In his own comments about Olagunju, Masari said, “I’m happy and impressed by the way acting MD is looking after BoI.” It would be recalled that in 2006, during his speech at a send-off ceremony organised for him by BoI, the former chairman, Ambassador Zakari Ibrahim, said: “ If you permit me, however, I would particularly

single out for mention, the Secretary to the Board, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, for the selfless service he rendered throughout the period of our stewardship. Your contributions are highly appreciated.”

BOI was, in 2001, reconstructed out of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) Limited, which was incorporated

FINANCIALS 2016

2015

% Change

Profit Before Tax

N17bn

N11.9bn

44

Disbursements

N8bn

N5.64bn

42

Loans and Advances

N171bn

N156bn

10

NPL

3.72%

5.87%

-37

in 1964.

The bank was established in 1964 with an authorised share capital of £2 million.

The International Finance Corporation, which produced its pioneer Chief Executive held 75 per cent of its equity along with a number of domestic and foreign private investors. Although the bank’s authorised share capital was initially set at N50 billion in the wake of NIDB’s reconstruction into BoI in 2001, it has been increased to N250 billion so as to put the bank in a better position to address the nation’s rising economic profile in line with its mandate.

Following a successful institutional, operational and financial restructuring programme embarked upon in 2002, the bank has transformed into an efficient, focused and profitable institution that is well placed to effectively carry out its primary mandate of providing long term financing to the industrial sector of the economy.

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SUNDAYSPORTS

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

United’s Unbeaten Run Threatened

by Arsenal’s Top Four Charge

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anchester United will be aiming for a 26th consecutive unbeaten Premier League game when they travel to the Emirates to play Arsenal on Super Sunday.

Jose Mourinho’s side have set a new club record for the highest number of games without a loss in the top flight in a single season, and another this weekend would match that of Nottingham Forest in the 1977-78 season.

The signs look favourable for United as Arsene Wenger has only beaten old foe Mourinho once in his career - winning the Community Shield in 2015 - and has never done so in the Premier League (W0 D7 L5).

However, United are expected to field a second string team as Mourinho prioritises the Europa League title over pushing for a top four place In the Premier League.

United could win their next four Premier League games and still finish fifth in the league.

On the other hand, they only have to win

two Europa League games to qualify for the Champions League.

United’s expected wholesale changes will put severe pressure on Arsene Wenger who would probably prefer to be playing United’s first team. It’s 40 years since Arsenal and Man Utd played Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over United at the Emirates last season is their only win in 11 Premier League games against them (D4 L6). United haven’t lost consecutive away Premier League games against Arsenal since November 2001.

Alexis Sanchez is two goals away from scoring his 50th Premier League goal for Arsenal, becoming the 8th player to do this for the Gunners.

Sanchez needs just one goal to register his best-ever return from a single campaign in Europe’s big five leagues (currently on 19, tied with 2013/14 for Barcelona). However, just six of his league goals have come at home this season in the Premier League (32%) despite playing at the Emirates on 16 occasions in 2016-17.

Wayne Rooney has scored more Premier

Kanu Tips Moses for African Player of the Year Award

La Liga: Real Spank Granada, Barca Thrash Villareal

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egendaryNigeriaforwardNwankwo Kanu has backed his countryman Victor Moses to win this year’s CAF Player of the Year accolade.

The 26-year-old Moses has enjoyed his best season with Chelsea, who are the favourites to win this season’s English Premier League (EPL) title.

However, former Arsenal star Kanu feels that the defender-cum-midfielder faces stiff competition from Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Senegalese Sadio Mane.

“Moses has proved critics wrong. It is now left for CAF to do their rating,” Kanu told Sports Village Square. “As for me, he deserves the 2017 CAF award. Although the season is still on and no one can tell what future will be.

“The likes of Aubameyang and Sadio Mane are dangerous to compete with but I still have a strong belief in the Nigeria forward. Despite playing out of position at Chelsea, he finds it easy to break opponents’ defence with ease.

And if he keeps this fitness alive I see him becoming the next African footballer of the year.”

