Saturday 13th May 2017

Obiozor: We Must Reform, Restructure or Perish Idea of One Nigeria Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu Nigeria's former Ambassador to the United States of America, Prof. George Obiozor yesterday canvassed for the restructuring of the nation's body politic “in order to effectively contain the adverse effects on efforts

towards nation building, national integration and national development.”

Obiozor, who was speaking at the second edition of “The Big Ideas Podium”, a policy debate organised by the African Heritage Institution in Enugu, with the theme "Towards a New

Leadership for a Broken Nation", lamented that no generation of leaders, military or civilian, had been able to create an atmosphere of credibility to ensure Nigeria's claim to a political future as a nation.

The former Ambassador who spoke on the topic,

"the Imperative of National Crossroad Leadership", said, "none has been to evolve a unifying national ideology that was embraced by fellow political elites or by the entire Nigerian populace across the country".

According to Obiozor, within

56 years of the country's existence, three systems of government, parliamentary, military and presidential, have failed to solve the country's national leadership problem or guarantee the nation's long term existence as a nation.

"Instead, Nigeria continues

to be a country of relatively acceptable past, a troubled present and an uncertain or doubtful future. In fact, ours is a country whose past is better than its present and the future is a guessing game at the national Continued on page 8

FG Pumps $500m into NSIA as Osinbajo Inaugurates New Board... Page 8 Saturday 13 May, 2017 Vol 22. No 8059. Price: N250

www.thisdaylive.com TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

10 Hours of Laughter, 1000 VVIPs, 35 Private Jets, Tons of By-partisan Goodwill in Minna IBB Gives out daughter at Hilltop mansion

Dateline: Dodan Barracks 1986, 31 years ago, Halima Babangida had just been born at First Consultant Hospital, Obalende, Lagos. Delivered by Dr. Benjamin Ohiaeri. She was named in a ceremony attended by high octane individuals, who are today, drivers of modern Nigeria.

As it was then, so it was in Minna, which stood still for most of yesterday, as former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) gave

her out to businessman, Auwal Abdullahi at a ceremony attended by dignitaries from across Nigeria.

The wedding which took place at the hilltop residence of General Babangida, saw former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife Dame Patience, leading A-list guests that also included former military Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar and his wife, Fati Lami, Senate Continued on page 8

Supreme Court Upholds Nomination, Election of Ikpeazu as Abia Governor Alex Enumah in Abuja, Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia and Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the election of Okezie Ikpeazu as Abia State Governor on the grounds that he was properly nominated by the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP).

Delivering judgment in three separate suits challenging the eligibility of Ikpeazu in the 2015 governorship election by Samson Ogah and Friday Nwosu, the apex court dismissed the suits on the grounds that they lacked merit.

In the lead judgement written by Justice Musa Datijo Mohamed and read by Justice Ejembi Eko, the court held that the appellant failed to prove his allegation that the tax clearance of the governor was forged.

According to the judge, tax of civil servant are normally deducted from source and being an employee of the state government at the time, Ikpeazu's tax was deducted at source, adding that if there are any irregularities, it is not the governor that should be held Continued on page 8

HALIMA WEDS AUWAL...

Halima, General Ibrahim Babangida's last daugher during her wedding at the Hilltop Mansion of the former President in SUNMI SMART-COLE Minna..yesterday

Senate: Second Abuja Runway, Other Projects Led to Increase in 2017 Budget ...Page 15

2

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

3

4

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

5

6

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

7

8

SATURDAY, ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ Ëž T H I S D AY

PAGE EIGHT

FG Pumps $500m into NSIA as Osinbajo Inaugurates New Board Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday in the Presidential Villa, Abuja inaugurated the new board of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) with the disclosure of fresh injection of $500 million into the scheme.

Osinbajo said the fund was part of the federal government's drive for economic growth and infrastructure development.

Yesterday's inauguration of the board was sequel to the earlier approval by the National Economic Council (NEC) in February, this year, of the nominees into the board from the six geo-political zones of the country.

Members of the board chaired

by Mr. Babajide Zeitlin will serve for a term of four years.

While inaugurating the board,

Osinbajo charged it to improve on the performance of NSIA by investing in key priority areas of the government such as agriculture and infrastructure.

He also said the board would be held accountable by both NEC and the generality of Nigerians which he said would require them to provide accounts of their stewardship. “As we navigate the pathway out of recession and into a self-sufficient and diversified economy, it is our expectation that the NSIA will remain increasingly strategic to our nation’s growth and development. “As representatives of the people, our charge is simple: we require you to fundamentally improve the performance of the Authority and strengthen its operations. “Indeed, despite the fiscally constrained environment, this

administration has been able to increase the federal government’s commitment to the NSIA by 50 per cent, committing an additional $500 million though the federal government is committed to saving. “The actual charge with this additional capital is investment.

Thus, as the NSIA moves to the second phase of its existence, the expectation is that the committed capital will be deployed into projects that are in line with the administration’s key priority areas, namely: infrastructure, agriculture, in order to improve our economy. For example, we expect prompt action on the commodities exchange, a vital component of our agricultural reform effort," Osinbajo stated.

The Acting President who also referred to the conceived modular refineries' project in the Niger Delta as one key

investment that would unlock the economic potential of the country, tasked the board to live up to expectation. “The bar before you is high and all of us are counting on you to deliver� as he proclaimed the board inaugurated to the “glory of the Almighty God and the enduring development of our nation.�

Responding, the board chairman, Zeitlin, thanked the federal government for the opportunity to serve, assuring that the board membership was “committed to doing so with utmost of integrity and transparency and we look forward to being held accountable.�

According to him, the team will remain committed and simultaneously align itself with the policies of both the administration and the economic team.

Answering questions from journalists after the inauguration, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said membership of the board were drawn by an executive search committee set up with the mandate to look for the best hands for the job from all parts of the country.

According to her, the board consists of bankers, lawyers, people with oil and gas experience and entrepreneurs as she expressed confidence that the board would fulfil its mandate.

"We are very confident that this board will look after our future resources and provide very good decisions and guidance to the execute management in line with the administration's expectations and requirements,� she said.

Also speaking with journalists, the Managing Director of NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji, said the team

would not only protect the fund for future generations, it would also invest in infrastructure and agriculture in accordance with government priorities. “We are very focused on agriculture, infrastructure more broadly and this is a seasoned team - both the executive management team and a very experienced board. So, this augurs well for the Nigerian nation,� Orji said.

Members of the inaugurated board and their geo-political zones are: Babajide Zetilin (Chairman, South-west), Halima Buba (North-east), Bello Maccido (North–west), Lois Laraba Machunga-Disu (North-central), Urum Kalu Eze (South-east) and Asue Ighodalo (South-south).

Other members of board include Uche Orji, Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli and Hanspeter Acheermann.

Babangida.

The living room of General Babangida where the wedding took place became too small to accommodate dignitaries and journalists that thronged the residence for the ceremony.

As a result, several dignitaries and journalists observed the wedding from outside the living room.

Minister of Interior, Lt General

Abdulrahaman Danbazzau who had a brief chat with journalists said the large assemblage of people of diverse background at the ceremony was a pointer to the fact that the country "is now at peace."

When the wedding eventually commenced, Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwanbo paid the dowry and received the bride from former Chief of

Army Staff, General Mohammad Inuwa Wushishi.

N500,000 cash and ten cows was paid as bride price.

Sheikh Imam Wushishi subsequently performed the joining of the couple.

A special prayer was offered for the couple by Sheik Kabiru Gombe, who stressed the significance of marriage in Islam and called on the bride to be submissive and loyal to her husband.

Other dignitaries in attendance at the massive event were former governors Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, Attaihiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, Mohammadu Shinkafi of Zamfara State, Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, Abubakar Dakingari of Kebbi State, Oserheimen Osunbor of Edo State and Gbenga Daniel

of Ogun State.

Serving governors in attendance were Rocha's Okorocha of Imo state, Aminu Tambwal of Sokoto State, Dairus Ishyaku of Taraba State, Simon Lalong of Plateau State, Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa State, Nasir ElRufai of Kaduna, Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara, Ahmed Abdulfatah of Kwara, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano and Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State.

Other dignitaries were Gen. Aliyu Gusau, who served several times as National Security Adviser, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, former first lady, Justice Fati Lami Abubakar, Professor Jubril Aminu, Mohammed Abacha, former Senate president Anyim Pius Anyim and Dr. Ekwesileze Nwodo. Some of the business moguls in attendance were Tony Elumelu, Tunde Folawiyo and Bola Shagaya, etc.

IBB GIVES OUT DAUGHTER President Bukola Saraki, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and business mogul, Aliko Dangote.

The event turned out to be a carnival and summit of whois-who in Nigeria, from politics to business. For many, they had never seen such concentration of men of money and power before.

It is instructive that 24 years after Babangida left power, he

could still pull together such commanding personality from all sections of Nigeria.

About 35 private jets and four police/air force aircraft landed in Minna, while the police provided air surveillance and security in the city.

It was also a gathering of many political opponents, who temporarily sheathe their swords and backslap, to honour

S’COURT UPHOLDS NOMINATION, ELECTION OF IKPEAZU AS ABIA GOVERNOR responsible.

The apex court in declaring that the appeals lacked substance, described them as a mere storm in a cup of tea and consequently awarded a cost of N250,000 in favor of Ikpeazu and the PDP. Leading the panel of Justices in the judgment, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen took a swipe at politicians and warned them not to destroy the judiciary, which he described as the last hope of the ordinary Nigerian.

The CJN, told the open court that desperate politicians had been invading the court with the aim of compromising court officials and perverting the course of justice for their selfish ends.

In the instant case, the CJN admitted that there were several security breaches, where desperate politicians made frantic efforts to compromise the court officials in the course of doing their job.

Onnoghen said that the security breaches were serious offences and that they would be thoroughly investigated to unmask the politicians and make them face the wrath of the law.

"I have said times without number that under my leadership, you do not need to know a judge before you can get justice.

The law is superior and the law must take its course.

"Attempt to bribe court officials, so as to know who is writing judgment and to know who and who are in the panel is a serious offence and after investigation, anybody indicted would be made to face severe punishment.

"I do not just understand why politicians are resorting to blackmailing the judiciary.

They should realise that the executive and the legislature belong to them; they should

leave out the judiciary in their political battle. They should allow the judiciary to be independent because without an independent judiciary, there will not be a just society," he said.

The CJN therefore appealed to the politicians to allow judiciary do its job.

Meanwhile, Ikpeazu has dedicated his victory at the Supreme Court to the people of Abia State, who he said stood by him all through the period of litigations.

He stressed that only God would take glory for the victory, and commended the judiciary for standing firm on the side of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Ikpeazu who spoke to journalists at government house after emerging from the chapel where he had gone to pray after receiving the good news from Abuja said that he was dedicating the victory to the people of Abia who had supported and prayed for him.

He regretted that “two years after the gubernatorial elections, other states have moved forward except Abia state as those who never meant well for our state have taken me to court, adding that with this victory it was “now “time to join and move above them in terms of development.�

The visibly elated Abia governor said: "The time for politics is long over, and I have forgiven all those that were bent on distracting me.

Let all well-meaning Abians, including my opponents, come and join us to grow and develop our state without distractions as we ultimately have stakes in the growth and development of our state and people.�

The governor had all the while described the multiple ligations against him as distractions but insisted that he was not deterred from doing the

work he was elected to do for Abians hence the need for collective effort to develop Abia. “Today, there is the work of Abia to do and history will judge us by how much of that work we do, not by how much politics we play,� he said, adding, “My doors are open to all, my ears are open to hear and my eyes are strong enough to read suggestions on how we can best deliver greater dividends to those who really matter: the great people of Abia State."

While the hitherto embattled Abia governor described the Supreme Court verdict as “a victory for all and a blow to the aspirations of those who want to disunite us" he nonetheless appeared magnanimous in victory.

"All those who went to the trenches to fight the mandate that was freely given to me by the people of Abia state, I call on them to sheathe their swords and come and join hands with us to develop the state to an enviable height," he said.

Umahi, South East PDP hail Ikpeazu's victory Also yesterday, Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi congratulated Ikpeazu after his victory at the Supreme Court.

Umahi, who is the chairman of South East Governors Forum described the judgment that affirmed the election of Ikpeazu as triumph of good over evil.

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal last year upturned the judgment by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja which sacked Ikpeazu from office.

The appellate court, in the unanimous judgment vacated the June 27, 2016 judgment of Justice Abang and held that he erred in law and that the judgement occasioned a miscarriage of justice against

Ikpeazu.

Justice Helen Ogunwumiju who delivered the lead judgement of the Court of Appeal, held that Justice Abang “committed a grave violence against one of the pillars of Justice� relating to fair hearing, adding that Abang placed the law on its head when it directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue fresh Certificate of Return to Ogah.

While upholding Ikpeazu's appeal, the court awarded N100,000 cost against Ogah and resolved all the five issues raised in the appeal in favour of Ikpeazu.

Justice Abang had in his judgments delivered on June 27, 2016 sacked Ikpeazu for allegedly disclosing false information in relation to his tax clearance details to INEC in his form nominating him as the candidate of the PDP for the last year’s governorship election in the state.

The judge, also in the said judgment, ordered the governor’s rival, Ogah, who was the first runner-up in the primary that produced Ikpeazu as the candidate of the PDP to takeover, adding that, Ikpeazu was not qualified to be PDP’s candidate having disclosed false information to INEC in violation of his party’s Article 14(a) of the PDP Electoral Guidelines and Section 31 of the Electoral Act. Dissatisfied with the judgment, Ikpeazu approached the Court of Appeal, praying it to set aside Justice Abang's judgment which sacked him from the Abia State Government House.

But the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered yesterday affirmed the election of Ikpeazu, saying that he was validly nominated by the PDP to fly the flag of the party in Abia State.

OBIOZOR: WE MUST REFORM, RESTRUCTURE OR PERISH IDEA OF ONE NIGERIA and international levels.

"We must reform, restructure or perish the idea of one Nigeria surviving the present critical challenges. This too, can be averted by a dynamic leadership that can although too late, change the course of Nigerian history by doing what is right which is the implementation of the 2014 National Conference report," he remarked.

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who was also at the event, remarked that the nation was at present at a crossroads and requires transformative ideas to pull it back on track in view of the numerous problems confronting it.

The former CBN Governor, who spoke to newsmen at the sidelines of the event, noted that the nation had never been more divided anytime in its history than now, stressing therefore that the search for The Big Ideas to help in the transformation process that will be able to leapfrog the process of development had begun.

"Big ideas rule the world.

Nigeria is a project, a work in progress, the African continent is work in progress and it is only big ideas, ideas that work, good ideas that any nation or continent or economy has been built or political structure has

been transformed.

"Nigeria is at a crossroads.

We've been ranked one of the most fragile states in the world and there are nationality questions. We are in search for the big ideas that will really get the country transformed not just from point A to B but to be able to leapfrog the process of development to be able to claim its rightful place in the comity of nations and fulfil its manifest destiny.

"So, its only big ideas that can do so. Today, on the Big Ideas Podium, Prof. Obiozor has articulated on what we have and how we can bring about the new leadership for a broken nation.

"We are looking for out of the ordinary ideas, the missing links. What are those things we are missing and what are those new things that we need to put in place? The ideas canvassed today by our resource persons and all the eminent scholars and statesmen, put together, will contribute to building a new, stable and prosperous nation," he said.

Other speakers at the forum were the former Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Prof Elochukwu Amucheazi and Head, Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Aloy Okolie.

9

MAY 13, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

RingTrue

Yemi

Adebowale

07013940521 yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com

The Contentious War against Emir Sanusi

T

he latest in the series moves aimed at humiliating the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II commenced on Thursday when the Kano State House of Assembly constituted an eight-man committee to investigate the moot allegations of funds mismanagement against the Emir. He was accused of misusing N4 billion which he inherited from late Ado Bayero, his predecessor. I listened to the Kano legislators at the plenary devoted to the issue, and I was particularly miffed by the contribution of Ibrahim Gama, who made a number of humdrum allegations against the Emir. Gama listed the accusations against Sanusi to include spending funds without the approval of the state Governor, Abdullai Umar Ganduje; attacking polices of the Buhari administration and sending his daughter to represent him at a function without wearing full traditional regalia.

This preposterous development from the Kano lawmakers is part of the tenacious campaign of calumny against Emir Sanusi, who has been exhibiting

Sanusi

uncommon courage in challenging the status quo in the North since his emergence. The oppressors and beneficiaries of the backwardness in this part of the

country can’t stand Sanusi’s fierce criticism of the underdevelopment, poverty, hunger and disease in the North. They find it difficult to phantom that this Emir, who is supposed to be a key member of the club of Aristocrats, is challenging the oppressive system that has pauperised the majority in the North.

Now, let’s take a critical look at some of Sanusi’s patriotic battles, for which he is now being persecuted.

Emir Sanusi has persistently spoken out against the raging poverty in the region, saying the North-west and the North-east remain the poorest parts of the world. He contends: “We are living in denial. The North-West and the North-East, demographically, constitute the bulk of Nigeria’s population, but look at human development indices, look at the number of children out of school, look at adult literacy, look at maternal mortality, look at infant mortality, look at girl-child completion rate, look at income per capita, the North-East and the NorthWest Nigeria, are among the poorest parts of the world.

Lamentations of Rabiu Kwankwaso Of recent, the immediate past governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso ( APC Kano Central) has been lamenting lack of respect for the Rule of Law under the Buhari administration. Kwankwaso, one of the key actors of the “Change” movement is disappointed that the “Change” he and others aimed to effect in the country remains an illusion. This former Kano governor, a man I have so many questions for, was unaware of the high level of impunity in the country, until the recent siege by security operatives on the house of his

brother in Kano. The policemen were said to be looking for huge cash allegedly stashed in the house by Kwankwaso. Nothing incriminating was found after hours of ransacking the house. Kwankwaso remarked in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service: “We’re very disappointed that impunity is now the order of the day in a country we invested a lot to bring change; this is not the change we bargained for because we’re now in a helpless situation. If it were the previous government that’s doing this, we would not complain.

Alas! This is being orchestrated by a government we worked to entrench.”

Revenue Target and the Shame of Customs

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed Ali was a pitiable picture when he, lately, appeared before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Customs to defend the Customs 2017 budget estimates. This was because the agency’s revenue for 2016 fell short of its target by N216.5 billion. According to the custom boss, the NCS only succeeded in collecting N720.7 billion, representing 76.8 per cent of the target revenue between January and December last year. The 23.1 per cent decline was against the original target of N937.3 billion set for 2016 by the agency.

The Customs boss gave a number of inexplicable reasons for his failure to meet the revenue target. However, he did not talk about corruption in the NCS under

his watch. This is the main reason the NCS will never meet revenue target. Itse Sagay, the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption was right when he remarked that “it is still business as usual” at all Customs formation across the country. The bulk of the revenues collected in our ports go into the private pockets of Hameed Ali’s men. This is why the Customs can’t amass just N1 trillion in a whole year. I strongly believe that a well-managed and corruption-free NCS can generate at least N5 trillion annually for this nation. In this light, I think this government should start thinking about privatising the collection of Customs and Excise duties as being done in some developed countries. This is the only way forward for our country.

My problem with Kwankwaso is that he did not join the voices against impunity under the Buhari administration until he became a victim. We should not wait until we become victims before fighting impunity. What is evil is evil.

There are no two names to evil. Lopsided appointments, illegal detention (as we have in the case of Sambo Dasuki and El- Zakzaki), disrespect for the Rule of Law and courts, killings by Fulani herdsmen and attempts to muzzle the Legislature and the Judiciary are some of the impunity under this administration. We must all rise up against them, irrespective of party affiliations and personal relationships.

Kwankwaso

Curbing Truancy of DISCOs in Electricity Chain If this administration is genuinely interested in easing the power crisis being experienced in this country, Power Minister, Babatunde Fashola must move swiftly to ensure full implementation of the transparent revenue management model proposed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission. While the 26 power generation companies (Gencos) are bleeding, the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) are living big.

They collect huge revenues and send chickenfeed to the Gencos, with all sorts of lies attached. The Discos are opposed to transparent revenue management because it would expose them. They have remained financially-irresponsible in their obligations to the electricity chain. It was

revealed recently that Discos paid for only 24 per cent of electricity wheeled to them in 2016.

The Executive Secretary of the Association of Power Generation Company of Nigeria, Joy Ogaji was apt when she remarked that concerns raised by the Discos on the proposal were worrying, and that the revenue in question belonged to the entire market and not just for Discos.

Ogaji said: “The recent development to escrow the account of the distribution companies is not just a welcome development but also a wake-up call to all participants in the electricity market. The electricity sector is a value-chain which needs to be remunerated as applicable, covering the cost of generation, transmis-

sion and distribution. The Gencos are entitled to 60 percent of market remittance as they do not just generate power but also pay for gas supply and gas transportation. Transmission charge cost 11 percent; distribution gets 25 percent while the remaining four per cent is meant for regulatory charges and NBET. The revenue referred to by the distribution companies are not their personal revenue but market funds to which they were made trustees to collect and remit.”

The Gencos have made valid points.

I fully support moves to escrow Discos accounts and the funds shared according to the guidelines governing the power chain.

“As far back as 2000, I looked at the numbers - Borno and Yobe states - and UNDP figures. Borno and Yobe states, if they were a country on their own, were poorer than Niger, Cameroon and Chad. Nobody saw this because we were looking at Nigeria as a country that averages the oil-rich Niger Delta, the industrial and commercial-rich Lagos, the commercially viable South-East, and you have an average. Break Nigeria into its component parts, and these parts of the country are among the poorest, if it were a country. And we do not realise we are in trouble.”

Sanusi maintains that for the region to leap forward developmentally, it must fix its social and religious problems. He points out that women and children must be loved, not beaten, adding that the region must do away with the 13th century mindset of religion and culture.

“Other Muslim nations have pushed forward girl-child education; they’ve pushed forward science and technology. They have pushed forward the arts. We have this myth in northern Nigeria, where we try to create an Islamic society that never existed.

The northern Muslims have adopted an interpretation of culture and religion that was rooted in the 13th century mindset, which refused to recognise that the rest of the Muslim world had moved on.”

At the national level, the Emir of Kano has persistently faulted the Buhari administration’s economic model, saying it would not work. Only evil people will refuse to fault policies that have brought untold hardship on Nigerians. Just take a look at the level of inflation and unemployment in the country and you would understand what I mean. Millions of Nigerians have lost their jobs in the last two years, mainly because of the jaundiced economic policies of this administration.

Emir Sanusi has been particularly against stifling skewed forex policy and subsidy regime. He is also against binge borrowing by this administration.

Sanusi, at the Kaduna State Economic Summit, said: “The Federal Government of Nigeria is spending 66 per cent of its revenues on interests on debts, which means only 34 per cent of revenues is available for capital and recurrent expenditures. That model cannot work. In the 2017 budget presented, the amount earmarked for debt servicing is in excess of the entire non-oil revenue of the federal government, but that is not the problem. The problem is that it is a budget that is even going for more debts.”

The Emir said government at all levels should realise that borrowing had reached its limit and should therefore look for ways to attract investments.

“Growth can only come from investments. It cannot come from consumption.

It cannot come from government balance sheet. It cannot come from borrowing because you cannot borrow unsustainably.”

Emir Sanusi’s battle is obviously a just one. He wants Northern elites to stop playing politics and tackle the copious challenges facing the region. He wants Nigerian leaders to halt muddy politics and tackle the economic crisis bedeviling the nation. So, how have these amounted to corruption and an attack on Buhari?

When did it become a crime for an Emir to express his opinion about the economic policy of a government? In this part of the world, it is a crime to always say the truth; more so, when you dare the establishment.

All those aiming to humiliate Emir Sanusi shall fail. Their evil plot shall fall into pieces. It will collapse like a pack of cards.

May Allah continue to protect our courageous Emir of Kano.

10

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 13, 2017

SUPER SATURDAY My Transition from Modelling to Acting and Producing

OGECHI SHIRLEY IGWE

Ogechi shirley Igwe waltzed through like a queen. Her radiant smile lighting up her charming face. Her silky voice and mien tell much about her skills which earned her roles and her transition to movie production, writes Ferdinand Ekechukwu

T

Shirley-Igwe

here can only be one “Shirley” (Ogechi Igwe). Just like there can only be one actor to a name, pseudonym or real, hers truly bears her identity – a pretty face and enthralling personality. There she walks into the Bridge Hangout by Water Side Phase1 accompanied by a colleague – Sylvia Edem.

From a vantage position, Shirley would be seen looking out for someone as few heads turned towards her direction, even with a dark shades over her eyes, her appearance had elicited some pop that mild afternoon.

In the moment, a hand gestured at her; she got the message and then walked towards the direction of the hand, waltzing through the passage like a queen. There was a handshake. On a closer look, her black sequined top on a cream-white mini skirt and dotted leather slippers would portray her fashion sense as very simple but there is more.

Arguably, ‘The Last Three Digits’ star ranks amongst the growth category of new actors cum producers in Nollywood, who are making a difference with their talents and worth at the moment. Since her return to the industry in 2015, Shirley has moved from being just a fast-rising actress to building a high profile with her game upped with roles and offers to producing her own movies – the first being ‘The Agreement’ and now the upcoming one, ‘Middle of Nowhere’ billed for premiere this year.

A four-cast movie, ‘Middle of Nowhere’ is a romantic drama, believed to be well scripted. Save for a movie titled, The Visit, released sometime last year, a four-cast movie is not a regular feature in Nollywood. How well does she think hers can favourably compete with other well-made films put in the same category when it’s finally released and probably shortlisted for any awards? Her expectation of it seems very high that only a matter of time can answer. And what should viewers expect from the movie? She simply said, “That movie will blow your mind.”

Overly self-confident, Shirley has made the enviable league of Nollywood celebrities that have at one point or the other left the industry, supposedly for greener pastures in the political arena for one appointment or the other, imitating the likes of Hilda Dokubo, Nkiru Sylvanus, Bob Manuel Udokwu, Onyeka Onwenu, RMD, Femi Adebayo, Kate Henshaw, Ini Edo, and Mercy Johnson Okogie. Like some of these actors, she’s gone out of Nollywood, and back to the industry.

Somehow, she had stepped out of Nollywood two years after her debut to take up appointment with Imo State Government in 2013, as principal protocol officer to Governor Rochas Okorocha, though the appointment had at the time raised eyebrows owing to the fact that another well-known Nollywood actress, Nkiru Sylvanus, was relieved at about the same time from the governor’s office.

For the Mass Communication graduate, transiting from modeling to acting was without a challenge having been a known face in the entertainment sector. She had barely auditioned for a role in 2011 when she got called up for a movie. Recalling her first experience in Nollywood, the actress said, “My first movie role, I was called and asked to read and after the audition, I was called back. I think that was Ikechukwu Onyeka (though not sure). And that was just my appearance and my speech doing it for me. Until today that’s how I get called for roles.”

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž AY 13, 2017

11

SATURDAY ‘FROM MIDDLE OF NOWHERE TO MODELING, POLITICS AND ACTING’‌

Arguably, ‘The Last Three Digits’ star ranks amongst the growth category of new actors cum producers in Nollywood, who are making a dierence with their talents and worth at the moment.

Since her return to the industry in 2015, Shirley has moved from being just a fast-rising actress to building a high profile with her game upped with roles and oers to producing her own movies – the first being ‘The Agreement’ and now the upcoming one, ‘Middle of Nowhere’ billed for premiere this year

Shirley-Igwe on set The actress just a couple of weeks ago celebrated her birthday, reported to be a score and half. Prior to her political stint, she left the industry to train as cabin executive at Cranfield Aviation School in South Africa, after which she worked with a private airline before returning to Nollywood.

Passionate about her craft and perhaps determined to ‘learn by doing’, Shirley took a step further to attend the New York Film Academy. The King and The Maidens, Happy Anniversary, My Neighbour’s Wife, Cross of Royalty, The Sassy One and Complicity are among the movies she listed to have featured in.

She revealed that from the start she has always wanted to act. Due to one reason or the other, she had to finish school before making the move but already had started modelling. “Commercial modelling I could do while I was still in school because it’s just photography and once you are done you are off,� she said. “But acting I had to finish school and once I was done with that, acting started and my dad didn’t have much to say about it because he saw that I did well as a model and he was confident that I would excel as an actor.�

Watching the likes of Joke Silva and Liz Benson while growing up, it’s only natural that she possibly must have drawn from their fountain of rich theatrics. In cinematography, the fun of having different roles “and playing characters that you are not in real life� are exciting to her.

In addition to taking up roles “that are very challenging� and relatively connect with the outside world making the act look believable, she loves having access to the script(s) before accepting to play whatever role presented to her – to her, an actress’ ability should not be regimented. For her, there are no fixed characteristics to success and that adopting a differently peculiar approach to success lies with the individual involved.

Shirley’s setting out to produce her own movies is not an accident. “It’s just something you need to do as an actor to push yourself. I didn’t just decide. I didn’t wake up one morning to say I will produce my own film. When you have acquired knowledge you wouldn’t just

Shirley-Igwe wait to pour it out,� she explained.

How well equipped is she with movie production in terms of technical knowhow and other prerequisites? She said, “I know what a good story is when I see one and then I engage people to work for

me and I pay them.�

With Ogechi “Shirley� Igwe in the saddle, time will tell how the young actress will turn the attention of Nollywood watchers and movie lovers in her direction.

Story of a Young Actress Venturing into Movie Production

12

ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ˞ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

FOR THE IDEAL POLITICAL PARTY

A

Adamu Gwazuwang canvasses the formation of new political parties, but with new rules of behaviour

t this point in the quest for a stable and developmentoriented democratic dispensation in Nigeria we must confront the demons haunting the process with a strong determination to move forward without recurring hitches.

Since democracy has proved to be sustainable and progressive enough to be the most acceptable system of government across the world, our problems with the system must be peculiar to us.

In fact, our latest failure to derive the dividends associated with democracy, particularly the delivery of good governance driven by the expressed aspirations of the majority of citizens, has exposed the culpability of practitioners and the institutions beyond any doubts.

The most pressing problems negating our democratic endeavours can be narrowed down to the entrenchment of human weaknesses into the implementation of democratic processes.

Politicians have demonstrated an inherent incapability to rise above sentiments of ethnicity, religion and winner-takes-all in navigating the democratic course, notwithstanding their oath of office and the legitimate democratic rights of the electorate. It is therefore hardly surprising that the political parties are only different in name but indistinguishable in the conduct of their affairs and adherence to any ideological principles.

The All Progressives Congress which achieved a remarkable election victory that evicted the ruling party from the corridors of power and took control of the government was deplorably incapable of managing its triumph to galvanise the polity for what could have been a popular revolution for national renaissance and reform.

The euphoric bandwagon of “progressive alliance� on which the politicians rode to power collapsed into a cacophony of contending interests as soon as the reins of power got into their hands. It was now each ally for itself in the scramble for the crumbs. Meanwhile, the beleaguered executives pander to the incumbency of the Presidency rather than anchoring the unity of the party and building the common structure the emergency alliance sorely needs.

On the other hand, the PDP whose defeat symbolised everything wrong with our version of party politics, disintegrated further in a feud over control of its enviable and incomparable nation-wide structure. Uncompromising egos and irreconcilable vested interests worked against a political solution and pushed the dispute to the law courts where lawyers and judges took turns to deepen the divides. With that, hopes that a defeated ruling party would transform into a formidable opposition to check the excesses of a cabal-controlled APC faded away, leaving Nigerians in a limbo of zero-party democracy that could threaten the fast approaching 2019 elections.

In such a desperate situation, there is no practical alternative

THE FUTURE BELONGS TO YOUTHS BUT THIS CAN ONLY BE MEANINGFUL IF THEY ARE GIVEN THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE LEADERSHIP OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS AS A MEANS OF PREPARING THEM ADEQUATELY FOR TOMORROW’S RESPONSIBILITIES

to the formation of new parties but the challenge is to avoid an old-wine-new-bottle syndrome that can only accelerate a return to square one. Any party formation process that is driven by the personality cult culture of Nigerian politics is dead on arrival Ditto for the money-bag stake-holding casino model, where the highest bidder “owns� the party. For any party to be truly new in the context of avoiding the ills of the past and ensuring a genuine redirection of our democracy towards the promised land, the formation process must focus on introducing constitutional control into broad-based mass membership platforms.

Among the important provisions that a new generation of parties must stipulate in their constitution is a firm formula for distribution of appointments in the party and the government.

Specifically, the ideal new party must be futuristic by affirmative action in favour of youths, women and the disabled who have for too long been marginalised despite their strategic significance in the electioneering process. The future belongs to youths but this can only be meaningful if they are given the right to participate in the leadership of the political process as a means of preparing them adequately for tomorrow’s responsibilities. The cause of women and the disabled is best pursued and protected by being adequately represented.

Another issue that must not be left to the discretion of party leaders but categorically incorporated into the party constitution is the adoption of direct primaries for all nomination/election processes. For the avoidance of doubt the membership of everyone should count in determining nominees and candidatures as the best guarantee of popular participation and inculcation of sense of belonging among party members. An end must be brought to the hijacking of decision-making and nomination for appointments and elective offices by party leaders, caucuses and godfathers to the detriment of internal democracy in the parties.

No less critical is the issue of party funding. If money bags are to be kept at bay effectively, their domination of party finances and consequent overriding influence on party decisions can best be curbed by prioritising payment of registration and membership dues as a major financial resource of the party. Members who pay their fees and dues are more confident and concerned about their membership rights and influence on the affairs of the party than “rented� crowds. Government funding should also stop.

These are by no means the only issues that should get top priority in the constitution of new parties but they represent the most promising features to look out for in determining the extent of departure from the ills of the past and the prospects for moving Nigeria out of the woods of a doomed democracy we find ourselves today.

Gwazuwang wrote from Abuja

BEYOND POLITICS OF LG COUNCIL TOURS

T

he setting was perfect. And so was the timing.

The people were adequately prepared for the visit and the visitor, Governor Darius Ishaku, chose the most appropriate period for the visit – the Easter holiday period. The drummers, the singers and the dancers came out in their full regalia to give Ishaku a befitting reception and to put him in the best of mood for each day of the visit and stakeholders meeting. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders and members poured into the various arenas of the event in Zing, Karim Lamido and Ardo-Kola to join what turned out to be a carnival cum meeting of Tarabans at the grassroots.

For Governor Ishaku, it was a “thank you� and “meet the people� visit, but for the people, it was an opportunity to express appreciation for what the government has achieved in the first two years of its first tenure despite the obvious encumbrances posed by several litigations over the governorship elections of April 2015 and poor state of finances of the government. It was also an opportunity for them to present their shopping list of democratic dividends directly to the number one citizen of the state and, perhaps, get an acknowledgement, if not approval, for them.

In Zing, the starting point for the three-day visit to the Southern Senatorial zone, party stakeholders from Yorro Local Government Council joined their counterparts from the host council area to welcome the governor. The major speakers included council chairmen and party leaders who all praised Governor Ishaku for making water supply and electricity stable through the provision of transformers in Yakoko, Mokin, Dinding, Kakula and Yukwa and for improving the condition of rural roads. They spoke of their determination to improve their personal income which they said can only be achieved if rural roads were better to facilitate movement of farm produce to the major markets in the council areas.

It was as if the speakers had advanced knowledge of what the governor had in stock for them for that was part of the package which the governor planned to unfold.

Tarabans present their wish list to Governor Darius Ishaku, writes Danladi Usman

Governor Ishaku said his administration was planning a comprehensive rehabilitation of rural roads in the area, particularly, those leading to major markets such as Lama and Yakoko. He told them that already, elaborate survey work had been done on the roads and the grading and reconstruction of the roads will soon start. It was also an opportunity to solicit the support of the people for the sustenance of peace which his administration had worked very hard to achieve for the state. He urged them to watch out for strangers on a mission to cause crisis and conflict in their communities and to seek the intervention of security agencies always in such cases. He advised the people against taking the laws into their own hands.

Karim Lamido and Lau Council areas took their turn next and the meeting point was Karim town.