Kanu, who is now 40, won the CAF Player of the Year award in 1996 and 1999. He represented Nigeria 87 times - scoring 12 goals in the process.

PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS & FIXTURES Man City Bournemouth Burnley Hull City Leicester Liverpool Arsenal

5–0 2–2 2–2 0–2 3–0 v v

Crystal Palace Stoke City West Brom Sunderland Watford Southampton 1:30pm Man United 4pm

Giroud and Sanchez celebrate the equalizing goal against Manchester United in the reverse fixture earlier in the season

League goals against Arsenal than any other player in Premier League history (11).

This will be Arsene Wenger’s 58th match as Arsenal manager against United in all

competitions. It’s the side the Frenchman has faced most often with the Gunners, but also the side he’s got the lowest win rate against (29% - minimum of 15 games).

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lvaro Morata and James Rodriguez scored twice as a much-changed Real Madrid moved to within three victories of winning La Liga with a 4-0 demolition of already-relegated Granada, yesterday.

Earlier, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were all on target to take their combined tally for the season to 102 as Barcelona kept pace at the top with a 4-1 win over Villarreal.

Barca remain top thanks to their superior head-tohead record with the two locked on 84 points, but Real have three games remaining to the Catalans’ two.

Real coach Zinedine Zidane continued his rotation policy of recent weeks with nine changes from the side that beat Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday as hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo was left out of the squad entirely.

However, it mattered little as Real maintained their perfect La Liga record in nine games without Ronaldo this season. Barely two minutes had gone when Lucas Vazquez got in behind the Granada defence and squared for Rodriguez to tap home the opener. The Colombian then powered home a header from Fabio Coentrao’s cross just nine minutes later.

Morata blasted home Danilo’s low cross then bullied Martin Hongla out of the way to fire home his 20th goal of the season. Vazquez then hit the bar and Casemiro somehow shot over with the goal at his mercy as Madrid’s dominance of the first 45 minutes left some Granada fans in tears.

Real had mercy on the hosts after the break, but now just need seven points from their last three games against Sevilla, Celta Vigo and Malaga to seal a first La Liga title in five years. arca maintained the pressure on the European champions with all of their front three on top form against Villarreal. Neymar took advantage of a blocked shot from Messi to prod home the opener from close range after 21 minutes.

However, Villarreal striker Cedric Bakambu continued his brilliant form to bring the visitors levels just 11 minutes later when he streaked clear of Gerard Pique before slotting home his seventh goal in six games.

Morata and James scored two each for Madrid yesterday Barca got a slice of luck to regain the lead just before the break as Messi’s effort from the edge of the area deflected beyond Andres Fernandez for the Argentine’s 50th goal of the season and to bring up a combined 100 for he, Suarez and Neymar for the campaign.

Suarez took that tally to 101 and killed the game

off as a contest when he turned Jaume Costa and fired low and hard past Fernandez.

Costa was also the man at fault as he was harshly adjudged to have handled inside his own box after a sensational piece of skill from Neymar eight minutes from time. “Any football fan should value what Neymar does,” said Barca coach Luis Enrique.

ATP Tour: Raonic, Cilic to Contest Istanbul Final

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ig servers Milos Raonic and Marin Cilic set up a heavyweight final at the Istanbul Open when they came through their semifinals with ease yesterday. Canadian top seed Raonic beat Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-2 6-3 while 2014 US Open champion Cilic, seeded two, beatArgentina’s defending champion Diego Schwartzman 6-1 7-6(7) to reach his first final of the year.

“I’m definitely very excited for the final tomorrow,” Cilic, who will seek a first claycourt title since winning in Umag in 2012, said. “It’s something I was

looking forward to at the beginning of the week.

I’m really happy with my tennis and hope I can continue with great tennis tomorrow.”

Raonic is playing his first tournament since withdrawing from the Miami Open in March with a hamstring injury. As the build-up to the French Open continues, Germany’s rising force Alexander ZverevreachedthefinaloftheBMWOpeninMunich with a 7-5 7-5 defeat of Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. He will face Argentine qualifier Guido Pella in the final after he beat young South Korean Hyeon Chung 4-6 7-5 6-4.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

High Life

85 with LANRE ALFRED 08076885752

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

Sade Okoya at 40: A Birthday Feast Fit for Royalty

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f organising high society parties with the right mix of guests, gourmet food and endless exotic champagnes and cognacs known to connoisseurs were art, you may jolly well call billionaire industrialist, Chief Rasaq Akanni Okoya, the Michelangelo.

And if that skill were classical music, please, call him Mozart.

The money man knows how to deploy his vast wealth to serenade and stun those close to him. And, when it’s about his beloved wife, Folashade, he goes the whole hog, spares no expense and harnesses all his contacts and connections to flatter and fete her. Folashade, a University of Lagos graduate, clocked 40 last Sunday and Chief Okoya pulled everybody that matters in the society to join him in celebrating the woman that effortlessly adds plenty sheen to his glowing and glorious being. Held inside the sprawling Oluwa Ni Sola Estate on Lekki Expressway owned by the Eleganza Group chairman, it was easier to count the foremost Nigerians that weren’t at the party than those there.

And they were in their eyewatering finery, yet, complied with the Black Tie dress code.

From captains of industries to

Olu Akeusola

ONLY IF THE DEAD COULD SPEAK...ABOUT A LATE PROFESSOR AND HIS BABY MAMAS Hardly had the tears shed in bucketful at the burial of Olu Akeusola, a Professor of Comparative Grammar, dried, than salacious tales about his lifestyle began to emerge. An illustrious Epe son and Provost of Michael Otedola College of Primary Education, Akeusola, died Friday, April 21st, at the age of 55 and was buried the following day. Despite dying about three hours after returning from Abuja, no foul play was suspected in his death. Professor Akeusola

consummate politicians, royals and rulers, it was an evening when the spangled stars in the Lagos skyline, peering through the gold embroidered blinds, seemed to connive with the neon lights that lit the hall to cast a celestial halo on the birthday girl. Regally tall and resplendently attired, Folashade beamed with toothy smiles as she moved from table to table to greet guests, ensuring nobody missed out on the Okoyas’ epicurean hospitality.

Despite her humble parentage, Folashade, who got married to Chief Okoya while in her early 20s, now carries herself with cultured aristocracy. It was her day and she lived the moment like she was born to do so. With comedian, Tee A, behind the microphone, there was no dull moment and the tempo of the party went octaves higher when reigning indigenous lyricist, Olamide Baddo, took the stage.

Seguing from his early to latest hits, the singer ensured he made many men discard their agbada while the women did away with their stilettoes as they danced without inhibitions to his music. The birthday girl was not left out of the dancing binge that lasted well into the midnight. is survived by three wives and children. But that is not the story. At the eighth day Fidau prayer, a woman came out from the crowd to inform the clerics conducting the prayers that the baby she was holding was ‘fathered’ by the deceased. She told them that the baby was christened Abass by the Professor himself and that she came all the way from the United States of America to attend the Fidau. The clerics prayed for her and the baby and further announced that another London-based woman has a baby by the late Professor but could not make the prayer. While the first two wives were understandably aghast, the last wife, who did not have any child by Professor Akeusola in more than five years of marriage, was devastated and inconsolable.

Interestingly, despite having a palatial home fit enough for royalty, none of the three wives lived with him.

Sources say he preferred his freedom and did not like the encumbrances of having a woman under his roof or so.

THE UNENDING WAR BETWEEN CHRIS OKOTIE AND TB JOSHUA Like a recurring theme in some demonic symphony, the drums of war are resonating yet again in Christendom.

And it involves the usual suspects and eternal sparring partners, Prophet T.B Joshua,

Sade Okoya

the General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, and dandy pop artiste turned preacher, Pastor Chris Okotie of the Household of God Church.

Joshua had announced that he was relocating to Israel because of the hostile Nigerian environment, saying, “This is the most persecuted ministry in the world. Who are the people persecuting the ministry?

My people, Africa. That is why I choose to live a lonely life. If you want to see me, come to this church. I don’t go out. It has not been easy because I don’t know who is a friend or who is an enemy.