The shopping list presented to Governor Ishaku was not surprising. The major roads leading to the headquarters of the council areas featured prominently. The roads are, indeed, in very bad state and Governor Ishaku spared no words in expressing his sympathy. The people also requested for a bridge to be constructed across Benue at Lau River. Ishaku promised that his administration will soon start the reconstruction of the road but would not make any promise on the request for a bridge.

And he took time out to explain that position. He said he was aware of the opinion of the people, rightly or wrongly, that politicians were liars but noted emphatically that he does not belong to that group of politicians. He would rather tell the truth, no matter how unpalatable it may taste. He said a bridge across Lau River is certainly beyond the financial scope of the present administration and pleaded with the people for understanding.

Governor Ishaku whose administration has already done a lot in the provision of water through the sinking of 100 boreholes in rural communities across the state, promised to do more. He said 150 more boreholes were on the cards and they would be evenly distributed among the three Senatorial zones of the state.

Lau and Karim Lamido are major rice producing areas in the state. In fact, the famous dry season rice farm centres supported by the Darius Ishaku administration are located in Karim Lamido. The people were extremely happy with the dry season farming of rice which they said yielded thrice more than that grown during the rainy season and asked for an increase in land allocation to increase production. Ishaku visited the rice farms and assured the farmers of government’s support for them to increase production. He said Taraba State has the potential to produce more than 10 million tonnes of rice which is the annual requirement of the country with the support of government. Other major rice producing areas in the state, in addition to Karim Lamido and Lau, are Gassol, Ardo-Kola, Ibi, Wukari and Takum. Ishaku assured that his government will not hold anything back in the effort to put the state on the global map of rice producers in a few years from now.

So far, government has assisted rice farmers through the provision of inputs which include improved seedlings. It has also helped in linking them to major rice buyers in and outside the country for them to get maximum profits for their efforts. Ishaku disclosed at the meeting that a major rice merchant from Kenya is soon to start buying paddy rice from farmers in the state for processing. Government has acquired for distribution to farmers hybrid seeds of Sesame seeds, soya beans, cassava and soya beans.

He said cassava production will be specially boosted because the cassava processing industry in the state is to be revived soon. He informed the people that since assumption of office he has successfully revived five out of the 25 industries that were in comatose at that time.

In Ardo-Kola where the people of Jalingo Council area also joined for the stakeholders meeting, Governor Ishaku said his mission was primarily to thank the people for their support and loyalty in the governorship election of 2015 and throughout the duration of the court cases that trailed his victory. He told the audience that he appreciates their support

demonstrated through massive votes he won in the election, noting that the best time to express his appreciation is now that he had won all the court cases brought against his victory at the polls. He emphasised further that he was there to meet the people and interface with them with the aim of presenting his score card and to also hear from them their impression of his stewardship as well as their own expectations.

Alhaji Sule Labaran who spoke for the stakeholders from Jalingo thanked Governor Ishaku for the gigantic water projects, the Green House farm project, the renewal and revival of the Jalingo Airport, the construction of new roads and reconditioning of bad roads in the city as well as the street lights that have turned the city into a beauty to behold at night.

He called for more rural roads and an improvement in the sanitary condition of the main abattoir in the city. Governor Ishaku said his administration will even go a step further on the request on the abattoir.

He said the abandoned main abattoir project in the city will be completed by his administration.

Ardo-Kola was also the venue for the dispatch of tough political messages to backsliding party members. The message was directed at stakeholders from Jalingo whose support for the PDP had always wavered during elections. They were reminded by Victor Bala, Taraba State chairman of the party, to re-examine their relationship with the party in the state. He said Jalingo has reaped a lot of political dividends from the party even when the support for the party is never very impressive. He urged the council chapters of the party that could not garner adequate votes for the party in 2015 to “sit up� now because 2019 elections are already approaching fast.

The meeting was Governor’s Darius Ishaku’s best opportunity of interacting with political stakeholders in Taraba State since the 2015 governorship election.

It came on the heels of the April 7, 2017 Supreme Court dismissal of the last of the series of litigations over the popular electoral victory of Ishaku in that election.

Usman wrote from Jalingo

13

ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ Ëž THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

Now, go for the rest...

I

In Support of Osinbajo as Acting President

nformation and a credible one at that is the oxygen of democracy. It breathes and thrives on it. Not on listless lies, riling rues, sheer subterfuge, half-truth, cover ups and clear misinformation of the public. Unfortunately, Nigerians have been regaled by a good dose of the aforementioned since the return of democratic dispensation in 1999.

Guilty of this insidious, untoward attribute are some members of the much-favoured political class, always out to attempt to twist the truth, to satiate their obscene whims and caprices.

For instance, while Section 145(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, clearly spells out that state functions that shall be discharged by the Vice- President, as the Acting President in the absence of the president, meanings are being read to the phrase,’ coordinate the activities of government’, as contained in President Buhari’s recent letter, for more reasons than one. True, he has done the right thing by transmitting a written declaration, as constitutionally demanded, that he is proceeding on vacation to both the Senate President and Speaker, House of Assembly. But why the controversy?

One of such, as identified by Senator Ohuabunwa is that: “ I do not think in our constitution we have anything like coordinating president or coordinating vice-president.

It is either you are the vice-president or you are the acting president.� Though his observation has been described as an exaggeration, critical observers of the murky polity have ascribed his stance to the swelling influence of the so-called cabal. Even Aisha Buhari, wife to the Mr. President had a few months back ventilated her angst at what she viewed as the over bearing pulling of strings by this group. And only recently, Dr. Junaid Muhammed, a former senator went a step further in a newspaper interview to name five members of the inner circle of the top hierarchy of government. That is, the power brokers who have been dictating our democratic tunes for some two years now.

The gnawing fear in some quarters therefore, is that the transmission of presidential power must have been done grudgingly, with some concerned citizens admonishing Osinbajo to watch his back! To such observers a ‘coordinator’ may not necessarily exercise full constitutional rights over those who have the authority to do whatever suits them in their various ministries, departments and parastatals. The insinuation, sad as it seems, is that a coordinator may still kowtow to some other powerful forces. Indeed, this may be stretching one’s imagination a little too far, for those of this dark view. But it is the dilemma and danger we face today.

So, must the Nigerian nation walk another tight rope, to avoid political pitfalls occasioned by the ambiguity trailing the transmission of power with the recurring ill health of President Muhammadu Buhari?

That was the question that came to mind. It would be

recalled, that when the then President Umaru Yar’Adua left Nigeria on November 23, 2009, it was reported that he was receiving treatment for pericarditis at a clinic in Saudi Arabia. For months he was sequestered from the public.

His absence created a potentially explosive power vacuum in the country.

Such was the situation that in December 2009 Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, then president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), stated that Yar’Adua should have handed over power to the then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan in an acting capacity during his illness. This statement got the backing of the NBA national executive committee. Subsequently, on January 22, 2010, the Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled that the Federal Executive Council had 14 days to decide a resolution on whether Yar’Adua was “incapable of discharging the functions of his office�.

On February 10, 2010, the Senate controversially used the “doctrine of necessity� to transfer presidential powers to the then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, and declared him Acting President, with all the accompanying powers, until Yar’Adua returned to full health. On February 24, 2010, he returned to Abuja under the cover of darkness. His state of health was unclear, but there was speculation that he was still on a life support machine.

Ayo Oyoze Baje, Lagos

Wild Life and Cross River Superhighway

E

arlier this year, environmentalists stood up to vehemently challenge Prof. Ben Ayade’s decision to construct a proposed ‘Cross River Superhighway’. It did not matter that the idea seemed beautiful on the surface – a 260 kilometres long highway with anti-slip features, speed cameras and to crown it, high-speed internet connectivity while connecting other distant parts of the country in a short time.

Debates here and there followed, the conflict was not on the basis of the proposed huge sum of $3.5 billion dollars to be spent for the construction; it was not the dispute over who should get the contract - foreign expatriate or indigenous companies.

Neither was it the fear over how long the project will span entwined with the willingness (or not) of subsequent administration(s) to complete such pioneering project.

The imminent degradation of

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

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

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 DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

Nigeria’s rich biodiversity, the destruction of her ancestral heritages, the possible extinction of wildlife like the Cross River gorillas and further threats to the diminishing population of Chimpanzee, Pangolin, and forest Elephant were the issues that attracted international uproar over the construction of the superhighway.

Records have it that the world’s largest decline of any subspecies of great ape recorded is the Cross River gorillas. Between 1995 and 2010, there was a 59 per cent decline rate in their population. The Cross River superhighway could have in few months raised that percentage by another 41 per cent, thereby, causing this endemic species of Gorilla (with less than 300 left in the wild) to be entirely wiped off.

The decision to reroute the highway is a big win considering that Nigeria is viewed as a ‘democratic’ country where people in power – federal and state take decisions with or without (mostly without) long-term consideration of the resultant effect of such actions or policies.

The selfless act of passionate environment conscious individuals, organisations and closely related agencies across the world that stood up and spoke loud enough concerning this issue is highly commendable.

Lastly, we sincerely thank you President Buhari, Minister Jubril, and Governor Ayade for this. The decision to reroute the highway and to suspend plans for the superhighway’s 20km-wide buffer through some parts of the Cross River National park is a win for our irreplaceable wildlife, a win for posterity, a win for Nigeria’s biodiversity and a win for the world at large.

Now that we know that the superhighway’s new route will ensure that Nigeria’s biodiversity is prioritised and that our fauna and flora entities will thrive undisturbed, we are super excited about the project and anticipate its realisation.

Adebote ‘Seyifunmi, Abuja

14

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž Y 13, 2017

POLSCOPE

with Eddy Odivwri eddy.odivwri@thisdaylive.com 08053069356

“Acting or Coordinating�, Two Years after, How Does the Change Feel?

Osinbajo is In Charge

H

N

o one can truly measure the amount of mischief contained in partisan politics. At almost all times, there is a running plot for one to undo the other.

That perhaps explains the storm in a tea cup over the choice of word used by President Muhammadu Buhari in his letter to the Senate transmitting power to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

Long before the letter came, Nigerians have been urging President Buhari to do the needful by going to treat himself and hand over power properly to his deputy, seeing that his ill health is hampering his performance in office, irrespective of the ‘‘hale and hearty assurance� from his publicists.

So, last Sunday, Mr President decided to indeed go for what they called “medical follow-up� to the United Kingdom, and to avoid needless anxiety over when he would return, he added that his length of stay would be determined by his doctors in London.

Therefore, he makes reference to section 145(1) of the constitution, writes a letter to the Senate informing the upper chamber of the trip and that in his absence, the Vice President, will “coordinate the activities of government�

And then some opposition politician in the Senate picks a quarrel with the choice of phrase, “coordinate the activities of government�, saying the phrase is “saying nothing�. Really? And further suggested that the letter be taken back to the presidency. This is said, knowing that the author of the letter was already two days old in London, in the hands of his doctors. So where did Ohuabunwa want the letter taken back to? London? It was just a ploy to cause needless constitutional confusion.

How can that phrase really mean nothing in semantics to Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, who probably was speaking for the fast-depleting stock of PDP senators in the red chamber? Has the distinguished senator never heard of synonyms?

Pray, is the coordinator of any scheme/system, not the head of such scheme/system? And in the true sense of the word, is running the government not actually the coordination of the various activities and programmes of government, including the men and materials thereof? So, what is the fuss about?

While I may not rule out some shallow mischief by the person who drafted the letter for President Buhari to sign, by avoiding the word “acting in my place� or “performing the duties of my office� (as was used in the first of such letters last January when Buhari travelled on a brief medical vacation), the mere fact that reference was made to Section 145 (1) of the constitution, means that the constitutional provision, demanding the transmission of power to the VP, has been complied with. Those who make a mountain

out of town?

Ohuabunwa

out of a presidential diction should ask themselves why the president made reference to the relevant and appropriate section of the constitution if he was not willing to relinquish power to his Vice.

Perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that this “medical follow-up� is ad infinitum. It is indefinite and timeless. The implication of this is that unlike the case of last trip in January where the president had said he would spend ten days and ended up spending 49 days and rushed back, even when he had not fully recovered, this trip seeks to keep the president out of any pressure either by his handlers or by the larger Nigerian people to return home, albeit in imperfect health. For all you care, the president could stay back for another one year or another one week, depending on the verdict of his doctors. This way, he will worry less about Nigeria, just as Nigeria will worry less about him, although prayers will/should continue for his quick and perfect recovery.

It is redeeming that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki ruled Senator Ohuabunwa out of order and upheld the import and spirit of the letter.

And so, the Vice President is rightly acting as the president. He presided over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) last Wednesday. He is very much in charge, to the discomfort and pain of the mischievous schemers in the presidency called “the cabal�.

It is even more reassuring that for the 49 days that Osinbajo acted earlier in the year, he held his own, filled the gap, proved his mettle and reinforced public confidence in his persona, character and competence in ‘coordinating’ the affairs of the country. That is why there should be no qualms from any quarters as to what will become of Nigeria while Mr President does his “medical follow-up� in London.

Our Lawmakers and the National Budget

T

he success or failure of any government derives largely from the discipline applied to the fiscal budget of the country.

That is why utmost care must be exercised in working on it by the legislators to ensure the overall interest of the country is accommodated. Not surprisingly therefore, the budgeting process has remained one filled with intrigues and apprehensions.

Most Nigerians believe the national lawmakers often use the budgeting process to blackmail the executive arm of government, even as it causes a lot of rancour among them. We have not forgotten all the hoopla about budget padding which resulted in the suspension of Hon Jibrin Abdulmumin for one year because he, so-to-say, exposed the huge paddings that got into the 2016 budget by the leadership of the House of Representatives.

If it is not blackmail, we do not understand why the lawmakers will need five months to pass a budget. How long did it take to prepare it? The 2017 budget was presented to the National Assembly, December 14, last year.

The Senate had vowed to pass the budget

before the end of March. It didn’t happen.

They have since then kept promising and failing on passing the budget. Two weeks ago, Senator Danjuma Goje introduced another drama to the appropriation process, when he claimed that the police that raided his Abuja home carted away the 2017 budget documents, even though the Police denied that there was nothing about budget in the documents they seized from his home. Goje had tried to tie the passage of the budget to the release of the documents. Thankfully, the police released the documents few days after.

But that did not mean the passage of the budget.

As at Tuesday, the budget had been jerked up to N7.44 trn from the N7.29 trn which Buhari presented; representing an increase of over N143 billion, all in the name of power of appropriation. Is that not what they call padding? Just wondering!

Once again, they had promised to pass the budget last Thursday. As at the time of writing this, the budget had not been passed.

And I read an interesting post on the social media: “A sick President Buhari prepared and presented a budget in December.

Healthy senators are unable to pass the budget in five months, so who is sick?�

ave you bought your Aso Ebi? Aso Ebi for what?

Need you ask? Everybody is warming up for the second year anniversary of this administration. Have you not seen the anniversary Ankara with the picture of our able President emblazoned on it?

Ehn? Which president is able? The same one battling with doctors in London? And what will you be celebrating anyway with the chief celebrant

It is an ideological celebration. A celebration of ideas and values. The values of a national rebirth. The values of a new socio-economic orientation. The values of a greater‌. (cuts in) Please, spare me! Stop saying things that are not real. You are talking to a fellow Nigerian. I am not Diaspora-based. I live here in Nigeria. So what national rebirth are you talking about that has to be celebrated? Have our plagues ended? Are we not yet bedraggled by corruption and nepotism? Did you not hear of the scandal that trailed the recruitment exercise into the Department of State Service (DSS), where the number of people recruited from Katsina alone is more than the number of the entire people from the south-east, all because the Director of DSS, Mallam Daura is from Katsina State? Are those not the same plagues of nepotism that have troubled us from independence? Or did you not hear of the grass-cutting scandal where over N500 million was allegedly netted by the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal? Do you know right now, a lot of politics is being introduced into the report of the Osinbajo-led investigative panel that probed the grass-cutting contract award? Do you know many Nigerians believe that the man (Lawal) will wriggle out of the noose because of the “we-weâ€? syndrome of those in government?

So my dear brother, what national rebirth are you talking about? Are people stealing government money less? Did you not hear that the nation’s lawmakers beefed up the nation’s budget with over N143 billion? Is that the national rebirth you want to celebrate?

You talk as if you do not know that the journey of a thousand miles begins with just a step.You talk as if you do not know that it is easier to destroy than to repair. This administration is doing reparative works.You do not expect that the transformation will be automatic. Sure, fixing Nigeria will not be an overnight job. No such miracle happens in governance. What is crucial and important is that the government is headed in the right direction of self-recovery. And it is even more reassuring that the will to do what is right is not lacking at all.

You are a witness to the fact that this government is in an unyielding war against corruption.You can see how busy and even overworked our EFCC is. It is all sign of the Buhari battle to reclaim Nigeria from the hands of ancient prey masters.

Yes, we are not there, but we are headed there, that, I can assure you.

You talk as if you are still campaigning. Two years after, it’s been all talk and more talk, no action. No visible action. Even in the so-called fight against corruption, no significant conviction of a Big Thief. Only the hapless crooks are in prison. The big thieves are still driving their bulletproof Range Rover SUVs all over the place. Yes, we are seeing flickers of the fire, but the flame has never been strong enough to burn down the bad guys. We have not seen this.

This government promised Change. This is gradual. Blame non-convictions on the crooks in the judiciary. And they are being hounded too.

So our belief in the government should have been as gradual too.

You don’t get it. This is just half-time in the game. There is yet another full half left.

A lot can yet be achieved. The groundwork of change has been laid.You can see the mileage covered on the agric sector.You can see the huge moves being made on the rail sector. You are a witness to the recovery of the Chibok girls and the overall degrading of the Boko Haram insurgents.You can see the huge ‌..

I cannot see anything. You are merely parroting the mantra of Change. I want to feel it, not hear it. Let our breakfast table experience the change. Let our bank accounts experience change.

Let those who work be paid their salaries. Let the pensioners be paid their gratuities. Let the contractors owed by government be paid. Let those who do private business have the enabling environment to do so. Let there be light. We have suffered enough in darkness, choked further by too much grammar and needless technicalities. Those who enjoy steady light never had to pay the price of this volume of governmental explanations. The more we appear nearer the mark, the further we really are. The change is not visible. Go to Apapa in Lagos, when it rains and you will know what type of Change we have. The French will say Rien Change. Let the purchasing power of the people be restored. Those are the things that will reflate the economy.

Let the millions of unemployed youths experience change by getting jobs. That is what will make sense, and that’s the change we want to feel, not these “ideological� abstracts you are talking about.

Awwww. What you describe as “ideological abstracts� are the fundamentals of change. I can tell you that the nation was at its lowest ebb in many areas before this government took over.You know this government literally inherited the economic recession. But it is to its credit that we are getting out of it. The indices are all there. If you cannot yet see them, then you need Tinubu’s glasses.

So, go get your aso-ebi. Get ready for the beat of the drums. The drums of hope. The hope of a better tomorrow. The tomorrow of our dream.

Rather than involve the drums, let’s turn it to a prayer conference. A prayer to heal both our president and our land. A prayer to reset Nigeria. No need for any celebration!

15

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚;

NEWS

News Editor Ă’Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ Ă‘ĂŒĂ&#x; ͸΀͚͚͞ͿͽΠ΀͚͸ Ě™sms only) Email Ă‹Ă’Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹Ë›Ă™Ă‘ĂŒĂ&#x;̜ÞÒÓĂ?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

Second Abuja Runway, Other Projects Led to Increase in 2017 Budget, Says Senate Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, yesterday explained that the National Assembly increased the 2017 budget from N7.3 trillion to N7.45 trillion because it opted to capture some important projects such as the second Abuja airport runway in the budget.

Lawan told journalists in the State House that the second Abuja Airport runway and other projects were covered from the difference in the $42.5 oil benchmark proposed by the executive and the $44.5 passed by the legislature.

"We have been able to capture for example the second Abuja airport runway which we all need in this country; we have suffered from having only one,� “We have also been able to capture in the national assembly from that fund the completion of the Baro inland port. We have also been able to also include the Abeokuta airport. There are so many other things including the Warri– Aladja rail line and so on and so forth. “These are newly introduced capital projects from the proceeds, the difference between the $44.5 (passed by the national assembly) and the $42.5 benchmark that we received from the executive. “So, we have done fantastically well. There were no major issues like we had last year during the processing of the budget.’’ He also said what the National Assembly passed was still within the scheme of what the executive presented, explaining that there were no significant changes in the allocations.

He said even though the National Assembly tinkered with the budget in few cases, it ensured that it did

EASY MILLIONS...

L – R: CEO, EG&H Integrated Concepts, Thompson Eda ; Diamond Y’ello Customer and Winner , PlentyMillion Jackpot Promo, Anthony Akuma; and Head, Diamond Y’ello , Diamond Bank Plc, Nneka Umeh at the Cheque presentation Ceremony of PlentyMillion Jackpot to the Winner in Abuja recently

not distort the appropriation. “There won’t be, in my opinion and judgment, any issue whether the national assembly has tinkered with the budget because we haven’t done much tinkering with it,� “We have been able to agree mostly with what the executive

has presented. But I want to assure you that this is one budget that the national assembly has worked so hard to ensure that every part of the country gets something just as proposed by the executive.�

He also said the increase in National Assembly was done to

enable the institution execute some capital projects adding that the increase was done the two dollars difference in the oil bench mark.

He listed such projects to include construction of National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) which he said was meant for capacity

N11b Fuel Theft: DSS Fails to Produce Ubah, Files Objection The Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday failed to produce Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Ifeanyi Ubah, as ordered by Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

It instead filed a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain Ubah’s suit.

Its counsel, Peter Oluremodu, said Ubah was not produced because there was an order to detain him for 14 days issued by a Federal Capital Territory High Court.

He said the DSS obtained the order in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.

Justice Idris had on May 9 ordered the DSS to produce Ubah in court to show because why he should not be released unconditionally.

But, Ubah’s lawyer, Raphael Oluyede, urged the judge to hold that the DSS violated his order by not producing Ubah in court yesterday.

He said the FCT High Court’s order was obtained to frustrate Justice Idris’ order, adding that it amounted to a challenge of the court’s majesty.

“The respondents have not shown cause as why they failed to comply with your lordship’s order. Instead, they took steps to subvert the order. They acted in contempt of that order. “The court in Abuja was not informed about the order to produce him in Lagos. Their preliminary objection is not relevant to the consideration of whether they have obeyed the order to produce him. “I urge your lordship to consider the dignity of the court as paramount and to order Ubah’s unconditional release,� he said.

Oluyede said Ubah was first arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on March 19 and was released on April 14, after three weeks in detention.

He said Ubah was “coerced� to sign a document acknowledging indebtedness to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and to pledge some of his assets.

He said EFCC also forced him to withdraw a fundamental rights suit he filed before he was released.

He said after Ubah’s release, he

approached the court again to stop his re-arrest.

Oluyede said when the DSS invited Ubah, he wrote the agency about his pending suit.

The lawyer said the DSS arrested his client despite being told about the suit.

He accused the DSS of abusing its powers, and urged the court to hold that Ubah’s detention was contemptuous.

Ruling, Justice Idris held that it would be wrong for him to order for Ubah’s release since a court of coordinate jurisdiction had issued an order that he be detained for 14 days.

Justice Idris said his records show that the DSS was served with his order on May 10. “It appears that on the same date (May 10, 2017), the fourth and fifth respondents (DSS and its DirectorGeneral) obtained from an FCT High Court an order allowing them to detain the first applicant (Ubah) in their custody for an initial period of 14 days pending the completion of investigation. “It is clear that there is a direct

conflict between the order of this court and the order of my learned brother Y. Haliru J. A conflict situation has been created. It is sad and unfortunate. “Courts of coordinate jurisdiction have been cautioned against situations like this. I will in the circumstances of this case and the pronouncements of the learned law lords of the Supreme Court, act ex abundanti cautela (Latin phrase for ‘out of abundant caution’). “I will not make any order that will have the effect of neutralising the orders made by the FCT High Court. There must be discipline in the law. I insist on discipline in the law. “In the light of the orders of the FCT High Court made on the 10th of May 2017, I will not make an order for the release of the applicant. “Since the parties in this case have been served and the matter had been adjourned till the 18th day of May 2017, I shall adjourn till the 18th day of May 2017 when the substantive suit and all objection on jurisdiction will be taken together.

This is the order of the court.�

building of legislators and nonlegislators alike. “You need to have a National Assembly that is really poised, wired and competent to produce good laws. “Imagine a National Assembly where you have so many experts,

many retired people from the industry, security services, even presidents, for example, coming to the National Assembly. “So, we should have a National Assembly that is properly and fully kitted and with adequate capacity,� he stated.

Ex-PDP Stalwarts Jostle for Anambra APC Guber Ticket Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja As at the last count, five former stalwarts of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP have indicated interest to contest for the ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the November 18 Anambra state governorship race.

Among the former PDP chieftains who have defected to the APC in order to contest for its governorship ticket are the PDP Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District, Senator Andy Ubah, the former PDP governorship candidate, Tony Nwoye and another former PDP gubernatorial aspirant, Chief Obinna Uzoh.

THISDAY gathered that as at this week, the number of aspirants that have indicated interest to vie for the APC's governorship ticket has risen to seven.

These aspirants include, the current National Auditor of the APC, George Muoghalu, Ubah, Nwoye, Pat Iwunze, Obinna Uzoh, Paul Chukwuma and Dr. Obidigboh.

A reliable party source at the office of the APC National Organising Secretary in Abuja told THISDAY that the party has been receiving calls and requests from aspirants on information about the processes for the governorship primaries.

The source said though the party was yet to approve modalities for the conduct of primary election for the Anambra governorship, it had scheduled the sale of nomination forms and selection of candidates for June and July respectively.

The leadership of the APC had appointed the former governor of the old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo to head Zonal Committee for the Anambra 2017 governorship election.

The Committee included the former Abia State governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu who is to serve as the Vice Chairman. Other members of the committee are Senator Emma Azu Agboti (Secretary) Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, Senator Nkechi Nwogu, Chief Cosmas Madugba and Chief Gbazuagu Nweke Gbazuagu.

16

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž Y 13, 2017

THE ALTERNATIVE with Reno Omokri As Osinbajo Succeeds Okonjo Iweala

N

igeria is a land of opportunity. And I do not mean this the way Nigerian politicians usually mean it, as a clichĂŠd speech for the campaign trail. I mean this from the bottom of my heart because it is true and I have benefited from it and I can prove it.

Nigeria ought to change her educational model. Our education system is still by and large a colonial model where the occupying colonial power merely trained a select few natives for the purpose of having clerks and translators to run their exploitative government. It was never designed to transfer knowledge that prepares the recipient to add value to Nigeria. Quite on the contrary, it was designed and still remains designed to train Nigerians to take value from Nigeria and give it to the West. This is one of the reasons why we have more Nigerian medical professionals practicing in the West and Saudi Arabia than we have in Nigeria.

Our education system is also designed to train the bulk of its intake to be nothing more than paper pushers who daily clock watch, while waiting for the end of the month to collect salaries that enable them to their insatiable lust for foreign goods.

Our education system does not make us productive. It does not teach us to seize initiative. In fact, it kills initiative. Many Nigerian children who show initiative at an early age are made to feel ashamed of their initiative by their teachers themselves who call them ITK (meaning, I Too Know). The subliminal message underlying that common label is that it is not our place to be overly intelligent or curious. We ought to leave that to the oyinbo man.

It is for this reason that Nigerian youths feel it is the job of the government to provide jobs for them. Pay attention to what I said. Our youths do not think it is government’s responsibility to provide the enabling environments for jobs to thrive. No. They believe, because of the type of education they have received, that it is the responsibility of government to provide actual jobs for them.

They have been falsely taught that the secret of success is to go to school, get a certificate and that, that certificate acts as a receipt that you hand over to government in exchange for a guaranteed life of ease, laziness and entitlement, along with an official car, a driver, official quarters and domestic workers that do everything for you, except you do your business in the toilet.

That is the life their grandparents saw the colonial masters live.

When their grandparents came of age, they chose to live that same life, forgetting that the colonial masters were little more than an army of occupation whose mindset was to take and not necessarily to build except to the extent of building railways and roads from mines and farms directly to ports for onward transportation of the wealth of Africa to Europe and teaching (perhaps brainwashing is a better term) the natives to accept their particular brand of Christianity (which invariably has their monarch and not Christ as the head of the Church).

This is why a Nigerian youth who lives in Kaduna can complain that the government has not provided him or her with a job. Yet, Kaduna rice sells for almost double in Lagos. The government that he or she complains against has built a railway and train that will take them to Lagos for less than N2,000. They do not need a visa to go to Lagos.

When David Mackenzie, a Senior Economist at the World Bank, did an Independent Impact Evaluation on YouWIN, which he published in 2015, McKenzie found that YouWin was two and half times as efficient as a 2013 management consulting programme in Mexico, four and a half times as efficient as a 2014 wage subsidy programme in Jordan and almost ten times as efficient as a 2011 vocational training programme in Turkey.

That is why it was rather disappointing that President Muhammadu Buhari could not see beyond politics to understand the need to retain the initiative. Rather, his administration reduced Nigeria’s most successful job creation effort to “a weekly print media enterprise education programme designed to assist entrepreneurs start, plan and grow their businesses� which it christened YouWiN!Connect, an aberration and a bastardisation of the original idea which has gone the way of other harebrained ideas that the current administration came up with including Change Begins With Me and the N-Power scheme (emphasis on scheme)

Osinbajo

Even the Bible says “my people perish from lack of knowledge.�

Yes, the Muhammadu Buhari administration is inept, but this clueless government is not your problem. The problem of the Nigerian youth is an education system that has robbed him of initiative and pumped him full of entitlement to the extent that he or she is expecting manna from heaven. The problem is mental laziness.

The problem is YOU! Probably the best thing that ever happened to Nigeria’s economy and her education system is the second coming of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and her brilliant initiatives with former President Jonathan, chief of which was the Youth Enterprise With Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin) initiative.

I just finished writing a book on the Jonathan administration titled Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years (Chibok, 2015 and Other Conspiracies). In it, I devoted a whole chapter to YouWIN. Even though I was somewhat involved in the process, I was nonetheless impressed when I took in the bird’s eye view of the scheme and how successful it was in creating jobs and changing the mindset of Nigeria’s youth.

It was not that YouWIN gave grants, although it did give grants ranging from $12,000 to $100,000 to over 4,000 Nigerian youths.

The beauty of the initiative was that it provided business and financial education to tens of thousands of Nigeria’s youth and hopefully changed their outlook from one of entitlement to one of self reliance.

Unknown to many Nigerians, YouWIN is actually the world’s largest business plan competition ever created.

When David Mackenzie, a Senior Economist at the World Bank, did an Independent Impact Evaluation on YouWIN, which he published in 2015, McKenzie found that YouWin was two and half times as efficient as a 2013 management consulting programme in Mexico, four and a half times as efficient as a 2014 wage subsidy programme in Jordan and almost ten times as efficient as a 2011 vocational training programme in Turkey.

That is why it was rather disappointing that President Muhammadu Buhari could not see beyond politics to understand the need to retain the initiative. Rather, his administration reduced Nigeria’s most successful job creation effort to “a weekly print media enterprise education programme designed to assist entrepreneurs start, plan and grow their businesses� which it christened YouWiN!Connect, an aberration and a bastardisation of the original idea which has gone the way of other harebrained ideas that the current administration came up with including Change Begins With Me and the N-Power scheme (emphasis on scheme).

It is very sad to see what has happened to initiatives like YouWIN and the Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme for Innovations and Development, Almajiri Schools, etc. Sound policies, patriotic initiatives and powerful ideas that should have been consolidated into Nigeria’s education system have been either cancelled, watered down or left to wither away. And look at the impact such actions have had on the economy.

Speaking of the economy, the last time Nigeria had a Coordinator was in 2011 when President Goodluck Jonathan nominated Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala as a minister and upon her confirmation named her the Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

How sad that in 2017, six years after that event, Nigeria has now got her second Coordinator and no, it is not another minister. It is no less a personality than the incumbent Vice President who has been reduced, in the estimation of his boss, from an acting President to a Coordinator.

In his first letter to the Senate on February 10, 2017, before going on medical vacation, President Buhari had used the correct nomenclature to describe the role that would be played by the Vice

President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

In the said letter, the Vice President was to ‘act’ on his behalf.

How very strange that in his second letter to the Senate on May 7, 2017, before going to see his London doctors, President Buhari curiously changed the wordings of his letter and named the Vice President as someone who would “coordinate’ rather than ‘act’!

And to those who are saying that the nomenclature does not matter, go home and call your father ‘my mother’s husband’ and after he has slapped you back into reality, come back here and realise that if it is not panadol it is not the same thing as panadol. Vice President Osinbajo did a very good job the last time he was acting President and as such no one who loves Nigeria should hesitate to accord him the respect he has earned even though by reason of his peculiar situation he cannot complain about this shabby treatment meted out on him for fear of playing into the hands of the ‘Cabal’.

I think the President was not too happy with vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo’s good performance the last time which outshined him, hence this Coordinator of National Affairs business. Where are our constitutional lawyers? Can’t somebody approach the court to stop this nonsense? Coordinator of National Affairs is unknown to our constitution! Our constitution was not made for President Muhammadu Buhari. Rather, President Buhari was made by our constitution and must be subject to it, President or not!

Finally, on the recent release of some of the kidnapped girls, let me say that anybody that is not happy that 82 Chibok girls were released must be a monster whose humanity should be called into question. I thank God that these girls have been released and I commend the Federal Government for the feat of ensuring that these girls are reunited with their families. May God bless President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the leadership that enabled this to happen.

Having said that, there are some factual observations I want to raise. What you are about to read is completely devoid of any opinion. I am just stating facts. You may not like the facts. You may not even like me. But one thing you cannot do is ignore the fact.

Why should a Presidential spokesman turn himself into a praisesinger for a terrorist group? Read the following quote: “To be honest, without appearing to speak for Boko Haram, from the outlook of these girls, they appear better in terms of their physical outlook than the 21 we received before.�-Garba Shehu, President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman.

What can one even say when a Presidential spokesman praises Boko Haram for looking after Chibok girls well! What can I say? I am speechless!

On May 7, 2017, when the girls were ferried over to the Nigerian Presidential Villa at Aso Rock, Abuja to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari, photographs released showed them looking very well fed and robust. In fact, the next day (May 8) Africa’s top blog, Linda Ikeji’s blog published a photo of the released girls side by side with a picture of a woman and her baby in one of the Internally Displaced Persons camp in Borno State for a side by side comparison and these Chibok girls, who had been living rough inside Sambisa forest looked well fed, well groomed and buxom while the woman in the IDP camp looked haggard and hungry.

It leaves you questioning who has been in captivity and who has been free. How is this possible?

This is not the first time Chibok girls have been released. Almost exactly a year ago, just a week before the current Nigerian administration marked its first year in office some Chibok girls were also released. Another batch was released in October 2016. The thing is that when these girls are released there is a media blackout on them. No one is allowed near them to interview them.

I understand that they have gone through an ordeal, but Malala also went through a similar or even worse ordeal and no one shielded her from the press. Malala Yousafzai was shot at age 15 by the Taliban and left unconscious. She survived and she was threatened by the Taliban who threatened to kill her should they catch her. Her case was one of clear and present danger. Yet she was not sequestered from the public even though, like the Chibok girls, her English was not so good at first. In fact, an international press tour was arranged for her, placing her on the world stage and kick-starting the activism that earned her a Nobel Prize, making her the youngest person ever to be so awarded.

One would have thought that, that is what would have played out for the released girls.

Last October, 21 Chibok girls were release by Boko Haram after negotiations. Till date, these girls have been kept from the press.

Even their own parents are not allowed access to them according to a New York Times piece on them published on March 11, 2017.

The girls are kept in a safe house according to the New York Times.

During the Christmas holidays, they were allowed to visit Chibok but were housed in the home of a “top politician�. Their parents were only allowed to ‘visit them’. Soldiers guarded the girls and after some hours asked the parents of the girls to leave.

Let me say again that I am glad that they have been released and I pray that the remaining captives are also released but questions remain and when you attempt to raise them, you are shouted down by suspected members of the Buhari Media Center that Farooq Kperogi warned us about.

Reno’s Nuggets: And now for my nugget of the week.

Awoman who is looking for a perfect husband will never marry, for there are no perfect men, few good men and many regular men.

In fact, foolish women fall for men who know how to pleasure them. Wise women go for men who know how to treasure them. A refined girl is better than a fine girl because fineness fades fast with age but refinement improves as you mature. And finally, whether you are a man or a woman, don’t be ashamed of your background.

Focus on improving your future. Jesus was born in an animal barn but now lives in heaven #RenosNugget

Plus

PLUS XTRA LOUD WHISPERS INTERVIEW AUTO GLOBAL SOCCER FASHION FILE

pg. 19 pg. 22 pg. 24 pg. 26 pg. 31 pg. 41

Ubong Essien

I Am First Nigerian to Become Certified Professional Speaker

18

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER MAY 13, 2017

PLUS

My Job Is to Train Nigerian Leaders Public Speaking

Ubong Essien, a certified public speaker and Dean, School of Eloquence, didn’t have his career cut out for him.

With a third class in Biology Education from the University of Ilorin, he seemed destined for a lifetime in the classroom. But a passion for the liberal arts would turn his destiny for good as he began a Christian magazine in Unilorin and then later, the ‘Achiever’s Manual’. Not too long, he left publishing for public speaking in 2006. Today, Essien, the first and only Nigerian to attain the international designation of Certified Professional Speaker, was bestowed honoured in United States in 2012. His school recently celebrated its 10 years of teaching the world how to speak. In this interview with Funke Olaode, the 42-year-old indigene of Akwa Ibom State talks about his path to success and the initial roadblocks

I

s there anything significant about the huge statue of “unknown speaker” erected outside your office?

Well, I have been teaching public speaking in the past 10 years. I teach all kinds of people from political class to the business class. When we moved to a much bigger facility we realised that one of the things is to make a statement that reflects our commitment in business of teaching public speaking.

It has been of one my dreams to have a statue to greet people that this is a home of public speaking. That is why we have the statue of “unknown speaker” and sometimes I can use the statue as a teaching aid and my students can even learn from the statue: from the hand, the gesture and eye contact. So, it is a symbol of our commitment to teach the art of public speaking.

Can we have an insight into your background?

I am Ubong Essien from Akwa Ibom.

I am a certified professional speaker and the only one in the whole of West Africa and Nigeria. It is a professional attainment bestowed me on at the Global Speakers Convention in July 2012. I was born and brought up in Lagos where I had my primary education before proceeding to the Federal Government College, Ikot Ekpene, for my secondary education. My parents were entrepreneurs. My father ran an electronics business and my mum was a seamstress. They are both retired now. I attended University of Ilorin where I studied Biology Education. When I finished in 1998 I decided that I wanted to be a motivational speaker.

But Biology Education contradicts what you are doing right now. Why? Interestingly, I was offered admission to study electrical engineering at the University of Ilorin. But after a few classes and an encounter with physics and mathematics, I told myself there was no way I was going to cope. I wanted to opt out of the department but the faculty officer refused.

Eventually before the matriculation I was given a note of transfer. By then it was a little bit late and had to settle for what I could get to enable me matriculate. I settled for Biology Education because it was a four-year course instead of five years. Ironically, my parents could live with my decision because the primary objective was to have a graduate in the family. I am the first son. I was the second born but lost my eldest sister at some point while growing up. I became the first born and all eyes were on me. For them, it was the case of the first graduate in the entire clan. And I promised myself that whatever it would take I would see my education through for my parents’ happiness and that became my driving force.

At what stage did you pitch your tent with publishing?

I think communication is the real deal and communication as I was taught is sharing of meaning. Anything that has to do with talking to people or writing so they could read came so natural to me. While I was in the campus I had my media outfit on campus and a Christian publication. People embraced it and it was fun. My last two years on campus were something else and my lecturers were not happy with me for being preoccupied

Essien

with this publication. My mission was to go to class, read, do the test, get a pass mark and get out. I had time more for doing the things I loved. After graduation and my youth service I started a publication called, ‘Achievers’ Magazine.’

It was on that basis that I won the young entrepreneur of the year from Success Digest in 2002 because the publication went nationwide. I was meeting managing directors of multinational companies: Dr. Christopher Kolade; Mrs. Cecilia Ibru; Mr. Segun Oni; Mr. Agbetuyi; and a host of new generation CEOs. I saw them as more of father figures and mentors.

Did anything prepare you for what you are doing now?

Looking back, my secondary education prepared me. I want to give kudos to my parents who did everything possible to ensure that I attended Federal Government College. I believe it laid a very good foundation for me especially in understanding English and my capacity to interact with people. That was what the environment was like then and I could use the knowledge at Unilorin. However, university period for me between 1993 and 1998 was also very important because I was in an environment where I was free to be an entrepreneur. Those are combination of factors that prepared me.

Having interviewed various personalities, what struck you about them?

The drive they had to achieve their goals. I have never been more encouraged than to see people who have a vision and block out all of the hindrances, discouragement and pursue their goals.

As I look through all of them it just kept me on my toe that they have a vision and sense of direction for their goals and lives.

And they gave it all without any excuses and that kept inspiring me that if they could do it anybody can do it.

At what exact point did you feel you had to change course from being a publisher to becoming a public speaking coach?

As an entrepreneur you tend to be taken over by things. I think it was at the height of my career as a publisher. The School of Eloquence clocked 10 recently.

By 2002, I was already on the national TV giving motivational talks. When people read the publication, Funmi Iyanda invited me that it was a powerful idea and gave me a 15-minute slot every Tuesday and Thursday on live TV on what can be done to be successful and how to overcome challenges. It was aired for almost three years and it was as a result of that programme that Nigerians then gave me a nickname ‘Mr. Motivator’. By 2006, I joined the National Speakers Association in United States of America. While publishing people and organisations would call me to speak. By 2006, I said I had to be professional about it and wanted to speak in the categories of world renowned speakers. I didn’t want to be a pastoral coach but a full-blown speaker. Then, I was travelling every year for courses and conferences which could qualify me for global certification. Providence was at work and my effort paid off when in July 2012, the international designation of Certified Professional Speaker was bestowed on me at the Global Speakers’ Convention in Indianapolis, United States.

As a person I feel elated and being the first makes it historical. My governor then, Godswill Akpabio, sent the Speaker of the state Assembly to represent him. In front of 2,000 people from across the world and was given some time to make a speech.

They were impressed and it was the best moment of my life.

How is the school doing now?

I am currently running a postgraduate programme in Mass Communication department at University of Lagos and I am the oldest in my class, many wondering why I am in the classroom. Before now, I thought of doing so many things at the same time. It was in 2006 that I narrowed it down to the School of Eloquence.

Over the past 10 years, I have taught over 2,000 people. We have senators coming to our classes; wives of deputy governors coming to our classes. We have had chief executives, senior government functionaries, sales representatives and all categories of people. So whether you are a politician, social activist, or clergyman, we teach the world to speak because it is a universal skill. So, we cater for politician and even as a sales person you need power of speech. Even pastoral circle needs a well-articulated message to carry their congregations along. Our ambition is to be the home of public speaking in Nigeria. Most of our speakers are doing public reading and not delivering speech like the Obamas of this world. As a public speaker, you are forced to read and this enhances your speech and delivery.

Do you think there is a dearth of public speaking capacity in Nigeria?

I would say yes. But when you pick the aggregation it is difficult to pick sterling speakers. Of course, we do have a few but when you spread it over our population we are still far from being there. Look at the demographic of our political class. A reason for the boring nature of our democracy is that most of our political gladiators are terrible communicators. I listened to the late Sir Tafawa Balewa speech when he visited the White House in the 60s, the English was not only impeccable but the

delivery was on point. Most of the current players are poor speakers. That is why you find the tendency to run away from debate because democracy is an endless debate cycle. The capacity to articulate effectively is missing. You can address an issue and the masses can be better informed.

Any plan for the future like grooming the youth?

We do have a lot of things on our plates and one of them is catching them young.

Recently, we had four students from Kings College, Lagos, competing for the first prize. It was fantastic. A lot of adults couldn’t believe that they could do it. We are visiting schools as our corporate social responsibility initiative. Every month, we engage four schools. One of them is located in Olodi-Apapa (Ajegunle).

It is better to learn now than later. Our vision, God willing, is to have School of Eloquence in Port Harcourt, Abuja and three or four other places and may be on the Island because of the pressure. That is our next move.

How was your wife involved in this?

Well, my secret weapon is my wife, Patience. She has been patient with me. She has been the most important supporter that I have. She is the registrar of the school. She has a master’s degree in Education Management and obviously would want to do her own thing but she has stood by me by putting her plans on hold. A lot of credit should go to her because she has been the driving force. I am blessed to have had a fantastic wife who has supported me all the way.

You never worked for anyone. What advice do you have for young people?

They should understand that pasture is only green where it is watered. If it is watered in America it would be green. But we are in an environment where you have to water your pasture. Most of the young people who look at the other side of the fence should water where they are first.

I read Biology Education and came out with a third class. The impression was that I would not be able to get a secondary school to teach. For obvious reasons, I was not always in class because I was pursuing my vision and passion. And after graduation I nurtured it. There would never a time when things would not be difficult. If you are waiting for things to get better you had better be getting better yourself. This is a country that if you lay your hand on something you are bound to succeed if you persevere.

There was a time I sent out over 40,000 letters to companies every month for three years. In fact, some companies got tired of our letters. Some even called and said stop sending letters to us. Sometimes I would meet these CEOs and introduce myself. It is like this is the man who has been harassing us and they would instruct their human resource manager to send five delegates to us; because we didn’t have money for advertisement. And, after some time we got offers from a few multinationals. Why? Because, I didn’t give up; youths should be patient and grow organically and shouldn’t adopt the ‘sharp, sharp’ approach. This generation wants an explosion. You have to plant, water and watch your vision grow.

Above all, don’t digress. Be focused. That is the only magic to success.

ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ Ëž THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

19

PLUS XTRA

I’m Blind but with Boundless Business Ideas

As a kid he wanted to be the best in everything he participated in. As a young boy with a beautiful heart and an imaginative mind, Danjuma Attah, was plunged into visual darkness following a visit to a hospital because of a troubling redness in his eyes.

After applying what the health centre gave him to use – what he described as a wrong prescription, Attah began an ugly descent into blindness. But today, he claims that his loss of sight is part of God’s plan in his life. Blind but boundless, Attah runs an NGO that caters to the need of visually impaired people and also runs three dierent companies. Born into the Attah Royal family in Kogi State, he tells Stanley Nkwazema about his life as a blind person and how blind people can see beyond the ordinary

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

20

I Want to Change the Self-pity Narratives of Disabled Persons

M

y Life, My Family “Danjuma Attah is nobody. But he is somebody doing what he believes in.

I believe in selfless service to the people.

Selfless service is what I believe in because that is the only thing I will take with me when I return to God. I was born in Okene, Kogi State, to the family of late Shehu Attah and Aisha Attah. It was a very wonderful world knowing full well that I am from a royal family: from the Attah family in Igala land. I had a smooth experience, growing up with so many wonderful people. I started my primary school education at Christ the King Nursery and Primary School. It is a missionary school. My secondary school education was at Abdulazeez Attah College in Okene.�

A Turning Point Danjuma said it was at JSS 2 that he experienced the saddest moment of his life. That was when he lost his sight due to lack of proper medical care and poor facilities. “What was just a redness in the eye rendered me blind because the health centre I got to then gave me a wrong prescription which I used for my eyes and that destroyed my eyes completely. Then I thought all hope was lost but thanks to my wonderful mother (now late) who then made it clear to me that it was what God wanted me to be in life and that gave me hope. Then as a child I loved listening to BBC Radio. My father had this radio which I normally used to listen to BBC World Service programme and news. Then one day, I was hearing about Stevie Wonder and I was motivated. That day I said to myself: ‘If Stevie could be Wonder in the United States of America, why then can’t I be Wonder in Africa?’ That was the spirit (I had).�

Adjusting to a state of blindness, Danjuma said, was a process designed

by God. “He wanted me to see the other side of life which I give thanks to the Almighty God, the owner of the universe. You can imagine somebody who was living in a palace with all manners of people around him suddenly found himself in a school for the handicapped, with the deaf and dumb around him. It was a tough situation that I passed through. But I was very happy I passed through it because it made me to live the other side of life.�

The Danjuma Attah Eye Foundation Danjuma said it was through his foundation that he fully discovered himself. “The challenge I discovered about Africans is that many of us don’t know who we are. If you don’t know who you are, you can never set a goal. If you cannot set a goal you can never activate success. That is my belief. I never knew what God was making me to pass through was for me to become a humanitarian service provider. But you see, in business, in 2010, I was again on my way to Kogi for a contract I was pursuing when I got involved in a ghastly motor accident. That was when I thought it was all over. On that day I said to myself, ‘if I die now, I am very close to my home, you will be buried and what will you be remembered for?’ That was the question I asked myself.

That kept coming into my mind till I got to Abuja, in Wuse 2. At the hospital I visited, the nurse I met thought it was the accident that made me lose my sight. He made me to meet an ophthalmologist. Interestingly, when I met with him, he kept quiet. I never knew he was a man of God. He said ‘Do you know that God wants to

His foundation commissioned by Governor Bello

Danjuma with daughter

use you to prevent blindness and also champion the cause of people with disability in the country?’ I said, ‘that is always what I wanted to do but I don’t know how to go about it.’�

It was the man that started the process of establishing the eye foundation. By the time they were through with the registrations, behold, the man got another job and left Danjuma to carry on with the mission. “The amazing thing is that I am a business person. I turn everything I have in business, into the foundation.

By the grace of God, today, we have given sight to thousands of people and we have built an 18-bed eye centre and donated it to Kogi State Government with no conditions attached. It was the same hospital that gave a wrong prescription that destroyed my sight. We built the eye centre single-handedly without any donor, apart from one or two of my family members.�

His Kind of NGO “We will keep on doing what we are doing. Those that have seen what we are doing can come and partner with us because we have a vision and we have a dream; that dream will surely come to pass. I understand very

well that whatever you want to do, do it alone. Only when you want to go further that you can involve others.

I don’t want to put a price tag to the hospital.�

On World Sight Day, he is planning to donate some equipment to the centre. “I am also going with a medical team for free cataract surgery. They are all volunteers and the foundation wants to make a success out of it.�

Finding Love and Marriage “I am married to a beautiful woman with two lovely kids. My wife is not physically challenged in any way. It is interesting and I have an interesting answer. This is where we have an issue. So many of us don’t even realise that the eyes you use to see are what is giving you limitations. I believe in the power of the mind that sees beyond what the eyes cannot see. I will let you know that it is very possible that I am seeing you and what you cannot see right now. I am seeing beyond what your eyes can see. It is the power of the mind. My mind makes me see what other people cannot see. The beauty in my wife is seen by me and I appreciate it from the inside and not from the outside.�

Meeting her, he said, was a miracle or divine intervention. “I met her and called her on the phone one day and she came (to me).

I told her my intention (of wanting to marry her). Initially, she was not forthcoming but eventually she honoured the meeting and we sat for over 30 minutes and had a very fruitful discussion. At first she did feel too good at it but eventually she began to see what I was seeing, knowing that she is no more seeing with her eyes but the mind that made her to see beyond the ordinary. She is a banker.� “There is nothing called disability.

You don’t see anybody with any form of physical challenge and keep on pitying the person. Rather, encourage that person. That person can do more than you can ever imagine. The way the society is looking at persons with physical challenges has been giving me a lot of concerns and I am not too comfortable. I am appealing to the media to educate people to have the right view of people with physical disabilities.�

Dealing with Sceptical In-laws Naturally, her would-be in-laws were not too enthusiastic about his plan to marry their daughter. “It is normal; some people will say you are a spirit, ghost or that you belong to a cult. But you don’t have to blame people in Africa. But where we are now, that is the way we are created until when we are removed from where we are that we can begin to see things the way it should. It was not an easy thing but by God’s grace when you have God in everything you do, it becomes very simple for you to achieve. God has been so faithful and wonderful.�

Blind but Boundless “I will be fulfilled when we have nothing less than a thousand people directly on our payroll. I run three companies for now: a travel agency, a security outfit and a communications outfit. Another one is coming and I am collaborating with a financial institution. It will be unveiled shortly.�

Society and People Living with Physical Disability “The society should start to do things that will make the government to understand that this is what the people want. Everybody in this country does not care about the next person.�

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

21

22

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 13, 2017 with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

LOUD WHISPERS

Mercy Aigbe

Pastor T.B. Joshua: Please Don’t Go Baba, is it true you are leaving? I do not believe this o. But the news is everywhere. I even heard that our Information Minister has joined the bandwagon pleading with you to reconsider. Oga, I see your frustrations but it is not only you o. If you are running away because they persecute your mission, then what do you want the rest of us who cannot even find food to eat to do? I hear your mission is responsible for over 60% of our tourism receipts, hence the interest of the federal government in this your matter. Going to Israel will not be a solution, I think you should sit down and rethink this matter. Competition for your ‘business’ in Israel will be too much o. You will be a small fish there unlike here where you remain a giant.

If you go now, what will happen to the rest of us in need of miracles especially those of us who will not be able to come over to Israel? This is a major calamity for us miracle seekers. Let me beg you not to go, but should you insist on still leaving, let me ask what will happen to the Nigerian franchise, will it be up for sale as I remain interested. Let me know sir. Thank you.

Musiliu Obanikoro : Stay Put I have just seen the news report refuting your alleged decamping from the PDP to APC with some relief. The report even went ahead to explain that you were just repairing your relationship with the Asiwaju and that in no way meant you are decamping. Only an inexperienced watcher of Nigerian politics would believe that. You people always test the waters before making your move and if you ask me, your move is as inevitable as tomorrow coming and this is sad. Sad because once again we have shown that as a nation we have failed woefully in building a polity based on ideology and principle. The personality cult that drives our politics remains strong and rabid, hence our inability to achieve any form of cohesion in nation building. It remains your prerogative and constitutional right to choose your association and affiliation but then, while doing that, you must also bear in mind how posterity and history will treat you. If everybody crosses to APC, then where is the virile opposition that we need for the growth of our democracy. I have said my own sha and I know you will not listen. I wish you luck.

Kemi Olunloyo : Another Fervent Plea I would like to once again beg whoever is responsible for the continued incarceration of Kemi to kindly reconsider and assist in freeing her. There is nothing that she has done that cannot be forgiven. Granted, she has been a

T.B. Joshua

Musiliu Obanikoro

Mercy Aigbe, Lanre Gentry: Another Look at Domestic Violence Before I am pilloried by the sad majority, let me first put it out there that I DO NOT SUPPORT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN ANY WAY. Either it is on a female or on a male. With that out of the way, I would like to state here that the way this whole thing is being handled in society of today just smacks of hypocrisy and a one-sided defence. And that is why the issue will continue to simmer. All you hear is that ‘there is no justification for hitting a woman’ which I fully agree but do you continue to fight a fire without tackling the source? Once a man stupidly loses his temper and makes the fatal mistake of hitting a woman, even if it is with a feather he is doomed. All bricks are thrown at the unfortunate man, who would have over the years been suffering in silence, taking all sorts of impunities and abuses, and in some cases adultery. This particular case, I have taken a deep interest in it.

Today, the man has been reported to be remanded in prison and nobody is listening to his side of the story simply because he has hit his wife. What led to all that is no longer an issue and the lady will go on the victory lap egged on by the sad majority, only to go to the next marriage or next life to continue with the same behaviour simply because nobody had taken the time to sit her down to explain to her just what led to all of this. A man, who has fathered a child with her and who just two months ago she was ‘hailing’ to high heavens as her god on earth is today suffering like a common criminal simply because he could no longer hold back as a result of the provocations he could no longer handle. My plea to society is to at least be fair and look at both sides in this matter in a bid to at least curb this very regular and ugly incidence of domestic violence. Much as I agree that there is no justification for battering a woman, the woman herself must also be ready to work with her husband in ending this. Let me come out of the closet, I used to be a regular culprit. I used to have a wild temper and after each episode, I would go on a humiliating begging spree. Beg everybody within sight, even the maiguard, I would beg just to get my wife back. I noticed very quickly the sad majority will be pushing my wife to leave the house.

Abandon three children? Don’t ever agree. Most of them widows and single women all willing to jump in bed with me at the drop of the hat but would still be screaming, ‘you can’t be beating your wife, is she a punching

bag? I would just be begging them all until peace would be restored. I used to hate myself and started going for counselling, both professional and spiritual. But in all this, I noticed that nobody was talking to my wife, she claimed the moral high ground, feeling that she was the victim. I was the victim here, I was the one that was taking months’ of provocation, taunting, abuse, disrespect, tongue-lashing and when I couldn’t take it anymore and lashed out, I immediately became the villain. All the counselling was not working because the source was not being addressed. My mother was still being called a witch and a prostitute, I was still being called a useless oaf and an irresponsible father. The sad majority was still taking my wife against my orders to useless Owambe parties and coming home late despite my misgivings; the counsellor and the system was not addressing this. What they would say is leave the marriage.

The fact that you were unhappy and sad never meant you no longer loved the woman, nor did it also mean that you were going to throw your little kids into a divorce mess. So one day, I decided to take my matter into my own hands. I locked my wife in the room and drew up a list of the things that provoked me, turning me into a ‘beast’. I begged her to try and work on those things. Do not call my mother a witch no matter what, regulate the Owambe parties and limit it to just family and close friends, do not push your tongue out at me when we are having an argument, allow me explain myself anytime we are arguing on an issue, do not jump into a loud, rash verbal assault, cursing me out and abusing my father and all my ancestors. I knelt down and begged her to help me stop beating her and that her friends who always jumped in, asking her to leave were already preparing to replace her. Showing her evidence of this, I thank God that she immediately started working on herself and ever since, I have not touched her in the last 10 years. I even pasted the Do’s and Don’ts on the walls of her room.

I have decided to expose myself like this because I feel not only for Lanre but for men in general. The society has not been rigged to handle this matter holistically, hence this push and plea for this issue to be looked at from the source. This is just a plea and as usual, I know nobody will listen to me and we will continue to watch this issue go on unabated. Let us look at this whole thing again. Na beg.

Kemi Olunloyo

thorn in the flesh of so many personalities, even the General Overseer of the Redeemed Church. However, throwing her in jail will not help her rehabilitation or even give whoever is behind her travails the peace of mind he so desires.

I am on my knees, appealing very fervently to you sir, to kindly withdraw the charges and seek other means of ‘curing’ Kemi. Kemi is not normal o.

She is my friend and nobody takes her vituperations seriously, hence this appeal. What she needs is rehabilitation, not prison. Prison will do nothing for her and it may even lead to depression and a possible suicidal tendencies. Baba please, if you give me your address or phone number, I will come to Port Harcourt and cry at your feet, I will hold your feet and let my hot tears touch you, I will use your innocent children’s head to beg you. Kindly withdraw these charges, I cannot sleep anymore. Baba, I really beg. Thank you as you consider my plea.

Kayode Ehizode for Yaba Kayode is contesting for the APC chairmanship position, Yaba LCDA. Kayode is part of an emerging army of professionals beginning to jump into the cold waters of politics. Kay is a professional who has given close to 20 years to the Oil and Gas industry, performing with integrity and high merit. You see, I have chosen to support him and endorse him simply because of my belief that a new breed should begin to position themselves as the older generation begins to reach their twilight years. Apart from this, Kayode has shown tremendous resolve and capacity to handle the challenge that would come with the office, thereby giving the people of Yaba a new lease of life. Kay baba, the endorsement from the Duke of Shomolu is heavier than gold and please see me on Saturday so that I give you a note to Bourdilon, I know the gateman there. You no get problem.

23

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 13, 2017

EXPRESSION

MEDIAGAFFES BY

Walks, not Works, of Life

“T

HE enthusiastic participation by all Nigerians from all works (walks) of life….” “…an indelible statement that inspite (in spite) of the challenges that currently exist….” (‘Currently’ is otiose here) “…and All the Governors (needless capitalization) who attended the epoch making (epoch-making) event.” Except if ‘epoch’ is the event maker!

“We are proud of the President’s Pan Nigerian (sic) outlook….” This way: the President’s pan-Nigeria outlook “Sisters arrested over (for) attempt to smuggle marijuana to brother” “Group condemns INEC (INEC’s) handling of PVC in Lagos” “We are eternally appreciative to (sic) be part of the ongoing Transformation agenda which has recorded irreversible growth for the Oil and Gas Industry.” (Full-page advertorial by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and signed by its Management) A rewrite: We are eternally appreciative of being part of the ongoing….

“I…of the Niger Delta Development Commission on behalf of the management and staff of the Commission felicitates (felicitate) with….” “…especially in this (these) turbulent times in our journey to great nationhood.”

(Source: as above) “Mgbidi Boys (Boys’) Secondary School (1982 Set) and Classmates of Senator Hope

Uzodinma” THE NATION ON SUNDAY POLITICS of May 7 contributed the next two wrongs: “Another party source said the elders are (were) considering the consensus option.” “…used the authority of the party’s extraordinary convention held in Abuja a forth-night (sic) ago….” Spell-check: fortnight “Ilorin residents groan as pure water scarcity worsens” Middle Belt Today: sachet water “Unity Bank releases names of debtors” Why not debtors’ names, especially for headline purposes?

“Ajimobi will break second term (secondterm) jinx” “Intelligent EMUI 3.0 with gravity sensing (gravity-sensing) technology” “LG boss assures on democracy dividend” Who did the chairman assure?

“At both the Enugu and Nsukka campuses of the university.…” (THISDAY, May 4) On (not at) both the campuses…

“The commission did analysed the memorable…” I don’t need to analyze the tense problem in the extract.

“It is simplistic to think that every decisions will be accepted by everybody.” Every decision or all decisions “It’s constitution is over 200 years old and was drafted by just 55 men.” The possessive form of ‘its’ does not require an apostrophe.

“Robbery tribunal sworn-in” ‘Sworn in’, a phrasal verb, cannot function as a compound word.

“The veil of enemity between.…” Get it right: enmity.

“…the arrogance of certain persons connected directly or indirectly make me nervous….” The arrogance…makes me nervous.

“He had reflected back to (reflected on) this time two years ago.…” Yank off ‘back’ which smacks of crass illiteracy.

“However, with series of painstaking explanations.…” A series of…

“On my way to work, last week Wednesday….” Simply last Wednesday or Wednesday, last week: the excerpt is odd.

“And that is, the Nigerian police has not failed.” The Nigerian police have “…the nation’s enormous human and material resources would blossom resulting eventually into (sic) economic buoyancy.”

Resulting in economic buoyancy “The campaign abroad is that Nigeria is on the verge of a huge conflagration.”

(THISDAY, The Sunday Edition, May 7) ‘Conflagration’ does not need any amplification (huge).

“It is true that majority of us do not want to see Nigeria break.” A/the majority of us.…

“They were thought (what!) how to use cutleries as Frenchmen.” I was taught by my current dictionaries that ‘cutlery’ is noncount. And ‘thought’ for ‘taught’? Could it be ignorance or carelessness?

VANDALIZATION (also vandalism) is a variant of vandalism that is not so popular in terms of usage because it is often used in Law in a specialized manner.

A more perfect or perfect union? I convened a national conference where recommendations and resolutions were reached

EBERE WABARA

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

towards a ‘more perfect (perfect or nearly/ possibly/probably perfect union. This is imitation of ‘we’. The people of the United States in order to form ‘a more perfect’ union in the Constitution of the United States adopted in March 1789. ‘Perfect’ is an absolute superlative. It is not modified, qualified or amplified. ‘More perfect’ is unEnglish, un-presidential! We can correctly say or write nearly/possibly/probably perfect or unique (not more perfect or most perfect). Keep up the good work, brother.

‘Flag off’ means to start an event: it may be found in a standard dictionary.

Therefore, some writers have popularized its usage. Users will continue to argue about correct usage.

FEEDBACK

FACE mark in Africa transcends mere decoration. It connotes ethnicity/culture. So, OBJ has tribal marks on the face. The marks can as well be on other parts of the body (especially in the olden days) The English language should be adapted to portray intended expression and not to please native speakers. This is the essence of linguistics. May God deliver us from colonialism. (MODUPE ADEGBORO, 07030759108) IT is incorrect for RayPower in its Nigeria Today News (May 8) to use ‘wake-keep’ instead of ‘wake’. (KOLA DANISA, 07068074257) I find your column WORDSWORTH profound, an asset to the media and all users of the English language. (OGOCHUKWU, 08033812451) “This piece does not intend to whip-up (whip up) ethnic sentiments….”

INSIGHT

IGP’s Embarrassing Partisanship Simeon Nwakaudu

W

hen I pitied the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris in one of my write-ups earlier in the year, it was simply because I saw very clearly, a man out to destroy the Nigerian police because of his disgraceful love for partisan politics. Indeed, because of his “covet” membership of the APC. Like a man on a mission against the nation, this IGP has reduced the Nigerian police into a gang of electoral fraudsters, bent on destroying the foundations of democracy, just because he has been conscripted to do his master’s bidding.

IGP Ibrahim Idris, by any stretch of imagination is the worst thing to happen to the police. He has thrown away the garb of neutrality and adorned the broom of the APC. Not even Oyegun and his failing friends propel the APC more than IGP Ibrahim.

Today, leaders of the APC are his defenders; his ever present cheerleaders. In IGP Ibrahim Idris, the APC has found a ruthless partner, ever ready to help them cover their political weaknesses.

On December 10, 2016, IGP Ibrahim Idris sent 28,000 policemen, 20 gunboats, police helicopters, horses, dogs and deadly snipers to manipulate the Rivers rerun in favour of the APC. Everywhere these compromised policemen went; they left a tale of ballot box snatching, deaths, robbery, injuries on electoral officials and unprintable actions on law-abiding citizens.

The Rivers Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) led by one Akin Fakorede was turned into Special Election Rigging Squad (SERS). Wherever election was concluded, Akin Fakorede or his men would rush there to either snatch result sheets or disrupt the result declaration process.

In many instances, these deadly policemen were caught on video manipulating the electoral process or shooting sporadically with the intention to rig.

On one particular instance, (December 12, 2016) Akin Fakorede was captured on video at the Rivers East Senatorial District collation centre attempting to disrupt collation of results and snatch same for the APC. The police embarrassed Nigeria in concert with other security agencies.

No rerun elections held in Rivers South-east where SARS and army personnel overpowered electoral officials and took election materials to a private home belonging to one of the candidates of the APC. The deadly actions of the police and the military in this senatorial district were captured on tape.

Rather than show remorse for his crime against democracy, IGP Ibrahim Idris lured hatchet online writers to unleash shameless negative propaganda against the Rivers State governor, the government and her people.

He set up a kangaroo committee headed by one Damian Okoro to justify the police descent into the political arena for the purpose of election rigging. The selection of Okoro was another fraud. IGP Idris mischievously placed an Igbo man in a bid to authenticate his fraud. Aside Okoro, 80 per cent of the members of

Idris, IGP the kangaroo committee were of northern extraction. They went ahead to dance naked in the public.

The police killed, maimed and stole part of the mandate of Rivers people. Yet it was the police under IGP Idris that blamed the victim, Rivers people.

IGP Idris before, during and after the rerun elections acted as if he was a candidate running for elections in Rivers State. He toyed with the security details of Governor Wike and deliberately put an elected governor’s life at risk. He withdrew the governor’s Chief Security Officer, his ADC, Orderly and the majority of the security details to expose the governor to harm. He emboldened Akin Fakorede to metamorphose into an electoral terror in Rivers State.

On December 12, 2016, some policemen attached to the Rivers State Governor defied the IGP and stopped Akin Fakorede from harming Governor Wike as instructed. The IGP summarily dismissed them and blamed the policemen for the electoral woes of his political party, the APC. IGP Ibrahim Idris by setting up the Investigative Panel, sought to become a judge in his own case. He wanted to become a saint, even in hell.

For the sake of protecting the nation’s democracy, Governor Wike as a law-abiding leader approached the court on the Investigative Panel set up by the IGP to justify the fraud and violence the police unleashed on the people of Rivers State during the December 10, 2016 rerun elections.

As an undisputed defender of Nigeria’s democracy, he took the step on behalf of the Rivers people - under siege by the nation’s police.

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017, “the Federal High Court in Abuja declared as illegal, the Special Joint Investigative Panel that was constituted by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Idris Ibrahim, to uncover those behind the violence that marred the December 10, 2016, legislative rerun elections in Rivers State.

“Justice Gabriel Kolawole described the Police probe panel which included operatives of the Department of State Service, DSS, as “a strange contraption whose existence will create legal doubt”. Justice Kolawole held that the 15-man Special Joint Investigative Panel is a body unknown to any law in the country.

He maintained that neither the Police Act, Security Agencies Act nor the 1999 Constitution, as amended, empowered the IGP to set up and co-opt the DSS which is not answerable to him but to the presidency, into the Rivers rerun probe panel. “ If the IGP has any modicum of respect for decency left, he must resign his commission and formally join his friends and family in the APC. This declaration by the Federal High Court, in Abuja has brought to the fore, the damage that the IGP and his mischievous colleagues in some other security agencies have done to the electoral system.

Why must IGP Ibrahim Idris be in the forefront of the illegal struggle to make Nigeria a one-party state? Why is the IGP ready to unleash violence on Rivers people just because they have pitched their tent with the PDP? The IGP and those beating the evil drum for him must respect the will of Rivers people.

Under the leadership of IGP Ibrahim Idris, the security situation in the country is degenerating daily, with the police failing to act.

I like to remind the IGP that Nigerians still remember that he was the Commissioner of Police in Kano State during the 2015 Presidential Election when the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner was murdered in a questionable arson after fantastic results were churned out for the APC. That result is still being questioned by researchers and the international community.

The Abuja Federal High Court judgment is an indictment on IGP Ibrahim Idris’s love for illegality and electoral fraud. He may have federal resources to sponsor online propaganda, but with all his mischief-making, history will never be kind to him.

For me, the most important takeaway in the indictment of IGP Ibrahim Idris is the fact that he will soon account for the blood of Rivers people shed by his evil Special Election Rigging Squad (SERS).

24

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͝, 2017

INTERVIEW Ado Alhassan Donguwa

Though I Made First Class, I Wish I Have Second and Third Degrees

With a graceful gait, the politician dressed in a checked white-and-black embroidered agbada with a patterned cap to match, finds himself surrounded by a group of little children – they are bemused by the ‘stranger’. “My kids, especially the smaller ones, will come around even when I am in a group of friends, asking: ‘Is that our dad?’ They ask that question because they are not used to seeing me often.� Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, tells Adedayo Adejobi in this interview. The versalite federal lawmaker, a first-class graduate of Mass Commnication, talks about his large family of four wives and 22 children, the business of lawmaking and his plan to go back to school

W

ere there occasions you had to whip into line a member on the floor of the House?

Yes, I have had several causes to whip a member into line. But while whipping, I have had to be diplomatic because the position of Chief Whip is defined by the concept of first among equals as they collectively have the right to whip me out of office.

If elections were to be held today, would APC return to power?

I would want to say yes. As a politician and loyal party member, I will never hope for any failure of my party. I want to say without mincing words that APC will obviously return to power.

People say the fight against corruption is one-sided. What’s your view?

One needs to know that there’s still a mechanism in place to fight corruption.

And this is done through established agencies, like the EFCC, ICPC, Nigeria Police Force and the DSS. These agencies have the statutory and institutional rights to fight corruption. Any APC governor that is found guilty or culpable of any charge is also brought to book. I can tell of some governors who have been found culpable. The Senate President, number three citizen of the federation, is also an APC card-carrying member, occupying an APC legislative position and chairman of the National Assembly, is now facing serious charges.

Whoever is found culpable will face the wrath of the law and if there is any APC governor found guilty, I believe certainly, he will be brought to book.

According to people, the Senate is supposed to be for mature minds.

The Senate seems to be embroiled in all sorts of controversies. What do you think?

I disagree with you. The concept that Senate is for mature minds while the House is for younger ones, is basically not true. A young man of 35 is qualified to contest election and be a senator. Being in the Senate or House of Representatives has nothing to do with your age.

Being a vibrant lawmaker, do you see yourself someday as a senator?