Chris Okotie

If you learn T.B. Joshua is not around, I am in a revival.

I live in the church here. I don’t have a house outside.

What happened to me from the beginning of my ministry is enough to chase me out of this country. But I am still in your midst.” He also said Israel had given him land in a choice area to establish his church if he eventually comes to the country.

Responding, Okotie, an avowed and age-long critic of Joshua, described him as an attention-seeking ‘impostor.’

In a post on his official Facebook profile, Okotie stated, “He is controlled by a malevolent misanthropic spirit. His hypocritical jeremiad should be ignored.

He is just another frustrated shaman seeking public sympathy.” This recent tirade follows a long line of others.

A few years back, a national honour was conferred on Joshua by the Umaru Yar ’Adua administration.

Okotie was miffed, and he expressed this in no uncertain terms. “I think that President Yar ’Adua does not have the competence to determine who to receive an award in the Body of Christ.

(Joshua) is not a Christian.

He does not understand the complexity of the spiritual organism that is called the Church and for him to veer out of state matters and delve into matters that have to do with celestial issues is

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R • MAY 7, 2017

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HIGHLIFE

When Two Elephants Fight…As Oluwo of Iwo and High Chief Abiola Ogundokun Engage in Verbal Slugfest

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olourful and controversial, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed Akanbi, has become (in)famous for his predilection to get into spats with whoever got in his way or attempted to. If he is not displaying his gaudy lifestyle on social media, including new material acquisitions, he is posting childlike videos like an excitable kid just experiencing a smart phone. The recent in his expanding catalogue of opponents is an old political warhorse and the Publicity Secretary of the defunct National Party of Nigeria, Chief Abiola Ogundokun.

In a fit of powerdrunkenness, the Oluwo, last Sunday, stripped Ogundokun of all chieftaincy titles, ranging from Islamic, social to traditional titles conferred on him by the Iwo Traditional Council. The Iwo monarch accused Ogundokun of disrespecting him as well as making utterances and actions he described as antiIwo, saying, “A Chief is appointed to favour the town. Any Chief, either traditional or religious, who engages in a bad conduct should be dealt with accordingly.

TB Joshua

the height of presumptions.

Number two, to give an award to a man like Joshua, who is possessed with the malevolent spirit, who has shown himself as a Shaman is to endorse Shamanism and occultism.”

GIPLC’S PROJECT, TOUCH A LIFE TODAY, LAUNCHED Yes, they do not turn a blind eye to the needy.

Rather they pay good mind

Ogundokun is one of them. I removed him after due consultation with Chiefs, religious leaders, stakeholders and opinion leaders in the interest of Iwo.” Continuing, he said, “Ogundokun went as far as going to a radio station to molest Iwo, the crown and her subjects. It is high time we shoved him off. He is a liability to our land. He has no respect for Iwo and needs to be treated like a traitor.”

However, the 82-yearold Ogundokun, forged in the political warfare of the 70s through the 80s to the Sani Abacha days, has described the Oluwo as incompetent to strip him of any title. “I have been maintaining and using my money to keep him. A few months ago, he told the whole world that Ogundokun is the best Iwo man.

He said if he had two Ogundokuns in Iwo, he did not need anybody again. He is doing this because I advised him against criminality, to stop collecting money from people he does not intend to confer chieftaincy titles on.”

To underscore that the King might just be on an exuberant spree, religious leaders across the three local

Oba Abdul-Rasheed Akanbi

government areas that make up the ancient town, as well as the five royal families, in a meeting held at the Iwo Central mosque, faulted the decision of the monarch and unanimously passed a vote of confidence on the high chief. They maintained that

to their needs. And in this respect, his generosity proclaims him. Igho Sanomi embarks on a humanitarian odyssey like a kind of poet and painter whose imagination is unclipped.

He paints picturesque scenes in lives severely marred by squalor; he encrusts bleakness in shiny varnish and, as he is able, he seeks to mend small damaged lives here and there.

However, the Global Initiative for Peace, Love and Care (GIPLC) has launched a new initiative which will be taking place from 25th April to 17th May 2017. Project ‘Touch a life’ will reach 1000 patients, in 3 states, over 3 weeks.

The non-governmental, not-for-profit charity organisation, which was founded in 2006 to cater for orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria, has launched this new project as part of Igho Charles Sanomi II’s birthday celebrations and to commemorate the GIPLC’s 11th anniversary.

1000 identified vulnerable Nigerians in Abuja, Delta and Benue States will receive financial support to subsidize and assist their

Abiola Ogundokun

Ogundokun has not done anything that contravenes neither Islamic doctrine, nor traditional norm, which necessitated the action of the king. He is yet to respond as at press time. But knowing the Oluwo, a ringing riposte is afoot.

medical bills. Visits will be made to patients to follow up on their progress. A full professional team of GIPLC staff, doctors and nurses will be deployed to ensure the desired impact is met and lives are touched and saved. Igho Sanomi, Founder and Chairman of Taleveras, and past recipient of a Dr Martin Luther King Legacy Award for Philanthropy and International Service said: “Supporting the work of the GIPLC is something I have done for many years, in many ways. This year I wanted to do something which would help even more of the vulnerable people who have been at the core of the GIPLC activities. This unique initiative seeks to touch the lives of the most needy members of our communities at a time when they need it the most. This is something I believe in wholeheartedly and to which I am pleased to have been able to lend my support.”

Nuhu Kwajafa, GIPLC Co-ordinator, said: “We give God all the glory for His blessings and the capacity and the will, for people like Igho Sanomi to give back to those in need. We pray that

by this gesture, ICS II will endear others to do same, so we may sustain this practice on a yearly basis. Ultimately, the goal is to stimulate the mobilisation of resources and raise awareness on the plight of those living in especially difficult circumstances.

GIPLC will coordinate and share this experience daily.

Nuhu Kwajafa

T H I S D AY, T H e S u n D AY n e w S pA p e r • MAY 7, 2017

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HIGHLIFE

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Obasanjo’s Wife or a Prophetess of Doom?

he fright that characters from a gothic nightmare inspire has nothing on the occasional emergence in public of Taiwo, one of the estranged wives of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. She sends shivers down many spines.

Ask ‘Baba’. Like a woman eternally scorned, the fiery and feisty woman who has never missed an opportunity to roughen up ‘Baba’ at the slightest nudge, not even provocation, has predicted (or is it prophesied) that if the proposed wedding between her son and the daughter of Kessington Adebutu went ahead, there would be serious consequences. Obasanjo and Adebutu, the multi billionaire owner of Premier Lotto, are two of Ogun State’s foremost sons. Their children are preparing to get married but the groom’s mother is kicking up blinding dust. In a letter sent to the Methodist Church of Nigeria, the groom’s mother stated that if the wedding, fixed for May 11 and 13 holds, it would be heralded by plane crashes, fire incidents, multiple road accidents, tankers and trailer killing people; cancers, diseases of kidney, liver, prostrate, eyes issues and more.

According to her, “The two dates were chosen and compelled by Satan for IT WASN’T ME…THE MATHAROO SISTERS RESURFACE Three months after their ignominious departure from Nigeria, the Matharoo sisters, Jyoti and Khiran, otherwise known as Canadian Kardashians, have resurfaced in Nigeria, literally. Smouldering hot, exotic and available, Jyoti and Khiran were the most sought after babes by deeppocket Nigerians which gave them access to a lot of privileged information.

They were thus accused of running the controversial gossip website, Naijagistlive, where the dirty secrets of billionaires were regularly published or exchanged for money. They met their waterloo when they beamed their strobe of blackmail on

Matharoo Sisters

them to lure unsuspecting numerous souls to a banquet of death that will result in strange holocaust in our nation. After the wedding, you will be hearing and seeing incidents of plane crashes, fire incidents, multiple road accidents, tankers and trailer killing people, cancers, diseases of kidney, liver, prostrate, eyes issues and diverse health problem causing strange death in people and the economy situation will worsen.”