As it is today, there could be other people who may be older than me by their biological age, but I’m the oldest serving member of the House of Representatives because I started as far back as 1992. The likes of Adolphus Wabara, Uzor Orji Kalu, and Bola Tinubu were my colleagues in the National Assembly. I’d rather repeat being a member of the House of Representatives than just pass to the Senate or to be a governor.

Away from politics, what was your childhood expeience?

One obvious thing I know is that I’ was a very controversial boy. I was troublesome. I never allowed anybody to cross my way for unjust reasons.

And I identified myself with a cause that would be justifiable. Even when you found me quarrelling with my peers, you would hardly find me guilty. I’ve always found myself in the position of leadership among my peers.

From day one, it’s like I was preparing myself as a leader. I’ve not been used to reading. I don’t read, and I’ve never read. If there’s anything that has given me an advantage, it’s that I was trained as a communicator. I studied mass communication. In mass communication, I got a first class degree from Bayero University, Kano, and I have never practised journalism.

Would you have loved to practise?

I would have loved to. I’m still interested in practising. No matter how old I may be, my dream is that at the end of my service as a politician, I will certainly return to the newsroom.

With a very busy schedule, how do you find time to spend with your wives and kids?

If I should be honest with you, I’m a very scarce commodity to my family because of the nature of my engagement as an active grass-roots politician.

This role I play has denied me the chance to have a very free relationship with my wives and my kids. That does not mean I deny them their basic entitlements or their basic requirements as my spouses. Without being economical with the truth, my wives are only being patient with me because sometimes I get home very late, sometimes very rarely. My kids, especially the smaller ones, will come round and be asking, even when I’m in a group with some other friends, who is their dad. My own kid, at the age of three or four, will be contemplating: is that my dad? He

Donguwa

25

MAY 13, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERVIEW If I should be honest with you, I’m a very scarce commodity to my family because of the nature of my engagement as an active grass-roots politician. This role I play has denied me the chance to have a very free relationship with my wives and my kids. That does not mean I deny them their basic entitlements or their basic requirements as my spouses. Without being economical with the truth, my wives are only being patient with me because sometimes I get home very late, sometimes very rarely. My kids, especially the smaller ones, will come round and be asking, even when I’m in a group with some other friends, who is their dad

Donguwa

With Four Wives and 22 Kids, Balancing the Act is a Bit Tough will be trying to confirm if I’m his dad because he’s not used to me.

That is when I become confused and demoralised.

How do you find the balance?

The balance is that I make it 50/50.

I have been able now to give to my members primarily what they deserve of me. Then at late hours now, my wife joins to come and stay with me and between midnight and seven o’clock when she’s done with me, she goes back to her house and I will go back to my office. Sometimes they can even concede to remain at home to allow me continue my work. Even when I’m staying here in Transcorp, I still eat my local food. They provide my food from the house. I find it necessary to sustain an accessible place where my colleagues can meet me.

You must value them so much.

Yes, I do. If I observe a missed call from my dad, my heart will beat more than normal. I will call back to hear from him and hope there is no trouble.

You have a very sensitive job because you are faced with the challenge of making decisions. How do you make them?

Most of the decisions I take have to do with our own operations. It’s participatory leadership. While doing that, I gain opinions and ideas from my colleagues.

As a busy man, what keeps you going?

I have been a very busy man but I don’t joke with food. I eat every time, every minute, every hour and as long as I eat, sleep is never my problem.

The earliest time I sleep is 3 a.m. And I bet you by seven in the morning, I am awake. It’s the zeal and commitment to serve my people with utmost commitment and sincerity.

What’s that one thing that scares you the most?

Everyone has fears. I think it’s only when I have issues with my parents.

What’s your relationship with your dad like?

It’s a very fine one. I’m the 11th son of my dad. With 10 other seniors, my dad finds me so worthy of what I’m doing. He’s so proud of me. The only thing that scares me is when I have issues with my parents, either my dad or my mum. They are all alive. My grandfather and my grandmother are also still alive and I knew my father’s grandfather and also my mother’s grandfather. Even though two of them are now late, but my grandfather is alive. The grandfather to my mother is also alive. For the purpose of clarification, I’ve never had an issue that went beyond 48 hours with any of them unresolved.

Every time you say someone is sick in my immediate family, I become very worried. And the reason is that I lost my second wife to a headache. This was a lady that I slept in her room and was hale and hearty. By 6 a.m we rose to pray and she told me she had a headache. I went to get her some drugs but before I came from the pharmacy she was dead.

How did you handle it?

It was a very shocking thing. So, any time I hear someone is sick; I will rush until I see him or her alive because I keep on remembering the way and manner I lost my second wife of blessed memory. She gave me one child and died. The child is now in the university.

What values are important to you?

The number one is impacting on the lives of other people, especially those who are impoverished. I value service to humanity. I don’t have much value for money. My only value for money is to have the pleasure of getting it and giving it out.

Who is your hero?

People I can call my heroes are politicians. For instance, the late Mallam Aminu Kano of blessed memory. Even though I knew him while I was young, his genuine stories about the struggle for the common man have endeared me to him and inspired me. Then there is also the former governor of Kano State, the late Abubakar Rimi. These two persons are my heroes.

Can anything stand in your way?

I think fate and the predestination of God are the only things I think that can stand in my way.

From all perspectives, do you feel fulfilled and accomplished?

I think I do. Should I stop everything in life now for whatever reason? I look at myself as an accomplished person and I have every sense of gratitude and appreciation to God Almighty. I have also all sense of gratitude and respect and appreciation to my people. I have done so much for my people. Go to my village. I don’t think there’s anything somebody that served as governor could show me in his village that I’ve not provided to my people. I have done everything for my people.

Could there be anything you feel that you could have done better, generally, not just in politics?

I think I could have done better in my

academics.

Even with a first class?

Of course, I had only first degree. I would have furthered my education.

But I don’t look at it as late. I’m still contemplating going back to school to earn my second or even doctoral degree.

If you have 24 hours to live, what would you do?

If I have 24 hours, that would be total submission to the cause of God so that at the end of my life, I will have the blessings and go into paradise.

You are no doubt a fashionable man.

Being a member of the House of Representatives, I am conscious of my dressing. If you come from a background like mine, we are always very conscious of our mode of dressing.

I consciously dress in line with my tradition. Most times I wear traditional attire. I always want to be clean and neat.

How do you see politics?

Politics in the Nigerian context is a very difficult one. The kind of politics we play is never the kind we should play, especially when you look at the way and manner it is being operated. A situation whereby the political culture is always tagged against material values, as being the factor of attraction, then there will always be a problem.

On a final note, can you share with us how you met your wives?

I think this may be too confidential for me to discuss. For me, it’s immoral by my faith (to discuss that). All I can tell you is that I have four wives and I have 22 kids.

26

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚;

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

Driving Mirrors and Blind Spots (Concluded)

U

L-R: Marketing Manager, Bayo Olawoyin; Public Relations/Advert Manager, Buki Ogunnusi; Managing Director, Kunle Ade-Ojo; and Head of Marketing, Mr. Andrew Ajuyah, all of Toyota Nigeria Limited

Nigeria’s Auto Industry to Import Less than 10,000 Vehicles in 2017, Says Ade-Ojo Stories by Bennett Oghifo

N

igeria’s Auto Industry is expected to import and sell between 8,000 and 10,000 new vehicles this year, which is lower than the 15,000 projected at the end of last year.

The Managing Director, Toyota Nigeria Limited, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo gave this figure as their forecast for the Nigerian automobile industry in 2017, at the company’s quarterly briefing in Lagos, yesterday.

The forecast, Ade-Ojo said was based on the industry’s performance in the first quarter of 2017, adding that at the end of the first quarter of 2017, total import figures in the nation’s automobile industry, from the nation’s ports, came to about 350 units compared to about 3,500 units that came in at the same time last year.

He said with this statistics, “imports dropped by about 90% between 2016 and 2017 Q1. In terms of

retail sales we are estimating, based on the information we have, that the auto market did about 2000 vehicles compared to about 5000 vehicles that was done in Q1 of 2015, bringing a drop of over 50% when you look in terms of retail sales.�

Among the retail sales, he said “Toyota has a share of about 22-23% of Q1 sales, generally. Forex continues to be a major challenge, interest rates have gone up.�

He explained that as Dollar is scarce, so also Naira is pretty much scarce and that bank’s interest rates have gone up. “Even though the exchange rate has moderated from a high of about 520 to the Dollar and trading at about N400 to the Dollar, it is still not available.�

Giving the figures for 2016, Kunle said, “In terms of sales, retail sales went from about 32,000 in 2015 to about 18,000 last year. So, the market dropped about 42%.�

He said Toyota Nigeria Limited “went down from about 8,000 in 2015 to slightly over 4,000 in 2016.

So, we had a drop of about 35%.�

Regardless of this, he said, “We grew our share from 24% in 2015 to about 26% in 2016.�

Reviewing imports in the same period, he said, “Imports dropped about 60% from about 18,000 in 2015 to just close to 7,000 in 2016. Of course, in terms of our share of the imports, we had about 43% in 2015 and that dropped to about 38% in 2016.�

He said this was basically as a result of different sub groupings, different manufacturers or auto distributors in the country and that “in addition to that, the scarcity of forex affected businesses last year and that cause a major reduction in importation.�

According to him, the devaluation of the Naira also affected sales last year, saying “whereas in the first half of the year the Naira was about 200 to the Dollar but that by the end of the year it had doubled.

So, prices of vehicles also pretty much doubled and a lot of businesses could not afford to pay for the increase. We at TNL are struggling to survive.

A lot of companies had to retrench their staff last year as a result of the tough economic situation.�

Ford Partners Riders for Health to Improve Healthcare in Nigeria

F

ord Motor Company has delivered two Ford Rangers to Riders for Health (Riders) in Nigeria as part of the motor company’s Project Better World, which provides support to grassroots efforts to drive sustainable community innovation around the globe.

The Ford Rangers will be outfitted with Ford’s data-capturing OpenXC technology, a Ford Smart Mobility project, which collects vehicle performance, environment conditions, and location data that can be used to optimise delivery of healthcare services and supplies.

Ford Project Better World brings together multiple organizations such as Riders in Nigeria, and social entrepreneurs to deliver health education, medication, nutrition and basic services to thousands of underserved people in remote areas. The services will be accessed using enhanced mobility and connectivity technologies from Ford vehicles.

Riders is a non-profit organisation that seeks to make healthcare in rural African communities more accessible by providing motorcycles for medical practitioners to use for transport. For Riders, motorcycles allow for quicker and more affordable transportation to remote areas across hazardous terrain.

The addition of two Rangers to the Riders’ fleet is invaluable to the programme’s operations in Nigeria as the new vehicles will also be used to deliver medical professionals and supplies in rural areas, as well as to support Riders’ fleet of motorcycles. “The Rangers guarantee extra capacity in mobility, allowing us more coverage,� says Ajayi Kayode, Country Director for Riders for Health Nigeria.

2017 Ford Ranger

“We are going to expand our patient monitoring and evaluation activities, saving a lot of money in the process that would otherwise go towards hiring a vehicle,� adds Kayode. “We also hope to generate additional income by leasing the vehicles to humanitarian agencies in between our own schedules.�

The delivery of the Rangers supports a $75,000 investment from the Ford Motor Company Fund,

the philanthropic arm of the Ford Motor Company.

These funds support Riders in Nigeria with the education and training of local mechanics to service the entire Riders fleet of vehicles, which include a wide range of motorcycles and cars. Riders works with the Nigerian Ministry of Health and other health-related partners to manage their healthcare vehicles, maintaining a total fleet of 370 Ford and other vehicles.

Using Your Mirrors sing your driving mirrors regularly and sensibly is vital to safe and defensive driving. When driving, you need to keep alert to what is happening behind you all the time you are driving. As a driver, you should get into the habit of glancing frequently in your interior or rear view mirror to monitor the movement of traffic behind your vehicle, so that you are never caught out by vehicles, tricycles (keke) and motorcycles overtaking you unexpectedly.

It is important to use your mirrors well before your intended driving action. This is necessary to ensure that it is safe to proceed with your manoeuvre and that your actions fit safely with those of other road users. By so doing, you would be getting into the habit of the Mirrors – Signal - Manoeuvre routine.

Avoid staring at the mirrors; several quick glances will allow you to build a picture of the traffic situation all around without distracting you from the road ahead. If your mirrors are correctly adjusted, you will be able to check them with minimal head movement.

Another useful tip is to use your mirrors in pairs, the interior or rear view mirror first and then the appropriate exterior or side/ door mirror; this will give you a wider field of view. You should always use your mirrors in good time and well before: Moving off Signalling Changing direction or lanes Overtaking Turning right or left Slowing down or stopping Increasing your speed (accelerating) Leaving the vehicle (opening your vehicle door) Blind Spots Even with correctly adjusted mirrors, you cannot see everything to the sides. The hidden areas are called ‘blind-spots’. The blind spot is the area that you cannot see either when using normal forward vision or when using your driving mirrors. In some situations, you will need to check your blind-spots in addition to using your mirrors; this is especially important when moving off from the side of the road and during slow speed manoeuvres.

While you are on the move or driving, there are few occasions when it will be necessary to check your blind spots, and these would include: - Before changing lanes.

- Before joining an expressway or a dual carriageway from the slip road.

- Before manoeuvring in situations where traffic is merging from the right or left.

Apart from the above situations, looking right round to check blind spots on the move is unnecessary and dangerous, especially when driving at high speeds. Regular and sensible use of the driving mirrors will keep you up to date with what is happening behind.

In next week’s article, we shall be discussing signaling and the use of signals. For further explanations or clarification on the articles in the Essential Skills of Driving column, consult the author.

Concluded Stephen K. Dieseruvwe

Director General, Delta State Traffic Management Authority (DESTMA) **Driver Trainer and Road Safety Consultant **Email: sdieseruvwe@gmail.com **Tel: +2348167814928

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚;

27

BMW Ends Production of 6 Series Coupe

P

Rolls Royce Dawn

‘Dawn – Inspired by Fashion’ Makes Asian Premiere at Auto Shanghai 2017 Stories by Bennett Oghifo

R

olls-Royce, the world’s leading luxury goods brand, made a stunning statement at the 17th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition (Auto Shanghai2017),recently,withitsBespoke lineup, demonstrating its breadth of Bespoke luxury. On its stand, Rolls-Royce presented ‘Dawn – Inspired by Fashion’, the most social of super-luxury drophead motor cars; the darker and

more edgy Wraith Black Badge and Ghost Black Badge; and an exclusive Bespoke model for the China market, Ghost Sartorial Collection.

Rolls-Royce ‘Dawn – Inspired by Fashion’ ‘Dawn – Inspired by Fashion’, recently revealed at the Geneva Motor Show, made its Asian debut at Auto Shanghai 2017 today. As the spring/summer 2017 Couture Collection of Rolls-Royce, ‘Dawn – Inspired by Fashion’ presents a perfect symphony of Rolls-Royce and Haute Couture. “Rolls-Royce and the world of Haute Couture have long been bound by a common philosophy – tak-

ing the very finest materials and crafting them into the most exquisite and desirable luxury goods as expressions of our clients’ taste and lifestyle,� said Leon Li, Director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, China.

Under the stewardship of Design Director, Giles Taylor, Rolls-Royce Bespoke designers selected the palette of Andalucian White upon which to base three vibrant colours of the soft-top roof – Mugello Red, Cobalto Blue or Mandarin.

The special edition of ‘Dawn – Inspired by Fashion’ that Rolls-Royce presented at Auto Shanghai 2017 is in the Mugello Red colour scheme.

roduction of the BMW 6 Series coupe quietly ended in February.

Shoppers can still get their hands on a 2018 BMW 6 Series Convertible or a 6 Series Gran Coupe, but the two-door model is noticeably absent.

The model itself is still available from dealerships if they happen to have one sitting on the lot, but the German automaker confirmed to Road and Track that production ended in February. It’s unclear if BMW is planning a successor, but spy photographers have caught what appears to be the next-generation 6 Series coupe testing earlier this year.

There have been reports, however, that BMW plans on replacing the 6 Series lineup with the new 8 Series model, which could be the prototypes spy photographers have caught on camera.

Other rumors have suggested the 6 Series could be replaced by a successor to the outgoing 5 Series Gran Turismo.

The only thing we do know is BMW has trademarked the 850, 860, M850 and M8 nameplates and whatever it’s working on is riding on the company’s CLAR platform.

(Source: Road & Track)

Ferrari to Produce LaFerrari Successor in 2021

T

he LaFerrari will remain the crown jewel of Ferraris for at least three years until a proper successor arrives to fulfill its duties. That’s according to the Italian automaker’s Chief Technology Officer, Michael Leiters.

Speaking with Autocar, Leiters said that Ferrari is busy updating its research and development strategy to ensure the LaFerrari’s successor is born from the latest and greatest innovations. He then offered up a timeframe of “three to five years� before we see the fruits of Ferrari’s labour.

I

“The roadmap will be finished in about six months,� he said. “So my guess is that we could be three to five years away from a new limited-edition hypercar. Part of the plan is to ensure that the technology used in the next hypercar can be cascaded through the rest of the range.�

Looking towards the future, turbocharging won’t be a part of it, at least with regards to Ferrari’s V-12 engines. Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne previously called turbocharging a V-12 engine “nuts,� effectively ruling out forced induction for any V-12 powered Ferraris.

Ferrari LaFerrari

What is The Psi of Your Tyres(2)

know i have severally discussed the major causes of tyre blowouts which apparently mostpeoplearenotawareandtheyinclude incorrect tyre inflation, especially underinflation.Under-inflationcausestwothings that lead to tyre blowouts; it causes undue flexing of the tyres as the vehicles speeds along the undulating surface of the road. This causes a separation between the internal materials used in making the tyre and the rubber flesh that holds the materials.

This separation weakens the tyre.it also causes an increase in what is known as rolling resistance (rr) as the vehicle moves. The increased rr generates a tremendousamountofheat.Thisheat,togetherwith the separation of the internal materials of the tyre as stated above, leads to an explosion or blowout.

Incorrect tyre inflation could also cause accidents in other ways. When a tyre is incorrectly inflated (over inflation or under-inflation), it makes a partial contact with the road surface and so does not have a firm grip on the surface. With over-inflation, the edges of the contact patch (the part of the tyre that should be in contact with the road surface) do not touch the ground. While with under-inflation, the crown (the middle portion of the tyre) of the contact patch does not touch the ground. So either way, you have an impartial contact of the tyre on the road surface and so less grip.

This impartial contact could cause accidents in various ways: since the tyres don’t have a firm grip on the road surface, it prolongs the stopping distance

SAFE DRIVING with

JONAS AGWU

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

when the brakes are applied in an emergency and this could make the vehicle crash into the object it wants to avoid. It could also lead to loss of control of the vehicle when speeding. This is more with overinflated tyres.high vehicles like trailers, tankers, etc could lose their balance when they hit a bump, pot hole, or whi;e descending a sharp bend. The situation can be likened to someone with one leg shorter than the other- over-inflation representing the longer leg while under-inflation, the shorter leg. When given a push, such a person can easily loose balance. No wonder these vehicles fall and loose brakes easily when subjected to abnormal road conditions like bumps, potholes and bends.

A study conducted by my friend Ucheagwu Sab a coupleofyearsagorevealedshockingdiscovery-atorile tanker park. Our observation at the tanker park, orile showsthatmostofthesevehicleshaveacombinationof over-inflatedandunder-inflatedtyres.Toourgreatest

surprise, most of those with under-inflation were deliberate. According the drivers, those tyres were weak and if properly inflated, they could burst. This is another dangerous ignorance at work. Using weak tyresisenoughbadnews.Under-inflatingthemmakes matters worse. Under-inflation, as explained above, will actually accelerate their likelihood of bursting.

In fact, if you trace the causes of most accidents, you may discover that incorrect tyre inflation is directly or indirectly implicated.

It is important to note that a tyre that is correctly inflated will handle bad roads, speed and other road conditions far better than one that is not correctly inflated. These will result in drastic reduction in road accidents. Correct tyre pressure is such a vital issue in reduction of road accident that america, as well as some other developed countries, made it law that all vehicles manufactured from 2008 must be equipped with automatic tyre pressure monitoring system (atpms). This device monitors tyre pressure situation every second and alerts the driver through a monitor on the dashboard about any tyre that has incorrect pressure in it so that the driver will take action before it is too late.

LikeItoldyoulastweek,analysisoftyreswithwrong inflation (PSI) showed that 50% private vehicles tyres are both under and over inflated. The analysis also indicatedthat51%ofcommercialvehicleswithwrong inflationareunderinflatedwhile49%areoverinflated.

While Government vehicles tyres checked had 39% under inflated, while 61% were over inflated.These

findings reminds me of confessions made by some vulcaniserslastyearduringthenationwidecampaign.

The first came from 66years old, sunday nze,(not real names)who is a father of three and a devout christian and is so passionate about his profession as a vulcanizer that one would almost mistake him for a top executive in one of the oil companies. Passion, dedication and fear of God has been the cornerstone of my profession since 1981 and i have no regrets doing what provides bread and butter for my family, he says humbly.

Themanwhoisan executiveoftheassociationinport Harcourt,theRiversstatecapital,caughtmyattention during the stakeholders platform put together by the Federal Road Safety Corps in keeping with the ongoing nationwide free vehicle tyre check meant to raise awareness on tyre knowledge and reduce tyre related road traffic crashes.incidentally,the programe was my maiden function as i resumed in port Harcourt as zonal commanding officer in charge of Rivers, Cross Rivers,Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states.Mr Nze, whose spoken english was as fluent as one in a different vocation, stunned me with his confession during the campaign in Port Harcourt where, he told the audience how motorist haveovernightbecomeemergencyvulcanizerswho ignore manufacturers guide for tyre inflation which was discussed here last week to dictate what they presumetobetheappropriateinflationfortheirtyres. some, he confessed insist on inflating the tyre up to between above70.greedy vulcanizers he however noted, would in the name of doing business oblige, not minding the risk or even bother to educate motorists on the dangers of over or under inflation.

28

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

29

30

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

GLOBAL SOCCER

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JUNE 16, 2011

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

John Ogu

Striving for Super Eagles Regular Shirt

13.05.2017

EYES ON TOP-FOUR

PAGE. 31

32

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍŻÍąËœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

John Ogu in action with his Israeli club

Eye on Super Eagles Regular Shirt Ă™Ă’Ă˜ Ă‘Ă&#x;ËŞĂ? Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ?Ăž Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ăž åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? Ă&#x;ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ă‘Ă–Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă™ĂœĂ–ĂŽ Ă&#x;Ăš Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă˜ĂŁĂ‹ Ă“Ă˜ ͺ͸͚͝˛ Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă— ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă&#x;Ăš Ă“Ă˜ ĂœĂ‹Ă¤Ă“Ă– Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœËœ ÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă’ Ă’Ă? ËÚÚĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ Ă™ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă’Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ Ă’Ă? ĂœĂ?ÚÖËĂ?Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜Ă”Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă‘Ă?Ă˜ĂŁĂ“ Ă˜Ă‹Ă¤Ă“ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ–ĂŁ Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă‘Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜ Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ™Ă˜Ë› Ă’Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ—Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂœËœ Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă™Ăž Ă™Ă’Ăœ ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ?

Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă?Ă–Ă“Ě‹ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÚÖËãĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă’Ă“Ă— Ă‹Ă’Ă?Ă‹ĂŽ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ăœ Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă’ Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă&#x;ÞÒ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ăœ ÞÒÓĂ? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœË› Kunle Adewale ĂĄĂœĂ“ĂžĂ?Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă‘Ă&#x;ĚłĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ăž Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂŒĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹Ăœ Ă?Ă’Ă“ĂœĂž Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă—

I

n John Ogu’s two notable games for the national team, he came in as substitute. In his first game against Kenya in 2013, he came in for injured Victor Moses, while in his last game – a friendly against Senegal in London – he replaced injured Ogenyi Onazi.

He has however been handed another opportunity to make the Super Eagles team ahead of the African Cup of Nations qualifying match with South Africa. Ogu has been invited alongside 24 others for the training camp in Corsica and Paris under the watch of Gernot Rohr and has expressed his excitement.

Recalling his last experience with the Super Eagles against Senegal in London after being ignored for long, Ogu said: “I had a great time in the Super Eagles camp in London to be honest, 10 days out with the coaching crew and staff was a great experience. I met all the players and I was super happy at the talents I was in camp with. We have the talents now; we have a president who has big plans for our football, we have the coaches who care about our local league as well.�

Ogu’s first stint with the Super Eagles was in 2013 under Coach Stephen Keshi while he was still playing for Portuguese clubAcademica FC. He had said then, “I feel great and I am happy for the invitation that was extended to me by Stephen Keshi, it’s a great privilege. I expect to give my best to the nation; they should believe in me since I have been invited to camp and I promise to do my best. I was called upon because of my performance and hard work and I’m excited about it.�

His excitement quickly faded as his best was not good enough for the team to the Confederation Cup in Brazil, and had been ignored since then until the arrival of the new Eagles German tactician.

He, however, attributed his absence from the national team to the decision he took while in Portugal. “It started with a friendly in South Africa when the coach asked me to feign injury but I refused. We were African champions and I wanted to be part of the squad, playing for my country is too important for me,� Ogu told Supersport. “When I returned to Portugal everything changed and he stopped playing me. I didn’t get much attention.

I continued working on my game but he never played me. It was only after the team list came out for the World Cup that he (the coach tried to be nice to me) but it was too late. “Now, I am in Israel and playing regularly, enjoying my football, winning league titles and back in the national team. I am very happy,� he said.

On what it is like playing in that league, he said, “football is not so much about the league you play. It is a team sport. It is a function of the quality of the players available to any team. The difference between this and the other top five leagues I can say is about the experience of the players in those top leagues. “Another factor affecting top players coming to Israel is fear of safety. Many players are worried about the situation in the country. The league is probably on the same level financially as Turkey but

a lot of players probably feel safer going to Turkey.�

On how he feels that at Hapoel he is one of the first names on the team sheet but for the Super Eagles, despite his experience, he is not a guaranteed starter, he explained, “I am one of those who will always respect the decisions of the coach. It is a dream to be called up to represent Nigeria and so it is an honour to be in the squad. So when I come to the Super Eagles camp I do not feel I am coming to replace anyone. I just feel I am coming to help my country win matches and qualify for tournaments.�

Ogu’s main target is to see Nigeria book a place to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. “My main target now though is that Nigeria qualifies for the World Cup. Cameroon will have received a big boost with their AFCON win but we have to be determined and keep our heads and we will make it and make Nigerians happy,� he said.

Speaking with THISDAY, former Nigerian international, Tajudeen Disu, said the list was fair in every ramification and thinks the coaching crew had done a good job of it especially on the invitation of some homebased players and some upcoming players like John Ogu. “I think Rohr is starting to trust Ogu after his performance against Senegal in London.

Though, it was far away from a vintage performance but the coach saw in him a bright future and a room for improvement.

It is now left for the player to grab the opportunity at his disposal. “If he does well against South Africa he can eventually commandeer the Eagles midfield shirt. He has the potentials no

doubt, but he needs to compose himself more and prove to the coach that he’s the best option for that position. “Without trying to undermine his Israeli club-Hapoel Be’er Sheva, a regular shirt for the national team could also earn him bigger clubs in Europe and of cause, better pay. Those are some of the advantages that come along with enjoying regular shirt for the national team,� Disu stated.

It therefore remains to be seen how Ogu would grab the opportunity thrown at him now.

G LO B A L S O C C E R ASSISTANT EDITOR

THISDAY ON SATURDAY EDITOR

DEPUTY EDITOR

THISDAY NEWSPAPERS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN

MANAGING DIRECTOR

DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR

33

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚ͽ

City Push for Last Four Berth with Leicester Visit ÓÞÒ ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă“Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă? ÞÓÞÖĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă’Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÙʾĂ?Ă˜Ă’Ă‹Ă— ÙÞĂ?ĂšĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ÑÙÙÎ Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă‹ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂšĂ™ĂžËœ Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă‹ĘľĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă? ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? ÞåÙ ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă—Ă? ÞÙ ÚÓĂ?Ă• ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ÖÙÞĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă˜Ă?âÞ Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜ËŞĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă?Ë› Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ“ĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ÞÙÚ̋Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ę¨Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă’Ě‹ Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ ÓÞã ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ ÓÞã ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? ÞÓÒËÎ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ăœ ÞÒËÞ Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂšĂ? ÞÒĂ? ÓÞÓäĂ?Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ùå ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă?Ăš Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă™Ă–Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă—Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? ÞÙ Ă?ÙÚĂ? åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă˜

M

anchester City are close to achieving UEFA Champions League qualification for next term as they welcome outgoing Premier League champions Leicester City today.

The Foxes' bubble has burst this season after the heroics which led to title celebrations 12 months ago. However, they have recovered their form in recent weeks as the players respond under interim manager Craig Shakespeare.

When Pep Guardiola took his City side to Leicester in December, the champions rose from the ashes of a poor start to the campaign and crushed the Sky Blues.

A 4-2 scoreline only told half of the story as City were dismantled by the Foxes' traditional English game.

Guardiola has chopped and changed his selection since that heavy loss, and the emergence of Gabriel Jesus has given

his manager a fresh and vibrant option in attack.

Sergio Aguero and John Stones face late fitness tests before the game, but Guardiola has minimal new issues to deal with in terms of his selection.

The Foxes will be without captain Wes Morgan, who has a hamstring problem.

Danny Drinkwater, Molla Wague and Nampalys Mendy have been confirmed as missing the fixture, per the same source.

The recent return of Jesus from injury will allow Guardiola the chance to give him minutes before the start of next season, but the Brazil international has adapted quickly to the Premier League.

Squawka Football highlighted the 20-year-old's potential: Jamie Vardy has been widely responsible for Leicester's dramatic improvement after the sacking of former boss Claudio Ranieri, but the England international has suffered a difficult season like many of his

team-mates.

The 30-year-old's statistics have recovered in recent weeks, scoring 11 goals in 31 appearances in the Premier League this term, per Squawka, but the striker has not shown his best form until recently.

Leicester will be relieved to get this season over and done with, and they will be relieved to have avoided relegation when it appeared a real possibility earlier in the season.

The Foxes are now ninth in the table, which represents a remarkable recovery, and a positive result at City will give them a foundation to build again for next season.

Shakespeare has turned the ship around at the King Power Stadium and deserves a chance to begin pre-season as permanent head coach.

Meanwhile, Liverpool visit West Ham, a team they have not beaten in five encounters.

Asked how Liverpool would feel if they missed out on a place in the top four, where they have spent the vast bulk of the season, vice-captain James Milner said: "Sick."

"This is a team and a club that needs to be in the Champions League," he added.

We have got to win the last two and see where that takes us."

Arsenal, three points below City in fifth place after Wednesday's 2-0 win at Southampton, and Manchester United, a point further back in sixth, are both reliant on their rivals dropping points.

Meanwhile, Hull City's final two Premier League games are equivalent to Champions League finals as the club fight to avoid relegation, on-loan defender Andrea Ranocchia has said ahead of Sunday's encounter against Crystal Palace.

Hull's 2-0 loss to Sunderland last week left them one point adrift of safety in 18th position and they travel to 16th-placed

34

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚ͽ

Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă‹

ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă“Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă?

Bayern

15

35

40

Dortmund

15

22

35

M'gladbach Hertha

15 15

8 2

26 26

Wolfsburg

15

7

25

Schalke

15

0

24

Mainz

15

2

23

Leverkusen Hamburger

15 15

-1 -3

21 21

KĂśln

15

-4

20

Ingolstadt

15

-4

20

Darmstadt

15

-4

18

Frankfurt Hannover Bremen Augsburg Stuttgart Hoenheim

15 15 15 15 15 15

-5 -9 -14 -7 -17 -8

14 14 14 13 11 10

Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă‹ ÓâÞĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?

TODAY Mainz Leverkusen Augsburg Schalke Leipzig Freiburg Darmstadt Bremen Wolfsburg

v v v v v v v v v

Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹

Cristiano Ronaldo

Palace, who are four points ahead, before hosting second-placed Tottenham Hotspur in their last game.

"We've got two games to play and they are the equivalent of two Champions League finals," Ranocchia told the club's website.

"They're not normal matches. They are matches of huge importance and we have to look to take six points and work as hard as we possibly can to make that happen."

Swansea City, who are 17th in the table, face Sunderland on Saturday and victory for the Swans would give them a four-point lead over Hull and make

Sunday's game against Palace a must-win encounter for the Tigers.

"We have worked hard in training throughout the week and we will be working as hard as we possibly can to get the result we want and need at Palace on Sunday," Ranocchia said.

"We have to go there and win... it's as simple as that. It's a big game this weekend.

Crystal Palace also need a result themselves, but we have to go there and show that we want it more than they do."

Hull City were promoted to the league from the Championship at the beginning of this season. Middlesbrough and Sunderland have already been relegated.

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

ÙÞ ÒÙÞ�

Romelu Lukaku Harry Kane Alexis Sanchez Diego Costa Sergio Aguero Zlatan Ibrahimovic Dele Alli Eden Hazard Joshua King Jermain Defoe

Frankfurt KÜln Dortmund Hamburger Bayern Ingolstadt Hertha Hoenheim M’gladbach

Chelsea 35 46 84 Tottenham 35 48 77 Liverpool 36 29 70 Man City 35 33 69 Arsenal 35 26 66 Man Utd 35 24 65 Everton 36 19 58 West Brom 35 -4 45 Leicester 35 -9 43 Southampton 35 -7 42 Bournemouth 36 -13 42 West Ham 36 -14 42 Stoke 36 -13 41 Burnley 36 -14 40 Watford 35 -21 40 Crystal Palace 36 -15 38 Swansea 36 -28 35 Hull 36 -33 34 Middlesbrough 36 -22 28 Sunderland 35 -32 24 Premier League Table as at Thursday, May 11

ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă“Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš

14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:30

TODAY

Man City

v

Leicester

12:30

Bournemouth

v

Burnley

15:00

Middlesbrough v

Southampton 15:00

Sunderland

v

Swansea City 15:00

Stoke City

v

Arsenal

17:30

Hull City

12:00 14:15

SUNDAY Crystal Palace v

35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 35

48 47 45 28 19 10 19 8 9 -4 -5 -15 -19 -8 -16 -25 -29 -24 -44 -44

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

85 78 77 70 65 59 56 56 50 46 44 42 41 40 38 33 32 28 20 14

24 21 20 20 18 17 17 15 15 15

West Ham

v

Liverpool

Tottenham

v

Man Utd

Ă‹ Ă“Ă‘Ă‹

Barcelona Madrid Atletico Sevilla Villarreal Bilbao Sociedad Eibar Espanyol AlavĂŠs Malaga Celta Vigo 35 Valencia Las Palmas Real Betis LeganĂŠs Deportivo Sporting Granada Osasuna

36 35 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 -11 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36

74 57 41 18 21 12 6 8 -1 -4 -4 44 -8 -15 -23 -19 -21 -31 -50 -50

84 84 74 69 63 62 62 54 53 51 45 43 39 37 33 32 27 20 19

ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă‹ Ă“Ă‘Ă‹ ÓâÞĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?

TODAY Espanyol

v

Valencia

15:00

Osasuna

v

Granada

17:30

AlavĂŠs

v

Celta Vigo

15:00

Bilbao

v

LeganĂŠs

19:00

Eibar

v

Sporting

19:00

Madrid's Quest for Double Faces Sevilla Test

Las Palmas

v

Barcelona

19:00

Betis

v

AtlĂŠtico

19:00

Madrid

v

Sevilla

19:00

eal Madrid, still crowing from reaching a third Champions League final in four years, will turn their focus to winning their first La Liga title since 2012 when they play Sevilla in their final home game of the season on Sunday.

Real's Champions League triumphs in 2014 and 2016 have distracted from rivals Barcelona's creeping domination in the domestic league, with the Catalans winning five of the last seven titles.

Even Atletico Madrid, who Zinedine Zidane's side saw off for the fourth consecutive year on the European stage on Wednesday with a 4-2 aggregate victory, have won the title more recently than Real.

In a nail-biting end to the campaign, Real and Barcelona are locked on 84 points at the top of the table. While Barca have a superior head-to-head record, Real have

Sociedad

v

Malaga

19:00

Villarreal

v

Deportivo

R

a game in hand, facing Celta Vigo next week before their final fixture against Malaga.

Seven points out of a maximum nine will be enough to end Real's five-year run without winning the domestic title.

"Now we have to go for the league title, we really want to win it, and then we'll have time to think about the final in Cardiff," said Cristiano Ronaldo.

Even though they have a record 32 Liga crowns and 11 European Cups, Real have often struggled to combine their domestic and European campaigns. They last achieved the double in 1958.

Fourth-placed Sevilla look like Real's most difficult opponents in the three remaining games, though Jorge Sampaoli's team are far from the swashbuckling side that ended Real's 40-game unbeaten run in January.

Sevilla have won just three of their last 12 games, stumbling towards fourth place

and the final Champions League berth.

Sampaoli is expected to leave the club in the summer to take up the vacant Argentina job.

Champions Barcelona, meanwhile, make the long journey to the Canary Islands to face a Las Palmas side also struggling for form, having lost seven of their last 10 games, and who the Catalans thrashed 5-0 back in January.

Barca's hopes of a third successive title depend on Real Madrid slipping up, but forward Neymar said his side were only focusing on their games.

"We can't be thinking about Madrid, we can only think about ourselves," the Brazilian said in an interview with BeIN Sports. "If we do what we have to, I think we can become champions. If we don't give everything then we won't win our games", he said.

SUNDAY

Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă? ÓâÞĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?

TODAY Fiorentina Atalanta

v v

Lazio Milan

17:00 19:45

SUNDAY Inter Bologna Cagliari Crotone Palermo Sampdoria

v v v v v v

Sassuolo Pescara Empoli Udinese Genoa Chievo

11:30 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00

Torino Roma

v v

Napoli Juventus

14:00

35

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚ͽ

˺˺

L-R: Bob Olukoya, Olusegun Ajose, Ooni of Ife HRM Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, Larry Ekundayo, Ben Gray

L-R The chairman of NLO, Alhaji Alkali, Managing Director of PIPUL TV, Ben Okoroafor and NFF board, Ibrahim Gusau at the oďŹƒcial signing of the partnership during the week in Lagos

All Eyes on Cheprot as 5th Okpekpe Race Holds Today Duro Ikhazuagbe in Okpekpe All eyes will be on Kenyan road runner Simon Cheprot if he is going to be successful in defending the men’s title of the Okpekpe 10 kilometers International Road Race at the sixth edition which holds today, in Okpekpe near Auchi in Edo State.

Since the inaugural edition of the IAAF bronze label race won by another Kenyan, Moses Masai in 2013, no athlete, male or female has been able to retain the title at the next edition.

Masai ran 29 mins 39 secs to win the inaugural edition but was defeated by his compatriot, Teshome Mekonnen, at the 2014 Okpekpe race. Mekonen set the course record of 28mins 35 seconds that has endured three years.

However, Cheprot has not only vowed to successfully defend his title, he is also aiming to set a new course record by running under Mekonen’s 28.35. How Cheprot hopes to achieve that remains to be seen in just a few hours from now.

As at Wednesday evening, most of the elite casts of top runners in the continent had converged on Lagos en-route Okpekpe. The list include; Kenya’s Edwin Nyandusi

Mokua, Wilson Kiprono Too, Emmanuel Kiprono Kipsang as well as Ethiopian trio of Dawit Fikadu Admasu, Fikadu Haftu and Leul Gebresilasie.

Also in town from Tanzania is Ismail Juma. Turkey's Kaan Kigen Ozbilen and Thierry Ndikuwenayo of Burundi are amongst the elite road runners also aiming to pick the top prize of $15,000 on offer for the winner. As at the last count, a record 15 gold level-running elite athletes had been confirmed to race in both men and women's categories.

Kenya's Stephen Omiso Arita, Tanzania's Ismail Juma and Ethiopia's Netsanet Gudeta are leading the cast of gold-level running elite athletes for the race.

Arita is the 10th fastest 10 kilometres runner so far this year courtesy of the 27:59 seconds he ran to win the XV 10km Villa de Laredo 2017 in Laredo, Spain and is here in Okpekpe not only to become the fourth Kenyan to win the men's title but also erase from history books Mekonnen’s 2014 course record.

The Kenyan will however be up against such quality competitors as Tanzania's Juma who ran 28:58 seconds to place eight at the IAAF Gold Label World's Best 10k in San Juan,

Puerto Rico last February.

Turkey's Kaan Kigen Ozbilen who holds a 27:25 seconds personal best over 10km and placed 17th in the marathon event at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil last year is also in the group of favourites for the title.

Also tipped to be among the competitors for the Okpekpe title and top cash prize are Edwin Nyandusi Mokua of Kenya who holds a 27:38 seconds lifetime best in the event, compatriots Emmanuel Kiprono Kipsang who ran 27:47 seconds to place third in the 10km race in Praha last year and Wilson Kiprono Too whose personal best of 27:39 was achieved way back in 2013 as well as Ethiopia's Fikadu Haftu who also ran a lifetime best of 27:46 seconds last year.

In the women's category, Gudeta who came third at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships will battle compatriot, Alemtsehay Asefa for the title. Asefa ran 32:39 seconds last March at the Oujda international 10km in Morocco and looks to be the woman to beat.

Race’s Director of Organisation, Zakari Amodu told THISDAY during the week that he was thrilled by the quality of the elite athletes in town for the race and predicted

new course records for both the men and women's races. “Almost all the athletes we have registered for the men and the women's race have personal best times far better than the 28 minutes and 35 seconds and 32 minutes and 41 seconds course records set in 2014 by Ethiopian duo of Teshome Mekonnen and Wude Ayalew respectively. “We have an athlete who has broken 28 minutes this year which means we are likely going to see a first sub 28 minutes time for the first time at the Okpekpe race. We are also hoping to get a sub 32 minutes runner come Saturday in the women's category,� said Amodu who assured stakeholders that everything was set for another successful edition of the race.

The Okpekpe International 10km Road Race is powered

by Pamodzi Sports Marketing, leaders in sports marketing and hospitality business in Nigeria.

It is the first and only road race in Nigeria that has been granted full membership of Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) and recognised as one of the prestigious road races in the world and the only race with an IAAF label status in West Africa.

Radio One in Talents Hunt with Children’s Sports Fiesta Foremost Radio station, Radio Nigeria One will on May 20 be holding the second edition of its pet project, Children’s Sport Fiesta with the aim of developing fresh talents for Nigeria’s sports.

At a press briefing to herald the competition, FRCN Director Lagos Operations, Adeyinka Amosun stressed the need for devoting energy to the development of sports building from the foundation, which is majorly catching them young.

According to him, it is no doubt a commendable effort which

would yield lasting dividends in no time.

In his own submission, former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Peter Rufai, expressed confidence in the four-day sporting event, which holds from May 20 to 24 has the potential to develop fresh talents for Nigerian sports. “The Radio One Children’s Sports Fiesta is a place where stars are born. Fresh talents and potentials will definitely be discovered and nurtured for Nigerian sports. The same way I was spotted out at aged 10 in Port Harcourt, and here I am

today. Competitions like this usually produces young talents and I believe this won’t be an exception,� he stated.

Also speaking, General Manager, Radio One, FunkeTreasure Durodola revealed the major intention on what they plan to use the competition to achieve. “At Radio One, we want to celebrate our children in a much more relevant and impactful way by engaging them in sporting activities and using sports to educate, inform and entertain them. If indeed our children are future leaders, their

talents must be harnessed early enough,� she exclaimed.

According to her, “this year, football will remain the main sport activity, we have introduced the 5-Aside female football competition and athletics, so there will be the 100 metres dash and the 4Ă—100 relay race competitions as supplementary sports. A total of thirty-two teams from junior secondary schools and football academies will participate in the 5-Aside football tournament including eight female football teams in the u-15 category.â€?

St. Finbarrs, Jubril Martins Book GTBank Masters Cup Semis St. Finbbars College Akoka and Jubril Martins yesterday at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos, booked their place in the semi-finals in the Season 6 of the GTBank Masters Cup. The Akoka Bombers defeated International School, Lagos 5-0 in a one sided encounter.

In another encounter, Jubril Martins Memorial Grammar School defeated St. Gregory’s College, Obalende, 5-3 via penalty

shootouts after playing 2-2 in regulation time.

Anwar-ul-Islam College, Agege defeated King’s College by a lone goal, while Greensprings School, Lekki got the better of Eko Boys High School, Mushin 4-2 after 1-1 at full time.

In the female category, AnsarUd-Deen Girls High School, Itire walloped Dowen College, Lekki 8-0, while Queens College, Yaba beat International School, Lagos

3-0.

Earlier on Thursday, Greensprings School defeated Methodist Girls High School 2- 0, while Ansar-Ud-Deen College, Isolo defeated Jubril Martins Memorial Grammar School 3-0 via penalty shootouts.

Established in 2012, the GTBank Masters Cup is an annual football competition for first generation and private secondary schools in Lagos

State, to promote camaraderie and foster friendliness amongst competing schools.

Commenting on the competition, Segun Agbaje, the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, said “We are proud to lead this initiative that provides an avenue for students to showcase their talents and passion for the game of football even as they remain committed to their academics.� He further stated.

Principal's Cup: A Great Revival in Delta State May 20 is going to be a special day in Delta State. It is going to mark the consummation of the vision of the Ifeanyi Okowa led Delta State Government to restore the heritage of the Principal's Cup, a platform which gave life to Nigerian football and empowered the youth to great career heights.

The state's Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Chiedu Ebie, described the mission as: "one key area for us is in the improvement of schools sports. To this end, one area we focused on is football, and the Principals Cup. Our focus is long term and our plan is that it will serve as a breeding ground for discovering young footballing talents bearing in mind that Delta State is known for its sporting prowess and achievements".

This resonates succinctly with the cry by veteran David Aigbovo for the return of the competition. In the days of the old Bendel State, the goalkeeper won the competition thrice, consecutively, with New Era College, Benin, went on to join the Flying Eagles in 1981 and the Super Eagles thereafter, also playing club football for Flash Flamingoes, Bendel Insurance and Shooting Stars of Ibadan with which he won the CAF Cup in 1992. He once told The Guardian Newspaper that "for our schools sports system to thrive once again we have to go back to the basics and that means bringing back the culture of the Principals Cup".

In clear professional approach to the task, Ebie and his team determined not to make it a burden on the state, by seeking partnership with the private sector, retaining the services of a sports marketing firm, Hideaplux Limited, and, together, secured the sponsorship and partnership of Zenith Bank by which the competition is now titled “Zenith Bank Delta Principals Cup�.

The revival kicked off in March with local government preliminaries where the winners, 19 public and six private schools, emerged from the zonal qualifiers which took place from May 4-7. The quarter finals began last Monday May 8 while the semis are equally scheduled for May 16 to set the stage for the grand occasion on May 20 at the recently commissioned Ozoro Polytechnic Stadium, a venue which now is a metaphor for the power of the Okowa government to achieve possibilities even in difficult times.

The rekindled experience of the Principals Cup brings back glorious memories of life in the old Midwest, later Bendel, and now Edo and Delta States. Memories of great footballers who effectively combined education and sports to become national heroes, with many of them called into the Bendel Academicals and then to the national teams right from their secondary schools. Names like the Afejukus, Sam Okpodu, Ndubuisi Okosieme, Thompson Usiyen, late Stephen Keshi, Paul Okoku, Bright Omokaro, Franklyn Howard, Austin Eguavoen, Humphrey Edobor, Friday Elahor, Clement Temile, Edema Fuludu, late Osaro Obobaifor, the list is endless. They showed us the greatness in youth and the huge potentials of schools sport.

No doubt, sports throws up new champions, but those who lived the tradition will be excited with the return of Hussey College, Warri, and Urhobo College, Effurun, to the Zenith Bank Delta Principals Cup. Those schools, alongside Sapele Technical College, Government College Ughelli, Ika Grammar School, St Patrick's College, Asaba, Anglican Grammar School, Ubuluku, and others bore the flag of the Delta zone in contest against schools like New Era College, Western Boys High School, Edokpolor Grammar School, Eghosa Grammar School, Immaculate Conception College (ICC) and Edo College on the Benin axis.

The 1975 finals of the competition was especially a tell-tale.

Benin City and Warri Township were virtually shut down when Hussey College stormed the Ogbe Stadium to defeat Eghosa Grammar School 1-0 in the final. The excitement reverberated not only across Bendel as they awaited their champion but even to Lagos area as the likes of Keshi, Henry Nwosu, Okoku looked out from the windows of St. Finbars College and St. Gregory’s College for their possible opponent in the national finals.

The following year, Hussey College met their Waterloo in the hands of New Era College which paraded Bright Omokaro, Humphrey Edobor and others who progressed to become big names for New Nigeria Bank (NNB), the Flying Eagles and the Super Eagles. Algerian national team icon, Rabar Madger, once confessed that, of all defenders in Africa, he dreaded Bright Omokaro the most.

There was Prince Oritsuwa Afejuku. He started at Okpe Grammar School, Sapele, and proceeded to Edo Grammar School in 1977 to win not only the state but also the National finals of the Principals Cup. He was instantly invited into the Bendel State Academicals and scored the two goals in Academicals 2-3 defeat to Flying Eagles in a 1978 friendly to prepare the national youth team for an international competition. Still in secondary school, he was invited to Bendel Insurance where his performance earned him call up to the Flying Eagles in 1978 to team up with Stephen Keshi and other schoolboys.

36

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͝, 2017

BUSINESS PEOPLE

Editor: Vincent Obia email: vincent.obia@thisdaylive.com Tel: 08054681757

Fidelis Anosike

The New, Revived Daily Times is Going to be News From the Eyes of History Image Identity Fedelis Anosike, the Chief Executive of the Daily Times Group, is a stoic investor, who, as the saying goes, has gone through the school of hard knocks. There are a lot of things that did not cross his mind when he decided to buy the beloved ailing Daily Times of Nigeria. His books were hundred per cent, which was the reason the courts didn’t hold him down. He knows his business and the ethics that go with it. Anosike has steadied the ship and is bent to steer Daily Times straight to the top of the newspaper business in Nigeria.

He discusses his trials, travails and plans for Daily Times with Onyebuchi Ezeigbo in this interview...

W

hat milestone is worth celebrating since you took over the famed Daily Times of Nigeria?

Next month, June 1st to be precise, it would be 91 years when Daily Times was founded by Sir Demola Alakija and a group of other people. For us, 91 is a critical milestone because it is a countdown to our centenary which will be in nine years’ time. So, I think it is time for us to show the refreshed, the rebranded and the restructured spirit of Daily Times which is very resurgent over the years, and that is basically what we are trying to do. This is the first of the new Daily Times awards, drawing power from the legacies of Daily Times which is a heritage institution in Nigeria not just the media.

So what should we expect?

For us, on that day, between 3p.m and 6p.m, we will be mounting an exhibition at the International Conference Centre because it is a national event so we needed a national venue that is unifying. We are going to have an exhibition titled, ‘Nigeria through the Times.’ How Daily Times has captured Nigeria, if you can remember the stories of the civil war, the likes of those editorials that Daily Times had, the Sunday Times of Jose Ajiboye and co. So, you begin to see what Nigeria used to be; the decisions of the founding fathers through the sands of time. That is what we are going to do first and the plan is to get students from Law School, secondary schools, primary schools to come and appreciate our efforts because this is a very topical issue for us, which is history. In Nigerian schools today, Nigeria’s history isn’t mandatory, but then, go to private schools, public schools, they are teaching history of Mali, Spain, UK and so on but the history of Nigeria is on the back burner. So, out of nothing comes nothing. If we don’t know where we are coming from, we will not know where we are going. For us, the new, revived Daily Times will create a niche on history education and so the content for us is not just going to be news, news, news, it is going to be news from the eyes of history and then match it with education. You have history to educate and build a better nation for tomorrow.

There is this concern about proliferation of media awards, what are the criteria for giving the Daily Times awards?

Let me tell you there is nothing like proliferation of awards; it is for 180 million people and, I think at times, as Nigerians, we think in a very minute way and this is because we have lost confidence in ourselves. We have divisions, we have vested interests, so if you see this person winning an award, the next thing people would say is ‘why is it this person’. Daily Times has its own criteria, ethos, own focus and vision, so when you are giving an award, it ought to be built around what Daily Times represents. It is not a national award, it isn’t a merit award. We are going to have an award from the prism of Daily Times. So, people can ask questions to know what our criteria for the award are, because when you ask those questions it makes you appreciate

Anosike

those we have given the award to. It is not everyone in the media that lies to you, no!

Daily Times is a reputable organisation over the past 91 years. We have a legacy, we have founding fathers. I am not the founder of Daily Times, I am just a custodian today.

Someone was a custodian 10 years, 20 years ago, so it is a continuous process. So, when we are giving an award, what we do is to follow the ethos of the founding fathers. The last time Daily Times gave an award was 20 years ago. There is nothing like proliferation of awards. We are using this opportunity to create an award system that aligns with the ethos of Daily Times so it is not a political award. That is why you have a governance award; that is why you have a man of the decade and woman of the decade awards.

We are trying to look at what these people have done. Award is an inspiration, it is not an exam. If someone gets to be a governor, that’s story already and it is inspiring. If you say someone isn’t paying salaries today, that don’t mean that he isn’t working. It doesn’t mean it is a yardstick for validation because you don’t understand what the person is trying to do but it is right for you to ask questions because that is what the media is all about. People must interrogate anything you do. Now interrogation for me is very critical and interrogation for us at Daily Times shows interest. If it is not Daily Times and you give x, y, z award and people complain, who cares? So, each time I see people question anybody, any media company that is giving awards, it makes me happy because that means that the media is being taken seriously. When THISDAY was doing awards, you can recall how many people

were inspired. If you track those things and know the real impact of what THISDAY has done in Nigeria today, you will be amazed that that is why Nduka Obaigbena is getting lifetime performance award. So, you can never have proliferation of awards. We are 180 million people, all the media companies put together, how many awards do they give in one year?

Daily Times can be considered as a leader in its own right, but looking back, can you say that the new management has been doing something to bring it back to expectations?

We have done a fantastic job; we have done very solid work in Daily Times. When you take over an old house for instance, what do you do? You do what they call thorough position assessment to redesign the house to suit the modern means and remember, when you take over a company such as this (we took over this company 12 years ago) you are taking over a legacy enterprise and when you take over a legacy enterprise what you do is you dimension that legacy enterprise to the modern-day environment which is what we call contest.

So, it is not only that you are waking up the company, you are also going to try to position it to compete in the new contest. Daily Times was number one before, it used to print 350,000 copies a day, we used 72 reels of newsprint a day and Sunday times was 500,000 but at that time guess what! How many Nigerians were there? There were no diverseness of technology, the literacy level wasn’t as it is today, purchasing power parity wasn’t that strong but today it is a

different environment; the media means so many things. News is free so what we build on now is content so you have to dimension this company and understand what you have purchased and then put it as against what you want to build to be able to have the sustainability factor that can create value for the shareholders, the staff and the country because when shareholders invest their money, they have to pay the staff and the staff produce value for the customers and the customers pay for the products and the company makes money and pays its taxes. So, it is a 360 degrees circle, it doesn’t happen in one day so the major thing is to understand what you need to do and understand the competence and the resources to be able to do it. So, it is not a flash to the past where you think Daily Times was number one. What is number one, what doesn’t number one mean?

Number one in circulation or number one in return on investment or number one in turnover or so on and so forth. But the most important thing is that we as business people know that no businessman goes into a business not to make money. No business can survive without being run effectively, no business can survive without paying salaries; none! But you have to rebuild the business and give it the right foundations for it to compete and for it to compete, you need the people and when you have the people you need the processes and the system. So business is a science but it takes time, that is why we are still here 12 years after and it isn’t something you do in a second. So we have done what we were supposed to do and we are doing the

37

MAY 13, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

BUSINESS PEOPLE We are Very Much Equipped to Lead the Turnaround of Daily Times and Make it Number One in no Time critical thing we are supposed to do and we will keep doing it and we will keep pushing it. So, I can tell you whether you like us or not, and it doesn’t matter where you look at it from, just remember that the reason you privatised it was that when government is running business, it is the business of everybody. There is no focus on creating that sustainability factor, which at the top of it, is profit. For profit to be made by the private owner, they must invest their time to turn it around and the society benefits from it. That is capitalism.

What was the state of Daily Times at the time you took over?

Daily Times was in a comatose state. I can show you the documents; Daily Times had assets of N1.9 billion and liabilities of N2.2 billion. That means the net value was minus. Daily Times was printing 1000 copies a week, with staff strength of close to 700.

Daily Times didn’t have a corporate headquarters, it was inside a warehouse. There was not one printing equipment that was working and no vehicle was working at the time we bought it. But because Daily Times is such a big brand when it was booming, that has stuck in the people’s minds and that is why we bought it. It is the emotion we bought into but when you talk about it operationally, it was dead. But if you put in new capital into a company that has a strong brand value and it is relevant, you will wake it up and it will begin to compete. While you are doing this, other companies won’t be waiting for you, do you understand? They still have the advantage, it is like a relay race. They are still running ahead of you but the only reason why you can still compete is that you have that value; that is why when they hear Daily Times, everybody wants to come because of that brand and that name which used to be a well-known media company in Africa. That is what we bought into and that is what we have to keep alive to be able to help us to compete and win.

Have you got over the legal bottlenecks or are you still on it?

When we bought it, Daily Times on the book had 150 litigations and were part of the liabilities we bought. So legal issues isn’t an issue; that is why it is legal. It is not as if court is a negative thing, it’s just because we live in a system where people see court or the justice system as negative but is not.

If I have disagreement with you, we are meant to go to the justice system to be able to settle it. So, it is not a negative thing to have legal issues. We bought Daily times fair and square; Folio Communications Limited, it wasn’t a consortium. During the privatisation, I led the acquisition and the law says Folio communications as core and strategic investors would take over the company and manage. So we are in charge.

Daily Times ownership has never been in contention, there is a white paper and there is a gazette on it. We live in a society and we cannot be a product of the American society when we are Nigerians. So, if you talk about why Nigeria is not progressing, these are cumulative issues. So, at the end of the day that is the culture. The culture that we have now is that anything goes.

For instance, if you see someone today, he is the president of Nigeria, for instance, you say yes, he is not doing anything, or that he doesn’t have a certificate. That is the society we are in, based on the debasement of the normal culture that we used to know when we were growing up. So, that is the situation we are in right now. I don’t expect to be out of it. It is something that is evolving as a holistic content of everybody. Whatever I am suffering in Daily Times since I acquired it, as a good businessman, I am supposed to have envisaged. That is where planning comes in. If you are buying legacy assets, you should know you have litigations and so on and so forth because it hasn’t been performing over the years. Once you start giving it life, people will start coming and they will say, ‘I have this and that.’ But if it is dead, it is dead. It is only a man that is alive that people want to say oh you owe me this or that but if the company is dead it is dead. So, when you see these legal issues coming up, it is a sign that Daily Times is still Daily Times because that means there is an interest, you don’t contest something that is dead, you contest something that is alive.

that have money in banks, doing nothing there, and they are looking for where it will create returns. So, every kobo that you are putting, even your private money that you earned; pension, you want returns. That is why people do pension and they put it in the bank and when they retire, they start getting the money. So, every business must be founded on one of the basic business principles. We are creating that basic business principle, process and so on which will lead to hiring the right people.

Ilegbodu

That is why Nigerians are still interested in Nigeria because it is still a viable state.

I know you had a vision for acquiring Daily Times. Beyond what Daily Times stood for, what is this vision you want to achieve?

I am a graphic artist by profession. My vision is to build the most reputable media company in Africa. A global, most valuable media company out of Africa; so you need a strong brand name as a platform to start.

I am here to build a content-based company and so I have the depth from Daily Times in terms of history to be able to create a multimedia company; that is my vision.

That vision hasn’t diluted in one day, it has even been re-enforced based on the resources and the goodwill of the founding fathers of Daily Times, which have been the most supporting beacon for me.

Can you really say that the media has benefited under this democratic setting; has the media been able to live up to expectations and in what ways can they improve?

You can’t compare democracy and military regimes, it is about liberty. There is no comparison so that question is out. The issue of democracy influencing the media, of course, that is why you can talk about social media. Do you know how many people have been empowered with the fact that they can go on these platforms and say what they want and feel; that is free press.

So, the media has also been democratised, and for once there is liberty. You see, God gave us life without a bargain, so any concept whether in governance or business that gives people that freedom to be themselves, that is when you see creativity at work. That is when you see value created.

You can’t put any human in the box because the life that was given to you was given to you freely so it is about free press. Now, part of the things that you see that Nigeria isn’t making good progress in is because of the abuse of that free press over time by the military. That is what we are suffering today; otherwise why would Daily Times be where it is today? In 1975, 1980 that was when Daily Times was in its slumber, so that is what happened, it was the military that took it over and eroded 30 years of the life of the people that have worked so hard. So, when we are talking about a problem, we have to think about how did it come and for me it pains me when I sit down with a Chief Oshoba, Tony Momoh in years and years of an enterprise and one day somebody comes in and takes it over and cannibalises it. That is the major issue that you had, all those abridgment of free press that created all these distortions because if the politicians

know that everything they do is going to be opened, they are going to be questioned and there is going to be a free press, what do you think they are going to do? They will be more responsible. So the media must be allowed to flourish because that is the only way the society is going to be built.

So far, you have painted a picture of the media industry as if there were no real challenges but we do know that we have challenges threatening the survival of the media even your own organisation.

Aren’t there challenges in terms of funding and you just spoke about intellectual capacity, are you finding it easy with funding and staffing?

Business is science. When you go to university and you get a business degree which is BSc; what is science? Invention plus validation, there is no challenge in business, the challenge you have is based on the resources you have available to you.

If you want to build a house and you don’t have money what do you do? You work hard, you get the money, pay a contractor to build the house for you. If you are a media company for instance, the point is within the context of Nigeria, do you need news, do you need content, do you need media? The answer will always remain yes.

As long as there is any human being on the planet, they need news to survive, you need information to grow, you need information to develop new medical inventions and so on. That means there is need for it and once there is need what it means is that if you want to play in that sector, you have to get the resources to start, that is why you have the capital market. There are people whose business is to give money for people to develop their ideas either as private entities or venture capital or as a loan or equity. So if you are playing in any business and you want to be a successful businessman you first of all have to understand the rudiments of business. That is why my brother, not all billionaires in the world are of the same age; some are 23, some 70, others 80 because not only that all fingers are not equal but everybody has their time and season when they get that critical resource that they need to turn around their business. In my organisation, I understand the challenges I have today. For you, it looks like a challenge but for me, I am firm. If you have the clear understanding of the business, then you are fine. You know where you are and where you belong, you know the amount of equity you have. If you can’t convince your partners to put more money, that means you are failing in your duties to convince them. If you convince them, then they will put in more money. There are people

People believe that some media owners have been cornered, or politicians have huge influence on some of them to the extent that sometimes, they derail from that noble principle of always sticking by the truth. Is Daily Times one of such?

No, Daily Times will never be, but let me digress a little bit; media is business. The owners of media business invested their money in the business, they have vested interests. Some of them can decide that they are charity organisations and they want to be just an advocate, but then, how do you find the money to pay staff? If you go to the US where everyone copies modern democracy from, listen to FOX news today and the same news; listen to it on CNN and tell me if you can match them; it is not so, because there are different owners, there are different shareholders, they belong to different divides. Is there only one party in Nigeria? You have PDP, you have APC. If Buhari finds chibok girls that are missing, PDP will say no, is it so? So, this is human nature, everybody has to see things from their own perspective and their angle and the publisher of the paper is the soul of that paper, the guardian and vision of that paper.

So, if he wants to lead anywhere, he knows that if he doesn’t write, the customers will not buy that paper, and he is the one that loses. If he decides to align with politicians or political party, then that means it has become a department of that political party, he becomes an affiliate. This is why you see that the online is good because of democratisation. There is no business you do that you don’t need the numbers, the numbers can only be got by speaking the truth. You have to speak to the truth, you have to present facts. If you say you are a newspaper and you publish the truth, then the people will buy into what you are doing.

Can we know a little about your background and I am sure you won’t mind also telling us about your family and so on?

Firstly, my family, I have two kids but I don’t like talking about my family because if you are in the media, you have to leave your family out of it; everybody is my family. Secondly, I have the capacity, I understand the business and I understand Nigeria very well. I lived all my life going to school here, I am a graphic artist because the major thing in media is presentation; it’s the way you see what I present. It has an overriding impact on you and this is what I studied in university. In business, I have been to the best schools I am an alumnus of Harvard business school, so I understand business. I am also an alumnus of life business school because I have been through life. Yes, I might be young I might have acquired it when I was 36 but I know before I entered the university, I had already lost my dad so I had to paint portrait to pay my school fees in university of Benin. I am also very lucky when it comes to having opportunities because not everyone has opportunity. It doesn’t matter the resources you have, it is opportunity which sometimes is a special grace from God. But when you have that grace what do you do with it? You also need to have another grace to be equipped to do the right thing. So, we are very much equipped to lead the turnaround of Daily Times and make it number one in no time, that is why I don’t see all these challenges whether it is legal or not, there are no challenges. Just like you hire an accountant to check your coming and going in your balance sheet; once you know that very well, you are happy and that is what you call control. In America, it is called control, they don’t call it accounting. Once you understand what you are doing, you have no need to fear; I and my team understand it definitely. It might seem as if we aren’t doing anything, but watch and see.

38

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͯͱ˜ ͺ͸͹Ϳ

ͯͱ˜ ͺ͸͹Ϳ ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

39

40

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͝, 2017

BUSINESS PEOPLE Roy Ilegbodu

How We Saved Arik from Crashing Exactly two months after he assumed oďŹƒce as the Chief Executive OďŹƒcer of Arik Air, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, in this interview, told Obinna Chima, about eorts made by his team to reposition the ailing airline. Ilegbodu also spoke about the challenges facing the aviation sector

C

an we have an overview of what you have done since you took over the management of Arik Air? When we started on the 9th of February, we looked at what was on the ground at Arik. What we met was quite interesting. For an airline that has about 30 aircraft in its book, only about 10 were functional. If you look at that alone, that tells you there is a problem in the system.

So, one would say that AMCON’s intervention was very timely. That is because if you look at some of the things that were on the ground, you can easily deduce that the company would have folded up in a couple of weeks, or maybe months. There were no spare parts in the store to support the operations and you could see attrition in terms of aircraft fleets. There were huge bills left unpaid when we came on board which we had to address in order to rebuild confidence. This business is mainly driven by credit and trust. Once you try to breach that trust, then you lose all those credit facilities. Arik had reached that stage where a lot of creditors were refusing to do business with it. Now, lots of flights were delayed and customer confidence was very low. It was totally unreliable at that stage.

Also, by the time we started looking at the financial records, in addition to what AMCON was being owed, we noticed that they were also exposed to third-party creditors. Based on that, KPMG was called in to carry out a thorough audit of Arik’s books and that process is on-going. More revelations keep coming up daily. So, the closure of that audit is something we are looking forward to, so that it would give us a true position of where the company is and also enable the government to decide on what to do. What we have done in the past two months was to take charge of operations. Our strategy was quite simple: When you have a company that is in distress like this, what you want to do firstly is to try to regain control. You slow things down deliberately because this is an industry where safety is very critical. International flights were suspended and also the number of airplanes used reduced. That was because if you don’t have spare parts in the store, there is no way you are going to support your operations. So, we had to go back and plan to slowly bring the airline out of its bad situation. That has taken us quite a while to achieve because the processes in the industry are well regulated. A lot of people think that in three or four months, you can turn around an airline. Everything is well guided because you have to make sure all the parts of the business are in order. Everything is done systematically and AMCON has supported us very well. We have been able to source spare parts and as I speak we have spare parts arriving on a daily basis. As of today, we operate a fleet of about eight aircraft, but by mid-May, we would have 14 airplanes in service and we are going to maintain that number for a while. You also don’t want to grow the operations so rapidly because it has its own setback. Don’t forget also that quite a lot of the airplanes that we met on the ground had been cannibalised. That is, what they were doing was to take spare parts from those airplanes in the past to try to keep the few flying planes operational. When you do that, you are actually degrading the status of all the airplanes and the cost of bringing an airplane that has been cannibalised back to service is so enormous. So, in a nutshell, we have managed to stabilise operations and the unpaid staff have been paid. Our passenger number has gone up considerably. We recently lifted over 3,000 passengers a day. But decision has to be made on how to proceed in the future.

The Minister of Finance recently

Ilegbodu

disclosed that some private investors are considering investing in the airline. How do you see that?

I won’t speak for the minister, but I would speak for myself. There is nothing wrong with this type of intervention. If you look internationally, it happens always.

Airlines like United Airlines also had interventions at some point. It is to make the industry move forward. In the case of Arik, I actually encourage that investors, be it foreign or local should be sought to see how the airline can move forward. But there must be an exit plan. So, along that line, I am going to support any move to seek investors to come to the aid of the company. More so, we are talking about debt and those debt needs to be addressed.

Now, I am not speaking for Arik alone, but the entire industry. One thing to note is that Nigeria has the potential to produce the largest airline in Africa, based on the fact that this is where the population is in Africa. If you look around the world, you would see that industry like this are actually stimulated because of population. So, when we look at the population of Nigeria, you just need someone that has the passion to come in. It is a long-term business, but what we see here is that we tend to look at it as a medium-term business. It is a long-term business that requires at least 10 years of planning. What I am saying in effect is that what the Minister of Finance has said is in line with what should happen. The industry is highly capital intensive and if you are going to seek investors, they should be competent and have the financial muscle to support what they want to embark on.

With the level of rot you met in Arik, how were you able to accomplish much within two months that you took over?

Like I said, there are still a lot to be done.

What we did was to stabilise operations which means that the airline would survive.

But then, there is a need for long-term planning. The airplanes on the ground need attention. There is a potential for the airline to grow.

Can we have an update of how much AMCON injected into the airline since you took over and what has happened to your obligations that are due with the local banks?

AMCON indeed has been very supportive with funds and that is why we are still here today. I would say that in the first couple of weeks that we took over,

So, one would say that AMCON’s intervention was very timely. That is because if you look at some of the things that were on the ground, you can easily deduce that the company would have folded up in a couple of weeks, or maybe months. There were no spare parts in the store to support the operations and you could see attrition in terms of aircraft fleets. There were huge bills left unpaid when we came on board which we had to address in order to rebuild confidence. This business is mainly driven by credit and trust. Once you try to breach that trust, then you lose all those credit facilities. Arik had reached that stage where a lot of creditors were refusing to do business with it.

AMCON injected approximately N1.5 billion. Basically, that has sustained us comfortably. Now, don’t forget that some of those airplanes were financed by other groups. So, as an investor, I won’t want to spend money on airplanes belonging to other people. So, some of these things have to be factored into what we do daily. In terms of outstanding obligations, discussions are on going. We engage with the banks on a daily basis and other creditors. As I speak, the receiver manager is in the United Kingdom and the intention of the trip is to engage with some of the foreign creditors.

So, basically, we are engaging with them because the number of creditors is large.

What we have done also is to approach it in a systematic manner. So, the bigger your bills, the more urgently we treat it.

What timeline have you set for restructuring of the airline?

One of the major things we would be depending on will be the report from KPMG. So, that report would set the tone for how we proceed and how far we will go. I think a KPMG report would be internationally acceptable. So, anyone coming to invest their money would like to see the report. So, there is a timeline, but because of the way the demands have been coming in, we have to adjust that severally. When I came in, I didn’t expect to see the level of indebtedness that we are seeing. Almost on a daily basis, things keep showing up in terms of demand from creditors.

Another area we want you to clarify is the issue of refund for tickets. To what extend have you been able to settle that?

We have been addressing that on a daily basis. We have actually made a lot of refunds. I would say an average of between N60 million and N75 million is paid out weekly as refunds. That is substantial.