She revealed that she is not against the wedding but only want the date postponed until after her son’s birthday.

“I am not against the wedding, all I am relentlessly pleading is for a shift in the date and they turned against me. Even on the 11th and 13th of May, they are planning to assassinate me or keep me in police custody from 10th – 14th May 2017, when they would have completed the devilish wedding ceremony. Sir, is this a wedding ceremony or a clever, premeditated, devilishly calculated scheme to sacrifice thousands of souls as they come to the feast of death, ostensibly announced as wedding ceremony? I am alive and healthy and I am not mad, God used me to convince my son to change his mind to marry this lady called Tope Adebutu, now, they want to kill me by all means possible.”

billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola. Not only did he go all out to clear his name, Otedola ensured the law took its course as the girls were arrested and arraigned before a Yaba magistrate court in December 2016. Penitent and cowed, the sisters signed an undertaking promising not to engage in blackmail and cyber bullying again.

Thereafter, they were allowed to quietly return to Canada.

Now, the sisters are back, firing from all cylinders, but from the comfort and safety net of Canada. In an interview with CTV Toronto, the sisters said they were not responsible for the posts on the website but agreed to sign and read the undertaking in order to have their passports returned.

“It was pretty much being

forced, otherwise you’re going to be thrown into a maximum security prison for God knows how long. We just decided to speak because everyone thinks we’re missing or dead or worse,” Jyoti said. “I think for just dating someone in the oil and gas sector you get more opportunities to travel a bit more, you get to do things maybe you wouldn’t have done. The way the media reported it, they called us sex workers, prostitutes…I’ve never done anything like that. I’ve never blackmailed anyone, never extorted anyone. I think the stain on our reputation will never be cleared.”

WHY HEYDEN OIL BOSS, DAPO ABIODUN, BOUGHT OVER 50 OF JIMOH IBRAHIM’S FUEL STATIONS Dapo Abiodun, billionaire magnate, has given the breath of life to Jimoh Ibrahim’s comatose enterprise. Like the gust of breeze that ignites dying embers and cold hearths, the Heyden Oil boss is resuscitating Ibrahim’s moribund petrol enterprise.

He is doing so by buying up Jimoh’s dilapidated fuel stations; he has acquired 50 of Ibrahim ‘s fuel stations till date. While Ibrahim has been pawning off his enterprise in order to stay solvent, Dapo has been committing good money and resources to his peer ’s troubled stations in order to rescue him on one hand and actualize his kerosene and Premium Methylated Spirit (PMS) commercial enterprise on the other hand. Dapo intends to go full blast into the business hence his decision to buy up Jimoh Ibrahim’s failed fuel stations. Dapo started

Taiwo Obasanjo

Heyden Petroleum Limited (HPL) as an independent Oil Trading Company (OTC) in Nigeria and in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2001. Its trading activities range from refined white products to semi-refined black products. Heyden Petroleum also explores its formidable network structure to access and expand business relationships wherever profitable and feasible while promoting and sustaining professionalism.

HPL is actively involved in the trading and distribution of Automotive Gas Oil, Diesel, Fuel Oils, Bitumen, Crude and some intermediate components within and outside Nigeria.

Jimoh Ibrahim

Sunday, May 7, 2017

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Price: N400

MISSILE Sultan to Nigerians

Nigeria is just above 50 years and had fought a civil war. We must understand that Nigeria cannot survive another Civil War. Therefore, Nigerians should work against repeating such mistakes that led us to that Civil War – Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, while delivering his keynote address at the Traditional Rulers’ Day during the Rivers State Golden Jubilee celebration last week

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

The Options Before President Buhari

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f you’re like me, you would hesitate to comment on the health of a fellow mortal in a sarcastic and malicious way just for the sake of politics. It doesn’t matter if it is the person next door or the president of a country. My grandmother never failed to warn me, when I was much younger, to not laugh at anyone’s deformity. “Nobody chose to be deformed,” she would say, and then add ominously: “Some of the deformed people you see today were once like you, but accidents happen in life.” Since nobody goes to the market to buy cancer or diabetes — or any ailment for that matter — no human being should gloat over another person’s misfortune. This I believe.

As we all know, President Muhammadu Buhari is ill. God forbid that I ridicule him. God forbid that I stop praying for him. However, because he is more than the head of his family but leader of 180 million Nigerians, his medical status is not a personal affair. What he does, and what he does not do, affects the lives of more than himself and his family. It affects more than Daura and Katsina. It affects more than the Hausa/Fulani and the north. It affects more than Muslims. All of us are at the mercy of the president, no matter the state of origin, ethnic affiliation, religious inclination and political persuasion. Let’s be especially clear about that before we proceed.

There are things we know and there are things we don’t know. We know for sure that the president is ill. Although some people tried to lie to us by saying he was “hale and hearty”, Buhari himself has come out to say he had never been this ill in his life, to the extent of undergoing blood transfusion. We also know that the president has lost weight and there is hardly any hair left on his head again, judging from the last time we saw him in public. His wife, Aisha, has even told us that things are not as bad as they are being painted — perhaps referring to rumours that he was being fed through a tube. Things are bad all the same.

We can see.

How bad? We don’t know. Is it a terminal ailment? We don’t know. Some Nigerians are so gifted they can look at a sick person from the comfort of their dining rooms and tell you the day the person is going to die. I don’t have such a gift. In fact, doctors can look at his pictures and make a guess, but only those who have access to his medical records can be certain. Buhari looks seriously ill — that is naked to the eye — but we are not in a position to conclude that it is all over for him, except, of course, we want to be mischievous.

Realistically, though, not many people can say for sure the true state of the president except those who are in the inner circle.

Now, there are certain things we know very well. Definitely, the president is not in a position to perform his duty to the best of his ability.

I can say that conveniently. I have evidence.

My first witness is that he has not been able to preside over the weekly federal executive council meeting in a month. After lying, characteristically, to us that the “agenda was light” and “we are on Easter break”, the cabinet has now devised a more realistic story — that the president is being told to rest by his doctors and he will not return to work until he is fit. In other words, he is “not fit” yet. I am quoting the minister of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who is my second witness.

If the president cannot preside over FEC and cannot be seen frequently in public in his current state, I want to guess (I repeat, guess) that there are many state matters that he cannot attend to. There are meetings he cannot

Buhari attend, there are important visitors he cannot receive, there are critical policy sessions that he cannot partake in and there are key decisions he cannot take. Yet, the president of Nigeria has to be on his feet all the time. Governing a vast country with vast challenges is no child’s play. With Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo now technically demobilised and disrobed as acting president, there is certainly a gaping hole in the flow of things.

The truth be told then: we are at a crossroads.

In this age and time when we need all the speed we can buy, when we need to take 20 steps at a time in order to make anything near progress in economic and human development, it will be most unfair to insist that Buhari can combine his current state of health with the weight of leading Nigeria. It is neither good for him nor the country. He either concentrates 100% on

In this age and time when we need all the speed we can buy, when we need to take 20 steps at a time in order to make anything near progress in economic and human development, it will be most unfair to insist that Buhari can combine his current state of health with the weight of leading Nigeria

his health or 100% on governing Nigeria. He cannot do 90:10 in favour of his health. We can be quite sure that it is Nigeria that will suffer in this instance. And Nigeria is bigger than anyone, I would like to maintain.

There is something that doesn’t make sense to me. President Buhari was in far away London attending to his health and making progress.

Osinbajo was constitutionally empowered to be acting president and, may I add, Buhari was satisfied that things ran smoothly. There was neither uncertainty nor tension. Buhari did not have to worry about Nigerians and Nigerians did not have to worry about Buhari. So why did he return home while he was not done yet? On his return, he said he would go back to London for another round of treatment “in the next two weeks”. But why did he not stay back? Why prefer to fly up and down in two weeks? I can’t understand. I can’t.