Considering that we are also injecting funds into our operations. Ideally, one would have decided not to even pay the refunds. But

we thought through the whole situation and agreed to refund. This is because these are the same set of passengers we want to attract. The best we can do is to manage our relationship with passengers. Sometimes, we offer them deals that would help to keep them calm. Also, what we have been doing is to put some of the international passengers on third-party flights. We have had quite a few passengers fly on Medview to London.

You used to be number one; do you think you are still the market leader?

I would say we are back to being number one. In terms of movement of passengers, I will say we are back to being number one and in a couple of weeks, we would emphasise that in the market.

When will you resume international flights?

We don’t intend to resume international flights for now. There are still quite a lot of things to be sorted out. Arik was owed a group called Europe Control about ₏1 million. So before you go into operations, you want to make sure all these things have been sorted out. Now, you don’t want to rush back into certain operations.

It introduces some elements of complexity which if you don’t address at the beginning; you may run into some hitches along the way. An airline that follows best practice would not resume internaqtional flights like that. They are always allowed 90 days before they return to a service that they had withdrawn from. That allows you to carry out all due diligence before you return to that flight service. Also, if we are trying to win back customer confidence, we have to be sure that once we commence that flight, we should be sure of what we are going into.

What is your take on a plan to set up a national carrier and do you think Arik can be the backbone for that project?

On the issue of a national carrier, this is my personal opinion. I don’t think it is advisable for the issue of Arik to be mixed up with that. The issue of Arik should be treated separately. I do believe that the ministry has its plan and that is my opinion.

What do you think are some challenges in the industry?

There are lots of challenges in the industry and these challenges are global.

So, before you decide to embark on a business like this, you must have done your business plan. Ideally, a business plan should show you if a business is going to be viable or not. Based on the results of the business plan, the investor should decide if he wants to go ahead or not. I have been in the industry for almost 40 years and i don’t think that a lot of people started with a business plan when they came into this industry and that is where their failure starts. Yes, locally we face challenges in terms of the fees we pay and the charges.

They are quite huge and perhaps higher in this region, compared to other regions. But, that is not to say we can’t manage those issues. Another big issue all the airlines face is foreign exchange challenge. It is not about the rate, but the stability of the foreign exchange. This is because once you plan, you want to plan with numbers and that plan needs to be long-term. Let’s say, for example, you planned to buy a litre of fuel at N120, last year, but now it is N240. So, if you had a 10-year business plan, your plan would be changed completely. So, what I learnt in my early days at Aero Contractors was to tie my cost to the dollars. One of the things they taught us to do then was to base all our business plans on dollars. That model was what helped Aero to remain in business for almost 50 years.

MAY 13, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

41

FASHION FILE

Ghanaian Label AfroModTrends Presents

‘The African Gatsby’

42

FASHION FILE

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 13, 2017

By Azuka Ogujiuba azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

Ghanaian Label AfroModTrends Presents

Meet ‘The African Gatsby’ – the dazzling new collection by Ghanaian label AfroModTrends following a successful South African debut at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Cape Town recently.

Following six versatile collections since the label’s inception in 2011 is AfroMod’s latest collection ‘The Great Gatsby’ inspired by the of a Gatsby party in all its glamour and splendour set in the 1920’s, with a modern African twist.

“The 1920s was a time of great change in the world of fashion for women, with the introduction of new styles and perspectives. This era redefined womanhood and bridged the gap between wealthy and working class women,” Ami Yomekpe, architect and the Creative Director of Afromod Trends, explains.

Ami further states that here vision with this collection is to showcase a glamourous African woman in luxurious Afro-fusion garments inspired by the Great Gatsby. With African inspired fabrics from Printex Limited as well as fur, feather, fringing and sequins in a nod to the era, this collection displays the silhouette of the feminine form with luxurious attention to detail. It is also a first for us in the sense of a truly luxury collection from a predominantly ready-to-wear brand.”

The collection comes only days after the label’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Cape Town showcase which was opened by Ghanaian top model Victoria Michaels and featured print fabric from Printex Limited, a Ghanaian textile company and headpieces by Cheerybridal, a budding Ghanaian millinery.

The South African debut, Ami believes, is a crucial milestone for the label and a great platform to introduce the brand to the South African market.

“After six years of establishing the brand in the Ghanaian market, I feel now is the time to explore new markets across Africa and I can’t think of a better platform than MBFWCT. It has been an exciting few weeks preparing for our debut here and both the label and our collection have been received well by the South African audience,” the designer said following her show at the Salt River Studios on Friday, 7 April.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Cape Town is the latest runway show under Ami’s fashionable belt. Having built one of Ghana’s most celebrated fashion labels, she has previously showcased at fashion shows at home and internationally, most notably at Nairobi Fashion Week, Glitz Africa Fashion Week, Accra 2014, Oxford Africa Gala Dinner, United Kingdom (2015) Ami fell in love with all things fashionable at an early age whilst watching Style with Elsa Klensch on CNN back in 1980, fascinated with fashion from all over the world, interviews with designers, all-access backstage passes and the models on international runways.

Ami is also a versatile entrepreneur, whose business insight was recognised in 2016 by the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) when she emerged as one of the winners to claim $5000 seed funding prize after successfully completing a twelve-week start-up enterprise toolkit online training, submitting three progressive narrative reports, attending the Tony Elumelu entrepreneurship forum and submitting a viable business plan.

Ami not only launched the label’s own retail space in 2013 in Accra’s bustling shopping district, Osu, often a luxury for most brands in Ghana, she set up the Fashion for Change Africa Foundation to address social challenges and empower the youth through fashionable projects that impact communities positively.

The designer aims to follow up with a resort collection shortly after her South African debut. The designer’s goal is to make AfroMod the ultimate brand in ready-to-wear Afro-fusion label for the contemporary, fashion-conscious, Afro-centric woman and The African Gatsby is the latest salvo in the designer’s bid to evolve into markets beyond her native Ghana.

Lookbook image credits: Photography: Guido Schwarz Model: Gabriela Hair: Glamyoureux Makeup: Aisha Styling: Ami Yomekpe

43

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ 2017

MARKET PLACE with Omolabake Fashogbon... ͸΀͸͝͝͞ͺ͚͸͸Î

L-R: Executive Secretary, Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria,ATCON, Mr Ajibola Olude; President, ATCON, Mr Olusola Teniola ; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Swift Networks Limited, Mr Charles Anudu ; 1st Vice President, ATCON, Engr. Tony Nwosu and Chief Operating OďŹƒcer, Swift Network Limited, Mr Chuma Okoye, during ATCON ‘ s courtesy visit to Swift Network Limited during the week

L-R: Guest Speaker, Mr. Abiola Popoola; Head of Service, Lagos State Public Service, Mr. Olabowale Ademoa; President/Chairman, Council of Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, (CIPM), Mr. Udom Inoyo; Registrar/ CEO CIPM, Mr. Sunday Adeyemi; and Vice President, CIPM, Mr. Olawale Adediran, at the 25th individual Induction Ceremony of Lagos State Admin/HR Cadre in Lagos recently

Fero Mobile Begins Nationwide Products Display

Mobile phone makers, Fero Mobile, has kickedoff an activation campaign to push for a stronger share in the Nigerian information communication technology, market.

The campaign which will last one month is to ensure easy accessibility of their range of products to customers across the country.

According to the company, products would be exhibited in ICT markets, shopping complexes and tertiary institutions across the South-West, South-East and South-South parts of the country in a month-long road show.

Speaking in one of the activation shows in Lagos, Marketing Manager of the company, Mr. Ratnesh Prasad, reiterated that its products were designed for Nigerians in their different classes.

He said “We have packed great features into very affordable products and we’ve ensured that there is an excellent product for everyone irrespective of his or her class.

Our devices deliver great value compared to the major mobile phone brands and we are happy to announce that our products

SON Partners SMEs to Enforce Standardisation in Retail Shops

Etisalat Fetes Customers at Kaduna Forum

As part of efforts to ensure safety of consumers at the grassroots level, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, has entered into strategic partnership with various SME bodies in the country to ensure that retail operators comply with standard rules and requirements.

The Director General of the agency, Mr. Osita Aboloma, disclosed this at the official opening of SON’s new office in Seme border.

According to the DG, the organisation was working on a product that would provide standards for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as a means of remodeling the sector.

By this, barbers, stylists, bakeries and others in the SMEs category would be compelled to comply with standards in their operations as well as their instruments of trade.

Speaking further on this, spokesperson of the agency, Mr. Rilwan Fashina stated that Nigeria’s Industrial Standards were available for bread which includes good manufacturing practices for bakeries. “In addition, ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) standards which is used globally applies to all forms of endeavours from manufacturing to services provision and running of governments and non-governmental organisations. “Conversely, all implements used in salons from the clippers, furniture, mirrors, sterilisers to brushes, combs and towels etc. have established standards for each.

Also, the QMS standards are applicable to how the salons or any other business or endeavours are run. What is done how it is done, documented and applied, with regular reviews and checks for continual improvements,� he said.

The spokesperson revealed further that as part of SON’s programmes, some MSMEs had been selected across the federation who were being trained on ISO 9001 QMS Standards and ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System Standards.

He pointed out that those that participated in the training exercise would be taken through certification process at no cost for both services. “These are to serve as pilot schemes to improve the quality and competitiveness of their products for local consumption and export, thus encouraging other MSMEs to embrace standardization,� he concluded.

Telecommunication company, Etisalat Nigeria, has activated its quarterly consumers’ forum in Kaduna State to engage and gauge customer’s level of adjustment to their improved services in the state.

The forum was an effort aimed at deepening relationship with customers in their respective states and provided opportunity for loyalists to share experiences and raise issues on the network which will be resolved on the spot by the Etisalat team.

Speaking at the Kaduna gathering, the firm’s Director, Brands and Experience, Elvis Ogiemwanye, stressed that the exercise further highlighted the company’s respect and appreciation for customers as it sought to engage them at every opportunity in order to heighten its relationship with them. “We consider this exercise as extremely important because it is a platform that offered us feedback useful in improving on our products and services and develop new ones. Through this forum also, we get to interact faceto-face with subscribers on our network; know them better and learn how to

are available in all parts of Nigeria and have been well accepted by the consumers. “We have decided to support the May Day workers’ rally such that we have designed products that will support their efficiency and productivity. We all know that Nigeria is just coming out of a challenging period, thus, workers have to spend wisely by investing in products that give them extra value in terms of productivity and durability and this is why we are bringing the Fero range to workers. It will definitely surpass their

serve them better. “We are passionate about engaging with our customers to know how they feel, what they think and what their experiences are with our products and services. This is because we recognise them as number one in everything we do and our goal is to keep delighting them,� he said.

Customers present at the event also seized the moment to appreciate the network on its friendliness.

One of the customers, Elijah Dodo, a banker, stated: “The customer forum is a rewarding experience. I like the fact that customers that came for the forum participated actively. On a general note, I’ll say that the customers here seem quite happy�.

Ahead of the forum, the Etisalat team visited Rimi College, Kaduna as part of its community engagement efforts where it engaged the students in different talk sessions and also donated books and educational materials.

The Forum has been held in several cities including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Ibadan, Benin, Calabar, Uyo, Warri, Onitsha, Akure and Ilorin.

L-R: Country Marketing Manager, Fero Mobile, Mr. Ratnesh Prasad ; Sales Consultant, Ms. Omini Natalie; Sales Consultant, Ms. Otun Omobolanle and Sales Manager, Fero Mobile, Mr. Pandian Annamalai, at the Fero activation stand during the May Day worker’s rally at the Agege Stadium in Lagos recently

expectations.�

The Fero activation campaign kicked off with road shows and product demonstrations at the Ikeja Computer Village in Lagos. It will continue around major markets and malls in Lagos and Ogun States before going nationwide in the coming weeks.

Fero distributes both feature phones, smart phones and tablets including the Royal A1 smart phone with voice recognition and a 5000 mAh battery, as well as the IRIS Smart phone with retina eye scanner feature.

First Deepwater Bags Entrepreneurship, Leadership Excellence Awards Oil and gas company, First Deep water Discovery Group, has been honoured with Entrepreneurship and Leadership Excellence Award by the Federal University of Technology Akure, FUTA. The recognition came at FUTA’s annual alumni luncheon and awards ceremony held in Lagos.

Receiving the award, Chairman of Deepwater Group, Mr. Babalola Babatunde, happy about the award said it would motivate and energise him to do better. “I think I cannot quantify my passage in what FUTA has done in my life. So, it is expedient I replicate in good measure what the school has been able to do in my life,� he said.

Babatunde, a philanthropist and an alumnus of FUTA yearned for solid educational system through adequate investment.

He was unhappy about the level of decadence in the education sector, hence, urged alumni of various citadels of learning to support government investment in their respective alma mater to boost the sector for efficiency.

He commended the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Adebiyi Daramola, for raising standards and quality but said that more could be achieved through collaboration by stakeholders.

He added that government was doing its best to reposition the institution but its effort could only be perfected through private support and commitment.

Other awardees at the included the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Daramola, former Registrar of the University, Mrs. Eunice Oyebade, National President, FUTA Alumni Association, Mr. Akin Aina among others.

44

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MAY 13, 2017

45

46

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚;

NEWSXTRA

In Brief

Tension as Navy Kills Warri Boys

Palpable tension enveloped Warri and its environs yesterday as a Naval personnel attached to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Jalla, Warri South Local Government area of Delta state shot and killed two community youths following argument over job slots in the company. One of the victims simply identified as Agbolu was from Ifie community where the company is sited in Warri South while the other whose names could not be ascertained at press time was from Ekpan in Uwvie local government council. The incident which happened at about 2:30pm yesterday has set both communities in tension though the identities of the killer Navy oďŹƒcer could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report. It was reliably gathered that youths from both communitieswereengagedinjobslotnegotiationswiththemanagement ofNPDCwhenargumentarosethatwasamicablyresolvedbutshockingly the Navy personnel was said to have moved in and shot first into the air before shooting point-blank at the two boys who gave up the ghost immediately.Speakingonthematteratthepolice“Aâ€?DivisionHeadquarters, ChairmanofWarriSouthLocalGovernmentHon.MofeEdemaexpressed sadness over the shooting saying “this is one killing too many. How can NNPC engaged security personnel be killing these innocent community youthslikeflieseverytime.Itisjustnotfairâ€?.Angry Ifieyouthsstormedthe police station but were later directed to the NPDC premises while the Ifie communityTrust Chairman Griftson Edema was asked by the aggrieved council chairman make an entry of the matter. The DPO in-charge of the station Aniete Eyoh was out on oďŹƒcial assignment but other oďŹƒcers were on hand to pacify the angry Ifie youths at the station.

WE SHARE IN YOUR JOY...

L-R: Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; his wife, Florence; daughter of the celebrant, Niniola Layinka; the celebrant/Special Adviser to the governor on Communication and Strategy, Yomi; his wife, Bisi and their son, Fela, during a private thanksgiving service to mark the 60th birthday of the governor's media aide, at his residence, Jericho, Ibadan

3 Die as WHO Declares Ebola Outbreak in Republic of Congo Barely a year after some West African countries heaved a sigh of relief from deadly Ebola virus outbreak that claimed many lives and drained affected countries of resources, another outbreak of the virus has been reported in the Republic of Congo by the World Health Organisation.

So far, three fatalities have been reported and was said to have contracted the virus in the north east of the country. The country’s health ministry was reported to have notified the world health body after laboratory tests confirmed it.

Unlike in the past when vaccines for the virus were not ready, it was reported by some online media that over 300,000 doses of the vaccine

were ready from different manufacturers in case of an outbreak.

Statistics from health bodies put the number of deaths from the last Ebola outbreak in West Africa at 11,000 in 2014-2015, mainly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The last outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo was in 2014 and killed more than 40 people.

Of the nine people suspected to have contracted the deadly virus, three died, with one case of Ebola confirmed through tests at the national laboratory in the capital Kinshasa, WHO Congo representative Allarangar Yokouide said in a statement. “People began to get sick on or

after 22 April in Bas-Uele province in the country's far north, he added. “The region affected lies 1,300km (800 miles) north-east of Kinshasa, close to the border with the Central African Republic.

"It is in a very remote zone, very forested, so we are a little lucky.

But we always take this very seriously," WHO Congo spokesman Eric Kabambi told foreign news agencies.

The WHO described the outbreak as "a public health crisis of international importance".

It said the first teams of experts, including epidemiologists, biologists and hygiene specialists had been dispatched and were due to arrive in the affected region by Friday or

Saturday.

Though the outbreak is worrisome, records have it that the country has stamped out more Ebola outbreaks than any other place on earth. It is well practiced in fighting the deadly virus.

Ebola was first identified in DR Congo (then Zaire) in 1976. Since then, there have been at least nine outbreaks in the country. The last was in 2014, when - at the same time - parts of West Africa were fighting a separate outbreak, the worst in history.

DR Congo was able to bring an end to its epidemic within four months. In West Africa, which had never experienced an Ebola outbreak before, it took two years.

Herdsmen on Rampage in Police Special Squad Gun Delta, Kill 4 in Ndokwa Down Suspected Killers of as villagers had to run into the bush Delta Area Commander for safety.

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Barely three days after a police officer and three others were reportedly killed in Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government of Delta State by nomadic herdsmen, were four persons on Friday shot dead in Ossiasa community in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of the state.

THISDAY gathered that the attack took place early on Friday when the assailants allegedly blocked the road and shot at the victims.

Sources however said that it must be a reprisal attack on the community over the killing of their kinsmen recently.

The heavily armed herdsmen were said to have stormed Ossiasa village blocking the Ogwashi-uku/ Kwale expressway in the early hours of Friday.

Traffic was held for hours as motorist and traders traveling from the southern part of the state and those in the opposite direction had to park their vehicles.

The sporadic shooting of the herdsmen were however countered by youths from the community, just

State police spokesman, Mr. Andrew Aniamaka, said that no arrest had been made as at the time of filing this report, but added that the situation had been brought under manageable control following reinforcement of security operatives.

DSP Aniamaka said that he could not confirm the reported death of four persons, saying the state police command was awaiting update on the crisis.

Only last Tuesday, four policemen were attacked in an ambush by herdsmen in Abraka, one of them was killed while three others were seriously injured.

According to Aniamaka, members of the patrol team were from Abraka Police Division and the incident occurred along the Railway Line in Abraka.

According to the report, the patrol van used on routine surveillance of the area on Tuesday evening was suddenly attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen, catching the policemen unawares with a hail of bullets, leading to the death of the inspector.

Sylvester Idowu inWarri

Five hoodlums suspected to have been behind the killing of Ughelli Police Area Commander, Mr. Usman Ndanbabo, an Assistant Commissioner of Police in Delta State last Sunday have been shot dead by a special police squad in the state.

The hoodlums were shot dead around Ughelli during an encounter with operatives of the state antikidnapping squad on Wednesday.

Security sources disclosed that the squad, which was deployed under the command of the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zainna Ibrahim, who himself relocated to the town to give effective supervision, encountered the robbery gang in a fierce shootout.

It was gathered that the hoodlums did not deliberately shoot at the deceased police boss but decided to snuff life out of him when he tried to escape with the key of his Camry car which they were after. "The hoodlums were just armed robbers trying to snatch the ACP Ndanbobo's car. They shot him because he was

trying to escape with the key of his car. They were after the car so they decided to shoot him to access the key", the police source said.

ACP Ndanbabo was shot twice last Sunday at close range at about 8 p.m. while returning from an outing.

Delta State Commissioner of Police, Zanna Ibrahim confirmed yesterday that five of the suspected killers had been shot dead.

He said "The suspects have complicity in most robbery attacks and kidnappings within Ughelli and environs including the attack that led to the death of the Area Commander, Ughelli, ACP Usman Ndanbabo and yet to be seen DSP German Emmanuel who was declared missing since September 2016".

The Police Boss said the suspects had confessed that they shot the officer (Ndanbobo) who they ambushed at Ughelli because he took flight with the keys of his Toyota Camry car with registration number EKP 05 AAX which they attempted robbing. One of the escapee robbers, Ratty, later abandoned the car now recovered by the police.

NEMA Calls for Emergency Preparedness

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has said that disaster were increasing in its frequency and magnitude while scientific evidence showed extreme weather was imminent and therefore called for emergency preparedness and early warnings mechanism across the country. NEMA in a statement by its Head of Media and Public Relations, Sani Datti, hinted that, there was the need for emergency preparedness and early warnings mechanism at local levels, especially as disaster preparedness and mitigation were necessary for the sustainable growth of any society. According to it, "The DG, NEMA, Engr. Mustapha Yunusa MaihajahascommiseratedwiththestategovernmentofKebbiStateand victims over the windstorm disaster which within a few minutes, aected over 869 houses and rendered many homeless." Maihaja while delivering relief assistance to the aected persons in Maiyama Local Government Area of Kebbi State, said, "disasters are increasing in their frequency and magnitude and scientific evidence has shown that as a result of climate change, extreme weather events like flood , windstorm, drought and epidemics have become more frequent and severe." He assured them of the agency’s support to alleviate their suering, adding that under his watch, victims of disasters would get assistance within 48 hours, adding, "theymayevenoccurinareaswheretheywerepreviouslyunknown,hence, the need for early preparedness and early warning mechanism."

Bayelsa Placates Striking Teachers

The Bayelsa State Government yesterday began the augmentation of primary school teachers’ salaries, following the strike action embarked uponbytheangryworkers. Thegovernmentsaidithadrevieweditsearlier positiontowithdrawcompletelyfromthefundingofprimaryschoolteachers’ salaries which is the responsibility of the local councils. “After much deliberations the parties arrived at the following resolutions: That the Governor has approved the augmentation and immediate payment of the February salaries to primary school sta in the stateâ€? a communique signed after a meeting of the contending parties noted. The government also agreed to halt the deduction of monies for Identity Cards from teachers in the state, stressing that the funds have already been paid to the local councils. “It is hereby resolved that the deduction of money for I.D. cards from primary school sta already carried out by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) should be stopped forthwithâ€?, the government said. Meanwhile the Bayelsa State Executive Council yesterday commended governor Dickson for what it described as “the prompt release of funds to augment the payment of primary school sta salaries, for the month of Februaryâ€?.

Amaechi to Chair IoD Forum

The Minister ofTransportation, Rotimi Amaechi, will chair the Institution of Directors (IoD) interactive business forum on transport and logistics with the theme; ‘Transportation:TheVehicle of Growth’ on May 18 at Eko Hotel and Suites,Victoria Island, Lagos State. Addressing journalist at a media briefing, the Chairman of Council, IoD Nigeria, Mr. Samuel Akeju, represented by Mr. Yomi Jones, said the one of the key objectives of the forum was to critically examine the challenges that had hindered the transport and logistics sector from playing a dominant role in the growth anddevelopmentoftheeconomy,withaviewtobringtheprivatesectorto partnerwithgovernmentinbuildingavirilesector.Healsostatedthatthat the forum would examine the plans of government to use transportation as a vehicle to alleviate regional inequality and foster cohesive national integration. “The forum will explore opportunities that abound in the sector for the organised private sector and the international investors in addressing the transportation and logistics challenges,� Akeju added.

Group Holds Photo Exhibition

Awefirm Resources Limited (ARL) will be organising a photo exhibition aimed at showcasing 25 framed photos from Western Europe, the Middle-East, India, Russia and other countries with numerous shots running in the background. Addressing journalists yesterday in Lagos, the Chief Executive OďŹƒcer of ARL, Bolaji Alonge, said the focus of the exhibition was to get youths deeply involved in photography, generate interestinadventure,andtravelbeyondtheirhomes.Theexhibitionwhich will hold at the Museum, Freedom Park, Old Prison Ground Broad Street, Lagos Island from May 20-27. Alonge added: “The images to be displayed are everyday happenings and little things people sometimes don’t pay attention to. Photos on the exhibitions are open to buyers at reasonable rates. People can visit the website of ARL www.awefirm.org.â€?

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚;

47

Court Admits Former FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed to N500m Bail Alex Enumah in Abuja

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Gudu district, Abuja on Friday admitted former Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed to bail in the sum of N500m and two sureties in like sum.

Justice Abubakar Talba in granting him bail said one of the two sureties must be a senator, while the other, a Federal Director.

In addition, all the sureties must have landed property in the Federal Capital Territory with a Certificate of Occupancy as well as evidence of payment of tax in the last three years.

The judge also ordered that the applicant deposits his international passport with the registrar of the court.

Justice Talba who granted the bail

application in his ruling asked both the prosecution and defence counsel to agree on the bail conditions.

This, the judge explained, was to strike a balance in the light of their different positions.

Justice Talba said; 'It is trite that no matter the gravity of the offences, an accused person is assumed innocence until proven guilty under our laws. Bail is a constitutional right and the purpose is not to set an accused person free but to grant him liberty to enable him attend trial. “Although the prosecution has urged the court to consider the gravity of the offence as well as issues raised in the counter affidavit.

It is my view that such issues will be considered in the hearing of the substantive matter. I am satisfied that the applicant has placed sufficient materials to warrant court to exercise

its discretion in his favour.

"Accordingly, his application is hereby granted. However, the terms of conditions for his bail should be negotiated between the prosecution and defence.

This is in order to strike a balance of the case because the prosecution had argued that if the court is mindful to grant bail, it should come with some stringent conditions while on the other hand, the defence counsel urged that the bail should be on self- recognition."

After stating this, the court stood down for 30 minutes to allow the prosecution and defence counsel to agree on workable bail terms.

Justice Talba on resumption, adopted the bail conditions agreed upon by counsel as the ruling of the court.

He further adjourned trial to July 4, 2017. Bala Mohammed was ar-

raigned on a six- count charge by the Federal government on allegations of receiving gratification when he was minister of the FCT. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and his lawyer accordingly applied for his bail.

The court however, remanded him in prison custody pending the ruling on his bail application yesterday.

The former Minister who pleaded not guilty to all the charges described his trial as politically motivated.

In moving the bail application, Bala's counsel, Chief Chris Uche SAN, urged the court to release his client on bail pending his trial.

The bail application was brought under section 35(1) & (4) and 36 (5) and (6) of the 1999 constitution and section 158, 162, 163 & 165 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.

OUR SCORECARD...

L-R; Protem Chairman, Bank of Industry (BOI), Olufemi Edun; Executive Director Corporate Services and Commercial, BOI, Mr. Tobin Jonathan, and Acting Managing Director BOI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, during the Bank of Industry 57th Annual General Meeting, in Abuja yesterday

No Plot by APC to Foist One-Party State on Nigeria, Says Oyegun Onyebuchi Ezigbo inAbuja The All Progressives Congress APC has distanced itself from any plot to foist a one-party state on the country despite allegations by opposition parties.

Against the background of concerns raised by the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling party said while it was trying

to get people to key into the vision of the President Muhammadu Buhariadministration, it had no agenda towards having a one-party state.

The National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun stated this, Friday in Abuja at the Party’s two-day External Communications Workshop for State Publicity Secretaries.

Oyegun said: "Now that we are no longer in the opposition but have

formed the government at the federal level and in 24 states, and we are still going for more, there is more work to be done. We are not trying to create a one-party state, but we need to sell our programmes and vision to our people even with greater vigour," he said.

Oyegun defended the efforts to win over the support of more Nigerians and their membership of the party,

saying that such effort was intended to get them buy into government's policies and programmes.

"We need to convince them to support the policies and programmes of the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari.

We need to properly articulate the achievements of our respective state governments and sell the programmes of our Party to the people", he said.

Oando Share Price Reaches Two Year High Stocks hit a four-month high earlier this week, lifted by gains in Nigeria’s largest indigenous energy conglomerate, Oando PLC, and improved investor sentiment towards the country’s recession-hit economy. The stock market had gained N117 billion by Tuesday this week to extend a bullish eight-day run, while Oando rose by 131%, its highest level in 18 months.

Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said that the upbeat performance in the equities market was mainly driven by solid Q1 2017 earnings, as well as the knock-on effect of improved foreign exchange liquidity.

The upturn was significantly impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks. Oando, who remained at the top of the gainers list for five straight days led 33 other gainers on Thursday, May 9 including Access Bank, FBN Holdings, Guaranty Trust Bank, Dangote Cement, Nigerian Breweries, Okomu Oil, Zenith Bank and Stanbic IBTC. Oando’s return to profitability and increase in share price is indicative of the successful implementation of its corporate initiatives focused on Growth across its operations; Deleverage via the divestment of non-performing assets; and Profitability, by focusing on dollar-denominated export earnings.

At the recently concluded Facts Behind the Figures session at the NSE, the ED Business Development, Nigeria Stock Exchange, HauraJaloWaziri spoke positively to Oando’s FYE 2016 and Q1 2017 financials; also speaking was Oando PLC’s Group Chief Executive, Wale Tinubu “The challenge we faced was the economic and sector downturn, we came clean to the market, created a 5-point plan and successfully delivered on every part of that plan.�

The company deleveraged its balance sheet through the divestment of its upstream services company Oando Energy Services and embarked on the expansion of its retail and gas footprint through a strategic partnership with Helios Investment Partners and Vitol Group to recapitalize its downstream business for US$210 million and the US$115.8 equity buy-in of its Gas and Power business by Helios Investment Partners.

Oando acquired a N108 billion medium-term-loan with 11 Nigerian banks; this medium term 5-year consolidated facility, with a 3 year moratorium on principal, enabled the overall restructure of the Group’s obligations. Today, Oando’s borrowings have significantly reduced by 29% to N225.9 billion in the first quarter of 2017 from N355.4 billion in the first quarter of 2016 and its year to year return

increased by 103.62% compared to the comparative period in 2016, quelling concerns of critics.

The successful deployment of the company’s five-pronged strategy is evident in its FYE 2016 results with a N3.5 billion profit-after-tax, a 107% increase from the loss of FYE 2015. A review of Oando’s results further show positive performance across all financial indices, turnover increased by 49% to N569 billion from N382 billion in FYE 2015, while EBITDA increased by 51% to N71.0 billion from N47.0 billion in FYE 2015, boosting investors and shareholders confidence in the company and its management team.

In Q1 2017, Oando’s turnover grew by 116% to N138.4 billion and gross profit by 53% to N13.4 billion compared to the first quarter of 2016. Profit-Before-Tax increased by 207% to N494 million compared to (N461 million) in the first quarter of 2016 while profit-after-tax decreased by 58% to N1.7 billion compared to N4.1 billion in Q1 2016. “The first quarter earnings underscore our proactive decision to focus on our dollar denominated export businesses. Our resilience is evident in our capacity to grow via a diversified model, and as we continue to chart our deliberate path in this challenging business environment, we look forward to better performance in the quarters to come,� said Tinubu.

With the gradual decline in pipeline disruptions, increased efforts by the government to curb security issues in the Niger Delta, and an upturn in oil prices north of $50, the sector is optimistic of a near term recovery. “The plan is to go from 60,000boedp by the last quarter 2017 to 80,000 in 2018 and hopefully 100,000 by 2020. We also got approval from the president to repair, operate and maintain the Port-Harcourt refinery together with our partner Agip. We plan to increase the refinery capacity from 30% to a 100%, subsequently to 120%� the Group Chief Executive said at the NSE.a The bullish performance of the NSE further affirms the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) projection that Nigeria’s economic growth would rise by 0.8% in 2017. The IMF said: “After contracting by 1.5 percent in 2016 because of disruptions in the oil sector coupled with foreign exchange, power, and fuel shortages, output in Nigeria is projected to grow by 0.8 percent in 2017 as a result of a recovery in oil production, continued growth in agriculture, and higher public investment.� This will in turn impact the economic growth of the country, projected to rise to 2.6 percent in 2017 and 3.5 percent in 2018.

Ambode to Boost Schools’ Security SB Telecoms Release Honour Roll with 3000 Commissionaires The Lagos State Government has readied more than 3,000 commissionaires in its bid to beef up security in public schools. The commissionaires, who would be identified by their dark green uniforms, are majorly young men and women, who took part in a passing out parade recently at the Task Force Yard, Oshodi.

Very shortly, they would become a regular features in all public primary and secondary schools in the 57 Local Governments and Community Development areas of

the state. This commissionaire-based security project is one sure way of protecting primary and secondary school students and their teachers from being kidnapped.

According to the Chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of National Legion, Colonel Fola Akande, the initiative was principally to stem kidnapping, abduction, cultism, hooliganism, indiscipline, and other lawless and criminal acts, that could affect safety of the students, teachers and other workers in a school

environment.

According to the Chairman, this initiative by Ambode’s Administration is a clear signal to teachers, students and other stakeholders in education sector, as well as the general population, that his government would neither tolerate any act that could jeopardize the safety and security prevailing in all school and tertiary education institutions in the state, nor would it permit anything that could erode the conducive learning condition in the state.

SB Telecoms & Devices Limited, a leading indigenous ICT servicebprovider, has announced the honour roll of Nigeria’s most productive employees for 2016. They will be celebrated, decorated and rewarded at this year’s edition of its TAMS Summit on 18 May 2017 in Lagos.

The TAMS Summit is a high-level productivity summit which seeks to improve human capital efficiency across all sectors of the economy with the aim of boosting national productivity. The honour roll was automatically generated by the TAMS human resource management software of SB Telecoms &

Devices which has been adopted by more than 1,000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), blue chips and multinational firms operating in Nigeria and parts of West Africa.

These organisations use TAMS software to centrally monitor attendance and productivity of their employees across multiple locations in the country. SB Telecoms & Devices will reward the Top 15 most productive employees with the TAMS Ambassador designation, which is accompanied by an assortment of gifts, such as Justrite shopping vouchers, CleanAce Solutions laundry service, motivational

books by Havilah Library Solutions, Aframero study desks, Housessories bookshelves, with the top three getting a well-deserved all-expense paid vacation to Dubai, with the support of Discovery Sense Travels.

The Top 15 to be rewarded are employees of corporations that include Continental Broadcasting Services, TSL Logistics, GIG Group, Inland Containers Nigeria Limited, Priscilla’s Pride, Draiklinas, Persistence Mercies Bakery, Robert Johnson Investment-(NSPRI Guest House), Dizengoff and Omnicom Solutions, among others.

48

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚;

Edo Govt. to Develop World Class Traffic System Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

PROMOTING PROFESSIONALISM...

L-R: Acting Head of Department, Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Dr. Oloruntola Sunday; Lecturer, Mass Communication Department, Dr. Adepoju Tejumaiye; Trainer of journalists at Bloomberg, Mr. Cherian Thomas; Lecturer in the Department, Ismail Ibraheem; Professor Ralph Akinfeleye; and Professor Abigael Ndisika Ogwezzy, after Thomas’ talk on ‘Ethics in Journalism’ at the conference hall of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos... recently

Anti-Corruption Bills Ready for Passage Soon, Says Senate Committee Chair

Damilola Oyedele

Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator David Umaru says the reports on anti-corruption Bills in the Senate are ready and will be laid for passage soon.

Umaru who was reacting to remarks credited to the Attorney General of the Federation to the effect that the President is disappointed that the National Assembly had refused to pass the bills, said the AGF's comment was made out of lack of understanding of the workings of the legislature.

He said that the 8th Senate does not delay bills but takes its time to ensure that it passes bills that would stand the test of time and in line with international best practices.

Umaru in an interview with reporters in Abuja said: "The comment of

the AGF is not a fair comment. It is a comment made out of lack of understanding of the workings of the legislature.

"In this 8th Senate, we do not foot-drag on any Bill. We have a rule and process that guides all our legislation. Each Bill that comes up must go through the whole gamut of the process.

Chair, to handle it jointly with the Committees on Anti-Corruption and Foreign Affairs.

"For a Bill like this, it is incumbent on us to conduct a public hearing.

Hence, we did conduct one, where we took public views from stakeholders that included the Ministry of Justice, Law Reforms Commission, EFCC, and CBN."

Nutritionists List Health Benefits of Fruit Juices Temitope Ogudu Nutritionists have recommended daily intake of 100% fruit juices to complement fruits because they are made from real natural fruits and offer the range of nutrition benefits whole fruit offers.

A hundred per cent fruit juice

Leke Alder Tackles Branding Question for Start-ups Nigeria’s foremost branding expert, Mr. Leke Alder, will feature in the next edition of YouWiN! Connect, as a guest writer.

Alder, who is credited with introducing branding as a discipline to Nigeria, will be writing on the topic, “Entrepreneurship: To Brand or Not to Brand,� under the Academy section of the enterprise programme.

YouWiN! Connect is a weekly enterprise education initiative by the Ministry of Finance published in six national daily newspapers and also available online.

In this piece, Alder examines the relevance of branding to an entrepreneur. Many young people plunge into business without asking themselves what kind of brand they want to create.

Those who think about branding don't know what it means to create it.

Alder said, “An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in competitive markets. Consistent, strategic branding leads to a strong brand equity. Brand equity is the added perceived value bestowed on your products or services that allows you to charge

"Take for example the Criminal and Mutual Assistance Bill of 2016.

When the President’s letter was read on the floor as an Executive Communication, that constituted the First Reading of the Bill.

"Then, it went through Second Reading, and after that, it was sent to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, which I

Edo State Government has revealed its intention to roll out a world class traffic management system across the state, adding that the process had already commenced with the implementation of the ‘Edo Clean-up Project’.

In a statement from the Office of the Chief Press Secretary (interim) to the Edo State Governor, Mr. John Mayaki, Edo State would have top traffic managers directing traffic in the state and that the recent clean-up in Edo State was carried out by volunteers, who were not being paid but decided to work with the government to clean up the state.

The statement read in part: “Be assured that we will have one of the best traffic managers in the State and create a model for people to learn from. We will also use technology to monitor the activities of our men and some of the technologies have never been used in Nigeria.

"There will be a TV room where we will network and see what is going on with the road users and the traffic enforcers so that when you are arrested and you are complaining, we will play back the video for you. Even the officials will be empowered to use some technology to record offences�.

He added that the personnel involved in the clean-up process at King’s Square (Ring Road) recently were only volunteers,

more for your brand than what identical, unbranded products command.�

His article also gave strong tips on how entrepreneurs should brand their businesses and the results to look out for.

The Ministry of Finance described the intervention as a must read for entrepreneurs, especially those who have been confused about how to brand their businesses and the benefits.

The full piece will be published in Punch, ThisDay and Vanguard on Sunday; and Leadership, Daily Trust and Nation on Wednesday.

On Sunday, it would be available online at: www. youwinconnect.org.ng and its social media links It would be recalled that in May, Africa’s richest man and President/CEO of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, also appeared on YouWiN! Connect as a guest writer.

Alder is the Principal of Alder Consulting. He is instrumental to the branding of GTBank Plc and has been involved in branding and brand policy with a number of federal ministries and internationally.

like Chivita 100% makes it easier to try a ariety of colourful fruits as part of a complete breakfast throughout the year, cording to Nutritionists. “For instance, including a

glass of Chivita 100% fruit juice each day, as part of a healthy and varied breakfast diet, is a great tasting way to improve intake of important nutrients which are vital

for wellbeing. Each glass of Chivita 100% fruit Juice is a powerhouse of anti-oxidants, essential minerals, vitamins, and phyto-nutrients that can provide long term benefits for your health. With no preservatives, no added sugar, no artificial colour, Chivita 100% fruit Juice is a perfect addition to breakfast as it is easy to digest and wakes up the body metabolism with a steady influx of natural fruit sugars.�

A statement by these food experts said this, Chivita 100% fruit juice aptly showcases through its newly launched #BreakfastWithChivita100% television advertisement meant to drive awareness initiatives for a complete healthy breakfast.

The television commercial engages consumers by portraying internationally renowned football stars like Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Eric Bailly having glasses of Chivita 100% as part of their complete breakfast meal for an active day.

who were trying to help the government, noting that they undertook the responsibility because the congestion had become intense and the clean-up was long overdue.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ojeh jOy Chiedu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs siwekwue jOy Chiedu.

All former documents remain valid.

Board, Asaba delta state and the general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss ikhAZuANGBe ekhOiVBiGhiAN sTeLLA, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs COLLiNs ekhOiVBiGhiAN sTeLLA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as keLViN iheOBiChere ijeOMA, now wish to be known and addressed as keLViN iheOBi GeOrGe. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as BeNedeTh OBiAGeLi eLijAh, now wish to be known and addressed as BeNedeTh OBiAGeLi Ojukwu. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as BAyOde MAry. y, now wish to be known and addressed as OLuTAyO BAyOde. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss ikhAZuANGBe ekhOiVBiGhiAN sTeLLA now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. COLLiNs ekhOiVBiGhiAN sTeLLA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as OBAGBeMi OMOwuNMi OMOLAde esTher now wish to be known and addressed as OMOTAyO OMOwuNMi OMOLAde. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as AkeTAN MOrOMOke OLAdeLe now wish to be known and addressed as MAjekOduNMi MOrOMOke OLAdeLe. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as ANyALeChi OLuChi ANAsTeCiA now wish to be known and addressed as eChereBO OLuChi ANAsTeCiA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as NwOrGu kiNGsLey ChikAOdi now wish to be known and addressed as NwOrGu kiNGsLey ChikA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as ejiOGu NGOZi PeACe now wish to be known and addressed as NNANNA NGOZi PeACe. All former documents remain valid. and the general public should take note.

49

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ 2017

MARITIME BITS with John Iwori.... ͸΀͸ͽͿͿ͚͟͞͝͞

L-R: The author of the book, Mr. Kent Adorgu; Hon. Mietema Obodo; Chairman of the occasion, Hon. Gentle Emelah; Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Right Hon. Friday Benson Konbowei; Deputy Speaker, Hon. Abraham Ngobere, Leader of the House, Hon. Dr. Peter Akpe, and Hon. Ebiwou Koku Obiyai at the formal presentation of the book “Fundamentals of Legislative Practice and Procedure of a House of Assembly in Yenagoa...recently

Outgoing Customs Area Controller (CAC), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone C, Owerri, Imo State, Comptroller Mohammed Uba displaying some of the seizures made by the unit in the month of April in Benin City, Edo State‌ recently

Accolades as Customs Chief Bows Out One of the finest officers in the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the immediate past Customs Area Controller (CAC), Eastern Marine Command (EMC), Comptroller Usman Kankara Bello is leaving the service this month due to statutory retirement.

His retirement is hinged on the fact that he has spent the mandatory 35 years meant for personnel in the civil service across the country.

The erstwhile CAC, EMC who had over the years played a think-tank role for the NCS, had during the period of his career brought to bear his wealth of experience in the different postings he held sway in the service.

Popularly called U.K Bello by his admirers, the Customs Chief was a foremost Public Relations

Officer (PRO) in NCS and a prolific writer. He remains a household name in the maritime industry as a result of his exploits during his hey days as PRO. It is on record that he exploited great public relations prowess that gave birth to modern day public relations practice within the service today.

He was indeed loved by all and sundry, as he was a binding factor between the service and the media.

Bello has come a long way. He was enlisted as a cadet officer into the NCS on August 9, 1982 as Assistant Superintendent of Customs after the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. His place of primary assignment was at Oshimili Local Government Area, Asaba in

the then Bendel State.

He bagged his Bachelor of Science Honours (B.Sc.) in Political Science from the famous Ahmed Bello University (ABU), Zaria in June 1981.

After a successful training as a cadet officer in the Customs Training College, Ikeja, Lagos, he was posted to Borno State Area Command, Maiduguri where he began his career. While in Borno State, he served in various border stations such as Kirawa, Banki, Baga-Doro. He served as the Officer-in-Charge in these stations. It is on record that it was while he was in Baga-Doro that he imposed duties on smoked fish coming from the Republic of Chad through the Lake Chad water ways. It was also while he was in Borno State Command that he served in the

NCS Rakes in N857m Revenue in Zone C

Maritime Expert Counsels Agents

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone C which has its headquarters in the Imo State capital, Owerri has raked in N85 million revenue in the month of April 2017.

No fewer than 15 seizures with duty paid value (DPV) of N865, 529, 880 were also recorded in the month.

In the same vein, it recovered an underpayment to the tune of N23.3 million.

The seizures include 1605 bags with DPV of N58, 245, 000; two trucks with DPV of N12, 225, 000; 24,032 cartons of imported frozen poultry products with a DPV of N291, 988, 800; 1158 cartons of medicaments, including 635 cartons of Tramadol with a DPV of N494, 959,080; and 845 used tyres with a DPV of N8, 112, 000.

The service attributed the feat it recorded in the period under review to what it called its “robust anti- smuggling operations� in the zone.

The Customs Area Controller (CAC), NCS, FOU, Zone C, Comptroller Mohammed Uba who disclosed this in Owerri said his unit has a track record of success in its antismuggling operations and his officers have remained unflinching in their resolve to bring smuggling in the area to its barest minimum.

While further displaying some of the seizures deposited at the government warehouse in Benin City, Edo State, the CAC noted that the seizures were made in Benin, Calabar, Enugu and Owerri axis of the Zone.

Comptroller Uba stated that the commodities seized are of high value hence the huge amount of the DPV. According to the CAC, there are commodities in detention and intense investigation is ongoing. The unit does not engage in arbitrary seizure or detention of commodities but exercises due diligence and operates within the full ambits of the law to thwart the efforts of unscrupulous individuals bent on economic sabotage of the nation.

Continuing, Comptroller Uba said: “We are not here to intimidate anyone or discourage genuine traders but facilitate trade with a view to generate more revenue for the federal government. Government is ready and willing to assist any citizen willing to undertake legitimate trade.�

The Chairman of Ogbese International Marine Services Limited, Prince Olu Ologbese has counselled licensed customs agents on the need to avert heaping the woes of their business on the Comptroller General of Customs, Colonel Ibrahim Hammed Ali (retired).

Ologbese who is a veteran and an expert in the freight forwarding business flayed the attack on the CGC’s Task-Force by virtually all the licensed customs agents groups across the country.

Describing it as “unnecessary and uncalled for�, he pointed out that the attack did not address the root cause of the issues at stake.

He argued that the real problem was not unconnected with the present downturn in the economy which has led to a significant drop in the volume of cargo coming into the country since last year.

He also attributed the problem to the calls by the licensed customs agents for government intervention in the nation seaports, airports and land borders following their persistent press statements that there were sharp corrupt practices in their line of business.

His words: “A reasonable person would not challenge the idea of inauguration of the Taskforce by the CGC going by what was being said by the licensed customs agents virtually every day in the media. One will exonerate the CGC from the blame because he cannot watch helplessly without doing anything when the leadership of the custom agents went to the press to tell the whole world that the ports and borders needs to be looked into by the government.

They alleged that corruption is in full operation and that it needs urgent attention by the government. “There is no way the government would not act by calling the attention of the CGC to those publications in

the newspapers. I must tell you, the result of all these is the CGC’s Taskforce with a mandate to move into the seaports, airports and borders stations and stop the malpractices by Customs officers and agents. This is because there is no way you accuse officers in the ports without accusing the agents. This is due to the fact that they both operate together. Custom officers do not import. They are not importers or agents. Their duty is to collect revenue and pay into the Federal Government account. So if there is corruption in the ports, it should be the importers and their agents. Customs officers could only aid them�.

He recalled that in a recent stakeholders meeting in Apapa, both agents and the Customs appreciated the fact that despite the drop in cargo at the ports, the Apapa Area Command still rake in huge revenues for the government.

According to him, both the Chairman of NAGAFF and that of ANLCA drew the attention of the Customs Area Controller (CAC), Apapa Area Command, Comptroller Jubril to the fact that they are presently working for nothing. Jubril appealed to them that NCS knew their pains and it is using all necessary means to meet up so that government should get money to fund the 2017 since there is a problem in the oil sector. He promised that NCS will look into their plea though no party accused each other of corruption because agents paid their revenue in bank draft and can never be touched.

The veteran licensed customs agents popularly called “Alaye� by his admirers enjoined his colleagues not to blame the CGC Taskforce but themselves for their woes.

He argued that it was the utterances of some of the agents that worked negatively against them.

Headquarters patrol team as well as Legal Seat before he was posted to Nigeria’s premier port, Apapa in 1987.

Apart from the Customs formations in Borno State, Apapa, Lilypond, Tin Can Island Port, Post Clearance Audit (PCA) and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Bello also served in NCS Headquarters, Abuja.

He also served in Nigeria’s busiest border station, Seme near the Republic of Benin. Other commands that Bello served include Kano/Jigawa, Sokoto/ Kebbi/Zamfara.

Bello

Charkin Maritime Academy Takes O Charkin Maritime Academy (CMA) has taken off with the admission of fresh cadets for its various programmes in preparation for the 2017/2018academic session.

Owned and operated by a leading provider of maritime, offshore and oil and gas safety training courses, Charkin Maritime and Offshore Safety Centre, the school is situated in the Rivers State capital, Port Harcourt.

The management of the academy in a statement signed by its Rector, Dr. Egben Okore, said CMA is a maritime institution established to provide sound, excellent and competitive maritime education and training for Nigerians and other nationals in line with the STCW 2010 (Manila Amendments) Regulation II/1 paragraph 2.5 and III/1 paragraph 2.4.

According to the statement which was obtained by THISDAY, the CMA is committed to the development of manpower for the Nigerian maritime industry through qualitative maritime education and training. Programmes offered by the academy include several courses in Nautical Science and Marine Engineering.

The Rector explained that the Nautical Science programme in the academy will lead to the award of a National Diploma in Nautical Science and eligibility to enroll for the Certificate of Competency (CoC) qualifying examinations for officer in charge of a navigational watch on board sea-going ships.

Similarly, the National Diploma in Marine Engineering programme in CMA will lead to the award of National Diploma in Marine Engineering and eligibility to enroll for the CoC qualifying examinations for officer in charge of engineering watch on board sea going ships.

Apart from academic requirements, Okore explained that cadets in CMA are expected to be medically and physically fit.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

50

PERSPECTIVE

PENCOM and Obla: Why Osinbajo Should Right the Wrongs Femi Ajiboye

I

t was a sad moment watching Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla’s recent outing on Channels Television some weeks ago as he made frantic efforts to justify the controversial removal of the National Pension Commission’s (PENCOM) management. I practically wept for Nigeria and the quality of some people foisted on us as leaders.

The removal of the PENCOM Management team and the appointment of new Board Members were clearly in violation of the Pension Reform Act (PRA), 2014 and our Constitution. But Obla, who is supposed to be a senior lawyer and a custodian of the rule of law, retorted that there was nothing wrong with sacking people over the radio, irrespective of what the law provides!

Following criticisms from lawyers, members of the National Assembly (NASS) and members of the public, one would have thought that Obla would exercise restraint on the matter. But a recent publication credited to him entitled: “Removal of National PENCOM DG is in order�, depicts deficiency in legal knowledge or desperation to satisfy paymasters to retain a job at all cost.

I feel compelled to react to these issues because it will be a great disservice to the legal profession and our nation for the majority to stand by and watch politicians with entrenched selfish interests trample our laws with impunity.

In justifying the removal of 23 heads of Federal Government MDAs, including the DG of PENCOM, Obla said that it was done by the President in the exercise of his powers under Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution. But Obla was economical with the truth when he abridged the provisions of Section 5(1) of the Constitution in his own words and failed to state the exact provisions of the law. Section 5(1) states – “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation (a) shall be vested in the President and may, subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him‌; and (b) shall extend to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, all laws made by the National Assembly and to all matters with respect to which the National Assembly has, for the time being, power to make laws.â€?

Any sound lawyer would readily see that while legislative powers in Section 4 is not

Osinbajo subject to the provisions of the Constitution, executive powers in Section 5 is subject to it.

What this means is that the President is bound to obey and execute any law made by the National Assembly in line with the provisions of the Constitution, in this case, the Pension Reform Act, 2014 enacted pursuant to Section 4, Second Schedule, Part 1, Item 44 of Exclusive Legislative list. But Obla talks about the executive powers in Section 5 as if it were an autocratic power vested in a military dictator.

I wonder where he read his own Law, for his legal arguments, not only on the PENCOM matter always leave one bemused.

Furthermore, it smacks of ignorance of the handover process in public service for Obla to say that Mrs. Anohu-Amazu refused to hand over when there was no written directive to her on whom to hand over to. Did Obla expect the lady to walk away as the PENCOM DG just on hearing media announcement and leave the Commission and trillions of pensioners’ money floating?

Again, her removal from Office and the appointment of Aliyu Dikko, from North-West instead of another South East person to complete her tenure as stipulated by Section 21(2) of the Pension Reform Act tends to substantiate the allegation that the lady was

removed because she refused to throw pensioners’ funds open to political hawks to feast on. It could have little to do with nepotism. The fact that she was commended for her service to the nation in her disengagement letter shows that there was really no cogent reason for her removal halfway into her tenure.

Obla also betrays his shallow knowledge of the law by averring that announcement over the radio equals informing the removed PENCOM DG in writing in accordance with Section 21 (1) (j) of the PRA 2014. In the process, Obla tries to distort our law by using ‘or’ in a disjunctive sense in Section 21(1) (j) instead of the conjunctive ‘and’ that was used in the Act. Equally, Obla in his habit of being economical with the truth whenever the presidency misfires, quoted Section 19 (3) of the Pension Reform Commission (sic), as vesting the President with power to appoint while hiding the fact that there are qualifications and conditions for the appointment of such persons.

Additionally, Obla in defending his principle of sufficient notice to Anohu-Amazu also claimed that the new PENCOM DG appointed to replace her reported for work on the 15th April, 2017. I couldn’t stop laughing because 15th April was a Saturday and Easter holiday! This barefaced lie is deplorable. He probably speaks and acts before he thinks.

In fact, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly, Senator Ita Enang, told the media that the new PENCOM appointees would not resume until they were confirmed by the Senate according to Pension Act. So, does Obla really follow events in the country at all? If he is deficient in research work, couldn’t he have hired research assistants? And if he could not do any of those, should he not be fired and made to refund all our monies paid to him rather than persistently embarrass our well-intentioned President?

Meanwhile, contrary to Obono-Obla’s claim that Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu is steering controversy, he is the one inciting groups and pulling at the strings of tribal sentiments of South East people against the Presidency through his media vituperations. I have neither seen her address the press nor release any media statement on this matter despite all the lies against her. I also watched the Channels TV programme where the removed DG was advised to go to court and challenge

the illegality. A desperate person that wants to perpetuate herself in Office could have taken advantage of such calls and goofs in her removal, but has since moved on?

So the real issue is not about the removed DG. It is about non-compliance with the Pension Act, 2014 in removing and appointing the PENCOM management team. It is also about Obla assaulting the sensitivity of the lady’s geopolitical zone and pension stakeholders by taking to the media to try to justify the unjustifiable rather let the sleeping dog to lie.

On the issue of President Buhari leaving the removed PENCOM DG to remain in Office for almost two years into his tenure, her performance must have accounted for that. The office is tenured and in Nigeria, a person who has put in 16 years, building the new pension system from the scratch, starting from membership of the Fola Adeola Pension Reform Committee under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, deserves two full tenures to consolidate the industry.

In fact, the way Obla carries on appears to lend credence to speculations the removal of PENCOM management did not have the blessing of the President since it came at the time the president’s health challenges. This school of thought believes that some villa cabals simply shared the positions amongst their cousins and cronies. This too needs to be investigated, as we cannot allow a few individuals play politics with pension contributions and the fate of over 7.4 million contributors to the pension fund.

In summary, the removal of the PENCOM Management Board is not in order. It trampled on good conscience, equity, and our laws. It is having far-reaching impacts on confidence in our pension industry and our fault lines as a nation. I am surprised no South East group has gone to court over the injustice, although Ohanaeze recently threatened to do so if the FG did not reverse itself. But must it get to that?

There is nothing wrong with removing somebody from office. But it must be done aright and in a way that doesn’t put the pension industry in limbo or give the youth the impression that it doesn’t pay to serve your nation creditably. The Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo should, in fact, ignore the antics of the likes of Obla and reverse the injustice. –Ajiboye writes from Lagos

Re-Edo: A Tribunal’s Curious Definition of Over-voting Idemudia Oviosun

O

n May 1, 2017, the article with the above title appeared on the 33rd page of The Vanguard newspaper. In it, the author, Mr. Nosa Omorodion, citing many aspects of the verdict to convince his readers that the Edo Tribunal erred in declaring Obaseki’s victory valid, curiously refused to cite any provision of the Electoral Act 2010 to substantiate his argument.

Could this be an innocent oversight on the part of a supposedly enlightened and savvy political analyst or a clever avoidance made for fear of how counterproductive to his mission it would have been for him to do so? Well, when mischief is the operating principle, truth and logic are always sent on a distracting mission.

Incapable of firming his misplaced objection to the judgment on the concrete of persuasive logic, Mr. Omorodion inaptly passed it off as “popular thinking�. In case he is trapped in the bubble of ignorance, or has suddenly forgotten, it is then apt to remind him that court verdicts are guided strictly by precedents az nd laws duly made and recognised. The arcane “popular thinking� he joyously but wrongly referred to has no place in a court of law, or else there would have been no need for the Electoral Act or even the Constitution in the first instance.

The resolution of electoral disputes, and indeed all other categories of disputes in the history of Nigeria and the world over, has

always been guided by laws duly made by legislative bodies in one way or another.

Similarly, Mr. Omorodion got it spectacularly wrong when he declaimed that â€œâ€Ś while the Tribunal gave the impression that the witnesses called by the petitioners were not sufficient to justify their allegation, it made no issue of the fact that the 1st respondent, INEC failed to present any witness despite having been allocated ten days for its defence.â€? This represents a malodorous misrepresentation of the Tribunal’s position. In reaching that self-serving conclusion, he served a view that conflicts strongly with a pronouncement of the Supreme Court in the case of Buhari vs Jonathan in 2011 says.

Here is the averment of the apex court: “There is no doubt that it is the statutory duty of the 1st defendant, INEC, to conduct and defend election as an independent and unbiased umpire, however, mere allegation by the petitioner or calling hearsay evidence cannot shift burden of proof to the 1st defendant. The onus to establish substantial non-compliance is on the petitioner; it is only after then that the burden shifts to the respondents to prove that the election was not marred by substantial irregularities.�

In another part of his offensive drivel against the judgement of the Tribunal, Mr. Omorodion went another notch further to betray the illogicality that fed his analysis. He was displeased that the Tribunal allowed itself to be guided by the provisions of section 53, subsection (2) of the Electoral Act which clearly states that â€œâ€Ś Where the votes cast at an election in any poll-

ing unit exceed the number of registered voters in that polling unit, the result of the election for that polling unit shall be declared void by the Commission ‌ where the result of that polling unit may affect the overall result in the constituencyâ€?, and section 138 subsection (2) which maintains thus: “An act or omission which may be contrary to an instruction or directive of the Commission or of an officer appointed for the purpose of the election which is not contrary to the provision of this Act shall not itself be a ground for questioning the election.â€?

Invigorated by the logic of a kindergarten mind, that analyst denigrated the Tribunal for not going against those provisions to redefine over voting and non-compliance in line with his doctrine of “popular belief�. In doing so, he succumbed to the dictates of his imaginary truth and asserted that “many people have found the expressions of the Tribunal on these two critical elements of the petition doubtful, its definition of what constitutes over-voting, in particular, has thrown up a controversy within the legal circle and the court of public opinion.

Indeed one could say the Tribunal has caused a semantic confusion which has left many wondering if over-voting in judicial lexicon is different from the literal meaning of the word or the contemplation of the extant law.�

Mr. Omorodion must be on a wild goose chase for seeking within the realm of judicial lexicon an entirely new meaning for over-voting as opposed to the Electoral Act’s provision.

Moreover, his assertion that the Tribunal’s position on compliance with the Electoral Act and the definition of over-voting has thrown

up a controversy within the legal circle and the court of public opinion is by all standards a product of his rather nondescript and fictive universe of “popular thinking�.

It is in the same context of illogicality that we view his assertion that the petitioners had gone the length to prove incidents of over-voting by presenting before the Tribunal certified true copies of the election unit results sheets and 91 witnesses. In fact, this threadbare reasoning is invalidated by the Supreme Court’s position on same in the cited Buhari vs Jonathan dispute of 2011. According to the highest court, “The law is trite that the appellant, in claiming declarative reliefs, ought to stand on the strength of its own case and not only on witness evidence. The appellant did not pursue the criminal allegations it made in its briefs but rather relied solely on the civil aspect.�

In a brief moment of clear thinking questioning the improbability of having all registered voters in a polling unit to participate in the voting process, Mr. Omorodion asks: “Does it mean that in a unit where for instance we have 1000 registered voters, 250 voters were accredited and declared to have voted but 300 votes were recorded by the INEC officials, over-voting does not subsist?� While such poser sounds very logical and true as already noted, conceding to his position that overvoting should be defined with reference to accredited votes still does not cut it because the recount exercise which forms the basis of his new thinking in no way revealed that the total number of recounted votes equalled the total number of accredited votes let alone exceed it.

51

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͝, 2017

PERSPECTIVE

Alex Obiogbolu as PDP’s Master Stroke for Anambra Chris Ndidi

T

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998 produced the governor of Anambra State at the beginning of fourth republic, as Dr C.C Mbadinuju against all odds knocked off Prof ABC Nwosu during the party’s primaries to become the party’s candidate and later the eventual winner of the election.

Thereafter, following series of political crisis within the party and Anambra State and coupled with issue of non-performance, the erstwhile governor lost out to Chris Ngige who was originally aspiring to go to the red chamber of the National Assembly, during a primary that was fraught with intrigues.

Ngige could not complete his tenure as he was removed from office by the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu and Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance became the beneficiary of the ouster of Ngige.

After losing power to the APGA, the PDP became a shadow of itself and all efforts by the party faithful and other stakeholders to upstage the new political party on the block did not produce the needed result.

The failure of PDP to put her house in order became the gain of APGA as Obi took his eight years tenure which was only momentarily interrupted by seventeen days reign of Andy Ubah of PDP. After completing his tenure, Obi was also able to install a successor, Willie Obiano who from all indication will also try his luck to see if he could secure a second tenure just as Obi did. However many people in Anambra State are not comfortable with Obiano’s performance, when compared to the superlative performances of his predecessor. The belief in many quarters is that the shoes left behind

by Obi are too big for the current governor of the state.

Thus, many in the state are looking for an alternative, and the PDP continues to reoccur on the lips of many who desire the change.

APC is not considered by many, as it is seen as a party that does not have the interest of Ndi Igbo at heart despite all the defections of many top politicians to the party.

The major problem of the PDP whose wide acceptance in the state can be seen by the manner they have always won other elections, still remains their inability to unite and

Obiogbolu

queue behind one governorship candidate.

The party has been strangled with litany of court cases and anti-party activities which have been encouraged by the party welcoming back those who do anti-party or leave the party with juicy rewards. It is on record that whenever a candidate of the party emerges, every other one defeated during the primaries would do everything possible to undo the standard bearer of the party, often time claiming payback time for injury the candidate may have inflicted in the past. As a matter of fact, the primaries of PDP in Anambra State over time has assumed a matter of highest bidder as heavy money is expended to secure the party’s ticket with the non Igbo speaking elements in the national secretariat struggling to be part of the Anambra process because of the huge volume of money they would go home with.

As a result of all these, many factions of the party emerged with each acclaimed political godfather laying claim to party leadership, and voices of reason were relegated to the background with due process overtaken by a culture of impunity and reckless abandon.

But in the midst of the confusion and brigandage that became part of Anambra PDP in opposition, there remained few voices

like that of John the Baptist in the wilderness crying for sanity and decency in governance and opposition. One of them in particular focused his own gun not on his party but on the APGA-led state government, presenting facts and figures that exposed the inadequacies of the government. Using Organiru Anambra movement which became the platform for like minds to constructively criticize the ills in the state and at the same time offer alternative for the good people of the state, Dr. Alex Obiogbolu became to APGA the face of opposition in the state as Anambrarians listened to him whenever he spoke out.

Many in his party, PDP were not listening to his calls for unity and transparency not because he was a poor man, but because his pocket was not as deep as those gladiators who attempted to kill and bury the PDP in Anambra.

Dr. Obiogbolu has served in various administrations within the state. At a time when many believed that the PDP-led administration of former governor, Dr CC Mbadinuju had little or nothing to show for its four years in government, Obiogbolu as the Chairman of Anambra State Local Government Service Commission shone like a star. The five star performance he posted in office is still unequalled many years after.

Apart from clearing the backlog of salaries that besieged the local governments at the time of “zero allocation�, his commission went ahead to create over three thousand new jobs at a time Federal allocations were a paltry 300 million naira.

Many people who got employment in the commission through the creativity of Obiogbolu are now relatively big in their own right and they still yearn for a person like the Oganiru Anambra exponent to come and show the light and the way again. The civil servants especially in the local governments see him as a man of great intellect who is equally imbued with great administrative and leadership skills with the proven capacity to manage men and materials while taking them to greater heights.

Obiogbolu has put in an uninterrupted twenty five years into the governance and politics of the state. He is more famous as a politician than a medical doctor, and is good mixer and a bridge between the affluent, powerful and the downtrodden. He is the only politician in Anambra who can call most names of politicians in all the 326 wards of the

twenty one local government area of the state without blinking.

Everything seems to be working in favour of the gentleman, Obiogbolu as most of the troublers of the PDP seem to have moved to the APC and other political parties and the coast is now clear for the party to do the needful.

The needful is for the hierarchy of the PDP to allow a popular and credible candidate to emerge as the standard bearer of the party in the November 18 Anambra governorship election. Obiogbolu has paid his dues as a party loyalist through thick and thin. His focus, strength of character, extreme organizational ability and strategic thinking are what Anambra State requires today.

Obiogbolu remains very passionately-committed to the betterment of Anambra. He has remained true to his conviction that Anambra can be better, always espousing ways and means the state can truly reclaim the light of Nigeria status. He is a role model to the youths, a friend of the traders as he has on many occasions taken on the government in power on issues that relates to their welfare.

He believes that it is an aberration for a sitting government to celebrate payment of salaries and other allowances to civil servants which is a recurrent expenditure of government.

The PDP aspirant has a track record of philanthropic and humanitarian gestures not minding his mean resources, he is devoid of religious bigotry and a very firm believer in the concept of rule of law, and respect and support of law enforcement agents.

The popularity of the governorship aspirant came to the fore recently during the burial of his beloved mother. His Onitsha country home became a kind of Mecca as all the known political gladiators in Anambra who at one time or the other benefitted from the ingenuity and loyal party support of the medical doctor were all on hand to condole with him.

Anambra is on the verge of making history again, it is expected that the PDP will get it right this time by giving Obiogbolu the chance to be their standard bearer so that they can easily dislodge the incumbent Obiano who is from the same senatorial zone with him.

Any other formulae will lead to gnashing of teeth and wailing at the end of the day.

Obiogbolu is the right man for Awka Government House and he is the PDP’s master stroke for the November 18 election.

Who Made Odigie-Oyegun APC National Chairman?

Duke Edobor Oshodin

L

ouis Odion’s recently published article titled, “Oyegun and the Abuja disease�, in which he savages Chief John Odigie-Oyegun the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is absolutely unnecessary.

Mr. Odion was a commissioner for information under the administration of former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole.

In the article, he grudges Odigie-Oyegun for downplaying the roles of Oshiomhole and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his emergence as APC National Chairman in 2014.

For clarity, Odigie-Oyegun was asked in a recent interview: “Some are alleging that you’ve not been fair to those who assisted you to emerge National Chairman of the party, especially Bola Tinubu. Is this true?�

Responding, Chief Odigie-Oyegun said: “Everybody assisted me to this position and I’m grateful to all of them... I don’t believe one particular person solely assisted me to this position.�

Strangely, Odion rejects Odigie-Oyegun’s innocuous and valid assertion. He insists that Oshiomhole and Tinubu unilaterally installed Chief Odigie-Oyegun as APC National Chairman. Going by his tale, Oshiomhole and Tinubu perhaps hypnotized all the powerful voting blocs in the party to unilaterally install Odigie-Oyegun as APC National Chairman.

This is really bizarre.

Political loyalties aside, any right thinking

person would know that Odion’s account would have been unbelievable for a party like the APC formed by powerful interests and individuals. It is important to remind Odion that decisions like the appointment/election of the party chairman and other party executives require the consent of all the voting blocs or majority of them to be successful. Party politics and election usually involve negotiations and horse trading. This is a legitimate component of a political process, which by the way the APC solidly stands for.

Odigie-Oyegun emerged as National Chairman through the collective efforts of a coalition of individuals and interests within the APC fold at the time. That is the fact and it is likely that if the same question is posed to Oshiomhole and Tinubu, their responses will not be too different.

What does one make of the Odion’s condition of crying more than the bereaved? Best guess, sycophancy or delusion.

Again, Odion has chosen to muddle facts on Oshiomhole’s well-known role in influencing the Edo State chapter of APC to back Tom Ikimi over Odigie-Oyegun for the Party’s National Chairmanship in 2014.

Odion is perfectly entitled to his opinion, even one heavily influenced by his loyalty to both his former boss in Edo State and proprietor of the newspaper in which he now maintains a column. He is even entitled to use channels other than the newspaper to canvass his well-paid opinions. However, most of his assertions are fatally flawed.

That Odigie-Oyegun could not deliver his ward in either the presidential or gubernatorial

election does not render him as politically ineffectual as Odion surmises. Jonathan simply swept the South-South votes in 2015. However, after the loss of the Edo South votes in the 2015 presidential election, Odigie-Oyegun immediately put his political influence to work by ensuring that the House of Assembly elections in Edo South went to the APC to prevent the possible impeachment of the then incumbent Governor Oshiomhole as threatened by the PDP at the time.

On the outcome of the Edo state governorship election of 2016, the point needs to be made that it was demographically impossible for Odigie-Oyegun to win in the polling unit (Oredo Ward 2, Unit 1 in the Government Reserved Area, Benin-City) where he voted, since he had to contend with the large families of Igbinedion and Ize-Iyamu who reside in the area. Naturally, their friends and associates voted for the PDP who had Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the PDP governorship candidate.

There are reports that the PDP in collusion with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ensured that Odigie-Oyegun and his wife voted in separate poling units, in a bid to neutralise APC votes in the area, while concentrating PDP votes in the polling unit where Chief Odigie-Oyegun votes. In the larger context, the plan failed. Although, Odigie-Oyegun lost in his polling unit to the PDP by just 9 votes (APC-69, PDP-78), APC won in the polling unit his wife voted. In any case, Chief Odigie-Oyegun delivered in Edo South Senatorial zone including Oredo Local Government Area. So the bottom line is that the APC National Chairman delivered his state

and particularly Edo south, home to his Bini ethnic stock. Don’t forget that he convincingly won the governorship election in the state in 1991!

What Odigie-Oyegun brings to APC is perhaps one of the most redeeming faces of the party. It’s an unquantifiable moral value addition. And the party is much better for that quality.

However, my major concern with the article in question is the very abusive language that Odion uses in depicting a very respectable senior citizen whose credentials glitter - spanning public service, partisan politics and social activism - on such a banal issue as who is entitled to more credit for supporting Odigie-Oyegun clinch the APC chairmanship! One may ask, who made Odigie-Oyegun one of the youngest permanent secretaries in our nation’s history after only thirteen years in service, or governor of Edo state in his first foray in politics.

Odion used similar language in the past in abusing Tony Anenih and Tom Ikimi, both his Esan kinsmen, for their affiliation to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when any of them tussled with Oshiomhole. However, I reckon that Oshiomhole, now out of power and needing to make peace with political enemies, would be taken aback by such incivility.

All I can advise the young man is to remember the Edo adage: “If someone sends you on an errand as if you were a slave, learn to deliver it like a free-born.� –Oshodin is an All Progressives Congress (APC) Chieftain. He sent in this piece from BeninCity, Edo State.

52

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͝, 2017

POLITY

Amaechi: Pa Ndukwu Stood By Me

inister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has praised the values of his father In-law late Pa Celestine Nnamdimere Ndukwu (The Okeosisi 1 of Umuamusa) who died at the age of 80.

Amaechi described his late In-law as a “very good man�, noting that he made remarkable impacts not only in his life but also in the lives of others.

He made the disclosure at the St. Patrick’s Catholic Church ,Amucha in Njaba Local

Government Area of Imo State on Thursday.