The story out there is that some people out of personal interest, which they normally disguise as regional interest, stormed London to persuade Buhari to return home and take “charge” by making public appearances once in a while. If my guess is right, the drama playing out in Abuja is not about the progress of Nigeria. It is not about how we can attain uninterrupted power supply. It has nothing to do with infrastructural development. It is not about making Nigeria an investment destination of choice in Africa and in the world. It is far away from being about reducing infant mortality, maternity mortality and illiteracy. It is not intrigues about malaria, river blindness or polio. I shake my head.

I conclude. There are many options before Buhari as we speak. I will highlight just two. One, he can send a letter to the National Assembly announcing a medical leave and empowering his VP to act again. That way, the uncertainty in town can be lessened. Lest we forget, whether it is Buhari or Osinbajo, it is the same ticket and the same administration. Buhari did a decent thing by empowering Osinbajo to act when he went on medical leave in January and many of us admired him for that. For those of us who saw what happened in Nigeria in 2009/2010 with President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s illness, we were glad Buhari took one step better this time around.

With the option of medical leave, the president will not have to worry about Nigeria and Nigeria will not have to worry about him. He will receive all the treatment he needs and get all the rest he can muster. God is a merciful God. He can accelerate Buhari’s recovery and he would eventually come back to his desk in good health. Head or tail, Buhari can win. He can get good health and hold on to power at the same time. And if he chooses to reveal his real health challenges, he may even win more admirers. I know that there are those who will seek to score silly political points with it, but he will also win the respect of many, most of whom will put him in their prayers.

There is a second option being currently canvassed: that Buhari should resign. In my opinion, he should consider this option only if his doctors have told him something with a tone of finality. Again, we are not in a position to speculate on that. I think many of those canvassing this option are already assuming the worst case scenario. If it that is the case, resignation would not be too much a price to pay for the overall health of Nigeria. It would be the most difficult yet the most honourable option. For now, though, I would make my recommendation based on what I can see with my eyes: the president needs time off to treat himself. Urgent.

And Four Other Things...

TAMING RAPE Did you read the gory story of the Lagos secondary school students who went on a raping spree on Thursday to “celebrate” writing their final exams? Honestly, I couldn’t read it in a co-ordinated manner.

My heart was beating at twice normal as I scanned through the eyewitness account of Mrs Michale Matthew, the heroine who confronted the boys and offered protection to the girls at the risk of being attacked herself. It is said to be a “tradition” after exams — a “tradition” of violating teenage girls in the vilest manner, in broad day light.

Daily, rape goes unchecked all over Nigeria but we may have finally found scapegoats in order to mainstream this issue. Evil.

NIGERIA AND ZIMBABWE President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe said at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Durban, South Africa, on Thursday that his country is the second “most highly developed country” in Africa. “After South Africa, I want to see what country has the level of development that you see in Zimbabwe,” he said with every sense of pride.

It sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Zimbabwe is not paying workers and the currency is a piece of rag. But after years of self-inflicted economic meltdown and state-organised violence, you would expect power cuts, bad roads, meningitis and cholera all over Zimbabwe. And that’s not the case. So, is Nigeria better than Zimbabwe? Really?

MODERN TRAGEDY I have been reading tragic stories since I became literate but this one is chilling and mysterious. Tunde Adepegba, a computer systems analyst in the US, relocated his family from Nigeria last week. They had two young daughters and his wife is seven months pregnant. Less than 12 hours after arriving in the US, Tunde was on a metro boss to work when he died on his seat. Other passengers did not know. They probably thought he was sleeping. It was the driver that discovered his dead body after the last stop. The penniless widow now has to raise $10,000 for his burial — and cater for the fatherless children. Must life be this unkind?

Mystifying.

OWNING JOSHUA Success has many fathers. Since Anthony Joshua defeated Wladimir Klitschko to become the world’s unified heavyweight champion, Nigerians have been celebrating the success of “our son”. After all, although he was born in England, his parents are Nigerians and he spent his early years in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the British are very proud to have produced another world heavyweight champion and the narrative in the British media has changed from “the son of Nigerian parents arrested for possession of cannabis” (2011) to “the British heavyweight boxing sensation”.

When you succeed, you don’t need to search for relatives. They will come for you. Life.

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