Amaechi said: “The man we came to honour here today was a very good man.If he was not, we won’t be here. I don’t know how he had impacted on your lives but I can tell you how he impacted on mine. “When I married my wife I wasn’t a rich man. In fact, it was at the time when they overthrew Shonekon. We just married that week and I was Special Assistant to former Governor Peter Odili.I had no money, It was so bad. Two persons sustained us (me

and my wife), Chief and Mrs Ndukwu�, he explained.

Amaechi continued: “These two persons,Chief and Mrs Ndukwu guided us and they did a lot for us .Never a day did I got a call from Ndukwu and his wife asking their Son In-Law (me) who became governor to give them money. Chief and Mrs Ndukwu never asked. He was in love with education, they both love education and that is what my wife and I have imbibed. “If there is one thing my wife has

achieved against my advice, it is in the number of Primary and Nursery Schools she established all over Rivers State without my approval. I did not approve because I had worries about the sustenance of those schools, but to the glory of God the Schools are all being sustained. So let me thank the people of Amuche for the man called Ndukwu, without him I could not have married their daughter and since I married their daughter I have been blessed�, Amaechi said.

UNILORIN Parents Forum Charges FG on Herdsmen

ome Lagos members of the Parents Forum of students of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) have called on the Federal Government to immediately step in and flush out the herdsmen that have allegedly invaded and occupied some lands of the University for grazing and other activities to ensure that there is no threat to life and property in the campus.

The parents in a statement signed by one of its leaders, Alhaji Akanbi Oreniwon to react to the recent outcry on the encroachment on the institution’s land by the herdsmen by the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof.

Abdulganiyu Ambali, noted that going by the increasing notoriety and blood tasty nature of herdsmen across the country in the recent times, there was need for the Federal Government to immediately bring its weight to bear on the herdsmen to ensure that the seven-day ultimatum given them by the VC to vacate the lands of the University is not only adhered to but that they leave peacefully.

The parents, who commended the VC for promptly drawing the attention of the nation to the illegal occupation of the University lands by the herdsmen before it got out of

hand, warned that they will not fold their hands and allow any group of people or individuals to cause any harm to their children or the peace of the University as a whole in the guise of cattle grazing. They condemned the lukewarm attitude of the federal government to the killing spree by herdsmen across the country, stating that they have now become the most singular threat to the nation’s internal security.

Prof. Ambali had last week given a sevenday ultimatum to some herdsmen, occupying the institution’s lands and grazing cattle in the premises to vacate the place at a meeting he held with their representatives and other stakeholders in the campus, stating that their presence there was a violation of the laws governing the university. “Your activities are affecting our research works. Plants grown for research are being destroyed, slowing down the pace of research work. We must ensure we do not hinder and frustrate each other, as we are members of the same society,� Ambali told them, pointing out that the meeting was called because the institution believed in dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts. “People are building permanent structures on our land. When we went round, we

L-R: Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, his wife, Judith, Bishops Augustine Okwuoma and the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha. at the funeral mass of late Hon. Iwchie Celestine Nnadimere Ndukwu at St. Patrick’s Catholic Parish, Amucha in Njaba...recently

counted about 16 structures, we want to use these plots for the purpose for which the university was established, hence, the need for this meeting,� the VC further stated, stressing that the illegal activities of the herdsmen on the campus would affect the over 30,000 students of the university.

Similarly, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Management Services, Prof. Adedayo Abdulkareem, stated that several university farms were being destroyed by the herds-

men’s grazing cattle, pointing out that the unlawful encroachment on the institution’s landed property was worrisome to the university administration.

He condemned the use of chemicals by the herdsmen for illegal fishing in the institution’s waters, describing it as a dangerous development that could lead to water poisoning, as the university elied on the water for treatment and supply to the camp.

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Modele Oshunkiyesi; Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Healthcare, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga; representative of Lagos State Governor and the State Secretary to the Government, Mr. Tunji Bello; Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris and the Chairman, Health Service Commission, Dr. Bayo Aderiye, during the commissioning of rehabilitated 10th story doctors’ quarters at General Hospital, Lagos and renovated Onikan Health Centre, Lagos...recently PHOTO: KOLA OLASUPO

L-R: Former Minister of Health, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo; President, Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy and a former Minister of Health, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi; Chairman of the symposium and former President, Nigeria Academy of Engineering, Engr. Vincent Maduka at the NAPharm...recently

L-R: Second Vice President, Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Chief Olasunkanmi Balogun; Deputy National President (OPC), Alhaji Wasiu Afolabi; Founder/National President (OPC), Dr. Frederick Faseun and the National Secretary, Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Prince Samson Ndubusi at a press conference on the state of the nation in Lagos‌ recently PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R: CEO, Private Health Alliance of Nigeria, Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq; Chairman Committee, 2017 Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group-Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) forum, Biola Adebayo; and Executive Secretary, PMG-MAN, Dr. Obi Peter Adigwe, at the press conference to announce the forth coming PMG-MAN/ Private Health Alliance of Nigeria forum in Lagos...recently

53

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

POLITY

As Wike Rolls Out Drums for Rivers @ 50 As River State marks the 50th anniversary of its creation, not only will the celebrations afford people of the state opportunity to know where they are coming from, it will reveal the vision of where they are going. Davidson Iriekpen writes

I

t is no longer news that Rivers State will be 50 on May 27. Already, Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has started rolling out the drums to celebrate the state’s golden jubilee. Almost on a daily basis, events are being witnessed in the state. Though the present moment is not a time to celebrate due to the economic situation in the country, people of the state are undeterred in having their voices heard.

The celebration, which started when the governor unveiled the logo for the anniversary late last year and a fund-raising dinner held for key stakeholders to participate in the sponsorship of the event, has since taken off in full swing with some key programmes to commemorate the anniversary, already taking place.

To many observers, there is every reason to celebrate the several milestones the state has achieved since its creation in 1967, by General Yakubu Gowon military administration.

For instance, while setting the tone on why it is necessary to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the state’s creation, Wike said the occasion would be a celebration of the liberation of Rivers people from the forces of deprivation, oppression and domination.

Wike “Many of us, who are now enjoying the fruits of liberty, may not truly appreciate examine our prospects and set our eyes on what it meant to be dominated, dispossessed, the next era of the march, to progress with deprived, exploited and oppressed, in your own land by the dominant social and political optimism,� the governor explained.

No doubt the state has served quite tendencies of the time. Before Rivers State was significantly as the treasure base of the nation, created, our people could not find schools religiously supporting other states with its in their neighbourhood, hospitals to treat the resources and ensuring that Nigerians from sick, universities to educate their children, other climes benefit from Rivers God-given decent jobs to earn income and good roads to resources. their communities.

Funds from the state have played key roles “For 50 years, we have lived and toiled in the construction and development of the together, in pursuit of the vision of our two federal capitals of Nigeria. Despite the founding fathers, who put in and sacrificed challenges of development, the state has been everything, including their lives, to ensure a critical factor in the overall development of the creation of this beautiful state, we all love the country. and proud of, indigenes and non-indigenes At a ceremony to unveil the golden jubilee alike. Although, we are not where we should logo, the governor captured the essence of be within the matrix of where we want to the entire celebration better when he said, be, we still have a lot to celebrate and thank “Over the past 50 years, we have travelled God for the 50 years of our existence as a quite a marvellous journey. We have made state and as a people with a common destiny. some significant progress no doubt, but we Besides, after 50 unbroken years on a journey, have also made mistakes and lost valuable it is proper for us to take a little moment opportunities. However, this Golden Jubilee to retrospect on the progress already made, inspires a new direction to build a prosperous

State we can all be proud of. This is the spirit of the new vision.�

Like Wike explained, the celebration offers the opportunity for stocktaking, which several critics and analysts are already doing. But most important, it offers the opportunity to march forward.

There is no virtue crying bitterly about the past when there are better opportunities in the present – and the future.

One of the high points of the state’s golden jubilee celebration will be the launching of the 50-year strategic economic and social development plan for the state. This plan will consolidate the gains of the different development programmes and projects implemented by successive administrations.

The framework has been presented and approved by the Rivers State Executive Council; and will be presented to the public with a committee established to drive the process between six months and one year.

The committee will hold public hearings on the framework with all stakeholders expected to make their contributions. Public debates would also hold on the framework, before the 50-year strategic economic and social development plan is set into motion.

Aside setting on course the development process for the next 50 years through the launching of the 50-year strategic economic and social development plan for the state, Wike will take practical steps to flag off the execution of iconic Golden Jubilee Projects. “On our part, the state government is set to execute a number of landmark projects throughout the year to commemorate the Golden Jubilee, advance the promise of economic independence and improve access to public services as we set forth on the new pathways to create an unimaginable future of peace, unity and prosperity for our state,� the Rivers governor pointed out.

All through this month, the state government will commission several key projects spread across the three senatorial districts of the state. This will be part of the celebration.

A mini-investment summit tagged, ‘corporate Rivers, forms part of the overall Rivers @50 celebration. The summit will bring development and economic experts along with other stakeholders as Rivers State

Government implements the ‘New Rivers Vision Development Blueprint’ to ensure that the entrenchment of the development process.

As a lover of youth development, the state government will in the course of the golden jubilee celebration flag off a youth empowerment programme. This programme targeted at youths from the 23 local government areas of the state will be implemented alongside a major commercial bank.

The celebration of the achievements of the incumbent administration in the state inspires hope that the state has commenced its sustained journey towards development.

Wike’s outstanding performance since his assumption of power is the new beginning he promised the people of the state – the new direction to ensure that the people benefit for their resources.

Basic amenities denied the people of the state in their respective senatorial districts by previous administrations are now springing up, which will lead to the emergence of new towns that will support emerging populations.

For 50 years, Port Harcourt and its environs have not had the privilege of a functional public water supply. That is about to change, the governor promised. The Wike administration has concluded the preliminary process for the Port Harcourt Water Supply and Sanitation Project – it is a joint venture between the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the Rivers State Government.

The project will take care of water supply and sanitation in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas.

Under the project, water schemes will be constructed across Port Harcourt and Obio/ Akpor Local Government Areas, backed with massive reticulation infrastructure in the city.

Rambol Environ of Denmark, the project management consultant, has been in Port Harcourt since 2016 reviewing the project design, engaging stakeholders, embarking on approved study tours and training critical technical personnel to drive the project.

It is clear that though the state government has kick-started the Golden Jubilee celebration, it is by no means a jamboree. It is a well planned programme to celebrate the history of the state, its people, culture and contributions to national growth.

THE NEEDY

Akajiaku, Kidney Patient Needs N18m for Transplant Ahamefula Ogbu

I

n the corner of a gadget-ridden highbrow hospital in Abuja, machines are whining while others are humming; the atmosphere is solemn while the attendant warns that all gadgets should be switched off, often darting from one blinking machine to the other.

On the narrow bed is an emaciated feature of a once robust and bubbly young man, drained to the point of weakness that his strength only allows him to mutter words after a measured intake of breath. Even at that, the whizzing sound that escapes from his lungs as he exerts efforts to utter the near inaudibles bespeaks of the vanity of all souls.

Akajiaku Candid Chibueze, a media practitioner and consultant before he was confined to the arduous state of health he has been fighting to free himself from: organ failures. A closer look shows that the dialysis line on his arm has made it look smaller than the other arm as if they belonged to different persons.

As he made to turn to one side of the bed for a much deprived comfort, the attendant darts in and at the same time barks at him, “if the dialysis line shifts, your blood will clot and you will be dead in seconds and if you survive, you will become vegetable�. At that, I protested the unfeeling attitude of the attendant who threatened to walk me out of the room.

Seething in anger, knowing that Akajiaku must have been passing through the same process every time he needed dialysis to free his organs of toxic body fluids his kidney would have processed if they were still functioning, I swallowed and let him have his way as all care givers do in Nigeria; afterall

Akajiaku one writer once asserted that “every talent has its own prerogatives�.

When he was done with the dialysis and knowing he would come again as the procedure has to be done twice weekly at N40,000 per dialysis, making it N80,000 weekly, I approached the caregiver and asked him the way out. For the first time, a smile creased his smooth face before he launched into a long technical explanation. When he felt he was boring me with the inanities, he asked if I was following, to which I also intentionally muttered some incoherencies for him to decipher what he willed form it.

Akajiaku’s case is a testimony that God still wants him to be alive as he narrated of his earlier experiences with a particular dialysis center. Then, “I was going for dialysis once a week but I noticed that I was not having

any relief, instead, things were getting worse.

It went on like that for some time till I complained to a friend in Lagos. “My friend contacted a Doctor friend, Dr. Abuchi Okaro in St. Elizabeth hospital, London who demanded for the results of my tests which we sent to him. He raised the alarm that the results were not showing that anything was being removed from my system through dialysis and recommended we change to another place which turned out to have saved me or I would have been dead. “Other Doctors he analysed my results with opined that the center apparently was economising consumables for the procedure and by then, I had exhausted my resources and was relying on friends and goodwill to continue the procedure. When I went to another hospital they recommended for me in Abuja here, I felt

a lot of relief after each procedure but by them, I was told there had been some damage which would require transplant. “The cost of the transplant has been put at N18 million and I have exhausted and sold everything I have except my wife who is taking care of me just to stay alive. Now I have to go to Nigerians for help or where do I get the N18 million for the transplant? So I am appealing to Nigerians to please help me to stay alive since there are chances that I can bounce back and live to be useful to myself and others�.

The explanation appeared to have drained Akajiaku physically and emotionally while on the corner of his eyes there were trickles of tears he fought hard to hide from me without success. By then, his eyes had turned slightly red while he constantly dabbed it with a white handkerchief. By this time, the attendant had ordered the wife out of the room as she was crying profusely and asking us to help her appeal to Nigerians for help that would enable her husband to “live again�.

Akajiaku hails from Okpofe, Ezihinihite, Mbaise in Imo State and studied Mass Communication at Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State. He had a stint with the media before he struck out on his own to float SaintWealth where he was the Chief Executive Officer.

All donations are expected to be paid into his account with details: Akajiaku Chibueze C; Fidelity Bank Account Number 6239205853.

We hereby appeal to all Nigerians to help donate to enable him to have the transplant.

He can be reached on 08023145171 and 08050513069 while his wife Chinasa can be reached on 07033485745.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͝ , 2017

54

POLITY Emmanuel Onwe

Governor Umahi is Bold, Confident and Assertive

Against the backdrop of alleged docile attitude of governors from the South-East concerning the incarceration and trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Senator Emmanuel Onwe , the Commissioner for Information, Ebonyi State, said the South-East Governors Forum which his principal is the chairman, contributed to the release on bail of Kanu even as he pointed out that the Governor Umahi -led Ebonyi State Government has redefined history of the state. Onwe spoke with select journalist in Lagos. Olaoluwakitan Babatunde was there

E

xcept on few occasions, your principal, the governor hardly talks to the press.

Is it that he is shy, or has disdain for the press?

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Just a few weeks ago, he gave an extensive interview which touched on all aspects of our politics and economy; and I do not mean just about Ebonyi State but a panoramic take on the political, economic, security, religious and moral challenges of the entire federation. It was a tour de force. I challenge you to give me an example of one single governor amongst the 36 that has spoken directly to the press or granted more press interviews than the Governor of Ebonyi State.

Such epithets as “shy�, “disdain�, “nothing to talk about� are completely alien to Governor Umahi. On the contrary, I find him to be bold, confident and assertive; he is also welcoming, accommodating, friendly and respectful; and he most definitely has plenty to talk about.

He has redefined the history of Ebonyi State through physical, psychological, developmental and social transformation. There are elements of these adjectives that only Ebonyians can truly understand and appreciate. But the rest are open for the world to see. For the very first time in the history of the state, Ebonyi has become assertive as a national player anchored on stupendous progress on the home front. I invite you to visit Ebonyi and see for yourself that the man has so much to talk about that pages of newspapers are infinitesimally small to contain.

Emmanuel Onwe

universally-recognised fundamental right of peoples across the world. But the motivations for pursuing self-determination are not uniform. Ebonyi State, for instance, has its own unique self-determination aspirations The South-East governors have been and is resolutely pursuing them after more accused of not doing enough for IPOB than 5 decades of criminal neglect. But for the and MASSOB concerning the Biafran nobility of Chief Jim Nwobodo (Governor struggle?

I can speak for Ebonyi State to the extent that of Anambra State 1979 – 1983), the task of it is my official duty to do so. If such an accusa- evolving from a backwater to a city on the hill would have been even more arduous for us tion exists, it is not only ridiculous but addleminded, and can only be peddled by those who than it is today. And the imperatives of those are perhaps ignorant of the facts in play and the unique self-determination aspirations have varied nature of the solutions that were and are absolutely nothing to do with the ideology IPOB/MASSOB. They are two parallel lines being evolved and pursued. The Governor of that will never meet! And yet, regardless of Ebonyi State is the Chairman of the South East the divergence in our philosophical, ideologiGovernors Forum and I am a direct witness to cal and political worldviews, we stand united some of the open and discreet efforts he and in the face of oppression, discrimination, his brother governors in the region have made prejudice and abuse of civil liberties. and continue to make in respect of the IPOB/ MASSOB agitations and the intense pressure to Why is it that things are happening in secure the release of Nnamdi Kanu. Look, on a terms of infrastructural developmentin strictly personal level, let me speak as an Igboman and a Nigerian citizen who has a pedigree the state, and yet, little or nothing is being said about it? in the intellectual discourse of the Igbo condiFirst of all, I totally agree that a huge tion within the Federal Republic of Nigeria; amount of developmental initiatives are research me on this subject. There are many going on in Ebonyi State. The capital city, shades of opinions and in the political field Abakaliki, is gaining extraordinary transforthere are various and varying tactical styles to mation, major road networks are not only the game. The debate over the restructuring being constructed but are being constructed of the republic or devolution of powers or outright disintegration, so that each component in such a manner as to endure for half a century. Health, educational and human part would fold inwards and project distinct empowerment sectors are top priority. The identities as little republics is undoubtedly revival of Nigercem is gaining ascendency intensive and emotive. And once political through administration impetus. The global and tribal emotions run riot, wild statements, accusations and vituperations gain ascendency. opinion has not been divided in appreciation I can assure you that the governors of the South of Umahi’s focused determination in these respects. To suggest, as you do, that “little East of Nigeria are alert to the demands and aspirations of their people. Anyone who thinks or nothing is being said about it�, is a false that the rascality, wild opportunism and crude and ignorant indictment, and you know it.

Apart from the “money-bag� states such as excesses of some Chief Executives are the most civilised approach to meet the exigencies Lagos and Rivers, point out any other state that gains more national coverage in terms often thrown up by the boneheaded politics of government initiatives and actions than at the centre is as much a fool. We deal with Ebonyi State. All these positive things you sublunary events as they are, and others may said you heard going in the state, how did seek their Utopia whichever way they choose. you get to hear them? That Ebonyi rice is on But no one should pretend that public adminthe lips of every Nigerian right now, how did istration is anything but a complex business that demands the discipline of serious-minded that get to happen? That Ebonyi State has set the agenda in the construction of roads people. Stunts, swagger and self-promotion using concrete instead of asphalt, how did the are entirely antithetical to the solutions of our country get to know that? That Ebonyi State national challenges. Self-determination is a is the first and only state in the South East to

build and equip a Virology Centre, how did the nation get to hear about that? That Ebonyi State is not owing workers a single month salary from the inception of the Umahi administration and has in fact paid the 13th month to workers in two successive years, how did everyone get to know about that?

That Ebonyi State has not exited the top 10 in the performance ranking of WAEC/NEO in the last 2 years, how did the nation come to be talking about that? If what you mean is that the administration should spend a fortune producing documentaries for television stations; or creating glossy magazines to be circulated as inserts in national papers; or so-called in-depth report analysis by people like yourself focusing on so and so, then you are talking to the wrong customer. If traditional and self-serving perception of publicity in the twenty-first century is still mired in these strategies, then I would rather do nothing and let the achievements speak for themselves. Whatever you mean by a “closed state�, I cannot provide an answer to such a feeble and irrational statement. Look, I invite not just you but all Nigerians to cleanse their minds of the old perceptions and prejudices against Ebonyi State. There are new kids on the block now and a new vista has opened.

I dare any independent researcher to come here and conduct a comparative examination of the socio-economic capacities of Ebonyi relative to other states and let us see what that result would tell Nigerians.

Rice production known as Ebonyi Rice is more pronounced among this government’s achievements. What is the unique selling point of this brand?

The biggest source of confidence for what the Umahi administration is doing in the area of rice production is the unwavering encouragement from the Federal Government and from Mr President directly. He takes the success of the Ebonyi Rice programme personally‌ President Buhari, I mean. The unique selling point of Ebonyi Rice is that we have a much longer period of rainfall which feeds our extremely fertile swampy fields and thus sustains the production of prime quality rice.

In other words, this allows us to produce rice that tastes better and far more nutritious.

The Ebonyi Rice is also healthier because the quantum of synthetic fertilizer deployed by

I can speak for Ebonyi State to the extent that it is my official duty to do so. If such an accusation exists, it is not only ridiculous but addle-minded, and can only be peddled by those who are perhaps ignorant of the facts in play and the varied nature of the solutions that were and are being evolved and pursued. The Governor of Ebonyi State is the Chairman of the South East Governors Forum and I am a direct witness to some of the open and discreet efforts he and his brother governors in the region have made and continue to make in respect of the IPOB/MASSOB agitations and the intense pressure to secure the release of Nnamdi Kanu our farmers are so negligible that you get as close to organic rice as you are ever likely to get in Nigeria with the Ebonyi produce. The benefits of consuming non-chemically produced foods speak for themselves, especially in an age of cancer epidemic. We have also modernised our rice processing techniques and mechanisms so that the Abakaliki Rice which used to be called “stone-fest� is now celebrated. Our ambition is to produce just 10 per cent of the total annual rice consumption of 5-6 million metric tons by Nigerians; a bulk of which is, disgracefully, imported.

That translates to between 500,000 to 600,000 metric tons annually. Last year, we achieved 200,000 metric tons in circumstances where we were confined to wet season production only. Going forward, we are laying the foundations for irrigation infrastructure that will allow us cultivate in multiple cycles within any given year. Once this is achieved, we will be in a position by 2019 to double or even triple our self-assigned quota.

For an agrarian state like yours, how is the government doing it in the area of prompt payment of civil servants salaries, and yet, still have enough to do infrastructure?

Prudent management of scare resources, cutting down on frivolities or outright elimination of waste, corruption and grandiose agenda have been absolutely fundamental to his strategy. Commerciallysound mind, which means running government as business, insisting on squeezing out the utmost returns from every kobo spent.

These are just some of the efficiency strategies that have placed Ebonyi on a surprisingly high pedestal on the scale of achivements.

The monthly federal allocation accruing to Ebonyi State averages N2 billion.

55

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚;

Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă˜ Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă‘

͸Ϳ͸͞ͺ΀͚͞Ϳ͝Ϳ Ă?Ě‹Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ë? ÞÙĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă?ÑÑ̜ÒÙÞ×ËÓÖ˛Ă?Ù×

EBIYE IMEOBONG

I Kill Depression, Reduce Crime with Jokes Ebiye Victor Imeobong is an online comedian and also a stand-up act. He is popularly known as “ComedianEbiye� on Instagram and was brought to limelight with his skit about popular blogger Linda Ikeji that went viral. In this interview with Tosin Clegg, he talks about comedy, and other things

I

Who I am I’m Ebiye Victor Imeobong Omereson, aka Linda Ikeji’s Husband. I’m 24 years, from Delta State and a comedian, a foolish comedian. I grew up with a single mum and she’s my everything. I am an Electrical and Electronics Graduate of Covenant University. I attended Rightville Primary School in Surulere, Lagos and Faith Academy, Otta.

Comedy chose me I was always that student disturbing my mates in school during lectures, making fun of lecturers and I’m actually sorry to all my friends I made unserious too, but I was so sure I would make it!

Comedy for me has been an adventurous journey so far; I would say smooth.

Facing challenges I would call them “strengtheners�.

I’ve been strong on this journey to be honest. My style of comedy is what’s called “visual comedy� or silent comedy, the kind of comedy a deaf man would enjoy.

Mentors and Role Models As we speak, I don’t have anyone mentoring me but I love Basket Mouth, Bovi and Dave Chappelle (USA) because we look alike. I learn fast and I study celebrities that have gone ahead of me and how they package themselves. As for my relationship with fans, my brother, once you are a comedian you always have to be ready to make people happy anytime any day but that can be tiring sha.

Love for stage perform And see the whole world have proper laughs at my jokes; so that’s my major dream. Aside comedy, I write comedy, eat comedy, think comedy, sleep comedy, and comedy is my life! And everyone should expect my first standup comedy show by the Grace of God! For my show, I ask you, have you ever laughed for two hours straight in a movie? I’d make that happen!

How I give Back Giving back? Imagine a comedian making people happy; can a happy man steal or kill? No. So, I’m killing depression and reducing the crime rate in this country. I’m a joy giver.

Going to the Next Level His plans for me are so amazing, I can’t wait! As regards my performance, I try to work around relatable jokes, jokes people go through

Imeobong

everyday. So, it’s very easy to understand my style of comedy.

My mother, My Supporter I’ve got a few friends that support the dream too. My mum never

questioned my talent at any point of her life. She was always supportive even when people didn’t understand why an engineer would go into comedy; like say them give me oil job.

Meeting Ali Baba, Others

By God’s grace, when I met the likes of Audu Maikori, Noble Igwe and Alibaba, they were so open to me, down to earth and real! People should be like them.

TR

Saturday, May 13, 2017

UT H

& RE A S O

N

Price: N250

MISSILE Deji Adeleke to Aregbesola

“We have been reliably informed by credible sources that the outcome of the kangaroo inquest into the death of Senator Isiaka Adeleke is already predetermined by the state.

It is also designed to serve its own interest with distorted facts and misinformation which will clearly not be in the interest of the good people of Osun in general and the Adeleke family in particular.”

– Deji Adeleke, the immediate younger brother of the late Senator Adeleke rejecting the coroner inquest instituted by Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State into his death.

PENDULUM Dele Momodu

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Season of Books and Denials

F

ellow Nigerians, let me confess that one of my addictions is reading books. I just love the feel and thrill that books can give to you. I simply cannot resist great covers. And the subject matter is irrelevant. From prose to poetry, fiction to science fiction and even faction, autobiographies, biographies or what have you, I read them all.

I’m therefore just greedy and voracious about books and bury my head into whatever I find near me. Our generation was raised on books. We loved to make shakara with books and the bravado even attracted ladies to us as undergraduates. Girls of those days respected your intellect. They were particularly titillated by your ability to discuss varying topics and of course we did not have recourse to google at that time.

But for books, it would have been impossible for paupers like me to interact with certain classes or levels of boys and girls. However, education is the biggest leveller in the world and the basic tool of any sound education can be found in books. Books also had their special place for poor kids like me. They provided an avenue for escape into the world of make-believe and the realms of fantasy. I could live another much richer life through the experiences I gained from the books I read and I don’t just mean riches in terms of money but in terms off an all-round experience of life.

I’m eternally grateful to my dear beloved mum, Gladys Arike Momodu, nee Fatoye, who despite being unlettered knew and appreciated the power of knowledge and struggled to send me to school despite her meagre means. Incidentally, she passed away on May 18, 2007, nearly ten years ago. I continue to marvel about how she slaved and starved herself to send us to school.

May her beautiful soul continue to rest in the Lord. Amin.

I was talking about books. I love authors and saw them as the greatest humans on planet earth.

Just imagine for a minute the sheer pleasure of meeting Wole Soyinka as a teenager and even having the opportunity of becoming close to him at the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University. I fell in love with his luxurious beard which made him look like one of those famous Greek playwrights and philosophers. I vividly remember the stern look of his picture on his controversial book, The Man Died and the one on the cover of The Trials of Brother Jero and Jero’s Metamorphosis. I often wondered why writers loved to keep beards, Ayi Kwei Armah, the author of The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born; Kofi Awoonor of This Earth, My Brother fame; Sembene Ousmane, the Senegalese author and film director who wrote God’s Bits of Wood; Kole Omotoso, author of The Edifice; and others. How can I ever forget the great Russian writer, Alexander Solzhenitsyn? I just loved his looks. Beards added some mystique to the awe-inspiring looks and persona of writers.

However, the main man I want to write about today is far from being a bearded author. Apart from being tall and probably gangling, he looks too smooth to be easily recognised as one of those controversial writers. His style is also clearly not their style but in another sense he possess their unique attribute of being different from the norm.

His name is Segun Adeniyi, one of Nigeria’s most popular columnists with stupendous readership. Segun has done what most of us have not been able to do; he is an author of very important books and historical documents about our country. His authoritative and commanding interactions at different stages of our national

Jonathan crises is what has endeared him to many of us.

He wastes no time in coming up with fresh ideas and churning out book after book that would ultimately affect the Nigerian trajectory, sooner or later. Say what you will, Segun helps to fill a void in our lives. It is not in our character to produce books on historic landmarks in our country. Events come and go and we all move on pronto, as if nothing happened. But, mercifully, we have a Segun Adeniyi who grabs our head and necks and forces us to sit up to read and revisit many of our vicissitudes of life. He tries so hard to ensure that we don’t forget so quickly or relapse into the collective amnesia that we seem to be notorious for.

Segun’s latest book is a very smart move on his part because the subject matter was guaranteed to attract a debate and popularise the book, thus soaring the sales in little or no time. Nothing sells like controversy as we have seen all over the world.

Titled ‘Against The Run of Play (How an incumbent President was defeated in Nigeria)’, Olusegun Adeniyi took his readers on a racy journey by capturing the narratives of the principal actors, otherwise known as dramatis personae. I was fortunate to get an autographed copy from the author ahead of release and could not wait to open and devour it. I’m reasonably convinced that Segun has done a fantastic job. I belong to the sociological school of literature and knowing Segun’s background well enough, I believe he did not concoct what he wrote. He made adequate effort to reach out to the relevant characters, the deluge of denials notwithstanding. It must always be appreciated that most autobiographical authors genuinely record what they saw and heard. That does not mean that what they saw or heard is accurate, especially when one is dealing with politicians. The autobiography is the merely the experience and perception of the author and must be viewed with some caution for the reason I have given. In my view, no document can be clinically precise but it is possible that some of those casting aspersions on Segun’s effort are doing so as an afterthought.

There are times people suddenly remember the import of a statement and regret what has already become part of public discourse. Political books generally suffer from this unfortunate notoriety.

Awolowo, Obasanjo, El-Rufai and others never got away with the wrath of some readers for stepping on sore toes in their books. Segun should be proud to walk in their great company.

In fact, Segun has challenged me personally.

I’ve been too lazy and reticent about writing or completing my books in progress. My first manuscript was ready as far back as 1997 in London. It was titled ‘PENDULUM: Writings of an Angry Man’ and was edited by Dr Reuben

Abati. It never saw the light of day for reasons I can never explain or justify. I worked on the biography of Chief Moshood Abiola, titled ‘The Pillar of Joy’ but never completed it once Nigeria was thrown into total confusion and commotion.

I dreamt of writing an informative account on the June 12, 1993 Presidential election in Nigeria but it evaporated when I dialogued with my feet and fled into exile. It was practically impossible to gather the actors from that distance and at a time the main protagonist Abiola was in solitary confinement. The next book was written by my National Campaign Manager, Ohimai Godwin Amaize, after I contested the Presidential election in 2011. It was titled ‘Fighting Lions’.

I have written hundreds of essays in Pendulum since 1997 and would easily have up to three or more compilations but the many troubles of Nigeria would not let me rest or concentrate on publishing these books. I must confess that Segun has really fired me up and I wish to publicly thank him for inspiring a few of us.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Dr Reuben Abati are expected to release their explosive books as soon as possible. I cannot wait to read how Dr Goodluck Jonathan would explain and defend the unprecedented and atrocious malfeasance that rocked and ravaged his government. Who knows, he might know and divulge what ordinary mortals like us didn’t know. There are so many books in waiting from several potential authors.

On my part, I have decided to break the jinx and I have fixed some strict deadlines.

We owe it a duty to our country and fellow citizens to educate and entertain them with our robust knowledge of Nigeria. I think we’ve deprived our people of good information about how we arrived where we are and where we are likely to head from here. The time has come to get serious and sit down to produce eternal works. This is particularly so when one considers that a lot of revisionist history now dots our literary landscape. We must not let our children suffer the ignominy of not knowing their background and heritage.

Prof A.B.O.O. Oyediran - He Leadeth Me My birthday comes up on May 16 and I am privileged to share it with an erudite scholar, brilliant teacher, seasoned Administrator, astute political observer, great family man and above all a quintessential gentleman, Professor Allen Bankole Olukayode Oladunmoye Oyediran. He is the father-in-law of my best friend, Prince Adedamola Aderemi, and his daughter, Mrs Olukemi Aderemi and I have been good friends since she was a student at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Professor Oyediran will be 78 on May 16 and in keeping with the nature of the man he has decided to celebrate by launching an autobiography titled ‘He Leadeth Me: Autobiographical Testimonies of Olukayode Oyediran. The title of the book itself epitomises the simplicity and humility of the man. There is no mention of the well known fact that he is a renowned Professor of Preventive and Social Medicine. Not for him in this work, which is in one sense, not a work in his discipline of Medicine, but a story of his childhood and work as a Professor of Medicine and University Administrator.

The book traces Prof. Oyediran’s childhood days to his secondary education at CMS Grammar School Lagos and King’s College Lagos. He then proceeded to his university education sponsored on a UAC Scholarship for Medicine at the University of London (Guy’s Medical School) where he graduated and then went on to the

University of Edinburgh where he obtained his postgraduate degree with distinction.

His distinct sense of humour marked with his candour and candidness is typified by his recollection of how he eventually ended up completing medical school. In effect he professes to have been guilty of some prevarication and hesitancy in the choice of his career. He says in the book “Shortly after I got to Guy’s I came to the conclusion that what I really wanted to do was to read politics, philosophy and economics (PPE) at Oxford and then law and international relations …. My dilemma was that I was on a UAC scholarship for medicine. It seemed most unlikely that UAC could be persuaded to allow me to change my course of study. Also it seemed unreasonable to expect my father (who wanted me to become a doctor) to agree that I could jettison the UAC scholarship and that find money to support my proposed studies at Oxford. In the event, I decided that I should pray that I should win the football pools so that I could present my father with a fait accompli. My prayers were not answered, even though I was a very active member of the Christian Union!”

Upon his return to Nigeria, Professor Oyediran joined the University College Hospital Ibadan and eventually became a Professor of Preventive and Socual Medicine in 1975. He went on to become the Executive Secretary and head of the West African College of Physicians and the

WAPMC responsible for the postgraduate training of doctors in West Africa.

He was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan where he was faced with all sorts of political intrigues that he did not expect from academics in the Ivory Tower. It was a baptism of fire for him. His keenness of mind and willingness to cut to the chase did not endear him to the Unions in the University but he stuck to his guns because he knew it was for the good of the institution.

When he left his post as the Vice-Chancellor he was appointed the Director of the Malarone Donation Progamme which wss geared at donating malaria tablets fr free in East Africa.

He was successful with this project and returned to Nigeria after completing his stint to great adulation and accolade.

Prof Oyediran is married to his wife of more than 50 Years, Chief Mrs Omotola Oyediran, daughter of the late Sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Professor Oyediran was a keen observer of the political developments in Nigeria by virtue of this fact.

Professor Oyediran’s account of his life is a refreshing one laced with anecdotes, unique experiences and vision that one can learn from.

It is a compelling read which I will commend to all those interested in University administration and some political developments in Nigeria from the viewpoint of a close family member.

Printed and Published in Lagos by THISDAY Newspapers Limited. Lagos: 35 Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos. Abuja: Plot 1, Sector Centre B, Jabi Business District, Solomon Lar Way, Jabi North East, Abuja .

All Correspondence to POBox 54749, Ikoyi, Lagos. EMAIL: editor@thisdaylive.com, info@thisdaylive.com. TELEPHONE Lagos: 0802 2924721-2, 08022924485. Abuja: Tel: 08155555292, 08155555929 24/7 ADVERTISING HOT LINES: 0811 181 3086, 0811 181 3087, 0811 181 3088, 0811 181 3089, 0811 181 3090. ENQUIRIES & BOOKING: adsbooking@thisdaylive.com